Sacrificial Giving

This Sunday we will sing the song, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise," and we'll look at that term from Hebrews 13:15. Gift giving means very little if there is no sacrifice involved. The wilting flowers the guy picks up for $5 on the way home will have very little effect on his wife. Sacrificial giving involves giving up something we love for someone we love. May our worship of God this Sunday be a sacrifice of praise.

Congratulations to the newly weds - Anthony & Aimee

Anthony Numan and Aimee Sergovich were married in our church on Saturday. We wish them God's richest blessings for a wonderful and life-long marriage.

Strawberry Summerfest

This Sunday, June 26, we worship on the lawn of the Presbyterian Church. The service is part of Lucknow's annual Strawbery Summerfest event. Our church will be participating in the service, along with our United, Presbyterian, and Anglican neighbours. The service is at 10:30; bring a lawn chair. Lunch and a strawberry social are availabe after the service-- your cash donation will support Lucknow's vacation bible school programs.

If I were a rich man....

I just came back from our church's Synod - a full week of meetings, from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day, and often over lunch and dinner. And it was great! Many would beg to differ. Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof says that if he were a rich man, he would spend 7 hours every day discussing the learned books with the holy men. Would that activity make it to the top of your list if you "had a million dollars"? Too often our worship is shrouded in ulterior motives. But when God rescues us, he does so with one purpose: to bring us to himself. He wants us close by, he welcomes us into his presence. Join us this Sunday, June 19, as we explore this beatiful truth (Exodus 19:4).

Off to Synod

For the next week I will be attending the Christian Reformed Church's meetings of Synod in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is my first time attending as a delegate. A colleague, calling to wish me well, said that he has attended six times and enjoyed every time. He commented that attending Synod is like feeling the heart beat of our church. He also warned me that it will be hard work and that some committees have been known to meet until one in the morning, and that, after a full day of meeting in session. If you would like to follow what is happening at Synod, check out the website:
http://crcna.org/pages/synod_front.cfm They even have a live webcast during those hours when Synod is meeting in full session. I will be away on Pentecost Sunday (June 12); Gareth Harker from Cambridge will be our guest preacher.

Spread it around

Francis Chan, in his book Crazy Love, writes that a friend once told him that "Christians are like manure: spread them out and they help everything grow better, but keep thim in one big pile and they stink horribly" (168). Christians have many gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit, many gifts, given for the common good. When we can say "Jesus is Lord," we know that the Holy Spirit is at work in us. With the Spirit's empowerment, everyone of us can be used by God, starting today. I Corithians 12: 1-11, Sunday, June 5. Join us live or catch the service on the web (see side bar for address).