The Citizen, 2017-09-14, Page 201
PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017.
From the Minister's Study
Ahead of the IPM, it's plowing of the soul
By Pastor Ernest Dow
Living Water Christian
Fellowship (EMC), Blyth
The 100th International Plowing
Match (IPM) happening nearby in
Walton has captured the attention of
many in our area this month. I have
memories of attending the IPM as a
child along with our farming family
- some of those memories muddier
than others! My father in his nursing
home room has proudly on display a
trophy he won 70 years ago in the
1947 IPM as a young farmer starting
out post-war at the age of 27. (That
was with horses.) And about 40
years ago, in 1987 as a young pastor
starting out on St. Joseph Island, I
was privileged to place first (with a
tractor) at a local plowing match.
What can I say - it was a small class!
Plowing is a skill that involves
three aspects that have significance
in the spiritual domain: It is an
inversion of the soil, it requires
careful regulation of depth and
prize-winning plowing necessitates
maintaining a painfully -straight
direction.
First, plowing is fundamentally an
inversion of the soil, turning it
upside-down so the nutrients that
have sunk to lower depths, perhaps
leached down by rainfall, are
brought back up to the surface where
the next crop of plants can use them.
This action of inverting the soil also
helps aerate it and loosen its texture,
making it easier for roots to
penetrate.
In the spiritual realm, plowing
corresponds to repentance and
confession of sin. Repentance is an
upheaval, an about-turn in our
spiritual orientation. About 600 B.C.
Jeremiah prophesied to the people of
Jerusalem and Judah, "Break up
your unplowed ground and do not
sow among thorns." (Jer.4:3) He was
not talking about agriculture!
Context shows God was calling
people to do an about-face, to return
to Him and abandon the detestable
idols they had been worshipping.
The Lord was calling them to a
spiritual revolution, to circumcise
their hearts and turn from their evil
ways (v.4).
Similarly, when Jesus began His
earthly ministry, His opening words
were a call for people to invert
themselves in terms of outlook and
commitment. "The kingdom of God
is near. Repent and believe the good
news!" (Mark 1:15) What infertile
`hardpan', prejudices and
indifference have we allowed to
creep into our lives?
Second, plowing requires careful
setting of the equipment's depth of
cut. Usually a competitor will make
some practice strokes on a nearby
patch of ground to set the plow
before beginning on the official plot.
Set it too shallow and the furrows
Living Water
cruistkut rdkillip
Sept. 17: 1 Cor. 13:1-3
40 Days of
401-7a). 1 Love, #1:
"Love Matters
Most"
"Sunday Morning Fellowship Hour"
11:45 a.m. (for September)
at home of Herb & Bonnie Shannon
Fast end of Hamilton Street. Blyth
Evangelical Missionary Church
Tuesdays 7:30 pm • Wingham Small Group, 136 Patrick St. W.
Wednesdays 6:30 pm • Youth Group at Huron Chapel, Auburn
Pastor: Ernest Dow . 519-523-4848
getlivingwater.org
won't be wide enough; set it too
deep and you may bury the plow!
Spiritually, genuine repentance
leads to the practice of confession.
Jesus emphasized the importance of
confession by anchoring it squarely
at the heart of The Lord's Prayer.
"Forgive us our debts, as we also
have forgiven our debtors."
(Matthew 6:12) Or as many of us
were taught, "Forgive us our
trespasses..." Coming before a holy
infinitely pure and righteous God,
we are reminded of our impurity,
the many ways we have fallen
short.
One four-year-old boy misheard
the Lord's Prayer, and so came to
recite his own slightly modified
version: "And forgive us our trash -
baskets, as we forgive those who put
trash in our baskets." Sin does treat
others in trashy manner, doesn't it?
Paul urged the church, "Forgive
whatever grievances you may have
against one another. Forgive as the
Lord forgave you." (Colossians
3:13)
Repentance means we go into
sufficient depth about our sin during
our prayer of confession to "make it
real". No vague skimming the
surface! Thomas Watson observed,
"A child of God will confess sin in
particular; an unsound Christian will
confess sin by wholesale - he will
acknowledge that he is a sinner in
general."
Plowing of the soul involves
inversion, requires depth and, third,
it involves going straight. A
championship plower picks a distant
object on the horizon and keeps their
tractor pointed at it so their furrows
end up arrow -straight and absolutely
parallel to one another. It could spell
catastrophe to look back too often
and let the tractor begin to swerve
even a hair. Jesus alluded to the
recognized need for straightness in
plowing when He said, "No one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks
SAME HURON CHAPEL SERVICE
TWO TIMES
9 AM + 11 AM
STARTING SUNDAY OCTOBER 15TH
huronchapel.com
ANGLICAN PARISH OF NEW BEGINNINGS
BLYTH
Trinity
6, 9:15 am
Church Office
519-357-4883
BRUSSELS
St. John's
11:15 am
Church Office
519-887-6862
Everyone Welcome!
COME WORSHIP WITH US!
Efraddet4, egstsatalk ‘Telee &pod
You're Invited
to come worsht p
with us
Sunday, September 17
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
650 Alexander St. (former Blyth Public School)
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers
during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Blyth United Church
Est. 1875
Worship Service
at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, September 17
Come celebrate our recent
renovations in making us
more accessible to you.
Worship held in our
newly renovated sanctuary.
Hillary MacDonald
All are welcome
OFFICE: 519-523-4224
back is fit for service in the kingdom
of God." (Luke 9:62)
Spiritually speaking, when it
comes to the discipline of
repentance and confession, the
distant point of reference on the
horizon has to be God, rather than
any compelling goal the world may
offer. Confession, fundamentally, is
not just being sorry for the
consequences when we've messed
up: true confession is to agree with
God's appraisal of the evilness and
wickedness of our sins - the
bankruptcy of our very nature,
which inclines to do wrong readily.
Hosea, in about 700 B.C.,
prophesied to the northern kingdom
of Israel about how their actions
were off -kilter compared to God's
holy standards. "I will drive
Ephraim, Judah must plow, and
Jacob must break up the ground.
Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love, and
break up your unplowed ground; for
it is time to seek the LORD, until he
comes and showers righteousness on
you." (Hosea 10:110 It is not
enough just to be uprooting and
plowing: we need to actively seek
the Lord in order to understand His
guidance for how to live each day, to
discover His direction for
righteousness. The Holy Spirit
through the inspired writing of the
Bible is our roadmap providing
Continued on page 22
n BRUSSELS
Lp United Church
Sunday School begins this week
- come join the fun
Sunday morning worship at 11:00 am
Hillary MacDonald (905) 246-7386
Macdonald.hillary@gmail.com
Everyone welcome
Jou re c9nvited a join ?is 9n Wors4ip
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Morning Service 10:00 am
Afternoon Service in Walton
at the IPM Site
No Evening Service
3:00 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
We invite you to join our church family in:
Worship & Sunday School - 11 am
Coffee & Snacks following the service
Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Nursery care available
519-887-6687
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph's
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.