Hello

Just wanted to let everyone know that YES it is true the we have taken the summer off from Blogging, but we are planning on returning soon, so have patience and enjoy the sun. We'll see you in September!!!

Hello everyone!

Just wrote a nice long blog and it got erased, so here's the point form version.

1. Blogging will be irregular for the summer months due to holidays and stuff like that.
2. Don't forget the Summer Series coming up July 5th through August 9th
- No Sunday service, but rather a Thursday night service
- Fun stuff for the kids and a BBQ starting at 6pm
- Kids program in the new Jungle room
- Sanctuary transformed into a cottage feel
- 1 hour service

So get ready for something new coming July 5th

Blessings

PJ <><

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?

Ok Life Church, here's the question are you smarter than a fifth grader? Take this test, and then report back to us your results. I love this show, but the weakness of it for me is the US. content, however the test is still fun. So go to this link : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/newsletter/mu-html/ny-et5thgrade0227-quiz,0,3118508.triviaquiz?coll=orl-middayupdate-utility

Just to let you know I scored 68%

Not too bad.

PJ<><

Protecting your mind

Here are some thoughts from Rick Warren on Protecting your mind. I found this helpful, and hopefuly you will too.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to “capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” (NCV) The Bible is very specific at giving us five things that we are to guard our minds against. Share these with your staff members and the key leaders of your church.
1. We are to guard our minds against false teaching. First and foremost we need to watch out for doctrinal errors that can divert us from the true Gospel. Scripture encourages us to contend for, “The faith which was once and for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3 NKJ) That means the message has been around for awhile. In fact, I tell my people “If it’s new, it’s not true” – because the biblical faith we believe is the one that was handed down from “the saints.”
How do you guard your mind against false teachings? Know the truth. If you know the truth, you can instantly spot a lie. Treasury agents are not trained to detect counterfeiting by handling counterfeit bills. They give them real bills and study them so well that when a counterfeit dollar bill is put in their hands, they immediately know that it’s false.
2. We are to guard our minds against temptation. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” (ESV) That’s a good verse to put on your television. When was the last time you actually got up and switched channels because what you were seeing was worthless? A. W. Tozer says “ America has lost its ability to blush.”
If we’re going to guard our minds we have to be careful about what we watch because it causes temptation. The Bible says very clearly that sin starts with a thought. You sow a thought, you reap an action. You sow an action, you reap a habit. You sow a habit, you reap a character. And it destroys you. The mind is a strategic battlefield, and if Satan can get your thought life, he’s going to get you. So those harmless fantasies are not harmless at all.
When I start to feel tempted, I often say, “Lord, I mentally put on the helmet of salvation that Scripture talks about in Ephesians 6:17.” What does a helmet do? It protects your mind. When I do this, I’m saying, “Lord, I want you to cover my mind with your blood. I will be guarding my mind from temptation.”
3. We are to guard our minds against counterfeit spiritual experiences. Those who don’t do this end up in a cult. Galatians 1:6-8 says even if an angel tells you something different than what the Word of God says, don’t believe him. A lot of times these so-called Holy Spirit inspired flashes come from the devil – or because you ate a bad pizza. I believe the Holy Spirit works calmly and deliberately.
4. We are to guard our minds against pride. Pride is the sin that God judges quicker than any other single sin. Aaron got prideful, and God smote him. Uzziah got prideful, and God smote him. Pride is the sin that got Satan kicked out of Heaven. As a leader, you’ll be tempted by this. People will tell you things that will puff you up. You have to remain humble and not let pride enter your mind.
5. We are to guard against an overworked mind. As pastors, this is one of our greatest areas of failure. We strain our minds too much. This can cause failure in your life. The constant study, reading, and dealing with people overworks our minds and lowers our ability to make sound judgments. That’s why we need to be taking a day of rest every week. Either we get away or we’ll come apart.

Have a great weekend, see you on Sunday!

PJ <><

Computer Fun!

Someone forwarded this to me and I thought it was funny, so I thought I would let the Blogotional generation play along. Here's what you do.

1. Go to Google
2. Click on the Maps section
3. Click on the get directions tab
4. Type in New York as your starting point
5. Type in London as your ending point
6. Click on the get directions icon
7. Scroll down to instruction #24

If you can do that then you're awesome

Have a great Day!

PJ <><

Short and sweet!

I would like to apologize to those who came to Life Church on Sunday. I see that my sermon was a little lengthy and so this blog will be short!

"Always share the gospel, if necessary use words" St Francis Assisi

I should follow his advice!

PJ <><

Making a Difference 2!

Hello Life Church,

Well we had a great Easter weekend, and God did some amazing things in our lives over the weekend. Jesus is alive and moving throughout the earth today!

Jesus says in his word that we will do great things for him and through him, and today I wanted to report on one of those great things that we have done in the name of Jesus.

I challenged you that on Good Friday we were going to take up an offering for the YWCA. Over the last few weeks we have been addressing this issue. (Read former Blogs).

Anyway, I want to say how proud I am of you. I'm privileged to Pastor such a generous church. This weekend we raised over $700.00 for The YWCA emergency shelter.

This week I will have the privilege of delivering the money to them.

On the weekend we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, we can be a part of resurrecting an organization that helps the poorest people in our city.

I'm proud of you, and more importantly Jesus is too.

Lets' keep it up!!

PJ <><

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor."Lk 4:18

Actually Doing Something!

Hi Everybody,

Sorry about not blogging at all last week. Life has been extremely busy over the past few weeks. Anyway today I wanted to give our Blogotional world an assignment. Last week Christa brought up the story about the YWCA closing and this is a problem I think we can solve. A few people have expressed interest in volunteering to make a difference in this situation. (Which is awesome). So last week I met with Eva Martin Blythe, the YWCA director to see how we could best help her solve this problem. She encouraged me to get you to write our provincial politicians so that they would release some more financing to get them back on their feet. The majority of their income comes from the provincial government.

Now I know that some people want to physically help, and there will be opportunity for that in the near future, but for now letter writing is the best thing we can do.

So if your reading this blog then chances are you know how to use a computer, so I'm asking you send an email letter to the following people. First there is the Oshawa MPP. His name is Jerry Ouellette and his email is jerry_ouelletteco@ontla.ola.org. You can just click on the link and it will get you there. The second person is the MPP for Whitby Ajax. Her name is Christine Elliot and her email is christine.elliottco@pc.ola.org .

Folks if your like me, then you don't usually act on these kinds of requests. However this issue is one issue that I think we can make a real difference in. The reality is, that it's easier for you to say "Wow, somebody should do something about this." but that won't change anything.

Let's make our faith real, write an email. It doesn't need to be long, It just needs to state that you live in Durham region and you are disappointed that the YWCA has had to close due to financial issues. You believe that this is a vital service to homeless/abused women and their children in our city. Then you tell them that you would like to see a solution to this issue, and you hope that your MPP will do something about this.

Do it!!

PJ <><

Physic Moms

Yesterday I had the most interesting moment. Andrew was attending a play group and I had to take him to it because Shannon was busy. So once the kids go into their program all the parents go into their own little group. So hear I am with about 7 other moms. (can somebody say awkward!) So anyway today there was nothing planned for the parents so I decided to read a great book called the Reformission by Mark Driscol. So I'm reading my book and Mark was writing about how we as believers have to enter the messy world of non-believers if we are ever going to reach other people. He was talking about some of his experiences he has had being in awkward situations as a believer among people that weren't. As I'm reading, my attention is drawn to the conversation the other moms are having. They were talking about physics. Over half of them were into calling physics or going to different spiritual conventions in Toronto. One lady had just been to a conference with a series of speakers all of which were mediums or intuatives.

I found this really interesting because they were describing what went on at these events. If I'm being honest it sounded allot like some prophetic conferences I have been to in the past. I was intrigued that the speaker would sense things and then call things out in peoples lives. The lady that was speaking had been convinced that this person was talking about her grandfather. She said she went in with doubts but came out convinced that this was legit.

Just as they were talking the kids came running out to their parents and the conversation quickly ended. I had one thought as I sat among these moms. Wow,we've got allot of work to do.

We need to be salt and light in this world that is full of rotting lives that live in the dark. God send me back to the physic moms so that I can lead them to Jesus.

Be the Church

PJ <><

Don't forget to SOAK

Hi everybody,

Tonight I have to do something I always dread, I have to drive all night to Sault. Ste Marie. 8 hours of rocks, trees and small towns, and best of all I get to do it at night. Anyway I hope to listen to a book on Cd to make the time go faster.

I just want to remind everybody today about our Sunday night SOAK. Paul Schibetta is our worship leader and it's going to be a great time. Come prepared just to Soak in God's presence and bring your needs and the needs of your family to God.

Ask, Seek, Knock and SOAK Sunday night at 6:30pm.

See you there!

PJ <><

A Lesson From Coffee Cups

Someone sent this to me the other day and I thought you would enjoy it!

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and and assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to coffee.When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, the money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee."The happiest people don't have the best of everything... they make the best of everything. Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.

Be careful how you spend your life, and enjoy the coffee.

PJ<><

An Early Spring Ahead!!!

I just remembered this week that we spring ahead a month earlier this year. The U.S. decided to set daylight savings time a month earlier than usual, so we also are setting our clocks ahead 1 hour on Saturday night.

Always on a Saturday night! How many people are going to come to church one hour late this Sunday, I'll guess 1/3 of our church will. It's a fun game.

Anyway if your reading this don't forget to put your clocks ahead 1 hour on Saturday night. In the immortal words of K-OS "everyday is Saturday night but I can't wait for Sunday morning!"

This Sunday we are going to look a 1 Peter 2. I've been studying this chapter all week and it will challenge you to make a choice. Are you in with Christ ready to give up everything to follow him? Or are you a religious person that wants to add religion to your life, to make it better? Come check it out, you won't leave the same. (That's the point)

See Ya Sunday (spring ahead!)

PJ<><

Playing with God's Money

This weekend the Toronto Star posted an article about a church in Toronto called "The Prayer Palace." This is a clip from the article....

After worshipping at the Prayer Palace this morning, Hyacinthe Houghron will, as she does every second Sunday, stuff her tired green minivan with a small feast: six coolers of homemade soup, a mountain of sandwiches, cakes and sweets. Loaded down with second-hand clothes pulled from the ceiling-high piles in her hair salon, she'll give out the goods to homeless people on downtown Toronto's grittiest streets.

Missions like this aren't cheap for people like her and other volunteers at the church. "We're poor folks," says Houghron, describing the majority of the 3,000-strong congregation who attend the spaceship-shaped church at Hwy. 400 and Finch Ave.

The hairdresser scrapes together $600 of her own money each month to keep up the program because the Prayer Palace – one of Canada's largest evangelical churches – stopped running it five years ago. Other charitable works, like a promised orphanage in Brazil, either dried up or never materialized. Meanwhile, the three white pastors – Paul Melnichuk and his 40-year-old twin sons, Tim and Tom – lead lavish lives in contrast to the mainly working-class black families that make up the bulk of the church.

Between them, the pastors have amassed a real estate fortune worth about $12 million. Each owns a multi-million-dollar country estate north of Toronto (Tim's is worth as much as $5.5 million), they share a Florida vacation villa, and the pastors and their wives drive luxurious cars – among them a Porsche Cayenne SUV, a Lexus RX 330 SUV and a Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 convertible. Congregants are largely unaware of the pastors' extravagant lifestyles.

"Wow," says Leslie Stewart, 63, who works in a paint factory six days a week and gives 10 per cent of his income to the church. "I never heard of anything like that. But if I release my tithe and they misuse it, they have to face God."

The Prayer Palace has a devoted congregation. Most worshippers believe in tithing, the practice of donating 10 per cent of one's income to the church, and each year they give a reported $3 million. "The people love (the Melnichuks)," Houghron says. "Pastor Paul ... loves the Lord. He does God's work."

In addition to personally funding the homeless program, Houghron – a staunch supporter of Pastor Paul – tithes and also gives him $100 to $200 cash for his birthday. "He's never given me gifts like that but he's given me spiritual gifts," says Houghron. "He encourages the work I do for the homeless."

The Prayer Palace offers several exuberant religious services each week. Conducting them, combined with the pastor's church-building efforts, qualifies the Prayer Palace as a charity under federal law, making the church exempt from taxes. However, a continuing Star investigation into Canadian charities has found the church devotes little money to charitable work. In fact, the church's most recent financial statements show that only $9,443 was spent on "benevolent and charity" activities in 2005. The church's annual "missions" fluctuate between $500 and $36,704 in the past few years.
Click here for the full article

I don't know how much of this article is fact, but I do know this. Jesus was Homeless and he never worried about acquiring stuff. He worried about helping the poor and the oppressed. It is sin to use the gospel as your own personal business. I'm not saying a pastor shouldn't earn a salary. However this is obviously wrong . Jesus didn't die so you can have a nice house. Sorry but this kind of thing really makes me mad.

Live generous lives!!!
PJ <><

In God we trust

I'm sure you already know that on every piece of U.S. currency the phrase in God we trust is inscribed on it. I always used to think that was a way of declaring to the citizens that this country believes in God. However in preparing for this week sermons I think it is interesting that they put In God we Trust on Money. I would suggest that most people probably trust money more then God.

Money promises you security, Significance and freedom, but in actual fact on God can provide these things. Only God can truly give you eternal security, on God can make you have significance by being his child, and only God can give you true freedom.

I know a lot of well off people who live scared of being robbed. I know a lot of rich people that still feel they need to make more money to really be noticed, and I know A lot of rich people that may have money but they aren't free because they have to maintain and make more money.

The love of money is the root of all evil, and God says in Matthew that you can't serve both God and money, so you need to decide who are you going to serve.

Money isn't evil, but the love of it will end up destroying anyone.

PJ<><

Sickness

Well as most of the Life Church family knows this weekend I was struck down with an illness. I had a case of the flu. I was still able to preach on Sunday, but it was a struggle.

Sickness is horrible, it takes away all your energy, it makes your body ache and you can hardly breathe. It was really aweful. In fact I'm still not feeling 100 %.

Sin is like sickness except your born with it. Sin takes away life, and ruins your health. Sin brings pain into your life, and it can separate you from God.

My body is strong enough to deal with my case of the flu (with the help of Cold FX). However my spirit cannot deal with the sickness of sin all by itself. No matter how badly I may want to feel better I was powerless against my flu until my body began to heal.

Often we will try and deal with the sin in our lives through shear will power. But yet we still fail. God is there ready to help us with our sin, all he asks is that we invite him to do so. Don't try and do it your way, but let God help you deal with your own case of sin.

I'm getting better, soon I will be back to full health, I just pray that I will also continue to get better at giving my sin over to God.

PJ<><

Forcast for love

I wanted to put this video on the Blog today to highlite on of my favorite comedians. His name is Shaun Majumder. He is from Newfoundland and he is hillaroius. He is often on CBC (That's why you probably have never seen him). Anyway I thought you would enjoy this.

Weather Watch



Add to My Profile More Videos

PJ<><

Bad Timing?

I was in the line up for Tim Horton's today on King St. when all of a sudden I was hit with a commercial. The commercial was for Dairy Queen's newest Ice Cream Bar.

It was -21 degrees, and a thought came to me. Who was the genius that decided to market a new ice cream treat in early February? I would go Donald Trump on that person and they would be fired?

It also made me think of another picture. The guy who was standing on a milk crate preaching on Spadina Rd. in Toronto. People were busy going to and from work and he was telling them to get rid of all the sin in their lives.

Now I'm not a big Soap Box preacher myself, but if you were to go retro and do that wouldn't the love and grace message be more fitting. I'm not a marketing expert but, telling a bunch of people in a hurry how bad they are, isn't going to draw a crowd. It might just draw and egg aimed at your head.

People are people and they need to hear about the love of Christ. My Dad used to say, "You've got to catch the fish before you clean them."

Matthew 22 says the greatest thing you can do is love God completely, then show other people love." I think that message is always appropriate!

Happy Valentine's Day, buy your sweety some Dairy Queen, I hear they have this really great new ice cream bar!

PJ <><

Just Cause?

On Sunday I'm starting a new series on commitment here at Life Church. This Sunday I'm talking about the word love. The word Love is used so many different ways in the English language, and we are going to explore what kind of love you should have for Christ.
However in studying up for this sermon, I've come across a few words that have double meaning in our language. Words like run. You can run a race, you can have a run in your stockings, and right now my computer is running. All these are the word run but really they have different meanings.
There is one phrase I want to Blog about that is the phrase Just Cause. There are two meanings to this phrase that are almost by-polar opposites. Let me show you what I mean:

I'm doing this because it's a just cause. ( I'm doing this because it's stand for justice, and I believe in it.) OR

I'm doing this just 'cause (I'm involved in this activity because I have nothing better to do)

The two phrases are almost exactly the same yet the have completely different meanings.
Why do you do the things you do. We live in a world that worships entertainment, we spend hours a day doing stuff so that we're not bored. Yet, Volunteerism numbers have dramatically dropped, because people say that they are too busy. I think we need to re-evaluate our lives and how we spend our time. Are we living for Just Cause or are we living Just 'Cause.

Make your life count for something, or else you'll live for nothing!

"In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

PJ <><

If you don't have anything nice to say.....

Today it's -12 degrees
We are going on our 17th day below 0
I haven't seen the sun in two weeks
I have a blasting headache
My kids aren't feeling well.

And all my credit card bills from Christmas are due.

My Dad says, if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.

So this Blog is over!!

PJ<><

Sunscreen in the Winter

It's another dark day here in Oshawa, the kind of day that makes you wish you were on vacation. Some sunny place where you could lie on the beach and put on your sunscreen and just relax. When I was on my way to the church today I heard this song play. The song was called "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen." by Baz Luhrmann.

The Lyric's were actually from an article in the Chicago Tribune called "Advice like youth, is probably wasted on the young" by Mary Schmich. The song's not that great but the Lyrics are awesome, so read on:

Wear sunscreen.If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Cool Eh!
PJ <><

The Gospel Recall!

Check this out, it's provokes some thought!

RECALL NOTICE
The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units, code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Subsequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some other symptoms include:1. Loss of direction 2. Foul vocal emissions 3. Amnesia of origin 4. Lack of peace and joy 5. Selfish or violent behavior 6. Depression or confusion in the mental component 7. Fearfulness 8. Idolatry 9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this SIN defect. The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is:P-R-A-Y-E-R.

Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.
Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.
No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will! replace it with:1. Love 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Patience 5. Kindness 6. Goodness 7. Faithfulness 8. Gentleness 9. Self control
Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility.
Thank you for your attention.

GOD
Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by "kneemail" - I AM available 24-7, no voice-mail, no waiting.

Make sure you take care of your heart!!

PJ

Learning to Commit

Today is a very cold day. Officially it is the coldest day of the year. When it get's this cold it reminds me of my favorite winter pass time - Snowboarding - I used to do alot of snowboarding an I even was put on a team at one time. I have some great memories, good friends and good times. My favorite memory was when I was at Whiteface mountain in New York state. We had gone off trial as we usually did and we found ourselves in a tight spot. The only way we could continue our journey down the path that we were on was to jump a 11 foot cliff. There as no other way,(except to walk back up the trail). We had a choice to make, we had to decide to commit to running this trail all the way down the mountain, because once you start going you can't stop. So with a deep breathe we hit it. It was scary, exciting, difficult and wonderful all at the same time. I'll never forget the moment we arrived at the end of the trail. We looked back at what we just rode, and then screamed about how awesome it was. We felt so powerful because we had conquered the Mountian, we took a chance and we were victorious.

Listen to this quote from a playwright named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe;

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way, Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power ... in it. Begin it now.

Don't let your dream stay in the inactive world of good intentions. Even if you fail you will have tried and that is what life is all about. The journey.

If I hadn't gone down that ski path. I would never have had that awesome moment!

Live it, act on it, do it.

PJ <><

Soak yourself!

So we have started our once a month SOAK prayer times here at Life Church and the first one was great! However people have been asking me what they should do until the next one. Because SOAK is only once a month, it isn't frequent enough to be your only prayer time. (That's the point) SOAK is designed to add to your already existent prayer life, not to be your prayer life. So this morning I wanted to give you some tips on how to have your own personal SOAKing time everyday:

- Find a quiet place - A peaceful environment helps you to become peaceful on the inside.
-Listen to worship music - You may want to use quiet instrumental or quiet worship music.
-Quiet down your busy thoughts - Initially your thoughts can be racing all over, but know that the Lord is with you. Turn your attention to Him. Wait for your thoughts to settle.
-Invite the Holy Spirit to come and soak you in His presence - Surrender your mind, body and soul in prayer to the Holy Spirit. Humble yourself before Him.
-Focus on the Lord’s presence - Open your heart to God. You are learning to abide in Him. You are learning to focus on Him and His presence.
-Rest in faith and believe that God is working within you - It isn’t about what you can accomplish through your efforts; it’s about what God is doing in you.
-Give time to soaking in God’s presence - The more time you can spend in His presence, the better. Start with 20 minutes in His presence. You will find as you do this, in a very short time you will want to spend more time in His presence.
-Watch as God changes you - You will leave refreshed and full of the Holy Spirit. Your life will be different because God is changing you through soaking in His presence. You will have an impact on the world around you as you carry God’s presence with you wherever you go.

If you spend time SOAKing in God everyday it will transform you:
“Intimacy with God is the key to fruitfulness in every area of our lives. As we become more aware of His presence in us… so do other people. As we become more affected by His presence in us… so do those around us. By taking time in the secret place with God, we start to walk by the spirit in everyday life. We find that rather than striving to achieve things for God, He is building His kingdom through us.” CTF ministries

So what's stopping you? Go ahead and have your own time with God, it really is life Changing. Oh and by the way, our next Life Church SOAK prayer is February 25th at 6:30pm with the worship team from Mondays in Hamilton.

PJ <><

A Lesson From Lightning McQueen

OK I'm a Dad, and my son loves the movie Cars. Alright so it's not just him, I love it too. Even though this movie is incredibly entertaining there are some good life lessons in the movie as well.
If you've seen the movie, you know that the movie is set in the little town of Radiator Springs, this little town a one time was busy because it was located on the famous route 66. But an innerstate had been built near the town and so they lost the traffic and now the town is basically a ghost town, except for a few locals.
This is where Lightning McQueen gets stuck and he has to learn how to live in this small town environment. At first he hates it because he has his eyes only on one thing Winning the Piston Cup. But over time the local personalities grow on him and soon he learns to live and love in Radiator Springs.
Do you know how to live and love. Do you know how to embrace you life now, rather than always trying to look for the next win. Before you know it, you may miss your life. John 10:10 says "Jesus came so you can have life to the fullest..."

Slow down and smell the roses before they are gone, Maybe you need to get off the Highway and take route 66. Live and Love now because you never know if you have tomorrow.

Kur-Pow!!!!!

PJ

Why Men Hate Church.

This week I'm doing a lot of reading, on the topic of Why Men hate Church!. In Canada my experience has been that Church is something that is popular with Women and children but not really with the Man of the house. The Last Church I was at was over 70% female.
The story is all too common. Mom gets up on Sunday morning and gets the kid's ready for Church while Dad stays home and watches football. Even if you watch TV shows like the Simpsons or That 70's Show, Marg and Kitty are taking the kids to church while Homer and Red stay home because that's what REAL MEN do?
Now a lot of the reason why men don't go to church is in them. Rebellion, laziness, as well as apathy are personal issues that men need to overcome. However there are some other reasons why men don't like to go to church.
In the church we have become quite a feminine culture. We have implied that the most spiritual men in the church are the nice guys. You know the guys that don't cause any trouble, they are humble and patient, and loving. Yes it's true, all those those attributes are important, but we leave out the other half. When was the last time you went to church and heard a sermon on how to be bold, courageous, How to take risks or how to be tough for God. We have feminized our faith, in fact we have even feminized Jesus. We have shown the gentle Jesus meek and mild, but we often leave out the masculine Jesus that has moments of anger and is even sarcastic at times.
If you want to teach a pure gospel, then you need to show all the sides of Christ.
One of the books I'm reading is called "No more Christian Nice Guy", by Paul Coughlin he says this:
"When we are free from the myths that Jesus was the Supreme Nice Guy, that the Father is a cosmic teddy bear, and that the Holy Spirit is a docile, breezy presence, men will find the church more compelling and relevant."
So over the next few weeks we are going to look at Jesus, our theology, and even church culture and we are going to examine the masculine side of Christianity. So that we can have a Church full of Good guys that live for and love Jesus. Oh and by the way for all the ladies at Life Church, this series will help your marriage, (if you are married), and your view of what a man of God should be. Sound interesting? Check it out this Sunday at 10:30.

Let the Good Guy Revolution begin!

PJ

A Life Church Manifesto

Often in Church we talk about Vision statement. These are phrases we come up with that describe a goal or a dream that we have. That's cool but often we never get there. Today I want to provide you with something different, I want to provide you with a manifesto to live by. What is a manifesto you ask? A manifesto is a publicly printed declaration of intent. This is something you can start today and it can change your life. I'm calling this the Life Church Manifesto. (A lot of it is taken from the book Chasing the Lion by Mark Batterson)
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Grab life by the horns. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Live your life to fullest today!!

I encourage you to print this off and read it everyday, to remind yourself that you have today to live.

Be Blessed!

PJ

Just Checking

Hi everybody, it's great to be back from Christmas holidays. We had a great time and lot's of R&R. This week I'm doing a Blogotional check. From time to time we want to see who's out there reading our blog, and hear some comments on how we could improve it. There are two ways that you can help us.

1. Please leave a small comment if you are reading this post on the blogotional. The reason why we are asking you to do that is because we want to know how many people are still reading this blog.

2. If you can think of any way to improve the blog and don't mind sharing it with everyone, you can just leave it in the comments section. If you have a comment but you don't want everyone to read it you can email me at jmcmillan_life@rogers.com.

Thanks for you help everyone, we want to make sure that we are using our time as your pastors efficiently.

Happy 2007

PJ