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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-05-29, Page 15/Mgr Pastor: Ernest Dow 523-4848 www.tcc.on.cai-dowfam lrasousearAirmwwr 10:30 a.m. - Worship & Sunday School at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill Am.2..2mosen. law Water: cfins&w, p Tellawdlip ► 3 3 3 3 3 II HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-7555 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-9017 Sunday 9:30 a.m. • 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. • 7:30 p.m. • Friday 7:30 p.m. Family Bible Hour Morning Worship Service Evening Worship Crusaders & Youth Adult Prayer Meeting Youth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA Welt weed yaa to wage awl agate /aft eoet4 c Sunday, June 2 Holy Eucharist Special guest musician at Trinity - Juanita Wilkins • Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels 9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m. The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 8879273 BLYTH UNITED CHURCH Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street Sunday, June 2 Sunday School Awards Guests - Blyth Legion Ladies Auxiliary Teddy Bear Picnic "lel Welcome, Minister: Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman Office: 523-4224 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 Cornerstone Bible Fellowship Ethel Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Bible Hour and Sunday School - 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study - Tuesday 8 p.m. Ladies' Time Out: the last Thursday of each month 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. John 14:6 - Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Everyone Welcome Call Pastor Andrew Thursdays or Fridays at 887-6123 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca Sunday, June 2 Ethel United Church 9:30 a.m. Worship Service and Sunday School Brussels United Church 11:00 a.m. Worship Service and Sunday School Remembering -- Celebrating -- Living Our Faith? You are Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School - for ages 3 to adult 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship 7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Kids' Cub - Tuesday - 3:45 - 5 p.m. Ages 6-11 welcome. Bible Studies - Wednesday morning 10 a.m. Wednesday evening 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 308 Blyth Rd., Blyth Pe ease 7:aee‘ eat An ceitvatto Sunday, June 2 Morning Worship Service - 10 am. Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." — Psalm 110:10 BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Lts, Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible Duff's United Church Walton ANNIVERSARY SERVICE Sunday, June 9, 2002 Hymn Sing 9:45 a.m. Worship 10:00 a.m. Guest Speaker: Rev. Jeff Hawkins at Marie & Neil McGavin's 43080 Hullett-McKillop Rd. (east off #12 second house on left) Come & Worship with the congregation of Duff's United Church under the big tent! No Stairs! Lots of Music! BBQ Lunch available for a small donation ) lm THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2002. PAGE 15. From the Minister's Study All have strengths, reminds minister By The Rev. Tom Wilson Trinity, Blyth & St. John's, Brussels Anglican Churches I know you have all felt the wind in your face, on your skin, in your hair. That wind we experience when we step outside our doors is a natural occurrence, provided to us by God through the movement of our weather systems across the face of the earth. But have you ever felt the wind of the Holy Spirit blow through your life? For in the original Greek and Hebrew in which our Bible was written, the .word for Spirit is the same as that for wind. And that. Holy Spirit, part of the Trinity of God, is given to each of us at our baptism. For Christians are baptized with water and the Holy Spirit, the same breath of God blows into our hearts and minds. Have you felt that Holy Spirit blowing in your life? Certainly the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, which was a week after Jesus the Christ physically ascended into heaven experienced it. God's settling of the Holy Spirit came upon them like fire and is often depicted in religious art as tongues of flame above the disciples. But the gifts of the Spirit in the disciples were immediate. These disciples, simple fishermen and farmers, with little or no education, went out into Jerusalem, which was crowded with Jewish pilgrims from all the known world and spoke fluently about Jesus the Christ in the languages of all these people. And you can imagine how these pilgrims were amazed. Certainly some scoffed at them, claiming they were drunk because they were so well spoken, but Peter reminds them of God's promises told to the Jewish people by the prophet Joel, that God would give his people the gifts of the Spirit. Have you felt the Holy Spirit blowing in your life? The spirit is often hard to describe, but I came across this example that might help. Do you remember the original Star Wars? It had a main character named Luke Skywalker who discovered that his father had been a special kind of leader and warrior and was infused with special powers. Luke was being instructed in these special powers and just could not get his exercises correct until his teacher reminded him, "Use the force" and suddenly Luke was able to use this gift, this intangible thing called "the force" in his training and eventual fight against evil in his universe. Certainly not all of Luke's friends believed in the force. Han Solo, a swashbuckling sort, didn't believe in"hokey, religious things and superstitions." He lived by his wits. How many people do we know who are unwilling to acknowledge a force that is at work in our lives, that is invisible, yet more powerful than anything we humans might create? But look at the people in your life. If they are baptized all these people here today have the gifts of the spirit. None of us have the same exact gifts, but we all have them. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians noted the gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and if honest, admit them. Christians are called to use their gifts, and that is what the Holy Spirit is all about, sharing our gifts. But we can also grow through our weaknesses in the Spirit, we can learn by sharing our strengths and weaknesses with others. Have you felt the Holy Spirit blowing in your life? In St. John 20: 19-23 he mentioned one specific gift of the spirit, that of forgiving of sins. Those first disciples were given the power to forgive sins of those who believed. This power has been carried on down from those disciples even into our modern Christian churches. Each time we take part in Communion, the Lord's Supper, Holy Eucharist, Mass, we offer a corporate confession before we partake of the meal that Jesus gave us. In some Christian denominations, notably the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, the priests are given special authority at the ordination to forgive the sins of their parishioners (often called confession or the reconciliation of a penitent). But all Christians are called by Jesus to forgive each other as Jesus makes it clear that we are to live in love and harmony with each other, and that forgiving others' sins is also a responsibility of all Christians, for otherwise we are only paying lip service to the prayer that Jesus gave us, The Lord's Prayer. Jesus knew that differences between his followers must be put aside for the greater good, that of spreading the Good News of the Risen Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Have you felt the Spirit blowing through your life? Have you even listened for it? It is usually not a difficult call to follow, although sometimes in our fast-paced lives, it can be hard to hear, unless we take the time each day to listen for it. Certainly the Holy Spirit can urge us to go in harm's way to help another fellow human. To stop at a car accident and go and reach into a burning car and pull someone to safety, or perhaps to leap into a half frozen pond to pull out someone who is drowning. But if we answer that call of the Holy Spirit blowing through our hearts and minds, we can know with certainty that God is there with us, that Jesus is helping us, as this is what is promised when the Holy Spirit was settled on each of us at our baptisms. Now this doesn't mean that going into harm's way might not get us killed. It certainly can, but we can go knowing that God will receive us with open arms if we do die and we will live with him forever in heaven. But luckily, most of us won't have the Holy Spirit it call us into something risky. No, we are more likely required to risk something internal, something that makes us uncomfortable, whether it be having to stand up in front of a crowd to make a comment on an important issue, or to reach out our hands in friendship to someone we don't know, or to forgive someone, when we don't always feel like forgiving them. Have you felt the Holy Spirit blowing through your life? If you haven't felt the spirit blowing through your life recently, then I urge you, as we do with our homes in springtime, throw open the doors and windows of your hearts and minds and let the Spirit of God blow in and help to change not only your life, but the lives of those arood you. Amen.