And Life Faith
We believe in a humble God who came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore we engage in sacrificial and active service to those around us. We strive to be good stewards of God’s gifts and talents by serving one another in humility. We aspire to regard others as higher than ourselves, which liberates us to creatively take risks in serving others for God’s glory.
November 2016
Our Values
Intersection
Of
We believe in a God of grace who came to save the world, not to condemn it. Therefore, as we are continuously receiving the gift of God’s grace, we seek to grow in that grace and extend it to others. We strive to define ourselves by what we are for, not what we are against.
We believe in a creative God. Therefore we are open to expressing our faith in new and creative ways that reflect the beauty and complexity of our creator. We are called to use our creative gifts in worship and service as we engage with our world. We take joy in the diversity of gifts that allow us to delight God and participate in His ongoing story.
An
We believe in a God who knows us, and who desires to be known. Therefore we embrace a journey of faith that requires us to constantly strive for a personal, intimate and transformative knowledge of God. We strive to be led by God’s Spirit in supporting and encouraging one another in working out our faith.
We believe in a triune, relational God who calls us to come together as a diverse community of believers. Therefore, we want to walk together, supporting one another physically, emotionally and spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive family that goes through the joys and the trials of life together, acknowledging that God uses this community to deepen and mature our faith. We believe in a God who loves this broken world and wants to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore we are commissioned by Christ to go out into the world, meeting the holistic needs of the local and global community. God calls us to participate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him. We believe in a God who is our center. Therefore where we are on the journey is less important than that we are moving towards a deeper relationship with Christ. We believe and participate in God’s redemptive work in all people, which gives us the freedom to come as we are, and to accept others as they are. We each are on a unique journey to become who God has created us to be. 32
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What’s Happening
Features Apart from the Church Our Stories: Finding God Through Leading Worship Naming Jesus: Son of God
3 12 23
Departments Resource Centre Discipleship Ministries Financial Update
16 19 9
Information Contact Information Community Corner Calendar
27 28 31
Cover & Design: Clement Lee Contributors: Anne Barron Marion Cameron Karen Cassel Sam Lee Ben Reynolds Gene Tempelmeyer Copy Editors: Greg Kay Suzanna Lai Gene Tempelmeyer
Delve submissions are due on the LAST MONDAY of each month. To submit for the next issue of Delve, please email: delve@springgardenchurch.ca 2
Life in Spring Garden
Weekly Tuesdays 2:00 pm - Pastoral Team Meeting in Meeting Room Wednesdays 10:00 - 11:30am - Refresh Women’s Group in West Lounge (childcare provided) 7:00 - 8:30pm - ESL Cafe in East Lounge Thursdays 12:00pm - 2:00pm - Adult Bible Class in the East Lounge Sundays 9:00am - 10:00am - Morning Bible Study in Meeting Room 9:00am - 10:am - ESL Bible Study in Basement Hallway 10:00am - 11:30am - Sunday Morning Worship (communion on the first Sunday of the month) If you would like to receive a weekly email update on what’s happening in Spring Garden, please visit the SGC website (www.springgardenchurch.ca) and add your email at the bottom of our home page to subscribe to our weekly update
This Month Nov 25 7:00-9:00pm - Board Game Café in Youth Lounge (pg. 28)
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Apart from the Church
Advent and Christmas dates Sunday Dec 4 @10:00-11:30 am: Intergenerational Advent Celebration, Communion and Potluck (worship gathering for all ages followed by a potluck meal together--so bring your favorite peanut free food to share! Sunday Dec 18 @6:30-8:00 pm: Light of the World (fun evening of singing and desserts designed as a safe invite for friends, neighbours, family, etc) Saturday Dec 24 @7:00-8:00 pm: Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship (reflective Christmas worship through singing and scripture) ------------------Sunday Dec 24 @10-11:20am: Christmas Day Worship Gathering Sunday Dec 25
Opportunities for collective mission in December: Angel Tree Christmas: purchase and deliver gifts to children with an incarcerated (imprisoned) parent. More details to come through November. Contact Victoria Shipmaker for information victoriashipmaker@gmail.com Operation Good Thing Bags: monetary donations towards gift bags for underhoused youth in Toronto. Bags are $28 each and donations are due by Dec 22nd. Contact Jesse James to make a donation jjames@yugta.ca. Celebrate and Skate with youth from Eva's Satellite (a shelter for underhoused youth): Skating and pizza part at Mel Lastman Square on Dec 22nd
“Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus.” Doesn’t that take you back to the agony of high school Latin class? (Do they even teach Latin in high school anymore?) Whenever I see a Latin phrase it reminds me of Mr. Pomrey, a high school Latin teacher so old we were pretty sure he had learned the language in the closing days of the Roman empire. “Apart from the church there is no salvation.” Unless he took it from someone whose writings we have since lost, this was first penned by Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a third century bishop. In the years since, this simple, forceful declarative sentence has been repeated and affirmed by many writers across the centuries and across various streams of Christian tradition. St. Augustine; Venerable Bede (an 8th century English writer), Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and many writers in the Eastern rite have all restated and affirmed this idea. In his “Institutes of the Christian Religion” John Calvin wrote:
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“Beyond the pale of the church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for.” Then he borrowed another quote from St. Cyprian,: “Those to whom [God] is a Father, the Church must also be a mother.” Perhaps this idea is not as radical as it first sounds. Of course, there is considerable variety of opinion among these Christian thinkers what “the Church” actually is. The early writers gave an extremely broad definition. At the funeral of his father in 374, Gregory of Nazianzus said that, just as many baptised people are part of the visible Church “whose lives alienate them from the common body,” there also are “many of those outside who belong really to us, men whose devout conduct anticipates their faith. They lack only in the name of that which in fact they possess.” He argued that for many the charity of their lives united them to Christians in Christ even if they did not explicitly believe in Christ. Augustine agreed that those “who are visibly outside of the Church,” even pagans and heretics, can possess charity and thus be really within the Church. These thoughts are also echoed by Irenaeus in the second century and John Chrysostom 200 years later. Martin Luther reminds us, “Now the Church is not wood and stone, but the company of believing people; one must hold to them, and see how they believe, live, and teach.”
Some words of gratitude from Friends of Dismas: Please extend my sincere thanks to the folks at Spring Garden who donated pies to our circles of support and accountability men and women over this past thanksgiving weekend. Although a pie or even a piece of pie may seem like an expected part of our thanksgiving celebrations, for many, if not all of our folks, your generosity was a sign of hope. A sign that even in the midst of guilt and shame, they have not been forgotten and that they are not beyond God's grace. With gratitude. Eileen
Intergenerational Worship on Sunday Dec 4 with Potluck Lunch
But what do these dusty old writings have to do with us? Is not “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” merely antiquated exclusion belonging to a world view that is long past? In the last two Musings I suggested that we have come to the end of a long era of Christendom during which the lines between the Church on the one hand and the nation-state and culture on the other became dangerously blurred. Add to that mix the heightened individualism from the 17th century onward and it became difficult to see how the Church could be so necessary to salvation. Because state and culture, in the western world at least, were so 4
We are having an intergenerational worship on Sunday Dec 4 with potluck lunch to celebrate Advent 2016. All are welcome to join. Please bring 1-2 dishes of nut-free main course or dessert. We will need volunteers to help with set up, serving, and clean up. Sign up sheets will be available in the lounge. Please contact Esther Penner for more details: esther.penner@sgbc.ca 29
Elders Darlene Boyd darlene.boyd@gmail.com Cindie Chaise cchaise@yahoo.ca Cheryl Chapman cheryl.chapman@live.ca Joanna James jo.april.james@gmail.com Barrie Porter barriep91@gmail.com Corinne Sutton-Smith blestfoods@aol.com
Spring Garden Church 112 Spring Garden Ave. Toronto ON M2N3G3
416.385.2483 416.738.0530 416.222.6963 647.928.0862 416.829.4210 647.704.7710
T 416.223.4593 F 416.223.6126 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca Prayer Line 416.223.4038
Community Corner Life around Spring Garden Board Game Café Friday November 25th, 7 – 9 pm Spring Garden is calling on game-lovers of all ages! Join us in the Youth Lounge as we enjoy games, snacks, and music. A great way to connect with old friends and meet new people. Contact Esther Penner epenner73@yahoo.ca if you have 28 any questions.
supportive of “Christian” values and practises it became difficult to see the need for the Church in shaping people’s lives together. Unlike the earliest years of the Church, we were not a minority living and believing in a way that was distinct from others around us. Our national politic – our way of understanding how we share life in community – was at least perceived as being Christian. Of course we were Christians! We lived in a Christian nation! Our involvement in a church merely marked the more private elements of our belief. The Presbyterians and the Methodists might disagree about the doctrine of predestination but the municipal government assured that the stores would be closed on Sunday morning so we could attend the church that we choose, or, perhaps, were predestined to attend. First, we added the Reformation emphasis on interior faith to a view of salvation being mostly about where we will end up when we die. We then added to that sum the dogmas of individualism arising a couple of centuries later. It was almost inevitable that our understanding of salvation would become a guarantee of our place in the next world as a result of making a personal decision to have faith in Jesus. Because state and culture were already shaping our life together here on earth, sin and morality could be reduced to private habits such as stealing or smoking cigarettes. Broader systemic issues of racism and international violence became deemed “political issues” outside the Church’s mandate. This is not to say evangelical believers never experienced discontent with the divorce of personal faith from social faith. Movements to enact child labour laws and abolish slavery began with the Church saying, “These practises do not reflect Christian charity; they are not a politic acceptable to the Church!” Even in these movements the power of Christendom to blur lines between church and state are apparent: the result was a change in legislation to bring the state and culture into closer harmony with values derived from the message of Jesus. In other words, the Church would lever the power of the state to assert a more Christian 5
politic. It was not the “company of believing people” that “saved” the slaves and child workers, it was individuals who were able to change the state. Part of our dilemma today is knowing the good our ability to make such political changes did in the world. Yes, we used the levers of political power and coercion to enforce our Christian convictions, but the end result was a good result. Does it matter than the means were not Christian, but secular? If someone has to wield secular power, isn’t it preferable that they be Christian? And what do we do now that the world is no longer our oyster? We need to go back and recover our “Churchology.” What is the church to the world? Which brings us back to Cyprian. The church contains what alone can save the world. The Church. Not the state. Not even a democratic state. Government “by the people” is no more the Kingdom of God than is government by the emperor. Let’s understand this: salvation is not in the state. Salvation is in the Church. Let’s also understand that what Cyprian, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin meant by the word “salvation” might be much broader and deeper than what a person on the street corner means when they ask, “Have you been saved?” Kallistos Ware, a Greek orthodox bishop, has put it in a nutshell. “Outside the church there is no salvation because salvation is the Church.” The world is constantly fragmenting into nations, tribes and people that wound and destroy the other. Retribution follows retribution until it simply does not matter who started the fight. The fight can only come to an end when one tribe is powerful and brutal enough to supress the other, but it continues to boil and bubble under the surface until it erupts again. Terrorism is merely a means by which lesser powers find they can continue the fight against more mighty powers.
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Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Greg Kay, Worship and Mission Pastor gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Margaret Sutton, Pastoral Care/Seniors margaretsutton@springgardenchurch.ca Sam Lee, Pastor of Discipleship, samlee@springgardenchurch.ca Suzanna Lai, Church Office and Communications Manager suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca Jeremy Ranasinghe, Discpleship Ministries Assistant jeremy.ranasinghe@springgardenchurch.ca Samantha Steeles, Discipleship Ministries Intern samantha.steeles@springgardenchurch.ca
Ext. 222 Ext. 224 Ext. 226 Ext. 227 Ext. 221
Deacons Marion Cameron - Finance marion.cameron@sympatico.ca Adora Chui - Discipleship Ministries adora.chui@sgbc.ca Lesley Daniels - Mission and Worship lesley.daniels@sgbc.ca Mary Ellen Hopkins - Chair mehopkins@sympatico.ca Gonzalo Librado - Adult Ministries gonzalo.librado@sgbc.ca Peggy Moore - Membership, Property peggylouisemoore@gmail.com Esther Penner - Community Life esther.penner@sgbc.ca Doug Willson - Pastoral Care, Board Secretary doug.willson191@gmail.com
416.491.8542 905.962.3897 416.806.5373 905.731.0492 416.229.2695 416.225.2406 416.227.1840 416.221.0450 27
Most High God?” (Mark 5:7 and others). Relatedly, when the devil tempts Jesus, two of the temptations begin with the phrase, “If you are the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3, 6; Luke 4:3, 9). In a number of these instances it is possible to see some sort of divine meaning underlying the name “Son of God,” but I would argue that a Davidic kingship reference is preferable in most. Within the context of the first century, “Son of God” was a name for the Davidic king. Even the exorcisms may point is this direction because there are Jewish traditions that David and Solomon cast out demons. Also, the name “Son of David” is often found in contexts of Jesus’ healing miracles. Even God’s declaration of Jesus as “my beloved Son” at the baptism and transfiguration may, considering the firstcentury Jewish context, say more about Jesus as the anointed and chosen king than as the divine “God from God, Light from Light” reference we often assume.
Ben Reynolds
By contrast, Jesus conquered the powers of this world through dying a criminal’s death and rising alive from the tomb three days later. God’s solution does not rely upon application of the greatest power of all. God’s solution is the application of love, mercy, forgiveness and life. As He ascended to His Father He promised to return and restore all creation to His Lordship. In this world there are people who believe this. I am one of them. I hope you are as well. We are joined together into a community – into a web of relationships – that are governed by the life, death and resurrection to Jesus. We are governed by our inklings and the hints God has given as to what the end of His story with us will look like. It includes a Tree of Life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. This community of people who believe in Jesus so much that they govern their life together by the teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus is called “The Church.” The Church displays to the world a different way of living together, a different politic. I do not mean by this a political party or philosophy. Those instruments belong to Rome. At our best, the Church embodies Jesus: we are the Body of Christ. When we live together as Jesus called us to live together the world begins to observe, as it did in the book of Acts, that our love is turning the world’s politic on its head. Ours is not a politic of power. It is a politic of weakness, forgiveness, and sacrifice. It is a politic of living out our love for Jesus and each other. Our life together as the church embodies God’s salvation, His restoration of all things as we are reconciled to Him and to each other. Apart from the church there is no salvation because the stable, the cross, and the empty tomb are embodied in the Church, and nothing else can save us. The Apostle Paul calls our salvation “a mystery” by which he means it is something we cannot figure out by ourselves. It comes through God’s revelation. The salvation of Jesus draws us into the new politic – the new way of organizing our life together – that is called The Church.
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It is consequently hugely important for the Church to ask: Does our life together actually flow from our belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus? Is our life together marked by grace, forgiveness, and hope of God’s end to the story. When someone asks, “Are you saved?” I like to answer, “Yes! But not yet.” I have stepped into the story of salvation. The death and resurrection have become the essence of my life. It is my deepest desire to live as one who knows that God is busy even in the fragmented world we share. I’m enjoying the appetiser. But I’m really looking forward to the feast to come. As I wait, I will live to my best in a community that is governed by the love of Jesus who came, as a foreigner, an immigrant to this world, to show us in His life the hope of something much better.
Gene Tempelmeyer
the Israelite kings. For example, the Egyptian pharaohs were known as the son of Ra, the Egyptian sun god. Other nations such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians had similar concepts. During the Maccabean period, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV made claims of divinity. The Roman emperor at the time of Jesus’ birth, Caesar Augustus, claimed to be the son of the divine Caesar, since the Roman Senate declared Julius Caesar divine following his death. The Jewish idea of kingship does not appear to have carried the same level of divinity as these non-Israelite examples, but the king of Israel was considered the Son of God, and some of the practices of the surrounding nations may have had some influences on kingship understandings in Israel. So what happens when we understand “Son of God” in the Gospels with this kingship perspective rather than that of the second person of the trinity? Jesus is called the “Son of God” in all four Gospels. The Gospel of Mark begins by stating that it is “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). In Luke’s Gospel, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to one who is called Son of the Most High. The messianic significance of “Son of the Most High” is explicit in the next line: “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32–33, 35, NIV). Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist concludes with God’s declaration from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17 ; Mark 1:11 ; Luke 3:22). A similar statement is made by God again when Jesus is transfigured on the mountain when Moses and Elijah appear (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). A clear messianic sense of “Son of God” is notable in Nathanael exclamation that Jesus is “the Son of God, the King of Israel” (John 1:51; cf. 20:30–31). What may be somewhat unnerving or striking is that it is the demons that explicitly recognize Jesus as God’s Son. When the demon-possessed man from the tombs near Gerasa approaches Jesus, he yells out, “What do you want with me Jesus, Son of the
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it does in the Nicene Creed from the fourth century. The NiceneConstantinopolitan Creed reads (with translation variations): “We believe…in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.” This statement reflects good, solid Christian theology. It just is not what the average person of Jesus’ day thought when they heard “Son of God.”
Spring Garden Baptist Church Monthly Financial Update For: September 30th, 2016
/Week In the Old Testament, there are numerous instances of the term “Son of God,” and the referents are most often Israel or the king of Israel. God tells Moses in Exodus 4:22: “Israel is my firstborn son.” And in Hosea 11:1, God speaks through the prophet Hosea to say, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Thus, we have examples of the nation of Israel, the people of God, being called God’s son. However, the majority of references in the Old Testament are to Israel’s king as the Son of God. When God promises David that one of his descendants will always be on the throne as king, God says, “I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:14). Psalm 2, which is written about and by a king, states, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I begotten you’” (2:7). Psalm 89:26–27 states, “He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth….” Even in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the text known as 4Q174 interprets the figure of 2 Samuel 7:14—“I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me”—as the shoot of David, the Davidic king (Isaiah 11:1). These Old Testament texts and Second Temple Jewish texts suggest that during Jesus’ day the “Son of God” was understood to be the King of Israel and a descendant of David. The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q174 indicates that at least some considered this kingly figure as an expected anointed one, in other words the Messiah. While the Old Testament examples suggest “Son of God” was primarily a reference to Davidic kingship, there does not appear to be indication that this sonship carried a sense of divinity. Within the world of the Old Testament (or the ancient Near East), kings of other nations were sometimes more closely associated with divinity than 24
2016 Budget
$530,000
Year To Date
Actual
$10,192
Budget
For 9 Months - September 30th, 2016 Donations & Other Income $316243 $397,500 Expenses (358,690) (397,500) Cash Shortfall to Actual (42,477) Expenses Cash Shortfall to Budget (81,257) Please give prayerful consideration to your part in supporting Spring Garden's ministries. There are only 8 Sundays in November and December to meet the remainder of oour financial obligations for the year. 9
Naming Jesus: Son of God An Invitation
NeighbourLink North York Fund-raising Holiday Concert Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. Spring Garden Church 112 Spring Garden Avenue Featuring
The Salvation Army Heritage Band Soprano - Susan Ryman Bass - David Graham Refreshments and Silent Auction to follow Free-will Offering to support our work in helping seniors in need For information
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phone: 416-221 8283 e-mail: neighbourlink1@295,ca Web-site: www.neighbourlink.org
When we read the four Gospels, we find that Jesus is given many different names. Commonly these names are called titles, but in Jesus’ original context, they may not have been titles. In other words, the average person who saw Jesus or was healed by him may not have thought of those names as referring only to Jesus or to a role only he could fill. For example, “Messiah,” as discussed last month, essentially meant “anointed one” or one who was anointed by God for a specific purpose, such as a prophet or priest. For Jesus to be called “anointed” or for him to read Isaiah 61:1 (“God has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…”) in reference to himself at the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4) may have primarily noted God’s prophetic calling on his ministry rather than indicating what we often assume is merely Jesus’ last name: Jesus Christ. When we consider the name “Son of God,” one of the primary issues that confronts us is 2,000 years of Christian history and theology. The assumption for any creed-believing Christian is that “Son of God” is a reference to Jesus as the second person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and as such “Son of God” indicates Jesus’ divinity. Theologically that would be correct. In the creeds and in orthodox faith, “Son of God” carries a divine meaning, but we should be willing to consider that within the first century CE “Son of God” might not have meant the same thing as 23
Youth Life Group Starts! November 11 & 18 Please speak with Sam or Jeremy for more information. Laser Tag & more: November 4, 6-9pm A night of laser tag, mini putt & more for $10! Includes food.
BODY: SHAPE, SIZE & IMAGE A Holistic Approach to Overcoming & Transforming Disordered Eating, Body Image Issues & Eating Disorders
Board Game Café: November 25, 7:00pm9:00pm Refer to previous page.
Avalanche and Blizzard Winter Retreats: This year our youth group will participate in 2 winter youth retreats, Avalanche (Grades 6-8) Jan 20-22, and Blizzard (Grades 9-12) Feb 10-12. These retreats are more than just a weekend away – they are often life changing experience for many students. It is a chance for youth to join with 500 other young people their age and see that they are not alone in their journey towards Jesus. Through high quality small group experiences, musical worship and engaging teaching, the aim to inspire students, whether Christians or not, to begin taking steps in their faith journeys. Beyond that there are many great games, activities and a lifetime of memories made on this weekend. **In order to reserve spots we must have a deposit of $30 in by November 13th. After November 13th please be aware we will not be registering any other youth. For more information please speak to either Sam or Jeremy.** 22
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oin us for a one-day workshop to explore & experience how you can recover through a unique combination of CBT, DBT, Yoga, Breath work and Mindfulness. Facilitators include: A Family Physician, Meditation and Yoga Teachers & an eating disorder survivor
Day, Date & Time: Saturday, November 19th, 10am-5pm Venue – Spring Garden Baptist Church, 112 Spring Garden Ave. Toronto Fee - $65 (includes tax, course material, light lunch & snack)
For Information & Registration Contact: Sonia Kumar Tel. 289-700-5821 sonia@livingbodybrave.com
*CANCELLED*
Hosted by NIED (National Initiative for Eating Disorders) founded by Patti Perry 11
Our Stories: Finding God Through Leading Worship Over the past two months Greg has written articles describing how we think about and approach Communal Worship at Spring Garden. He gave us the following definition to describe our gathered worship: Communal Worship is when God’s people gather together as a particular community for ENGAGEMENT in ROOTED and COMMUNAL worship, giving glory to God and witnessing to His Kingdom. In the first article he discussed the communal aspect of the definition and gave us a list of several areas that come together to make up a communal worship gathering. In the second article he outlined the elements and movements of our worship journey together each Sunday. I would like to talk about the “Engagement” part of the definition and specifically leading worship. I personally engage in the worship gathering most fully through the songs, prayers, offering, communion, response times and not particularly through the sermon (sorry Gene). The creative, artistic, emotional aspects more often touch my soul. I am a trained musician and get a lot of joy out of making music. So not surprising that I chose to become involved at Spring Garden by singing on a worship team. Several years ago Greg asked if I would be willing to lead worship. Speak in front of the whole church, pray out loud, choose the right songs so that the congregation would meet God and truly worship Him, Oh Boy! That was way out of my comfort zone. With feelings of trepidation and unworthiness I said yes. I trusted that Greg would not have asked if he didn’t think I could do it and he did promise to support and equip me along the way. Little did I know that it would bring me great joy and draw me into a deeper relationship with God.
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When we began looking at everyday moments as possible God-talk moments, our “family devotion” turned into a continuous conversation instead of a set, blocked off time each day—that if we missed we felt like a failure and had to wait until the next day at the set “devotion” time to try again. What we have seen happen in our kids as they’ve entered their teen and young adult years is that they feel comfortable talking about God and praying whenever, not just at a specific set time. For us, it has never been about our kids just learning the Bible stories and being able to retell all the facts about the stories. We want our kids to know that God’s story is still being written and they are a part of that story—that everything they choose to say and do becomes a part of God’s story too. What makes talking about God with your kids a challenge? What are some specific things you can do to have more natural conversations about God with your kids?
Spring Kids November 25, 7:00pm-9:00pm - Board Game Café We are encouraging all families to bring your favourite board game for a night fun and fellowship. Please refer to the announcements during the weeks to follow for more information.
Spring Youth Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings: Youth Worship Gatherings: November 6, 20, 27 After the Children’s Blessing, the youth will continue in worship in the youth lounge. Youth are encouraged to stay in main worship November 13. 21
Blowing spit bubbles. Poking each other with a silent grin. At times, our family devotion produced more ungodly behavior than godly behavior! We could see it in their faces. It’s like they were saying, “Yeah, that story about Jonah is great, but what about me?” We knew we needed to find a better way of connecting our kids to God’s story. That’s when we began looking for opportunities to talk about God and connect a real life experience in our kids’ lives to something God wants us to know about Him. Over time, we began to see the power in doing this. Talking about God, what the Bible says, and how it connects to our lives became something we did every day, any time of day. And it just worked for us. We stopped being so hard on ourselves and allowed our “family devotions” to look more like this: Thanking God for our food before we eat, no matter where we are. Thanking God for the day and talking about what’s on our heart before we go to bed. A simple “How’s your heart?” when we tuck them in gets the conversation going. Reminding our kids to work hard at school or doing chores, like they’re working for God and not for people. Praying with our kids for the people who hurt their feelings, because God wants us to love our enemies. When we see an ambulance pass by we pray that the person in trouble knows Jesus and that they get the help they need. Teaching our kids to honor their teacher’s position as their authority, even when they don’t feel like honoring the person. Encouraging them to share because that’s what it looks like to treat others the way we want to be treated. Talking about what God wants for them in a spouse when they became interested in boyfriends/girlfriends. Encouraging them to be humble when they win. Encouraging them to celebrate others when they lose. The list is neverending because every day offers new experiences to connect our kids to God. But in order to take advantage of all the opportunities, there are two things to keep in mind: The more familiar you are with God’s story, the better you will be able to connect your kids to it. Reading the Bible regularly equips you to have these natural conversations. You have to be an active listener and observer of your kids. This can be hard because our tendency as parents is to talk more than we listen.
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When it is my turn to plan and lead, I begin by reading over the scripture passage and blurb about the specific sermon that is provided by Gene. I try to draw out broad themes so that the songs will complement the scripture and sermon. Then I go to the song list and find songs that fit those themes. I end up with a long list. Knowing that there are specific elements needed; gathering songs, confession, a hymn, response, offering, sending out, I start to narrow down my choices. As I do this I am conscious of promptings by the Holy Spirit, sometimes a particular song just feels right to do. Once I have the six songs chosen I “mull” them over for a day or two just to make sure, then send them to Greg. After practice I then craft the speaking parts that I need. Sometimes I write them down, sometimes I feel confident to “go with the Spirit.” The whole time I am planning I want it to be God speaking through me and that the words that I say will lead the congregation into worship and we will meet with God during our communal time together. The thing that has helped me to grow the most is finding a Psalm to use as part of worship. I am not sure if you have noticed, but we do try to include one each week. Reading the Psalms on a regular basis has drawn me closer to God. To have those words imbedded in my mind has been inspiring, comforting, healing. Immersing myself in the Scriptures has lead me to write some worship songs, but that is a whole different level of engagement and another story. So how can you become “Engaged” in worship at Spring Garden? Maybe it is volunteering for one of the many areas of service involved in the worship gathering, maybe it is joining the Sunday morning Bible Study or a Life Group to immerse yourself more in God’s Word, maybe it is some other act of service within the church or a mission project. I still have some trepidation and feelings of unworthiness when I lead, but I pray that God continues to use me in spite of my humanness. I am excited to see how he will use others during our communal times of worship. And to quote a line from one of Gene’s sermons, “At Spring Garden everyone gets to play!”
Anne Barron 13
Discipleship Ministries - Partnering with Families CONNECT EVERYDAY MOMENTS TO GOD’S STORY by Autumn Ward
There are plenty of things my husband and I would change about how we’ve parented over the last 20 years, but if we could go back in time, there are a few things we would do all over again. Here’s one we learned to do over time: We would, without a doubt, choose to Connect Everyday Moments to God’s Story, again. The idea to do this was actually born out of great frustration. Over time, two of our favorite words, when put together, began making us cringe inside: Family. Devotion. I love the idea of family devotions. I know some families who rock them, and I wanted to be that family so bad. But we were not. And we are still not. No, for my family it looked a little more like this: I would buy a new book, again. We would gather the kids around with hopes of listening ears and great discussions, again. There would be zero discussion, again. Kids would be rolling around on the floor. Staring at a bug on the wall.
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traditional mission models simply won’t do. Here he gives a guide to change it up. Helping us see the grand narrative of Scripture and how each of us fits within it, he issues a compelling call: scatter.
More than rivals: a championship game and a friendship that moved a town beyond black and white, by Ken Abraham Eddie Sherlin and Bill Ligon grew up on opposite sides of the tracks in Gallatin, Tennessee. They knew the barriers that divided them--some physical landmarks and some hidden in the heart--but those barriers melted away when the boys were on the basketball court. After years of playing wherever they could find a hoop, Eddie and Bill rose as leaders of their respective high school teams. And at the end of the 1970 season, all-white Gallatin High and all-black Union High faced each other in a once-in-alifetime championship game. What happened that night would challenge Eddie and Bill-and transform their town. A fast-paced true story of courage, determination, and forgiveness, "More Than Rivals "offers hope and inspiration for our times. 18
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Recomendations From The Resource Centre
Spring Garden’s online library catalog can be accessed at springgardenchurch.ca/library If you know of books or DVDs that you’d like to recommend to the resource centre, please contact Karen Cassel karen.cassel@bell.net
Books Prescription for Life: three simple strategies to live younger longer, by Dr.Richard Furman During his more than thirty years as a vascular surgeon, Richard Furman literally held clogged arteries and diseased hearts in his hands and wondered why the person lying on the table hadn't been more careful. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in America, and in most cases it is completely preventable. So why are we slowly destroying our bodies and killing ourselves? And what can we do to turn it around? The good news is that simple, sustainable lifestyle changes can mean the difference between health and infirmity, between life and death. Putting his three decades of experience and education to work, Dr. Furman gives readers the strategies they need to live not just longer, but younger. This essential resource to health helps readers 16
-achieve and maintain their ideal weight -reduce their risk for life-threatening diseases -make exercise a natural part of their lives -learn what foods to eat and what foods to avoid It even shows how following the plan can not only eliminate heart disease, but also keep people safe from various cancers, dementia, diabetes, stroke, erectile dysfunction, and other age- and obesity-related problems. Dr. Furman is cofounder of World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan's Purse, and is a member of the board of Samaritan's Purse.
Scatter: go therefore and take your job with you, by Andrew Scott In Scatter, missions innovator Andrew Scott sounds a call for a new era of missions, one that uses the global marketplace for gospel growth and sees every Christian—engineer, baker, pastor, or other—as God’s global image bearer. Andrew has served in over 52 countries and is the U.S. president of one of the world’s largest mission agencies. With eyes on a quickly-growing world and a slower-growing church, he sees that our 17