It’s Monday Again

My Great Uncle Norman Moore was killed in Italy in WWII. He was only married three months to my Great Aunt Della before she said what would be her final goodbye in this life. She never remarried. My heart is always filled with reverence this time of year for the ultimate sacrifice of so many that has given us the freedoms we enjoy to be His Church. Thank you to all of our churches (Woods Harbour pictured above) for the meaningful moments of worship and remembrance held yesterday.

• Check out New Hope’s (Scott Prime) Kingston campus satellite and as you watch the beginning of this beautiful story of Kingdom multiplication, spend time praying for those in the Kingston-Greenwood area of the Annapolis Valley who will soon experience transformed lives through faith in Christ.

• Moncton (Joel Gorveatte) Super Seniors had a fabulous Friend Day last Thursday with an Emmaus Road concert and Pastor B as guest speaker. Lots of friends, food and fellowship – an exciting day with 201 in attendance!
• Hero Highlight: I was so pleased to read this on a student’s Facebook posting recently, “This week I want to tell you about one of my closest friends at Perth Andover Wesleyan Church. Dan Burman is the Assistant Pastor at PAWC (Reg Thomas). He has a real heart for youth ministry and has seen our youth group grow from 3 teens to 20 in a few short years. On Sundays when Dan is not preaching, he serves as one of our drummers for the worship team and as our sound guy. We just took a trip to a youth rally at Kingswood University called Encounter. Dan came to our church a few short years ago but already he is a part of everyone’s family. Our church wouldn’t be the same without him.” Great hire Pastor Reg!

• An exciting new project which will more than triple seating capacity for the Caton’s Island Jeff Choate Memorial Dining Hall was launched on Thursday evening at the Kingswood Golf Club in Fredericton. A desserts night hosted by Dan & Missy Porter included highlights from several guests including Director Dean Stephenson. The Porters and Stephensons are pictured above with Jeff’s parents – Jerry & Betty Choate.
• Your prayers are requested for the DBA as we convene on Thursday & Friday to discern next steps in the values-driven vision of the Atlantic District.

• I was honoured to attend a special dinner last night with General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt and the five Board of Trustee Chairpersons for our Wesleyan Colleges and Universities.

• Love the synergy of these South Shore pastors led by AJ Plaizier (Yarmouth) this week in co-writing a Generosity sermon series for Advent after debriefing the impact and content of the Believability Tour. #strongertogether
• Several Wesleyan leaders and Kingswood University students took part in the Multiply (C2C Network) Ascent training day last Friday (as promoted in IMA). The presentations included words of wisdom from Seth Fancy (Kings Halifax).

THOT: Immigration in our country is not just a mission field – it is a mission force. Bill Hogg

On Second THOT: If we accept Bebbington’s Quadrilateral (Biblicism, Crucicentrism, Conversionism, & Activism) as a working definition of evangelicalism, then at best only 1.5 million Canadians are connected to this Gospel centred faith out of 37 million Canadians. (Mark Burch)

Bonus THOT: There has been a silent divorce in the church, speaking generally, between the Word and the Spirit. When there is a divorce, sometimes the children stay with the mother, sometimes with the father. In this divorce you have those on the Word side and those on the Spirit side. What is the difference? Those on the Word side stress earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints, expository preaching, sound theology, rediscovering the doctrines of the Reformation—justification by faith, sovereignty of God. Until we get back to the Word, the honor of God’s name will not be restored. What is wrong with this emphasis? Nothing. It is exactly right, in my opinion. Those on the Spirit side stress getting back to the Book of Acts, signs, wonders, and miracles, gifts of the Holy Spirit—with places being shaken at prayer meetings, get in Peter’s shadow and you are healed, lie to the Holy Spirit and you are struck dead. Until we recover the power of the Spirit, the honor of God’s name will not be restored. What is wrong with this emphasis? Nothing. It is exactly right, in my opinion. The problem is, neither will learn from the other. But if these two would come together, the simultaneous combination would mean spontaneous combustion. And if Smith Wigglesworth’s prophecy got it right, the world will be turned upside down again. (R.T. Kendall)

January 9-12, 2019
Orlando, Florida at The Caribe Royale

More than a minister’s conference. The Gathering is a reunion of ministry family and friends. A sabbath for our souls. Coming together to stop, rest, pray, play and thrive.  A chance to celebrate what God is doing in our lives and ministry through meals, stories, inspiration and worship.  We know this will be a gathering you won’t want to miss! 

In EFC’s Canada Watch (Oct/Nov), the lead article by David Guretzhi deals with the question “How do Christians live out our witness in this new context?” It is both inspiring and challenging—well worth reading.

The Oct/Nov Canada Watch edition also contains an article on Renegotiating Faith. CCD Pastor Rick Hiemstra explains the research in a 25 minute interview or watch the 45-minute webinar recorded in early October featuring key members of the research team.

Another valuable resource from EFC is the Palliative Care Toolkit.  View the booklet online or request your own copies at 1-866-302-3362 (toll-free). EFC is requesting prayer for their submission against Expanding Access to Assisted Suicide.  Read the background story.

Keep up with what the EFC is doing as they seek to be a positive influence and to apply biblical principles to contemporary issues.