Christmas Play Photos

Here are some photos of the COTH Christmas play Back Stage at the Inn taken on Dec 22nd.

This year's production was directed by Noelle Bonk and the photos were taken by Crystal Draper.

Christmas Program Tues Night

Everyone is invited to the

Church on the Hill Christmas Program

'Back Stage at the Inn'

Tues, Dec 22

at 7:30 pm

Please join us as we sing carols
and share the wonderful story of Jesus' birth

Lunch and fellowship to follow.

You are Invited to a Ladies Breakfast

Anita Pearce

will be the Guest Speaker

at the

Ladies Breakfast

9 am

Saturday, Dec 12th

Church on the Hill, Glenavon, SK

For ladies of all ages.

Anita Pearce is an inspirational speaker who has traveled extensively throughout Canada and Europe and will motivate you to be all you can be through humor and music.

You can find out more about Anita Pearce's music and work at

Inspiration Ministries.

Please invite someone to share a morning of fellowship.

Complimentary tickets can be reserved by calling Dianne, Rhonda or Celine

or by phoning the church at 429-2181

COTH Men to Host Former Rough Rider Champion

Michael Palmer

CFL Grey Cup Champion

received his second Grey Cup ring

the last time the Sask Rough Riders won the Championship

and he's the special guest speaker at the

Men's Breakfast

8 am

Saturday, Nov 28th

Church on the Hill, Glenavon, SK

For men and boys.

Please invite someone to share a morning of male fellowship.

Free-will offering at the door.

Our own Maurice Giroux will be the chef.

Go, Riders, Go!

The Lord of the Harvest

Scripture: Luke 10:2, John 4

If you drive through this country especially in the prairies at this time of year, you’re going to see farm equipment and trucks in the fields and driving down the road. And lots of dust. We know it’s harvest time. Pastor Lorne says he usually likes to talk about what the Bible says about harvest. He said this week he was talking to one of the fellows who’s putting in the pipeline. They discussed their ages and families. The man said he had grown kids but no family. He’d been married and divorced 3 times. He said he makes lots of money on his job but only owns one suit. Talks a bit on phone to his brother but that was it. So, he made good money but he didn’t have much of a life.

Jesus was getting ready to send out 72 disciples to be a witness for Him. In Luke 10:2 we read, ‘He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."’

Pastor Lorne said you don’t have to go very far or talk to many people to find out people have despair and no hope. They’re not happy and they’re not enjoying life. Maybe on the outside but they’re empty and bankrupt inside. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful. Pastor Lorne said he wanted to spend some time on Jesus’ words ‘the Lord of the harvest’.

We feel we have to send money, or talk to this person, or visit that person and we become overwhelmed with all the things we have to do. But Jesus said to ask the Lord of the harvest for help. Sometimes people you know are in trouble. They’re aching inside and hurting. He said it seems we don’t have the opportunity to go to those people and encourage them. So today Pastor Lorne wants to say how important it is for us to pray to Him to send out people instead of us. If you know someone in need, ask the Lord to send someone to them.

Pastor Lorne said as he travels throughout the prairies during the summer, he’s learned a lot by listening to people pray. For an example, he heard a man named Lyle pray for God to send someone to encourage and help someone he knew. This was a long time ago, but it has stuck with Pastor Lorne for many years. He said he thinks of someone who he can’t reach, who isn’t receptive, or who he doesn’t have the opportunity to visit. So, he prays for God to send someone else so they would still know and have hope of eternity.

Pastor Lorne likes the King James version of Luke 10:2 ‘pray… the lord of the harvest’. He believes if you have a brother or sister or friend who’s close to you and you want them to have hope in Christ and know their sins are forgiven . . . and that they will go to heaven . . . and no matter what you do you can’t get to them to that point, then pray to the Lord of the harvest to send them someone. Just remember: this doesn’t release us from our obligations to go out and witness to others.

He drew out attention to John 4:35 ‘Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’ Pastor Lorne said here’s the foundation for this story found in John 4: The disciples went to the town to buy groceries and saw the woman at the well. Jesus asked her to draw some water. She’d been married 5 times and was currently living with someone not her husband. V36-38 continues ‘Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.’

Jesus didn’t say the harvest will be ready in 4 months, Jesus said the harvest is ready now.

The pipeline worker whom Pastor Lorne talked to was just one man on that crew. People need to be brought hope and ministered to. When Pastor Lorne looks at the woman at the well, he doesn’t see someone you would pick to be an evangelist. Someone with her background? Yet, in v29, she said, ‘"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"’. And the people followed her and they believed in Him.

Sometimes when we pray to the Lord of the harvest, it can be the most unlikely person to bring hope to the needy. The woman at the well brought the hope of Christ to the people of the village. v 39 says, ‘Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony’. And V 42 says, ‘They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."’ So this woman brought them to Jesus and they heard him speak and developed their own personal relationship with Christ.

In all of this, the concept of the harvest stands out. Jesus was sitting at the well and seized the opportunity to share with this lady the fact that he was Christ.

We need to pray for our family members, close friends from school, neighbors and co-workers. We need to realize sometimes when Christ moves in people’s lives, they aren’t our choices. Christ saw the woman had a hungry heart and she was willing to accept Him and go the extra step. She was a worker and she got results.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage us: When we feel we can’t reach someone, pray to the Lord of the Harvest for someone else to do it.

If you'd like to take to Pastor Lorne please email.

Update on Street Invaders

It's been 2 wks since the COTH youth went out into the world as members of Street Invaders. Youth leader Noelle called with this update on what's happened after a week of training in Eston:

Noelle, Jessica and Samantha left for Calgary to board a flight for Scotland. Their first leg of the journey was to work in a Youth Center in Inverness. They'll then travel to Edinburgh to work in a Fringe Festival. 'It is an Arts Festival where they will be performing drama and speaking to people.'

Nick has been sent to the multi-cultural city of Brooks, Alberta. His second week will be spent working in a camp in Cypress Hills.

Also Alberta bound, Nastassja has gone to Camrose. She's working with a Children's club doing VBS with young children.

Jason has stayed in Saskatchewan and is involved with Morning Star Ministries in Regina. 'His group is called the Compassion Team and will be doing household repairs and such for people in the inner city and Indian Head.' Youth Pastor David Stonechild is heading up this team since Pastor Glen Povey is in a Regina hospital.

On Aug 16th, I'll be heading to Moose Jaw to pick up all the kids except for Noelle who is flying on to Germany from Scotland.

Please pray for the youth, and Noelle, and all the mission teams out there. They need strength and wisdom as they spread God's Word to others.

And pray that God will give them peace and comfort as they work out of their environment, so far from loved ones. Three weeks is a long time to be away from home when you're only 14 yrs old, like Nastassja, Jason and Nick. (Nastassja is battling homesickness and from what I gather from his text messages, Nick is missing home as well.)

Pray also for their safe return the weekend of Aug 15/16.

If you have a word of encouragement for these young people, please leave a comment here, or on the Montmartre/Glenavon Youth Group page on Facebook. (Yes, Jess was on Facebook one night)

Youth Mission Team

As of last Sunday, 7 members of the COTH youth group headed out on Street Invaders mission trips.


L to R:

Nastassja

Noelle(leader)

Jessica

Jason (behind)

Nick

Samantha


Noelle, Jessica and Samantha are flying over to Scotland.

Nastassja, Jason and Nick are ministering here in Saskatchewan.


Please pray for these young people as they bring God's Word to others, that He puts words in their mouths when the time comes so they boldly step forward in His name.

Please pray for the youth so they may keep their ears attuned to God and carry out God's will with obedience.

Please pray for a hedge of protection around these young people and their leader that God keeps them safe as they travel far from their families.

How Do We Please God?

Scripture: I Sam 9:27 to 10:13, Heb 8:10-12, Micah 6: 6-8

Mike Zorn from Grenfell was our guest speaker on Sunday as Pastor Lorne and his family ministered with the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys Assoc.

The message was based on I Samuel 9:27 to 10:13
Mike started the message by giving an apology. He said, as a Christian leader, he advises not to drink, swear, smoke, have pre-marital sex, etc. And he advises to pray, read the Bible, worship God and do all the things which we know will please god. But, he said, quite often even the preachers do some of those things. This fact has divided some churches.

He said there are different types of churches. Some churches are squeaky clean where you’re frowned upon if you drink alcohol, smoke tobacco products, attend movie theatres or participate in dances, etc.

He said if you’re a member of a Pentecostal church you probably go to the odd movie that Jesus wouldn’t like, or even have a bottle of liquor in the house. At least hidden from the pastor. (chuckles). Other religions allow you to be out drinking and swearing even with the pastor.

But how do the kids see us? We preach God values but we don’t live them. Mike said he wants to be honest as a Christian leader but he spends most of his life telling the youth in the centre not to do this and that. He wants perfect kids so people will send in lots of money to support the youth centre. They won’t support the centre if kids are drunk, stoned, or walk around swearing.

But is this how we please God? Mike said sometimes he puts conditions for the kids to please him as the centre leader, or for the pastors or even the town elders.

But how do you please God? Way back when, cavemen saw thunder and thought the gods were angry. They attributed crop failures, lack of deer for hunting, disease, etc to the gods being angry with them. Even in the Old Testament, we read that if someone did this, God would be happy. Yet the Bible is filled with people who didn’t do what God would have liked.

You can’t do enough for God. In the New Testament we live in grace. Jesus paid our way. His blessing is complete. Yet we’ve traded one set of rules for another.

What do we do to please God? If things go bad, what do we do not to displease God?

What is sin? Sin is different for everyone. For Mike, sin is anything that displeases God.

So what displeases God? Mike said anything we do that hurts ourselves, others or God displeases God. That is sin in the simplest of definitions. He said as humans we want simple steps. We say, ‘Tell me what to do so I won’t sin any more.’ We need someone to tell us what to do. We watch commercials and believe what they tell us. That if we buy Tide laundry detergent, we’ll have perfectly clean children. If we shave with a Gillette shaver women will want to touch our face. If we drive a Pontiac vehicle, we’ll live an exciting life.

We want God to give us 3 simple rules we can follow for the rest of our lives. But 2 hrs after a sermon, if you ask the average person, they can’t remember the message. Yet, the same people will watch a movie and 2 months later, they’ll remember some of the scenes and maybe even some lines.

The Bible is 90 % stories and 10 teachings. The Bible is filled with fallen people. Yet we expect our lives to be different. We learn by experience. By falling and getting up again. That’s how we learn. The Bible is filled with people who had a heart after God and yet they struggled through life. Other people didn’t have a heart after God and their life showed it. Our life is meant to be lived as a story and there are no easy steps. God wants us to live from the place in our heart.

Mike said he likes live entertainment like concerts. The best speakers or entertainers don’t need to be good but need to speak or sing from their heart. He knows 2 people who sing. One sings with symphonies and is a perfect singer, with an amazing voice that sounds good to the ear but she sings from her head. But another friend has no training except piano and sings from her heart. She isn’t as polished but when she sits down to sing, something is going through the audience. She has a connection with them. A good entertainer speaks through the heart. People latch onto that.

In the Bible, we have a group of people who had a heart for God and yet they struggled with life.

- David was called a man after God’s own heart and yet he committed adultery and murder.
- Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived yet he spent his life seeking material possessions.
- Peter was a peace loving disciple and a hero of the bible and yet he lopped off a man’s ear.
- Samson was the strongest man ever and yet he chose a woman over God.

And still, we think we have to be perfect to please God. Mike said it dawned on him one day as he read the Creation account in Genesis. God created light and dark on first day. But he didn’t create the sun and stars until the 3rd day. Our light and darkness isn’t the same as God’s idea. Our thinking is backwards to God’s thinking. So often we think we’ll do this and this to please God and He’ll be happy. People with kids – you place rules out of love. You care for them and you want them to turn out good, but when they break the conditions, do you hate them? No. Your love is unconditional as far as human love goes.

Yet when it comes to God, we think it‘s conditional on what we do or think. That’s so far from the truth. Unconditional. The only condition to God’s love is: Will you accept His love? He wants to shower it on you. Yes, He gives us rules, but it’s so we don’t hurt ourselves.

So what about I Samuel 9:27 to 10:13? Mike says it struck him this week that the times he has a heart after God…to seek God, running after him… it’s during those times he doesn’t want to say anything bad abut his neighbours. His heart rejects it. When he’s close to God, he wants to bless them . Help them. When he’s close to God, there’s no temptation to sin. When he’s not seeking God, the temptation is still there and sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t.

Is our heart seeking God? How’s our personal relationship with Him? Don’t worry about the outcome – it will flow naturally if you are with God.

Remember Saul? His heart started to turn from God. Mike said he realized it was his pride that led to Saul’s downfall. At the beginning, he was head and shoulders above every one else. He was the chosen one. Annointed even. Saul met Samuel and Samuel said come with me. God sent you for a different purpose (v9) And God gave Saul another heart and he started prophesying with the prophets. And v11 says everyone who knew him wondered what was going on because he was acting so differently.

God’s Spirit wants to dwell in us. We need to ask God to give us a new heart. As we live out of that place, the rest of our lives will be perfect. If you look back in the Bible, Joseph’s dream wasn’t fulfilled for decades. Yet God’s hand was on Joseph as his heart was after God.

You will struggle but God will be with you. As you live for God, people will notice. As we live out of that place with a heart hungry for God, we’ll make a difference in people’s lives.

Heb 8:10-12 says, ‘10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Remember the parable of the 2 men who built their houses on rock and sand? They did the same work on their houses but one man heard the voice of the Lord and listened. His house was like Him and it stood. The other man heard God and didn’t pay attention. His house crumbled.

That’s the key to success in your life. Listen when God speaks. Run after God and listen. Don’t worry about what we do all the time.

Micah 6: 6-8 asks what pleases the Lord and the answer in 8b is, ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ That’s what God desires most – a relationship with Him. And He’ll walk with you through the good times and bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike is Operations Director of the Kipling Youth Centre. If you would like to speak with him about this post or his youth ministry, please email him.

Blessed By Bluegrass Concert

Music is such a blessing and it flowed from Church on the Hill Saturday night as we welcomed 2 bluegrass bands on the eve of their Craven Country Jamboree appearance.


Pictured here is Endless Train from Winkler, Manitoba.

Left - Joe Teichroeb on the acoustic guitar.

Middle - Calvin Klassen on the bass.

Right - Raymond Klassen on the resonator/dobro guitar.




Here's a close-up of Raymond with his Rayco Resophonic guitar.

Joe said he remembers back when he and Calvin were members of the Dry River Band and Raymond used to hang around and use a butter knife on an acoustic guitar to simulate a steel guitar. And now, here he is playing with skill.

Rayco guitars are handcrafted by Mark Thibeault and
Jason Friesen in Smithers, BC.






After Endless Train played a set, The Willie Sons from Clavet, Sask took the stage.

Left - Alf Epp on mandolin

Middle - Reed Willison on guitar

Right - Brendan Varcoe on electric stand-up bass and banjo.






For some numbers, Joe joined the Willie Sons and for others, the two bands played together. We were really blessed to have these skilled musicians glorify God with their music ministry.

Thank you Endless Train and The Willie Sons for spending a few hours in our little country church.

A Miracle: The Widow's Oil

Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:1-7, Prov 3:5-12, Exodus 4, John 14:12-14, 1 john 5:14-15, Isaiah 43

Pastor Dave Hepburn of Whitewood, SK gave the message on Sunday while Pastor Lorne ministered with the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys.

Pastor Dave based his message on 2 Kings 4:1-7 which is the story about the widow’s oil. He said the lady was in dire need when she came to the prophet Elisha. She had come to the end of herself. Her husband was dead and she had a debt she owed and the creditor was about to take her sons as slaves. Back in those days, there was no social insurance, no welfare. In fact, no one who could come and help her out. She only had her 2 sons to pay the debt yet as they grew older, they had become her helpers.

In our country, our needs aren’t as substantial as many people in other parts of the world. When we’re sick, we go to a doctor.

When our cupboards are bare, we go to the grocery store. Many places in the world don’t have doctors or grocery stores available to them.

Pastor Dave asked us to look at Prov 3:5-12 which states, ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.’

Pastor Dave said this woman came to the end of herself. She knew what was coming. She was coming to the beginning of God’s ability. When we come to the end of our self, we come to God’s abilities. We need to trust Him with all our heart not only in the tough times, but in all times.

Instead of asking what she wanted him to do, Elisha asked what she had in the house. What she had was a jar of oil. Not a huge jar for cooking but according to Hebrew tradition, a small flask used for anointing. She had no money and no livestock for food.

Pastor Dave said there are times when we feel we don’t have much to offer God. He says he can’t sing, can’t speak well, and he’s too shy to visit the neighbours, so what can he offer the Lord? He referred to Exodus 4 when God is calling Moses to the task of leading the Israelites. God had greater plans for Moses than what Moses wanted to do. Moses questioned God’s judgment. God used the miracles of a rod turning into a snake, a hand turning leprous, and fresh water from the Nile turning into blood to show Moses that He was all-powerful and would be with Moses as he faced the people. Moses still had his misgivings about his speech and eloquence but v11-12, says, ‘The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." '

Pastor Dave said there is a lesson in these words that God will not call you to do something you don’t have the ability to do. He wanted to encourage us that the Lord is willing to offer to you that which you need to fulfill your task. God will be with us until the ends of the earth. He won’t leave us helpless.

John 14:12-14 says, ’12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’

The same writer of the Gospel of John also wrote 1 john 5:14-15 which says, ‘14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.’

Do you know that He hears us? Pastor Dave said we can have confidence that God listens to us when we go before Him in His throne room. When the veil of the temple was torn in two, it meant we could now go into the very presence of the almighty God – bypassing the priests – and lay our concerns before Him.

Now back to the widow, Pastor Dave said, 2 things are a key to this miracle:
- She believed in God enough to be obedient
- She gathered the vessels and sent her sons to gather more

When they brought the first vessel, she filled it, set it aside and filled the next, and the next, and the next, until there were no more to fill. The Bible says the oil was stopped when the last empty vessel was filled. This lady could have gone home and done nothing. The creditors would have taken her sons and her debt would have been paid. But she trusted God enough to be obedient. And her sons needed to trust God as well otherwise they would become the payment.

Pastor Dave said the Bible never says we’re not going to go through bad times – it just says God will be with us when we do.

He referred to Isaiah 43 and said there are times we wonder if God will answer our prayers when we have trials. Pastor Dave said he had a trial last spring. He had bulls for sale in the paper, but no one phoned about them. From a farmer’s perspective, no phone calls equates to no sales. He had bills due at the end of June but no money to pay them. So, he decided to start hauling bulls to the auction. When the time came, he got a phone call from a guy who wanted to see the bulls. He brought a neighbour and together, they bought 2. The next guy looked and left. Next guy bought 2. The second guy came back and bought 2.

Pastor Dave said God answered when the time was needed. He said he even sold more than he needed to pay the bills. And yet another farmer didn’t even get any phone calls. Pastor Dave said he praised God for opening the doors when they seemed closed. He said God isn’t just Jehovah Jireh up on the mountain with Abraham. God will provide always.

He said we need to be like this woman. Be obedient to Him. And we need to do something with the miracle He provides. God provided the miracle to the widow. She had the oil. That was nice. All those barrels. What will she do? The creditors are still coming for her sons. The jars are full. God did His part. What’s going to happen? She asks the prophet and Elisha tells her to sell the oil and pay the creditor.

Pastor Dave said sometimes we’re given a miracle and don’t do anything with it. He said we believe the greatest miracle of all – salvation – and yet we hide it under a basket. The Father in heaven is the one that makes the miracles in our lives but we must do something with those miracles so the people can glorify God.

Let’s not hide our light under a basket. Let the people see the glory of God. You may think it’s a stretch but if that widow had an infinite number of jars, she could still be filling them today.

God’s power is infinite. There’s no measure to His grace. And the same God who filled the jars for that lady in Biblical times and gave her enough so she had money left over after her debt was paid is the very same God who knows your needs and your hardships. He still has the ability today to meet those needs. He still knows our needs. He still cares for us.

Do we believe God can meet our needs today as He met that woman’s long ago?
We need to be obedient and surrender our lives to Him completely and wholly.

Pastor Dave doesn’t have much to offer the Lord and yet God met the woman’s need with the little flask of oil. The oil represents God’s Spirit – so His love and Spirit can overflow into our lives and into other people’s lives.

He said God is here to meet your needs. We need to know the difference between needs and greeds so we don’t get them mixed up. God is here to meet our needs. The Bible says if we ask Him anything according to His will, He hears us. If we pray for boldness, God will not say no.

Whatever it may be, the Lord is here. And He wants to meet us and hear our prayers.

If you wish to talk to Pastor Dave about this message, please send an email.

The Importance of the Word of God

Pastor Lorne continued his series on being a Disciple of Christ by reminding us of the importance of the Word of God.

We need a daily time with God’s word so when we come across situations where we need answers, the Word will already be in our hearts to fall back on. As we study the Word, the Holy Spirit will bring Scriptures to our memory and tell us how to react in situations.

We really need to live the Word of God. John 1:1 says, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ And a bit further in v14, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, theglory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ Pastor Lorne says every time he reads the word, he thinks he understands it but the greatness of God overwhelms him. He said his interpretation is that the word of God is Jesus. We know Jesus through the Bible. Pastor Lorne said he knows us because he can actually see us and talk to us. But Jesus isn’t here in the physical form. No man has seen God, but we can know him through his Word. As a disciple of Christ, we need his Word deep down in our hearts.

Pastor Lorne said he knows people don’t have time to read several chapters every day, but he finds even 1 or 2 verses of Scripture helps. Found in the church foyer, the Daily Bread is a nice free little booklet which shows a daily Bible reading and a story to start your day. Pastor Lorne says during the day as he’s doing whatever he needs to do, he’ll remember the story or Scripture in the Daily Bread. In other words, it sticks with him throughout the day. Or, if he turns to his Bible after something has happened, he’ll usually find a verse that will relate to the same circumstance.

Everyone has daily rituals like brushing their hair and teeth, showering, maybe shaving. You take time for what is important to you. Part of that ritual should be to make time for the Lord and let His word speak to your heart at the same time every day. God’s heart is His word, the Bible. It’s teaches us and is the light to lead our path. Just a little bit of time spent in the word. Pastor Lorne said you will be surprised how accurate the Spirit of God knows your life and what you’re going through and he’ll have the right Scripture for you in your particular situation.

Pastor Lorne reminded us of his visit to Hungary. He said he met a German who did whatever he needed to become a farrier including university courses. Then, for on job training, he lived with a Master farrier for 2 yrs and went out with him for calls and whatever situations demanded a farrier. He even had to dig the Master farrier’s potatoes when required.

To Pastor Lorne, that paints a picture of how we as a Disciples of Christ, should follow Him daily and see how He handles(ed) each situation. Sometimes in our life we have to dig the potatoes even if it has nothing to do with our calling. Maybe God brings it into our lives for balance.

The way we follow Christ and see how He dealt with situations is through his Word. There are 66 books in the Bible written by 40 authors and they all have the same theme. So many years and they all point to Christ:
- Psalm 119:89 says, ‘Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.’
- Isaiah 40:8 says, ‘The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."
- Mattt 24:35 ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’

No matter what else is going on in the world, the word of God stands true and will be there forever.

The word of god is inspired. 2 Tim 3:16 & 17 says, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.’

The Word of God shows examples of right from wrong and it shows the path. It shows how to love and trust and even the proper way to rebuke – a touchy subject which Pastor Lorne said he doesn’t like doing too much. He said if you were to go to him and say something, he wouldn’t like it but, if you go to him with the word of god and say, “Look what you’re doing”, Pastor Lorne has to take it because it’s what the word of god says to do.

The Word of God is used for correcting. A teacher corrects and uses a reference. So, when someone corrects us with the word of god, they are following a reference.

The Word of God is used in training righteousness – as a disciple of Christ, we get to know His Word, it will make our lives easier because we have a reference to fall back on – a clear idea of what we have to do.

The Word of God is powerful. Rom 1:16 says, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile).’ The Word of God is so powerful, it can change lives and make a difference. Pastor Lorne could spend his time with us and start off on some analogy or motivational speech but there’s no power in that. The Word of God has the power of God. When you believe in the power of God and it’s in your heart and you live it, there’s a power in your heart. Pastor Lorne can motivate us but he is totally powerless to change our situations. But the Bible says the Word of God gives correction, and when we come to Christ, the Word of God gives us the power to change whatever situation we are in at that time.

Make sure your life has the Word of God in it. You don’t need to be a great theologian with 6 or 7 yrs in seminary. Just spend 5 mins every morning in Scripture and let God speak to you. Your faith will build up. Heb 4:12 says, ‘For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’ Isn’t that good news? The living God is living and active and it gives power to go through any problems you may have.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage you to get some of the Word of God into your heart. He wants to emphasize there are 66 books and lots of chapters and Psalm 119 is daunting. Bbut you know what it says in Psalm 119:105 – ‘Thy Word is a lamp under my path and a light unto my path.’

Pastor Lorne remembers being at camp and the kids would play tricks on the counselors. He said they would check to see if any kids were hiding in the bushes and as he walked in the dark, he felt a wire where the kids had placed it across the path so he was able to step over it. Let Christ light your path in life so you know where to go and what to do.

Quite often the Word of God won’t show the end, but far enough to see a bit, then a bit more as your go forward, just like car lights when you’re driving at night and your car lights shine in the dark and light up the distance ahead, a bit at a time.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage you to look in the Word of God even if it’s only for one verse so you have it in your mind throughout the day.

If you'd like to take to Pastor Lorne please email.

Be a Disciple: Pray

Scriptures: Matt:14-13-14, Luke 18:1, Luke 18:10-14, John 17

Ashlee sang a lingering, worshipful song written by her brother, Josh. Jessica accompanied her on the piano. Ashlee flies out of Regina on Wed, May 13th but won’t arrive home in Australia until Friday. Please pray for her safe arrival.

Pastor Lorne wanted to continue his message about being a being disciple of Christ. He said it’s one thing to accept Christ as our Savior to escape spending an eternity it hell, but it’s another thing entirely to be a disciple of Christ and a real follower.

The definition of a disciple is: someone who follows the teachings of someone else. So, to be a disciple of Christ, you must follow his example.

Pastor Lorne reminded us of a church that was ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’. It translates into a big church with lots of things happening, but the people aren’t really disciples of Christ. And when the pastor left, the church fell apart.

For you to become a real disciple of Christ, you must first have an experience with God. We must take Him into ourselves and take on the characteristics of Christ before we can be real disciple of Him.

Pastor Lorne said Christ was motivated to heal the sick, feed the hungry, cast out demons, and bring people back to life because he had compassion for the people who wept over them.
But another big part of Christ’s life was that he spent a lot of time in prayer.

Pastor Lorne mentioned his own life. When he was growing up, prayer never appealed to him. He was too busy to spend time on his knees as there was always other things to do. Of course, he’d always pray when he got into a bind. As he grew older, he found one of the best times of the day is when he spends time in prayer and gets away to the Lord. Usually early in the morning because it makes the day go better, but sometimes late at night so he can think about the next day. He goes to the Lord in prayer and leaves it with Him and everything comes into perspective and he can manage things better.

Turn your attention to how Jesus dealt with prayer. To Pastor Lorne, it stood out that Jesus was the Son of God because He:
- fed 5,000 men plus women and children on one little boy’s lunch
- healed the sick
- cast out demons
- conquered death
- commanded the weather to obey Him, and it did

Pastor Lorne commented it would really be something to have the ability to direct the weather. Except, we’d all want something different and it would never work.

But why would Jesus need to pray?

In Matt 14:13, Jesus hears about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, and goes off by himself to pray. But, he’s not there very long before the crowds discover him. V14 says, ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Pastor Lorne said he would have thought Jesus would be on a high after performing these great miracles, but He sent the crowd home, and his disciples on ahead, and He went up a mountain and prayed. If Jesus did that when He was in mourning, how much more do we need to develop a life of prayer – to develop a relationship with him – and become a true disciple of Christ?

You don’t need to take 6 hrs of your day and spend it in prayer. Work, families and the world keep us busy. We don’t have time to spend hours in prayer. But, if you can work it out to have just 5 mins somewhere in your life, it will make a great difference. Christ did that – He took time to pray after his greatest triumphs.

People say the greatest time of temptation is when they see a great power performed. So, find a little place and make some time in your busy life. Maybe while you’re driving to work even. Or, maybe while you’re working in the kitchen. It doesn’t matter where, but have that relationship with Him. It’s very important to just take a few mins to pray and seek His face. Pastor Lorne said it’s a great thing to pray together, but it’s just as important to pray alone.

Luke 18:1 says “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” This is the story of the judge who didn’t care about anybody but the lady kept coming and asking for help. This women continued to come so finally the judge said he’d find out what and take care of it so she wouldn’t bother him anymore. Thank goodness God isn’t like that. We can keep going back over and over and He never gets tired of listening to us.

In Luke 18:10-14, two men go up to the temple to pray. Jesus gives us this example that when we go before Him, we need to open all the rooms in our house. Maybe you have a room in your house that you’re not using and keep shoving stuff in it and keep the door closed from company to hide the junk. Pastor Lorne believes when we go before Christ, we need t open all the rooms of our house. Like the tax collector – he didn’t show just the nice kitchen and shiny sink or dining and living rooms with nice furniture – he opened his house and said, Lord, this is it.

We need to come before God and open up our lives to Him. Come before the Lord in prayer. Christ wants us to show him everything. We are human and sinners and need His grace to come in and be a part of our lives. You know what the bible says – all our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) because our righteousness is in Christ. We need to come before God with an open heart.

John 17 is a complete chapter of prayers that Jesus prayed. He prayed for Himself, for His disciples and He prayed for the believers. Pastor Lorne said he noticed some interesting things in this chapter of Jesus:

- v10 “All I have is yours and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.” Pastor Lorne said that’s quite a statement. Jesus acknowledged that His followers and disciples brought glory to Him. As true disciple of Christ, our lives would bring glory to God. We might think we’re failures and mess everything up, but we can bring glory to Christ in our lives.

- v24-26 – this is Jesus’ prayer for you and me. It’s one of the prayers for the father to his son. The love God had for his Son. Jesus is praying that you and I, as children of God, will have that love in our heart. He is in you and me in his Holy Spirit in our hearts and our lives.

Pastor Lorne asked us to forgive him but he had another grandfather story: He said his young granddaughter stays overnight sometimes. And he’ll get up early and be reading and doing his devotions and she’ll come downstairs, climb into his lap, and tell him her dreams and other little things important to her heart. Little special times of talking. No one else, no toys, just talk. He said he thought of how we can come to God, crawl on his lap, tell him our dreams and disappointments and they may not make sense to anyone else but to you and your heavenly father. He wants to hear what you have to say.

And the way we can do it is in the avenue of prayer. Even though we feel weak and helpless to change our situations, when you come before God, you have the resources that created heaven and earth.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage each one of you as a follower to pray. That time you spend in prayer is important to just talk to Him and He’ll talk, listen and encourage you. Just like a grandchild will share, share your little things with God. We need someone to listen without judgment or suggestion. Your heavenly father is that person. Have that time to talk with God and share what’s in your heart.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .
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Mini stories from Sunday

I'm working on Sunday's message but in the meantime, here's two short stories of other things that happened on Sunday.

Every Sunday, I carry my little typing table to church and set it up in the last row so I can take down the message. Well, this Sunday, I reached for my table and at the last minute I backed away. I remembered a computer desk sitting in the alcove behind the window where we usually sit. The desk was facing the wrong way, but I thought if I sat at it and someone from the congregation saw my back, maybe they’d offer to move things around so I could sit in front of the window while I typed. So, I left my table at home…and stood stunned when I walked into the foyer and saw the desk already in front of the window and the alcove had been enclosed with a wall and door. Wow! Thank you, God. Oh – and Maurice who is leading the work of building a sound room. What a delightful surprise.

With her charming Australian accent, Ashlee gave a report on the youth retreat she and other members attended on Sat. They headed up to the Strasbourg Bible camp and came back quite late. Ashlee said the session was an awesome testimony to what is happening with the youth. She said she saw young 12 and 13 yr olds touched by the words and music, raising their hands in worship. It was really encouraging. Ashlee also said God has been watching out for her and she’s blessed to be able to stay at Pastor Lorne and Dianne’s place. When she left Australia, she didn’t think she was coming here to meet with God, but He’s been showing her stuff and getting closer to her.
Thank you for sharing, Ashlee.

Changes

Welcome to a new look for Church on the Hill.

I've been having technical problems with my computer and with the little voice recorder I use to tape Pastor Lorne's messages so I don't have a current message for you.

However, I've been trying to find a new layout for this blog and I thought this might be a good one.

The only thing I don't like about it is that there are no buttons for you to push to go to the different pages for the Prayer List, Music, Youth, Sunday School, etc.

What do you think? Do you think it's okay?

Or would you mind if I try another one?

Please leave a comment so I know what you're thinking.

God bless you.

Happy Blessed Easter

Jesus' Triumphant Entry

Pastor Lorne started the Palm Sunday service by thanking Kathy for another inspiring banner. He said visitors to the church always pay compliments for our banners and our church is becoming known for them. So, thank you to Kathy for all her hard work. The church is blessed with their presence.

This is Holy Week for those Christians who use the liturgy in their worship

Pastor Lorne said he wasn’t sure how it was back in Jesus’ time, but for us from now until Easter, we celebrate His triumphant entry on Palm Sunday. We remember how He gave His life for us on Good Friday, and then Holy Week climaxes with the joyful day of Easter when we proclaim Christ has risen from the dead. All those important dates to our culture, our faith and the whole basis for what we believe.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to take a few minutes and talk about Jesus’ triumphant entry. In His life, He had high points with great flocks of people following Him everywhere. At times during his ministry, He would say He couldn’t do many miracles due to unbelief, ridicule, and the religious leaders who tried to engage Him in debates to make Him look foolish. At times, He had to slip through the crowd so He wouldn’t be caught and killed.

A high point of Palm Sunday for the people who followed Jesus was that it gave them a glimpse of the future. Pastor Lorne said they’ve been following Revelations in the Bible study and it parallels the Easter story.

In Matt 21:1-11, as Jesus rode through Jerusalem, the people threw their coats and palm branches on the road. Some went ahead and some followed shouting Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!

Pastor Lorne said the word Hosana has a couple of meanings:
-the real literal meaning is ‘Lord save us’.
-but it also means a word of praise and worship to God

So as these people were following Jesus and shouting, they were saying Lord save us and praise the lord. This procession was going through the city and it was a real uproar. In Regina, you probably wouldn’t even notice due to the traffic and everyone inside with their furnace or air conditioning units on depending on the season, but back then, everyone was outside. There were no trucks or buses to hide the sound. Everyone could hear the shouts of the people and they must’ve wondered who was causing it all. The crowds were so happy saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Galilee.” Matt 21:11

While the procession went along, hope was rising in the people of Israel. They were living under the roman thumb of rule. They were looking for someone to deliver them. Prophets had said God would send someone and deliver them from all their troubles and problems. From the tyranny of Rome. For a few brief hours, they had this hope of a Messiah taking them away for the problems of other countries running all over them and tearing down their temples.

Can you just picture it? Pastor Lorne said he’s seen movies and pictures on this but do you know it was kind of short lived, wasn’t it? It wasn’t too long before those people who were happy with Jesus turned their back on Him because He didn’t do for them what they expected of Him. They wanted someone to reign with all authority.

It is coming. According to the book of Revelations, Christ will rule and reign with total authority. But on Palm Sunday, so long ago, we see that Jesus came with a donkey, quietly and in peace with people praising and worshiping Him.

Jesus also came humbly. Pastor Lorne said he has 3 donkeys at their place and there’s a big difference between horses and donkeys. When a horse is happy, his head is up and he’s prancing around. Donkeys chug along, big eared and even handling them is humbling. He said it’s good because of the way they walk. Jesus came like the donkey although not quite such a big stride. As one bringing peace humbly, before the people of the day.

Jesus first came humbly and triumphant. But Rev 19:11-14 shows the difference when Jesus comes in the future. He’s coming with a white horse and a whole bunch of different crowns. Following behind Him are angels also riding white horses. Jesus destroyed and defeated his enemies with the sword of his mouth. It finally came to pass. The fact that Jesus ruled and reigned in absolute authority. It was a time peace. No wars because Jesus was there. (Rev 20)

Zacheriah 9:8 is prophesying about a Messiah coming forth in a triumphant entry riding on a donkey. And it’s speaking of a Messiah who will rule until the end of time.

It’s exciting to see how God’s word was fulfilled totally and completely. The 2nd part is still coming. As we read and celebrate his triumphant entry, it gives us just a brief glimpse. Pastor Lorne said he was so glad he was privileged to know about this and made the personal commitment to allow Christ into his life. When Christ comes back if we’still here, we’ll go with Him and if we’ve passed on, we’ll meet him in the air as He’s gathering His children.

So as we go through this Holy Week, Pastor Lorne wanted us to know that even though Jesus was beaten, ridiculed, called a friend of the sinners, and ate with people of ill repute which angered many people, He is the triumphant King of Kings. We read all the wonderful things He did. It’s a privilege we can have a personal relationship with Him. God loves each one of you and He will bring to pass His word.

There’s coming a day when we will be with Jesus and this march into Jerusaem will not compare to Him in glory. That’s the glorious hope we have.

Jesus is triumphant! He is going to win.

We will win in the end because of what Jesus proclaimed.

Pastor Lorne said in this Holy Week, as he studied these things, he could see the human part of Jesus coming out. In the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36) Jesus says, ‘Abba Father," He said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

We have some real hard things we have to go through. We say we don’t want to do this, or we don’t have to put up with that. We just want someone to take our troubles away. Jesus also prayed this but He also prayed for God’s will to be done and then He went right to the cross.

Pastor Lorne said he trusts during this week, you’ll turn your mind to what Jesus has done for you and me. The scriptures say by His stripes you are healed.

Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We have the right to come before God because of Jesus and ask for help with the needs in our lives and the healing in our bodies. Hosanna!

A Glimpse of God

Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-7, Daniel 7:9-10 , 2 kings 19:28, Prov 21:1,

Rev 1:12-18, Rev 4:1-6, Rev 5:11-14, Rev 14:2,

Pastor Lorne gave us this message back on Feb 15th but I think it’s something we all need to hear.

He started by saying over his lifetime, he’s studied scriptures, read them and preached on them but lately, mainly because of the Wed night Bible study, something caught his eye. He said he never really had a good picture of before in his mind, of what the glory of God really was. So he wanted to take a few moments and paint an picture of the glory of God. How great and majestic He is.

He said sometimes we hear flippant remarks about Him and sometimes people talk about Him as if He was just another guy. We take him for granted. If we need help, we ask what we want and expect to get it. We sometimes refer to him as the man upstairs. Or we see pictures of a frail old man sitting on a throne and kind of looking down. So many times we hear and see God as being a little better and a little stronger than us. Someone who an do more things than we can.

But as Pastor Lorne started to read through scripture, about what some of the people saw and heard from God, he figured if he’d been there at the time, he probably would’ve had a heart attack. He said he didn’t think his human body would be able to stand it. He said they were almost near death from experiencing it because it was just so great and so wonderful.

In Isaiah 6:1-7, Pastor Lorne said Isaiah had a vision of great and wonderful things that caused him to realize how much of a sinner he really was. And as he looked at these things, his cry was, ‘Woe to me I’m ruined because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.' So he was really filled with fear and wondered what was going to happen. He said he was ruined, done for. He’d seen this great vision of what God is like and all of a sudden, the glory and the righteousness of God was in sharp contrast to his own life. So he was in the presence of God for those few moments, he was just totally taken by what he saw.

There are many places in the Old Testament where people had an opportunity to stand in the presence of God. Daniel 7:9-10 says, ‘As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.’

So this is the vision that Daniel saw. Pastor Lorne said if you go back to V7, Daniel describes the beasts as ‘terrifying and frightening and very powerful’. These are things Daniel saw that would happen in the future. Pastor Lorne said he could imagine Daniel just pouring sweat as he saw and experienced all these great and wonderful things.

He said we hear of men and dictators and others who aspire to be world leaders and they say ‘I’m going to do this and you do that.’ And James talks about that and says we can’t take tomorrow and say this will happen because we don’t know what will happen. Things just don’t work that way.

But what does God think about all this? In 2 kings 19:28 God says, ‘Because you rage against me and your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.' Pastor Lorne said if you know livestock at all you know if you put a ring in a bull’s nose, you can pretty well take a 2000 lb bull and control him. Same as a bit in a horse’s mouth. And God says that to this king who thought he was pretty big. So God still is in control. He’s big enough that he can cause people to do whatever he wants them to do.

Prov 21:1 says, ‘The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.’ Pastor Lorne said you know when you have a creek and the water follows along that ditch and goes wherever the ditch is, and God said he would direct that king just like water through the curves and turns in the ditch. God said that’s how that king will have to follow Him. So he uses that as an illustration of how He can control and deal with people.

Pastor Lorne said we’ll go right to the book of Revelations for the next scriptures. He said this is where we really find the greatness of God and how wonderful he really is. He said he trusts in a small way, to be able to paint a picture for us of how majestic and powerful God is. He said he doesn’t think our human bodies can survive being in God’s presence because we are so weak compared to Him.

When you consider what John saw in Rev 1:12-18 and the effect it had on him, no wonder he fell before Him like he was dead. It was too wonderful and too great, he just couldn’t take it all in.

Another illustration of the greatness of God is in Rev 4:1-6 where John saw all these great and wonderful things. Pastor Lorne said reading that scripture gave him another glimpse of how great God really is. How wonderful and powerful is the God that we serve and life for. He said it amazes him as he thinks of those things.

In v4, John then talks about the 24 elders surrounding the throne which threw off flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Pastor Lorne said he could just imagine the loudest and most brilliant summer thunder storm he’d ever been in. A deep rumbling, crashes of thunder, flashing lightning and everything happening around the throne of God. The God we serve isn’t just “the man upstairs”. He’s not this old man. He’s not just some figure that we pray to or lift our eyes up to. Here’s a picture of the greatness of God. The pealing thunder just a roaring. John must have been totally overcome by those things.

Pastor Lorne said when John saw all those lamp stands blazing, he must have looked for a welding helmet to ward off the blazing light. He was unable to stand and look because of the brightness of God.

He said v6 talks about the 4 winged creatures. Pastor Lorne said he was sure John hadn’t seen anything like it. They had eyes all over them, front and back. One had a lion’s face, another like an ox, another like a man and the other one like an eagle. They were covered with eyes all around and they even had eyes under their wings. And they were crying out, ‘Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is to come.' And whenever they did that, the 24 elders would fall down and they would worship God. There would be just a great lot of activity with the thunder and the lightning and the blazing lights and all these people worshipping God.

Pastor Lorne said that would be quite an experience. Something to see. It would be wonderful and terrifying. He said he was sure John would’ve been just quivering as he experienced all these things. Pastor Lorne said it would be a terrible thing – an experience of a lifetime wouldn’t even be a good enough way to describe it. He was sure John was just weak after seeing all that.

Rev 5:11-14 adds a little more to this picture: ‘Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise....’

Now if you do the math about this thousands upon thousands, ten thousands upon ten thousands, it would be millions of angels singing praise to God. Lifting up His name. And the elders and the winged creatures all worshiping God. it would be an amazing experience. It would number in the millions. Pastor Lorne said he’s never seen a million people in one place at one time. That’s quite a crowd. But, he said he could imagine the sound, the noise. Then in Rev 14: 2, John said, 'And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder...' Pastor Lorne said it would be like standing and listening to the volume and force of Niagara falls and yet that isn’t even a good enough illustration.

So all these things is what John saw when he saw God lifted up and saw what His glory was all about. Pastor Lorne said it’s just a little glimpse of how great God is. How wonderful and powerful he is. And majestic. Like they say, it blows your mind. It’s almost too much to imagine. The Bible even says the description John gives doesn’t really even describe God. He describes the throne and everything that happened in the surr just the throne and everything that happens around it. But John only talks about God briefly. Pastor Lorne said he believes it’s because John couldn’t really look at Him. We know that Moses covered his face before he met God. Even the winged creatures around the throne covered their eyes with one set of wings because of the glory of God.

Rev 5:13 says, ‘13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Pastor Lorne asked us if we can imagine what that would sound like, with every creature in heaven, every creature on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea all singing. It would be a choir we can’t compare to anything else.

Pastor Lorne spoke of George Beverly Shea who has sung with great choirs made up of 1500-2000 people and yet all those choirs combined is nothing compared to what the choir in heaven that will bow down before God and look at His majesty and at His Grace. The Bible says every living being on the earth and in the sea will lift up its voice and will say, ‘"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

Pastor Lorne said you and I don’t serve a God who’s rushing around in heaven thinking: this guy’s in trouble, how can I fix this. He just covers everything. He said the thing that really got to him was that even in all His greatness, He still cares enough for you and me to send His son from all the glories of heaven to die on the cross and shed his blood to pay the penalty of our sins.

God cares about our lives. He cares about the things we’re going through. Our aches and pains, sicknesses and heartaches and our situations. Yet Pastor Lorne said he just don’t understand how God can be so concerned with us when you consider all this other stuff going on in heaven with people singing, praising, worshiping and throwing down their crowns. He said in another place, vials of all the saint’s prayers were brought before God and in their time, all these things would be brought to pass.

But to realize that He loved his creation enough to give up His only Son so that you and I could be free from sin so that one day we will stand before that throne and we’re going to put our crowns down before Him. We’re going to worship Him and we’re going to praise Him. And we’re going to say, ‘"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" And that’s just going to be one marvelous day. It’s going to be terrific!

Mat 11:28 says ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ Today, even though God is so great and so wonderful, He wants to give you rest in your heart and in your soul. He tells us in Scripture that in this life, we will have tribulation and problems but He will give us rest.

Pastor Lorne said he fails at telling us how great and wonderful God really is. He said in heaven, people are worshiping God. Worship and praise going on all the time. He said as the Keller’s go back up to lead worship, if we couldn’t lose ourselves in the presence of God...

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

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Gospel Music Concert at COTH

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Everyone is welcome

Please join us for an evening of Country Gospel music.

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Valentine Dessert Fundraiser a Success!

Holly-Lee Lambert drove 4 hrs from Westbourne, MB to sing her country gospel songs for us on Friday night. Wonderful love songs entertained the 60 or so adults and youth gathered in the Church on the Hill basement.
The Annual Dessert Auction is the main fundraiser for the Youth Group. Already this year, the youth are asking to go out on mission trips like Street Invaders to work with troubled youth on the streets.

Youth leader Noelle said this year, area merchants stepped forward to support the fundraiser without even being asked. Donations included:
- Solar Light Set by Sluser's Garage
- Bath Beauty Set by Fairmont Farms
- Afghan made and donated by Rose Pollock
- Valentine Snack Bowl Gift Basket by Perras Family Foods
- Original Painted Rock made and donated by Celine Giroux
- 2 x Free Brunch Gift Certificates from Charlotte at the Glenavon Bakery

With the teens in charge of the night's entertainment, they invited 5 couples to play a fun game of 'Tell Your Mate How to Find Your Shoe'. The wives were directed to politely tell their blindfolded husbands where to find their shoes in the pile. Once the hubby had the shoes in hand and still with their blindfolds on, the hubbies had to put the footwear on their feet. This was a very entertaining game. I believe Erin and Ben won the prize for this game.

Kevin Lackey drove up from Weyburn just to be our volunteer auctioneer for the evening. The first thing he did was pick Pastor Lorne as his ring man. His next thing was to instruct Pastor Lorne how to be one.

With youth member Samantha's help, Kevin started the auction with the donations from the local businesses.

Youth member Jessie displays a Chocolate Mint Torte.





Youth member Nicholas has bid and won some cupcakes. Now he just wants to dream about them.

Rose made and donated this warm afghan.

The highest bid of the night ($130) went for this tray of Chocolate Cream Puffs. (below)

25 items were donated to this year's Dessert Auction. Total money raised for the Youth Group was $1600.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in even the smallest way to the success of this night.

Valentine Dessert and Auction Night

Please join us for the Church on the Hill Annual

Valentine Dessert and Auction Night

Feb 13 at 7:30 pm

Entertainment by Holly-Lee Lambert

Desserts Auctioned off by Kevin Lackey

Come on out for an evening of music, sweet desserts and coffee and a chance to bid on something special to take home.

All proceeds go to the COTH Youth Group