Resurrection Power: Easter Sunday 2008

I talked about the power of Christ's resurrection in our lives. It's amazing that the same power that was exerted to raise Christ from the dead is also available to us on our spiritual journey. When we come into a relationship with Christ we experience a personal resurrection. It is the power of the resurrection that raises us to new life.

It's interesting that baptism is a public resurrection. It is an outward sign of the inward commitment that we have made. The imagery is one of resurrection. When we are out of the water it is a symbol of being "dead in our sins". In the water we are symbolizing being buried with Christ and out of the water is a symbol of being raised to new-life.

We are also to experience his resurrection on a practical, daily basis. The power of Christ's resurrection is available to us every day to help transform us to be conformed to His image. I don't have to settle and justify those parts of me that are not pleasing to God, they can be morphed by His power in my life.

But it is also a permanent resurrection that we are promised eternal life, an inheritance that will not fade, spoil or be corrupted.

The Power of His resurrection. It's personal, it's public, it's practical and it's permanent.

Starfield: New Release

It's new release Tuesday. Canadian Christian Rock/Worship Band: Starfield has released it's latest album: I Will Go. I saw them in concert in Stayner before they made it big. Great live band. They are going to be in concert in Ottawa in May - worth the trip.

Good Friday

We used Max Lucado's book 3:16 as the theme for our service at the Callander Community Centre for Good Friday. It's really based on John 3:16 the most memorized verse in scripture. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." We wanted to bring back to the simple truth of this verse that:

He Loves
He Gave
We Believe
We Live

Kitchen Renovations

We still have to do a little bit of painting. But our Christmas Present was installed. New kitchen cabinet doors that Jenn's Dad built and countertop.

Crazy Monday

On Monday, we were driving the Kids down to visit their grandparents for the March Break. Everything was going smoothly till we passed the big bend in Gravenhurst. Traffic slowed down and came to a stop. We stopped and waited. A few minutes later we notice Emergency vehicles coming up behind us. Normally it is not that difficult of a process to pull over to the right to allow them to pass, but we are stuck in two solid lanes of traffic, a cement median is to our left, to my right is a transport truck, to the right of the transport is a snow bank. Somehow we squish together onto the shoulder and slow lane to allow two firetrucks, an ambulance and a police cruiser go by. We turn on a local radio station to discover that a transport has rolled across the highway. We wait.

After about forty five minutes. We notice about six - eight firefighters walking down the highway. My first thought is they are informing the traffic about what is going on and how long it will be. But I also notice that they are only sporatically talking to vehicles and only when spoken to. As they pass we find out they are walking back to Gravenhurst because they are not needed at the crash sight and they need to be prepared in case another call comes in. (Note to self - make sure I am not in the second fire or accident in Gravenhurst). More time passes - kids getting cranky and hungry. Only one timbit left.

Drivers are becoming impatient and backing out or turning around and driving the wrong way done the divided highway. Another emergency vehicle comes along and informs it may be a couple hours before the road is open and we have permission to drive the wrong way down the highway to get to a detour. I turn around and drive out. I feel rebellious. I tell the kids to enjoy the moment this may be the only time they will get to drive the wrong way on a divided highway.

We end up driving into the boonies for a detour. I never knew that Housey Rapids Rd. and Cooper Falls Rd existed. It was a beautiful drive. We got a lot of looks from the locals as a huge line of traffic made its way down these narrow, winding backroads. Later, I found out that my Brother Inlaw had tried calling me on my cell but we were out of range. We were officially - "Off the beaten track".

Running to Win - State of the Union Address 2008

Every year at Callander Bay Church I give what I call the State of the Union Address. I know it's an American thing, but I like it better than throne speech. We've gone through a hard year at our church. It was a little bit hard to be positive. But when I began to reflect I realized that some of the greatest teaching moments and learning curves take place in the midst of difficulty. Out of this year came a new determination to not be detered and distracted. A new sense that the spiritual journey is one that needs to be run to win. The apostle Paul sums up this attitude in his letter to the Corinthians when he wrote:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I challenge our congregation and myself that if we want to run to win we must have:

1. Purposeful Focus - this entails an outward focus and setting clear goals.

2. Proper Equipment - a model of ministry that allows effective ministry to be done using the multiplicity of gifts in our church.

3. Personal Cost - it is going to cost my time (no one can do my prayer, fasting, solitude, bible reading, telling others about Christ for me:), my energy, and my finances.

I don't know if you have ever played ping pong, but there is a certain point when you have been goofing around and hitting the ball back and forth that you stop and say, "Do you want to play for real?" I think I'm beginning to reach that point on my spiritual journey. It's time to run to win.

Back in the Day - Retro CCM Show on CJTK

I'm kicking around the idea of putting together a retro Christian Music program for the radio called - Back in the Day. With the death of Larry Norman, i've been feeling a little bit motivated. There are a lot of great music that is being lost to this generation and I think it would be cool to bring it back to our community. I'd love to get your feedback.