Clearing Stuff Out

We are planning to do renovations at the church this fall, which means no Sunday School. This week, in preparation for whenever the renos start, we cleared out the Sunday School rooms. It only took one morning, and was faster than we thought to get everything sorted, packed, and hauled out to the van. One of the teachers is going to store it all at her house.

In the process, we found:

• curriculum that had never been used
• other curriculum books that we do use
• still more curriculum that belongs to another ministry
• many pencil crayons
• so many erasers
• a very nice pen
• another assortment of pens
• crayons
• crayon bits
• more pencil crayons
• registration forms from 2014
• several pack of goggly eyes
• a VBS kit that came from who-knows-where and included a VHS tape
• piles of photocopies for worksheets that we no longer use
• seriously, where do all these pencil crayons come from?
• multiple pairs of scissors

In short, I am never listening to teachers again when they insist that they need more materials. What we need is to look closely at what we already have!

I told the elder who does the shopping for me to check if I ever again order pencil crayons, crayons, or erasers.

Anyway, that's done. Fall will be strange without Sunday School, but I'm thankful for the renos because they mean more room for Sunday School. I'm also thankful for a year to rest and revamp our program. It's good, but with the influx of children over the past few years, we need to make sure we're serving them well. We also need to go over all the curriculum, making adjustments and making sure we're ready to start strong next fall.

Sunday Stuff

Pastor James is back from vacation and back in the pulpit. I really like it when the other elders preach, but James is still my favourite. He preached about discipleship yesterday, and had a lot of good things to say about what it was, how it happens, and what our responsibility as disciples is.

I think I have all my Sunday School teachers, helpers, and substitutes ready to go. I'm hoping for one more young man whom I think will be a great teacher, but that's not quite settled yet; I may have to wait until Christmas to get him. I can be patient. For now, we have enough to start the year strong. There are several new young people joining our ranks, from the 18-25 year old range. I love having the younger ones as not only are they enthusiastic and full of energy, and if we start training the now, we can have a new generation of teachers in place when I'm ready to retire (a long time from now).

I held a wee baby girl yesterday. She's only about three weeks old and so tiny and adorable!

The library computer is being annoying, It refuses to stay connected to the internet, and often can't find any wifi networks. Yesterday I gave up on it and took all the "check out" forms and a list of returned books home to deal with here. I did a bit of tidying up, but the young girls did the biggest part: straightening up and organizing the children's books. It probably stayed tidy at least until the end of first service!

Someone approached me with an idea for the Christmas concert. She would like to have a small choir to do some special music, including the angel chorus and Simeon's song.

Sunday afternoon was quiet. I phoned my parents later in the afternoon (it's our regular Sunday call) and caught up on the news. 

Overall, it was quite a nice Sunday.

John MacArthur (1939-2025)

John MacArthur went home this week and is now with the Lord. He was a faithful minister of God's Word in his preaching and speaking and writing. He was a faithful pastor who cared deeply for his flock. I don't think we can measure his influence: his sermons, books, and conferences have reached incredible numbers of people; the university and seminary have trained up generations; missionaries and training centres around the world have helped train up local men for ministry.

It's the trickle-down effect in practice. John MacArthur taught and preached and trained men; these men to on to teach and preach and train other men; those men.... You get the picture. Churches and families and individuals around the world are taught and changed and sanctified through the on-going influence of his ministry.

In my own life, John MacArthur's influence was mostly indirect. I sat under his preaching one Sunday many years ago, I've read some of his books, and I hear him on the radio sometimes. Mostly, though, his influence on me is seen through the faithful pastors in my life. Many years ago I had pastors who had not been trained in The Master's Seminary, but who had still be taught by him through conferences and books. Now I have pastors who were at the seminary and who learned to faithfully bring the word of God to us every week, so I too am blessed by his ministry.

I am sorrowful that the world has lost John MacArthur. At the same time, his books and sermons will continue to teach and encourage the sheep, and maybe reach more of the lost sheep. And his legacy will continue through the men he trained up to carry on the work.

Sunday Stuff

Summer service timings are a bit different at church. Most of the year we have first service from 9:00-10:30; Sunday School from 11:00-12:00, and second service from 12:30-2:00. During the summer there is no Sunday School and second service starts at 12:00. It's still a good break in between for the people involved in the service (pastor and music team probably need it most), but everyone can get home a bit earlier as well.

I used to be a second service person, but my ride changed and now I'm a first service person (along with probably 2/3 of the church body). That means first service and Sunday School, and home between 1:00 and 1:30, depending on how long we stay to fellowship and visit. Yesterday, I was home before noon, which seemed very early!

Summer Sundays are less busy at church because I'm not taking care of and teaching Sunday School. On the other hand, yesterday I took care of the church library, confirmed the willingness of two more Sunday School teachers, and cleaned off the bulletin boards in my classroom.

Also: I admired babies, talked and laughed with friends, got some hugs, had someone hand me a sandwich (on a cheesy bun) and a baby cheese, and enjoyed some good fellowship.

I worshiped with my church family in song and Scripture and prayer and preaching. I learned and was reminded of truths and was refreshed.

I absolutely love Sundays with my church family.

Sunday Stuff

We are so close to getting Christian to the Celestial City! Our entire Sunday School year has been based around "Will he make it to the Celestial City by the end of the year or will he be stuck on the other side of the river (or worse, in the river)? I'm pleased to say that we are on track to finish the book and have week for review and a celebration.

This week's class was interesting because it was Christian and Hopeful's second encounter with Ignorance, when they discussed false assurance and what really makes someone a Christian. They also talked about how Ignorance expects God to justify his works, not him. He holds to a works  + grace salvation, not a "through Christ alone" salvation. I pause sometimes as I read to make sure they're tracking with me and understand the content, and this week I could see some of them thinking hard about what they were hearing. My prayer always is that God will work in their hearts and that they will see the truth and believe and be saved.

James finished Romans 13, preaching verses 11-14. I found myself convicted (again) about things that I am holding to that are not necessarily sins but that are, as Hebrews 12:1 says, encumbrances, those things that I know I need to give up because they are interfering my walk. For me they tend to be reading and viewing time-wasters that aren't bad but also aren't edifying. So again I had to confess and put off things and realign my life and mind. It's hard because they seem like harmless amusements, but they tend to take over my time, keeping me from doing more worthy things; it's also very easy to justify reading and watching things when they just start to glorify sin because it's become a habit.

The evening was fun; a group of us got together to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday. There was good conversation, good food, and good friends. There was also a sweet baby to amuse us! It had everything I could want in a gathering.

It was a very good Sunday.

Baptisms

Yesterday was a baptism Sunday. There were 5 ladies being baptized, with five more people getting baptized next week. I like hearing the testimonies and how God has worked in each person's life. Sometimes the stories sound similar (especially when there are a lot of younglings who grew up in the church) and sometimes they are so different. The common factor is God's grace in calling each person to Himself in salvation.

One thing I particularly like about baptisms at GraceLife is the introduction. Before anyone gets baptized, the elder takes the time to explain what baptism is and why the people are choosing to get baptized. It isn't a magical process and they aren't super Christians (he uses different words of course!). Baptism is an act of obedience to Christ for all believers, a declaration of a person's commitment to Christ, and a time to testify about what God has done and to give Him the glory.

Wednesday Mornings

With the arrival of fall came the start of the women's study at church. There are over 100 women registered for the morning sessions, which had given me around 72 children to care for. It's a bit crowded in places, but I managed to fit everyone in.

My older boys are unsupervised this year; they have been told that if they behave properly, I will not need to find an adult to watch them. If there is trouble, they will have an adult in the room with them. We're two weeks in and they're doing okay!

The rest of the groups are running normally. The older girls (a group that suddenly includes the older 10 and 11 year old girls with the junior high -- high school girls attend the study) are on their own as always and doing well. I may need to find a little more time to spend with them as they are a slightly younger group. The other three groups have some older teens supervising them, and I spend some time with them as well. The oldest ones get trivia games; the littles get story time; and the middles get a story and then trivia. It's a lot of fun.

Next week is a fellowship week. The ladies bring food and spend the first hour or so in fellowship and brunch and the second hour with a guest speaker or in a special prayer time. My kids spend an hour working and then have game, craft, and play time. It's a lot of fun (even though it leaves me extra tired!).

I really, really love spending this time with my homeschool groups. There's always a lot of laughter and it's just fun for everyone.

Sermon Thoughts

I found some papers where I had written lines from various sermons, just things to think about:

You don't get to pick your hills; your hills pick you.

They aren't actually ashamed of you; they are ashamed of Christ.

We do not obey to be saved, we are saved to obey.

Don't settle for mortification mediocrity.

Conviction and condemnation are distinctly different.

Church Stuff

We moved into our new building 7 years ago; I wrote about that here:   https://dorothysthoughts.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-church.html

Things went along fairly normally for a while, although we lost a pastor to a church up north and gained another one. Then covid came and everything changed. You can look up past posts from those years if you want to know more about that. When the dust settled, we had pretty much doubled in size. We have two services now because we couldn't all fit (and in first service, full of crazy morning people, there are chairs in the library and in the foyer; second service is smaller but still sometimes sees families up in the library). Sunday School is full and there are more children every year, both from new families and many new babies.

Plans are in process for a new building with a sanctuary big enough to hold everyone, and then a later building for education (with so many Sunday School rooms!). We're at the paperwork, permits, petitions and permission stage. If things go according to our plans, we may have the first new building in a couple years, and then Sunday School can stretch out and fill up the current building. Of course, our plans might not be God's plans. I know that the elders pray a lot for wisdom in all this, and that we do things in a way that will glorify God, not us. I pray this too.

It's all very exciting. It's sometimes overwhelming as well, trying to manage the number of children and cope with a very, very crowded foyer between services. Sometimes I would like to go back to when there were fewer people, but as I told my history class once: I want fewer people, but I don't want anyone to leave!

On Researching Sunday School Curriculum

 I have been doing a lot of research into Sunday School curriculums lately, mostly to ensure that we are using the best I can find for my students. I have plan for their time in Sunday School and want to cover things in an orderly manner. 

There were some curriculums that I didn't bother with, not because they were bad, but just because they weren't what we needed. I have a curriculum for the first 4 years that covers the narrative parts of the Old and New Testaments, giving them a broad overview of the Bible and how God has worked. For the older students, I wanted something that would allow them to dig deeper into Scripture and that would focus in on specific areas. For that reason, I skipped over anything that was basically just Bible stories.

At the same time, I came up with a short list of things that will make me completely reject a Sunday School curriculum:

1. Bad theology (that should be a given)
2. "The Netflix of Sunday School"
3. Bad names, including “Harvest Kids Now” and “Kids Kount” (problematic for different reasons)
4. No easy option to see a sample of the curriculum (either no option at all or the need to give them too much information so they can put me on a mailing list). Also, no outline, scope/sequence chart, or anything that lets me check out the curriculum. If I can't see what I would be teaching, I won't even consider it.
5. Focusing too much on "fun" rather than learning (News Flash: Children can learn from simple, straight forward lessons taught by teachers who love what they are teaching and who love the children; while extras are fun, they should be an add-on once in a while, not a key part of the teaching.)
1. Too much superfluous “extra” that has to be waded through (5 pages of fun activities with puppets, drama, object lessons, and video clips and only 2 pages of exploring Scripture)
2. The idea that we have to gain their interest in the lesson through slightly related activities before we can start to teach them
3. “Creative gizmos help your volunteers teach like Jesus"
4. The option to have them watch the Bible story on DVD
6. No worksheets/activity pages/anything children can do to reinforce the lesson and take home so their parents can see what they are learning.

Obviously not all of these are equally bad; some are just opinions (especially point 4 and 6). Part of my problem with the other points (aside from bad theology; that's just plain wrong) is that it makes Sunday School less serious and less important than the studies that adults do. Our focus in Sunday School, just as in all the ministries of the church, is Scripture. And yes, we have fun while we do it, but if my focus is on making the lessons fun and easy with creative gizmos and puppets, then the children will find the rest of church boring. If our focus is on Scripture and worshiping God together, then they will find that the rest of church is not that different and they'll grow more naturally into the adult studies.

One of My Elders

 Allow me to introduce you to Adam, one of the newest full elders at GraceLife. I've been friends with is family for several years now (I'm not sure how long exactly, but long enough that we're family now). One of my greatest blessings this year was getting to spend more time with them; I was there fairly often this summer (perks to being unemployed). If I ever disappear, it's because I went spend a couple nights there and I was kidnapped by either Adam's wife or one of the children who would like someone who has nothing better to do than read to him all day. They're my people.

Seriously: I changed cell phone providers in part because my old provider didn't get service at their house and the new provider does. Now I can spend more at their house there without worrying about missing calls about potential jobs.

This has caused a bit of a dilemma though. As you can see from the video below, Adam is a really, really good preacher (also he reads narratives extremely well). I also think that he's a good shepherd who cares for his people. I am in completely in favour of him becoming a pastor, but I am equally opposed to him taking his family elsewhere, even for training. You see the problem? If he becomes a pastor, he needs to train in Edmonton (we really need a seminary) and then join the GraceLife staff.

Now: Listen to his sermon, and enjoy it, and be convicted by it (I was; I need to keep looking at whether I'm obeying God completely or just mostly sometimes; "mostly obeying" is still disobeying). 

Pastor Tim Has Been Released!

 Today was a good day; Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist who was arrested June 15th for holding church services has been released!

From his wife Raquel's Facebook:

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released... (Hebrews 13:23)

I am really loving that verse!!!!

There's been a flurry of activity this morning! Today, July 1st, Alberta lifted all health restrictions including the ones that required him to tell people what to wear, where to stand, not to come to church, and to not practice hospitality. They've also rescinded the May 13 Rooke Order, the one that he was arrested for, since the lifting of restriction nullifies their definition of an "illegal gathering".

So all that to say... Tim is coming HOME!!! We can now gather as a church family to worship the living God and practice fellowship and all the “one anothers” without fear of fines or imprisonment. I am praying for our brothers and sisters in the rest of Canada who do not have this reprieve. It's been a roller-coaster week, full of many disappointments, but God was so faithful to keep directing my heart and mind to his sovereignty over all things, his goodness, and his power. He gave us his Son, we can trust him in all things.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

Saints, thank you for praying. Glory to God who heard and answered your prayers to sustain us and give us hope to persevere. Glory to God for answering our prayers that souls would be saved and that church would be strengthened through all this. Glory to God who has counted Tim worthy to suffer dishonor for his name's sake. Glory to God that the name of Jesus is going far and wide and he is receiving the honour due his name!

The battle is far from over, but my beloved is coming home!!!

The Fence is Down!

 The news said that we would get our building back on July 1st. Today the fences came down. We still can't get in (the security is still there and keeping us out, except the people caring for the lawn, dealing with weeds (in what would otherwise be our flowerbeds) and a couple other people; we think our admin guy, but we don't know for sure), but the fences are down and it looks like we really can go home. AHS still hasn't informed us of that fact.

Somehow, GraceLife ended up with what we're thinking of as our anthem. The Sunday after Pastor James was arrested, we sang it loudly and with great joy and conviction; the first Sunday that he was returned to us, we sang it again; we sang it in our underground church one week; we are looking forward to singing it again in our building. It speaks clearly about our hope and why we can keep praising God in the midst of this storm. Jailing our pastor and jailing our church couldn't stop us from worship because our hope isn't in them; it is in Christ alone.

Here it is, Christ Our Hope in Life and Death:

The Government War on Worship

The Government War on Worship

Cult of Covid v. GraceLife Church

 

Good News...But Keep Praying

The government plans to give us back our building on July 1 (when the province opens again). You can read all about it here or here (which is how we first found out; no one thought to tell the church leadership).

At the same time, Pastor Tim Stephens is still in jail for holding an outdoor church service; you can (and should) read about it here.

In Ontario, where they have surpassed their initial reopening goals, they're keeping the restrictions and still punishing those churches who dare to meet; you can read about that here.

We need to keep praying, for Pastor Stephens, for the churches in Ontario (and other places in Canada), for the believers, and for the freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed in the Charter. The government has tried to take our freedoms once and so many churches acquiesced; history shows us that it is more likely than not that they will try again.

Pastor Tim Stephens arrested illegally again

Pastor Tim Stephens arrested illegally again

I should have posted this last week when he was arrested. He committed the terrible crime of holding an outdoor church service, which is completely against the rules. Please pray for him and his family (he has a wife and small children).

Getting a Bit of Perspective

The past two Sundays have been different from any other Sunday. They actually started on Saturdays, with an email from the church office letting us know that they had found a place to meet and asking if we plan to attend. For those of us who indicate that we plan to attend, there is a second email with the location of the service and reminders to keep it a secret: don't tell anyone for any reason; if anyone wants to attend but didn't get the email, send them to the office; no photos and no video.

On Sunday morning we set out to have church in an undisclosed location, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

It's different. I'm enough of a traditionalist to prefer things the way we've always done them. Besides that, I miss the building and my Sunday School class and knowing what's going on all the time. I liked things the way they were. You know how there are churches that advertise how they "aren't your parent's church" and they are "for people tired of church" and such? Yeah, that's not for me. I miss the way things were and long to have them back, and I don't really like having to have secret church.

But: I've been talking with friends back in Ontario this week. They are sad and hurting because they don't have a church family to gather with. Things are locking back down even more and the churches will be pretty much closed for at least four weeks (and no one really believes it will be only 4 weeks), and even before then, when things were at 15%, not all the churches bothered to open. One friend said that no one at her church will even discuss being open more; the other said that while she doesn't wish what we've gone through on her pastor or his family, she does wish that the leadership at her church would stand up the way our has.

I wept for them as I prayed fervently for them and for their shepherds, and that God would give them shepherds who would care for them. 

It helped remind me that I have been so blessed with the elders in my church, so blessed to have faithful shepherds who are taking care of me. It's been hard, but I will rejoice that we will continue to find a place to meet together each week to worship and fellowship and be a church family together.

They Put My Church Building in Jail

 AHS and the RCMP have erected a fence around the GraceLife Church building, and then they put a black -something- inside the fence so you can't look into it (Sheila Gunn Reid from Rebel News referred to it as a mask (since they couldn't mask the congregation, they masked the building), and that's only one reason I love her), and then another fence, and eventually a third one to block the whole property. And then they added armed security, and blocked off some range roads close to the building, and then put up no parking signs, all to keep people away.

As someone said: 

"They put the Pastor in jail and now he's free. What was their next step?

Premier Kenney and Dr. Hinshaw: "Let's put the BUILDING in jail!""

It's....I really don't know how to describe it. Yes, I know that the church is not a building, it's the people, and we're still free, and we can still worship together somehow. But this is the building we built so that we had a place to worship together; to grow together; to laugh and cry and love together; to be a family together. This is where I have for four years taught the Sunday School and homeschool bambinos; organized the growing library and watched people discover new books; listened to more than 200 sermons; met new people (who became family); encouraged and was encouraged; attended weddings and funerals and conferences and baptisms; lived life. This is my happiest place where I am loved and cared for and belong.

So yes, you can argue that what they fenced in is only a building, but it's my building, and even on my worst days, it was where I wanted to be: in my church building with my church family. And it hurts like anything that they've decided to lock it away, and I pray that one day soon they'll take down the fence and let us go home.

They Let My Pastor Out of Jail

Today is a good day. Pastor James is free, with no conditions to keep him from pastoring.

According to the judge, James has the right to make decisions for himself, but not for his congregation or for the community at large. I would just like to point out that I've been making my own decision to attend church every week. As an official adult (for many years), I'm able to look at the issues, look at what Scripture says, and make up my own mind. I think the judge just doesn't like that we're not letting the government make decisions for us.

An article with more details can be found here. The tall red-headed guy in the photo is my pastor, not in jail.