Welcome to Church on the Hill, Glenavon, Sask, Canada







Friday, September 12, 2008

Behind the Tapestry

Scriptures: Rom 8:28, 1 Peter 4:12, John 13:7, Gen 37 onward

Pastor Lorne welcomed the guest speaker, Anita Pearce from Margo, Sask. She travels all over the world speaking and he said it was a pleasure for her to be here today.

Anita brought an assortment of her CD’s and books which were set up in the foyer. She said she’s had a new book out since she was here last. She went on to say her upcoming schedule was taking her to Alberta, Belgium, and Switzerland for the next 3 months but she was thankful she could make it down to see us. She then delighted us by singing a couple songs: And I know, Yes, I know, The Best Friend We Can Ever Know, and then she invited us to join her singing What a Friend We have in Jesus and Oh, How I Love Jesus.

Anita’s message:

Please turn with me to the Rom 8:28. I don’t have anything new and earth-shattering for you this morning, but I do have something that I believe will encourage you and help you in whatever you may be experiencing. If you have the King James version, read together with me. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose ‘ Amen, that’s a wonderful scripture and I know some of you know that off by heart.

I want to bring you something that is very real to me personally. As some of you may know, I just lost one of my brothers 2 ½ wks ago. (This is posted on the prayer list) There’s lots of talk about life and God’s promises and these questions in life. And so, I have to speak from my heart, as some of these things are very precious to me at this moment, and I know they can be precious to you.

Now, you have a couple magnificent tapestries here, and I don’t know exactly how these tapestries are made, and I don’t know how some of the great wall hangings I’ve seen in Europe and other places are made. Nowadays, it’s all in factories, but there was a time, when it was like my mother used to make – needlework. My mother used to take a piece of cloth on which a design would’ve been ironed or printed, then she would put it in a small circular kind of a clamp, and she had a whole bunch of colored silk threads. Beautiful threads. And, she’d follow the pattern pulling these colors through, following the design on the cloth and in a little pattern book on how it was supposed to have been done. But while she worked, she always worked on the bad side. You know the one where you made the knots and the tangles and or the extra long stitches...how many of you know what I’m talking about? How many don’t have a clue? (laughter) So, it’s as though you could only see the good side when it was finished.

Now those huge tapestries and maybe even some of these, (Anita peeked behind the one hanging behind her) were as big as a wall, and it was framed and they worked on them for years. When it was finished, it was turned and then you’d see all the beauty of the finished product. But you didn’t get to see the good side until it was all done.

As a little girl, I can remember getting down as my mother sat working on this needlework. I’d be down on my knees and I would try to peek underneath to see the good side. And it was beautiful. No knots, no straggly threads. There was no long stitches crossing. Everything was perfect. It was the finished picture.

And Corrie Ten boon said that’s what life is like: ‘While on earth, we’re only seeing earth’s side of things. We only get to see things in the light of human reality. We don’t get to see the end. Therefore, we often have puzzles and questions about the knots and the tangles of life. Those ugly patches by which we pass through. It doesn’t make sense. Why? How come? Don’t you ask questions like that? About stuff that happens in life?

I just want to take this Scripture and apply it as God’s promise that this world’s not spinning out of control, and that God has a design, a method, a pattern and a plan for every detail of our lives. If that were not true, then this Scripture could not be true. If this Scripture is not true, then the Word of God is not true.

But, because God is who He is - with the pattern and design for even the difficult scars, knots and tangles of life - that means that out of the darkest tangles, He is able to bring something that will bring glory to Himself.

And ultimately, the greatest human purpose...even above the working God and knowing God...the greatest human purpose...I am convinced...is to bring glory to God. If He is glorified, then everything makes sense. And that means that God is able to make something beautiful out of the most difficult circumstances and tragedies by which we pass. No, they’re not beautiful or good in themselves any more than one puzzle piece has very much value or very much beauty, but when you put it all together, it makes a very beautiful picture.

I’ve worked on a few puzzles and there’s nothing so annoying as to get that picture finished except for one measly piece. (laughter) A beautiful picture right there and then there’s one piece missing. That one piece...when it is found, it makes all the difference and turns something ugly into something beautiful.

There is no place where God has offered total explanations for all of our questions. That’s not His purpose. Yes, he give us explanations now and then when we can take it. He gives us promises. And like a child, we must have trust in His promises.

Now, I don’t know what knots or tangles, or questions of confusion are the black scars in your life. But I know enough about myself to know that every one of you has some. If you haven’t, you’ll get some soon. Get ready. (laughter) It’s just a fact of life. If you’re going to weave a tapestry, you’re going to have knots. If you’re going to paint a picture...if you’re going to do anything...there’s going to be corners that need to be fixed. There’s going to be questions. There’s going to be puzzles in life. But, I don’t know, maybe you have family difficulties, maybe it’s rained on your crop. (laughter due to all the rain on our crops). Maybe you got your combine all ready to go and it started raining, again. Maybe it’s a difficult circumstance. Just as the weather turns nice, and just as you’re ready to put the combine into gear, it breaks down.

I don’t know what it’s like in your life. I don’t know your problems. Maybe it’s problems with your home, children, parents, school, your job or lack of a job, maybe its problems with the big truck. Maybe it’s problems with conflicts in the past – things that have happened a long time ago that you’ve never been able to resolve. Situations that come again and again like a black knot or an angry scar in your past and every time it comes up, you say, ‘How can anything good come out of this?’ What is the purpose of this? God, where were you? Why has this happened?

I would just like to remind you of a couple of little things. Turn to 1 Peter 4:12 ‘Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.’ It’s a beautiful Scripture – Don’t be surprised if there’s problems in life, but rejoice. Even the apostle Peter said don’t be surprised – there are going to be knots and tangles in life.

Then I’d like you to turn to John 13:7 – a magnificent Scripture. Jesus was washing the disciples’ feet in John 13 and He came to Peter. And Peter said, ‘You’re not gonna wash my feet.’ I don’t know why he said that. Did you ever wonder why he said that? Jesus was washing the others’ feet. Jesus had previously explained very clearly that He was going to be crucified, that he was going to be resurrected. And all these disciples sitting there didn’t hear a thing. Dead as a doorknob, didn’t understand a word He said, they didn’t hear a thing He said. And now, as He’s going to wash Peter’s feet, Peter says, you can’t wash my feet. Then Jesus says, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." Then Peter says, ‘Well then, I’ll just crawl right in the basin’. (laughter)In v7, Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

I wonder how many times I’m just like Peter. I want an explanation of how this happened, why is it happening, and how is it going to turn out. I really want to understand what’s going. And the Lord says, ‘Anita, there’s really no point in explaining it now...you’re so thick you wouldn’t get it anyway...just trust me and some day, you’ll catch it.’ Now, in that context, I just want to remind you that problems are going to happen in life.

When I was in high school a couple years ago (laughter) I remember in chemistry them telling us where diamonds come from. In Europe, there is coal but the movement of the earth with the heat and pressure rubbing against the coal creates pure elemental carbon and it begins to crystallize and it is this which becomes diamonds. Isn’t that fantastic? That’s why up north near our way, they’re finding huge places full of diamonds. You know, you could be sitting on a diamond mine down here. Under this beautiful prairie, they say it’s full of coal. A diamond is just a chunk of coal that made good under pressure. (laughter)....God’s in the business of making diamonds out of you.

I just want to take the story of Joseph. In Genesis, there are 11 chapters devoted to Joseph. This story is amazing. Let’s review the story starting in chap 37: He’s having these dreams and his brothers were filled with envy and jealousy and they made a plan to kill him then they planned to sell him. So they sold him to Egypt where he became a servant to Potiphar, was falsely accused by that wicked woman, was thrown into prison and forgotten.

Finally, Joseph was brought out to translate the dream of the king and as he stands before Pharoah, Pharoah is so impressed with the gift God has given Joseph, that he says to Joseph, ‘I want you to be the prime minister of Egypt’. So suddenly, from the dungeon to the throne, Joseph becomes the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt in that society.

So, here is Joseph, the years have gone by...20 yrs at least, full of questions. On the backside of the tapestry of Joseph’s life, all he sees are the knots and the tangles. It doesn’t even make sense: Why did I even have those dreams? What do the dreams mean? Why do my brothers hate me enough to kill me? They sold me. And then I tried to live a life with integrity and I’m falsely accused of rape. Then I’m thrown in a dungeon and they forget me. Then why have I become the 2nd most powerful man in the world. Why?

If Joseph could look at the tapestry of his life from the wrong side, there would be so many knots, scars, wonderings, and so much confusion, don’t you think?

But why? How come? Just like the little kids aged 2-4: But why? But why? And after you give them the very best explanation – but how come? (laughter) And I’m sure, that’s how it was for Joseph. If he’d argued, he could’ve become so disheartened simply because of all the knots, tangles and questions in his life. But he just kept on walking with the Lord.

Then one day in Gen 45, Joseph finally got all 11 of his brothers bowing on their knees in front of him and it’s exactly like his dream of 20 yrs ago. As they are bowing, he tells the Egyptians to go away and probably for the first in 20 yrs, he speaks Hebrew in v3: ‘Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph!’ It was an earth-shattering moment. Then Joseph goes on to ask, ‘“Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.’

They were terrified. This powerful prince is their little brother who they sold and took the money and bought goodies with it...this powerful person standing if front on them... and they know their very lives hang in his fingertips. Just one word from Joseph and they could all lose their heads or dangle from ropes for weeks. It was a terrifying moment.

And look what it says in v7 & 8: ‘But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.’ Just for a picture’s sake, could it be at that moment, that God has turned the tapestry and Joseph can see what God sees.

Do you get what I’m saying? It was not you guys, it was God. And in God’s big plan, he’s arranged this whole thing so I can be at this place at the right time in history at the right moment to save your lives.

God made a promise to Adam that He will send a Messiah...then God goes ahead 20 yrs and sends Joseph ahead to prepare the way, speaking the right language, the right culture at the right moment in history to prepare a way to save the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...a promise that affected the coming of Jesus Christ through the house of Judah, 1500 hrs later.

The promise is true. All things work together for the good – not only in that little moment in time that we see, but in the big scheme of things. Some of the knots in our life are downright ugly and painful but somehow, they can work together for good to them who love God.

Now, you can understand Joseph at this moment. I want to show you something now from the others side. I want to tell you the rest of the story (laughter)

Look in Gen 46 for Jacob’s story. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. Jacob has sent Joseph to check on his brothers. The brothers take Joseph, strip him and sell him. They take his coat of many colors, dip it in blood, bring it back to their father and say, ‘Well, it looks like an animal ate him’. Jacob is devastated. ‘Joseph, my son!’ And the years of questions begin. Why did I send him out to his brothers? I’m not sure of their story...I don’t trust them. Why did I let him out of my sight? All the introspection...

And the Bible says, Jacob refused to be comforted. He mourned and grieved for his son, Joseph. His hair turned gray and he cried buckets of tears every morning until sunset as he grieved for his son. Twenty years of mourning and grieving and praying. Then one day, the 11 brothers come trotting back from Egypt with these fancy wagons and say, ‘Guess what we found in Egypt? Joseph is alive in Egypt!’
Jacob can’t believe it! He just spent 20 yrs grieving the loss of his son and now they’re saying he’s alive in Egypt.

I don’t think the brothers went into any great detail explaining how Joseph ended up in Egypt. Jacob would not believe until he saw the wagons and then he said, "I'm convinced my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." V27 & 28. Then Jacob packed up the whole family and moved to Egypt because there would be 7 more years of famine.

And the first night of the trip God comes to Jacob with a dream/vision and says starting in Gen 46:3 ‘I am God, the God of your father," He said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again...’ Oh, and by the way, you’ll get to see Joseph again, isn’t that neat. Now, my question is: Why didn’t God give that dream to Jacob 20 yrs previous ago? It would’ve saved 20 barrels of tears never mind the waste of Kleenex! (laughter) Why didn’t God explain it 20 yrs ago? Why? Why didn’t you tell me. I could’ve enjoyed 20 yrs of joys and blessings, sunsets and roses.

I believe this explains why Jesus said to Peter. ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." I think Jacob was enough like you and me that if he’d known his favorite son, Joseph, was alive and well in Egypt, he would’ve hopped onto the first camel, trotted right down there, got Joseph, and trotted them all back and got them all in a heaping mess.

But God couldn’t tell Jacob not one minute sooner. I think for the same reason Jesus couldn’t tell Peter. We’d like to get into Gods plan. We’d like to make the design of our own tapestry to our own will. But, God’s design is so far superior to ours. And we know we have God’s promise that all things work together for good.

How many of you have read the book, The Missing Piece by Lee Ezell? She became a Christian at 17 yrs at a gospel service and grew to love the Lord. One night walking home from work, she was attacked by a man and as a result, was going to have a baby. Huge questions: God, where were you? Why did you let this happen? With no means of support, she gave her baby up for adoption. When here baby was born, she held it for a while then gave it away. The years went by and she was married and had other children but she’d wake in the night, think of her missing child, and pray that her little girl would come to know Jesus. And the questions. Why? Ugly, dark nightmares and scars of her past. Then 20 yrs later she was reunited with her daughter – a mirror image of herself 20 yrs earlier. What do you say to each other? Finally Lee, the mother burst out, ‘Why did you try to find me?’ And her young 20 yr old daughter said, ‘Just a few yrs ago, somebody told me about a Friend who’d never leave me. I gave my life to Jesus and at that moment, something happened inside me. I just had to find my birth mother and tell her about Jesus.’

They gave testimony together that God can make something beautiful out of the ugliest tragedy of our life. And sometimes we get to see other tapestries - just little glimpses - while we’re still here. Sometimes we’re gonna have to wait til we see the other side of the picture. If you’ve every done any type of needlework, when you’ve made the finest stitches, the ugliest knots are made because of the finest stitches in the picture.

We don’t have explanations, but we have His promise. There is one condition to this promise: ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who are called according to his purpose.’ That’s the one condition – that we are loving God and following his path.

What about you this morning? Many of you follow Jesus, but what about the ones who’s faith have fallen by the way because of all the questions in your life? This morning, let’s make a commitment to hold His hand, even if we don’t have the explanations. Even if we don’t understand. Even though the knots and the tangles are so long, some day we’ll understand.

Can we make that engagement with Jesus today?

You can find out more about Anita’s music and books at www.inspirationministries.net/ E-mail: inspiration@sasktel.net

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Thursday, September 4, 2008

COTH Baptismal Service

On Sunday Aug 24th, 2008 Pastor Lorne's message was on why we were holding a Baptismal service that afternoon. He used scriptural references including Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River. His message explained why a person would want to get baptized. He told us that 'Baptism is an outward example to people who witness it that the person has decided to follow Christ in their life and they’re going to dedicate their life to him and whatever direction in life He will lead them.'

After the morning service concluded, the congregation went out to Wes and Lori's farm for the  Baptismal Service where six members would take the plunge for Christ.

Here, Pastor Lorne explains that getting baptized is following Christ's direction and the only criteria for baptism is that you believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and ask Him into your heart.

Preparing for the Plunge, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

The physical act of being baptized is when the pastor lowers you in the water, holds you under for several moments, and then brings you up. It sounds like a weird thing to do, but it symbolizes that you are yielding to Christ and are going to live your life for Him.


Who's First?, COTH  Baptismal Service 2008

Lori Leads in Prayer, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

JJ Being Baptized, COTH Baptismal Service 2008


Nick Before, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

Nick Being Baptized, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

Nick After Baptism, COTH Baptismal Service 2008


Maurice Before, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

Maurice Being Baptized, COTH Baptismal Service 2008


Celine Being Baptized, COTH Baptismal Service 2008


Sam Before, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

Sam Being Baptized, COTH Baptismal Service 2008


Tammy Before, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

Tammy After, COTH Baptismal Service 2008

As you can see from these images, there is no age requirement for water baptism, merely an understanding of what it symbolizes and an agreement to comply. On this day, 10 yr old JJ was the youngest to take the plunge. He told me before the event that he'd been practicing holding his head under water. Clearly, he was ready for this momentous occasion in his young life.

Are you?





Why We Follow Jesus

Scriptures: Joshua 24:15, John 6:68, 1 John 5:11-15, John 16:12-13,
John 14:6

Pastor Lorne started the service by welcoming everyone. He said it was a great day because people were going to be baptized. They were going to follow the Lord right after the service. He said we thought we had 4 but we’re ending up with 6, possibly 7. (cheering and clapping)

He said first though, we’d take some time to praise and worship the Lord but somewhere in the service there would be an opportunity to share a word of testimony whether it’s something on your heart or a memory of when you were baptized. Pastor Lorne said he hasn’t been there (at COTH) all summer and maybe something’s happened that you want to share with the rest. And, he stressed the opportunity was open to anybody who wanted to share.

Lori then led the praise and worship.

Pastor Lorne’s message:

Have you ever heard of writer’s block? When you’ve got something to write and you have to have it done by a certain deadline and nothing comes. You just can’t get anyway. I have to confess that that’s where I am today. (light laughter) So bear with me, okay? I’ve tried all week: I’ve prayed, I read Scripture, I listened to music, and listened to other people and just couldn’t. You know? And that happens to me not very often, but it did and, I think it’s God’s way of bringing me down to where I need to be. So, I stayed awake all last night and just couldn’t seem to get anything. It’s kind of scary when you know you’ve got to face a bunch of people in the morning but you just can’t seem to find anything that really...

Member of the congregation: Oh, the Lord will give you words.

Pastor Lorne: Well, He did. I just trust that this will help you and is what the Lord wanted for you.

The 1st Scripture I want to share with you is Joshua 24:15. And Joshua asked this question: He said, ‘But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’ And I wonder, why would he make that statement? What caused Joshua to make the statement that he would serve the Lord? We can bring it to our families, but also let’s bring it personally.

He said, for me, I will serve the Lord. What were some of his reasons? Why did he want to serve the Lord? Why do you serve the Lord? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Why come all this way? Howard and Jill came all the way from Wolseley, Hofferts from Odessa, some drove from Fillmore and Montmartre - to come to church. Why do we do all of that? And I wondered, why would Joshua say this. Then as I started to read back in Scripture, I found out and I think I know why he said he would serve the Lord.

Joshua was with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. He saw the Lord’s hand. He saw what miracles God worked in Egypt. He saw the Red Sea coming and destroying all the armies of Pharaoh and making it a chance of deliverance for the children of Israel. He saw the manna come down from heaven to provide food for them. He saw good, clean, sparkling, fresh water coming out of a rock. He saw these things. He saw God’s hand on it and it kind of just stood out for me.

As they were being pursued by an army – you know what God did to protect them and help them? This was so simple and yet so very effective: He sent hornets. Can you imagine? Little hornets. And it won the battle for them. You know back then, wars were fought in hand-to-hand combat, there was no such thing as missiles and all of that and they were just face-to-face. And God sent the hornets and sent the whole army just fleeing because of the hornets stinging and causing them all sorts of trouble. And so, Joshua had seen all this. He’d seen how God delivered them. And that caused him to say, ‘As for me I will serve the Lord.’ He’d seen in his life what God had done.

Now, we’ll go into the New Testament and some of the people there. The next Scripture’s found in John 6:68. Now this was the time where Jesus had spoke some really tough words. And some of the people who were following Him, didn’t follow Him anymore and turned their back on Him. So Jesus asked Peter and He said, ‘Will you also leave me? V68 says, ‘And Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’

Today, one of the reasons we follow Jesus, and one of the reasons the people who are being baptized are doing this and following God is the fact that Jesus has the words of eternal life. Where else can you go to get the words of eternal life? Do you remember last Sat night when Lance Link was talking about talking to the Muslims and how their prophet Mohammed is dead? But that Jesus is alive today. He was resurrected and so He has the words of eternal life.

And one of the reasons I believe we follow Jesus is because He can give us – has the ability and the power and paid the price for us so we can have - eternal life.

You know, down through the ages and down through time, man has always had this idea that after the grave, there was something more. And they always thought of eternal life. I read and saw documentaries where Pharaohs built these great pyramids and they would have a weapon and food and all kinds of things so when they died and passed into the new life, they would have preparations. And you will find in many cultures that people make preparations for the after-life.
But do you know right now, we can make preparations for the after-life and we can know for sure what it’s gonna be because Jesus has promised you and me, eternal life. And that is something that all of us long to know and you have that knowledge that when we die, the grave isn’t the end. Rather, it’s the ushering in place for something so much better...heaven...and it’s truly our eternal home. And when we use the world eternal, that means forever. And so when you commit your life to Christ, and you surrender your life to Him...one of the reasons we do this is because he guarantees it by His Word that we will have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13 says, ‘And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.’

And so we know believing in Jesus, committing our life to Him, accepting Him personally, that we have eternal life. And as the people take that other step of baptism, they are signifying or making it a public thing that they are going to serve and live for God the rest of their life and bring honour and glory to His name.

V13 says, ‘I write these things I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.’ Isn’t that a great thing? People do all kinds of things and would like to know if they have eternal life. But the Bible says right in John here, and I know John and Peter and some of these, their writing was nice and concise and almost abrupt. They just went from subject to subject. And I wondered why and then I thought, Paul’s in prison – he had lots of time to write – and he could get all of his thoughts down. But these men, they didn’t know if they’d be living the next day or the next hour sometimes so they would write these thoughts very concisely. And so this is what he says, ‘‘I write these things I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God.’

So this is for you who believe in, Jesus Christ, that you may know that you have eternal life. So, if you believe in Jesus, John wrote these things so you know you have eternal life, and this is just a great and wonderful thing.

And then one of the reasons I think we come to Christ is the fact that we know we can call upon Him and He does hear. We’ve heard testimonies of how God’s been there for people in their time of need and their time of trouble. And I’ve experienced that myself. It’s not just some crutch that we have or something to give us some peace for awhile, it’s something real.

And here’s what is says about that: v14&15 ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.’ It’s confidence knowing the Lord. Trusting in Him. It brings you, and will give you, confidence. John, right in here, says I’ve written these things that you might know that you have eternal life. And you can approach God with confidence.

It’s a lot better to know that when you come to someone and you have something you want them to do and as a pastor, I’m always doing this and I have a saying I was brought up on...'I hate to put you on the spot’...I do that all the time...but it’s great when I don’t ask and I know I need help and I need someone to do this...and it’s great when I can go with confidence knowing they won’t say, ‘Well, I’ll see or I’ll pray about it or something like that.’ To know they’ll say, ‘Yes, I’ll do it.’

When we come to God, we can have that same confidence and know that He will answer your prayer.

And then there’s one more thing and then I’ll close, and it’s talking about the fact we’ve covered in our Christian life: Am I doing what is right? Or am I off on some weird thing that isn’t going to be right and I’m going to get into all kinds of weird things because there’s so many things floating around the world today that you can be a part of and that can lead you down some weird and winding troublesome paths and some have a very bad end.

And so, Jesus promised us in John 16:12,13 that when He was going to leave this world, that He would send His spirit into the world so that he could take us and lead us into all truth. ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.’

And so, one of the reasons I believe we trust God is we know His spirit can guide us and lead us into all truth. And there’s something inside of you – when His spirit comes into your heart and your life, that when you see or hear something, as the saying goes a 'red flag' will go up, or you’ll think, ‘Hmm that’s not quite right...I don’t feel right about that.’ And yet, you’ll hear something else and it’ll just come into your spirit and you’ll feel so good about it. It is the truth of God.

So, He hasn’t left you floundering around wondering what's true, what’s right, what’s wrong...the Bible says He’ll send His spirit of truth so you can discern things and He will lead you and guide you in all truth. And so it’s just great to have that confidence.

I like the words that some of the writers use. They’re words that display God’s character when they use the word confidence. We have confidence in Him. And that’s a great word. And then, I’m going to close with this last Scripture: John 14:6 says, 'And Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life.' And so in all things in your life, I encourage you to know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

Commit yourself totally to Him. Give your life to Him and He will lead you on because He is the way. He is the truth. And He is the Life. And it’s just a great thing to know Him and have that confidence and assurance that He is our way. He is our truth. And He is our life as we commit ourselves to Him.

And I am so happy that it is so easy to become a child of God. I probably wouldn’t have the patience to do a lot of things if I had to go through a bunch of steps and things. I probably wouldn’t have the money if I had to buy my way into His kingdom. I’m so glad that all I have to do is come before Jesus and say, ‘Lord Jesus, come into my heart, and into my life, and be my Lord and Saviour.’ And that’s all it takes. That’s all it’s necessary. To know Him.

So that’s just a great knowledge to know that by simply putting our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ that we can start this life of confidence and assurance. ‘These thing have I written down for you that you might know that you have eternal life’. It’s written in the Scriptures so you can know for sure you have eternal life.

Note: Following the service, everyone went out to the Ennis’ farm for the baptismal service in their swimming pool. More info and photos in the next blog post.

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

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