​Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week!  Hard to believe its Labor Day weekend!  Where did the time go?!?  I hope you have had a blessed summer and felt God’s presence throughout.  Are you ready for fall?
 
 
Precept Bible Study classes starting soon!
September classes at GBC are fast approaching.  Please register for the class of your choice.  Here’s the list of classes being offered:
NEW ON MONDAY NIGHTS - 1 & 2 Thessalonians  - Standing Firm in These Last Days (NISS - 15-30 minutes of homework each day)
 
NEW  ON WEDNESDAY MORNINGS - Lord, I Want to Know You – A Devotional Study on the Names of God  - 30 to 90 minutes of homework each week (9 lessons in fall, continuing with 8 lessons winter)
 
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS OR THURSDAY MORNINGS - Hebrews Chapters 5-10 – Jesus, Our High Priest Forever (Precept Upon Precept or In & Out, (Orientation plus nine lessons)
                            
THURSDAY MORNINGS - Acts Part 1 – Jesus’ Witnesses, Empowered by His Spirit (In and Out Workbook, (orientation plus 8 lessons)
…For further information or to register please contact Ann Clark or Donna Chapman
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on livestream as we look at the book of Joel
This Sunday pastor Dan will continue leading us through the book of Joel.  He’ll be looking at chapter 3, so in preparation, he invites you to watch this short video:
 https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/day-of-the-lord/
If you can’t make it, you can connect through our website:  
www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
 
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey: Focus on the positive
Like the faithful people of old, we should focus beyond this fearful world on the positive future God has in store. We can also meditate on and appreciate the comfort and peace God gives now.
Paul directed our thinking toward the positive in Philippians 4: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Later in the scriptures he reminded us to rejoice always and gives thanks in everything.
Here's a positive take on fear from the scriptures: “perfect love casts out fear”.  As a result, fear is conquered. John summed up the ultimate goal this way: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear”.
We can go to God with our fears. We can seek more of His Spirit. We can grow in faith in His ability to defeat anything that threatens us. We can find comfort and security in His loving care.  The fear and loathing of this age will be replaced with love and rejoicing forevermore.  What a great thought to carry us through the day.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

​Good morning.  It was amazing to spend time in God’s creation last week while on holidays. One night I was looking up at the stars and thought of the verse: ‘the heaven’s declare the glory of God’. So true!  If you’ve not had the opportunity lately, go outside and experience the gift of nature God has given us.
 
 
Obituary for Verna Milson
Many who have been around GBC for a while will remember one of supported missionaries, Verna Milson. The Lord called her home recently. For those interested, here are some details:
https://www.jamesreidfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Verna-Mae-Millson?obId=28783401 – Verna Mae Millson, wife of Ron Millson (1928-2022) passed away August 22, 2023. GBC supported the ministry of the Millsons for all the years of their ministry.
 
 
A couple things from Pastor Dan
As students prepare to go (and parents prepare to send) away to Colleges and Universities, pastor Dan would like to share this article for your encouragement (or, parents, for prayer!) - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/daniel-surviving-university-babylon/
 
As we think through the implications of Joel 2:18-32 from Sunday, and prepare to look at Joel 3 this coming Sunday, he would recommend this quick video:
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/holy-spirit/
 
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey: Pray to God
Prayer has been one of our key focus areas for the last while as a church. So, I wanted to share a thought on the subject today.
Here it is: pray to God!
This may seem obvious but its also one of the things we often forget when things get tough.  One of the best ways to overcome fear is to simply surrender all your fear to God in prayer.
We can only do so much. There comes a point in our life that we are powerless and the situations we face are beyond our control. So, what we can do, and really, we MUST do, is place our fears in the hands of our heavenly Father.
Psalms 34:4 tells us: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”  When King David’s spirit was out of balance, when his fears were too difficult to handle, when his mind was tormented by worry, he “sought the Lord.”
When we seek God with all our hearts, he will hear us and deliver us from all our fears. When you are fearful, bend your knees, put your hands together, and pray to God.
God is more than willing to deliver us and eliminate the disturbance produced by fear. It seems so simple, and it is, but remember, it was Jesus dying on the cross for us that opened this door to God’s peace and provision. Are you afraid of something right now? Pray to God!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

Good morning! I hope you make this a great week.  There will be no update on Thursday as I’m actually off on holidays (I have been the last two weeks, that’s why you haven’t seen me!) and will be away from my computer. See you Sunday though!
 
 
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. We'll be praying for the church, for the world, and for our lives. 
Email him for the link.
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey:  Be strong and of good courage
Who are your heroes?  One of mine is Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland. He led selflessly and did what people thought was impossible- he united Scotland and freed it (I have a painting of him in my office if you’d like to see it!).  Another selfless hero of mine is Joshua.  After Joshua took over when Moses died, he needed encouragement. As with ‘The Bruce’ he had a quiet but resolute faith in God so to did Joshua.  When the people were afraid and needed assurance from God (as did Joshua), their leader went to God.
And God answered.
In Joshua 1, we see the command, “Be strong and of good courage” repeated three times.  Verse 9 says:
“Have I not commanded you? BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”
It’s worth noting that God actually commanded Joshua to be STRONG and of GOOD COURAGE. It isn’t a request of God or some mere suggestions but it’s a command.
We can learn from this. 
Instead of fearing, God encourages us to be strong and be courageous. But what does this mean?  It means that we should not stay weak. We must be strong in the Lord. That means we need to obtain strength from our Supreme Eternal God.
Being strong isn’t enough but we must also be courageous. Being courageous means that we should have the confidence to do what God wants us to do. Though things may not seem to go your way, being courageous means that you are able to move forward as you trust God.
God wants us to have a different kind of courage, the kind Joshua showed, to have the courage to do what is right and proper in God’s eyes.
So, be strong and courageous, you can definitely overcome fear through the Lord and that will change a LOT of things in your life.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

​Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week.  Today’s thought deals with love versus fear. I suspect it will make sense but its harder said than done.  Walk in the love of the Lord and let your light shine!
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on livestream as we Worship the Lord
This Sunday we welcome guest preacher Warren Henderson, conference speaker at the Guelph Bible Conference Center. Warren serves the Lord in Ottawa, KS (not ON!), as an itinerant Bible teacher, and is involved in writing, evangelism, and church planting. He'll be speaking to us from 2 Kings 5-6. We look forward to what the Lord has for us from His Word.
If you can’t make it, you can connect through our website:   
www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
As we return to the book of Joel the following week, pastor Dan invites us to prepare by watching this 4m background video:
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/yhwh-lord/
 
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey: Be filled with love
Tuesday I talked a bit about fear.  Here’s another way of looking at this issue.  God is love and those who follow God must also be filled with love.  If we want to get rid of fear, we must replace it with something. If we keep our minds empty, fear can easily return.  That’s why we read in 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”  Now, here’s one of the most important keys to getting rid of fear: We must be filled with love.  We can cast out fear with love.
But how?
Love is an affection and emotion that does NOT produce any fear. In fact, if we truly love God, we should not fear anything.  We don’t need to fear death because after death, if we are secure with God, we can be confident that we will meet our Creator during our next waking moment.  As long as we have love in our hearts and lives, we can expect fear to never bother us. The moment that our love wavers, that’s the same moment that fear starts to creep in again.
When love prevails, fear stops from existing.
When love overcomes, fear is suppressed.
And when love reigns, fear is banished.
Sounds pretty good, huh? Let’s be filled with love!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

Good morning!  Have you noticed all the ‘back to school’ items in stores lately? Don’t lament, there’s still lots of summer left. Much comes down to attitude though and what you focus on. Keep focused on the Son in your time in the sun!
 
 
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. We'll be praying for the church, for the world, and for our lives.  This week Jacob Ginter will be leading.
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey:  Seek the peace of God
I know in summer time we really don’t want to think about fear yet there are some right now struggling with this.  Fear brings turmoil in our hearts and minds. When we’re filled with so much fear, we can’t think properly.
It seems everything that we do is subject to danger. We’re constantly stricken with the thought that things can go wrong.  Thankfully, God left us His peace. Jesus said this: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Jesus gives us a reason why we shouldn’t be afraid. He gives us peace and this should ease our fear.  But you might ask, how can peace extinguish fear in my heart?
Great question!
The simple answer is that the two are contrary to each other. You can’t have both peace and fear at the same time. It is either you are peaceful or fearful.  It can’t be both.
The peace that Jesus brings originates from Him. It is NOT something that you ordinarily get from the world. For most people, peace is the absence of conflict and war. But for God, peace is having an intimate and close relationship with Him.  Peace is having God in your life. Peace comes from the assurance and belief that God is always in control.  When you are filled with this type of peace, then you can cast away fear from your heart no matter the wave or whatever else is going on. Get the peace of God!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

​Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week! While things are starting to slow down, ministry wise, as we approach our fall launch I would encourage you to pray for the planning and preparation that is already starting and also for how you may involve yourself in what God is doing here. May we let our lights shine!
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on livestream as we look at the book of Joel
This Sunday pastor Dan will continue leading us through the book of Joel this month as we move into the book in earnest. 
If you can’t make it, you can connect through our website:  
www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
 
 
Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey: Where are you choosing to pay attention?
I was struck by a quote I read recently from the poet W. H. Auden, “Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences. Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.” Isn’t that powerful?  I still have Oasis on my mind and I think of all those who gave of their time and talent to serve and make this powerful camp possible.  You all made a great choice!  Thank you!!
With this in mind, more than anything or anyone else, we who are disciples of Jesus need to pay attention to the one who pays attention to us.  Are we?
Turning our contemplation to the competent gaze of Jesus throughout our day isn’t just a nice idea, it’s a practical action. Discipleship to Jesus is a learning way as he taught us consistently in the gospels. With Jesus’ leading and the example of his people down through the ages, we make tangible plans to reorient our minds to Him and his Father’s kingdom resources in the midst of daily life, regardless of what’s going on.
So then what does this mean for me?  Where are you choosing to pay attention to this day? This moment? That’ll show a lot about who or what you follow!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris

Good morning!  Oasis Camp was amazing!! It was a blessed time as we shined the light of Jesus. Thanks all who served, prayed and contributed. If you missed our Oasis Sunday celebration service I’d encourage you to watch it on our YouTube channel. You will be blessed!
 
 Found cell phone!
A Samsung phone was found on the property this weekend. If its yours please see the main office to retrieve it.
 
 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. We'll be praying for the church, for the world, and for our lives.  This week Jacob Ginter will be leading.

Summer thoughts to keep you on the journey: Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!
As we were going through the long days and challenges of Oasis Camp I was thinking of the words of Hebrews at times: “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who…has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:1–2). The Apostle Paul urges the same orientation of mind, “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1). No matter what we face, we are encouraged to fix our mind’s eye on King Jesus, who is seated in a position of rest, power, and all authority. Jesus is not pacing back and forth, wringing his hands, and wondering what to do. Our Lord, savior and friend is paying attention to us, the human situation, our needs, and the needs of those around the world. We need to pay attention to him—fixing our eyes, setting our minds, waiting—while we attend to the events of our lives, our needs and the needs of those around us. Take this perspective and when you get it, watch things change!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris