The Gospel is Bigger than that!

By Pastor Dave Stimers

I was recently reading about Ed McMahon. He was a well known entertainer, side-kick to Johnny Carson, and pitchman. One of the things that he was most famous for was being the face of the Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes. In essence he would show up at some unsuspecting person’s house and proclaim to them that they had a won a pile of money. For a whole generation of North Americans he was the face of financial prosperity, a picture of the hope that anyone could strike it rich in a moment. What most people didn’t realize is that Ed struggled with his own finances to the point where, before he died he was constantly fighting to keep his house and stay out of bankruptcy.

Unfortunately there are enough parallels between Mr. McMahon and the North American church to make me uncomfortable about the gospel that we claim to preach. On the one hand, there seems to be just as much zeal to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ as ever. On the other, it seems that thousands upon thousands of people want to herald the richness of life with Christ, and yet lead spiritually bankrupt lives. I’m not saying that people do it on purpose…It’s actually quite easy to be lulled into a life of spiritual complacency in our society. There is certainly enough entertainment, comfort, and distraction to make us believe that we are doing OK. Furthermore, often the ‘gospel’ that has been preached to us is that we have only got to say a prayer and expect that one day we’ll die and show up in heaven. Christianity ends up being fire insurance, a ticket out of hell and into heaven.

There is, however, good news about the good news…

Jesus taught His disciples to pray like this, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” He made it clear that we should pray for, anticipate and expect God to make earth like heaven – a place that is characterized by love, peace, equality, joy, and a place where He rules with love and faithfulness. Let me assure you that I believe a true prayer of faith can save people into a future that includes living in heaven forever with God. But I also believe that we are saved into living a Spirit-filled life that will require us sacrificing our entire life in order to commit to working to bring God’s love to this world. This means we may be called upon to sacrifice (all of) our money, our time, our comfort, our right to pick a career, place to live or physical safety. What we’ll find, though, is that the Spirit of God will work in our world to reveal the glory of God through the sacrifice of His servants. We’ll see God work in ways that we never would have imagined. We’ll discover that the richness of life with Christ far exceeds the comforts of this world.

So. I dare you to ask God to use you for His kingdom today. You might find that He asks you to give up something that you don’t want to give up, He might require you to do something uncomfortable in order to bring more of His character to someone’s life. He may ask you to rely on Him for more than a ticket to heaven, but that’s OK because the gospel is bigger than that.

Student Open House

Saturday September 12th, Come on out and be apart of our Student Open House!

All are welcome, whether you are a student or not. Maybe you are new in the West Hamilton area. Or maybe you have always lived in Hamilton. Whatever the case, Westside is opening its doors to all: students and to the new and old residents of Hamilton.

Volunteers...

Help out by:

• Delivering Flyers
• Being a Host/Hostess at Westside
• Manning an information table at the barbeque at St. George's
• Providing Refreshments

For more information please speak to Marg or Bruce Mason or Pastor Dave.

Dead Sea Scrolls @ The ROM

Dead Sea Scrolls, Words that Changed the World; I like the sound of that.

From June 27, 2009 to January 3, 2010 the Dead Sea Scrolls will be exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century - the earliest record of biblical patriarchs and prophets embraced by Judaism, Christianity and Islam"

The Scrolls - Summary

The Dead Sea Scrolls are widely considered among the greatest archaeological finds of the past century. They include the earliest written sources for the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), as well as other less well known writings. Many of the ideas and beliefs contained in this collection of ancient parchments have resonated through the centuries and remain influential today. Indeed, they reflect the foundations of important religions such as Judaism and Christianity and have influenced Islam.

Dating from around 250 Before Common Era (BCE) to 68 Common Era (CE), the Scrolls include some 207 biblical manuscripts representing nearly all of the books in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament). Approximately 900 Scrolls were discovered; some almost entirely preserved and others in fragments. Together, they comprise one of the most important collections of writings ever discovered. The Scrolls are a collection of biblical writings, apocryphal manuscripts, prayers, biblical commentary and religious laws. Prior to the discovery of the Scrolls, the oldest known copies of biblical texts were written 1,000 years later.

Check out this site for more information: http://www.rom.on.ca/scrolls/index.php

This site holds ample information and facts located at 'THE SCROLLS' tab at the top under such headings as: The Discovery, Their Origins, and The Importance of the Scrolls.

I find it really neat to have such a close and great museum as the ROM, engage into an important, crucial part of our history and attract people around the area and the world so they can have the chance to view, listen and learn about the truth of the Bible.

What do you think?

Sad News....

This news item was released today by the Associated Press, and was posted on thespec.com this afternoon. I find this incredibly disheartening. I find it very sad that in North America we have made such a pill so widely available - not only available but socially acceptable. This pill will soon be widely accepted as a common form of 'birth control'.

I fear for the generation that is now entering their pubescent years, and for the generations that follow. Surely a pill like this will be so common and accepted by the time they reach their teen years, that many will not give it a second thought before swallowing it, and possibly murdering a child.

17-year-olds can get morning after pill in U.S. without prescription

April 22, 2009

A U.S. health official says the Food and Drug Administration will allow 17-year-olds to get the "morning-after" birth control pill without a doctor's prescription.

An official said the agency will announce today it's complying with a federal judge's order.
Last month a federal judge ruled that Bush administration appointees let politics, not science, drive their decision to allow over-the-counter access only for women 18 and older.

Plan B is emergency contraception that contains a high dose of birth control drugs. Religious conservatives say it's the equivalent of an abortion pill.

I find it interesting that they add "religious conservatives" at the end - as if we're the only population that might oppose such a pill. Maybe we are... I'm not sure anymore.

My heart is heavy this afternoon as I reflect on how many children are aborted, no - aborted sounds too clinical - these children are murdered - in North America each year. The statistics are nauseating. We've now made it easier than ever. God help us.

Father, forgive us - forgive our nation and our evil intentions. Forgive our nation, and our neighbors for not valuing life... forgive us for indulging ourselves - for engaging in sexual sin that would lead many to use such a pill. Forgive us for our idolatry - many will worship idols of money, careers, travel, and other selfish desires that would cause them to murder their unborn children. Oh Father, forgive them... forgive us.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that after checking out Plan B's Canadian website - this 'treatment' is available at almost any pharmacy. Nothing on the website indicated that you had to be a certain age to purchase it. On one page, I found a picture of a young lady, obviously in her teen years, with this caption: "That's life. Accident's happen, we make mistakes, and some things are out of our control."

Yeah... right.

Desperation

I came across an interesting - and somewhat disconcerting - article on TheSpec.com, our local newspaper's online channel, read it here. The paper reports an estimated 30% increase in visits to psychics and mediums in our current economic state. How sad! Rather than turn to the One True God, our family members, neighbors, friends and coworkers are turning to crystal balls and tarot cards to find hope.

One interviewee said this, referring to the cost of psychic advice (around $120USD/hr):

While Lamont and Aguilar acknowledge the price is high, Lamont says that Calibre was able to provide something she couldn't find consulting friends, families or her therapist.

"He just really gave me some little hope that things will be OK and I'm going in the right direction," she says.

How disappointing it is to see people's hearts turn in this direction. I highlighted the words that struck me immediately. People are looking for hope, they are looking for reassurance and are paying large sums of money to find it. How deceiving! Lamont and Aguilar are correct in one sense though, they can't find what they are looking for through friends, families or therapists... little do they know, they will be disappointed (ultimately) with their psychic as well. Such hope has no lasting value, no eternal value, to be sure.

Friends, my heart aches for these people. Their desire for hope is clear, but their methods are faulty, and spiritually dangerous. I am reminded this morning that we need to be beacon's of light and hope for those with whom we have contact. Many people are stressed, financially overburdened and losing hope - we need to show them that we have hope - not false hope from "spiritualists" and mediums, but true, lasting, eternal hope, from God's Word!!

Pray for those around you, pray for your family members, your friends and neighbors, your coworkers. They are desperate for the truth. If only they would turn to Jesus, and not psychics. Hamilton is a hub of psychic and spiritual oppression - do not be naive to think that Hamilton is any different than other cities - it may in fact be more oppressed! Pray for our city, but most importantly, pray for God's people to be salt and light, to be beacon's of hope and truth. That we would be filled with a desire to tell people about Jesus, and that He would go before us and change hearts, opening them, that they may hear the truth and receive it.

People will continue to look for security and hope. The Bible speaks of mediums and spiritual people that deceive many. Times have changed, but methods (largely) have not.

Desperation indeed.