Essentials by design: Hope

I was depressed forsaken and God healed me. Only through Christ have we been saved.
www.EasTview.org
Delbert Enns
Winnipeg is Canada's murder capital but there is hope!
Just as there was hope for Ephesus there is hope for Winnipeg.
Hope.
1 Timothy 6:12 fight the good fight. Hold tightly to eternal life. The church was facing all kinds of pressures. He was in a battlefield. It was hard.

Who wants to move away? Who wants to move west? In the last 100 years things have changed.
What does Hollywood think of Winnipeg?
Simpson's says We live here. We were born here. What is your excuse?

While we face many difficulties we have bought into cynicism and negativity.

Too often we say what's in it for me?
Timothy agonize through your struggle of faith. Wrestle with it. Wrestle together. V13 I charge you before God and Christ Jesus to remember when Jesus stood before Pilate he confessed that he was God and that took him to the cross. Hope begins there.
You have hope through Jesus when you die to your own ideas.
Obey without wavering.
Love your neighbor. Stand your ground. Unwavering.

Jesus is coming back. The relationship with Jesus starts when you admit that you are lost. There is no hope without Jesus's promise that he's coming back.
He said we will be coming back. Jesus is immortal. Lord of Lords he lives in light so brilliant that human eyes can never see him.

Paul says that this excites him. Teach those who are rich not to be proud. To be generous to those in need. Instruct para angelo means come walk alongside like an angel. Live and walk alongside with someone that needs you.
V20 guard what God has entrusted to you. Be careful. Walk carefully. Guard yourself! We need each other. May God's grace be with you all.

Lord's supper. The Eucharist. Hope is an active decision. Live it in the community.
Jeremiah 29 work for the peace and prosperity of the city where God has put you.

Jake Plett Memorial service

Oct 18, 2013

Memories from:
Eddie and Erna of Port Colborne.

Sam knew grandpa the least. He was too far away. Grandpa loved the Bible. Tara and Sam work with troubled young people.
Is there anything more beautiful than a young couple? Yes! Old love. A couple holding gnarled hands in love. Growing old in love.
Parkinson's is hard. Rom 8:37 we are more than conquerers. Grandpa has not lost the battle. He was victorious through his savior. He did not fight to stay. He fought the good fight and finished the race. He loved singing. What a wonderful change in my life has been brought since Jesus came into my life. He is singing a new song face to face with Christ his savior.
1 Cor 15 death has lost its sting and life is not in vain.

Nico the singer will sing the song grandpa wrote: Help up the fallen Cheer up the sad Avoid all evil and bad. Hold unto Jesus By Him be led

Rachel. Alviera and Marvin's daughter. Grandpa loved unconditionally. Rides he gave to the great grandkids with the walker.

Dale. Leroy's son. Meaningful verse. Grandpa's faith was very important. Many years of mission work. Matth 25 faithful servant enjoy what God has in store for you.
Kim remembers her grandpa fondly

Garner and Betty Reimer. Loved spending time with them.

Mission Conference Austin EMMC

www.AustinEvangelicalFellowship.com
Loretta. Crisis Pregnancy Centre Brandon
We listen to people with values different than our own. A teenager cried deeply about her post abortion pain.
A young woman found out she would not be able to have children because of an abortion. She is getting married and mourns the loss of her ability to have children.
Jesus loves every person and our hope is that we can help each one to realize that there is redemption. Canada has no restrictions on abortion and 100,000 babies are aborted every year for convenience. We affirm and respect every client. We hope they will affirm the value of their baby.
We provide clothes and help them find housing when needed.
Housing can be very difficult to find when a woman is pregnant.
http://www.cpcbrandon.ca/
Recently a woman shared how she tried to kill herself after an abortion. Guilt of abortion.
Post abortion women find it hard to believe God could ever love them again. It's not too late for her. Love won when Jesus sacrificed himself. His love replaces ashes for beauty.
You don't have to be what you were before.
We pray for Loretta and the staff. May God bless their ministry.

Dedrich Friesen family
Music: The Family Bible. Mother singing Rock of  ages cleft for me.
We want to be a blessing wherever we go. God showed us how much he loves 2000 years ago.
Song. Jesus wants to love you. He will never fail you when the doubts assail you. His love is a boundless love that will last through all eternity.
We have a God that loves us so much that: I pledge allegiance to the lamb.

We went to Bolivia and preached and sang in low German plautdietch. They had heard us on the radio.
Sang one song over and over in low German:
Come you sinners lost and lonely. Jesus blood can make the vilest sinner clean.
Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless,
Jesus' blood can make you free;
For He saved the worst among you,
When He saved a wretch like me.
Refrain:And I know, yes, I know
Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean,
And I know, yes, I know
Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

Message by Mr Friesen.
4 weeks in Bolivia. So amazed that people would invite us to sing. Mom and dad were musicians. My wife and I both had a strong call to missions as children. We felt God wanted us there. Came back to go to Bible school. We got called to Shipyard Belize to establish a church and school. God impressed upon us that we needed to minister in low German. Agatha started translating songs into low German. They sang on the radio in low German to some 40,000 listeners. They need the gospel in low German. Desperately needed.
12 year old girl Terri was babysitting her baby brother. She went out of the house. Then she saw smoke coming out of the house. She rushed into the house to rescue her baby brother. It was hard to pull him out from under the rafters. But she got him out. Why did she do it? "I heard my brother cry!"
How many people do you hear crying? What do you do about it? Are you responding?
Do you see what's most important in the eyes of God?
Mk 12:28 Jesus sums up the whole law: The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.
You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'

The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."

Others will know you are Jesus' disciples when they see your love. How do we do that?
Matth 25 you visited the lonely and fed the hungry.

There are neighbors here that need love. Recently one life was lost right here in this community.
There are so many ways to show love to your neighbor.

I hope your service starts when you leave this place.

Shawn O'Kelly heard a mother of 5 was going hungry. He bought 3 bags full of groceries and delivered them. When the small child that opened the door saw him he called his mom to come quickly. "Jesus brought us food!"

If we gave 10% of our money to the church and all our love to others, there would be no hungry people.

How long has it been since you heard someone crying? Perhaps it's time.

Song: Each day I'll do a golden deed
By helping those who are in need
My life on earth is but a span
And so I'll do the best I can
Life's evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun
While going down life's weary road
I'll try to lift some traveler's load
I'll try to turn the night to day
Make flowers bloom along the way

Mission conference Austin

CSSM will become One Hope Canada. They had a fabulous year at Valley View Bible Camp this year. The horse program was very effective.

Chris and Cheryl Peters were in the Dominican Republic all summer.
Started going there with Green Valley Equipment in 2007 and been going there every year. Good jobs pay $7 a day. Maids get $1 a day. Not everyone has food every day. Building houses out there cost $700 per house.

When they graduate they get a small piece of land and they can grow 2 crops a year and support their families. 80% of women in some communities have HIV. Prostitution is legal. Most girls are pregnant by age 12.

1/2 of the children live in poverty. Sponsorships make a big difference in those villages.

Cultural shock for Jacqui 17 was overridden by the peace of knowing this is where God wanted me.

Got baptized in the ocean was her highlight. Ecstatic to be able to go. Got dengue fever. That was hard.

Jennifer: Want to go again. It was 40 degrees all summer.

Did hospital visitation. Hospitals don't provide food or bedding. Often a few patients became Christians. Cheryl lost 5 babies over the years. She was able to lead a woman (who had lost her baby) to Christ in DR hospital.

Went to visit a man in the men's ward who was comatose. The interpreter prayed for the man and he was healed.

The 40 degree heat was almost unbearable but the smiles and hugs made it all worthwhile. We lived in a gated community with armed guards and thieves were regularly shot with shotguns.

80% of the men are unemployed. The mission teaches them to work.

This last mission for 10 weeks was very challenging. He was teaching engine repair in DR. A course with no material trying to teach uneducated men how to repair engines. Very challenging. Also taught ethics.

Who is the queen in your home? The wife. Who is the king? The man. Who is the king of kings? Jesus. Men should model Jesus in the home. Jesus came to serve. Men ought to serve their wives.

Appreciate that we can share here. It was hard but willing to do it again.

God is good always. Open the eyes of my heart.

The Steinbach youth group went to Mexico through YUGO missions. Need to share Jesus. Evangelism. Reach out across the border. They need groups to create an event. Events draw people. The churches of Mexico request these teams to help them impact their communities. They learn from the teams that come in. Children's ministries
Soccer ministry to boys and girls. Go twice a day. The kids cling to us.
Going there is an easy place to share Christ. Let's go and share Christ here and there.
Women's ministry is very effective. They did a foot washing and ladies came to Christ.
Sports ministry was so powerful. All the guys prepared sermons and testimonies. All the participants were changed for life. There is now a different awareness.

We were there two years ago and God put us on the same soccer field and the community gang leaders said they would start going to church.
Safety is covered. We need to disciple. Jesus wasn't safe. When we go into uncomfortable territories God can change us and those around us. Let's mobilize our kids to go out make a difference. Our youth are showing the way. That's exciting!
Youth get 15-20 hours of preparatory training before leaving.
Dave was the Designated Old Guy (DOG) drove the big motorcoach bus. Through the narrow streets of the city. Shared his story. Cancer. Scared. Peace. Shared the gospel. Connected with people.

Curtis. This was his second trip. Scared spitless to share God's story. It was a blast to do this.

Allie. Her second trip. Maximum we had 12 kids at the site. That was hard. Would have liked to have more kids.  We had 24 people trying to teach those kids.

We worked with the churches. One of the kids on the trip had the opportunity to win a provincial championship but chose to go on this trip. Amazing!

Phase 12 Thai ministry

Www.EasTview.org
Phase 12 had 2 phases
1 training
2 travel to Thailand
Romans 12
Training in Falcon Lake
Team building exercises
Small group sessions
Worship time
5 leaders each mentored 2 students
Competed to not be last
Living conditions in Thailand were not what we are used to.
We shared and became vulnerable. Did a foot washing. That was emotional but it helped us support each other.
Spiritual gifts thinking was helpful.
As a leader it took a few days to adjust being with them 24,7
Really built a solid team.

Thailand
1st impressions. Why am I sweating? Went straight into a church service. Were welcomed.
Why is everything so smelly? Embrace the sweat.
Pick up kids from the slum. Houses built out of scraps.
Stayed at the lighthouse. On the 3 rd floor. So very very hot. 1 bathroom to share. 1 squatty and a hose on the wall.
Our days varied a lot. Start off with donuts from the market. 4ish do kids ministry. Ended the day in small groups.
Worked with Bethal church and Lighthouse.
Worked with the Hope Centre a youth ministry centre. Louise asked me to share my testimony. Shared how mom encouraged her to love her enemies. A handicapped girl in the audience really connected. 3 girls in the audience accepted Christ that day. I realized what a wonderful mom I have.

Video of the trip. Working with slum kids. Playing with them. Carrying them.
Doing touristy things
Teaching English to the kids.
Eating Thai food.
Enjoying the ocean.

Jeanette. Planning the English camp. Cory asked her to share the story of Jesus. Did a lot of worrying about what to say. It went well. Had to trust God for what to say.
One night went to an HIV family. The dad was dying. They prayed for his healing and he was healed. They still have lots of struggles.
Church for the Thais is a new and fresh thing. They eagerly share their faith. We grew from this experience. Bought a Bible and started reading it daily.
Need to learn not to be so selfish.
The Thai people have simplified their lives to be grateful for everything. The youth group is really dynamic there now. The new believers 2 years ago are now dynamic leaders of the church. They have really grown.
Get the book of stories that we prepared for you.

Cory
There were so many experiences we had. Watching the EasTview kids sharing the gospel every day all day. To see them share their faith. That was the highlight of the trip.
1st day Louise took 2 people to a factory to witness in the middle of Asia. Can you preach?
In cell groups the students shared  voluntarily whenever the opportunity came up. There is a new generation that loves God  enthusiastically.
To have a trusting relationship where we put others first. Christ sacrificed his life for us, now he trusts us to put Him first.
We are in the top 2% of wealth. This summer we witnessed the bottom.
It's about loving God wherever we are. To be moved by him to reach others. Your prayers made a big difference.
Tell people about Jesus. We are blessed and we have a responsibility to share.
I hope that stimulates you to bless others.

The Meeting House Oakville

Matt - the lead pastor is 30ish? 14th site opens today in Brantford. Katie attends in Ottawa.
Starting a series on modern family today. Not the tv show.
www.theMeetingHouse.com

http://m.youversion.com/events/268685

The vision of Jesus for the Church is that those who have left family and possessions to follow Jesus will receive things back even in the present age – a new and ever-enlarging family of their fellow-disciples, with homes open to them wherever they go. ~ N.T. Wright

Family is one of the metaphors Jesus uses. This series will:
1. Focus on family
2  singleness of Jesus
3. Singleness of Paul
4. Diversity in harmony
5. Hot seat Sunday

Ecclsia the gathering of the family of God. Church means gathering together of the people of the spiritual.

Family is supposed to have loyalty love safety security.
Brady bunch. All in the Family. There are some wild examples of family.
Paul wrote to 1Timothy 3.14 get back to church. You are called to community that rallies around.
Matt12.46-50
The Bible pictures the "church" as a... nation, race, body, bride, temple, family

Crowds are people that are interested. But not committed. Religious practices and religious pedigree do not make us a family. It takes committed people to be Jesus's family. Jesus pointed to the committed and said they are my brothers and sisters because they are living out the will of God. Jesus points out that women are included in his group of disciples.

How does this impact us? Peter and the disciples were always worried about which thrones they would sit on in the new kingdom.
When you follow Jesus you will get 100 x as many homes and when you die you'll get the cherry on top of eternal life.

Take out: share a meal
Adjust the experience of what it means to be a church. A list can become legalism. We need examples to inspire us to follow.

Kimmy and Fred are here to talk family. Fred: Connected to home church. Kimmy has a bunch of stories. Kimmy is an elder. Fred now gets supper at Kimmy's house. He does the dishes.

Go for lunch and invite others to join the family meal.

Now it's your time to sign up for a home church. Arrange a meal. Invite someone for lunch today. Every week we get together to meet family of Jesus. Get together with someone you don't know. We are family because of Jesus. We share communion because of Jesus. Reflect and celebrate.

I will exalt you. You are my God. My hiding place.

Christ is risen from the dead.