When I was going to purchase something for our daughter’s birthday at the Canadian Tire in Woodstock, I saw a young woman sleeping on the sidewalk in front of the CIBC bank. She had a sign that indicated that she was homeless and that any help given would be appreciated. The other thing written on her cardboard sign was, “God Bless.” I stopped to talk with her on my way back to the car and to offer some small assistance. She told me her name and as I turned to go, she also told me that it was her 21st birthday. I thought to myself afterwards that her birthday will be very different than our daughter’s. Our family members can look forward to special family celebrations and feeling the love of family and friends. This young woman was all alone and doesn’t even have a place to call home. When we are thinking about Thanksgiving this year and feeling thankful for the ways that God has blessed us, will we also think of those who are struggling for their day to day needs? We know that there are an increasing number of homeless people in our communities. Their stories vary, but without exception they, like us, need to receive love and care. I am reminded of Jesus saying as recorded in Matthew 25:34-40, 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Remember I indicated that this young woman in Woodstock had, “God Bless” written on her sign. We have been blessed and we can be thankful for all the ways that God has blessed us. We can also look for the ways that we can bless others and give them reason to believe that God is real and wants to bless and take care of them. We can thank God that He can use us to bless and care for others. This will be the focus of our prayers when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow October 4th at 1 pm. Please take time to pray with us.
Thanking God for all the ways that He has blessed us and thanking Him that He can also use us to show His blessing to others, Pastor Lola
Our loving and generous God there are many ways that You bless us every day and we thank You. Beyond this Thanksgiving time, we want to be aware and thanking You every day for Your loving care for us. We do pray for eyes to see each person around us. Sometimes it is troubling to recognize the extent of the needs in our communities. We know that the number of those requiring assistance keeps increasing. Please show us practical ways that we can help and express Your blessing for them. Guard us against being grateful for our own blessings and not taking notice of how others also crave blessing. We pray that we will not enter into a place of blaming people for their circumstances. We know that there are various reasons behind where people find themselves when they are sleeping on the sidewalk and posting a sign asking for help. We pray today for those facing issues of substance abuse. We pray for those being affected by mental illness. Today we think of those who have become so discouraged by the adversity that they have faced that they see little hope for the future. Please use us to bless those who struggle just to get by day to day. Jesus we pray that our compassion will mirror yours. Thank You that You always regard us with love when we come to You with our pressing needs. Thank You that we do have more than we need and can share with others. Please do guide us in this whole matter of sharing. Even when we can only give a little, thank You that this makes a positive difference. This thought of extending ourselves for others as if we were doing it for You is transformative. You Jesus have known what it was to be despised and rejected. You have known what it was to be misunderstood. You have known what it was like to suffer because people were not willing to see You for Who You are. As You urge us to do for others as if we are doing for You, we do pray that we will see You in the homeless person. We pray that we will see You in the person in mental distress walking along repeating the same phrase over and over. We pray that in our preparations for and gatherings around our tables this Thanksgiving that we will consider how You invite us and urge us to give those who are hungry something to eat; to give those who are thirsty something to drink; to welcome the stranger; to clothe those who need clothes; to look after those who are sick; and to visit those in prison. Our God expand our vision to recognize all the ways that people are imprisoned, held captive by the injustices of our society and the harsh judgments of others. How will You God use us to see people set free? Yes, we are deeply thankful for our many blessings. We know that You want others to be blessed too and so we pray that our lives will help this expanded blessing to occur. Thank You that You are a God Who longs to bless and care for our troubled world where there are those who have no home. May we all discover our home with You! In the Name of Jesus Who calls us to love as if loving Him, AMEN
God has given us the opportunity to gather together today to celebrate the 191st Anniversary of Springford Baptist Church. We do thank God for all the ways that He has revealed Himself to us and those before us over these many years. Our opening hymn for our Anniversary Service will be “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” This is the reality that we have all experienced. God has accompanied each of us on our life journey. Whatever we have experienced and whatever we will experience, God is with us and God’s compassion for us never fails. Truly God’s mercies are new every morning. As we enter this new day and a new month, we can look to God expectantly for what He will be doing to reveal His constant faithfulness. Our guest preacher for today will be Gene Tempelmeyer who will bring a message from Hebrews 11;1,2;8-16 entitled, “FAITH, IMAGINATION, AND SUFFERING.” When we look at this Scripture we can recognize that, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11;1) A question that we will be asked to consider at our service today is, “What do we learn about God while we are waiting for His answers to our prayers”? This waiting for what God will do is a time of exercising faith. It can be a time of being assured of God’s love for us. It can be a time of realizing that God does care for us and about us when we do not fully understand God and His ways. It is in our times of suffering that our faith is greatly challenged. These are the times that we look to God to carry us through and we hold on to our faith as a confidence in what we hope for and an assurance about what we do not yet see. There is not an attached message or online service available for today. I encourage you to read this Scripture from Hebrews 11 and to ask God to show You what He has to teach you about your faith and His infinite faithfulness.
Thanking God that we can hold on to faith in Him and that He promises to hold on to us always, Pastor Lola
This coming Sunday, we will celebrate the 191st Anniversary of Springford Baptist Church. It is remarkable to think of all the people over the years who have trusted God and gathered together to have their faith nurtured. Our faith journey was never meant to be a solitary one. Through the really good times and the really hard times, we keep turning to God together. There is reassurance when we can support each other in what it means to trust God. There is urging in Scripture to meet together to bring each other encouragement. We can read in Hebrews 10:24,25 “And let us consider how we may spue one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” When we gather, we like people in the past, affirm our belief that God loves us and is available to help us. There have been countless ways that God has answered prayers over the years. In a time when some people no longer know what it is to trust God and to turn to Him in prayer, we still believe. We still believe that God is for us not against us. We still believe that God hears and answers our prayers. We still believe that God loves us and cares about every detail of our lives. We can declare this when we pause tomorrow September 27th at 1 pm for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER.
Praying that we will not give up in trusting God and turning to Him in prayer, Lola
Our Loving God, thank You that we still have reason to believe in You and to trust You. We consider all the ways that You have moved to answer prayers in our lifetimes and before us in the lives of those who have walked by faith in the past. Thank You for churches where people have gathered together to be encouraged in their faith. Thank You for individuals being there for each other and lifting each other up in prayer. We know this has happened in the past and we are so grateful that it continues to happen today. We ask that whenever we come to You in prayer that our perspective will be to look not only to our own needs, but also to the needs of others. Thank You God that we can make it our goal to spur each other on toward love and good deeds. Thank You for the gift of encouragement. We want to use this gift when we pray. We think about the encouragement that others can experience when they know that we are praying for them. We think about how encouraged we are knowing that others are praying for us. Thank You for this mutual blessing. We also pray that as well as praying for each other that we will want to meet together to grow in our faith. Please prevent our faith from becoming unconsidered and stagnant. We pray that our shared faith will bring us encouragement and also challenge. Where are the places that You God want to stretch our faith? We pray that together we will see that happen. Where there are uncharted paths for us to explore, we want to be ready for this. We draw inspiration knowing that people over the years have held tightly to their faith. They have encouraged each other and we want to do the same. Help us to encourage each other through our prayers together, through our seeking You together and through humble lives of faith. In the Name of Jesus. AMEN
When I was trying to choose some fall garden mums for our front porch at the Garden Centre, I seemed to take a very long time to select. There were various shades of colour and different sized pots. Selection was a challenge. There are times in our everyday conversations that we are not sure what to say. Someone has said something to us and we are not sure how to respond. Sometimes we witness the heartache or grief that another is facing and we feel that we cannot begin to find the words to speak to that person, There are certainly occasions when it seems that words cannot possibly express all the emotions that we are feeling. In our own journey of dealing with the concerns for which we persistently pray, what words can we use to convey the weight of the burden we carry for ourselves or for someone else? And with our limited perspective, there are times when we do not know how to put into words our longings for God to touch and restore and bring hope to seemingly hopeless circumstances. One of the uplifting aspects of our faith in God is that we do not have to have what we consider, “the right words.” We can know with confidence that even without words, when we turn to God, our loving God knows what is needed. I love that God listens to us with His heart and is able to interpret how we are and what we need from Him. When we are waiting for the light to shine in the darkness, God is waiting with us and is able to renew our hope in Him. Consider this Scripture from Romans 8, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27) The thought of God’s Spirit interceding and coming to God on our behalf can reassure us when words fail us in prayer. We will be relying on God’s Spirit to guide our prayers when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 20th at 1 pm. Please plan to join us.
Thanking God that with or without words, we can come to Him in prayer, Pastor Lola
Our welcoming God, each time that we turn to You in prayer, we are reminded of how much we need You. Thank You for Your mercy and care for us. We are grateful that this never fades and never fails. We have prayed many prayers before and we continue to realize that taking time to spend with You in prayer is so essential. We come to You today aware of many needs for ourselves and others. We are not sure what words to select to convey our love for You and our dependence on You. Thank You that we do not have to have a detailed description of how our prayers would best be answered. We know that You God have this covered. You know what is needed even before we breathe a word of it. As we approach You now in this attitude of prayer, we are trusting You to see us as we are. You recognize where we have been and where we are going. You recognize where our wider world has been and where it is going. Our hope is in You Lord. Our hope is in You. The understanding that Your depth of love for us is fathomless, gives us courage to approach You in prayer. We invite Your Spirit to help us in our weakness. We look to You for strength. We admit to You that there are things we do not understand and this challenges our faith. Today we are relying on Your Spirit to lift us up to You. When our steps falter, we ask You to show us the way. You, oh God, can search our hearts and know the truth that we may struggle to acknowledge. In the light of Your Presence, we discover the promise that You will guide us to choose You and Your plans for us. Sometimes our lives seem such a swirl of different possibilities and we wonder what to do. Consistently, we want to choose You. We want to trust You to bring about Your will in us and through us as Your Spirit draws us close to You. Without You, we are without hope. Spirit of God, we are asking You to intercede with God in accordance with God’s will. Our desire is to live for You God in every choice we make. We pause to confess that sometimes it is not possible to see Your will because we are looking for and wishing for something else. Where our will does not match Yours, we ask for Your realignment. Our ongoing prayer is for our willingness to trust You and to walk in step with Your Spirit. What do You God, want to bring about in each of us? How do You need to change us in order for us to be prepared to enter into what You are already doing. Thank You God for this gift of life and for the gift of communicating with You in sincere prayer, enhanced by Your Spirit’s wisdom. We offer this prayer and ourselves to You in Jesus’ Name. AMEN
How lovely to hold a tiny baby. I so enjoyed this at the baby shower we hosted for my new little great niece last weekend. When we hold a newborn baby, there is so much promise. We can think of the fresh beginning of this wee person’s life. There is something about holding a baby that reminds us of the beautiful and hopeful things of life. Sometimes that hopeful anticipation of good things to come can get blurred with all the cares of life that we carry. I recall when our girls were babies that people would comment on what a a blessing is that time of life. For babies who are loved and cherished, their early years are pretty uncomplicated. They eat and sleep and cry if they need something and laugh with delight at those around them. Sometimes people express a desire to go back to the simple times of childhood. We find in Scripture a hopeful indication of the possibility of God’s work of making us new creations. It is a gift from our loving God to know that, “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) When our desire is to be “in Christ” and we keep on surrendering our lives to His transforming power, then we are made new. The birth of a baby is welcomed and celebrated. We also have reason to celebrate new birth that comes to us because of Jesus. Hope in God’s redemptive work is something we can pray for and receive when we are committed to becoming new creations as God intends. What new things is God wanting to shape in each of us and how will our prayers welcome this vital work? When we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 12th at 1 pm, we will pray for what is new that God wants to birth in us and those around us.
Praying that each of us will want to remain in Christ and to be the new creations that He invites us to be, Pastor Lola
Thank You God that You specialize in making new. Thank You that we are not held by the past because You have power to make us new creations. We want to surrender to You what has been in our lives that You want to change. Forgive us our sins and also make us new by empowering us to forgive those who sin against us. Where there are damaged relationships, we pray for healing. For people who are not speaking with each other, we pray for resolution of that and a releasing of bitterness. We want to value and honour the gifts of family and friends and to treat each relationship with careful consideration. When there are misunderstandings, please help us to move quickly to find a way forward so that understanding can be restored and we can be new creations. It is only in Christ that we see this possibility of us being new creations, so we ask You to keep us firmly established in Christ with all of our thoughts and motives and intentions. For the times that we pray and do not see the answers we longed for, we ask that we will not turn away from You. Instead, we pray that we will come even closer to You, not wanting to miss what You are saying to us and how You are working to make things new in these times too. And God we are trusting You to guide all the words that we speak so that they will be life giving and contribute to how You want to make each of us into new creations. Please remind us that we will never get beyond needing Your redemptive work of making us new. This process will never be complete this side of heaven. With our awareness of this truth, we ask for the wisdom to keep bringing all of who we are to you for Your renovating. We think of old houses we have seen that have been completely rebuilt and made beautiful again. Our gracious God, please do this same kind of work in us. Remove what is old and needs replacing and may we as new creations bring glory to You our Creator. At times we grow discouraged because of the need in us for ongoing renovation and restoration. Thank You God that You are willing to persist with this divine work. Thank You today for those who have completed their time here on earth and are now raised to be the eternal new creations that You have designed them to be. We pray for comfort and peace for those of us who remain here and continue to struggle with the reality of sin. Our God, we pray that as we are made into new creations that our capacity for love and compassion will increase. In becoming more like Jesus, we expect that the outcome will be visible that we are new creations because we are in Christ and wanting to remain there always. Make us new Lord. Yes, make us new we pray, in Christ’s Name. AMEN.
1How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God.3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near Your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on Your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,blessed is the one who trusts in You.
Psalm 84 BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN GOD Springford Baptist Church: Sept. 10, 2023.
This is the time of year when many people are making pickles
and relishes and bottling all sorts of things. I remember when I would come home from school and my Mom would have wonderful smells of what she had been preserving in the farm kitchen. Now it is one thing to have these bottles of jams and peaches and pears and tomatoes and sauces lining the shelves, but as we know you need to be able to open the lids. If you have a jar that you are trying to open and cannot, what a relief to have someone whose strength is what is needed. We can be reminded that likewise when we are lacking strength that God can provide the strength we need.
We read in Psalm 84:5 “Blessed are those whose strength is in You (that’s God) whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
Do we live each day aware of needing God’s strength and reaching out to receive His strength?| Are our hearts set on pilgrimage? We will want to look more closely at what it can mean to have our hearts set on pilgrimage. I think of a Christian summer camp where their goal is to see the campers come “one step closer to Jesus”. When our hearts are set on pilgrimage and we want to keep travelling closer to our loving God, then we find that we are receiving strength from God for each step of the journey.
This Psalm 84 speaks of someone longing to come near to God in His temple.
It is this longing for God that sets our hearts on pilgrimage to come near to God and to find our strength in Him. As the psalm begins, the writer is expressing longing for the house of the Lord and being able to meet with God there. “1How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!2 My soul yearns, even faints,for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:1,2)
It is a compelling desire to be closer with God that would have our heart and flesh cry out for the living God. There is nothing that can replace an experience of God close with us. When we have experienced this then our hearts are set on pilgrimage. We long to again receive His strength and to be convinced that He is with us.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near Your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3) The psalmist is here recalling that there are birds that have easy access to God’s temple and can even build a nest for their young near the altar.
This is our prayer that we have close access to God and also our children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Where we have found strength in God, we want those who are young to discover this same possibility.
I am reassured to think that as I can turn to God to provide strength for whatever I am facing so can those whom I love.
Those of you who have raised your families in church but don’t find them in church now, can trust God to reveal His love and care and strength for them when they do recognize that need.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. (Psalm 84:4)
When our hearts are set on pilgrimage closer to God, we do look forward to praising God in His house. Does this mean that when we come to worship God, we have no problems or anxious concerns? Absolutely not. Yet, when we do gather to worship God, we can receive reassurance of His strength and that we are never alone. This gives us reason to praise Him!
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.(Psalm 84:5)
When we are finding our strength in the Lord, then we are determined to come nearer and nearer to Him. We recognize that nothing else is sufficient to satisfy us and so our hearts turn to Him.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:6,7)
This describes God’s people travelling to worship God in His temple in Zion (Jerusalem).
Even when our pilgrimage closer to God takes us through difficult valleys, we are given strength. God’s people on the way to Zion can remember the strength of God for their ancestors as they travelled through the desert of Sinai on their way to the Promised Land. What do you make of that phrase, “from strength to strength.” (vs. 7a)
This assures me of God extending His strong hand to help us and when we are passing through a difficult valley, God reaches out to give us strength so that we do not give up. There is fresh strength from God provided as needed! When we feel we cannot go another step, God is right with us to give us His strength. Our strength must be in the Lord not in our limited resources.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on Your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
(Psalm 84:8-11)
This intense desire to be close with God is expressed when the psalmist writes “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” (vs. 10) There is nothing that can compare to a close encounter with God.We can be close with God when we come to church to worship God with other people who also love God. We can be close with God when we receive His strength in our day to day living and are deeply grateful.
There is blessing in finding our strength in the LORD.
We can echo the last verse of this psalm,
“12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You.” (Psalm 84:12)
Wherever we are needing to find strength from God right now, I pray that we will choose to trust God and to receive the blessing of knowing God close with us and inviting us to keep journeying closer to Him always. May our hearts be set on pilgrimage.
I wonder how aware we are of what is making those around us happy or sad. We make a point of wishing people, “Happy Birthday”; or congratulating a family on the arrival of a new baby; or wishing people well who are starting a new school adventure or a new job position. We find ways to extend love and support when people are sick or when there has been loss of loved ones. Some people will be more inclined to let those around them know what is making them happy or sad. Some people will openly share what is making them pleased and grateful or anxious and troubled and others will choose to keep this to themselves. It requires prayerful sensitivity to find appropriate ways to follow the guidance of Scripture where we read, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) In our desire to become more like Jesus, this is just what we need to do. And in order to be able to be happy with those who are happy and sad with those who are sad, we will need to see this possibility as both a gift and a responsibility. We can pray daily that God will give us eyes to see what is happening with others and hearts to care. If we are so caught up in our own concerns that we do not realize the concerns of others, then we can pray for God to change us. Sometimes when we do come to understand what someone else has been going through, we will exclaim, “I had no idea…” This week we are going to pray that we will want to know what is making others happy or sad. We will also pray that God will guide us in how to respond and to offer sincere “walking alongside” to people whatever they are facing. Please join in this week’s WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 6th at 1 pm.
Praying for the compassion of Jesus as we respond lovingly to people however they are feeling, Pastor Lola
Our loving God, we begin by thanking You for the assurance that You always know what is causing us to feel happy or sad. You understand all of our emotions and you enter into both our celebrations and our sorrows. We want to be more like You in doing the same for others. We are praying that you will deepen our sensitivity and awareness to know how others are being affected by their circumstances. When people have promising and hopeful things happening for themselves or their families, we want to be delighted with them. We pray for this to be the real sentiment we have and not simply words we feel we should say. Guard us against wishing good for ourselves and getting focused on when things will work out in our own situations in ways that overshadow genuine gratitude that You are blessing others. As we embrace this responsibility, we want to discover You also rejoicing with those who rejoice. Thank You God for the blessings You are pouring into the lives of those we know. It is one thing to celebrate good times with people. We recognize that following Jesus asks more of us. We are also to share with others in their sad and desperate times. Please show us how to do this. We ask for Your forgiveness for the times we have not been available to mourn with those who mourn. In these moments, we consider the reasons there is mourning. Alert us to those who seriously ill and feeling worn out and hopeless. We recognize that those whose loved ones have ongoing health issues do at times become so overwhelmed. Remind us of those who have experienced broken relationships or job loss. We know that there are those who find certain days especially hard because a loved one died on that day or it is the birthday or anniversary of someone who has passed. These dates can be forgotten by us or go unnoticed, but we know for those who have held someone close that these dates can evoke painful memories. We need You God to continue to heighten our sensitivity both to what makes people happy and sad so that we can acknowledge this and join them in whatever is touching them deeply. As we learn more about rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn, we pray that we will keep encountering You accompanying those whom You call us to accompany. May our love for people confirm Your infinite love for them. In the Name of Christ our Saviour. AMEN
