Let's Learn to Talk About our Faith

Walking the life is important...but talking is important too!

I think that most followers of Christ, even though they would like to share, hesitate to share the good news of Jesus because of their own fear.

They are afraid they may say the wrong thing,

They are afraid of rejection,

And they are afraid of what that rejection will do to their relationship.

Besides, most believers haven’t a clue where to begin that conversation.

That’s why I am letting you know about a workshop that will be held at the Freedom House Church and Healing Centre (8023 Hiway 7, East, Guelph) on Saturday, October 15^th (8:30am-3pm), titled: Talk the Walk Workshop(Helping Christians Share their faith).

In this workshop we will discover:

1. How to take the truth of Jesus outside of your church walls
2. How not to be afraid when you bring Jesus into your everyday world
3. How God equips and calls introverts to share as well as extroverts
4. How one church plant grew from 18 to 170 people in 5 years
5. That there are already key resources available such as:

Christianity Explored

“In all my years of ministry, Christian Explored, without a doubt, has been the most effective outreach tool we have ever used.”

-Pastor Erick Kalmbach, Markham Bible Chapel

While similar to Alpha program in format, Christianity Explored offers a more modern presentation, has a stronger emphasis on scripture and a theological orientation that has broader appeal.

H20- A Journey of Faith

This dynamically contemporary DVD series that is the latest generation of the Alpha/Christian Explored concept that a pastor friend of mine in South Western Ontario heavily used for his church’s outreach and by the grace of God has grown his attendance over 944%. And by the way one of the Pastors's at Crossings Church in Acton, Kellen Wiersma, will be one of the presenters on October 15.

Just Walk Across the Room – Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith

Based on the book by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church .

God calls us to share the Good News. And, yes, for only a small investment of $30 each (which includes lunch and snacks) this workshop will help equip both extroverts and introverts with tools on how to do just that.

So, mark your calendar and plan to join us. Why not bring along a friend who shares your passion to learn? On the basis of past workshops I promise you that both of you will be encouraged. But that’s not all—you will begin a new walk of sharing Christ with a freedom you've never had before.

I think that most believers are fearful about witnessing, and haven't a clue where to begin. So let's take those baby steps of preparing so that we can begin fulfilling the command of Jesus to take our “good news”to this desperately needy generation. JUST GO TO www.lightthedarkness.org for more details and information on how to register.

Rev Roy Hamel
Executive Director
Light the Darkness Ministries

Grab Every Opportunity for the Kingdom

For those interested in military history I recommend, The Fall of Rome by Michael Curtis Ford. The hero of this book, a man named Odoacer, was the final barbarian who overthrew the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. The following is adapted from pages 274-275 of Ford's book:

Odoacer has a conversation with a hermit/monk, Severinus, regarding the parable of the talents. Severinus speculates the supposed existence of a fourth servant in the parable who would have invested his money to the best of his ability and tried to make a return, but in the end loses all. The following is a direct quotation from the book:

Odoacer looked at him in puzzlement. “What is your point? He asked finally, “God does not reward poor investors.”

Severinus shook his head.

“No, my son. God favors those who take the opportunities given them. Opportunities are blessings; like good health, or a faithful wife, or wine to make us glad. Accepting opportunities implies failure occasionally, perhaps often, because men are fallible and faith is weak. But they are blessings nonetheless.”

“I cannot believe that God rejoices in failure.”

“It is not failure in which He rejoices, but the attempt. Accepting an opportunity implies a faith in God, in the bounty of his gifts…But failing to accept an opportunity, failing even to try, signifies the opposite: a lack of faith, a separation from God, ultimately an arrogance and pride that says we do not trust the gifts God drops in our laps; we, as men, know better than Him, we trust in ourselves rather than rely on Him…

(Odoacer then suggests that perhaps the servant lost the investment because of stupidity)

Severinus responds:

“Perhaps; but that is no sin. God does not punish stupidity—He punishes pride, and lack of resolution, and timidity. Pride and fear, you see, are often one and the same.”

On our vacation this past summer I was astonished to hear from God by way of this totally secular book on the fall of Rome. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened. God had already been speaking to me through this parable--and suddenly I was exposed to it again from a most unexpected source--only this time with a different twist.

So then, let us all fight vigorously, to our very last breath, against the sin of letting our talents rust. Nothing, but nothing must be allowed to dwell within us that will cause them to rust with disuse.

All Sin is not Equal

Are all sins equal? In one sense, yes, in other ways no. That might sound like heresy to some Christians, but there is a lot of sloppy thinking on this subject. For that reason I am giving the link to an excellent piece that J. I. Packer penned on this very important subject.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/january/19.65.html

posted by Royal

Blowing Minds with the Spoken word

I found an amazing, amazing piece on the power of the Spoken Word. One of the video pieces will literally blow your mind if you are a pothead. Whether you are or not, you will want to send this link to any and all the potheads you know. Never, but never have I heard anything so powerful on smoking dope.

The artist is amazingly compelling because of her talent, but also because of the words she is not afraid to say.

The whole piece along with the two powerful video spots makes me wake up and ask, "What's going on in the world of the spoken word that the church needs to use? Could this be a way of reaching out to a vast part of our world today that we will never reach in any other way?

Check it out! Prepare to be amazed!

'Spitting' in Church? More like in the Devil's Eye.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=334485

My Mom: Woman of Faith

I sighed numbly, my mind exhausted after hours of detailed sorting through books, “I think if I see even one more book on prayer I may go over the brink.” My brother-in- law, Ronnie, and I, had been given the job of sorting through my mother-in-law’s vast assortment of theological and devotional books.

Kay, whom I love as much as my real mom, has recently moved out of her home where she lived for almost sixty years. The kids including the sons-in-law now have the daunting task of sifting through all the possessions that Kay has accumulated over her 87 years.

Kay has been a reader all her life. She didn’t buy books to line up on shelves to impress people. Most of her books were about becoming a more informed, and committed Christian. She read deeply, widely, frequently and meditatively. Almost every single volume had at least one bookmark, sometimes two or three. Many of the pages had copious markings, and occasionally entire paragraphs were underlined. None of us will ever forget that she constantly aspired to know God better and to follow him more closely.

If she came across a book that she thought would help her to that goal she would buy it in a flash. As a young mother with three little girls in tow she would browse for her treasures, hours at a time, in musty second hand book stores. In our age reading is almost a lost art, but Mom’s love for it inspired her children to become readers as well, and some of them writers. And beyond her example, she leaves a trove of countless worthy books that helped her in her walk and will be of great help to us who inherit them.

Besides books there were personal journals and diaries recounting her own aspirations and pursuit after God, ink spilled for her sake, yes, but for us as well. Beyond that there were the cassette tapes of praise music, wall hangings, and the plaques that got collected over the years. For Kay, God was as real and as present to her as was her very breath.

As long as I can remember she was a woman of prayer who prayed not just for her own needs, but for her kids, grandkids and her neighbours. We felt like we could just call her up anytime when one of our kids was in trouble, and then we could rest easier. We knew the old amazon of prayer was on her knees. Makes you think she actually read a lot of those books on prayer, doesn’t it?

Kay is a woman who is constantly praising God. I have seen her only intermittently over the years as I live far away. Yet when we are together she always shares about what God is doing in her life. Her legacy consists not only in the old praise cassettes, but in the constant praise that is a hallmark of her daily life.

As I was going through Mom’s enormous library I over and over again mused on the words of, Find us Faithful, a well known song by Steve Green.

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

I salute you my mother. Kay Roberts. My footprints come behind yours--I have found you faithful.

Published in The Guelph Mercury, July 16, 2011

Ten Major Shifts For Impacting our Communities

I've had the privilege of hearing David Macfarlane. He's worth listening to. He is primarily an evangelist and a mentor to the churches to help them fulfill their calling. Funny, that's how I see myself too...

Ten Paradigm Shifts Toward Community Impact
based on a message by Eric Swanson - used with full permission
By David Arrol Macfarlane

As I speak at conferences and in churches across Canada I see a quiet movement of the Spirit of God that is causing believers to re-examine how they “do church.” Churches are throwing out the old measures of success. It’s no longer merely about size, seeker sensitivity, spiritual gifts, church health, nor the number of small groups. It’s about people being genuinely transformed by Christ - making a significant and sustainable difference in the lives of those around us—in our communities and in our cities.
My Dad often said to me: “David, you cannot continue to do the same old things and expect different results.” To maximize our impact on our Canadian communities--urban, suburban or rural, we need changes in at least ten of our paradigms of how we currently view church.

1) From building walls to building bridges. “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14). The first paradigm shift pertains to where we, as the church, see ourselves in relation to our communities. Will we remain outside of the community inviting people in or will we go to our communities, seeking to be a transforming agent?
More: http://www.davidamacfarlane.com/published-articles.html

Should Christians Burn the Quran?

Five reasons why Christians should not burn the Quran

Royal Hamel, Faith

Friday,April 8, 2011 Guelph Mercury

On March 20, two Christian extremist pastors, Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp, burned a copy of the Quran in a Florida church. As news of the burning circulated around the world, it provoked an especially violent reaction in Afghanistan, where up to 22 people have been killed in various protests.

If you were to ask me why the two pastors felt compelled to destroy the Quran in this way, I would have to say, “I don’t know.” But if you were to ask, “Should they have burned the Quran?” I would have to say, “Absolutely not!”

I’m not interested in why the deed was done, nor can I deal with its horrendous consequences in this short article, but I consider it of great importance to reassure Muslims, and secular people as well, that the burning of the Quran was in fact an unbiblical, and yes, even an unchristian act of provocation. I do not hide from anyone that I seek to be a committed follower of Jesus, and on many issues my tendency would be to side with Christians when a dispute erupts with the Muslim community.

For instance, I abhor the blasphemy law in Pakistan which has too often been used by unscrupulous persons to persecute innocent Christians to the point of having them imprisoned for life, or even sentencing them to death.

That said, the burning of the Quran was an act performed outside the bounds of ordinary Christian love and decency and cannot be defended by any committed follower of Christ. In a press release issued this month, the World Evangelical Alliance roundly condemned the actions of these extremist pastors in Florida stating: “The WEA believes no book of any faith community should ever be burned or desecrated in any way … this action does not represent the true Christian faith or the world’s two billion Christians.”

Here are my top five reasons why Christians should consider this desecration of the Muslim holy book as an unbiblical act of attack and provocation:

First: Even if Christians in some parts of the world (Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia to name a few) are unjustly persecuted by Muslims this gives no justification for Christians to retaliate. Jesus in his famous sermon on the mount calls his followers to love their enemies, and to pray for those who unjustly persecute them.

Second: Christians are called in the New Testament to always let their speech be filled with grace. This burning, by extremist pastors, of the Muslim holy book was a form of speech. And nobody in their right mind can accept that it was a gracious kind of ‘speech.’

Third: Christians are called by Jesus to: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We would not appreciate it if Muslims, or any others, were to burn copies of our scriptures. How then can we tolerate it when extremists among ourselves play the hypocrite, denying Jesus and his commands, even while they claim to be his followers?

Fourth: Jesus has called Christ followers to go into all the world taking the message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and the good news that sins can be forgiven. This is a message of love, peace and reconciliation with God—it is not a message that deliberately seeks to affront, blaspheme, or provoke.

Fifth: The second great commandment given by Jesus states: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” It shows no love to our Muslim neighbours to desecrate, deface, or in this case to burn an object that Muslims regard as holy and sacred. Christians to be sure have a different belief system regarding what is holy and what is profane, but the Christian disobeys Jesus when we act in a manner that is callous and disrespectful of the religious feelings of our fellow human beings.

Instead of burning the Quran, it would be far better if ungodly Christian extremism were to simply fizzle out and die quietly. Far better for all if the smoke in our neighbourhoods were to come from barbecues in the backyard—Muslims and Christians sharing a meal together.

contact author, watchman2003@sympatico.ca

http://www.guelphmercury.com/living/article/514324--five-reasons-why-christians-should-not-burn-the-quran