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Good morning! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (as the song goes!). I’m enjoying the ‘winter wonderland’ out there and I don’t even have my snow tires on yet. How’s that for Christmas Spirit! But then how can this time of year not fill us with joy, ‘for to us a child is born’.
“FOOD MOUNTAIN” -GBC food drive in support of Royal City Mission Starting this Sunday and until December 19, we are very excited to begin building a “Food Mountain” again. This year we will again be supporting the food bank at Royal City Mission (RCM)! Whether you are able to donate 1 tin or box of food, or a dozen, we hope that you will consider contributing to our mountain. Please think about letting your children bring their own tins, chipping in with friends to buy a case of a food item, or providing money to Helen Martini or Carroll Chapman so they can shop on your behalf. Here are some suggestions from Royal City Mission of what they are specifically looking for: - Tinned tomatoes - Anything that can go in chili (eg: black beans) - Any tinned vegetables In December of 2019, our mountain was almost 5 1/2 feet high. So can we get higher this year? I think we can! Let’s encourage each other to make this happen. Thanks to Helen Martini, the head of our Care Ministry, for again organizing this practical way to let our lights shine in the community. Thought for the day: What Does the Great Commission Have to Do With Christmas? Not surprising, I’m going to share some thoughts related to Christmas in the coming month. To start, I wanted to tie it in a bit to our teaching theme for the fall: “Church in Motion”. Jesus in Acts 1 gave the early church this call to action: “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” This is tied directly into the Great Commission. We’ve been talking about this a bit over the fall: our desire as a church to follow the Great Commission Jesus gave us to go and make disciples. Maybe we can set it aside for awhile as we focus on the birth of Jesus, the wise men, angels, Mary and Joseph. Or maybe not. Could it be that the Great Commission is actually a vital part of the Christmas story? Jesus’ birth was His greatest missionary act that the world has seen. He came to us. God entered our world. He left Heaven to become one of us. John 1 says: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The theological word for this is incarnation. That simply means God became a human. That is what happened at Jesus’ birth – on Christmas. What does this mean? Well, that incarnation is what Christmas is all about! The message of the season has a missional element to it! Jesus modeled what He would later command His disciples to do, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” His coming to earth was the “Go” part. One of the best ways we can celebrate Christmas is to do as He did. Following His example, we enter the lives of those who don’t know Him. We eat their food, hang out with them, learn their ways of life, beginning to understand (and even experience) their challenges. We demonstrate His presence in relationship. God, in us, shows up in their world. We call this being incarnational. It is what Christmas is all about. In His grip, Pastor Chris
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Good afternoon! I hope you’re making this a great week. We had another excellent night at Oasis@Midweek last evening. Thanks to all those who prayed for it. God continues to work in this place in so many ways.
Christmas Decorating Yes, its that time of year again! For those who like to decorate, we’re looking for a few people to help out on Saturday night at 5:30pm. There will be a pizza dinner and then decorating to follow. If you’re interested, let Carroll Chapman know If you can come and give number of people coming with you. [email protected] 519 836 5643 Families and kids welcome! Prayer on Sundays (November 28th to December 19th) For the next four Sundays, starting this Sunday, November 28th, we are inviting you to join with GBC leadership in prayer for 30 minutes after the service in the Adult Ministry Room on the first floor. The prayer will focus on items relating to the transition of Pastor Chris (e.g., the search for an associate Pastor in the coming year) and items related to highlighting our Savior Jesus during the period leading up to Christmas. Thought for the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Allow God To Use You, Even If It Means That He Will Break You Next week, not surprising, I’ll be sharing some Christmas-related thoughts. Until then, here is one last idea on thanksgiving before we move on (and before Black Friday hits!). This may be the hardest one I’ve shared thus far. The best way to be truly thankful is to walk in the center of God’s will and allow him to use you. But that may mean He will do things that are unpleasant and may even break you of things that He doesn’t want for you. We read this in Isaiah 64:8 “And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” Have you ever seen a potter give up on a piece of wet clay? No, they will continue to shape it until it comes out in the form they desire. But there is a breaking point. Potter’s will give up once the clay is no longer pliable or usable. The point for us today then is don’t allow yourself to dry up. Stay hydrated in the Word of God and connected to him through prayer. God will always use us, the clay, for His purpose. He’s the potter and we don’t get to choose if we turn into a statue, a vase, a jar, or a plate. We can pray that God will use us for His glory, but we don’t necessarily get to choose our path for that glory. Sometimes that glory is seen in our weakness… in our eventual redemption… or even in our battle with disease, with no healing in sight. Your Father is using you for great things, but they are HIS things, and it’s only through His eyes that we can clearly see our place in His masterful plan. Can I get an “amen”? Let’s be thankful for God’s knowledge and purposes, even when we don’t understand it or its not pleasant. That helps me be thankful no matter what, I hope it is for you as well. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! It was nice to be out with our youth on Sunday having the opportunity to serve our community. We had the chance to help the Howitt Park Community Garden group close off their garden. It was a cold day but at least didn’t rain. God is giving us some great opportunities to let our lights shine!
“FOOD MOUNTAIN” -GBC food drive in support of Royal City Mission From December 5-19 this year we are very excited to begin building a “Food Mountain” again. This year we will again be supporting the food bank at Royal City Mission (RCM)! Whether you are able to donate 1 tin or box of food, or a dozen, we hope that you will consider contributing to our mountain. Please think about letting your children bring their own tins, chipping in with friends to buy a case of a food item, or providing money to Helen Martini or Carroll Chapman so they can shop on your behalf. Here are some suggestions from Royal City Mission of what they are specifically looking for: - Tinned tomatoes - Anything that can go in chili (eg: black beans) - Any tinned vegetables In December of 2019, our mountain was almost 5 1/2 feet high. So can we get higher this year? I think we can! Let’s encourage each other to make this happen. Thanks to Helen Martini, the head of our Care Ministry, for again organizing this practical way to let our lights shine in the community. Thought of the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Give Thanks for the Hard Things On Thursday I shared about being humble before God in order to build a spirit of thankfulness. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been looking at this in perhaps a different way. Today I’m going to take it up a notch- give thanks when things get hard! James wrote this in the first chapter of his very practical look at living out the Christian faith: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” Really? Do you? Do I???? Honestly, this is a struggle for me and not a default position when troubles come. Rather, I try to figure out how to correct or get through the situation. Rarely do I say, “Gee, thanks God for troubles!” So lets work on this together. Joy isn’t the opposite of trouble, it’s a choice you have despite your trouble. You can choose joy in the middle of a broken family, memories of a painful childhood, or even your own failing health. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, troubles might actually be your bridge to true thankfulness or a spiritual breakthrough that couldn’t come any other way. I know this has been the case in my own experience. Often times we don’t see that until after something is done. This is kind of a ‘theology of hindsight’. What happens here is it gives sometime to consider the NEXT time trouble comes. So yes, this is a process, much like our spiritual journey. But when we can have this kind of mindset we can then be thankful no matter what. In the meantime, as you go through troubles, the key is to remember whose hands you are in. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! I hope you’re making this a great week! We’re in a bit of a lull, activity-wise, as we prepare for the Christmas season. I’m happy to share with you we’re doing another outdoor Christmas Carol Sing in our parking lot like we did last year. More details to come but mark Sunday night, December 19.
Ministry Update: Precept Bible Studies This fall our Precept Bible Studies returned with a study of the Book of Job. There were 3 classes held and one of them in person. Here’s a report our teacher, Ann Clark, shared with me: “Returning in person is lovely and so much more conducive to good discussion. My preference would be for a conversation circle as opposed to rows of desks but that is still best for social distancing. It is nice to see the students interacting with each other which is not really possible in the structured Zoom class where more than one person speaking at a time is hard to decipher. Some amazing insights and the ability to share much more easily are also part of in person class. We have quite a list of Insights now on those who are hurting. Much can be learned by observing their negative side through Job's friends! The 'what not to do or say'! Most importantly, Job requires us to examine our understanding of God and the implications of His sovereignty. Can we stand firm in the midst of suffering? Fortunately, we are not usually attacked on every level - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - as Job is. Can we still 'Know that my Redeemer lives' as Job does?” I’d just like to add a BIG thanks to Ann for continuing to faithfully serve this ministry. You’re really letting your light shine! Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we look at a church in motion This Sunday at 11am we continue our fall series: “A church in motion”: the book of Acts. I will be looking at chapters 19 and 20 where Paul spends 3 years in Ephesus. As a new church he had his challenges so there is a lot we can learn here. I hope you’ll join me to hear more about this on Sunday! Remember, you can join us as we gather in-person or you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Be Humble Towards God Okay, so you likely have figured out I’m looking at being thankful through a different lens. God said this in Deuteronomy 32: “Look now; I myself am He! There is no other god but Me! I am the One who kills and gives life; I am the One who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from My powerful hand!” Yikes! Do you read that verse and cringe a little bit? Do we really believe this? Isn’t God all about love? Yes, He is but this is more about God as LORD, as a sovereign king. Think of it this way: who are we to know better than God? Or how about this: do we honestly think that we could last even one minute on this earth unless it was God’s will for us to remain? Or could we rule the heavens and the earth for 30 seconds (I know I couldn’t)?” That’s kind of discouraging Chris! And what does this have to do with being thankful…hurry up, I need to prepare for Black Friday. Here’s my point: I read recently, “We would choose the things that God chooses if we had the knowledge of God.” Really? Think about it, God’s heart is good because God is good. And God is love. (read 1 John 4:16) He’s weaving us into a grand tapestry, and when he cuts our thread or hides our thread behind others our pride flairs up (remember I talked about that on Tuesday?) and we get upset. If we’re honest, like Satan himself, sometimes we think we can do a better job of this “god thing”. We can’t. That makes it pretty hard to be thankful. We are sinful and have selfish motivations. We want our thread to not only remain in the tapestry but for it to be the star of the show. We want our lives to be free of trouble. In times like this we need to remember Paul’s words in Romans 8: “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We would choose the things that God chooses if we had the knowledge of God. And we don’t, so it’s not on us. That should humble us and cause us to walk our day-to-day lives in humility. So, when we come before God in humility, as a sovereign king who is in control of all things, how can we not be thankful? The world isn’t on our shoulders, its on HIS. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good afternoon. The snow this week has been a reminder winter is coming, but that also means Christmas too! I can’t wait!
Thanks to all those who came out Saturday for our work day. We got a lot done and it was great to do this together. Thanks also to Bob for organizing it. Royal City Mission Food Drive coming! If you were part of the GBC family two years ago you’ll remember the ‘mountain of food’ we collected to bless the Royal City Mission and the work they do in this community. We’re doing it again this year! Our Care Ministry is organizing another Christmas food drive to support Royal City Mission, one of the local ministries we support as a church. More details on the ‘when’ and ‘what’ will come next week. Thought for the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Lower Your Expectations Last week I started to share some thoughts on being thankful. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us of this: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven… A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” So what does this have to do with being thankful? While some may say “I don’t deserve this good life that I have” in reality more struggle with God and what they don’t have. Even those who follow him can fall into this. Many ask God for something greater. Some ask for a marriage free from conflict or children who are obedient to their parents and teachers. Others ask for a life free from disease and pain. There is a lot of discontent and that makes it hard to be thankful. The issue is many people believe they deserve more and so find it hard to be thankful since they’re focused on what they don’t have. Isn’t that pride? Here’s the problem- pride can lead to the very death of our joy and thankfulness. It kills many good things in our life. When we look in the Bible at the fall of mankind, it’s been said that pride was Adam and Eve’s first sin. When the devil suggested to Eve that God was holding out on her, both she and Adam latched on to that. Their pride was winning the battle, and they were no longer thankful for the Garden, only ungrateful for what they didn’t have. That was the day that Adam and Eve’s joy was lost. So how do we deal with this in our lives? We lower our expectations. We live in a society that tells us we ‘deserve’ this. Generally this is by advertisers and companies wanting to sell us something. Humility leads to thankfulness and so too be thankful for the things we do have. Paul said this in 1 Timothy 5: give thanks in all circumstances. So the next time you feel like grumbling, take the time to name some things you are thankful for and then thank God. It’ll change your whole outlook! In His grip, Pastor Chris Good afternoon. I hope you’re making this a great week! Today is Remembrance Day. I find myself always becoming reflective around this time of year and meditate on the idea of sacrifice a lot. The words of Jesus in John 15 also ring true: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Lest we forget
Children's Ministry needs volunteers! As Jennifer reported at the information meeting Sunday our Kids Church has grown significantly and could use more helpers. There’s a need for help to listen to bible verses, sit with children who need help focusing, and just be a support to our teachers while they lead. Teams rotate every 3 weeks so this is not a weekly commitment. If you love kids (or even like them a lot!) and would like to be a part of this exciting ministry please contact Jennifer at [email protected]. In addition, our nursery is once again open for business and we need some help here as well. Volunteers serve once per month. We usually have one or two little ones who need care each week. Contact Jennifer for more information or to sign up. Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we look at a church in motion This Sunday at 11am we continue our fall series: “A church in motion”: the book of Acts. Jacob will be looking at chapters 17 and 18 as the church begins to expand and the mission’s movement grows. Join us to hear more about this on Sunday! Remember, you can join us as we gather in-person or you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the day: How To Be Truly Thankful- Some Thoughts on Developing Gratitude as a follower of Jesus We’re getting close to American Thanksgiving (no, I will not be commenting on Black Friday) and I’ve been thinking about being thankful since our own Thanksgiving last month. Plus, I just have a lot of things I’m thankful about this fall so its on my mind. Here's a question, and perhaps different way of addressing this issue: do you feel pressured to be thankful as a Christian? Have you ever thought about it? Let me tell you what I mean. There seems to be an almost unspoken pressure in the realm of Christian social media circles to be thankful for each day you have on earth. Instagram captions about thankfulness are in style. Even if you’re not on social media, do you ever feel pressure to be grateful? Have you wondered how to be truly thankful? Are these social media posts genuine or are they faking it? Don’t get me wrong- you SHOULD be thankful. If we get right down to it, we all should be thankful every day. Think about it, we don’t deserve the next breath that we draw apart from the fact that God is gracious enough to give it to us. We do nothing to earn it or the gift of life we’ve been given. So we should be grateful that He has us on this earth to fulfill some important part of His will. But the reality is not every moment, or even every day, is Instagram-worthy. It’s definitely a hard line to find, let alone to walk it. And so, often it’s faked. Have you ever done that? I know I have. The reality is a truly thankful soul is hard to achieve and hard to keep at times. So, over the next few updates I’m going to share some thoughts that might help us find our joy in true Christian gratitude no matter the circumstances and in a consistent manner. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning! It was great to spend some time in New Brunswick with Isaiah last week. As a parent, it was so gratifying to see him in his element and doing what God has gifted him to do. I also had the opportunity to meet also with a young man I coached a number of years ago and is now an officer in an armored regiment there. I’ve had the chance to walk with him over the years in his spiritual journey so it was nice to meet again face-to-face. There are a lot of blessings to walking with someone in their experience with God.
Reminder: Fall Work Party coming up The Property Committee is holding a fall work party this Saturday from 9am to noon. This should enable us to get the leaves to the curb, have some minor issues addressed in the building and do a BIG cleanup of what has being accumulated within the building. Many hands make light work so I hope you’ll come out and help. Fall information meeting Thanks for all who stayed for our information meeting on Sunday. We covered a lot of ground. It was great to hear from Jennifer and Andrea and all the amazing things God is doing in our Kid’s Ministry and Outreach Ministry as well. As was mentioned, if you have questions, or would like to talk about anything discussed, you can talk to me or one of the other elders. Thought for the Day: God is preparing us for eternity. So, what have we learned about living with hope in times like this? We know that God is preparing us for eternity but also helping us each day until that point. When you really understand this truth, it’ll change everything about how you deal with difficulties. God is using everything in your life—the good, the bad, and the ugly—to prepare you for eternity. Peter describes this so powerfully in his first letter: “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold”. You will certainly have trials in the days and years ahead. You may even have a more difficult time ahead than Covid has been; not a happy thought! But wait for it, better days are ahead. 1 Peter 1 reminds us that our trials are temporary. They will pass one day. In the meantime, these trials will help you grow. They’ll test your faith—and strengthen it. You’ll be better because of them and that can give us the hope we need to not only carry on, but let our light shine! I hope this truth encourages you today. In His grip, Pastor Chris Good morning from sunny New Brunswick! I hope you’re making this a great week. Jennifer and I are out here visiting Isaiah at CFB Gagetown. I’m reminded of the beauty of God’s creation in the rugged terrain here.
Reminder of our fall general meeting This Sunday after our 11am service we’ll be holding our annual fall information meeting. We will be sharing more about my transition and what that will look like in the days, months and years ahead plus some other items. You do not need to be a member to attend, this is open to anyone from GBC who calls this church home. For those who are part of our livestream congregation, you can also join us for the information meeting. Here’s a Zoom link and connect information: Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82929956109?pwd=VTJVd1VDTVJyS3MzYTZPZWhWemF4UT09 Meeting ID: 829 2995 6109 Passcode: Jesus Dial by your location: +1 647 374 4685 Canada or +1 647 558 0588 Canada Meeting ID: 829 2995 6109 Passcode: 592541 Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we look at a church in motion This Sunday at 11am we continue our fall series: “A church in motion”: the book of Acts. Patrick will be looking at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. This event had a critical impact on how we worship today. We’ll find out more about this on Sunday! Remember, you can join us as we gather in-person or you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE. Thought for the day: God’s power will protect us. We all need hope. When you lose hope its pretty hard to carry on. We’ve seen this a lot during Covid. I had a vivid reminder of this when visiting the Reversing Falls in Saint John. There were all these new suicide prevention stickers placed on the bridge overlooking them. It was a stark reminder of the importance of hope. People often ask me, especially in the times we’re in, what I think is going to happen in the days ahead. At the beginning of Covid I had a lot more confidence that I had it figured out. But now, I have no clue. That can lead to a lot of discouragement and distraction. It can also lead to a loss of hope. Here’s now how I approach this: no matter what lies ahead, you can always count on God to help. How do I know? Peter writes in his first letter to the early church: “Through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” Here’s the key: By HIS power and through OUR faith, we can always have hope since God is not only working out his purposes and plans but he’s also protecting us as we go through all of this. Sometimes we all feel helpless and powerless, it even happens to pastors. But when God is in your life, he has mighty power to help you. His power is bigger than anything you will face and that gives me a lot of hope. I ‘hope’ it does for you too! 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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