HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-10-06, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011.By Pastor Andrew Versteeg
Brussels Community
Bible Chapel
This coming weekend is going to
be busy at our house. We will be
having family and friends
celebrating Thanksgiving dinner and
spending the day with us. I always
look forward to this day on our
calendar as we take some time to
give thanks to the Lord for what He
has given us.
In Canada it is said that the first
recorded Thanksgiving celebration/
feast took place in Newfoundland by
the explorer Martin Frobisher in
1578. Frobisher had been looking
for a northwest passage to the Orient
and he and his crew had stopped in
Newfoundland and took some time
to thank the Lord for safety thus far
in their expedition.
More traditionally in North
America we have associated
the beginning of Thanksgiving
with the pilgrims who settled in
Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.
These pilgrim Christians had been
persecuted in England for separating
from the established church and had
come to North America to begin a
colony where they could worship
and serve the Lord in freedom. They
arrived in December, 1620 and faced
a harsh winter in which 46 of the
102 pilgrims died on account of the
conditions.
The next summer the Lord blessed
them and with the help of the
natives they took in a bountiful
harvest. That fall they celebrated,
along with some 90 natives, a
three-day Thanksgiving celeb-
ration.
Originally, in Canada, we
celebrated Thanksgiving at the end
of October or early November. After
the Second World War November 11
was designated as Remembrance
Day. In light of this the Canadian
Parliament announced that
Thanksgiving Day would now be
celebrated the second Monday in
October. They made this statement:
“a day of general Thanksgiving to
almighty God for the bountiful
harvest with which Canada has been
blessed.” This is what Thanksgiving
Day is; a day to give thanks to
almighty God for all that He has
given to us. We need to stop and
think about Thanksgiving and ask
ourselves if this is the reason why
we celebrate this special day. Are we
thankful to God for all that He has
given us?
God is the One from whom we
have received all things. He provides
us with food, clothing, shelter, and
in this land He gives us many other
blessings as well.
This is what God’s Word says:
“The God who made the world and
all things in it … He Himself
gives to all people life and breath
and all things … in Him we live
and move and exist” (Acts 17:24-
28).
God is our Creator and He is also
our Provider. To have a
Thanksgiving that honours God and
is true to our heritage we must
recognize that all that we have we
have received, and acknowledge
God who has given us all things.
Again God’s Word says: “what do
you have that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it, why do
you boast as if you had not received
it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
The last verse that I quoted reveals
something that is true about all of us,
we are boastful. We like to
think about our accomplishments
and tell others about how good
we are and leave God out of the
picture. This pride is sin and it
dishonours the God who has created
us and provides for us. When I
think about Thanksgiving and
what I have been given, the greatest
need I have is not to have more,
but to have a thankful heart to
God.
At church on Sunday we heard a
sermon from a passage in the Bible
found in Mark 2:1-12. The passage
is about a paralyzed man who is
brought to Jesus by his friends.
Since there was such a large crowd
at the house where Jesus was, the
man’s friends broke open a hole in
the roof and let the paralyzed man
down in front of Jesus. This
man was desperate to get to the
Lord for healing. But instead of
healing the man immediately,
Jesus first spoke to him about his
sin.
The man’s greatest need was not
his physical welfare but his spiritual
welfare, namely the forgiveness of
his sin. Jesus had the authority to
forgive this man’s sin because He is
God, and to prove it He then
restored the man to health. The
greatest gift the Lord offers to us is
the gift of salvation, which includes
the gift of forgiveness and a new life
in Him.
Salvation is where true
thanksgiving starts. We need to
humble ourselves before God,
confess our pride and the sin that our
pride has led us to. We need to
realize that we have offended God
our Creator and deserve not His
blessing but His just judgment. We
need to understand that God is also
merciful and benevolent and offers
to us the greatest gift, the gift of
salvation.
We will be so thankful if we
receive this gift. We will be thankful
to God for everything, and
especially for the gift of His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. “For the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord” (Romans 6:23).
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
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, October 9
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Chris McMichael 519.482.1644
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come and worship with us
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
Church Office: 519-357-4883
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
Sunday, October 9
Rev. Perry Chuipka
www.nabcom.ca/church
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-2664
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
October 9: Matthew 14:13-21
“Thankful
for Jesus’ Merciful Healing
and Provision”
Evangelical Missionary Church
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women At The Well
Communion ~ Thanksgiving Celebration
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
OCTOBER 9 - Communion Sunday: Small Portions But Really Fulfilling
Don’t Forget to order your Turkey pies
Community Kitchen - Friday, October 19, 9 am
Roast Beef Supper - Saturday, October 29, 4:30-7:00 pm
For cost and tickets call 519-523-4224
Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10TH
Thanksgiving Day Service 10:00 am
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Let us give Thanks
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, October 9
Ethel United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
Sunday, October 9, 2011
9:25 a.m.
Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m.
Rev. Mark Royall speaking
Wednesdays are
Family Night
at Huron Chapel
6:30 p.m.
Olympians for children
in grades JK-6
7:00 p.m.
Youth Small Groups
for grades 7-12
and Adult Small Group
Something for Everyone!
From the Minister’s StudyThanksgiving is a time to thank God
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