When God created everything He established a rhythm to life, and demonstrated it through the creation process. On the seventh day He rested from creating. God didn’t stop being God — He still sustained and upheld everything He had made, but He didn’t keep working. God rested (check out Genesis 2:1-3). God demonstrated the need to rest, to not always be doing work. Later on when He gave the Israelites the law (the 10 Commandments), God instructed those who follow Him to set aside the Sabbath to rest and worship (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).

Jesus, knowing the will of God perfectly, told the temple rulers and teachers of the law something similar as well. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (see Mark 2:23-3:6 for the whole story). The Sabbath is a gift from God to us! We are called to rest from our weekly activities, but not stop doing good.

There has been a move away from setting aside one day a week for rest and worship, and it’s gotten to the point where Sunday doesn’t really look any different from any other day of the week. Perhaps it’s time to step back towards setting Sunday apart from the rest of the week, so that we can rest and reflect, unplug and unwind, and become more connected to our Creator.

This Sunday we’re going to meet at our usual time at our usual place – 4pm at Bethel (70 William St. S.). I hope that you’ll plan to be there.

Blessings, Pastor Mike

And for the Israelites, waiting for their promised Saviour was central to their beliefs. Much of the Old Testament focuses on a King who will come from the line of David to set God’s people free from their slavery and bondage. The Israelites thought this promise was only for them, but then Jesus came and demonstrated that it was actually available for everyone who was made in God’s image. Some of the final words that Jesus shared with His followers was to show them how all of Scripture speaks about Him and point to His coming as Messiah (see Luke 24:27,44; John 5:39).

This summer we’re going to spend some time in the Old Testament looking at some of these passages that overtly point towards Jesus. I hope that you’ll be able to come and hear and learn more about how all of Scripture is about Jesus, not just the Gospels and letters in the New Testament. We will meet right through the summer at our regular time of 4pm at Bethel, except for our two outdoor services (July 28th and August 25th) when we will meet at Memorial Park.

Enjoy the sun and warm weather! Have a blessed week!

One of the ways that we can do this is by appreciating different styles of music, and recognizing the creativity with which God has blessed us. While rap, or country, or southern gospel, or hard rock may not be your music of choice, we can still hear the truths of the Gospel proclaimed and how each style is taking the command of God to “sing a new song,” a command He gives 6 times in Scripture. The Psalms themselves were created to be sung, and there are many other examples throughout Scripture of people singing and making music to God.

Another way to appreciate musical worship is to see how the Bible is used in creating the lyrics. At The Centre, we will only sing worship songs that are Biblically based. If a song is not based on a passage or theme found in Scripture, we won’t sing it. This means that we have to know what we’re singing about. This is not only a good exercise in learning about God and His Word to us, it is also a good practice in discernment, learning to see and know what is from God.

So why do we sometimes (much of the time!) struggle with prayer? How come it often feels like when we pray our words/thoughts stop at the ceiling? In order to pray well we need to know who we are praying to. If we don’t have a good understanding of who God is and what He is like, then our prayers will be focused more on ourselves rather than on God. I believe that if we have a clearer picture of who God is then our prayer life will become more vibrant.

Like each of the other topics we’ve looked at, prayer is a discipline, something that we need to train ourselves in and work at in order to improve. Even for those for whom prayer comes more easily it is still a discipline and needs to be cultivated. Jesus taught His disciples and others how to pray, and modeled what a prayer filled life looked like by often going off on His own to speak with God. If Jesus needed to pray in order to stay connected with God, how much more do we need to pray?

The final instruction that Jesus gave His disciples also still applies to us today. The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28, instructs us to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has taught us. There is no “if” included in the command. We are called to go! But we don’t go alone. I actually believe the Great Commission starts the verse before where Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to me. Therefore go!” We go in God’s strength and power, in the authority that has been given to Jesus, and therefore God’s will will ultimately be accomplished. That means that it’s not up to us to save or convert anyone, that’s God’s role and responsibility. The only thing we have to worry about is to actually go and tell others about the Good News of Jesus! God will do the rest.

This coming Sunday we’ll be continuing our series on Spiritual Disciplines as we look at evangelism. John L’Allier will be sharing about going and telling, and how we can grow in this area in our Christian lives. Our gathering starts at 4pm with a time of prayer before the service.

Pastor Mike

I believe the main reason we struggle with fasting is because of all the Spiritual Disciplines it is the most invasive in our lives. It changes our daily rhythms and schedules. It affects us physically. It is hard to hide that we’re fasting if we’re in a public place, and then there comes the issue of explaining what we’re doing without sounding “holier than thou”! In short, fasting disrupts our lives.

Fasting is good for us for that reason alone, because out of all the Spiritual Disciplines, fasting demonstrates most clearly what it means to be a follower of Christ. When we accept Jesus as our Saviour and say that we will follow Him, He enters into our daily rhythms and schedules and rearranges them so that they are in line with His. This change in our lives should be hard to hide from others, especially family members and co-workers. Following Jesus affects all areas of our lives, and fasting is a simple reminder of this.

Pastor Mike

To give an analogy, there are many ways in which I let my wife know that I love her. Quite often it is spoken, but it is also demonstrated in different actions throughout the day such as a hug or holding hands while walking, or simply spending time with her. Then there are the special times and dates in our lives that we set aside to especially remember and honour each other through gifts, cards, meals and times away. And there are also other, more mundane ways in which I show her love each day through doing things around the house. As her husband, my posture and attitude towards her should always be motivated by love and putting her before myself (look at Ephesians 5:25-33).

On a much greater scale, this is how each follower of Jesus is to live for God. Our whole lives are to be an ongoing act of worship of God (Romans 12:1-2), and involve every area of our lives. There will be special times and gatherings, but worship doesn’t start and stop when we enter or exit the church building — it should be everyday in every action, even in the mundane and boring. It is a continual remembrance of who God is, and who we are in Him. It is both communal and individual, audible and silent. Eventually, when we are in the new heaven and earth, it will be ongoing, never ceasing, but until that time it will have to be a conscious choice on our part, and a choice that we are expected to make.

There are many areas and ways in which we can serve others — there is no shortage of need in our culture! But as Christians we’re actually called to care for the needs of fellow believers first, and then move outward from there. In more than one location in Scripture we’re called to serve one another (Galatians 5:13, 1 Peter 4:10). This is a reminder that as we’re part of the same body we need to care for the body first before we can effectively care for others. As we care for, serve and love each other we will honour God. And the wonderful by-product of that is that those on the outside looking in will see how we care for one another and they will be drawn to us by God’s Spirit.

On Sunday we gather to learn and grow and receive from God, but we also gather to serve — the two go hand in hand. This Sunday I encourage you to come with the mindset and purpose of serving others, of looking to the needs of others before your own. Our gathering will start at 4pm, but you are welcome to come earlier (3:15pm) for prayer. Hope to see you there.

Blessings, Pastor Mike

Christianity has always been counter-cultural, and practicing silence and solitude certainly goes against the current of our society. Slowing down, stopping, being still, and listening to God — these attitudes and practices do not come naturally! They take time to practice and cultivate. But they are so important for us to do if we are going to grow and mature in our faith. Jesus demonstrated this by routinely finding a solitary place to go to, away from crowds and pressures of ministry, to be silent before His Heavenly Father (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42). God commanded the Psalmist to “Be still and know that I am God,” to stop and listen, and remember that it is not up to us to do everything. God knows what we need in order to be spiritually healthy and mature. Slow down, stop, wait upon the Lord and you will find strength (Isaiah 40).

Blessings, Pastor Mike

In our culture, if you want to learn about somebody the easiest thing to do is look at their Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram feeds, or Google search their name (you’d be surprised what you’ll find!). We can get a snapshot of who the person is, what they’ve done, their likes and dislikes, and what others say about them. It’s gotten to the point that managers looking to hire people will look at the person’s online presence to see what type of person they are.

On a much grander scale, God has given us the Bible, His Word, so that we can know Him and learn all about Him. In the Bible we also learn about the plan of redemption and how He has orchestrated a rescue plan for us, to save us from sin and death. The Bible is one of the primary ways that God has given us so that by it we can have a relationship with Him. This begs the question, if people want to understand who God is then why don’t they read the Bible more often? Research in Canada shows that only 1 in 5 Christians read the Bible more than once a week to understand how it applies to their lives (results from the 2014 Canadian Bible Engagement Study). That means 80% of Christians go through their day to day lives, saying they are a follower of Jesus, but not really knowing what that means or fully knowing how. There’s lots of room for improvement here!

This Sunday we will continue our series in Spiritual Disciplines, focusing on studying the Bible. I’d encourage you to take some time this week and do just that by reading Psalm 119. And this would be a good time for you to practice what we looked at this past Sunday, Silence and Solitude. Before you begin, take 2-3 minutes to sit quietly and ask God for guidance and direction as you study the Bible. Don’t think of this as wasted time, but as preparation for your study, like stretching before working out — it’s all part of the same activity.