Florida in February with Dan

If we went for a coffee today, I’d tell you I’m taking a quick 2 day trip to Florida…

I haven’t been there (other than a vacation) in 2 years, and I would like to refresh some of the relationships with our sending churches. In addition to that, since Dan has come on staff at Calvary Ottawa, it would be good for him to see where we came from.

So, I’m scheduled to speak on Wednesday night at Calvary Chapel of Palm Harbor. Pastor Brett and the church there has been a tremendous blessing to Gen and I and to the ministry in Ottawa. It will be a joy to spend some time with those guys, catching up a bit on what the Lord is and has been doing there.

And, I’m scheduled to share in a Missions class on Thursday night at Calvary Chapel of St. Pete. It will be a joy to be back there and to share what we’ve learned and try to encourage some folks that are planning on stepping out in faith and serving the Lord somewhere other than St. Petersburg. Anything I can do to serve at that church, I want to do. They have been a HUGE blessing to us as well, it’s where my Calvary journey began, where I received my calling for ministry, and it’s where I met Pastor Brett, way before CCPH started.

Of course there’s some other appointments scheduled, mostly around food, or the subject of food for our upcoming conference. It will be a quick, packed trip.

Would you pray for us? Pray that our time there would be fruitful. Pray that my family would get by without Dad for a couple of days. Pray that I don’t annoy Dan too much!

No, I won’t get a chance to go to the beach…

Dan might!

 

Weekend Report

If we went for a coffee today, I’d order a small Americano and this is what might come up…

Saturday night – So, much for it being a low week. Someone told me that we would probably be light on attendance because it was reading week for the Universities. It wasn’t a low week, we were full again, lots of visitors, and had to set out more chairs. It was a lively night. Randy led us in worship, and I love his heart and passion and his humility. The things that were shared during Family Time shouldn’t be repeated outside that room, but many of us wept at the stories of the faithfulness and power of God. That is such a precious time in our meetings, we are getting to know each other better, but more than that, we all walk away with a profound sense of the power and love of God. You don’t leave that with thoughts about how great some people are, you leave that with a sense of wonder and worship of God.

Sunday am – This was a low week in attendance at Bon Berger, but I don’t think anyone cares. We really enjoy being together, and I love how we are comfortable to share, pray and participate. There is something truly glorious happening in this church. There were a couple of prophecies and one of them bears repeating here. God was calling us to pray specifically for Orleans, for the people here, for the situations that seem impossible to us. This means 2 things. One, God wants to bless Orleans, and He wants to use us to do it through prayer. Two, He’s giving us something to do in cooperating with His plan here. If we are faithful to do that, He will give us more to do. What a privilege it is to not only hear the voice of the Lord, but be invited into His work.

Overall – As I was coming down the hill on Trim Road making the turn onto St-Joseph on Sunday morning, I was thinking about how we are going to start 1 John next week (the 25th, 26th) and my heart was filled with hope. I really believe that God is going to use this season (a year?) of digging into 1 John to make some HUGE, wonderful things change in our hearts and minds. I really believe that we won’t be the same a year from now. Hold on, the blessing of God is always more than we can manage.

The homework for this week is to read through 1 John, looking for the 3 reasons that he wrote the letter. What did John want to accomplish in his recipients? You might have to read it a couple of times to find them all, but once you see them, you’ll never miss them again, and you’ll be anticipating a closer look at the letter.

Last thing- some of the folks didn’t get all the Scripture references from the talk. Here’s a picture of my notes in full resolution, so you can zoom in and see how bad my handwriting really is. We were also able to get a video of the talk on Saturday night. It’s a unique and important one in the life of our church, and it would be wise to invest some time to watch if you haven’t seen it.

soon!

Here’s the picture of my notes:

Roadmap of Discipleship

 

Here’s the video from Saturday night:

 

Weekend Report

Saturday night – Alan led worship for us, and there were a couple of surprises for me. First was the song – ‘Be Magnified‘ and second was to sing some of the choruses in both official languages. “Be Magnified” has a special place in my heart, because it marks a season of my life that the Lord really changed me in. Worship in both languages was not too much and wasn’t too little, just the right amount. I think it’s important to worship God in your heart language, to sense that connection with the Lord in the deepest part of you. I’m glad Alan did that.
I had to catch myself during Family Time. There’s still a bit of junior high / middle school in me, of those quick witty comments that aren’t edifying. I started down that trail talking about sushi, and finally caught myself after the topic of smoking came up. I’m grateful for grace, and that God chooses to use the foolish and the weak in spite of themselves.
It never gets old, seeing almost the whole church, turning their chairs into groups of 2 and 3, guys with guys and girls with girls and praying for one another. It’s a glorious sight, seeing the heads bowed and eyes closed, and arms and hands held, and the sound, of all these prayers is difficult to describe. Without a doubt, God is pleased… and is going to answer with overwhelming grace.

Sunday morning – woke up with almost no voice and a really scratchy throat. In hindsight, I probably should have called in a backup… but, I didn’t. It’s Tuesday and my voice is still not totally back. Randy helped me by reading the passage, and the Lord sustained me through it… but it wasn’t easy.
We are trying something new with our chair setup, moving to a couple of rows of semi-circle. It’s nice to have a change. We did have 2 visitors, and it was fun seeing how the Lord led them our way. Coming to Orleans from Barrhaven is something!

Overall, we finished 2 Peter. I enjoyed studying and teaching through that letter. I’m already looking forward to going through it again in a few years… there’s more there than what I got to learn this time through.

I’m considering taking a week to talk about growing as a Christian and discipleship as a topical message, before diving into 1 John. I need to find a BIG whiteboard though…

soon!

 

The Promised Presence of Jesus

Imagine those early believers in Jesus gathered together in what we call church. These are people that knew Jesus, had seen him personally, heard him personally, hung out with him, spent time with him, knew what He smelled like, sounded like, looked like and what it felt like to be in His presence.
I can imagine these guys, getting together after Jesus was ascended back to heaven, and after the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Life at points was both exhilarating and exhausting, they saw thousands of people become Christians, and they also saw persecution and imprisonment.
I can see them gathered together, remembering Jesus, encouraging one another. But, what must have been their biggest encouragement was Jesus words to them “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And, then sensing the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the presence of God in their midst. I can see them weeping, praying, treasuring those moments, and those moments were the highlight of their time together as a church.

What about us? What about you? I know we live by faith, instead of feelings. But, surely, the mark of our gatherings could (should) be “Surely God is among you.”

He made that promise… our only requirement is to be two or three in His name…

 

Weekend Report

It was a wonderful weekend in Ottawa…

Saturday night – What a treat to have Colin and Monica lead worship for us. They just released an EP called “Hold On” that is doing really well on Christian Radio throughout Canada. The song “Hold On” was in the top 20 here in Ottawa and climbing last week.
Ryan and Rachel Saul were also in town, and it was a real treat to have them with us. Ryan taught from Joshua 7, a great message about sin and trespasses and grace.
The whole night was like Homecoming, with so many faces that I haven’t seen in a while, some in over 4 years. What a blessing, lots of rejoicing, smiles, hugs and grace. It was an exhilarating night.
There was a big announcement as well, one of the couples that got married last year is pregnant with their first child. Email me and I’ll tell you who it was.
But, the biggest highlight by far for me, was sharing the gospel after the meeting with 3 uOttawa students. They wanted to know how Christians have a relationship with God. What a privilege to sit and share with them and then be able to connect them with some people at uOttawa to continue the conversation. May the Lord send more people like that!

Sunday am – It’s been several years since I’ve had the opportunity to sit in our children’s ministry. Ryan was teaching, Gen missed some of the service the night before, and so, it was the perfect time to abandon the adults and go be a kid. I loved it! Joe and Margie have lots of energy, lots of creativity and lots of love. Their theme was “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” The kids memorized the verse with total body motions, including kicks! And, then Margie blindfolded Joe, and gave him different kinds of food, like cucumbers, pickles, olives, chocolate chips and so on. He had to guess what it was, and of course, had to taste it. The kids loved watching that! And, couldn’t wait for their opportunity to be blindfolded and try it. There was lots of laughs!
But, again, the biggest highlight of the morning, was meeting a young man that Hugo had met that morning getting a coffee at Tim’s and invited to church on a whim. We got a chance to talk with him a bit, get his story, and then invite him to the potluck after church. He had a great morning. Grace had invaded his day and that was fun to watch. May the Lord send us more guys like him!

Ryan and Rachel have had a great visit. They go back to Florida on Wednesday. It’s incredible to see how deep the relationships are that they have here. They have been mobbed by invitations to lunch, supper, breakfast, coffee, hangouts, sleepovers. It’s been really, really good to have them here. They will have to make regular visits!

Would you take a minute and pray for a couple of things? Pray for Ryan and Rachel to be blessed because they have been a HUGE blessing to us. Pray for kids ministry to continue to overflow with grace and truth. Pray for these 4 people that visited this weekend, and pray that the Lord would make us effective in leading lots of people like them to Christ. (Acts 11:21)

Enjoy my friend Colin’s song – “Hold On“

 

Weekend Report

If we went for a coffee today…

Saturday night – was packed, even though the weather was bad. Biggest crowd yet on a Saturday night. The room isn’t completely full yet, but we they were adding a couple of rows throughout the time of worship. We are having some challenges with our sound system again, luckily, the parts that aren’t working right we think are under warranty. For me, I fell apart at the end of my message. I got emotional, just shared my heart, and ended a bit sloppy. The good news is, I’m a better teacher/preacher than I was last year, and if I keep at it, I’ll be even better next year. The other thing that was cool about Saturday night was having Joe Becker facilitate the Afterglow. I forgot that Gen was out of town, and I didn’t arrange childcare for the Afterglow. What a blessing to have Joe ready and able to step up.

Sunday am – again a full room. We were 20, which is massive for us on Sunday morning. If we keep up with that number, we will probably shift from a circle to a couple of semi-circles. The worship times have been really powerful, with a noticeable manifestation of God’s Spirit. There were tears, there was emotion, it was sweet, no one wants it to end, we are all grateful for it, and it’s obvious that the Lord is touching and ministering to hearts through it. Grace is very, very good.

Gen was in Quebec City this weekend. She sang 4 songs from her album at a French church in the morning, and then joined the Sebastian and Jimmy for a Heritage Concert at a really cool Christian Cafe in the evening. She was all lit up like a Christmas Tree when she got home on Monday afternoon, and I know that the Holy Spirit used her to bless the church there.

Bridges - Every Tuesday night, we do a church service downtown with a bunch of folks from the MET called Bridges. It truly is open to anyone, there’s worship, we are teaching through Judges right now, and then we share in a meal together. Last night, Daniel A. taught. I love hearing him teach, because when he speaks, he’s the same as when he’s in a conversation. He has an excellent ability to convey truth, and passion, emotion and his heart. It’s obvious God has his hand on his life, and the people at Bridges seem to like him as well.

The other big news here is that we cancelled a Men’s Overnight that we were planning for the 3rd and 4th. I made a mistake in the planning of it, deciding not to publish it and keep it ‘invite only.’ That was a stupid decision. The only way to make it right was to make it public, apologize and cancel the plans. A lot of good things have already come out of it, and I trust that more will come. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. I’m sad for the missed opportunity for some sweet fellowship and some effective ministry, but I learned a really good lesson about being a pastor. So, it’s worth it.

BTW – Ryan’s in town this weekend, and he’ll be teaching. And Colin will be leading worship on Saturday night. I can’t wait for that!

 

Eastern Canada Calvary guys

This is a recent picture of all of us. We got together on Wednesday to fellowship and Pat was smart enough to take a picture…
(R-L), me, Pat Sieler (Oakville), Sebastien Frappier (Montreal), Dan Schilke (Perth).
Take a minute and pray for these guys, for their marriages, families and churches. Pray also that the Lord would raise up more guys!

 

First Regional Conference

I had the privilege of getting to hang out with Sebastien, Dan, Pat and a handful of other guys from Eastern Canada today. We met in Perth, ON to see each other, hear what the Lord is doing in and around our churches, try to encourage each other, and to also kick around a bunch of ideas for our first Regional Conference.

Here’s what came out of that:

August 6-10th, 2012 (starts with supper on Monday, the 6th, and ends with lunch on Friday, the 10th)
Perth, ON
4 lunches and 4 suppers included in the registration price
Sessions will be held at Farrell Hall (where Northgate has church)
VBS will run at the same time as the sessions.
4 Evening Sessions – (each church has a night, studying through Colossians)
4 Morning Sessions (Guest Speaker – TBA)
4 Split Sessions for workshops/small groups/fellowship
Free time between Lunch and Supper, but there will be some suggested and organized activities to join.

Our main objective is to facilitate fellowship and community and relationships between the churches, to get to know one another more, learn from each other, encourage each other, and worship God together.

There are lots more details to be worked out, some people to contact, a flyer to create, a website to launch…

Save the date. Start checking out places in Perth to stay. (motels, hotels, B&B’s, Cottages, Chalets, Campgrounds, spare rooms, basements, etc…)

Would you pray? This is the biggest thing we have tackled so far.

Wanna help? Let me know…

More details soon!

 

Weekend Report

If we went for coffee today, my thoughts might go a bit like this…

Saturday night -
Olivia was awesome! I was so thirsty after speaking, I saw her and asked her to fill up my cup with water. She did, and then did it again, and then again. And, then, before I realized what was going on, she was distributing cups of water to lots of people there.
After that, she started introducing people to me, she would bring them over, tell me their name, and then run off and find someone else! It was cute, hilarious and awesome all at once. If you know her, you can visualize it and are probably doubled over.

Sunday am -
What a great group! I had a great problem midway through the meeting. The sharing was so rich, and I knew that the Holy Spirit was speaking to us through the things that were being shared, yet, we still needed to do some Bible Study, and I needed to be sensitive to how much time the kids were with Joe and Margie. It’s a great problem, kind of like when your meal is so good, that your tempted to fill up all your stomach space with it, but you know desert is coming too…

A young lady asked me after the study, if I could recommend a book to help her quickly get up to speed on Bible prophecy. It was a great question, and I wanted to share here what I told her. Feel free to comment and add your suggestions as well.

I suggested these two books:
“Learn the Bible in 24 Hours” by Chuck Missler
“Epicenter” by Joel Rosenberg

What I wish I had told her was to start with Revelation. It’s the only book of the Bible with a promised double blessing. One blessing for reading it, and one for taking to heart what it says. Another great place to start is with what Jesus said about the End Times in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

A great weekend, can’t wait for the next one. It’s supposed to be warmer outside. This week was like living in a deep freeze.

soon!

 

Weekend Report

First one on the new blog…

If we went for coffee today, we might talk about coffee before anything else…

Tim Hortons has a new cup size, and Starbucks just introduced the ‘blonde roast‘. Coffee is changing!

A couple of comments about the weekend meetings at Calvary.

First, this is home. We were away for 3 weeks, and I went to church while we were away, but it wasn’t the same as it used to be, and it’s not the same as Calvary Ottawa. The feeling I had walking in to the JPCC, and Bon Berger is the feeling of home. I missed the people, I engaged in the worship times, and both times, my heart was filled with grace when the meeting finished.

Second, I was blown away by how many testimonies I heard over the last few days. Most of them were by phone, some in person, but all of them, just testify to the grace and power of God at work in His people. I never, ever tire of that. May we stay humble, flexible, and may grace be multiplied in us.

Last, Some seeds take a while to come up. Over the weekend, it seems that the Lord has brought 4 guys back into my peripheral from my first years here in Ottawa. It’s been good to see them or hear from them, and again, rocked by what the Lord has been doing in each of them.

The registrations are starting to be filled in for the new 2:15 series starting on March 1st. There’s more info here and here. Would you take a minute and pray for us as we embark on this new venture of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry…

soon!