Sunday, March 25, 2012

Magnificent Defeat: Ashes

Wonderful choir music today. A real blessing -whispered prayer
Don't miss Good Friday Choir & Drama 9:15 11:15

Luke 12:16-21 Dave Ens
www.Eastview.org
Metaphor for life: A shoe in the middle of the road. How do you lose one shoe? Cars whizzing by. No stopping our progress to pick it up. Leave it behind. Do you ever feel left behind? Feel like that shoe? Why does no one stop to help? The day you were born you started to die. It's important to know that. God asked the rich man - are you prepared to die?
We are dust - from dust to dust. Think about death so death can be interrupted by life. Ash Wednesday ashes are last year's palm branches.
How are you? I'm fine! Not - I have 20 years to live.
Death is part of life. Ps 5-5:4-8 Let me fly away and be at rest. Why am I feeling this way? Isn't God supposed to make me happy? Why can't we have the Sunday resurrection without the Friday death?
With all the medical advances over the last century we will all still die.
If I can avoid sin we think we can avoid spiritual death and we get so busy being nice that we forget our mortality.
The irony of the cross is that it looks like defeat but it brings unleashes life.
I Cor 1:22-25 God's weakness is greater than human strength
Sin leads to death but we need to understand that in Christ comes our life. We can't boast in ourselves but in Christ alone. We journey to the cross aware of our mortality.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Joy - Care Group at Margarete's

Joy in spite of circumstances. She had car accident and almost got better then got broadsided again. Had a Christian therapist that helped to get over it - to not remember the pain.
What is joy? What does it look like? Happy peaceful feeling. It will be OK. Resting in God.
Oprah article. Martha Beck said: Happiness is being in a good exciting place, Lasting joy comes in peace and confidence.

Joy overflows from Christ in us. Even in the dark night of the soul.
What examples of joy do we have? Will the morning of joy ever come? Hang on - God is walking with us thru the night. God is in control.
Joy is to choose to trust. Focus on what to be thankful for. Cracks of light or flashes of joy can come in the night.
Be patient - do too much and the pain goes up. Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life. Those happen even in the night. Each splash of joy helps to find the next. Often they come during tough times.
Don't wait for calm water recognize the nuggets when they come.

Choose to see where God is working. Focus on that. A baby's birth. Recognize that God is working to answer to provide a sense of His incredible love.
The glimpses of God's glory carry us though. We learn to trust Him more. Joy is knowledge.
Jeremiah: God knows the plans he has for you to do you good. God has those plans in place already.

How has God shown you his heart of love? An uncle in Paraguay with 10 kids killed himself. The youngest is 12 years old. She is devastated. There was no joy in his life. Funeral was today. How do you answer the questions? His sister is devastated.

We are God's children. Jesus is our life preserver. Let's pray for the family.
We are safe in God's hands. When we pray for someone we invite God's Holy Spirit into their lives.

We cry for the bereaved. Peace comes in pieces. An hour here and there.

Joy is difficult. Sometimes in pain we get a glimpse of joy. We don't understand why we have to go through the pain.

One day we will know why - in the meantime we trust that it's not for nothing.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Long Story Short

Eastview.org youth are going on SOAR Heartland for the next 10 days helping in the inner city

Drama OT covered:
Creation
The Fall
Joseph
Exodus
Judges
Kings (lots of bad ones)
Exile and prophets
Babylon
Nehemiah and the rebuilding
400 years passed.
Until One Silent Night
-wait for the sequel

Connect the pieces of the puzzle. God was leading his people. Every time they disobeyed, God showed up and shared his love.

Songs:
From the highest of heights -you are amazing, God.
We stand and lift up our hands we worship God now.
O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds your hands have made then sings my soul how great you are.

Episode II
The new King.
The birth the angels
The wisemen
Scene 2 the Life of Jesus
John the Baptist.
Miracles
The Pharisees began to hate Jesus.
Scene 3 the death of Jesus.
He paid the price for our sins.
Scene 4 the resurrection and the commission
Scene 5 the church starts. With a gift. The gift of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples had the power - some were killed.
Scene 6 Saul / Paul's conversion.
Opposition and church growth
Scene 7 Revelation - it ain't over till it's over
When Jesus comes back.

We can choose Him and join in travelling the world telling his story
God did it all for
YOU
His gift to YOU!

Where does Jurassic Park music fit in here?

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Plett Reunion 2012

What of the future?
It's been a severe pleasure to get together this weekend.
Psalm 78 we will tell our children about God's grace. Notice the links from the past and assurance for the future. David remembered the deliverance through the Red Sea.
The person who lives only for himself does not know his past or his future. What is ahead for us?
Death for sure - most of us here are from 30-49 years old. Most of us are over the hill. In 10 years the oldest cousins will be over 70 years old. Of the 79 grandchildren none have lost their spouses.
When we are on our deathbed will we wish we had one more cow? We are likely to say why did I not spend more time with my family and in prayer? What did uncles Walter Abe Ben say on their death beds? Holding fast to the faith.
Why are there so many happy marriages in our circle? Not by accident - our forefathers lived by faith in Prussia. Then 200 years ago the Kleinegemeinde started with a concern for piety. He noticed that the young girls of the community were becoming worldly.
Klaas Reimer said: God never intended for our elders to fight for land in St Petersburg.
He read and studied and loved the Bible. The Bible was kept in the center of their lives.
Grandpa read Psalm 121 before leaving on the journey to the new land.
In the boondocks of the Philippines the women are now singing because they are happy knowing the God of the Bible.
What if judgement, hell, heaven is real? Will we be ready?

Plett Reunion 2012 History of Faith

Walter (Plett) Reimer from Belize
Abraham lived his faith. God had promised him a family. When God sent him one son he obeyed God. When God asked him to sacrifice Isaac to prove his love for God. Abraham packed his knife and fire in obedience.
Hebrews 11 has a long list of people of faith.
Because of their faith our family forefathers moved from place to place to find freedom of worship.
In 1530 Menno Simons started preaching conversion from Catholicism and adult baptism. We are called Mennonites after him. Too many people think they can rely on that name for salvation. They need personal faith in God. Klaas Reimer got baptized at age 20 but lived a reckless life. He got married at 28 and began to think about his soul. His wife was 38 when they got married and 6 years later they had their first child. When he got elected as a preacher he felt he wasn't smart enough. His child was 2 years old when his wife died. He re-married a 20 year old. They had 10 children of which most died in childhood.
He felt the church was too worldly so they split and formed the small church or Kleingemeinde. That was a hard transition.
Should everyone start their own church? No- but we should live by faith.
Our forefathers moved to Canada in 1875 and some moved to Mexico in 1948 and then some of those moved to Belize a few years later. To live their faith. Where would be if they had failed to follow God's direction.
I wish we could all believe in Jesus and trust him to be our savior so we can go to heaven.
2 Cor 13:5 Check yourselves are you standing in Jesus?

Sunday, March 04, 2012

The One Ring! Believing in the ONE

www.eastview.org Watch this sermon on-line and tell me what I missed!

The music today was worth the trip. Music that leads to worship THE God who is worthy. Thanks Steve.
Choir: Amazing Grace - I once was lost but now I'm found. Grace has brought me here and it will lead me to my heavenly home. (grateful tears)

Lord of the Rings theme music
Series on Marriage and relationships -

In LOTR the king dies. He is OK with it. Regardless of the cost the people are willing to die because it is their calling to light to free their world.
How does that apply to marriage? God calls 2 people together to do what they could not do alone.
Abraham was promised God's care and nations of descendents. But by Gen 18 they are laughing at God. If we are not careful we can lose our purpose.
Money Sex and Power are the anti-trinity and they will let you down.

Drama: Couple living by default. Always promise too much. Words wear out. I can change and be new and improved. If you could why didn't you?

God is not asking us to live by default. Good house car kids. Turn to the one that can give us purpose. Nicole - husband and wife - submit to one another out of respect for Christ. Empty yourself. Die to yourself. To your expectations. Before they got married Nicole said: Dave - I have no expectations for you as a husband.

What is having a purpose as a couple? Look for a job? No, get to know God. Paul had accomplished so much but he said he regarded his accomplishments as loss for the priviledge of knowing God. Being deliberate in knowing God. In 18 years of marriage we have figured out how to do prayer and Bible reading. We figured it out when we each developed our own devotional habits. Decided to meet before bedtime to pray together. Waiting in prayer helped us stop and wait for God. God expands our capacity for ministry. Purpose.
Don't expect to do the Couple's devotional book together.
Had a messy job opportunity and wanted to say no but then they each heard from God to persevere through this job. It has not been easy. But they were together on this.
Be deliberate in finding God's purpose. He cares profoundly.

Friday, March 02, 2012

MB MB Conference at NK MB

MB= Mennonite Brethren
MB= Manitoba
NK= North Kildonan

When we walked in we soon discovered an awful racked call to worship by an ego maniac who called his group the Unleashed Band. We walked out and waited for 50 minutes before that horrible noise stopped.

David Balzer hosted a story telling feature. One lady had got pregnant and got big so fast they thought she was having twins. It turned out she also had cancer. They had a serious prayer meeting and she was healed and delivered a healthy baby. She is now teaching Sunday School.

The most important job is to pray. Pray for pastors -Keith Poysti

The noise band did another Noise session they called Song of Reflection.

John Smed The Prayer Man. Started Grace Vancouver Church and Woodgreen Presbyterian Church and www.PrayerCurrent.com
Waiting in prayer is the Secret of Power

Waiting means
1. As we wait - We wait for God - they had just spent 40 days
Waiting is a fullness an expectation eager waiting - the apostles were charged up ready to tell the world - God said wait. Wait till you get the power
Waiting is Christian practice Augustine said as we wait we increase our capacity for God - more fullness for God.
If your life is longing for God you are waiting in prayer. It takes 25 minutes of prayer to feel God amongst us.

Spend time asking God to increase our capacity for God to be amongst us. Do not leave but wait- God has more in store if you wait. There is only one cardinal sin - impatience. That's what drove us out of paradise. Franz Kafka
Waiting is opening up to God to discover his Lordship. Pray the Lord of the harvest for more laborers. They will come if we pray. If you think you have to be at the centre of activity
In 1727 Count Zindendorf said we prayed and the Holy Spirit took control and that started a 100 year prayer meeting.

2. In waiting we obey
3. We wait for the promise of Spirit Power - the 10 day prayer meeting. Only a few weeks later Peter and John faced the same judges Jesus faced. A few weeks later 1000s of people accepted Christ.
Today the fastest growing religion in Canada is non- religion. No one has seen or heard how God hears and acts for those who wait for him.
4. We uncover the greater plan of God. Disciples asked are you going to establish right wing political power? There had been 1000 years of no evidence of the Spirit of God. All of a sudden each believer was filled with the Holy Spirit
5. As we wait we pray. It is finding out what God wants today. To uncover the resurrection power of God. Our prayers extend the bow string of God. Keep waiting on Him and the arrow will fly

Communion - the Lord's Table. Jesus came to suffer and die to pay for my sins and transgressions. Eat this bread and drink this cup in remembrance of Jesus' shed blood

The racket band came to play a few nice numbers during communion.
Jesus You stood before my failure. What could I say, what could I do, but to offer my heart to you?