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Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week. A number of ministries are starting to wrap up for summer as we approach Canada Day weekend. I want to thank all the ministry leaders, small group leaders and those who served in various ways this spring. You have let your lights shine and been a blessing to me and to this church. We appreciate you a lot. God bless you for your faithfulness.
Child Dedication coming July 16 The opportunity for parents to dedicate their children to the Lord is a particular blessing to the family and to the church. So, on Sunday July 16 we’re going to have the first opportunity to do this since Covid shut us down. If you have children (regardless of age) that you would like to dedicate to the Lord we would invite you to be part of our ceremony that will be held during our main service. If you’d like to sign up, or if you have questions about dedication and why we do it this way, please let me know. Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we continue 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 be continuing to look at Romans 14 and the idea of how to get along when we don’t. Want to prepare? Read the text for Sunday ahead of time: Romans 14:13-23. 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: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life- Pray Believing This has been quite the journey the past few weeks as we’ve looked at moving towards a more mature prayer life. I hope this has been as challenging for you as it has been for me! So, here’s the last thought- when you pray, pray BELIEVING. What do I mean? To pray believing means to believe in God and that He will work all things out for good. Even if he didn’t answer your prayers, He knows what’s best and we don’t always understand God’s timing. We can all learn from the man whose son was possessed with demons and when Jesus told him, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” He immediately responded with, ”I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:23-25). We too can ask Jesus to help us with our belief. The man who asked for help with his unbelief is an example to us of how we need to be humble and ask Jesus to help our own unbelief. Ask Jesus to help your heart to believe in Him. When you pray, remember who you are praying to and say out loud, “I believe in you, Jesus.” I hope this will help you experience deeper, richer, prayer this summer and beyond. In His grip, Pastor Chris
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Good afternoon. Summer is here. As things start to slow down, what a great time to read a book. We have great ones in our main library and kid’s library upstairs. Why not pick something you’re unfamiliar with, or study that theological question that’s on your mind? Use the time this summer to grow in your faith through reading.
Oasis set building help Once again we are partnering with Grace Community Church to share our Oasis sets. We are looking for volunteers to help build them. The dates are June 28 and 29 and July 3, 5,6 from 9:30 to noon at Grace Community Church, 7427 Country Road 30. Please contact our summer student Esther Timm if you are able to help with this at [email protected]. Summer Prayer Time Pastor Dan invites any who might be free, willing, and able to join him for prayer on Thursday mornings, from 8-9am this summer. We'll be praying for the church, for the world, and for our lives. Please email Pastor Dan if you'd like to join him on Zoom. "Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom... All the Christian virtues are locked up in that word, prayer." - Charles Spurgeon. Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life- Pray Without Ceasing Prayer is not just for a special time of day, Sunday morning, or a prayer gathering. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 it says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God calls us to pray without ceasing. As followers of Jesus, we should be praying throughout our day. While this Scripture may seem impossible to achieve think about it like this: you are creating a lifestyle of prayer. You can pray no matter where you are, at work, school, in the car, the gym, shopping, and so on. If you are out in public, you can pray in your heart. God still hears these prayers. This does not mean you should stop setting aside time to pray each day, but rather to pray throughout the day including your prayer time. The more we pray, the more we realize how great God is and how we need Him to be with us every second of our lives. The early church father Augustine wrote this: Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him. I think this is appropriate being in summer since often the heat causes us to thirst. Does our ‘heat’ for God cause us to thirst? Satisfy that longing, regardless of what is going on, through prayer. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I’m spending a lot of time reflecting right now as we remember Margaret Bowman today and Iva Ralston tomorrow. Both ladies positively impacted so many people over the years including me. So, it’s a joy and honor to be able to lead both of their memorial services and committals. May we all live as they did and let our lights shine.
GBC family picnic is tonight! Our GBC family picnic is on tonight. Join us at the Guelph Bible Conference Center. From 4:45pm to 5:30pm you can play mini golf or just hang out. Then we’ll enjoy a delicious BBQ dinner. Afterwards there will be games for the kids finishing with the always-popular candy scramble. It’s a fun night and I hope you can join us. Cost is free will offering. Even if you’ve not signed up, please come out. Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life-pray and memorize Scripture Last time we looked at praying for others and that makes sense intuitively, I think. Let’s change gears a bit. To have a maturing prayer life, how about praying the scriptures? When you pray scripture, you are speaking the Word of God back to Him. You are declaring His Word’s of truth. Three reasons we should pray the Bible is because Jesus did, the Word of God is completely truthful, and it brings honor to God when we do. Let’s look deeper: While on earth, Jesus prayed scriptures. One example is found in Matthew 27:46 when Jesus was hanging from the cross, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This exact same prayer is found in Psalm 22. We can learn from Jesus praying from scripture and bring it into our own prayer time. Secondly, the Word of God is true. When we pray the Bible, we can know what we are praying is completely truthful since it comes from God. Lastly, when we pray from the scriptures we are bringing honor and glory to God. We are telling God we believe the Bible and will speak out His words that are filled with truth. Praying from the Bible is one way we can give God the honor He deserves. The Word of God is powerful and we can speak His words in truth during our prayer time. We read in the Bible: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) Got that? Amazing! Let’s take it up a level. How about trying to memorize scripture passages? We do this in Kid’s Church, we do it in Oasis. Most agree its important for children. Okay, how about for we adults? We memorize scripture because it’s God Word and we want to bring His truth into our hearts. Once we have memorized passages of the Bible, we can pray it and have it hidden in our prayers (and hearts too!). One practical reason to memorize scripture is that you can pray passages from the Bible without having a Bible with you. You are able to pray effectively wherever you are. Memorizing scripture is another way to honor God and then you can pray verses of the Bible when you don’t have access to one. That leads to powerful prayer! Give it a try. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! We have been reminded in the past week as two dear saints have entered into the presence of the Lord that our days here are numbered. May we be like Margaret and Iva and let our lights shine to the best of our ability in the days we have.
GBC family picnic coming up Our GBC family picnic is coming up on Tuesday June 20 at the Guelph Bible Conference Center. From 4:45pm to 5:30pm you can play mini golf or just hang out. Then we’ll enjoy a delicious BBQ dinner. Afterwards there will be games for the kids finishing with the always-popular candy scramble. It’s a fun night and I hope you can join us. Cost is free will offering. Sign up in the main foyer or email me to be added to the list. It’s going to be a great time! Memorial Service for Margaret Bowman Margaret Bowman was part of the GBC family for many years, most recently though she was part of our shut-in community. She served the Lord for many years as a missionary and impacted a lot of lives. We will be remembering her and celebrating a life well lived here at GBC on Tuesday June 20. There will be a time of visitation at 10am and then a memorial service at 11am with a luncheon to follow. Memorial Service for Iva Ralston For those who knew Mrs. Ralston when she was still part of the GBC family, this was an amazing, gracious woman who let her light shine in so many ways. We will be holding a memorial service for her on Wednesday June 21 at 1pm here at GBC. All who knew her are welcome to come out and celebrate a life well lived Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life- Pray for Others When you pray for others, you are taking your eyes off yourself and focusing on others who need God to enter into their lives and situations. Praying for others also allows you to intercede on behalf of another person. Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas: Pray for your family members Pray for your friends Pray for our city and the challenges it faces Pray for an unreached people group Pray for the persecuted church Pray for hardships you have seen on the news Pray through the directory and for the ministries of our church! It really is a privilege to pray on behalf of other people and bring their needs before God. This helps us to stop focusing on ourselves but to focus on our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and for people who do not yet know Him. Paul wrote this to Timothy: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…(1 Timothy 2:1) Got that! Makes sense, right? Well then, lets get to prayer. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! It was a great weekend. We had a really fun lunch with the seniors and youth. It was nice to be able to do this again. Also, thanks to those who came out and let their light shine at the tree planting event for the Junction Neighborhood Group.
Our final Oasis@Midweek is tomorrow Our final Oasis@Midweek for this season 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 youth group leads which means the conclusion of our popular drama. In addition, we’ll have some special snacks and food to celebrate the year. 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. GBC Finance Update: Here’s the latest from our treasurer: General Fund Offerings - Year to Date end of May 2023 Budget $74,460 Actual 75,017 Surplus 557 (The Budget & Actuals above exclude contributions to the Pastor Fund) Pastor Fund Goal $65,000 Contributions to date 47,800 (incl. the $27,550 contributed in 2022) Still to be raised 17,200 Thank you to all who contributed to this over the month, I appreciate your giving to what God is doing here. Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life- Listen We live in a world filled with noise. Our lives are busy and we are always doing something. During your prayer time, stop the noise and listen to what God is speaking to you. Take control of your mind and don’t let it wander. Take this time to fully focus on God. Okay, I know, that’s easier said than done! With this in mind, here are some practical tips that can help in turning away distractions: Put your phone into airplane mode (no notifications will come through then) Set an alarm for however long you’ve set to listen Put your phone out of sight (less tempting to look at) Have a notepad and pen to write down your to-do list (and record what God may say!) The last tip may seem counterintuitive. The reason behind it is because so often when I sit down to pray and listen to God, I immediately remember all the things I haven’t completed. For you it may have to do with school, family or work. Regardless, its a distraction. When these things come to mind, write them down quickly and go right back to listening in prayer. Here's another thing to keep in mind. We can easily ramble on and on in our prayers, say “Amen” and move on. Prayer is a two-way conversation. It’s important that we learn how to hear God’s voice. If you aren’t sure how to hear what God is saying to you, pray and ask God to show you. That and perhaps do some reading on prayer. We have some great books in our library on this subject, perfect for spring reading! By being quiet, we are denying our flesh the desire to always be busy and have noise. We are not only being quiet externally (no music or talking) but we are also quieting our minds and hearts as well. We are resting in God’s presence and giving Him our full attention. Mother Teresa said this: “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” I really like this and it’s a great reminder for me. Time to listen in prayer! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week. I’m not sure what it’s been like for you, but the haze and smell of smoke from the wild fires burning in northern Ontario here has been a bit of a strange experience for me. It’s in times like this I’m glad God is in charge and working out his plans.
Outreach opportunity- tree planting This is a reminder of the Tree Planting that will happen in the Junction this Saturday, June 10. We'll be starting at 9 am at Goldie Park on 63 Memorial Cres and work during just the morning. This event is hosted by the Junction Neighbourhood Group and GBC is participating as part of our Outreach Focus Area. Please bring your water bottle, garden gloves and close-toed shoes. Shovels will be provided. Everyone is welcome, come for the morning or just a bit! Light refreshments will be provided. If you have questions, please call Andrea Thornton at 905-537-9607. GBC family picnic coming up Our GBC family picnic is coming up on Tuesday June 20 at the Guelph Bible Conference Center. From 4:45pm to 5:30pm you can play mini golf or just hang out. Then we’ll enjoy a delicious BBQ dinner. Afterwards there will be games for the kids finishing with the always-popular candy scramble. It’s a fun night and I hope you can join us. Cost is free will offering. Sign up in the main foyer or email me to be added to the list. It’s going to be a great time! Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life Its been a while since we’ve spent any significant time on this crucial element of living as a triumphant disciple of Jesus. So, for the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing some practical thoughts that I hope will help you in your personal prayer life. Even if you already have a strong prayer life, we can always go deeper in our prayer time with God which ultimately grows our relationship with Him. Here are the first thoughts: Pray Daily and give praise Praying daily will help you grow in your prayer life because you are prioritizing God each and every day. You are giving Him praise and seeking Him when you pray daily. You can set a reminder on your phone, a sticky note on your mirror, or an alarm to go off at a certain time to help you remember to pray. After a while, it will become a habit and a part of your day. Try not to think of praying daily as a chore or something to check off your to-do list. I find I pray first thing in the morning to start my day off. Regardless of when, pray because you are able and free to do so. Pray with thanksgiving in your heart. Pray because God loved you so much He sent His son to die on a cross for you. Pray out of an overflow of gratitude from your heart. When you don’t feel like praying, pray anyways. Pray and ask God to help your heart. You can make a verbal list (or better yet a written list) of all the blessings you have in your life to help you remind your heart that you are grateful. By praying daily, it helps you to remember that God is the most important part of your life. You are sitting Him on the throne in your heart. We read this in Psalm 116- “Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” What a great reminder! So once you get in the habit of praying daily, what should you pray? How about starting with giving praise! During your prayer, take time to give praise to God. He has blessed us greatly and the least we can do is thank and praise Him for who He is. Don’t know where to start? Here are five ideas: Praise Him for Salvation (John 3:16) Praise Him for His Mercy (Psalm 86:5) Praise Him for His Love (2 Chronicles 6:14) Praise Him for Goodness (1 Timothy 4:4) Praise Him for His Kindness (Titus 3:4-6) Another idea would be to read a Scripture associated with a specific attribute of God. God is deserving of all our praise and we should be diligent about praising Him during our prayer time. Yes, let’s remember to praise the Lord as we pray to him daily, that will lead to a mature prayer life! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. Our GBC family picnic is coming up on Tuesday June 20. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for a BBQ dinner, games for the kids and a chance to grow in community. More details will be coming soon!
Our Youth-Seniors lunch is this Sunday! As a reminder, our youth and seniors June lunch is happening this Sunday, Sunday June 11. After our main service, our youth will host the GBC seniors for a lunch that will provide an opportunity to share a meal and build relationship together. I hope you can make it out. If you're interested in coming, please RSVP to me so we can ensure food and setup. I'm really excited about the opportunity to do this again. I hope you can make it out! Baptism opportunity Baptism through immersion in not only a key element of our growth as believers of Jesus but a great blessing for the church. So, we are looking to hold our next baptism service in the next month or so. If you are interested in taking this step of obedience, or would like to learn more about baptism at GBC please let me know. Thought for the day: What is the fruitful Christian life: Pruning I’m finishing off today my thoughts on living a fruitful Christian life. We’ve looked at the fruit of our works and the fruit that comes with perseverance. I have one last thought to share: the Father prunes. I suspect this might be the least popular one! Pruning is never fun but it always has a purpose- to grow more fruit. Our heavenly Father is never nearer to us than when He is pruning us. Sometimes He cuts away the dead wood that might cause trouble, but often He cuts off the living tissue that is robbing us of spiritual vigor. Pruning does not simply mean spiritual surgery that removes what is bad. It can also mean cutting away the good and the better so that we might enjoy the best. Yes, pruning hurts, but it also helps. We may not enjoy it, but we certainly need it. At times the Father also prunes us (the branches) by allowing difficult circumstances and situations in our lives such as poor finances, poor health, misunderstanding and conflict with others, difficult relationships, etc. These trials are designed to bring us to the end of our own strength and will awaken in us a need for deeper surrender to the Lord. Remember, you’re never in better hands than when you are being pruned by the Master. Work with his pruning and watch your fruit grow. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! Looks like the heat is here. What a great way to start June with warmth and sunshine.
Our Youth-Seniors lunch returns! As a reminder, our youth and seniors June lunch returns this year and will be held on Sunday June 11. After our main service, our youth will host the GBC seniors for a lunch that will provide an opportunity to share a meal and build relationship together. I hope you can make it out. If you're interested in coming, please RSVP to me so we can ensure food and setup. I'm really excited about the opportunity to do this again. I hope you can make it out! Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we continue 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 be concluding Romans 12 and the idea of what a transformed life looks like. Want to prepare? Read the text for Sunday ahead of time: Romans 12:9-21. 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: What is the fruitful Christian life? Fruitful living by abiding If we read the entire passage in John 15 where Jesus called His followers to be fruitful, He specifically said that the only way they could carry out this task was for them to abide in him. What did he mean by this? Abide means to endure or to wait patiently. The fact that the word “abide” is mentioned eight times in seven verses in John 15 strongly points out how the branch cannot produce its own life, or fruit; it must draw that life from the vine. In other words, it is crucial to abide in Jesus if we are to live a fruitful Christian life. One note, if you’re reading from the NIV or NLT version of the Bible, the word “remain” is used instead of “abide”. It has the same meaning- stick with it. Remain is mentioned eleven times in the NIV in John 15. Do we get the point Jesus is trying to make? After Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be leaving them soon and promising the Holy Spirit to abide with them forever, we now come to the seventh and last of the “I am” statements” “I am the vine”. As Jesus spoke to His disciples in the upper room, preparing to leave for the cross, He uses the imagery of a vine to describe the new relationship which His disciples were about to enjoy with Him and with the Father. For those of us in Jesus, we experience the same thing today. Our Lord is the vine; the believers are the branches, and the Father is the vinedresser (gardener) who tends the vine, removing dead branches and pruning them so that they will become even more fruitful. I’d encourage you to read John 15 today and reflect on this. We live a fruitful Christian life by remaining in Jesus and staying connected to the source of life. Do that and watch your fruit grow! 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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