Monday

We just had a Super Sunday !
Our offering was way over the top !
We had a "I love my church offering" a once a year tradition that helps us stay out of debt which was over the top !
And we had a 99% attendance for our potluck following the service !
God is working in our church !

So now for the week ahead I plan to finish reading "Let us be Holy" by Judson Cornwall.

Tuesday I " if the weather is good" plan to attend a leadership class I am taking.
Wednesday get ready for Midweek ...
Thursday Start and even finish my sermon and plan for our prayer meeting for revival.
Friday Finish up sermon.

And somewhere in there I need to visit and do a thousand more things....

But For today ... I am going to read and surf and maybe even tie up a few flies :)

Later

It's Thursday

I am not sure where the weeks are going but this one is wrapping up too quickly!
So beside doing my weekly office duties I was able to attend a funeral on Wednesday.

I went because this lady was a sister to one of our church men.
And I was blessed to watch one of my hero's take part in the service.
He is a retired minister who comes from England with a cool accent and he is a true Calvinist !
He knows what He knows and is not afraid to defend it from the bible, nor is He afraid to use theological terms in his preaching . He doesn't believe in sugar coating the gospel.

Why would I A not so young Wesleyan pick a Baptist as a hero ?
Well this past week I have been fervently reading on line a bunch of stuff on the deception that is entering the church through this "emerging church" fad we find so strong today.

And while we are in a post modern swing of thinking all is ok.
with Christians who don't want to stand apart from the world but blend in.
Comes a man like my hero who will stand up and say " Thus says the Lord..."
You see He isn't swayed by fads but seeks the leading of God.
The very God who began the church and will complete it.
Why trust anyone else ?

Later

I put my foot in my mouth again

Here I am on Monday Morning reviewing yesterday !
And even before I started my wife got ahead of me when she said I was out of place to say at dinner yesterday that
" going to dances was going to hell"....

Here we were with fellow Wesleyans who are 'members' like us and they are talking about dances !
And so I made a bold statement on dances....
( which made for a quite few minutes)

What has happened to us that we have lost our level ground with in the church that we all shared the same convictions and practices ???
I think My favorite Author said it best " ...We have learned to live with unholiness ..."
And so as I preach on the Holiness of God it gets people uncomfortable....
And here is our problem we have gone with a gospel of comfort instead of a gospel confrontation...

Now here is where I am glad to be in smaller church not that I want it to remain small because I think Holiness preaching is still more acceptable.

But it should be acceptable everywhere !

Later

Sunday Again!

Here is my morning So far....
Up real early to turn the church furnaces on :)
Read my daily scriptures....
Surf the net and check on world news !
Surfing the net to see there are now 41 days till fishing season!
Last minute sermon details, (Today my sermon is on God's Holiness.)
Sunday School.
Church (with out me leading the whole service this week :)
Coffee Time following the service
Dinner out at a palls (a Tournament angler who is reel cool)
and home !

Later

Praying for Revival

Tonight will be our second night of prayer for revival to come in our church.

As a pastor I love to see from the people this desire for revival to come to our church.

But are our people ready ?

Week after week , sermon after sermon altar calls are given and no one moves :(

The people are eager for sinners to get convicted but I think and believe this " until our own people get convicted of their sins and cry out in repentance first - how can we expect the unsaved to do the same "

I am thirsty for revival in our ministry here to take place but as a Pastor I know it has to be done in God's timing.

As a Pastor I think a consistency needs to be established... With the people like coming out to our regular mid week prayer meetings not just on special occasions can revival not be prayed for on these nights to?

A new initiative of bringing people to church needs to start now -
I don't think this habit will happen magically over night because we have " a special speaker"

Can we pray for revival and yet rob God with tithes at the same time ?

Later

Still using a overhead projector

While all the rage today is using a power point for sermons etc....
We still use a overhead projector for our services along with Hymn books.
Now my point isn't that we don't have power point... But our people still use their bibles when I am preaching.
And this I BELIEVE is vital for Christians to know.

It's interesting the comments that I get from visiting people of how its nice to see bible's used in church's because there's have been replaced by power point.

So I wonder as we 'progress' and no longer need the use of our bibles what's next to go ?

I believe its hard enough to get people to feed on the bible so not bringing their bible to church would make it all the harder.

As I think about this I guess I'm a little more old fashion in some of my church thinking, and while studying up on the dangers of the Emerging Church - I would not want to have it any other way than being old fashioned.

Later

Another funeral...

Today my focus has been preparing and assisting in a funeral.
I did it with a retired Pastor who was cool to work with.

But this was no ordinary l funeral - because for some reason there some members of the family who will not speak to me no matter what - they have such a bitter spirit that they avoid going in the same store if I am in it.

The message of the funeral centered around reconciliation by the retired pastor and I pray it sinks in....

But in all this its not so much how they treat me BUT my attitude toward them.

One of my church ladies reminds me that these people are like sand paper that help to take off our rough places as we grow in grace.

These folks provide great illustrations in telling the kids how to deal with bullies so that helps.

So now that this deed is over - its on with the rest of the day....

Later

Short term memory

Tonight was parent teacher night !!!

The principle tried to explain to us that kids need their cheat sheets for doing math questions because some kids have " short -term - working -memory"
(I wish they had this concept back in my day !)

So there message being sent to the Kids is it's o.k. to cheat :(
and we were informed that the kids then are not expected to know all these -- :( So cheat !
Because after grade four times tables are not covered again do to all the other material that must be covered .
So if they don't grasp them by then - they are rewarded with a cheat sheet.
But isn't that a basic that all kids should know?
But what I am concerned with is the idea it's ok to cheat !
Well try that on a drivers test and see what happens
or try that with the tax man and see what happens.

Later

God is so big He can cover the whole world with His love, and so small Hecan curl up inside your heart.--June Masters Bacher

What a great winter !!

Here it is the 7th of Febuary and not a bit of snow !!
We have even escaped a cold snap so far....

But if it does get cold I have the answere :) I bought a cheap outdoor thermometer which for some reason the mercury in it has gotten stuck at 80F. So no matter how it is out side its always 8o.

On my weekly venture to town today I saw a lot of people who have gotten stuck at some point in there lives and have never kept up to date, what a shame !

But I don't even have to go out off my church to see that for most sundays there will be those who are stuck on 80 some where in thier lives and measure everything by that .

I think that life is to much of an adventure to live it by the past, It need s to be lived now !

A Night out watching hockey

Tonight we went as a family and watched our local Jr. A Hockey team play ( http://www.yarmouthmariners.com/ )

But it Just wasn't any game because they were playing against our kids cousin which to them means big bragging rights at school.

So after the Game with pen and paper they waited for autographs - and these players did well to sign them !

It hockey - the fights , the roar of the crowd and the Rock and roll music !!

In the middle of the second period they started playing the chicken dance song !

And people ( not me ) started dancing with it !

And here is my idea that has come from that "wouldn't it be cool in the middle of a sevice just to have it played for 30 seconds..." Just enough so you know what it is and....

Maybe this could be a memorable finally to my ministry her when I leave ( maybe)