Sunday January 17, 2016

Some notes from Sunday's service. (Thanks, Jean)

(Don't forget that you can watch Something To Think About and Stacey Dlamini's sermon on the Master's Hand YouTube channel by clicking here:
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUaNS-N8LPEpsbWiJDYloQ

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Dr. Barclay

Something To Think About

Most people do not read the bible, and if people do read it, they do not read it enough.

Genesis chapter 11:1-9 tells the story of the tower of Babel.

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

The people tried to build a passage way to reach God on their own. God did not ask them to build a high tower to reach heaven, they did this all own their own. As we read this story we learn how God had confused the people that they could not communicate as they were all speaking different languages. Many times in history man has gone off and done their own thing making a religion and inventing rituals to suit their own needs and wants. Diverting in a direction very far from God. The theme of the bible is about a relationship between God and man. God came down to man on a number of occasions, such as as visiting with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and giving the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai. As well as Jesus coming the first time and someday he will come again for the second time. Religion separates man from God. The pattern of the Bible shows God has always met with man, on God's terms. Never on man's terms, man can never invent his own religion and tell God what to do.

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Stacy Dlamini

Mark 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

To know Jesus is to know God. He came to fix that, to which the establishment powers did not know was broken.

John 10:24-40

24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

30 I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

To the established powers of the day Jesus was a crazy man, a fraud who needed to be proven wrong. Jesus came to disrupt the ritualistic following of the law. Following the law should not be burdensome, but done out of love for God. When we love God we will love people. As humans we will never truly understand the magnitude of God.

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Many times we say we love God, yet we sin and do not follow his commandments. Often we sin with the excuse everyone else is doing it. No one wants to stand out and be all alone, so we willfully sin even though we know it is wrong, simply to go along with the crowd. Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it. The law is not done away with, Christ holds us to a very high standard. Our lifestyles need to reflect our love and devotion to Christ. We have to love and be kind to all people, even those who are not like us. When we truly love Christ we will be filled with love for others too.

Sunday January 10, 2016

Sunday Night Service Notes (Thanks, Jean)

Something to Think About

Dr. Barclay:

Theme: When Christ is not important in our lives, there is a great price to paid and sad consequences to follow.

Epiphany- means an awareness, a vision.

Many people in the world today have not had the awareness of Christ. Troubling events all over the world such as the stock markets bouncing up and down, causing financial uncertainty. Wars around the world and turmoil in the middle east all show the world is very far from Christ. When we read the old testament we learn how the Hebrews mingled in with pagan practices, idolatry and false religions around them and this brought them nothing but heartache, their kingdom was divided and their enemies carried them into captivity.

Jeremiah 19:3-5

3 And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

Jehovah was always calling the children of Israel back to him. He waited patiently for them yet he still allowed them to make their own choices.

Jeremiah 31:31

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Like the children of Israel the church today is doing the same thing that got the ancient Hebrews in to trouble. Compromising on the message of the gospel and mixing in with false religions. Chasing after pleasure and our own desires. With no time for God and studying scripture, too busy following our own agendas.

Jeremiah 17:9

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

We all need to go back to the first commandment.

Exodus 20:1-3

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Christ is to be number one in our lives with none other beside.

Pastor Dave Mac Lean:

Theme: Jesus paid the ultimate price so we can live victoriously through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we follow the words of the old Hymn “Trust and obey” our lives will be so much better.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God loves the world and he loves it, in it's worst state.

John 1:12

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

God loves us and gave us the power to live righteously for him. Christ is in us, and gives us the power to live victorious for him.

Matthew 10:34

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Peace between man and God through his son Jesus. God never promised there would be peace all over the world, but peace between God and man.

Hebrews 4:16

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus fulfilled the law. We can come boldly to Christ and petition our request with confidence.

1 John 5:7

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Romans 8:26-27

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

How wonderful it is to know the Holy Spirit intercedes for us even when we do not know how we should pray.

We were all guilty of sin, Jesus paid our sin debt by dying on the cross. God judged the sin of the world on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4-6

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Sunday January 3, 2016

Some notes from Sunday Night (Thanks, Jean)

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Dr. Barclay:

Theme: Sharing and promoting the greatest gift we can ever receive.

As Christians we celebrate the greatest gift we could ever get this time of year- which is Jesus. Yet some people are still caught up in all the trappings and decorations and anxiety of Christmas, they forget the religious and solemn celebration of Jesus coming to earth. Often when small children receive presents such as toys, clothes and games or computers, etc., they are happy to show off their gifts to others, demonstrate how they work and what they are all about. We Christians are to be like small children at Christmas time, show everyone our gift, be proud of it and talk about it to everyone. Jesus is greater than any material item we could ever possess. By reading and studying God's word we will learn about the greatest gift we can ever receive.

Pastor Caroline Barclay:

Theme: Having a willing attitude like Mary

This new year of 2016 is a gift to us forward. We cannot move forward if we are stuck in the past. We need to bring ourselves forward into a new day. Mary carried the gift of Jesus to the world.

Luke 1:26-38 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Mary graciously accepted Father God's challenge and did not falter in any way.

Please note the importance of these verses:

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

“be it unto me according to thy word.” -is the attitude and the mindset we should all have.

In our trials we have be like Mary. We need to be faithful and not give up. The Holy Spirit will lead us in the right direction. If we do not lean on our own understanding and go our own way.

Matthew 11:28 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

We need to follow God's instructions and go his way. We need to stay close to God so we can receive his wisdom and not our own. We need to be continually thankful to God for everything.

James 1:17 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning

We need to live right obey Christ and avoid sin. With our Christian character we will efficiently be able to reach out to others and hear what their hearts are saying and care.

Sunday December 27, 2015

NOTICE

There will be no church service this evening (December 27th) because of the weather.

Stay home, stay safe, be blessed.

Sunday December 20. 2015

Here's some notes from Sunday's service.  (Thanks, Heather)

Merry Christmas to you and yours!! I pray a joyous season! I know for many Christmas is a time to remember loved ones who've passed, or maybe finances are extremely tight this time of the year, or maybe there's bad experiences remembered... I hope something sparks a hope, a love, a faith this 2015 season! We are all in our own battle; be exceptionally kind and compassionate during this Christmas season :)

Something to think about

• Matt 2... Story about Wisemen and shepherds 
• Humans are funny creatures... Want everything fast... Fast Lube, minute rice; if we can't get it first, we want it first.
• At the same time, we don't want change (you want your burger just the same)
• Same in church! We want to prayer right now and get our answer/request.
• If things don't come, we take things into our own hands.
• Shepherds were the lowest of the low; no education, not knowing prophesies, they just went saying 'let's go and see Jesus'
• Wisemen were educated. They went as well.
• People who were trained in the law/prophesies they were so emerged in their traditions that they sent others to see.
• Life is a journey... Like the Wisemen and shepherds, you have to 'GO'.
• If our destination is Christ, our journey will be much more pleasant.

The Message - Natalie MacDonald

• LOVE
• Everyone has their own traditions during the Christmas season... Movies, music, treats, tree, dinners, visiting
• There are some that associate Christmas with pleasant memories... Loss of a loved one, work, abuse
• How did Christmas stray from the Christ child?
• It's now about accumulation of things... And as the Western world, we love our stuff so much that we rent storage units to hold them haha
• Matt 6:19-21 (ESV)
• Luke 12:15
• 1 Timothy 6:9-10
• 2 Cor 9:7
• 1 John 3:17
• It's not about giving the best gift, the more extravagant gift, or many gifts... The true meaning of a Christmas gift is a meaningful gift!
• Read Pastor Todd's article in the bulletin.
• Replace Jesus for 'love' in the love verses in Todd's writing.
• You can READ the Bible, which is a great helpful thing; you can SEE someone practicing the Bible; you can DO what you see and learn with others being taught my your deeds. 
• We are to be Christ-like, and Christ is God, and God is love... Therefore 'I am love'.
• In the 'love' verses, now replace 'I' where love is.
• Are you able to put your name in there?
• We should share this truth, in love, and our example will influence those around you.
• Throughout the WHOLE scripture, there are sprinkles of LOVE. Of course, there are things in the Bible that make us say 'ouch', things we don't like to hear, things on 'stop', 'no', 'change'...
• What if we replaced stress with peace?! Mourning with hope?!
• As advent represents LOVE, JOY, PEACE, HOPE... So is Christ.

Cheers

Sunday December 13, 2015

Some notes from Sunday's service.  (Thanks, Jean)

Sermon notes - Pastor Todd Mac Donald

Theme: JOY

True joy is in the things we cannot see. Joy is Jesus-Others-You. Jesus coming to earth was a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is the King of Kings.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

We need to remember Christmas means the celebration of Christ, christ-mas, mass of Christ.

We also need to remember God's timing is perfect, he sent Jesus to this earth the first time at just the right time and he will send Christ to return to this earth again at just the right time. We need to believe in God's providence, Jesus will fulfill every need. We need to remember joy is rarely what we can give materially to others. We can give true joy by simply sharing Christ and our time others. Jesus asks us to die to self and to be born again, to stop sinning, obey and follow Christ.

John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Instead of buying presents we should be a present. Instead of going out to see the lights we should be a light.

Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

There is no need for Christmas stress when we have Jesus. He is all we need and all we need to give to others.

Let us be blessed by the words of Saint Paul wishing joy and peace.

Romans 15:32-33

32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

33 Now the God of peace be with you all. 

Amen.

Sunday December 6, 2015.

Some notes from Sunday's service.  (Thanks, Heather)

'Tis the season to spread good tidings of great joy! Does that make you outwardly sigh?!  Hmmmm... doesn't that sound like a great sermon intro!! :D 

Please let me note here that I invested in an iPad Air with one of it's purposes of taking notes in church right on this wonderful electronic; no more chicken scratches THEN rewriting my notes. Soooo, if you see me typing away in church, I'm not playing games... Truly, I'm taking notes ;) haha  Here is the fruit that was sown Sunday past...

Something to think about
⁃ Matthew 2... Story of the wise men
⁃ Familiar story, 3 wise man, baby Jesus, manger, shepherds...
⁃ Is that how it really happened?
⁃ Doesn't say 3 wise men, or that they were kings
⁃ They DID come from Persia, and there was a star; which they had agreed to meet there every year.
⁃ Proof is the bones of the Magi are actually in a cathedral today.
⁃ Jesus DID come to the Jews first, He did come to the lowly... shepherds were one of the first to meet Christ.
⁃ The Wise men illustrate many things to us: they weren't satisfied to just SEE... they following, persevered. They rejoiced. They went into the house to see the Baby, not just sit outside
⁃ The came, they persevered, they worshiped,
⁃ We have to persevere to find the treasure after our search

The Message - Pastor Todd
⁃ Peace
⁃ Strife has been going on for YEARS... BUT God says he is our Peace
⁃ Isaiah 9:67
⁃ Christ came to us. Walked with men.
⁃ Why didn't he come as a king? Why did he instead come as a child?
⁃ A child is not threatening! If he came as a warrior, he would be felt as a threat.
⁃ Was there any time God raised his hand to a human? NO. Yes he turned the tables in the temple.
⁃ He's shown on his knees more then anything!
⁃ Woman caught in adultery, instead of a puff-chested and 'I'm going to fix this' attitude, he knelt and started to write something in the ground.
⁃ He knelt down to wash the disciples feet. The fight was not with those 'up-there' but with self/God.
⁃ Just before His death he was on his knees. He didn't get into an argument with God, He just prayed.
⁃ We need to get back on our knees in prayer... offering peace to others.
⁃ Christ does not want to fight... (ex: putting back on disciples ear... or telling Judas to do what he has to do (before betraying Christ).
⁃ Funny how in just ONE swipe from Christ, we could be a 'whipped' slate
⁃ Christ even says Love your enemy as yourself
⁃ Prayer brings a sense of peace
⁃ Mankind has forgotten what makes them happy; giving Christ the opportunity to reign over Satan's schemes.
⁃ He came as a child, nonthreatening, and with no strength... He came in peace
⁃ The 'Christmas Day Truce of 1914', the German and British ceased fire due to Christmas singing and gift-exchanging. In the name of CHRIST.
⁃ Luke 2
⁃ Matt 5:4-11... blessed are those...
⁃ Work toward peace for those around you... but also the peace within you
⁃ John 14:27 (Jesus talking about leaving, before he was crucified)
⁃ Let there be nothing between you and your neighbor
⁃ Before coming before Christ for Communion, lets arrive with peace, releasing issues with Christ. 

Smile... it's contagious!

Heather

* Please note: We WILL be having a Christmas Eve service, Thursday, December 24th from 7-8. 

                                                                   Please bring your family.

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A note from Todd & Natalie:

Merry Christmas

As you know, we will be pastoring in Sundre AB at the Main Avenue Fellowship Church of the Nazarene starting in January 2016: over two thousand years ago, another couple set out on a journey for a place probably unknown to them. Joseph, being from the line of David, was directed to attend the census in the home his forefathers and, with a very pregnant Mary, they set off on a journey into the unknown. There was no house waiting for them, no guarantee of a place to stay or of provisions and no way to know if Mary would be able to make the trip but He who is all knowing had a plan even though they did not understand it at the time. (Micah 5:2-4 NIV)

The Word, that is Jesus Christ (See John 1:1-2), was about to come from Heaven to abide with all mankind yet those who were bearing the Word did not know why they were being sent. The scriptures from the Old Testament prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem and He would bring with Him the strength of the Lord. God knew exactly what He was doing when He put the events into play. The powers that be declared a census and had all return to the village of their ancestors yet it was God who orchestrated that event. Mary did not give birth until she arrived in Bethlehem and the birth of the Saviour was in the town of David, witnessed by only the animals of the stable and Joseph. The servants of the land greeted the King of kings and God protected the Prince of Peace from all who would do Him harm. My God works in mysterious ways but in all things He knows what He is doing.

Just after the celebration of Christmas, Natalie and I will begin our journey west and with us we carry the Word of God. We celebrate the opportunity presented by God but wonder why He would call us yet we are obedient. None of us know why God opens or closes doors but I do know we need to trust in Him for our journey. Who could have figured that God would get Mary to Bethlehem by means of the governing body of the day? With that thought in mind, who knows what He has planned for us as we travel west. Lord knows.

Trust in Him and follow His calling on your life, you will never know where He leads you or the purpose of your journey. (Matt 28:19-20)

May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you very richly in 2016 and beyond.

Rev Todd and Natalie MacDonald