There is more common ground between Muslims and Christians then we think. In his helpful book, Muslims, Christians and Jesus , Carl Medearis, an expert on Islam who lived among Muslims for twelve years, explains just how much!
Advent is a time where we ready ourselves to celebrate Jesus coming into the world as a helpless baby and at the same time, prepare for His return as Triumphant King. We tell the Story of Jesus and His love. While that never gets old, each year we try to tell the Story in ways that make the Word-Made-Flesh more of a reality and in the telling, we find ourselves in this epic saga of Love winning all.
Until last week, I had never heard about the Advent Conspiracy. But when I received an e-mail about it from Yolanda about it on the same day that Pastor Brian Bell from Trulls Road Free Methodist Church asked me if I was acquainted with it, I knew that the Lord was trying to tell me something.
Last Sunday (Nov 15), during the 11 a.m. service, a woman entered the sanctuary and spoke out loud. She seemed to be praising God and the Praise Team gently thanked her for an apparent charismatic manifestation of the Holy Spirit. In actuality, something else was going on and it seems good to let everyone know what happened and that it was handled so well by everyone involved.
Indecision is a difficult place to be. You make lists of pros and cons. You pray for guidance and clarity and a clear sense of God’s call. You talk to wise people who know you and love you. On some days, you’re convinced that God wants you here. On other days, you believe that he wants you there
Imagine our church stepping out on a limb and adopting refugees in a big way. Imagine five refugee families from Syria, each sponsored by one of the five pastoral districts in our church
The local Remembrance Day services were hopeful in many ways. First, there was the good attendance, not only by adults, but also by children who came with their teachers to watch, listen and lay wreaths.
Last week the church lobby was filled to overflowing with coats. The boys of our Cadet Club had outdone themselves again, collecting 195 coats for needy kids and families.
At the last minute, I received a fabulous opportunity through Hope Fellowship: to attend the Global Leadership Summit on October 22nd and 23rd. Though I, like many others, don’t often qualify myself as a leader, I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn something new
Last Thursday and Friday, more than twenty leaders from Hope Fellowship joined hundreds of other church leaders at Liberty Pentecostal Church in Bowmanville. They worshipped together and watched video presentations of the talks that were first given in August as part of the annual Global Leadership Summit held in Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago
It is with some sadness that I leave the book of Jonah behind. On so many levels, this Old Testament story challenged me personally as I researched it and prepared my sermons. It left me wondering about my own obedience when God tells me to Go, and my own repentance when God says No.
In our Thanksgiving services, people were given the opportunity to fill out and bring forward a note that said, “I especially appreciate 1. this object, 2. this person, 3. this activity and 4. this quality of God.
At this time of Thanksgiving, we as a family, have so much to be hopeful and incredibly thankful for. Five years ago, Josiah was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of cancer (1/100 million). At the time we had no idea how serious a state his body was in.
Many years ago the moms and tots program at Zion CRC and Hope Fellowship was Coffee Break. It then became BLAST. A dozen years later, there’s a new kid in town.
Last Sunday I caught up with Andrew, one of our teenagers, who broke his leg badly this summer when skateboarding at the Courtice Community Centre. He will be out of commission for awhile, but I re-assured him that you can recover from a severe break to run marathons. Perhaps, one day, he will do just that!
On September 11, 2015, Ryan sent this e-mail: “Happy to introduce Micah Garrett, born Wednesday, September 9 and weighing 8 lbs 10 oz. Amazed and blessed to share my birthday with my son!
Many of you know that Claire and I were in London, England for 2 weeks from Aug.19 – Sept.1. What people don’t know is that God had been placing things in order since Thanksgiving weekend 2013.
At this point, I do not know what the next steps in the succession planning journey will be. There’s much to discern, much to pray about and much to decide.
As summer draws to an end (and no matter how hard we ignore the signs, they are still there!), we start to think about autumn things again - things like going back to school, wearing sweaters or long pants, and setting a routine again. As we start to gear up for a new season of ministry at Hope Fellowship, you may be wondering if it’s time to get involved in a ministry or a small group at Hope Fellowship.
At Dominican Feed the Children, where three times a week children between 6 months and 12 years old receive a meal, the children are no different than home. Some are shy and peak at us from behind doors or their mother's skirts, and others boldly join us, grasping our hands and smiling as if they won a prize.
Christian Reformed Churches usually wait until a pastor leaves before they start looking for another pastor. Our leadership, with Pastor Peter’s encouragement, began thinking about the process of finding a new pastor several years before his actual retirement.
The word “tradition” comes from Latin “trader” or “traderer” literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping. Often tradition is seen as boring or irrelevant - we love the new and exciting, the fresh and the novel ideas and sometimes we shudder when we hear the word
In June, I had the privilege of joining almost 200 pastors and elders from across North America at Dordt College for the annual gathering of our denomination. Location? Smack dab in the center of hectares of Iowa farmland!
I wanted to share an experience I had after Pastor Peter reminded us that all of us are missionaries who can lead people to Christ by relating, testifying and inviting ( June 28 message ).
Having the summers off since I began teaching in 1998 has left me feeling restless and incomplete. I felt like I really needed to be doing more with the time I was given.
It had been a slow day. The weather outside was unpredictable with the wind picking up and the black clouds rolling in. Many of our clients are young parents that come in regularly to check out the donations and to chat. Today, a couple had dropped in while out and about because they needed shelter from the rain.
It’s quiet in the office this week (so very quiet after last week’s VBS excitement!). Pastor Peter is away, there hasn’t been much contact with people—it seems that lots of people are away—and I’ve been working away on catching up on things.
One hundred children each day. Forty volunteers wearing orange t-shirts who greeted them and interacted with them. A top notch curriculum that introduced the kids to God and Jesus.
Happy Canada Day! In honour of my father, who did a lot of missions work with the Inuit and the Blackfoot, Blood, and Cree First Nations peoples, I am writing this article.
Most of us have good intentions when it comes to prayer and supporting the good things our church does. However, in the busy-ness and rush of the day to day we often fall short and feel a sense of failure. This feeling of defeat can impact our spiritual walk. So we face a two prong problem - where do we find the time and how do we remember? That is the challenge!
A number of years ago, while camping at Bon Echo, our family stopped at a small museum in Cloyne. The history of the area intrigued me enough that I enrolled in a history course to learn more. I was always dissatisfied with the experience, but was unable to explain why.
Almost one hundred pastors, one hundred elders, and many others will travel to Sioux Centre, Iowa, this week for the annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church.
The Holy Spirit remains a mystery to me. There’s nothing wrong with that. So much of the Christian faith is a mystery, reminding us that we understand so little and that God’s ways and thoughts are so much higher and deeper than ours.
Loaves and fishes are still being multiplied today. There are people in need and if we donate now those donations can be multiplied. God will use what we offer and multiply that both financially and beyond.
The torches for this summer’s Pan Am games (July 10-26) and Parapan Am games (August 7-15) will come through Clarington this summer. Bob, a member of our church family, has been chosen as a torchbearer for the Parapan American games.
Last Sunday’s sermon about “ Raising Good-hearted Kids ” focused on intentionally bringing our children to the Lord, giving them the gift of two parents obviously in love, and meeting their needs for attention, acceptance, approval and absolutes.
When a church is anticipating or undergoing a significant change, the commitment of its members is absolutely crucial. There are some significant changes ahead for Hope Fellowship. That’s why I’m challenging you to strengthen your commitment to our church family.
Free Continental Breakfast. Free babysitting. A free tour of the church. A chance to meet with other regular attenders, Hope Fellowship’s staff and me as we answer every question you’ve ever had about our church but were afraid to ask. That pretty much describes our next “Introducing Hope Fellowship” Seminar, scheduled for Saturday, May 2, from 9 till noon.
I saw two robins mating this week. They danced around each other in our back yard, wings raised. It looked more like sparring than dancing. Then he overpowered her and they became a wild blur of feathers. Just as quickly it was over. They looked at each other as if they were unsure about what had just happened. When they flew away I wondered if it was the same pair that had scouted our mulberry tree for a suitable nesting place. And I thought, "It must be April."
Ten years after the first Sea to Sea Bicycle Tour across Canada, Sea to Sea is set to ride again. This year World Renew is offering a six day ride (June 29-July 4) in Ontario and a ten day ride (July 29-August 8) in Alberta.
How often do you hear someone pray “Come on, Lord, it’s only $55,000.00!” That was Pastor Peter’s prayer after hearing that I volunteered to help World Renew (a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church) raise the funds needed for the Healthy Babies, Healthy Mom Campaign.
“Whenever I look at it, I only see the mistakes,” Judi said this week when I asked her about our new photo directory. “And when I think about it, I only remember the frustrations.” It was exactly a year ago when she had her first meeting about this project. After two separate photo shoots and months of editing, the 2014 edition finally arrived.
When the zone coordinators arrived at Hope Fellowship’s leadership retreat last weekend they did not expect to be pitching their dreams in the Dragon’s Den. But that’s exactly what happened!
Two months ago I began planning a surprise birthday party for Marja’s milestone birthday. I pictured inviting the congregation to an open house featuring hit songs from all of the decades of her life and a set of original love songs by me.
The email from Sharon came in on Feb. 4. “Please pray. Our 2 year old grandson, Levi, had an allergic reaction which became serious staph infection which became scalded skin syndrome. Pray this cycle stops and heads back in the other direction towards healing.
Instead of meeting for Bible Study or a social event, our High School students decided to spread some love through Courtice two weeks ago. Armed with carnations and loonies they set out in groups to see what they could accomplish.
We like to criticize the government, but you have to commend it for encouraging charitable giving by refunding 33% of what you donate and, in the case of World Renew’s Healthy Babies, Healthy Moms campaign, matching every donation 3:1
After eighteen months without a Service and Outreach Zone Coordinator, God has blessed Hope Fellowship with someone to head up this important zone. Upon the recommendation of the personnel committee, the Vision Leadership Board offered this position to Lisa Witvoet, with a start date of January 15.
There’s something historic about a first. Like the first time you see a hockey game at the Air Canada Centre or run a marathon or fly in an airplane. “Firsts” are memorable!
Dylan's friends and family came to Hope Fellowship on Saturday, Dec. 27, expecting to hear him propose to his girlfriend, Jessica. After socializing for half an hour, the hundred-plus guests were shushed into silence as Dylan led Jessica, who was blindfolded, to the centre of the stage.
Ten years ago, I met monthly with three people who were sixty-plus. From a Christian perspective, we discussed articles in The Banner and various topics of general interest. We met because we understood that a multi-generational church should offer a ministry to every age category. We hoped that others would join us as time went by.