Christmas program

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With the most popular holiday just around the corner, it seems like everyone is trying to get into the Christmas spirit. Stores are lining their aisles with Christmas goodies and decor, TV shows air the theme of giving and love, and Santas are starting to float about. All these things help us get into the spirit of Christmas, which is not all about giving and receiving gifts, but to remember the greatest gift that was given to everyone about 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ. Today, as we enjoy our annual Christmas program here at Bronte, let us remember the true meaning of Christmas… Peace on earth, good will toward men, for the Savior has come to show us how to love, and to give us the greatest gift.

30 Day Stretch

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As we enter the 30 day stretch to Christmas, I notice a certain type of chocolaty treat appearing in stores. I’m sure you’ve seen them before, it’s the box with the small windows on it that are a sort of countdown to Christmas. When I was a kid, I loved these treats but shhh!… Can you keep a secret? There were times when I cheated! I guess I was so excited I just couldn’t wait! As we approach and celebrate the first advent when Jesus came to this earth as a baby, one question I think about often is whether we look forward to His soon return as well. Jesus said in the last chapter in the Bible, “Behold, I come quickly…” (Revelation 22:7) but how many of us are looking forward to that day? Is it as exciting to us as waiting for Christmas? Should it be? I’d like to encourage all of us to remember that the same Jesus that came 2000 years ago IS coming again. That matters because it helps me live for something today. Today at Bronte we have a guest speaker who will share a message with us. I’m sure he’s familiar with most of you and we’re excited that Michael and his family will be officially joining our church family soon. If you’d like to consider moving your membership over too, please get in touch with me, we’d love to have you as an official part of our church as well… Welcome!

Empowering our Young People

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I have a question for you. Do you remember a time when you were young and someone older from the church invested in you? How did that make you feel? One of our greatest passions and missions as a church is our young people. We have an excellent group of leaders for our youth and children’s programs to engage them and inspire their faith. While we have some exciting plans for 2020, one thing I like to do once in a while as a pastor, is give young people an opportunity to join me up front and help deliver a sermon. Because someone invested in me when I was young and gave me the opportunity to preach, it made a positive impact on my ministry and who I am today. So, I’ve been praying about this idea for a few months now and the person God laid on my heart to ask is Aaron Hurlington. As you know, he was baptized not too long ago, and he has an interest in ministry and a passion for God. He is 12 years old and I’m excited that we have the opportunity to preach a message together on a topic God has laid on his heart. Let’s continue to work together as a church family to encourage and empower our young people to participate in our worship here at Bronte.

Poverty Close to Home

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Last Saturday night a group of us from Bronte joined the Really Living church and went downtown Hamilton to serve food and clothing to those in need. I have to tell you that it was an eye-opening experience for many of us. It amazed me that we have that level of poverty so close to home. It was a cold night and there were people we served in flip-flops simply because they didn’t have anything else. It was a rewarding experience and I recommend going out on one of these events in the new year, it really helps put things into perspective. Today’s message is on the topic of “Legacy”. We’ll be exploring a Bible character that isn’t talked about very often, but his story has an interesting outcome. While we do our exploration today, I’d like to challenge all of us to think about what kind of legacy you’d like to leave for the generations that come after you? Welcome and may our time together bring us closer to God and to each other.

Celebrating Seniors

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Today we celebrate seniors. If you’re worshiping with us today and you’re a senior, please know that you are loved and appreciated very much. God has blessed our church family because of your tireless efforts, support, and wisdom you share so freely with our families. May God continue to bless you as you journey together with Him, looking forward to that great day when we all see our Savior face-to-face. For our special day today, I’m excited that our very own president of the Ontario Conference is here. One of his greatest passions is the seniors of our churches and has started creative initiatives to keep you active and inspired. We welcome Dr. Mansfield Edwards along with his wife Sharon who are with us today, and I pray that God will bless us all richly as we worship together.

To be noticed is to be loved.

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I read a quote this week that was so powerful I was impressed to share it with all of you. It says, “To be noticed is to be loved.” (Ali Smith). This month we are looking at how we can grow closer to our families and I believe simply helping someone feel noticed is one of the easiest ways to make a big impact, not just in our families, but with everyone we are surrounded by. Receiving a compliment feels nice and is one way we can feel noticed but there are other ways as well. In fact, words of affirmation is one of the 5 love languages according to Gary Chapman and so I thought it would be a good topic to explore today. I’d like you to think about how many people, maybe even yourself, who go unnoticed. Think about how God noticed us and how He showed us that we are noticed. Finally, what can you do to help someone feel noticed today or this week?

Come in Your Bathrobe

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We are excited that we have two great speakers presenting today for our main service today. Isabel Thorman will be one of the speakers, whom we all know, and the second is Marcia K. Wiinamaki Psy.D., Director of Southwestern Medical Clinic Christian Counseling and Psychological Services in Stevensville, Michigan, for over 22 years. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed professional counselor, and a professor in the Professional Counseling department at Liberty University. She has been practicing as a therapist since 1988 and received her Doctor of Psychology degree from George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. Let’s make Marcia feel welcome at Bronte as both her and Isabel will be sharing on a very important and relevant topic affecting our society today. Additionally, we have another baby dedication today! We were excited to see Olivia Grace being dedicated last week, and today we will see Emmet Kafui Teiko being dedicating. God is amazing and I pray that each of you will be blessed as a result of being at Bronte this morning.

Focus on Family

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This quarter we are focusing on family, and one of the things that families need now more than ever is each other. How can we be there for our families? Do you feel as if your life is getting just too busy to stop and listen? Today we are looking at the first message in our series entitled “Simplify” where we will look at how to slow down and really be there for each other. Did you know that the US Navy spends about 1 billion dollars annually in extra fuel and cleaning for the barnacles that attach themselves to the bottom of their ships? What are the barnacles that easily attach themselves onto your life that distract you from who you want to be? That distract you from spending time with your family? Let’s explore this topic and what Jesus’ response is for us today!

Thanksgiving

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This is the weekend in Canada when we celebrate thanksgiving. We’ve celebrated thanksgiving ever since the pilgrims landed on North America’s beaches and thanked God for all his provisions. The Bible says in 1 Chronicles 16:8 to “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” When was the last time you shared something you can give God praise for? What has the Lord done for you this week, last month, or in 2019 so far? I hope you can think of something because we’ll all have an opportunity to share it this morning. One thing I think we can all be thankful for as a church family, is the decision Aaron, Brian, Daniel, and Rebecca made to be baptized. There is no greater joy in heaven than someone giving their heart and lives to Jesus Christ… and, along with their families, we can all take part in that joy. Let’s take today to celebrate the goodness of our God and how He’s been working in our lives!

Last Weekend

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Last weekend was incredible. We had such a beautiful Sabbath and to cap it all off we had something we’ve never had before, a concert outside in the evening air under a tent. It was so nice I can’t wait to do it again! But our weekend didn’t end there. Sunday was also an incredible day! Our Health and Vegan Food Fair was a huge success. Many people from the community came and had a positive experience! I want to sincerely thank everyone involved with these two events, we appreciate you and we couldn’t have done it without you. While there was lots going on, I couldn’t help but be proud of what our church is doing. God smiles when we reach out to our community so let’s keep up the good work and continue creating events that our community loves to come to!