Peter's Picks

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks 

‘How’s Your Thinking?’ 

Day 1: Romans 12:2 – “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” 

Day 2: Proverbs 3:1-4 – “My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.” 

Day 3: Proverbs 4:20-22 – “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” 

Day 4: Romans 8:5 – “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” 

Day 5: Psalm 119:15, 16 – “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.” 

Day 6: Psalm 19:7, 8 – “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” 

Day 7: Philippians 4:8 – “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” 

** Verses taken from the New Living Translation 

 

Update From The Alberta Provincial Government

 

 Mandatory restriction – Enhanced status (purple) areas – Effective Nov. 24

• Places of worship with a maximum of 1/3 normal attendance and held at normal location, including rental spaces like a community hall
• Physical distancing between households must be maintained
• Mask use is mandatory
• Online services are encouraged
• In-person faith group meetings can continue but physical distancing and public health measures must be followed

Faith communities are often significant aspects of people’s lives, and include intimate and close contact between members. This measure will help limit exposure at these activities, reducing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable members who attend.

The Land of Job

As I was chatting with a few people this past week, there was a moment when the issues of 2020 seemed to parallel the plight of Job. Consider this, January of 2020 started out innocent enough with visions of a great year for many, thoughts of good fortunes and the joy of a new decade. Suddenly, people started getting sick, there was a panic as it was declared a pandemic and the world shut down. Businesses closed, families were sequestered and the media kept us up to date with the rising numbers and stories of doom and gloom. How do we keep our hopes and dreams alive. Cries of what did we do wrong, why are we being punished began to ring out. It took time but the wave subsided and things got back to some semblance of normalcy. There may still be a chance.

September came and the hint of lifting restrictions even further and it was almost like someone said “go ahead, give them another shot” and the second wave came thundering in. This was worse than before and the restrictions started to be reinstated. People were getting used to new freedoms and a new hope only to have that taken away once again. Where now does our hope lie; in a vaccine, in a lock down plan? It is said “it is always darkest before the dawn” and we wait for the light to shine into our situation.

God stated “have you considered my servant Job?” Evil prowled the earth seeking a way to destroy God’s relationship with His children and God said “test him (Job)”. Satan tested Job not once, but twice with the second test almost killing Job. His friends were no help sowing the seeds of dissention but Job held firm to his hope, his faith. Never did he turn his back on his faith and as we see in Job 42:10… “the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” I truly believe that when this is all over, we will come out the other end, we will be truly blessed and be stronger going into the new decade. Let us put our faith in a loving God, our hope in His promise for our future and know that when our time is done on this earth, there is a place of such joy prepared that we could never even imagine.

We invite you to join us as we celebrate His grace and love this first Sunday of Advent. If you are attending in person we would like to advise you to please bring a mask as it will be required as per the new provincial guidelines.

Should you wish to join us online, click on either link below to join us live:

Facebook Live - https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31

YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA

See you all Sunday.

Blessings

Pastor Todd

www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca

 

 

Peter's Picks

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks 

‘God of Mercy’ 

Day 1: Exodus 34:6, 7 – “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected – even children in the third and fourth generations.’” 

Day 2: Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” 

Day 3: Psalm 25:10 – “The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.” 

Day 4: Psalm 145:8, 9 – “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.” 

Day 5: Lamentations 3:22, 23 – “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” 

Day 6: Ephesians 2:4, 5 – “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” 

Day 7: Hebrews 4:14-16 – “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” 

** Verses taken from the New Living Translation 

 

Where Is The Mission Field

This weekend we are having a very special treat. We are having two services, the first service is going to be a message from our missionary family and the second service is from our General Superintendents from Lenexa. To make the Sunday morning service even more international, we will also be hearing from Toma and Julia. If there is one thing I have learned from my studies it is this; Christian service looks so different depending where you worship but the Message is the foundation for all the faith gatherings.

When I started in ministry almost 21 years ago, I was pulled in so many directions. “You need to be in youth ministry because I feel you have a calling there” or “I feel you are called to this ministry or that ministry”. I even had one person tell me that they didn’t think I should go for a counselling ministry because that was not my calling. My great-uncle suggested I should become a missionary and was going to help me get into the mission field. I got really excited but before this thought was realized, he passed away and I never gave it another thought. God did place a call on my life to be missional but it was nothing like I expected. I thought of missionaries as those people that go out into the wilds and bring the Message to the locals that have yet to hear,

 in those far off exotic places like India and Papua New Guinea. Then I read this in Wikipedia.

A Christian mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts. Missions involve sending individuals and groups, called missionaries, across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work.

The mission field is, in my opinion, wherever we are. We all have the opportunity to pour into the lives of those all around us and reflect the love of God in everything we do. I think of Christ’s response when he was asked “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^[c] you were doing it to me! Matt 25:37-40 NLT

We invite you to join us as we celebrate His grace and love this Sunday. We invite you to join us online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST. Click on either link below to join us live:

Facebook Live -

https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31

YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA

See you all Sunday.

Blessings

Pastor Todd

www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca

 

Peter's Picks

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks 

‘God of More Than Enough’ 

Day 1: 2 Corinthians 9:8 – “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 

Day 2: John 10:10 – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” 

Day 3: James 1:17 – “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” 

Day 4: Luke 6:38 – “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” 

Day 5: Psalm 23:5 – “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” 

Day 6: Psalm 36:8 – “You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.” 

Day 7: Ephesians 3:20, 21 – “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” 

** Verses taken from the New Living Translation 

 

Special Announcement Regarding Nov 22 Service

On Sunday Nov 22, we will be openning the doors again at 1:00 pm MST to a special broadcast from the Office of the General Superintendant. 

The Board of General Superintendents would like to invite the global Nazarene family to join in a virtual worship service featuring music from around the world and a BGS message on Sunday 22 November 2020. 

The one-hour service will be available in five languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Korean. Nazarenes from all corners of the globe will be able to watch the service at a time that works best for them as it will play at the top of each hour for 24 hours beginning at 10 p.m. UTC on Saturday 21 November. 

Viewers will also be able to connect with each other through a live chat.

What Am I Most Thankful For?

A few years back, I was challenged by a mentor to meditate on all the things I was truly thankful for. For a moment, I thought “how hard could this be?” In fact, I do believe I stated this out loud and my mentor emphasized the term “everything”. There are two ways to proceed from this point; take on the task with deep focus and the fullness of thought it deserves or treat it like that mid-term paper that should be attended to but really doesn’t get any attention until two days before it is due. I chose to dig deep and make as comprehensive a list as possible. This sounds like a simple thing, but it became quite a task which took much longer than I thought it would. If you are thinking that I am exaggerating, I challenge you to take on the exercise on your own.

I started with the standard items. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my health, my job and my faith. I would generalize the list like this and present it to my mentor, but I am certain he would ask for more detail (which he did). Set out the categories, then seek out the sub-categories and then detail the sub-categories out and so on and so on. So, with that in mind, I started to dig deeper. When I sat down and meditated on it, I discovered my family is a whole lot bigger than I thought. I am thankful for my wife which led me to her side of the family and the sets and sub-sets of family members there. Then there was my family, and my sibling and his family and his in-laws and then there was my son and his wife and her family and now my grandson. You see where this is going? I am thankful for friends, for my faith, for my job, for experiences. It just kept growing and after I had compiled the list, there was still more I could have added.

My mentor then asked “what of these things is the most important, what is replaceable and what is irreplaceable?” I have wrecked my fair share of things in my life; cars, toys, tools and, yes, relationships to name a few. But the things I truly hold as dear to my heart, those things I truly am grateful for all have one thing in common; they are God given. Something we should never forget is God gives abundantly in love so let’s look at what I hold most dear. I love my family and even though I have caused issues in the past, we are still family and I am with them, they are with me as are my friends. My faith in a loving, forgiving God, my love for my family and my deep connection with friends, these are the things I am most thankful for, everything else is temporary. Luke 15:28-32

“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

The older brother was angry about the temporary, the replaceable, where the father was thankful for what was irreplaceable, love, relationship and hope. This weekend, we finish the miniseries on Grace. We invite you to join us online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST. Click on either link below to join us live:

Facebook Live -

https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31

YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA

See you all Sunday.

Blessings

Pastor Todd

www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca

 

Peter's Picks

 

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks 

‘Reasons to Love God’ 

Day 1: Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” 

Day 2: Zephaniah 3:17 – “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 

Day 3: Ephesians 2:4, 5 – “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” 

Day 4: Psalm 86:15 – “But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” 

Day 5: Romans 8:31, 32 – “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” 

Day 6: 1 John 4:9, 10 – “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 

Day 7: Romans 8:28 – “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” 

** Verses taken from the New Living Translation 

 

How Far Do We Go?

There was a man who had a difficult upbringing and over time had built quite a reputation for himself. There were addictions, illegal behaviours, self-centred pursuits that were all a part of defining him to the community around him. The more he was defined by his actions, the more he believed them and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. He literally became even worse than others could have imagined. One day, he found himself at a crossroad. He had fallen on very hard times, his fortunes had dried up, the so called “friends” he had disappeared and he found himself in a very deep hole physically, mentally and spiritually.

At the deepest of times, God sends a messenger to come alongside and help. In the days of old, the Roman Empire ran roughshod over the land and God sent His Son. He lifts us from the depths of the darkness and the Light shines through us, washing us clean. For this gentleman, the messenger was a man named Glen. When John got to the point of no return, Glen came by and planted the Seed, the message of love and forgiveness. His message was this; look deep within and forgive yourself then ask Jesus to lift the burden of sin from your life and then seek His guidance moving forward in a new life. Glen was with John every step of the way and was available to help when he slipped up. Over time, John began to more fully understand and fully trust in God and others who were also walking in Christ’s footsteps. Unfortunately there were still those who remembered John’s past and continue to throw that in his face but Glen shared this with him hold onto

Matt 18:21-22

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven

True love is expressed in one’s ability to forgive like Christ does. To forgive is love, to choose to forget is agape. When we hold the past over the head of someone who wants to make a change and move forward, are we really displaying agape (google it)? We will be looking at the prodigal son this week in the service.

This weekend, we continue with the miniseries on Grace. We invite you to join us online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST. Click on either link below to join us live:

Facebook Live -

https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31

YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA

See you all Sunday.

Blessings

Pastor Todd

www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca

 

Peter's Picks

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks 

‘Living Richly’ 

Day 1: 1 Thessalonians 4:11 – “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” 

Day 2: Colossians 3:1, 2 – “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” 

Day 3: Romans 12:2 – “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” 

Day 4: Psalm 16:11 – “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” 

Day 5: Jeremiah 9:23, 24 – “This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” 

Day 6: 1 Timothy 6:17, 18 – “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.” 

Day 7: Micah 6:8 – “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” 

** Verses taken from the New Living Translation 

 

 

Join our online silent auction!

We are all experiencing a new normal. In some ways it has brought us together, in other ways it has driven us to pivot and change how we accomplish tasks, communicate, and support each other.  ​This year we sadly had to cancel our in person Fall Banquet and reach out to our community in a different way. Therefore, we are running an online silent auction with over 60 exciting items to bid on and win! (You can also choose to give a cash donation to support the CAPCC at the link below.) Watch HERE for more updates!

The online auction is now open!! DON'T MISS IT! Our Silent Auction runs November 1-6, 2020 ONLINE. Bids will be accepted up to 7:00 PM on November 6, 2020. Browse all of the amazing items donated by generous members of our community and start bidding!  TAKE ME TO THE AUCTION!

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