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Good afternoon! I hope you’re making this a great week.
As we move into the fall and I’ve begun to work on some ministry planning in the reality of our Covid world its gotten me thinking about how to grow as a follower of Jesus during this all. So, for the next few updates I’ll be sharing some thoughts on how to grow even in a Covid world. I hope its both an encouragement and challenge. Join us on Sunday: If you’re joining us here for our live service, I want to remind you that there’s paving going on on Wellington Street and Silvercreek as well. So, be sure you leave a bit more time to get here and navigate the detours. Jacob will be speaking on Psalm 23, a favorite of many please join us live or on our livestream. If you’ve been thinking about coming out on Sunday, I’d encourage you to do so. We have many safety protocols in place to ensure your health. It would be nice to have you back! Of course we’ll be continuing out livestream as well Update from the Elders: As I mentioned above, fall ministry planning is well underway. Yes, some things will be different, but there will still be opportunities to grow in God and community. Stay tuned for more details coming out soon. Thought for the day: When Tempted to turn inward, turn your gaze to Jesus “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Phil 2:4–5). Under threat, scarcity and stress we sometimes find ourselves understandably becoming self-protective. We turn inward. And yet, the demands of these days call us outward. The needs of those around us—whether children, aged parents, neighbors, a spouse, those who are sick—require our time and energy. This puts us in a bind. We want or need to move outward in love to others, especially those in greatest need, but our own internal resources feel strained and thin. How should we act as followers of Jesus in times like this? First, we must remember that we are disciples of the living, ascended, and enthroned God. When Jesus called his disciples to go and make disciples, they did not make followers of themselves. Rather, Jesus called them to announce the availability of an ongoing discipleship relationship with himself. Every Christian is currently in an intensive, interactive, discipleship relationship with the person of Jesus, and that school of discipleship is always in session. The Jesus who said, “And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” remains with us today by his Spirit. When we are tempted to isolate and turn inwards, we need to repeatedly turn our gaze to the availability of Jesus. Throughout our days we need to develop the habit—now more than ever—of finding encouragement and comfort in the real presence of Jesus’ love. In His grip, Pastor Chris
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Good afternoon! Jennifer and I had a great time away last week, thanks to those of you who prayed for us. Thanks also to Jacob for filling in for me with this.
You’ll see below I’m sharing an update from Royal City Mission. It’s great to see GBC’s own Megan Ginter’s work there this summer acknowledged. She’s been letting her light shine. Speaking of letting your light shine, thanks to those of you who’ve been supporting us financially this summer. Your gifts help to support much needed ministries like this one. If you’d like to give you can do it through e-transfer, mail in or drop off at the office or I’ll even come by and pick it up (it would be great to say hello in person!) but we need your support to continue to do what God is calling us to. Have a great week! Mission’s Update Royal City Mission (Ministry to Guelph’s Homeless and Vulnerable) -Meals -Cooling Centre -Students Forecast: Foggy With Patches of Sunshine It's hard to plan when you don't know what to expect. We look forward to September but with all the uncertainties related to Covid-19, planning is tentative. Here's a short list of things we do know... Sunday Meals Coming to an End Starting in September, we will no longer serve meals on Sunday. Another agency will provide take-away meal service. We enjoyed serving 7 days a week, but as things open up, we have other obligations to fulfill on Sundays. Before the Covid-19 restrictions, there were three separate congregations worshipping at RCM on Sundays. As the restrictions are lifted, there will be four congregations using our space. The Cooling Centre Will Need to Adapt As the summer wears on, more people accessed our Cooling Centre. We are thankful for our summer students who have been a huge help in running the Cooling Centre, but as they prepare to return to school or other jobs we will need additional support to keep the Centre running. If you are available during daytime and are interested in helping, please contact Lisa Laws at [email protected] Our Summer Students Have Been Amazing! Olivia, Ian, Kyle and Megan have been an incredible support over the summer. They have cleaned, painted, prepped and served meals and manned the Cooling Centre. We're thankful for the government's support for this program and for the good work these students have done. It has been a privilege to have them serve with us. Kevin Coghill, ED / Lead Pastor, Royal City Mission Wednesday Prayer GBC Prayer Night is shifting to “in-person” gatherings! We plan to meet for prayer on Wednesday’s at GBC (in the side auditorium). Start time – 7pm. Please plan to join us in prayer God’s Kingdom to come, His will to be done, in Guelph as it is in Heaven! For questions or further details please contact Jacob Ginter– [email protected] or text 519-803-4453 Thought for the day: If you take your fears to God, you won’t be left without answers. A few weeks ago in my Sunday message I looked at Psalm 34. In it David says he sought the Lord and He answered, delivering him of his fears. Some of you reading this might object and say that you’ve gone to God many times for answers to why you’re afraid and felt they never got answers. I know; I’ve been in those shoes as well and its not fun. However, in those instances, when I look back, it was usually because I still had one hand on the fear while handing it over to God; I still wanted to control how I fought (or embraced) the fear instead of trusting God and letting Him have full control. His answer to you might be to wait, to keep fighting, to let go, or even to get counseling, but if you release your hold on the fear, finger by finger, God’s answer will begin to break through in your mind. Yes, hard to do, but when you take this step of faith, you’ll see so much change! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! I hope your week is going well. Hard to believe we’re almost to the mid-point of August. Enjoy the summer while it’s here, fall is just around the corner.
Since I’m talking about fear this month, I thought I’d look at this topic a bit more here. Check out the thought for the day. I hope this is an encouragement to you! Mission’s Update Jonathan and Rachel Ward (Missionary Care Ministry in Entrepierres, France
Churches and their leaders are struggling with many questions: * When conditions allow, will people return? * With the drop in people's attendance and giving, will pastors be able to keep their jobs? (Some are already looking for secular employment.) * In what ways might God be inviting us to rethink how we do church and its activities? Many church leaders have told us they have never worked so hard or felt so stressed as they have during the current crisis. We value your prayers as we provide space and safety for them to leave their cares and their future in God's hands. New team members: Marc and Jeanine: Marc and Jeanine have been with us for over 10 months and we are just as thankful to have them as the day they arrived. Marc and Jeanine handle maintenance here at Entrepierres. Marc loves practical work (he used to design and make cars in a Peugeot factory) and Jeanine loves hospitality, gardening and getting everything ready for each missionary family that comes to stay. Their help and their presence are a real gift. This brings our full-time team to three couples: ourselves, Marc & Jeanine, and Roger & Dominique, who joined us in 2018 to share the counselling load. Jonathan and Rachel Wednesday Prayer GBC Prayer Night is shifting to “in-person” gatherings! We plan to meet for prayer on Wednesday’s at GBC (in the side auditorium). Start time – 7pm. Please plan to join us in prayer God’s Kingdom to come, His will to be done, in Guelph as it is in Heaven! For questions or further details please contact Jacob Ginter– [email protected] or text 519-803-4453 Thought for the day: If you take your fears to God, He will take care of them for you. Isaiah 35:4 says that those with fearful hearts can feel strong in the face of fear, knowing that God is there and will save you from the fears, delivering sweet vengeance as well. What is meant here is that while it may or may not mean that cancer, job loss, death of a child, or depression goes away immediately, God will take away the fear you might have that things won’t change, bringing you love, hope, and strength to keep going. So, if you’re struggling with fear right now, no matter what it is, be sure to take it to God. He can then help you, through the Holy Spirit, take care of it. There’s no fear too big, or too small, to bring to God! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! So, we’ve gone from the heat and humidity of summer to now extreme rain. While the weather may change God doesn’t and I’m glad for that. I hope your week is off to a good start. I have a question on this rainy Tuesday: are you a disciple? Not sure? Read my thoughts on this below.
Mission’s Update Mark and Gretchen Potma -Quarantine -Church -Projects Our 2 week quarantine went by quickly with plenty to work on. We’ve prepared project proposals for couple of foundations: Church Planting in the Most Irreligious Country on Earth and Through a Gateway City: Reaching Mongolians in Europe for Christ. Please pray for these two projects. If you’d like to find out more, we’d be glad to send you details. Petr, the outreach worker at Ladvi Church, sends us regular updates from Prague. He and a team from Ladvi Church passed out Gideon Bibles and invitations, which resulted in newcomers at Ladvi Church’s Bible study. Please pray for two people who sought out Petr and asked him to explain the Gospel to them. At South City church, Sunday services and midweek meetings are continuing. Last month, pastoral intern Vit and his wife Marketa announced the birth of their son, Jachym. A few weeks later, the oldest member of our church, Libuse, went to be with her Saviour at 90. Libuse was faithful to God through the Nazi occupation, Communist dictatorship persecution, the drive for freedom and democracy, and being part of helping new church plants to grow! Wednesday Prayer GBC Prayer Night is shifting to “in-person” gatherings! We plan to meet for prayer on Wednesday’s at GBC (in the side auditorium). Start time – 7pm. Please plan to join us in prayer God’s Kingdom to come, His will to be done, in Guelph as it is in Heaven! For questions or further details please contact Jacob Ginter– [email protected] or text 519-803-4453 A thought for the day: Are you a disciple? Are you a disciple of Jesus or do you have a cultural and religious connection to Christianity? For many, sadly, we find our relationship with God is a cultural connection rather than a spiritual transformation. Jesus hit the nail on the head when He said in Luke 9: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Denial…lose…the character traits of discipline which is what it takes to be a disciple. Discipline is defined as an orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior. We who are followers of Jesus are to live in this way since to be a disciple is more than merely praying to receive Jesus as savior. That’s only the beginning! So, to be a disciple is an all-out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. That takes discipline. God makes stringent demands on his disciples in terms of attitude and lifestyle, action and heart. Martin Luther once said “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” God, through His gracious power allows us to experience something so much more than mere religion. He fills us with His Holy Spirit, empowers US to be his agents and vessels of grace, his hands and feet…that’s tough, it can only be done through Him. That takes discipline and it does cost something. Are you settling in your walk with God when the great adventure of being a disciple is available? 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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