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God's Chisel

12/29/2014

Growing In Love
"And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows." (1 Thessalonians 3:12, NLT). I've been reflecting recently on being at Laurentian for several "seconds". Having been here for over a year, we've shared our second Thanksgiving, our second Remembrance Day, our second Christmas. And I believe, by God's grace, we're not where we were when we began. I believe our love is growing for one another and for those in our community who need the love of Christ. I think perhaps most of all how Chrissy and I's love for you has grown. Just a short time ago you were all strangers to us, and now we count you as friends. But there's a funny thing about love. You can never get too much, or have too much to give. Just before Christmas, I walked through the Poinsettia isle at Walmart. You could tell that they had been very picked over and not watered. They were wilted and dry. When you moved some of them they almost fell apart. At one time, they were healthy and beautiful, but they couldn't just depend on past waterings, they needed watering today. It is my prayer for you and myself that our love would continue to grow and overflow. Growing love is moved to action to share that love with others. But growing love doesn't happen in a vacuum. Are you putting yourself in places where you receive Godly waterings? Private Bible reading and prayer, a commitment to being with His people, reaching out to others with practical acts of kindness, sharing what Christ has done for you. These things, done with a heart for knowing God rather than just duty or obligation, create fertile ground for love to grow and overflow.

Sermon Recap: God's Chisel (make sure to watch the video above from the Skit Guys).
Key Verse from Sunday:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

For Christ to do the "needed new" in our lives, we have to let Him chisel off the
"hold-us-back old".

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
Romans 7:15, NIV

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!..."
Romans 7:25a, NIV

________[insert your name]_______ Is God’s Original Masterpiece.

Question for Reflection
What do you need God to chisel off in your life to make a new year new?

I welcome your feedback.
-Pastor Jason

Where Does Your Life Point? Advent Part 3.

12/16/2014

Feel Good Stories
'Tis the season for what I call "feel good stories". They seem to be a little more front and center these days when you watch the news. And goodness knows we need some good news with so much bad in the past day! Be praying for Australia & Pakistan! But you know the stories I'm talking about. "Woman finally receives Christmas card after 40 years" or "Boy makes elephant his pet and saves him from being put down". Ok, I made those two up, but they would be good ones, eh? I saw one yesterday about a 96 year old man who has been giving out toys to children

at Beverley Street Public School in Toronto for many years. What caught my attention was that right after the story, the reporter, Susan Hay, said something to the affect, "that man will be going to heaven for sure." Hmm. It's a simple reminder to me that, even after all these years, people still don't understand the real Good News story of Jesus! It's not how good we are, but how good He is! That's the real gift of Christmas. "...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..." (Titus 3:5, NIV). Now that's a story you can feel good about :)

Sermon Recap
What a joy to celebrate the baptism of Marc Bruneau. And a first for Laurentian to have a baptism on the platform. Congrats Marc. Your story was much better than my sermon! :)

We looked at the parents of John the Baptist; Zechariah & Elizabeth.

Message: Where Does Your Life Point?
Scripture: Luke 1:5-25, 57-66
Key Verse: "But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John." -Luke 1:13, NIV
1. You Are Not Forgotten Because He Hears Your Prayer (Luke 1:5-13).
2. You Have A Purpose Because He Made You (Luke 1:14-17).
3. You Need to Have Faith Because He Is Faithful (Luke 1:18-20).
4. You Need to Acknowledge God Because He Gives All Good Gifts (Luke 1:21-25).
5. Your Name Isn't ________________ (whatever negative things the world has named you), Because God Has Named You (Luke 1:57-66).

When we get a clear picture of whose we are and the source of our life, we too will point people to Jesus, just as John the Baptist did.

Question for Reflection
Where does your life point?

Be A Merry Christmas!
-Pastor Jason

What does "Advent" mean? I'm glad you asked.

12/16/2014

What does "Advent" Mean?
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. In our tradition, we haven't always celebrated it, but it has been commemorated by many Christians for centuries. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word "adventus" which comes from the Greek word "parousia" which refers to the second coming of Christ (ie. Matthew 24:27, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:19).

We light a candle on each Sunday leading up to Christmas, ending with the center candle; representing Christ; being lit on Christmas Eve. It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation. We remember how the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah.

In our present day, it is a time of heart preparation as we reflect on the meaning of Christ's birth in our lives. It is also a reminder that Christ will return for His bride, the Church. I'm reminded of these lyrics, written from the virgin Mary's perspective;

"Make my heart ready for Christmas. Help me prepare for the blessing to come. Lord you know I'm so unworthy so show me what to do. Make my heart ready for You."*

I think that sums up what "Advent" means to me.
-Jason

*"Make My Heart Ready for Christmas"
by Dave Clark & Russell Mauldin
from the Christmas musical, "Come Home for Christmas" Benson Music Group. ©1991)

Shining A Light. Advent, Part 2.

12/10/2014

Chrissy and I decorated our Christmas tree last night. Here it is. I think it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. We have a decoration that looks like a lit up present. You can see it in the photo, under the tree. Steve Szydlik said it looks radioactive. I suppose it does look a little weird in this photo. A friend from Brockville said of the photo, "I can see the present with Jesus inside". Ha. Don't let Jesus' gift get left under the tree! Open it today! (ok, maybe a bit corny, but it works). Be a Merry Christmas!

--

"Walk It Out" is a bit late this week. We've been working at getting a baptistry ready for Sunday. Yesterday, we set up the pool we borrowed from "The Harbour Church" and discovered it had a leak. If only we had discovered this before we filled it a 1/3 full of water! A bit of a mess in the basement, but Bill C. & I got it all cleaned up. So we went on the search for another solution...and found it in Powassan. Good things come from Powassan, don't they :) Krause Farm Store lent us a 150 Gallon container that will work great. Just enough room for Marc to be baptised, and light enough that we're going to do the baptism on the platform! I think it's a first for Laurentian. Thanks Don for picking it up.

Even though we're not using the pool from "The Harbour", we are using a lot of the stuff that came with it. Thanks Pastor George! Also, we didn't need it, but Calvary was ready and willing to lend us a water heater and/or have our baptism there if need be. Thanks Pastor Dave! Isn't it great to be part of the body of Christ! Don't worry Marc, we'll still make sure the water is warm (well, not cold anyway ;)
Don't miss Sunday, it's going to be epic.

--

Sermon Recap
Message: Shining A Light
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-23 & 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8
1. Jesus Came as a Light into This World.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). -Matthew 1:23, NIV
2. Jesus Came as a Light into Your World.
3. We take Christ's Light into Our World.
"Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." -1 Thessalonians 2:8b, NIV

Here's an example of taking Christ into our world that even the secular media wasn't able to ignore
(click to read the whole article)
"In Medicine We Trust"
Should we worry that so many of the doctors treating Ebola in Africa are missionaries?

How do we take His light into Our World?
Share Your Life

Question for Reflection
Our question is the same as I asked on Sunday. Who will you share your life with this Christmas?

I welcome your comments.
-Jason

"I Will Build My Church" -Jesus. Happy 80th Anniversary Laurentian!

12/3/2014

We had a great time celebrating our 80th Anniversary on Sunday. If you missed the video presentation with photos from our history and
Beryl Nicholson's testimony, you can click here to view it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6-BTkY3XfE

*For copyright reasons, I had to replace the song from the video. This is the original song: "Thank You, Lord" by Dennis Jernigan click here>>
--

Prepare Him Room.
This past weekend, Chrissy and I had friends visit from Brockville. When you have someone visit, you prepare for their arrival. We made sure our guest room was ready, the house was clean and put together. We didn't want anything to be a distraction from having a great visit. Have you ever had important guests drop over and you were unprepared? Perhaps you didn't really have time for a visit, or you were embarrassed by the messy house? Even if you're not a planner, you know that things go better if you have a little preparation.

The Bible says that John the Baptist came to "prepare the way of the Lord" (Mark 1:1-4). Are you preparing room for Jesus this Christmas? If you don't plan on His arrival, you may find yourself unprepared. You may not have time or you find your life out-of-order and messy. Of course, we know that Jesus has come and is with us today, but He wants to do something fresh and new in our lives and in our church this Christmas. Are you preparing room for Him? Are you being intentional about including Him in your Christmas preparations?

"Oh, our hearts, as busy as Bethlehem. Hear Him knock, don't say there's no room in the inn...Prepare Him room, prepare Him room. Let the King of Glory enter in." ("Prepare Him Room" by Sovereign Grace Music)

One way to prepare is to purposely read the Christmas story. Click here to view many devotional plans that can help.

--

What does "Advent" Mean?
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. In our tradition, we haven't always celebrated it, but it has been commemorated by many Christians for centuries. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word "adventus" which comes from the Greek word "parousia" which refers to the second coming of Christ (ie. Matthew 24:27, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:19).

We light a candle on each Sunday leading up to Christmas, ending with the center candle; representing Christ; being lit on Christmas Eve. It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation. We remember how the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah.

Today, it is a time of heart preparation as we reflect on the meaning of Christ's birth in our lives. It is also a reminder that Christ will return for His bride, the Church. I'm reminded of these lyrics, written from the virgin Mary's perspective; "Make my heart ready for Christmas. Help me prepare for the blessing to come.

Lord you know I'm so unworthy so show me what to do. Make my heart ready for You." I think that sums up what "Advent" means to me. -Jason

--

Sunday Recap
Key Verse from Sunday:
Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. -Matthew 16:18, NLT

Scripture:
Matthew 16:13-20

Jesus said, "I Will build my church"
1. He Has.
We are part of something incredible. The living body of Christ on this earth.
2. He Is.
God is building His church today. Open your spiritual eyes to see His movement in our city.
3. He Will.
God used a flawed person like Peter to build His church. Surely He can use you and I!

Question for Reflection
Are you an active part of Christ's body, the church?

I welcome your comments.

Merry Christmas!
-Jason

God's Chisel

Where Does Your Life Point? Advent Part 3.

What does "Advent" mean? I'm glad you asked.

Shining A Light. Advent, Part 2.

"I Will Build My Church" -Jesus. Happy 80th Anniversary Laurentian!

Jason McCutcheon

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