I have spent the past few weeks praying for you and for your friends and family members who have not yet surrendered to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.  I guess I’m getting a jump on the Penetcost Prayer Vigil.

I’ve also been thinking about things; namely, God, Jesus, the Bible, St. George’s and Burlington.

Over coffee on Wednesday morning, my friend Andrew was sharing his passion, zeal (and yes, even a bit of frustration) in getting the good news that changed his life out to Burlington.  You see Andrew intuitively knows what we all know:

1) God has good news for all of Burlington

2) The Bible records the good news of Jesus

3) St. George’s reason for being lies somewhere in proclaiming that good news to Burlington

It is all about God, Jesus, the Bible, St. George’s and Burlington.

Now here’s where the rubber meets the road.  You are St. George’s.  I am St. George’s.  We are St. George’s.

With whom are you intentionally sharing the good news?  How’s it going?

We had our monthly Executive Council meeting last night.  During the meeting we went around the table, each of the three trustees talking briefly about the person they are talking to about Jesus.  We shared our joys and challenges in sharing the good news.

I pointed them to two instructive passages of scripture:

1) John 1:35-42 – Andrew, a new convert to Jesus, hasn’t the words and confidence to articulate his faith.  So he just grabs Simon Peter and drags him to Jesus saying, “Come and see!”.  For some of us inviting our friends to church will be the mode for sharing the good news.

2) Acts 8:26-40 – Philip is a seasoned, confident disciple of Jesus.  He comes along side the Ethiopian eunuch and asks, “What are you reading?”  Philip is certain that he can show this man how Jesus is at work in his life and even in the world around him.  Some of us will be like Philip and our sharing of the good news will involve in depth dialogue.  Just make sure you answer your friends’ questions and avoid giving sermons over coffee.

We will talk more about this at Parish Council next week.  I am asking for the foreseeable future that each small group take time to discuss these two models for sharing the good news, Which one will you use?  Take time to ask each member of your small group who they are sharing the good news with.  Pray for each other.

Be intentional.  God has good news for everyone.  His plan for sharing that good news has always been through the church. You are the church.

As you can see, Ken’s love of alliteration has rubbed off on me.  Not really, but here’s my point:  May is an incredibly busy month here at St. George’s.  We are not just busy for the sake of being busy.  We are busy running programs designed to introduce people to Jesus, to grow people up in their life with Jesus and to worship Jesus together.

But none of these programs will have any effect in your life unless you pray, prioritize and participate.

Here are some of the programs you should pray about prioritizing and participating in:

First Communion Classes – May 6th and 13th, with First Communion happening on May 27th

Rise Up, O Men of God – May 4th and 5th

Garage and Bake Sale – May 5th when we will be introducing ourselves to our new neighbours at the site of our new church home

Women’s Afternoon Fellowship – May 10th

Youth Retreat – May 11th and 12th

Pentecost Prayer Vigil – May 25th, 26th, and 27th have been set aside for corporate prayer.  Check the sign-up sheet to cover an hour of prayer and fill in a card with the first name and last initial of an unsaved friend or family member so they can be included in our prayers.

All of these programs are in addition to our regularly scheduled ministries.  They are designed for you and for your family.  I say with confidence that you should participate in at least one.  Your soul will profit.  So pray and ask the Lord which one is for you.  Have a look at your priorities this month and place your soul’s care above other trivial things.  Then, simply participate.

Details for these and all other ministry programs will be on our website.

My life radically changed on this date in 2010.

I was finishing up lectures at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA when I received the worst phone call.  It was my wife, Rhonda. “Davey, I’m in the hospital.  I have a brain tumor,” she said.  I rushed to the airport and flew home.  Ed Lewis met me at Toronto Pearson airport and we drove to Hamilton General hospital.  It was the saddest day in my life.

Rhonda died less than a month later, on May 26th.

Today, I write this blog from London Heathrow airport.  I am flying home, again, having spent the week with leaders in the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.  The theme for the conference was The Sufficiency and Uniqueness of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

I am committed to walking honestly through this journey of grief and pain, so I will not lie to you; the past year has held times of deep pain and sadness for both Matthew and me.  Having said that, not every day is sad.  In fact, more and more, I find myself able to engage memories of my wife.  I am better able to process my loss.  On this second anniversary of the worst day of my life I can tell you honestly, Jesus is unique and sufficient.

Matthew and I miss Rhonda terribly.  Your love and support give us strength.  Ultimately, we find peace and yes, even joy, in the scriptures.  These scriptures assure us that Jesus is the first born from the dead (Col. 1:18).  This image calls to mind a needle and thread.  Jesus is the needle, passing through death into new life.  We, who are in Christ, are pulled through after him.  Paul also says that Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20).  The comfort here lies in understanding agrarian imagery.  After harvesting their crops, farmers would offer the first ten percent of their harvest; i.e., the first fruits, back to the Lord.  In so doing, all of the harvest that followed was blessed.  Jesus secures the blessing of resurrection for Rhonda, for Matthew, for me and for all who are His people.

Paul concludes his first letter the Corinthians, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor 15:58)

I will soon board a plane for the long flight across the ‘pond’.  On this flight I plan to read a little, work a bit, close my eyes to remember Rhonda, remember the worst day of my life and find a deep place of abiding peace in my Lord, Jesus Christ.

It has been my honour to represent Canada and St. George’s, in particular, at the leadership conference for the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.  Today is the fourth day of the conference.  The days have been packed with solid biblical exposition, reports from around the world, and strategic planning meetings.

Over 200 Anglican leaders from nearly 35 countries have gathered here in London around one theme; The Uniqueness and Sufficiency of Christ.  It has been challenging, moving and encouraging.

During our morning worship sessions we have moved through parts of the Letter to the Colossians, focusing our attention on the uniqueness of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Then our plenary sessions have looked in Hebrews and Ephesians, expounding the themes of Christ’s Lordship over His creation and over His Church.  I can truly say that we have feasted upon rich fare as able bible teachers have led us each day.

From these plenary sessions, we have broken out into smaller groups to begin defining the terms of our fellowship in the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.  I have shared on the working group labouring to define the gospel in its own biblical terms.  This has been hard work, but rewarding.  We are using a helpful framework, looking at gospel context, content and consequences.  Look for an update when our work is complete.

I write this update from my hotel room overlooking the Thames from Battersea, only a stone’s throw away from Stamford Bridge Stadium (nearly sacred ground for Chelsea Football supporters!).  My ride to the conference has arrived.  I will write again, soon.

Thank you for praying for me while I am here in London, for Matthew back home and for the propagation of the gospel.

Thursday, April 5^th

But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. And David built there an altar to the LORD and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. (1 Chronicles 21:24-26 ESV)

Yesterday, we saw Paul’s admonition to give joyfully.

Today, we see David’s example in giving sacrificially.

David raises an altar for the Lord and Ornan offers David the use of his land, his oxen and even his firewood.  But David knows better.  He knows that the offerings that please the Lord are costly and sacrificial.  So, he responds to Ornan’s generous gift saying, “I will not … offer burnt offerings that cot me nothing.”

How does this apply to our week of prayer and fasting?  How does this apply to our new church home?

There are some in our church family who can give hundreds of thousands of dollars while others can give hundreds of dollars.  The amount is not important.  What matters is the level of sacrifice and generosity in your offering.  In fact, a $300 dollar gift may cost some families more than a $300,000 gift costs other families.

A sacrificial, costly gift means giving rather than doing something else with the money.  You enter into sacrificial giving when you choose to give rather than using the money to take your family to the movies or give rather than redecorating a room in your house.

Consider how the Lord is calling you to give.  Consider David’s refusal to offer the Lord something that costs him nothing.

Wednesday, April 4^th

But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:7-9 ESV)

You ask, ‘How much should I give?’

St. Paul answers, ‘Excel in the grace of giving.’

Let Jesus be your template and example.  Consider his condescension, giving up his heavenly riches for your sake.  Our giving is in response to his great gift of himself.  Jesus gave until it hurt.  He gave sacrificially.

The context of this passage is important. Paul is asking the Corinthian Christians for a special gift for the poor in Jerusalem.  This special gift implies that it is beyond their present customary tithe.  This entire chapter speaks directly to the question, “How much should I give?”  It answers with guiding principles rather than dollar amounts. Paul says that we ought to be like the Macedonian church.  They gave according to their means, in fact beyond their means, in the face of their own hardship. They begged for the opportunity to give.

Finally, in 2 Cor 9:7 Paul says that we should give cheerfully.  Don’t give out of compulsion or guilt.  You will resent that kind of giving.  Give what you can give, following the principles in 2 Corinthians 8.  Give in response to God’s great generosity towards you in Jesus.  Give as a sign of the genuineness of your love.  Give joyfully.

Remember to pray today and ask the Lord what you are to give and pledge toward our new church home this Sunday.

Tuesday, April 3^rd

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2 ESV)

In this Psalm of ascent we find a word of challenge, a word of comfort and a reminder.  The challenge and comfort are one and the same; our best efforts amount to vanity, unless the Lord makes them profitable.

Our most clever devices cannot provide our needs, so the Psalmist reminds us that a house built by human strength is built in vain.  Our strongest forces will not be enough to protect us, so the Psalmist reminds us that human vigilance guards in vain.  Here we come to terms with a challenge to our deluded self-sufficiency.

At the same time, there is implied in these verses the potential for the Lord building and protecting.  Otherwise why would the Psalmist mention the possibility?  Here we see comfort.  It is the Lord who provides our needs and it is the Lord who guards and protects.  He does so in such a way that we are saved from vain toil.

Finally, the Psalmist offers a reminder.  You and I can spend our lives on vanity, eating the bread of anxious toil as though our security comes form our own determination and talents, or we can trust in the Lord.  The Lord gives us rest and sleep.  He gives us rest to show us that even while we rest he works and protects on our behalf.  We never really built our house.  We never really guarded our city.  It was the Lord.  All we do, on our own, is toil vainly.

This is true of our new church home.

It is the Lord who will build it.

Make no mistake, we will invest heavily in the planning, building and resourcing but ultimately the Lord will be at work even when we sleep.  He has already brought us to divine meetings with just the right people.  We have seen His hand leading with creativity in the design process.  He will stir each of our hearts to sacrificial generosity in giving to pay for the land and for the building costs.

Lord, you build this church building.  Thank you for working while we rest.  Guard us against ever believing that we are clever or strong.  Thank you for allowing us to work at your behest.