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







Friday, February 27, 2009

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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Monday, February 16, 2009

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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Sunday, February 15, 2009

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.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

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

Saturday, February 7, 2009

You Have Great Power in Prayer

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8, Gen 4:26, Luke 18:9-14, Jonah 1-2,
Matt 19:13, Mark 10:16, Matt 7:11

Pastor Lorne continued with his message on prayer. He said it’s such a big subject, he found literally pages of refs to do with prayer. He said it may seem like a very uninteresting thing to do. He said it may seem like it’s something just for older ladies. But he said according to scripture, prayer is a vital part of all of our lives because it has such great power.

He said it bears repeating from last Sunday that no matter what other people think of you and how important you are whether in your family or community, when you get alone and you start to pray, and call upon God, you become very, very powerful because, you are calling upon God the creator of heaven and earth. You’re talking to Him and maybe you’re asking Him to do something or touch some person’s life, maybe to help them in a situation, or bring someone to the Lord, and you may think you’re not very influential, but when you’re down on your knees before the Lord or in whatever position you chose to pray in, Pastor Lorne believes you become very, very strong. He said he doesn’t think we can even describe the strength you have when you pray.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to tell us what the teaching of Jesus says about praying:

Luke 18:1-8 1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary. 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

You’ve heard how the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or the crying baby gets the milk. This is almost like what He’s teaching us here. The judge in the story has this woman coming and bothering and bothering him and he says he’s just going to listen to her story and look after her situation. And Jesus said, how much more will your heavenly Father who loves you, who cares for you, who sent his own Son to give His life for you – how much more will He hear you and answer your prayer on your behalf. So we know, if we cry out to Him, He will hear. And sometimes we wonder when that answer’s going to come, but He does answer and he does hear all of our prayers. Pastor Lorne said he was wondering when people first started praying. He said the first time he knows of it in the Bible is in Gen 4:26 'Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.’ And that is the first time in the Bible that people prayed. From that day until now, people are calling out to God. Some call out because they love and care about Him. Some call out because He’s their last hope. But, it’s still going on and it will go on until the day the Lord comes back and gathers His children to Himself. And then because we are with Him in all the glories of heaven, we won’t need to pray anymore. It almost sounds too good to be true, but everything will be perfect. God’s going to take a big hankie and wipe our tears and all our sorrows will be gone. And we will stand in the presence of the Lord. But until then, the human race needs to pray. We need help. We need to bring our troubles before the Lord.

Then in Luke 18:9-14, we find ‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:’ Pastor Lorne said it’s a well known parable but for some reason when he was reading it this time, verse 9 caught his eye. The parable is the one of the 2 men who went up to the temple to pray. One man was a Pharisee and the other guy was a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed about himself. He said, ‘God I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evil-doers, adulterers. Or even like this guy.’ And he looked at the other guy. Talk about being confident and self-righteous. The tax collector wouldn’t even lift his eyes up. He stood with head bowed and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner’. And Jesus answered in ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

So we see in that scripture, he just called upon God. He didn’t lift up all his deeds and good stuff. That really doesn’t impress God very much. Pastor Lorne said he remembers Shania Twain singing a country song, ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’. And he wonders if sometimes God says that as we list all our good stuff.

But this man in the parable just came before God and said, Lord be merciful. And Pastor Lorne said he believes that if we come before God with that kind of a heart and that approach, them God will have mercy on us. And God will hear our call as we cry out to Him.

Pastor Lorne thinks of the man Jonah (Jonah 1-2) who was in the whale’s belly for 3 days. He said when he gets to heaven, he’s going to find Jonah and talk to him about that. How he spent 3 days inside there. Oh man! When he came out he must’ve been as white as a sheet and bleached from all those digestive juices in that whale’s belly. But the Bible tells us that after awhile, Johah cried out to God and the whale hiccupped and out he came and lived to tell about it.

There are people in heaven whom it would be great to sit and talk about their experiences, but that time will come.

Another scripture that talks about prayer is Matt 19:13 ‘Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.’ But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. ‘ Pastor Lorne said he just wanted to briefly share that as he sees in scripture, Jesus took time to pray for little children. And as he looked over the children and grandchildren in the sanctuary, he finds that you never finish being a parent. He said he used to think after high school graduation, it’s done and finished, but it doesn’t work that way. These little children came to Jesus and Jesus blessed them and laid His hands on them. The parents brought their children to Jesus. Mark 10:16 says ‘And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.’

Pastor Lorne said he encourages you in your prayer life to pray for your children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews as well as your neighbors’ children. Just lift them up before the Lord and pray for them or anyone else the Lords lays upon your heart. He said Jesus was upset when the disciples tried to send the kids away. The disciples thought Jesus was only concerned with the adults, but Jesus believed it was important for the little kids to know Him and be blessed by Him.

Pastor Lorne said he thinks about Paul writing to Timothy about the faith in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice and he imagines they prayed for Timothy because he became a person who loved the Lord and did good work for Him.

Matt 7:11 says, ‘If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ In this story, Jesus is seeking and knocking and then He asks the people if they would give a stone if He asks for bread. Or if He asks for fish would they give Him a snake. And if they can give Him those things, then how much more will their Father in heaven give them.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to leave us with the encouragement that when you pray, you have great strength, great power, and you can expect an answer because when you pray, our heavenly father will give you good things. He will answer your prayers. He will not give something that is not good.

He encouraged you to develop prayer in your life. He said it’s good to have a Bible and gospel music, but you don’t need them to pray. You can pray while you’re driving down the road. You an pray while you’re working around the house or plowing the field. You can seek God and know that He hears and answers your prayer.

So take a few minutes every day, if you can, to seek Him and pray. And know that He will hear you and answer. Remember, you are really powerful when you pray and you can make things happen by your prayer and faith in God.

He said he supposed if he asked everyone in the congregation, they could give an example of answered prayer. It might a little thing that doesn’t’ matter to anyone else or a big thing that would cause our faith to rise but know that God answers prayer. So don’t sell yourself short. Realize that you have great power when you pray.
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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