*Pastor Mike’s Garage-June 10/21*

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise
wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 NLT

I’ve been thinking a lot about foundations lately. Not because I’m
intending on building any kind of structure. Earlier this spring I was
asked by a friend of mine to perform the wedding for his son and fiancé. We
are just about to start getting together to do some pre-marital
counselling. I’ve been challenged in this because I want to give them the
best shot at a successful marriage. I’ve been challenged in this because I
don’t want to just create some busy work, but rather give them some actual
tools and strategy that will enhance their relationship. I’ve been
challenged in this because I’m not sure I have much to offer, in knowledge
or as a role model! I’ve been thinking a lot about the growing pains and
joys of the last eight and a half years of my marriage. As I look at a
myriad of resources on healthy relationships, my own limited knowledge and
experience, and think about the advice offered to me throughout the years,
I have boiled down what I want to offer them to just one piece of advice.
Get close to God!

I read an interesting verse this morning in the book in 1 Kings that
also made me ponder what kind of foundation I am laying, both in the advice
I am offering this young couple and in my own life as well. It is found in
the account of Solomon building the very first Temple for the Lord. 1 Kings
6:7 “The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the
quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the
building site.” I pondered what it must have been like at that construction
site, to see a massive, majestic temple being erected in utter silence!
I’ve been on a couple construction sites in my day. They are not
particularly known for their quiet peaceful atmosphere. Quite often the
workers themselves are not particularly known for their calm reverent
personalities! I’m assuming that the reason for building it in this way was
the extreme reverence the people of Israel had for their God, that even in
the construction process this was to be a place of quiet reverence.

As I was thinking about this, I started looking through the bible for
the word foundation and came across these verses in Ephesians. “So now you
Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along
with all of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the
foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ
Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy
temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of
His dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22 I’m familiar
with the concept of me personally being the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but
I’ve never thought about us a Christian community collectively being that
Temple and what that might look like. In light of our interconnectedness
the thought comes to mind, what kind of foundation piece am I personally?
What does your piece of the Temple look like? Like it or not, we all affect
each other!

Maybe I’m a bit naive in my role in this young couples pending
marriage, but I don’t want to be just a hired gun that gets the knot tied.
I want to take an active role in their lives trying to encourage them along
their life journey. In some ways thinking about trying to offer anyone else
advice on marriage has made me ponder my own and try and make sure it’s
also healthy! This thought process is also applicable to my journey with
you, my fellow Christians. I want the best for you, and in trying to offer
any help or advice, it makes me ponder what kind of piece of the Temple am
I personally! We’re all in this together!

Pastor Mike

Hi everyone,

Thanks for praying for my mom. The surgeon said that everything went well
and they were pleased with the results. She will likely go home today or
sometime tomorrow at the latest.

God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Pastor Dave

Hello everyone! I hope that you are having a great start to your week.

I know that this is a bit early for a pastor’s garage but I wanted to get
it out early for a reason. I’d like to ask you all to be in prayer for my
mom this week. She is heading into surgery tomorrow to have a large part of
her thyroid removed due to cancer. All signs and scans point to it being
contained in the thyroid, but one can never be sure with cancer. Would you
please pray for an efficient surgery and for all cancer to be removed. My
mom and dad are in good spirits but they would appreciate your prayers. My
dad has to be away for part of the weekend so I will be home with mom to
help her recover over the weekend and I won’t be here Sunday.

This Sunday we will again no longer be having an online sign in. There is
plenty of room now as we are allowed to have 30% of our capacity. Pastor
Mike will be sharing with you and Rachel Kardash will be leading worship.
Please pray for them as they prepare this week. I am so thankful for having
amazing people to serve alongside with!

Oh one more thing… Liz and I are celebrating 13 years of marriage today!
I am very blessed to be married to one absolutely amazing lady!

Enjoy the warm weather and enjoy the good things God has given you!

God bless,

Pastor Dave

*Pastor Mike’s Garage/May 27, 2021*

I won’t lie to you, as I sit in front of my computer to write this PG
I honestly feel like I don’t have much to say. I don’t feel particularly
inspired. Many times throughout my life, in fact, probably most of the
time, I constantly find myself on a time table that is behind what I had
originally planned or even on a course of life that was not planned at all!
This year is no exception. When I was booking my seed and fertilizer for my
farming dream last fall, I confidently told the rep I planned on seeding
the last week in April or first week in May. Here I sit on the last week in
May without a single seed in the ground! Now I have a myriad of reasons, I
haven’t been sitting around sipping iced tea! Life just hasn’t gone
exactly as planned. While many people assure me that their lives are no
different, to be honest, as I look around, it always feels like I am the
only one that struggles with this.

Last night while I was winding down from the day, I clicked on a
YouTube video of Rick Warren talking about when his son committed suicide.
He talked about how they were desperately praying for a miracle, hoping for
a strategy to manage, but the situation ended in tragedy. Now I believe God
performs miracles! I believe He also cares for us and wants to bless us!
But sometimes life has a way of throwing curve balls. Sometimes things just
don’t go as planned or desired! It was a pretty powerful video and I’ll put
the link to it at the bottom if you want to watch it but one thing he said
really stuck out. “The deeper the pain, the fewer words you use.” For the
most part I don’t know what you are going through today! I don’t want to
give you trite answers or strategies. I am aware that in light of eternity,
and compared to some of the things going on in the world around me, my
biggest problems are miniscule!

As I think about how hard life can be at times two sets of passages
come to mind. “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise
us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is
for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there
will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That
is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being
renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very
long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will
last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we
fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will
soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. “ 2
Corinthians 4:14-18 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For
example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit
prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the
Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit
pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that
God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them. “ Romans 8:26-28

Pastor Mike

This Sunday marks phase 1 of the reopening plan for Saskatchewan. What that
means is that we can now have up to 30% capacity in our building up to 150
people.

What this means for us:

– We have set the capacity for the sanctuary at about 75 people as long
as people spread out in their seats and remain in family groups.
– The capacity of the balcony is 20 and we can also place a few seats in
the foyer if needed (say 10 more people).
– That means we can have 100+ people in the building.
– No more online sign-up! Just come and make sure your name gets on the
sign-up sheet in the foyer.
– Masks are still in effect.

I’m excited for this and look forward to a bit fuller crowd.

Can’t wait to see you.

Blessings,

Pastor Dave