Last night ended with a great main session.  We proclaimed realities of the Lord’s great love for us in song, and we affirmed a message of truth from Gabe Lyons, an author and speaker.  The main focus of the talk was the importance of sharing the “whole story” of God’s work as we share with people . . . especially in a context like ours in Canada.  You see, sometimes we narrow our focus in “evangelism” to share about the fall (sin) and redemption (salvation).  But really, this is only half the story.  The story begins with creation, and how wonderful and complete and intentional God made everything.  The story ends with restoration, when all things find their proper place.   And that restoration is really where our hope lies.  We are redeemed unto life . . . full life, eternal life, restored life.  And in all things, because of redemption, His grace is sufficient to keep us restored and carry us to the complete work of ultimate restoration in heaven.

So . . . as we partake in and share the message of Creation — Fall — Redemption — Restoration, we join God in being Restorers.  Cool perspective.

Alright.  Now it’s off to breakfast and then more conference.

Blessings to all.

"poolside" quiet time

Then after a brief walk around downtown Nashville and the monstrous Lifeway building, Robin and I started the conference.  I enjoyed gleaning encouragements from a seminar on “dialogical apologetics” and a sociological perspective of the upcoming generation of university freshmen/first-years.  Robin went to a talk on a unique perspective on the next generation of Christian leaders and another one on an encouragement to life balance and spiritual growth in a demanding ministry environment.  Feel free to ask us about highlights if these seem interesting to you!

Robin and I have arrived in Nashville to warm weather 31oC and even warmer smiles.

We’ve met a handful of guys who all work with university students and hail from all across Canada. Tomorrow we join with hundreds more to be challenged and encouraged in our pursuits to make Christ known on campuses.

First though, we had to take in some quality local date … which means that I got to reach Robin about “real BBQ”! Here are our plates, compliments of The Judge.

brisket, sausage, ribs, green beans, onion rings and 2 kinds of baked beans!

More to come.

Two cool things going on to make you aware of and to ask you to pray for.

1)  C!C Office Move-In

In the next couple weeks we will officially move in to the new church office at Saint Paul University.  This is a pretty exciting step of maturity for us as an organization, and we’re excited about it.

Please pray that we’d make good use of the space.  Pray that the interns and volunteers that we have will be blessed by using the space.  Pray that our office will help enable the Gospel to go forth effectively through the relationships and events that the church maintains.

Also, consider emailing me (Pastor Jason) to schedule a time when you can stop in for a visit!

2) National Collegiate Summit

Soon Robin P. and I will be headed to a conference in Nashville, TN.  We’ll join hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ from all over North America who work with university students and churches.

Please pray that the time spent together would fuel the ministries of all persons involved for the glory of God and the growth of His Kingdom.  Pray specifically that God would challenge and inspire Robin and me to be able to lead in the Gospel being made known more on Ottawa campuses through the ministry of our church.  Pray that God would bring fire and focus to Robin’s personal calling and to mine as well.

Thanks in advance for your support on our behalf to the Father.

I look forward to reporting some from the road and when we get back!

Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Luke 8:18a

Famous preacher George Whitefield, upon study of Luke 8:1-18, gave these SIX instructions for how to carefully listen to a sermon:

1. Come to hear them, not out of curiosity, but from a sincere desire to know and do your duty. To enter His house merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.

2. Give diligent heed to the things that are spoken from the Word of God. If an earthly king were to issue a royal proclamation, and the life or death of his subjects entirely depended on performing or not performing its conditions, how eager would they be to hear what those conditions were! And shall we not pay the same respect to the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and lend an attentive ear to His ministers, when they are declaring, in His name, how our pardon, peace, and happiness may be secured?

3. Do not entertain even the least prejudice against the minister. That was the reason Jesus Christ Himself could not do many mighty works, nor preach to any great effect among those of His own country; for they were offended at Him. Take heed therefore, and beware of entertaining any dislike against those whom the Holy Ghost has made overseers over you.

Consider that the clergy are men of like passions with yourselves. And though we should even hear a person teaching others to do what he has not learned himself, yet that is no reason for rejecting his doctrine. For ministers speak not in their own, but in Christ’s name. And we know who commanded the people to do whatever the scribes and Pharisees should say unto them, even though they did not do themselves what they said (see Matt. 23:1-3).

4. Be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, or think more highly of him than you ought to think. Preferring one teacher over another has often been of ill consequence to the church of God. It was a fault which the great Apostle of the Gentiles condemned in the Corinthians: ‘For whereas one said, I am of Paul; another, I am of Apollos: are you not carnal, says he? For who is Paul, and who is Apollos, but instruments in God’s hands by whom you believed?’ (1 Cor. 1:12; 2:3-5).

Are not all ministers sent forth to be ministering ambassadors to those who shall be heirs of salvation? And are they not all therefore greatly to be esteemed for their work’s sake?

5. Make particular application to your own hearts of everything that is delivered. When our Savior was discoursing at the last supper with His beloved disciples and foretold that one of them should betray Him, each of them immediately applied it to his own heart and said, ‘Lord, is it I?’ (Matt. 26:22).

Oh, that persons, in like manner, when preachers are dissuading from any sin or persuading to any duty, instead of crying, ‘This was intended for such and such a one!’ instead would turn their thoughts inwardly, and say, ‘Lord, is it I?’ How far more beneficial should we find discourses to be than now they generally are!

6. Pray to the Lord, before, during, and after every sermon, to endue the minister with power to speak, and to grant you a will and ability to put into practice what he shall show from the Book of God to be your duty.

Whitefield tags on this thought:

If only all who hear me this day would seriously apply their hearts to practice what has now been told them! How ministers would see Satan, like lightning, fall from heaven, and people find the Word preached sharper than a two-edged sword and mighty, through God, to the pulling down of the devil’s strongholds!

There’s some good faith-food to chew on!  One application that I would like to stress is to take notes during sermons.  Not necessarily copiously such that you become distracted . . . but determinedly so that you can make personal applications and revisit them.

Too often I’ve heard people say, “Pastor, that was a good sermon, something really touched me.”  Or other times have heard, “I remember that sermon on ________, something really challenged me in that.”  And yet, in both instances, the something was likely snatched away, withered, or choked out.  Probably the reason was simply for lack of remembering or reinforcement.  So consider taking notes as an investment in your sanctification!

Holidays are full of expectations, no doubt about that.  And in our over-marketed, media-saturated society, given that unmet expectations equal frustration, I wonder to what extent the Evil One preys on us through our holiday expectations.  Think back through some of the most recent handful of holidays and see if you know what I’m talking about: Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, New Year’s, Christmas.

Easter isn’t immune to the expectation quagmire.  And from a pastoral perspective, I feel that “church folk” stand to get the worst of it.  I certainly did.  Obviously Easter is kind of a big deal for a pastor.  As a church planter, I had to balance who was traveling, who we’re inviting, what rooms are available for renting at what times, who can play in the band, when can we set up, what will the celebration look like, etc.  I felt like we have an awesome plan.  I was totally stoked about some various friends who my family had invited to finally check our church out.  And along came Easter Sunday.

Make sure you hear me out: it was a great time.  For those who came, we loved on each other, gazed on Jesus, and enjoyed some great fellowship — I don’t at all mean to take away from that.  You see, there’s just this thing about expectations.  My friends didn’t come, I missed sharing the week with a number of our members who were away, there weren’t many new people, and generally it seemed like people didn’t treat the day like it was that big of a deal.

That last sentence was the thought that clued me into the issue of expectations.  On one hand, Easter is not that big of a deal because Jesus is just as risen and victorious every other day of the year, including Leap Day, so I wouldn’t want us to make a big deal about Easter for the wrong (empty rituals) reasons.  At the same time though, culture at-large sure makes a big deal about Easter, except without Jesus, so that makes me feel a certain responsibility to make much of the one who made Easter the most Victorious celebrationad infinitum.  So, these reflections simmered on “medium-high” heat in the back of my mind as we got home from the morning service.

As we disembark from the van, bathed in warm sunshine, ready to enjoy the rest of the special day . . . I enter the house to discover a massive, thick, putrid, milk-shake-consistency pile of dog poop in the dining room.  So I head back outside to help get the kids (and get away from the smell), and discover that Carrie is holding Hannah’s carseat with greenish poop dripping from the bottom … another diaper blow-out, awesome.  Later, Lillie has a near blow-out requiring some serious scrubbing, and Acuda makes another mess (this time on the carpet upstairs.)  Needless to say, this had become the “poopiest” Easter yet.

Well, then end of the story is this:  God is good.  As I stood outside scrubbing the car seat and vacuuming out the car (oh, guess I didn’t mention the spilled orange juice in the trunk), I found myself actually enjoying the tasks.  I was outside, the kids were playing with neighbors, and I was able to finish a few chores that I’d really been meaning to do.  Somewhere in the midst of all that I felt the Lord whisper, “Yep, even Easter can be ‘poopie.’  But I’m here; I’m with you; and my grace will always be sufficient.”

Amen to that.

Coming off the sermon on the parable of the different kinds of soil (Luke 8:4-15), I’ve found myself often seeing the “hazards” as testing grounds as to the condition of the soil in my heart.  How do I react when “my time” is infringed upon?  How am I affected when I don’t get to do what “I want” to do?  How do I deal with stress?  Where do I spend my time, energy, resources?  What truth and hope do I have to share with those who need some?  Basically, what are the fruits of the “tough moments” in my day-to-day?

I’ll offer that as I look at my life, the biggest determining factor in my producing “meaningful fruit” is whether I’ve been sowing the proper seed.  If I don’t make sure that the seed of the Word of Truth has access to my heart, IT DOESN’T MUCH MATTER WHAT THE CONDITION OF THE SOIL OF MY HEART IS.  No seed equals no budding plants equals no fruit.  I wonder if we don’t frequently lament the choices that we make (or don’t make), thinking that we “should have known better.”  But little do we admonish ourselves for not sowing the seed that would produce the righteousness that our souls desire as a part of our grace driven effort.

Though we sow all sorts of “truth” into our lives through music, television, the internet and the like, the seed that we NEED sprinkled over our hearts and minds is the Word of God, the Bible.  Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will grow the Word in our lives.  I’ll close by simply scattering some relevant “seeds” to encourage you as you go:

The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. . . . When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  (John 14:26; 16:13)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.  (Colossians 2:6-8)

 

This morning as I continued that tradition, I was struck by the emotion and angst that must have engulfed Christ’s followers during the trial, execution and burial of Jesus.  I wonder if any of them had a shred of hope or of understanding.  So many of them had already given so much to the cause, only to likely feel the world crumbling around them.  I cannot imagine the nature of that despair — all with the greatest dawn ever, just over the horizon.

As I meditated on these things, my heart grew increasingly thankful, because I (we) will NEVER need to know the depths of that despair!  The only avenue available for us to understand those days is through the lens of the resurrection.  We live completely in a day where the “veil is torn”, meaning the Holy Spirit of the Most High God dwells personally within those who believe!  We have such a privileged position in history and in faith.

Take some time this Easter weekend to reflect on the blessing of living in the Light of the Resurrection.   Join me in asking God to make the hope of Jesus’ victory REAL to us.  I’m convinced the more we rejoice and are moved by that hope, the more that God will bring us opportunities to share that hope.

May these lines drive home this truth in a different way:

What depths of grey
Defined the day
The one that stood between?
Darkened sun
Death of One;
No light through despair to be seen.

But now the Light shows
That we need never know
The depths of that day’s dread.
Darkness halted
Saviour exalted
Hope only from puddle of red.

Not that pain is what I feel,
Not worried discontent,
No dampened eyes, no staggered reel,
No doubts malevolent.

Bottled up, like darkened clouds
The storm as yet to break.
Like the wait between flash and loud,
Thunder’s mighty quake.

I long to see the Spirit move
For Majesty revealed.
How I wish the Bride would swoon
At the Grace with which we’re sealed.

Bottled up, this Kingdom come
Unloose the cork, Oh Grace.
I yearn to advance amidst Your throng
In the light of Your glorious face.

I thank God for the work He’s done and continues to do in my life.  I praise Him for putting my friends, and particularly C!C, in my life so that together we display a portion of his splendor.  And yet, what’s more is the thought that all of this is but a shadow of the beauty in store in Glory.  Reflecting on the promise of future beauty brought me across some prophecies and a C. S. Lewis quote that I’d like to share.  Enjoy. (And feel free to read it a few times to let it sink in.)

Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength.  Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city.  The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.  Isaiah 52:1

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.  Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  Isaiah 60:1-3

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.  Malachi 4:2

The city [Heaven’s Jerusalem] does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.  The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.  On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.  Revelations 21:23-25

“God has given us the Morning Star already: you can go and enjoy the gift on many fine mornings if you get up early enough.  What more, you may ask, do we want?  Ah, but we want so much more – something the books on aesthetics take little notice of.  But the poets and the mythologies know all about it.  We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough.  We want something else which can hardly be put into words – to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.  That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves – that, though we cannot, yet these projections can, enjoy in themselves that beauty, grace, and power of which Nature is the image.  That is why the poets tell us such lovely falsehoods.  They talk as if the west wind could really sweep into a human soul; but it can’t.  They tell us the “beauty born of murmuring sound” will pass into a human face; but it won’t.  Or not yet.  For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendour of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy.  At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door.  We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure.  We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so.  Some day, God willing, we shall get in.”   C.S. Lewis, from The Weight of Glory