NOTICE - Time of Service Change

 

Starting next Sunday January 5, 2025 we will be having our services at 11 AM.

Caroline Barclay Dec. 29, 2024

Christmas Break

 

Dr. Barclay will be celebrating Christmas with his family, so there will be no Bible Study or Something to Think about this week or next.

Rev. Daverro Smith

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 4

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - WHY?

                                                                                                            

                 

                                          WHY?

At this time of year, when we recognize the coming to earth of God in the form of man, we should consider why such an event would have come to pass. After all, the most powerful entity in the universe humbled Himself in a way that He could have avoided. A being that can create the universe with a word certainly could do whatever He wished or needed by merely a similar gesture. But He did come to earth, being physically born in the usual way, growing up as a boy, developing a ministry, and eventually suffering an excruciating death on the cross. Was all this really necessary?

The book of Hebrews gives us four reasons why God became a man and ventured to earth to live for a time as a human.

According to the Bible, man was created in the image of God with a mandate to rule over the earth. 

…God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; 

have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, 

and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

(Genesis 1:28)

Man, however, apparently did not recognize the position he was given and succumbing to temptation, fell from this place and lost the power it represented along with the prestige it gave. As a result, mankind began to consider its position no more than that of any other animal. But the Bible says:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,

Or the son of man that you take care of him?

You have made him a little lower that the angels;

You have crowned him with glory and honour,

And set him over the works of Your hands.

You have put all things in subjection under his feet…” 

(Hebrews 2:6-8)

In order for man to regain what he had lost, God became man to help achieve that purpose.

God also became man to help regain the unity we once had with God. Hebrews goes on to state that:

…it was fitting for Him, for whom…and by whom are all things, 

in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, 

for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. 

(Hebrews 2:10-11)

Because we relinquished our initial status in God’s plan and as a result lost the unity we once had with God, we became subject to other forces and lost the initial freedom we had at the time of creation. So God came to earth to help us regain that freedom.

…He Himself likewise shared in the same, 

that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, 

that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death 

were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

(Hebrews 2:14,15)

Thus God became man to relate to us and so that we could relate properly to Him. As a result we have been able to regain that relationship we once had in addition to the unity we previously lost.

For indeed He does not give aid to angels, 

but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, 

that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, 

to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, 

He is able to aid those who are tempted. 

(Hebrews 2:16-18)

In addition to the trees, tinsel, presents, and feasting that take place this time of year, realization of and consideration for the reasons Christ came to earth should, in reality…

…give us plenty to ponder and think about.

Adapted from the Study Guide on Hebrews Chapter 2 by Dr  David Jeremiah

 

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 3

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - TWO-FOLD PROPHECY

TWO-FOLD PROPHECY

It is believed that in many cases the prophecies that are given in the Bible have both a near application and a distant interpretation. One such instance involves a prophecy we often hear this time of year from the book of Isaiah.

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign:

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, 

and shall call His name Immanuel. 

(Isaiah 7:14)

The confirmation that this indeed refers to the birth of Jesus as the Messiah comes from the book of Matthew where it states:

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, 

and they shall call His name Immanuel,” 

which is translated, “God with us.” 

(Matthew 1:23)

In Isaiah, this was initially given to the house of David as the prophecy.

Hear ye now, O house of David 

(Isaiah 7:13)

But it was also given to King Ahaz, who at that time was in a dispute with both Syria and Ephraim who were in a conspiracy against him, but…

 

thus says the Lord God, “It shall not stand, 

neither shall it come to pass.” 

(Isaiah 7:7)

Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying

Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God…

…But Ahaz said, “I will not ask…” 

(Isaiah 7:10-12)

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son,

and shall call His name Immanuel.

Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know 

to refuse the evil and choose the good.

For before the Child shall know [this]…

the land that you dread will

be forsaken of both her kings. 

(Isaiah 7:14-16)

The Lord will bring upon thee, and upon thy people,

and upon thy father’s house…even the king of Assyria.

(Isaiah 7:17, KJV)

So, Isaiah related a prophecy to the House of David regarding the distant future coming of the Messiah but he also related to Ahaz a more imminent prediction about an event that would result in both Syria and Ephraim forsaking their objectives and also that Syria would be taken over by Assyria. This also would bring ruin to Judah.  All this would happen within a few years of the birth of Ahaz’s own son in that, before the boy was of the age to distinguish good from evil, both Syria and Israel were deprived of both their kings and Assyria had taken control. It becomes complicated but an example of how prophecy can be both near meaning and distant in its application.

Certainly something to think about.

CHURCH IS CANCELLED

 

Dec. 8, 2024

After receiving road reports from many areas and seeing that the snow isn't supposed to stop until 8 or later, we've made the difficult decision to cancel this evening's service.

See you next week, weather permitting.

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 2

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - TWO MORE FACTS

 TWO MORE FACTS

The fact that the Magi were not there at the time of Jesus’ birth and the lineage of Herod as it relates to the attempt on Jesus’ life are both interesting aspects of the Messiah’s birth not often mentioned. There are others that often do not warrant much attention including these two.

In the book of Ruth, we are told of the migration of Naomi and her family from Bethlehem to Moab due to famine. There, as events unfolded, a Moabite woman, Ruth, became a daughter-in-law of Naomi and later came back to live in Bethlehem when the famine was over. Ruth married Boaz and they had a son, raised by Naomi.

Then Naomi took the child and…became a nurse to him. 

[And] the neighbour woman gave him a name, saying 

“There is a child born to Naomi…” 

(Ruth 4:16,17)

This child “of Naomi’s” was called Obed.

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

(Ruth 4:17)

It was to Bethlehem and to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that the Lord sent Samuel to find David.

 

…For I have provided Myself a king among his sons. 

(1 Samuel 16:1)

And so from Bethlehem God provided a king for Israel just as He would many years later provide a king for the world from the same city.

The second interesting fact is the time between when something is requested of God and its’ fruition. For over 400 years, the Hebrew people languished in Egypt and prayed for deliverance without any apparent result. It’s evident that God’s timing is His own and that we must be patient and alert to recognizing His answer when it comes. The Israelites apparently did not and begged Moses to take them back to Egypt.

“Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying,

‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it

would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians that that

we should die in the wilderness.” 

(Exodus 14:12)

The Israelites did not recognize their deliverance when it was there for them. It was also 400 years from the time of the last Old Testament prophet and the predictions of a coming deliverer and the birth of Christ. Once again, the people were not alert to what was taking place and were not expecting the answer when it came. For when Christ was born, neither the leaders nor the people were ready. The Bible states that:

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
(John 1:11)

Four hundred years and then not recognized when He came. Will the same happen to us? After all, it’s been many years since we were told that He would return. And so, as Peter says:

…scoffers will come in the last days…saying, 

“Where is the promise of His coming? 

For since the fathers fell asleep, 

all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 

(2 Peter 3:3-4)

In the Bible there are numbers which are important and the number three is indicative of completeness and divine perfection. We have already missed, in many ways, two occasions when God answered promises; hopefully we can do better with number three when it occurs.

At least, it gives one something substantial to think about.  

Dr Spencer Barclay Dec 1, 2024

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 1

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE BLESSING?

                                                                         

                                  THE BLESSING?

One of the most disturbing stories surrounding the birth of Christ is tol in the book of Matthew in chapter 2.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, 

was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death 

all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, 

from two years old and under…

(Matthew 2:16)

This gives further evidence that the wise men did not visit Jesus at His birth but a number of years later - but why such a scene? Was Herod really so cruel or was there something else involved?

This atrocity and its inception really goes back to the days of Issac, Rebekah, and their sons Esau and Jacob. It involves the situation where Jacob, with the help of his mother Rebekah, tricked his father Issac into giving him his father’s blessing instead of his older brother Esau, to whom it rightfully belonged. Esau became very angry at this turn of events and…  

So [he] hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, 

and Esau said in his heart "…I will kill my brother Jacob.” 

(Genesis 27:41)

Now Esau went on to have many offspring and…

 

…Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

…the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. 

(Genesis 36:8-9)

Now, the Edomite people lived in an area south of Judah until they were displaced by conflict and eventually settled again in a portion of Judah and became known as the Idumaeans but still descendants of Esau.

Antipaster, the progenitor of the Herodian dynasty that ruled Judea under the Romans after the Roman conquest of that area, was an Idumaean and the antecedent of the Herod in the Biblical story of Jesus. Thus, Herod himself was really a descendent of Esau. Therefore, trying to kill the Messiah, of the lineage of Judah, was really an attempt to carry out the old threat of Esau to kill his brother Jacob.

It’s amazing how events related in ancient history have an influence on events many years and centuries later and how they still influence world events today. An ancient curse by Esau was the trigger for the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod as well as the attempt to kill the Messiah shortly after His birth.

It all gives one something more to think about.  

Pastor Jasmine Trott Nov. 24, 2024

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Jonah Part 10

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE MAGI

THE MAGI

The story of the Magi - wise men from the East - visiting the Christ Child after His birth, is one of the most enduring stories of the Christmas season that we have. This is documented in only one place in the Bible - in the book of Matthew. Here it states:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, 

…wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? 

For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 

(Matthew 2:1-2)

When reading these stories it is important to distinguish what is related in the Bible to what is not; even though some of the other material may be ancient, they are non-biblical sources. For example, we often refer to the three kings but the Bible mentions neither the number of visitors nor that they were kings. We commonly see illustrations of these wise men coming to the stable where Jesus lay but the Bible clearly states that:

…when they [the wise men] had come into the house, 

they saw the young Child with Mary, His mother, 

and fell down, and worshiped Him… 

(Matthew 2:11)

If we truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that:

 

…the word of God is living and powerful…

…which lives and abides forever…

(Hebrews 4:12 & 1 Peter 1:23)

and comes from a God…

 

…who cannot lie… 

(Titus 1:2)

…then we must be careful to state what the Bible relates and not change it to suit what we think it should say. Mixing falsehoods with the truth does not enhance the truth but only tends to enforce more of that which is false. The wise men were not at the stable as depicted by so many stories, nativity scenes, and songs but came sometime later, perhaps up to two years, after Christ’s birth.

In focusing only on the time of the visit, we often miss the other implications that the coming of these men may mean. For instance, they were Gentiles, probably Zoroastrian in religion, who came to worship a God unknown to them. They were the first gentiles who reached out to Christ and gave the indication that Christ would be for everyone.

They bowed and worshiped at the sight of Christ. They did not do the same at the kingship of Herod and so did not give homage to worldly authority but did at the Godly Kingship of Christ.

They gave their time to come to a king they did not know nor to whom they owed allegiance. Not only did they give of their time, they gave generously with their wealth and delight, bringing expensive presents and with exuberant joy, just the way we should do to the God we know and to whom we do owe allegiance.

They were obedient to what they had been taught or told. They knew about the coming of the Messiah and were willing to follow what they had come to believe. In addition, they were obedient to the angel who told them not to return to Herod. We must also decide whether to believe God or honour the world.

Lastly, they would have had many of their own beliefs and traditions and what they did would have gone outside their own culture and faith. Are we willing to do the same when we see the truth in front of us?

By realizing all of what we can learn from the Magi gives us again something else to think about.

*Writing adapted from Who Were the Magi and Why do They Matter by Brian Barrineau 

 

Pastor Dave McLean Nov. 17, 2024

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Jonah Part 9

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - A MAN OF FAILURE?

 

A MAN OF FAILURE?

Looking at the church today and comparing it with the church of old it may appear as if the church is failing in its’ message. The number of people attending church appears to be lessening and churches all over seem to be closing. But is it the same all over the world? Perhaps God is not interested just in numbers of people but in the dedication of those people who are involved. The Bible does say:

 

“…whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

(Romans 10:13)

However, it seems that fewer people are doing that each year. Perhaps we should not be surprised at that, as the Bible also states that:

…narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, 

and there are few who find it. 

(Matthew 7:14)

It implies that many who should be saved may not be and perhaps we should expect this considering Jesus spoke to thousands during His time on earth but, in the end, there seemed to be only about 120 true disciples left.

And in those days Peter stood in the midst of the disciples 

(altogether the number of names was about one hundred and twenty)… 

(Acts 1:15)

It would seem that Jesus Himself was a man of failure at the time but look what happened when those disciples became excited, invigorated, and energized. They changed the world.

Often we look at ourselves and feel as if nothing of importance is being done. Too often people feel as if they accomplish little and give up - often turning to unhealthy or harmful means to try and console themselves and forget their failure. Too many accept this as their fate and refuse to continue trying to see if they can, as Robert Schuller used to say, turn their “scars into stars.” These people also seem to give up on God as well, believing that He has given up on them.

The disciples of Christ did not give up when they were only few and the rest is history. By giving up too easily, in many cases, people often miss out on what God may have had in store for them. We should try to avoid becoming men (and women) of failure as the following illustrates. One person in:

• 1831 - failed in business
• 1832 - was defeated for the legislature
• 1833 - failed in business again
• 1834 - was elected to the legislature
• 1835 - suffered the death of his sweetheart 
• 1836 - suffered a nervous breakdown
• 1838 - was defeated for speaker of the legislature
• 1840 - was defeated for elector
• 1848 - was defeated for congress 
• 1855 - was defeated for Senate
• 1856 - was defeated for Vice-President 
• 1858 - was defeated for Senate
• but in 1860 was elected for President of the United States

The man? Abraham Lincoln* 

The disciples did not give up even when some may have felt their cause a failure. God did not give up on them and he doesn’t give up on us even when we may consider ourselves to be less than successful. It is God’s will that all should be saved and unless we ourselves will it otherwise no person should be a “man of failure” and be lost.

The Lord…not willing that any should perish, 

but that all should reach repentance 

(2 Peter 3:9)

If everything is not now as it should be, we need to keep trying. It is not God’s desire that we should fail - it should not be ours.

Something to think about. 

*Keister-Williams Newspaper Services, 1987

Pastor Matthew Trott Nov. 10, 2024

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Jonah Part 8

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - CIVIL WAR

CIVIL WAR

There was recently a movie made with the title “Civil War,” a fictional rendering of what might occur should disagreement develop to a point where actual conflict could result. Now this was fictional, but our neighbour to the South will be having an election shortly after this is posted and the rhetoric and disagreement seems to be at a point that has not been seen in recent times. Admittedly, this is all verbal and ideological at present but who knows just what could evolve if level heads do not prevail.

In 1861 just such an event developed in the US and an actual civil war did break out. Ideological differences at that time did seem insurmountable and physical conflict did develop between the Union and Confederate states. For approximately two years, battles were fought between the opposing armies with considerable loss of life on both sides. It seemed at first that the Southern States might prevail for most, if not all, the battles seemed to be Confederate victories.

At the present time, with ideological differences worsening both here and in the nation to our south, it seems difficult to imagine how these differences can be resolved without some form of conflict developing. At the same time, with the world in the state it’s in we really should be more united than ever. It seems hard to conceive, however, that in the present day leaders would resort to the same type of methods that the leaders of the Union did during those bleak days of Civil War. Because, on March 30^th, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation as follows. 

Whereas the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has by a resolution requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation; and

Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord;

And, insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the divine teachings that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of March, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN*

It is of interest that within a few weeks of this proclamation and the designated day of prayer, the Confederacy lost a major leader which so demoralized the South that the tide of battle changed and the Union eventually went on to victory. The Bible states: 

“[I]f My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, 

and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, 

then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

(2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Bible also states that:

…Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, 

and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

(Matthew 12:25)

Abraham Lincoln, in 1858, reiterated that thought when he said in his address at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield that: A house divided against itself cannot stand.

In this present day, with so much at stake and with so much animosity in our lands, can we afford not to pay attention to what our previous leaders had the fortitude to undertake and realize again that we need God’s help and guidance in our lives?

It is certainly something to think and pray about.

*American Presidency Project Proclamation 97