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The Citizen, 2007-11-01, Page 15THE CITIZEN. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007. PAGE 15.By Pastor John KuperusBlyth Christian ReformedChurchWhen I think of our village, whatdoes it look like from God’s point of view? God sees what is going on behind closed doors. When a person gets down on their knees to pray and acknowledge God as God and give thanks for all their blessings, I imagine that house to be a lighthouse in God’s eyes. That person is connecting heaven and earth. I wonder, how many lighthouses do we have in Blyth and Brussels? The connection between heaven and earth is something Martin Luther was very concerned with. Luther reasoned, “God is holy and just. I am a poor miserable sinner; no matter how hard I try. How can a holy God possibly love a sinner like me?” Luther tried to do everything the church said a person ought to do to win the mercy and love and forgiveness of God. For Luther it did not help. Luther was honest with himself. He was not belittling or minimizing his sin, as if it did not make any difference to God or that God does not care. Luther saw sin for what it is, a separation between him and God. Luther’s freedom came when he understood “Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). The heart of the gospel is that we are made right with God not by what we do, but it is by what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. One of the reasons for the disconnection between heaven and earth is because we live as if we are the centre of the universe. We act like the world revolves around us. This is a recipe for disaster. We get angry with others because they are not doing what we think they ought to be doing. I have the standard for what is right and everyone ought to follow my standard. The problem with this position is that in our own eyes we look good. Yet through the eyes of another, we do not look so good. The question boils down to whose standard for what is right do we follow? The Bible calls us to follow God’s standard. The problem in the day of Martin Luther was that he was following what the church taught about how to be right with God, yet he was not experiencing freedom. The movie on Martin Luther brings out his struggle for freedom of guilt and shame with penance and pilgrimage to Rome and not receiving it. God speaks to us and says if we want to know what is right, we find that in him. This requires humility, where we submit to God. In the days of Martin Luther, sadlythe church was not the channelthrough which Luther discoveredfreedom. His goal along with theother Reformers, Calvin and Zwingli, was not to start a new church. Their desire was to purifythe errors of the Catholic Church. Atthe heart of the Reformation was amovement seeking religiousrenewal, spiritual integrity, and an experiential relationship with Jesus Christ, without interference from theinstitutional church or clergy.The Reformers were eager torenew the worship of the churchbecause they understood that public worship is the heart of the Christian life and that character of worship has a great deal to do with the way that life is nourished and sustained. The Reformers insisted on the centrality of the scripture and sought to draw all their ideas and actions from the Bible. If the church has been a hindrance in connecting heaven and earth for you, I ask that you will forgive the church. Sometimes churches and their members have not been good channels of God’s grace to a fallen world. Sometimes we are hypocrites where we say one thing and do another. The frightening thing is at times we do not see our own failure and inconsistency. My prayer is for God to show us his glory. When we see God and understand him, then we see ourselves through his eyes. That is why we need the light of heaven to shine in our lives and churches. That light shows the dirt and we have a choice whether we confess it and come clean or run andhide from the light and stay in ourdirt. Being right with God and othersbrings joy and freedom in our livesthat we do not experience anywhere else. In the days of the Reformation a divorce came to the church. Divorces are painful and not the way God intends his church to be. Jesus prayed in John 17 for the oneness of his followers. Friends, my heart’s desire is for everyone to be connected with heaven. My prayer is that every house of our community lights up in the eyes of God because we are praying and seeking God. A tool to help us connect with God is an upcoming conference with Pastor John Regier at the Clinton Christian Reformed Church on Nov. 11-15 from 7 - 9:30 p.m. each evening. He has been an instrument of God in my life to help me identify roots of my problems. God’s word to us is “Come to me all you who are weak and heavy burden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). May we be the lighthouses in the eyes of God and in turn be the channels through which God’s grace follows to others. From the Minister’s Study‘Whose standard for right do we follow?’ 308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590 B l y t h C o m m u n i ty Church of God C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS O N , I N D I A N A “The Church is not a building, it is people touching people Sunday School 9:45 a.m. - Christian Education for all ages 11:00 a.m. - Worship Service Mid-week Bible Studies See you Sunday! Please join us for worship SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00am Evening Service 7:30pm BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Pastor John Kuperus Hwy. 4, Blyth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA Welcomes you to come and worship with us SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 Trinity, Blyth 9:30 a.m. 519-523-9595 St. John's, Brussels 11:15 a.m. 519-887-6862 Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street Blyth United Church Office: 519-523-4224 Worship Service and Sunday School ~ 11 a.m. Sunday, November 4 All Welcome BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Sandra Cable, Worship Leader Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca Sunday, November 4 Brussels United Church 131st Anniversary Service at 11:00 a.m. Guest Speaker: Bruce Whitmore Lunch to follow service (No service at Ethel United Church this week) Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship Sunday 9:30 a.m. - Family Sunday School 10:30 a.m. - Morning Worship Service 7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Service Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - Olympians (JK to Grade 6) 7:00 p.m. - Youth and Adult Bible Study HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 519-526-1131 PASTOR DAVE WOOD MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 519-887-9831 11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School 9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service getlivingwater.org Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Nov. 4: Philippians 4:10ff Living Water Christian Fellowship at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill 10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School Christ-centred, Bible-believing, Fellowship-friendly, Growth-geared 1st & 3rd Mondays - Prayer Warriors Tuesdays - Wingham Small Group Youth: Mondays - Senior - Fridays - Junior Mondays 5 pm at BPS: GODROCKS! ages 4-6 “Strength, Support & Contentment Regardless of Circumstances” HOLY COMMUNION Don’t forget clocks “fall back”! Tiny diner A delicious home-cooked meal was served up by the Ethel United Church members during their annual harvest supper held at Grey Central Public School on Sunday evening. Cole Hodder, 14 months, was eager to dig in. (Vicky Bremner photo)