HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2003-04-23, Page 11Under sunny skies
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2003. PAGE 11.
tst. Michael's a
Roman Catholic Church
254 Drummond St. E., Blyth
Sunday Mass 9:00 a.m.
Father Lance Magdziak, Pastor
519-527-0142
email: stjames@rcec.london.on.ca
Melville Presbyterian Church’s sunrise service on Sunday was blessed with sunny skies and
seasonable temperatures. Assisting Rev. Cathrine Campbell, right, with the service, were from
left: Colleen Aitchison, Rachel Speers, Janna Dodds and Eliza Jane Dodds. (Vicky Bremner photo)
From the Minister’s Study
The message not pleasant
HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL
MISSIONARY CHURCH
Auburn - 526-1131
3 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-4941
Sunday 9:30 a.m. - Family Bible Hour
10:30 a.m. - Morning Worship Service
7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship
Wednesday 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.- Crusaders & Youth
7:15 p.m. - Adult Bible Study
Sunday, April 27
Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m.
Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m.
The Rev. Tom Wilson
The Anglican Parish of Blyth and
Brussels
As you read this, we will have just
celebrated the most holy day in the
Christian calendar, Easter.
Easter is often characterized by
new clothes, candies and flowers
given to loved ones. But to truly
experience and understand the
miracle of that first Easter, we must
also hear the message of Good
Friday.
The message of Good Friday is not
a pleasant one. It deals with false
accusations, torture, humiliation, and
finally death. The death of the Son of
God, the Prince of peace, an innocent
man, who through his personal
sacrifice, has guaranteed eternal life
for all those who believe in him.
But our churches are not full on
Good Friday. People would rather
take the day off, enjoy the sunshine
or whatever keeps them away from
church and from remembering the
sacrifice that Jesus made on their
behalf.
Perhaps that is the problem though,
that it is hard to understand the death
of what appears to be one man, 2000
years ago, still having an effect in the
21st century. But that one man, the
Son of God, his death and
resurrection changed the world more
than anything has since.
No longer do believers in God have
to make animal sacrifices. No longer
are we always at odds with our God.
Certainly scripture makes it clear
that God loves us, His creation. For
all of human history, God has been
striving for a relationship with
humans. God made a covenant or
agreement faith Abraham, that all of
Abraham’s successors would be
God’s chosen people. He gave Moses
the 10 commandments, rules that
people should live by.
But of course, in our humanness
we ended up adding rules upon rules
to those which God had given us. In
Jesus’ time, there were over 630 laws
that governed how one should dress,
what one should eat, how one should,
or more often not, interact with
people, both of the same faith and
those of different beliefs.
God saw our humanness and
realized that a new idea was needed.
So part of God became human, in
Jesus. Jesus, as Christian teaching
over the past 1,800 years has
affirmed, was fully human, but also
fully divine.
And Jesus changed things
radically. Rather than have 630 plus
religious laws to be falling afoul of,
he made it easy, there are two great
ones. Love God with all your being,
and love your neighbour as yourself.
These two laws summarize all the
other ones, including the 10
commandments.
But God did even more for us. He
saw that the concept of sacrifice was
not working, that it was being
abused. People in the temple were
profiting by others’ misfortune and so
God gave his only Son, a part of God,
to a very awful and very human
death, a death that would change
forever the relationship between God
and those who believe in God
through Jesus.
Jesus, through his death, would be
the sacrifice for all eternity of those
who believe in him. No more would
humans need to sacrifice doves,
goats, sheep, bulls or other animals to
obtain God’s forgiveness. Now we
would turn to Jesus, take his love for
us into our hearts, and when we made
mistakes, and as humans we do make
mistakes, we can ask through our
prayers for forgiveness, and if we
truly are repentant, then God will
forgive our sins and we will be in a
right relationship with God again.
And being in a right relationship
with God means that we will at the
end of our earthly lives, return to God
who created each one of us to live in
glory with him.
So this is why Good Friday is so
important as a precursor to Easter.
For we need to always remember the
sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. So as
we rejoice during this season, and it
is a season, not just a day, we need to
remember the sacrifice that was made
for each of us and for the taking
away of the gift of the Holy spirit was
given to each of Jesus’ followers and
to us today at our baptisms.
And this final gift of the Easter
season, the Holy Spirit, permits each
one us, as Jesus’ believers to have a
piece of God within our own
hearts.
BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233
Wheelchair accessible
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
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Sunday, April 27
2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER
MORNING PRAYER
rrq Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels
I O»| 9:30 a.m.___________H:15a.m.
The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 887-9273
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
11:00 a.m. - Morning Service
- Sunday Schoo!
9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service
Wheelchair accessible
Nursery care available
Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831
community Churc/i
"The Church is not a or^
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister
Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca
April 27-John 20:19-31
"Bypassing
Barricades of
Fear, Shame, &
Doubt"
lining Water
Cfmliaii Tdhuntfiip
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3Christ-centred, Bible-believing,
Fellowship-friendly, Growth-geared£___________
10:30 a m. - Worship & Sunday School §
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
lfJ Pastor: Ernest Dow - 523-4848 L
www.tcc.on.ca/~dowfam
3
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April 27
Ethel United Church
9:30 a.m.
Worship Service & Sunday School
Brussels United Church
11:00 a.m.
Worship Service & Sunday School
Building,
It is People Touching
People"
Sunday - 10:00 a.m. - Sunday School for all ages
11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship
7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship
Wednesday - 10:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. - Bible Studies
Phone 523-4875 308 Blyth Rd. E.
Pastor Les Cook 523 4590
Blyth United Church
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Sunday, April 27
Worship Service & Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Second Sunday of Easter
Lectionary Readings Bible Study
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the parlour
z/dZ TVelctnHC
Minister: Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman
Office: 523-4224
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 - 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