Feb 28, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Psalm 146

“I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”

Psalm 146:2 (NIV) 

Will I really- or am I just saying that?

All my life is all the time I have - could be long could be short - but will I sing praise to my God all my life?

The psalmist must share this concern for he addresses himself in this psalm, and wrote this song to encourage his own soul.

“Praise the LORD, my soul.” All who join in this song of praise, address themselves and give themselves a reason for always praising, and for never ceasing in praise to our God.

That reason is His faithfulness.

Check out the graveyards - powerful people are good to have on your side but they end up in the ground - He doesn’t die like humans so He is able forever. (vs3-5)

Check out nature - Look around at how the world works – scientists imagine this sustainability accidentally formed - but He made everything and it is His faithfulness that sustains everything. (vs6)

Check out people - Look at how he deals with them - He acts on behalf of those who can’t help themselves - God Himself helps them. (vs7-10)

He is faithful forever, He reigns forever – so listen up soul;

 Praise Him forever - starting with my life right now!

Feb 28, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Psalm 96

“Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

Psalm 96:13 (NIV) 

The trees will sing, the fields will be jubilant, the ocean and its creatures resound - all of Creation will rejoice – for the LORD is coming to Judge!

This psalm will build our faith, for those times when we look around and wonder- where is justice?

Think of the most unjust thing you or a loved one has experienced, fix your mind on that injustice, and your faith will shrink and shrivel and fade away, and you will question if God is even alive. But fix your mind on the LORD, sing a song to His honour, ascribe glory to Him, bring an offering to Him, worship Him in the splendour of His holiness, and you will have the faith you need to pray and pray for justice, not giving up, for you will KNOW that the LORD will come to judge.

He comes - He comes to judge the earth.

Feb 27, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Deuteronomy 8

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.”

Deuteronomy 8:10 (NIV) 

The test of the wilderness is tough!

The lessons to be learned in the wilderness are humility and obedience.

The test of plenty is tougher!

The lessons to be learned in plenty - in good times - are humility and obedience.

You may disagree about which is tougher, and I wouldn’t argue the point, for I also prefer plenty and good times, over the wilderness, but I would point out to you that the testing is of our heart and it seems that the soil with weeds that choke out the
Word is describing a heart living in good times and plenty. (Mk 4)

The LORD is so good at giving us practical help in every area of testing, and the practical advice from our Creator to help us with the test of plenty, is to praise the LORD your God for the good He has given you - I wonder if this is why I was taught by my parents to always give thanks at a meal? But does that really accomplish the instruction? The instruction is PRAISE – surely that is more than some words spoken at meal- surely that is more than a song sung at a meal, though that would be closer to fulfilling this instruction.

This is a melody in my heart, a song on my lips, at the table, in the car, at work, with friends.

This is daily worship, acknowledging the LORD as my God, and ascribing glory to Him for all the plenty and goodness I experience from his hand.

Lets pass this test. Let us protect our hearts today. Praise the LORD!

Feb 27, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Exodus 18

 “Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.”

Exodus 18:15 (NIV)

Jethro gave Moses some wise advice, and Moses the leader of this vast nation, demonstrated his humility by listening to his father-in-law’s advice and implementing it. There is much to learn in this chapter about administering justice, settling disputes, and organizing large groups of God’s people BUT I would like us to consider the goal of the people who appeared before Moses. “They came before Moses to seek God’s will.” We shake our heads at the Israelites- for their propensity to sin, their stubbornness, and inability to trust God, but will we be humble enough this morning to learn from them about the proper approach to disputes with other Christians? They came in large numbers to stand before Moses to see God’s will done, not their will! Disputes among God’s people are inevitable but our approach, our mindset is a choice - so what will it be? Do we seek God’s will today or our will today?

Oh that we might seek God’s will!

Feb 23, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Jude 1

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—”

Jude 1:24 (NIV)

God is a God of joy

We know this because of what the Bible teaches us about angels in his presence;

the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy (Job 38:7)

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly (Hebrews 12:22)

We know this because of what the Bible teaches us about wisdom in his presence;

I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, (Proverbs 8:30)

We know this because of what the Bible teaches us about people on earth in his presence;

They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day. (1 Chron 29:22)

for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? (1 Thess 3:9)

We know this because of what the Bible teaches us about people in heaven in his presence;

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence (Psalm 16:11)

to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 1:24)

Jude is a short book, not very long at all, and Jude is a dark book, full of dangers, pain and warnings, but my does it end with JOY! So are our Christian lives- they are short, full of dangers and pain, and yet end with great JOY! Friend - believe that the God who snatched you from the evil one, is able to keep you and present you with great joy! And believe that these loved ones who have left this world in great suffering and pain are now in His glorious Presence, with great JOY!

Feb 23, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service James 4

“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.”

James 4:11 (NIV)

This 4th chapter of James is an indictment of our hearts – though he starts with the outward actions of fighting and quarrelling, he very quickly links them to our hearts and then links the attitudes of our hearts to unfaithfulness to God. It is a sobering section of Scripture and we would do well to apply his prescription for true spiritual health;

submit to God

resist the devil

come near to God

wash our hands

purify our hearts

grieve, mourn and wail over our state

humble ourselves before the Lord

He then moves on to the outward action of slander and of boasting about our activities.

Would we be willing to accept James’ description of slander?

The common definition of slander is; to make false or damaging statements about someone.

James describes it as judging the Law and the Law Giver, making it clear that his description of slander is us taking God’s place regarding a fellow Christian’s actions. If we cast our minds back over the recent conversations we have had with other Christians about other Christians’ behaviours – we wonder – was I involved in slander? Really easy to identify slander when lies are involved – but what if no lies are involved, only the truth? Were we taking God’s place – did the behaviour happen in the past and has God forgiven that behaviour. We need be careful for our heart is deceitful, and we could be “speaking truth” out of a malicious, prideful heart. Are we sure that we weren’t trying to make ourselves look good by speaking about another Christian’s forgiven sins? Let us not join in the work of the accuser of our brothers and sisters.

Feb 22, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service John 15

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”

John 7:37 (NIV) 

The festival described in John 7 is the same festival described in Nehemiah 8, and is an occasion of great joy. It is the Festival of Tabernacles - a time when the Israelites lived in booths for a week to celebrate the truth that their ancestors lived in temporary structures as God was delivering them from Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land. When we read the instructions in Leviticus 23, we discover that the last day is a closing special assembly – and it was on this last and greatest day the Jesus stood up and gave his invitation. It is said that no one gave an invitation like Billy Graham- and it is hard to imagine anyone filling his shoes in our world - surely God blessed all of us by what God did through this man who knew how to give an invitation! May I suggest that Billy was following His Lord’s steps, that our Lord was the greatest ever at extending an invitation- and what an invitation it is! Come and receive the Spirit! Friend, are you lacking joy even as you worship God in a prescribed way? Fall on your knees in your room - think a prayer in your work place, whisper a prayer in your school, speak a prayer in your car - tell Jesus you are thirsty and ask Him to give you the Spirit, and joy like a river will flow out of this temporary dwelling place Paul calls our earthly tent.

Feb 22, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Ephesians 5

“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

Ephesians 5:5

We don’t want to believe this verse-too judgmental for us.

How dare you judge me by my actions? You don’t know my heart!

Actually what God is saying thru Paul is that we do know each other’s hearts by our actions.

We make a mistake if we try to search out and judge a heart- for only God knows the heart.

But a heart that has experienced a work of grace - the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit - is a heart that will change our outward actions. We judge actions, not hearts and we judge our own actions first, and then we judge the actions of those who tell us that they are fellow children of God. If there is no evidence of grace on our outward actions, why would we believe that there has been an act of grace in our inward being?

walk in the way of love

live as children of the light

be careful how you live

be filled with the Spirit

submit to one another

WOW! I want to live like that! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfosSggwQS0 )

Change my heart oh God.

Feb 21, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Luke 2

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Luke 2:10

My childhood memories of Christmas include listening to my father read Luke 2 to us before any of us were allowed to open the presents. Felt like torture then - but a good result is how well Luke 2 is impressed into my memory. As I thought about suggested readings for this Sunday’s message on Nehemiah 8’s description of the “Great Joy” the people experienced, I thought immediately of the angel speaking to the shepherds - good news that will cause great joy – and I wonder would anyone describe my joy as GREAT? Do people know whether or not other people are full of joy? I think they do - and for sure a person who has Great Joy is noticeable. So the question for us - for those who have believed the good news, who have been born again thru faith in the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ- the question for us who aren’t experiencing Great Joy - is why not? For it is a part of the Gospel- that Great Joy will accompany the presence of Christ.

Feb 21, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Mark 2

“When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Mark 2:16

If in our desire to obey our Lord’s commands, we adopt the type of life typified by this saying; “I don’t drink, smoke or chew nor hang with those who do”?  Then we are closer to being a Pharisee then to being a follower of our Lord Jesus. A little cautionary note here - this type of saying is aimed at parents to teenagers – rightly so - for teenagers are moldable and are easily influenced by peer pressure. But for us adults, this type of living - the type of living where I don’t hang with sinners - is a type of living our Lord did not model. What Would Jesus Do – is the question asked by many Christ followers in North America - the answer in this type of situation is that Jesus would eat and drink with sinners - so why won’t we? Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, and so He went to them, met them on their turf, loved them as they were and gave them the good news of the kingdom, that repentance and belief is the way to God’s Kingdom. The good news for most Christians is that they have many unsaved friends in school, and at work, and all of us have neighbours. Let's eat and drink with them, living and sharing the Gospel. 

Feb 20, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Psalm 126

“Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.””

Psalm 126:2

Can you remember a time when your mouth was filled with laughter and your tongue
with a song of joy?

I think of children at Christmas, so excited their mouths are full of laughter and giggles and their tongues- oh their tongues - are full of joy!

I hope you can think of a time that this was true of you- perhaps a day long ago -
perhaps this morning?

Now friend which one of those times that you remember were caused by what God had done for you? Not that you imagine God has done it, but that the people around you, especially the unbelievers say of you – “God has done something great for them.”

If we can think of that time, that special time when the Creator of heaven and earth reached down and did something for us, then friend we will have entered into the spirit of this wonderful Psalm. 

Feb 20, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Psalm 15

“LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?”

Psalm 15:1

If we pay attention to this first verse we will quickly discover that this little psalm is all about the assembly of God’s people on this earth. We happen to call these assemblies in 2018 local churches. Sacred tent and holy mountain refer to the place where God meets His people, the mountain the bible calls Zion, and the tent is called the tabernacle. God meets His people there, He hears their prayers there, receives their worship and blesses them and their community and the world through that meeting place. His people meet God there- they stop their regular activities, they travel to get there, they offer prayers, seek forgiveness and blessing, and give financial gifts to the church. We have our rules about who can call Parkdale their “home”- surely that is what the Words dwell and live refer to- but this little psalm gives us God’s rules, and they all seem to be about how we treat each other.

Let us Live this Life of Love today!

Feb 16, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Revelation 1

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

Revelation 1:3

Oh that we would put ourselves in the place of receiving this three-fold blessing from our loving heavenly Father! Will we read the Word aloud? Will we hear the Word? Will we take it to heart? In the earlier years of the church, people would come together for the service, and someone would stand up and read the Word aloud- Blessed is that person! Some of the people would hear the letter from John called Revelation as it was read aloud- but some would be in the room, and perhaps be thinking about other things - Blessed are those who had ears to hear! As people went from the church into their lives, some would remember the Words that they heard, and line their lives up with those Words, but some would walk out and forget what was read- Blessed are those who take these Words to heart!

So let us be those who Read and who Hear and who take His Word to heart!

Feb 16, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Colossians 3

 “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

Colossians 3:8

If we think “Put to death”,  “rid yourselves of”, “take off your old self” all sound like a lot like telling someone to “Just STOP that” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BjKS1-vjPs, then we have missed the truth of the gospel. We have missed the truth that those of us who have been reborn thru faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, “have been raised with Christ”, and are “now hidden with Christ in God”, and “have put on a new self”. The truth is that for a Christian, the heart work is being done for us, we are now free to change our outward behaviour, and we are called to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit within us, by replacing the old behaviours with the new. Some of us like to go to clothing stores and try on clothes, look in the mirror and see how we look- some of us even experiment with several new looks. Let us today put on these clothes of righteousness – these acts that we are now free to perform, these attitudes that we are now free to experience. Watch these “clothes” transform our lives, our relationships and our world.

Feb 15, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service John 16

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

John 16:22

What a blessing it is to read of the disciples’ interactions with the Lord and to be able to learn spiritual lessons from their interactions! Here we learn clearly that the absence of the Lord brings grief, and that the presence of the Lord brings joy that no one can take away. In the disciples’ specific situation, they will experience grief when the Lord is crucified and buried, and they will experience joy when they see the resurrected Lord. This joy they experience will not leave them even though the Lord will leave them again to enter into heaven at the right hand of God. For us we learn that unless we grieve over the Lord’s crucifixion, we will not experience joy when we see Him with spiritual eyes. Truly the ones who rejoiced over the death of the Lord were not able to see Him, and so it is today, the only way you will ever see Him with the spiritual eyes of faith, is after you grieve over the truth that your sin has separated you from the Lord.

Oh heavenly Father, may you send us the Spirit of truth, to convict us regarding sin, righteousness and judgement. Bring us grief that we may see Him clearly, and receive the joy that no one can take away.

Feb 15, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Mark 7

“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

Mark 7:15

Our Lord called the disciples “dull” for not understanding this- I wonder what He would call us?  We so easily make our worship of Him all about rules, traditions and external activities. He calls this type of worship “hypocrisy”, and He sets aside the external ceremonial rules, such as ceremonial washing, to deal with our real issue. Our real issue is not what goes into our bodies- ie- yeast, or dirt, or bacteria, or pork, or vegetables. Our real issue is what comes out of our hearts! This is what He came to solve for us- He came to create in us a new heart as we surrender every single thing to His loving care. So how is that working for us- how is our heart today? Quite a list that our Lord gives us in vs 21 & 22- if we compare it to Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians 5:11 – we will have the ultimate heart check! The greatest blessing of all is that the great heart Surgeon, our Lord, stands waiting for us to bring these issues to him for healing. Let us go to the great physician today.

Feb 14, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Isaiah 61

“to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”

Isaiah 61:3

This is the passage our Lord Jesus claimed for His own in Luke 4 - “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - He declared to the assembly in the synagogue.

His ministry as prophesied in Isaiah 61 is too wonderful to cover in this blog, but I would like us to consider the three-fold exchange recorded in verse 3.

Ashes, mourning and a spirit of despair are all part of a Christian’s response to sin.

ashes are ugly and shameful, the effects of sin on a Christian’s life makes a Christian ugly
and shameful

 mourning over sin (not the effect of sin) is the gift of God that leads us to true repentance

the spirit of despair is well known to any Christian who is fighting a besetting sin 

for there is always a time of despair when we throw up our hands and wonder; “will I ever be done with this sin- or worse yet- will this sin ever be done with me?”

Oh friend don’t despair - for as we surrender to our Lord Jesus, He does a gracious work in our lives-not a single work but a three-fold work.

a crown of beauty, the oil of joy and a garment of praise are all part of our Lord’s response to a repentant Christian.

a crown of beauty has been made for each of us- the effect of righteousness on a Christian’s life makes a Christian beautiful

the oil of joy is poised to flow into our lives, as the Spirit waits to respond to our repentance and restores the joy of our salvation which takes that soul sick mourning away

a garment of praise – the external sign of an inward righteousness, the external sign of victory over sin thru Christ- replaces that terrible spirit of despair.

Oh Lord you’re beautiful

Your face is all I see

For when your eyes on this child

Your grace abounds to me

Feb 14, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Psalm 5

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

To say that David knew something about prayer is a grave understatement. David was a man after God’s heart, his prayers have touched the hearts of Christians for thousands of years, and even more importantly- his prayers repeated by Christians to God have touched the heart of God for thousands of years! So let us pay attention to the structure of this prayer, and notice that David lays his request before God in the morning waiting for a response, and then reminds himself that God is not pleased with wickedness nor with hearts filled with malice. If we want our prayers answered, if we want to have that faithful expectation that David had, we would do well to search our hearts for malice and our lives for wickedness, as we bring our requests before the Sovereign LORD. The apostle Paul tells us the same thing as he exhorts us to get rid of malice and wickedness- may our worship this day, that is - our lives lived before God – be a worship song, sung in spirit and in truth, and not in malice and wickedness.

Feb 13, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Isaiah 28

 “In that day the Lord Almighty will be ...”

Isaiah 28:5-6

In that day- in that day- could this be today?

Could these wonderful promises be for February 13, 2018?

Yes that day is TODAY.

TODAY the LORD will be your glorious crown

TODAY the LORD will be your beautiful wreath

TODAY the LORD will be a spirit of justice in you

TODAY the LORD will be your source of strength

We wonder how can this be true? Oh, friend- look to the Lord, keep your eyes on Him, gaze at His beauty, remind yourself of His works.

Take your eyes off the crown you have so desperately wanted placed on your head, and let Him be your crown and wreath, let Him be your beauty.

Take your eyes off the injustice, the things that are so wrong in your life and the lives of your loved ones, take these things to Him - ask Him for justice and be filled with the spirit of justice.

Keep your eyes on the battleground, for the enemy is at the gate of your heart- and is about to overwhelm you with your desire for your self, about to overwhelm you with the strong stench of injustice and recrimination of the LORD- determine to take your stand at the gate of your inward being, and receive the strength of the LORD.

Feb 13, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Exodus 23

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

If we can get a hold of this truth about keeping the Festival - or rather if this truth can get hold of us - our lives will become a worship song before the Lord!

Paul points us back into Exodus 23 and to the command to celebrate a festival to the LORD three times a year. These festivals are times set by God to celebrate God’s goodness to His people. A Festival of unleavened bread to celebrate the day God brought the nation Israel out of the womb of Egypt. The Festival of harvest using the firstfruits of the harvest in anticipation of what God will do (faith). The Festival of ingathering, celebrating the bountiful harvest that the LORD has provided (faith realized). These Festivals are communal, that is people assembled together as families, and as tribes and as a nation. These Festivals are times of worship, as sacrifices are given, prayers are offered, and temple worship is observed, as each man appears before the Sovereign LORD.

The apostle Paul is pointing us to the reality that sexual purity in a Christian’s life is not about following a list of don’ts. Rather sexual purity in a Christian’s life is about appearing before the Sovereign LORD, celebrating what He has done by saving me, thanking Him in faith for what He will do in my life, and thanking Him for the very real tangible things He has already done. In short- sexual purity in a Christian’s life comes from us realizing our entire life is to be a celebration before God. How long will I live on this earth? Haven’t got a clue! But however long I live on this earth- my life is to be one long or short worship song to the Lord whom I owe everything to!

Feb 12, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Psalm 28

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

Psalm 28:7

You can see the progression of thought and of faith in this prayer psalm. David is in a bad place, a place of danger, a place where he knows- “If God doesn’t help me, I am dead.” His thoughts turn to the fate of the wicked, and he asks God to spare him their fate, and as he considers their malice, their deeds, and their attitude towards God - it as if David received an answer from God for he exclaims that the LORD heard him, and then the statement of faith, the filling of his heart with joy, and his mouth with praise. 

May we prevail in prayer with our God as David has in this psalm.

May we hear God answer our prayer thru faith- oh to know as we pray that God has answered!

 

May our hearts be filled with the joy of the LORD - in spite of the lack of change in our situation!

May our mouths fill with song- not worried about what other people hear!

May we then be as bold as David to ask our God of grace - to help those around us.

Feb 12, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Exodus 12

“For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.”

Exodus 12:19

The following article http://www.icr.org/article/a-45-million-year-old-brewers-yeast-still/ amazes me on several levels, not at least the amount of time, know-how and technology required to find yeast inside an amber fossil. The ancient Israelites didn’t have these resources to search out yeast in their homes, but from this chapter, we can see clearly that they were expected to search and remove it from their homes. No puffy bread nor beer for seven days, every year! This chapter lays out God’s expectations for the celebration that they should hold to remember what He did by bringing them out of Egypt. On the night that God took them out of Egypt – their calendars were changed. It is like a birth - my personal calendar started on the day I was born, and so the Jewish calendar started on the day God brought the nation Israel out of the womb of Egypt. Every year (just like a birthday) have a party (festival) and while you are feasting and drinking make sure there is no yeast anywhere in your house, to remind you that when you were “delivered” there was no time to prepare bread, they carried their dough on their shoulders before the yeast was added. I wonder to myself - Why don’t I celebrate the day I was reborn - the day I truly came alive? If I could remember the date (which I don’t) - do I remember the circumstances enough to mimic one of those circumstances every year as a celebration of the miracle God did in me, and for me?

Feb 10, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Ephesians 4

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:3

The apostle Paul reiterates the truth contained in Psalm 133 as he instructs us to keep the unity of the Spirit. Unity of the Spirit is something a local church like Parkdale has already been given in Christ;

Specifically the following points of union

one body one Spirit –becoming part of Christ’s church by the indwelling of the same Spirit within each of us is a point of union

called to one hope – the hymn says it best “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness” this shared hope is a point of union

one Lord - having the same Lord is absolutely a point of union

one faith – there is only one true faith – faith that rests on the Word of God expressed in loving actions – and that faith is a point of union

one baptism – many forms of external water baptism, and yet only one inward baptism of the Holy Spirit, having been put to death to sin with Christ, having been raised with Christ to new life thru the Spirit is a point of union.

one God and Father of all- not many Gods but ONE GOD and if this God is our God, then we have a point of union

this unity of the Spirit is a gift from our loving heavenly Father- and all we have to do is practice the bond of peace, which requires us

to be completely humble and gentle

to be patient

to bear with one another in love

As we ask God to pour out His Spirit of unity upon our church – let us do our part!

Feb 10, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service Galatians 2

“For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.”

1 Corinthians 5:3

How could it be that Paul is present in spirit in Corinth, when his body is miles away? Surely his spirit is still in his body! It seems that Galatians 2 gives us the answer to this question- namely that Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles- he received this call from the Lord Jesus, it was affirmed by the apostles, through agreement with the gospel that the Corinthians heard and believed and came to Christ thru, and was affirmed by the apostles giving Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Paul was with the Corinthians in “spirit” because as long as they submitted to his teaching they were “under his authority” as the Lord’s apostle for them- it is as if he is there. So it is with us- as we read Paul’s letter to Corinth, as we act in faith as a church body lining our actions up with the words he wrote - understanding they are God’s Words coming to us thru Paul- then we too have Paul with us in spirit. What a fellowship! What a joy divine!

Feb 9, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Psalm 133

“How good and pleasant it is

    when God’s people live together in unity!”

Psalm 133:1

Imagine Parkdale as a place of true unity! How good and pleasant it would be for all of us. More than that- how good and pleasant it would be for our Heavenly Father if His children at Parkdale are helping one another, loving each other and working together on expanding His Kingdom as opposed to bickering and fighting. As a parent this first verse makes perfect sense as it describes the pleasantness of unity amongst God’s children.

Verse two describes this unity as an anointing on Aaron’s head, which tells us that true unity comes from the Holy Spirit, it is an outpouring of God upon a people thru their High Priest, so much oil that it runs over his head down his beard and onto his collar- if we were present at an anointing like this we would think – maybe a little too much oil! But friend when it comes to unity – we should ask God to pour out the Spirit over us in abundance!

Verse three reiterates that unity is a work of God, it is like dew that drops from heaven onto the meeting place of God with His people. Mount Zion is the place where God blesses His people, where people receive the gift of eternal life, and this is where we have come to, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. Oh friend may we pray today for this abundant anointing of unity over God’s church called Parkdale!

Feb 9, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1st Service 2 Corinthians 12

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

2 Corinthians 12:7

God gave Paul a messenger of Satan. Satan is God’s Satan, he is the tool of a gracious God.

Note that the purpose of this thorn was to keep Paul from sin, to protect him from himSELF.

Note that Paul did not want this in his life and he pleaded with God to remove this thorn.

Note that God’s answer was not yes to Paul’s prayer, but yes to Paul’s heart.

God’s grace sent a thorn to keep Paul from sin.

God’s grace kept His hand from answering Paul’s prayer.

God’s grace gave Paul an answer to the prayer of Paul’s heart.

Surely God’s grace is sufficient for us, for God’s power is made perfect in our weakness!

Feb 8, 2018- Suggested Reading 2nd Service Zechariah 7

“They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.”

Zechariah 7:12

This is one of the best, most succinct descriptions of how false worship of God destroys families, churches and countries. The people had sent some men to ask the prophet Zechariah (whose ministry was to those rebuilding the temple with Ezra) if they should fast in the fifth month as they have done for years. Roughly translated to our times the question would be – Should I observe Lent this year as part of my religious life before God? The answer from God is a challenge to their hearts and should challenge us. Why are you doing these things, was it really for God? If you want to do something for Me- try OBEDIENCE! Try showing MERCY and COMPASSION to each other which is true JUSTICE! Try HELPING widows and orphans and foreigners and poor people! Try OBEDIENCE! At Parkdale we state the message of this chapter this way; Know the Word- Obey the Word- Live a Life of Love! Why is our church and churches across Ontario in a state of decline? We are doing what the Israelites did thousands of years before us, to the detriment of our families, our churches and our communities.

May we tell Him with one voice that we will obey Him today.

Feb 8, 2018- Suggested Reading 1st Service Luke 15

“hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 5:5

If we are willing to take the time to place ourselves in the position of the father in the story of the prodigal, we must ask ourselves - would we give our child the means and freedom to waste their life and our hard-earned wealth on wild living? Most of us would cut them off from our wealth. The father had a choice and he chose not only to let his son go, but to give him the means for his wild living. This 3rd story in a parable Jesus told to teach us how God values repentance overs elf-righteousness, directly relates the freedom and means that the father gave his son to the destruction of the son’s flesh. Not that he physically died, but that his desire for living away from his father changed into a desire to dwell under his father’s protection. This is repentance and this is the goal of Paul’s command to the church at Corinth to hand this man over to the life he desires - to Satan who is the master of all wild living – believing that this man would come to his senses and desire the fellowship of being at home among his father’s servants. It is faith – it is a belief that this man is a real child of God, and that his Lord Jesus would seek him out and turn his heart.

Repentance is what God desires, not hypocrisy and not self righteousness.

Feb 5, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2nd Service Exodus 24

“When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”"

Exodus 24:3

I never get tired of reading Exodus 24!

It is arranged like a meeting with a lawyer- it is a mediation.

The people assemble, Moses goes up and finds out what God wants, he comes back and tells the people what God said- they in one voice agree to the conditions, Moses then writes the words down, reads the words to the people and once again they agree to obey. Moses then carries out a sacrifice (representing Christ Jesus) and sprinkles the blood of the covenant on the people (Oh how we need the blood of Christ to live for God) then Moses and the leaders(representing the people) go up and consummate the deal by eating a meal with the Living God WOW!

 It so fascinates me, that I yearn to have been there and I must meditate on Hebrews 12 to get myself back to the truth that the mountain God has called me(us) to is so much better than the mountain that these people were called to. Surely what God expected from these people, He expects more from me, in whom He has put His Spirit to change my heart from within- surely I should be able to obey EVERYTHING God has commanded me. May we tell Him in one voice that we will obey Him today.

Feb 5, 2018- Suggested Reading 1st Service Job 2

“The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

Job 2:6

What is your internal initial reaction to reading Job 1 &2? A friend of mine tells me the book of Job makes God look bad- that’s not true – but it is her initial reaction – she is being honest. Are we so “churchized” that we camouflage our heart’s reactions to God’s Word? Are we good at ignoring the pain on these pages by theologizing and spiritualizing away God’s deliberate act of bringing disaster on one of His children? Or by saying the word is ALLOWED not BRINGING, God ALLOWED Satan to BRING disaster to Job, God didn’t BRING it Himself. Be honest with yourself! Read these chapters again- and then write down your initial reaction. Mine is mourning as I think of the loss of his children/servants/business and cringing as I think of his boils, and sadness as I think of his interaction with his wife. The only comfort I receive from these 2 chapters is that Satan is God’s Satan. Satan cannot do anything to us that God doesn’t allow. Or even better – Satan cannot do anything to us that our loving heavenly Father has not decided will be for our good and His glory!