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Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! I’m wrapping up my thoughts on sharing your faith today. I hope they got you thinking.
Financial Update from our treasurer Here is the latest financial update from our treasurer Ken Finlay: General Fund Offerings - Year to Date end of March 2023 Budget $42,300 Actual 45,030 Surplus 2,730 (The Budget & Actuals above exclude contributions to the Pastor Fund) Pastor Fund Goal $65,000 Contributions to date 35,950 (including the $27,550 contributed in 2022) Still to be raised 29,050 Thank you to those who faithfully support us financially. It’s your gifts that allow us to do what God is calling us to in this community. If you are not giving, and would like to, you can drop cash or check in the offering box at the back of the Main Auditorium or give through Electronic Funds Transfer to [email protected] Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we return to our series, “Firm Foundations”-a study of the book of Romans The foundation of a building is critically important for the stability of the structure that sits on it. In many ways our faith and relationship with God needs the same thing. How is your foundation? We continue to look at this idea as we study the book of Romans, perhaps the best book of the New Testament for this kind of thing. This Sunday Jacob will continue to look at Israel’s standing with God and how that relates to us. Want to prepare? Read the text for Sunday ahead of time: Romans 10. If you can’t make it you can connect through our website: www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the Day: Remember that only God can save someone I’ve been looking lately at the opportunity we have to share our faith and the Good News of the gospel with the world around us. I hope it has stimulated some thought and reflection. The last thing I want to share is a critically important thing to remember when you start sharing your faith: only God can save someone. I don’t know about you, but for many, me included, there can often be a lot of fear surrounding sharing our faith, especially in a post-Christian, post-modern culture. There can also be a lot of guilt around not doing it or doing it wrong. It’s at times like this that God, as a sovereign King, chooses who he saves and when. I remember a well-meaning youth leader who told a group of teens that when sharing their faith if they ‘got this wrong it’ll mess up kid’s eternity’. Honestly, I was pretty steamed by that and it had a negative effect amongst this group of youth. I later reminded them that its up to God who he chooses and when. We’re tools in his hands so relax and go with the spirit. We need to remember to be faithful to the call and the opportunities God provides. We do our part, he does his. In my own experience some of my most articulate, well laid out and passionate gospel appeals have fallen on deaf ears while some of the worst, poorly thought out, inarticulate times I’ve shared my faith have led to someone surrendering their life to Jesus. The key is to be open to being used by God as he sees fit in the way he wants. So, here’s the parting lesson: God is the only one who can save someone. All I am responsible to do is bravely share what He gives me to share, in the opportunities He provides. The rest is up to Him, and He wants people to know Him far more than I ever could. So, I can trust Him. That takes away my fear. In His grip, Pastor Chris
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Good morning! It’s nice to see the sun after some dreary days. I hope that whatever the weather is like, you’re feeling the presence of the Son!
Oasis@Midweek is tomorrow Our next Oasis@Midweek is tomorrow night. This event is for kids JK to grade 6 who are invited to join us from 6:30pm to 8pm for an Oasis Camp themed evening of music, games, life lesson and this week a camp-related craft from our Kid’s Ministry team. O@M is not just for those who went to camp but for all who would like to remember how MONUMENTAL God is and celebrate his awesomeness. Outreach opportunity: Meet your city counsellor event at GBC this Thursday! As a church we desire to be good neighbours, build relationship with the community and earn the opportunity to share the hope in Jesus we have. With this in mind, in conjunction with the Junction Neighbourhood Group, we are hosting an information meeting with our Ward 3 counsellors. “Meet your city counsellor night” is a great outreach opportunity and chance for we as a church to shine. The event will be held this Thursday from 7-8:30pm. Please come out if you’re in this ward to meet your neighbors. If you’re not, you’re still welcome to support this event. May we let our lights shine! Thought for the Day: You have a testimony I’ve been sharing of late some thoughts on outreach and sharing your faith. Here, to me, is the most effective way- share your story! I think the best way to share our faith is to share what God has done in our own lives. But you don’t have to have an “I-almost-died-doing-drugs-when-Jesus-showed-up-in-a-vision” story in order to have a testimony. Your testimony can simply be knowing that God is faithful and knowing how much He loves you and sharing that message of hope. Most of you know my story of how I came to be a follower of Jesus through the death of our child (if you don’t, let me know, I’d love to share it with you). But that’s my story. Your story is your story and yours is as valid and as important as mine is. We don’t want to get into valuing our stories based on the content. Tell YOUR story and let God work with it through the Holy Spirit. Whether you’ve journeyed with God your whole life or you’ve walked through a whole lot of pain, brokenness and mistakes, you—yes, you!—can testify to what God has done and who He is. Share your story with the world around you. I think this is the most powerful way we can share our faith: to share what God has done in our own lives, and talk about our relationship with Him. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! How is your week going? How are things between you and God? If you find yourself struggling or have unanswered questions don’t do it alone! Find someone to share the road with. If you don’t have anyone, I’d be happy to walk with you, just ask.
Outreach opportunity: Meet your city counsellor event at GBC As a church we desire to be good neighbours, build relationship with the community and earn the opportunity to share the hope in Jesus we have. With this in mind, in conjunction with the Junction Neighbourhood Group, we are hosting an information meeting with our Ward 3 counsellors. “Meet your city counsellor night” is a great outreach opportunity and chance for we as a church to shine. The event will be held on Thursday April 27, 7-8:30pm. Please come out if you’re in this ward to meet your neighbors. If you’re not, you’re still welcome to support this event. May we let our lights shine! Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we return to our series, “Firm Foundations”-a study of the book of Romans The foundation of a building is critically important for the stability of the structure that sits on it. In many ways our faith and relationship with God needs the same thing. How is your foundation? We continue to look at this idea as we study the book of Romans, perhaps the best book of the New Testament for this kind of thing. This Sunday I will be looking at Paul’s view of Israel’s standing with God and how that relates to us. Want to prepare? Read the text for Sunday ahead of time: Romans 9. If you can’t make it you can connect through our website: www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the Day: Watch (and ask) for opportunities...more thoughts Tuesday I examined the idea of looking for opportunities to share our faith with the world around us. While we’re often given the chance to share the hope that we have, we can also ASK God to give us these openings and then we just have to keep our eyes open to see the opportunities when they pop up. Great! Here’s another thing I watch for: Questions from others. Although most everyone who knows me knows I’m a Christian, it doesn’t mean I’ve exhausted my opportunities to share my faith. When someone asks me about an element of my faith, like one of my athletes did recently, or I see an opening in a conversation, I just share a little bit unless the person wants to keep talking. For example, someone once asked how I could forgive a person who’d treated me badly. I got to share very briefly that I could because God had forgiven me for so much as well. That was it. The person didn’t have any more questions and we moved on to another subject. But other times, a person has wanted to keep talking, and we’ve talked about God for a long time. I try to listen to what they’re interested in and just share that so I don’t come across as being pushy. The key here is to be connected to the Holy Spirit and wait on the Spirit’s prompting, not rushing, but also not being passive. More on this next week! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! Well, I guess summer isn’t quite here yet! Still, it was nice to enjoy the great weather while it lasted. These are all good gifts from God.
Outreach opportunities update Thank you to those who have been praying for some of our recent outreach initiatives. Last week, Jennifer, Helen Martini, Holly Alac and myself were again able to go to Michael House and build relationships with the residents. This time I was able to speak with them as part of their program so talked about Easter which included me being able to share the gospel and part of my testimony. There were some powerful conversations afterwards. Pray for Holly, who lives there as an ‘Intentional Neighbor’, as she follows up on this event. Then, on Sunday, the youth ministry, through Surge, led a kid’s drop-in at Paisley Road Public School. With the weather outside being so nice we had a smaller turnout from the community but still had the chance to engage with a number of families and let our lights shine. God is opening doors for us to build relationships with our neighbors. There are a number of other opportunities coming up which you’ll hear about in the weeks ahead. If you’d like to become involved, please let me know. Thought for the Day: Sharing your faith: Watch (and ask) for opportunities. I always find it so interesting how God brings opportunities for me to share about Him (whether at times I want to or not!). He really does love to do this, sometimes at the strangest of times! That means I have to keep my eyes open so I can see the opportunities when they pop up. I’m going to share two things to watch for, one today, the other Thursday: God’s nudges. Only He knows when someone’s heart is ready to hear about Him. So, if I sense Him nudging my spirit, I know it’s time to say something. For me, His nudges feel like the nervousness I’ve felt before a meet or competition, and my heart beats faster. I know I need to say something. It can feel different for different people, though. Sometimes I’ll get that feeling with total strangers or people I’m having a totally different interaction with (think being treated by a physiotherapist!). I suddenly sense God wants me to tell them about what he’s done in my life and what he can do for them. Honestly, these opportunities can be kind of scary times for me, but I’ve seen God open up crazy doors of conversation! So, here’s my encouragement: LOOK for when God nudges, or better yet, PRAY for God to nudge you and watch how he does! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! Hooray! We’re all excited by the birth of Nathaniel to Ken, Rebekah and Levi. Congratulations! What great news for a beautiful, sunny day.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND LUNCH - Sunday Please plan to join us for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) this Sunday (the 16th) following our morning service. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the 2022 financial statements, approve the 2023 budget, appoint an auditor and elect Directors to hold office until the next annual general meeting. We will also be providing important updates on GBC ministries, pastoral transition and some other interesting topics that you will not want to miss. If you are member and are unable to attend, please complete a proxy form (attached) to ensure that we achieve quorum for the AGM. We will also be having a fellowship lunch as part of the AGM. We hope to see you there! Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we return to our series, “Firm Foundations”-a study of the book of Romans The foundation of a building is critically important for the stability of the structure that sits on it. In many ways our faith and relationship with God needs the same thing. How is your foundation? We continue to look at this idea as we study the book of Romans, perhaps the best book of the New Testament for this kind of thing. This Sunday Pastor Dan will continue on as he finishes chapter 8. Want to prepare? Read the text for Sunday ahead of time: Romans 8. If you can’t make it you can connect through our website: www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the Day: Sharing your faith: Be a Friend Tuesday I started my new series of thoughts on sharing our faith. I examined first that we should look at our motives and why we’re doing it before getting started. So, motives in the right place? Great! Let’s look at the next step. Be friends to be friends, not to “get someone saved.” This is huge. I think it’s easy to give the impression that we’re only friends with someone to try to “get them saved.” This leaves people feeling used and devalued, which is the opposite of how God feels about them. If I’m going to be friends with someone, we are going to be friends whether or not they come to know the Lord. That being said, sometimes I will pray for more friends who don’t know God because I want people to know about Jesus. I want people to naturally see how much joy He’s brought into my own life! (And I also don’t want to get stuck in a totally Christian bubble.) But I’m definitely not going to stop being friends with someone if they don’t become a Christian. That said, our friends are very influential in our lives, so it’s important to be careful about who you choose to be your closest friends. We can have acquaintance friends and then we can have close friends who play a significant role in our lives. And those close friends make a big difference in the person you become. It’s important to choose them wisely. So just be careful as you choose close friends (no matter what their faith), and ask yourself: “Do I like who I become when I’m with this person?” As you’re genuine friends with someone, as you spend time together and are there for them in hard times, then they’ll know you care. And that will make it so they can actually hear your heart and your love when you tell them how much Jesus loves them. That opens the door for conversations and natural opportunity to share your faith. More on this next week! In His grip, Pastor Chris It was a very blessed Easter weekend. I hope you were not only encouraged but challenged by what you experienced as we remembered and celebrated the cross and the empty tomb.
As was mentioned on Sunday, there are a number of opportunities for us to share the Good News of the gospel coming up this spring so for the next few weeks we’ll be looking at ways to share our faith. Meet your city counsellor event at GBC As a church we desire to be good neighbours, build relationship with the community and earn the opportunity to share the hope in Jesus we have. With this in mind, in conjunction with the Junction Neighbourhood Group, we are hosting an information meeting with our Ward 3 counsellors. “Meet your city counsellor night” is a great outreach opportunity and chance for we as a church to shine. The event will be held on Thursday April 27, 7-8:30pm. Please come out if you’re in this ward to meet your neighbors. If you’re not, you’re still welcome to support this event. May we let our lights shine! Oasis@Midweek is tomorrow Our next Oasis@Midweek is tomorrow night! This event is for kids JK to grade 6 who are invited to join us from 6:30pm to 8pm for an Oasis Camp themed evening of music, games, life lesson and this week our popular drama led by our youth team. O@M is not just for those who went to camp but for all who would like to remember how MONUMENTAL God is and celebrate his awesomeness. Thought for the Day: Sharing your faith: look at your motives When I was a younger in my journey as a follower of Jesus sharing my faith felt like a never-ending assignment hanging over my head at all times. I felt like I never did it enough and never did it right. Have you ever felt that way? Now things have changed and I feel different about sharing my faith. It’s become a far more natural part of my life—something that’s motivated by love instead of motivated by fear. So, over the next couple of weeks, I want to share some things that have helped change my perspective, and I hope they can help you as well. First, look at your motives. It’s easy to approach sharing the gospel out of fear. Here are a few examples: “If I don’t say something right now and this person gets into a car accident and dies and goes to hell, it’ll be my fault!” “If I don’t tell enough people, will I go to heaven?” “If I tell this person about Jesus, then people at church will think I’m a really good Christian.” Ever thought any of these? But here’s the thing: When our motivation is fear, the people we’re talking to can tell—and they’ll feel used. It will seem as though we’re telling them about Jesus to ensure our own salvation, appease our own conscience or make ourselves look good. Ever feel that way? Now the amazing thing is God can use anything, even wrong motives! Anytime we share about Him, He can use that (which is good news because I don’t think we’ll ever have perfect motivations). But for me, it helped to think about why I was sharing the gospel, and I realized that genuine concern and love for the person should be my “why.” Here’s what I mean: Jesus has changed my life for the better, and I couldn’t imagine life without Him. So, I really want people I care about to know how He can do the same for them. I want them to know how much God loves and cares about them too. Can you see how this shift changes not only our approach but also our attitude? It’s not about being pushy; it’s just sharing what has helped you because you care enough about the other person to share what hopefully is a pretty major part of your life. I think then, sharing your faith with the right motives is not only more effective but also the proper way to do it. I hope you agree. More to come on this in the days ahead. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! I hope you’re making this a great week! We’re almost to Easter. Please do avail yourself of the opportunities to come remember and celebrate but also take some time to reflect on what Jesus did for you and how that impacts your life.
OASIS Sponsorship Opportunity Each year, GBC has the privilege of sponsoring children from our local community to attend our week-long OASIS day camp at the Guelph Bible Conference Centre. We have the opportunity to serve these children as they learn about God's love for them. This year, we will be sponsoring 25 children to attend the camp, including a number of children from families connected to Michael House. This is an amazing 'God sighting' as we have the opportunity to deepen our partnership with Michael House. The total cost of sponsorships will be approximately $6,000, with each sponsorship costing $212. To participate, please mark your donation as "OASIS Sponsorship Fund" so that it may be directed for this purpose. For further information please contact Donna Chapman. Join us on Sunday in-person or the livestream for our Easter celebration service Join us this Sunday as we celebrate the empty tomb and resurrection of Jesus. There will be uplifting music and I will be speaking about what the resurrection means for us today. If you’d like to prepare, you can read John 20 If you can’t make it you can connect through our website: www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the Day: The Power of the Resurrection: “I know that my Redeemer lives” Tuesday I looked at the power of the resurrection through the lens of Job’s declaration that he knew his Redeemer lives. Okay, so now how does this apply to us? As with Job, in spite of every argument to the contrary from his friends, we too may know that the Redeemer lives. Furthermore, to live successful Christian lives we must know that not just in our heads but in our hearts as well. God’s plan for the believer is that by the testimony of the Holy Spirit and by opening one’s eyes to see the many evidences of God’s power and authority in the world of nature and history, we may come to a place where we can say we know. God’s plan is also that we come to know him. That’s why the Bible was given to us. The Apostle John wrote: “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” What does this mean for us today? We don’t guess, we don’t suppose, we don’t wish, we don’t wonder, we know. Our Redeemer lives, tap into that power today! Hope to see you on Good Friday and at our Easter celebration service! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. It’s Holy Week, the most sacred of the year for we who follow Jesus. Are you ready? I had the opportunity to be the speaker for a conference in New Brunswick this past weekend and they had a big, rough-cut cross on the platform. Though I hadn’t intended to talk that much about it I found myself gravitating back towards it session after session. That’s the power of the cross, it draws us to it (BTW- thanks to those who prayed for me and this weekend, God moved powerfully throughout the event).
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND LUNCH - APRIL 16 Please plan to join us for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, April 16 following our morning service. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the 2022 financial statements, approve the 2023 budget, appoint an auditor and elect Directors to hold office until the next annual general meeting. We will also be providing important updates on GBC ministries, pastoral transition and some other interesting topics that you will not want to miss. If you are member and are unable to attend, please complete a proxy form (attached) to ensure that we achieve quorum for the AGM. We will also be having a fellowship lunch as part of the AGM. We hope to see you there! April’s Calendar is here The April calendar is attached for those who haven’t picked on up yet. Use this to be informed on what’s happening but also to pray for our ministries as well. Thought for the Day: The Power of the Resurrection: “I know that my Redeemer lives” Easter is this Sunday! For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been looking at some critical elements of the Easter story that help us live in God’s power week-in and week-out, making Easter more than an event on our calendar. I have two more thoughts to share on this as we prepare to remember and celebrate the cross and the empty tomb. Several thousand years before Jesus rose from the dead Job made this declaration: “I know that my Redeemer lives (Job 19:25). It’s a powerful and important statement for us today. The question, to me, then is, what is God saying here through Job? Job is considered by many to be the oldest book in the Bible. And the oldest of books has to do with the oldest of problems: “Why do the righteous suffer?” Up to this verse in the story of Job, he is asking questions, tough questions. In his grief and anguish, he asks: “man dies, and is laid low; he breathes his last and where is he?” This is a question many ask, especially in days like this, but his follow up is even more powerful: “If a man die, will he live again?” These were unanswerable questions that rose from a perplexed and anguished heart and are still being asked today. But with his cry of faith, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” he is on solid ground. Job had no Bible, he had no church history or tradition, but he did have a prompting of the Holy Spirit to make the statement that has conveyed assurance to believers down through the centuries. Job says, “I know.” He points with certainly to the fact that the solution to all problems, the ultimate answer to all questions, whether they be old and persistent or new and passing, lies in knowing that the Lord, our Redeemer, lives. God in Christ is on top of it all. He lives. He has conquered the last great enemy which is death. This allowed Paul to make this statement to the church in Rome about Jesus: He is “declared to be the Son of God with power …by the resurrection from the dead.” We can make that same declaration today, hold onto that same assurance and experience not just the promise of the resurrection but the power it gives for today. In His grip, Pastor Chris |
Pastor Chris"At GBC we're serious about the Bible, serious about the truths that are found in it and living in Him but also like to laugh, cry and experience life together." Archives
January 2024
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