Good morning y’all!

It’s supposed to be a beautiful day today and I am looking forward to the
sunshine this afternoon. It’s good for my soul somehow to see the sun
shining.

As we go into the fall, this is often the time where we begin to start up
some of our regular programs, but this year feels different again as the
pandemic still seems to be hanging (or looming) about. Well, we are
planning to start up some things, but actually with a new sense of freedom
and passion that I have not seen or felt in a long time. Things have been
quiet long enough that there is freedom to think differently and to only
rebuild the things that we are truly passionate about. Here’s some food for
thought and some things that are on the move!

1)* Firm Foundations:* We plan on starting up Firm Foundations again on
September 19th at 9:00am. I know that some of you have missed some lessons
through covid restrictions and stuff, but I would encourage you to jump
back in. If you have any questions please let me know.

2)* Kid’s Church: *I can’t say too much at this point because I don’t want
to steal their show, but there is a core group of people really passionate
about kid’s ministry and they have some fresh ideas going into the fall. If
you want to know more… well, you know what to do. Be on the lookout for
more details.

3) *Youth: *Would you take this to prayer? I am willing to be involved with
youth this year, but unless this ministry is “birthed in the people” (i.e.
YOU!), I don’t think I have the capacity to make this happen. A couple
people have come forward, but there’s not enough momentum yet.

4) *Jacob Bear Community Church (JBCC): *This Sunday I will be attending
JBCC to support them as they say farewell to their long term pastor’s Chris
and Brigg Judy. I will be serving on their board and doing what I can to
support their ministry for a season . Please pray for their church!

5) *House Church: *This is very near and dear to my heart, but at this
point there are as many questions as there are answers. I honestly feel
like this is the long play for the health and future of the church. I have
some thoughts in a document I can send you, but won’t overwhelm you here.

In closing, please pray for Mike as he speaks this Sunday and Rachel
Kardash as she leads worship. Please also pray for JBCC.

God bless,

Pastor Dave

*Pastor Mike’s Garage-Sept 2/2021*

So, I’ll let you in on a little conversation I have in my head every time I
sit down to write one of these. “What makes me think I have anything to
offer in the way of advice or a devotional. Am I smarter than anyone that
will likely be reading it? Do I know the scriptures any better than them?
Do I have any greater insight into the mysteries of life and spirituality?”
Well let me answer those pertinent questions with a resounding “nope,
probably not!” To further that line of thinking I will add in some verses
from Hebrews that I think of often as I assess my role as a pastor.

“*For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and
write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbour and each one his
brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the
least of these to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their
iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12*

Within the first covenant the Spirit of the Lord only resided within the
prophets and sometimes the King. It was up to them to speak the word of the
Lord to the people and give understanding to His scriptures and guidance to
His will. As long as they sought to follow the Lord’s leading, serve, and
represent Him well His spirit resided within them, but if they chose to
harden their hearts in disobedience, His spirit could also be withdrawn.
Within the new covenant, the one that we are a part of as Christians, His
spirit takes residence within each one of us upon our submission to the
lordship of Jesus within our lives. As these verses declare within each one
of us is the ability to know the Lord, understand his scriptures and follow
His leading independent of others. Throughout history though many have
sought to keep that “control” over others. That was one of the foundational
elements of the great reformation lead by Martin Luther, that our faith is
not tied to any specific organization or person but rather a personal one
between each one of us and the Living God!

The reality is that in any given debate, the one who is more skilled at
debating will have the upper hand in winning the debate, regardless of the
truth of what issue they are debating. But I am also reminded of something
a professor of mine used to say in Bible College, “anyone, regardless of
intelligence, training or background, with a properly understood bible in
hand, and the Spirit of the Lord in their heart has the authority and right
to teach the word of the Lord.” Was he saying there is no value in
intelligence, training or background? Not at all, of course there is. It is
through hearing the thoughts, interpretations, and training of others that
we can gain wisdom, and understanding. But our personal faith and direction
should never be solely based upon anyone else’s opinion, direction, or
understanding. Each one of us should cultivate a personal understanding of
who we are in relation to Jesus!

I will leave you with a couple verses that summarize this point. *“Study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, “All Scripture is breathed out
by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped
for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17*

Pastor Mike

*Pastor Mike’s Garage, Aug 19/21*

Have you gotten over the euphoria of the camping weekend yet? Well, maybe
euphoria isn’t the most applicable word, but I did enjoy it! I won’t lie to
you, by the time I got home Sunday aft my tank was outta gas! I’m not sure
whether it was that I was in charge running around a bit, the wind, heat,
flies, lack of sleep, or the cold hard fact that I just ain’t as young as I
used to be, but I was wiped. Given the chance though, I’d do it again, and
I hope we will!

As most of you know I am an avid hunter. I enjoy getting outdoors, the
hunt! There’s something about supplying your own meat for the winter. I
enjoy processing my own animal, making my own sausage, and the other
various dishes we enjoy throughout the winter because of it. Ironically
though, one thing I am not crazy about is hunting shows. To me, most of
them are just a bunch of rednecks out shooting stuff, yehaw! For me, it’s
not just about the kill, it’s the whole experience, from hunt to table.
It’s about getting out in nature, the early mornings, the late nights, the
camaraderie of spending time with those I hunt with. Some of my most
memorable hunts have included many early mornings, late evenings, being
soaked to the skin, walking miles on end in heat, rain, snow, and dust.
They included blisters on my feet and scratches on my truck! The irony is
that some of my most memorable hunts did not even result in getting the
animal I was after!

One hunting show I do enjoy is called “Meat Eater” who stars a relatively
popular hunter called Steve Rinella. He takes his show in a decidedly more
philosophical direction as he takes a lot of time exploring the reasons he
enjoys hunting, the ethics of it, and the journey the hunt entails. During
each episode there’s always a meal he prepares with what he’s taken. In one
particular episode he talks about how in order to build memories, and
particularly fond memories, there has to be some element of hardship in the
event. As in, no-one twenty years from now will be sitting around a table
reminiscing about the time we sat around all afternoon, then went to bed
early. But throw in a snow storm, power outage, company staying because of
road closures, and a makeshift sparse meal, and there you have some
memories worth reminiscing many years from now! He went on to say that, in
fact, the memories quite often grow fonder in relation to the severity of
the hardship!

Getting back to our camping weekend, believe it or not, I did not
intentionally incorporate elements of hardship into the weekend to make it
more memorable! Weekends like that have a way of doing that on their own. I
would hazard a guess that there will be an element or two of that weekend
that will be remembered in the years to come! Pastor Dave Sr. compared the
weekend to the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles were families move out of
their houses into makeshift dwellings for a week a year to celebrate the
harvest and remember the Exodus from Egypt. I am a believer in camp
ministry. There’s something about leaving the comforts of one’s home,
enduring a bit of hardship such as lumpy beds, a little less sleep, funny
smells, bugs, a little harsh weather, campfire food, and so on, that
enables one to magically see life a little different! I have had some of my
most profound encounters with God in such settings!

In our efforts to lead comfortable, uneventful lives are we possibly
creating unmemorable ones as well? If our biggest goal as a church is to be
safe, comfortable, pleasing, unoffensive, and attractive, I believe we will
become ineffectual, irrelevant, and unmemorable as well! I’m not saying we
do things because they’re hard! There has to be a purposeful goal or
objective, but we do have to be careful we don’t limit our endeavours
solely based upon our comfort levels! Anything worth remembering comes with
a bit of hardship!

Pastor Mike

Good afternoon! What a beautiful break from the heat we have had these past
few days.

It has been a full summer for me and my family. As always, I can’t believe
how fast time has gone. It’s really, really hard to believe.

This Sunday I am preaching out at Jacob Bear Community Church located
on Kahkewistahaw. This is the church that Chris and Brigg Judy
(missionaries) used to pastor. They have recently retired and the church
now has no official pastor. With the permission of the board and elders, I
have promised to provide pulpit supply once a month for a season while they
make the next steps. It doesn’t always mean that I will be there. Sometimes
pastor Mike will go, sometimes me, sometimes someone else… maybe you!

My hope and dream as this partnership develops is that it will be exactly
that – a partnership. Beyond pulpit supply, I hope that we can serve them
in other ways as the need arises (maybe through things like worship teams
and children’s programs and house church) and I hope that they can bring a
fresh perspective and voice to our world. Would you please pray for me
Sunday morning – that I can bring a hopeful, Christ filled message to them
and that this will evolve however God wants it to evolve. Pastor Mike will
be preaching here in Grenfell.

As the end of summer approaches and the fall encroaches, would you consider
something? Your gifts and the needs of this body. Covid has been hard on
us. Many things that we used to do, we have just stopped doing and there is
a feeling that it’s hard to get back into gear. But for now at least, there
are no more restrictions, masks are gone and we can theoretically do what
we want. As we look to the future, the sky’s the limit.

And I am not talking about just getting busy again and chasing and
recreating what we once had. I think Covid has changed our worlds and it
has changed our perspective on many things and I think we are in a
position, a watershed where we will either have the courage to embrace
something new and move forward or we will fade into the past as we hold on
to what has been. As your lead pastor I have dreams about the future, about
starting a house church movement, about us getting out and going to the
lost, about our youth and the dear children he has entrusted us with – but
I can’t do any of this alone. I need you. The body of Christ needs you. And
you have gifts that were given to you for the body, for others. You don’t
need to pray and ask God if you should serve or if it’s the right time, the
answer is in the giving. If it was given to you, the answer is yes.

So what gifts do you have? What dreams are in your heart? Does it involve
children or youth? Does it involve getting involved in a house church? If
the idea of a house church intrigues you, talk to me. I am gathering a
small group of people who want to be on the ground level as we try and
launch this thing.

Would you love to be on a worship team? Would you love to help with church
gatherings or events in some way? Would you like to be more involved in
prayer? Would you like to preach some Sunday here or at Jacob Bear. Would
you love to visit people in the hospital? I think the church needs you. The
family of God needs you. The future is open and I think God is calling us
forward, he is whispering and knocking and drawing us forward to serve. If
there is an area you would like to serve in, please, please reach out. I
don’t want to create a program, but I do want to create opportunities for
you to serve where you are gifted.

This Sunday I am going to share on the story of the prodigal son. A similar
message to the one I shared months ago, how we all need Christ. How we all
need the love of the father. Whether we are the wayward prodigal or the
“rule-following” one, we need Christ. It’s the Father’s love for us that
unites us. Oh how we need Christ! As I close I encourage you to listen to
the following song, it’s been the cry of my heart the last few days,

God bless,

Have a great week.

Dave

… for anyone else confused:

Here are the aforementioned directions to GAC 2021 camping extravaganza!
Drive east of town on #1 hwy, turn south on Cullins Lake Road(just east of
Dimlers binsite), drive south pat cullins lake, turn east at the white ABK
livestock sign, a mile in the road will turn south again at the yard, turn
east after row of bins(we have a sign there), stay on the trail through the
yard onto the field to the east, trail will curve into pasture(we have
another sign at this corner), follow trail through pasture to campsite.

God bless,

Pastor Dave