Today is a momentous occasion for our church for two reasons. First, we’ve always loved and supported our Adventurer and Pathfinder programs for our young people but we’ve never had a Master Guide club at our church. Being a Master Guide is the next level of leadership Pathfinders can pursue after they finish their program and is a tremendous honour to achieve. The classes teach our Master Guides to be skilled and Spiritual leaders and as of last fall, we’ve begun a ministry for those interested in this pursuit with Eduardo as the leader. Today the Adventurer, Pathfinder and Master Guide director at the Ontario conference, Pastor Edwin Martin, will be leading out in our first Master Guide induction ever ceremony at Bronte. The second reason today is special is because it’s the International Global Youth Day for our church worldwide. This morning some of our young adults are partnering with young Seventh-day Adventist Christians around the world and will be going out in with Open Door to “be the sermon” in the community to feed those less fortunate. You can follow them by searching the hashtags #GYD19 #bethesermon and #bethesermon2019 in your social media. Thank you for your support of all our youth ministries at Bronte!

Have you ever been through a trial? Are you going through one right now? What does the Bible say about our trials? Our scripture text today says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” James 1:2 As we journey through a series this quarter on having a closer relationship with God, we can’t miss this opportunity to talk about one of the spiritual disciples that none of us actually choose, but can be one of the best teachers, trials. Today we will explore our responses to trials and how we can learn more about God through them. We’re glad you came and we look forward to experiencing God’s blessings as we worship Him and study our topic together. Also today, some of our Pathfinders are in Oshawa with their families and our fearless director Ian Beckford, competing in the Pathfinder Bible Experience. This is a competition where, this time, they will be tested on their Bible knowledge of the Book of Luke. Please keep them in your prayers as they have now reached the conference level of the competition and are representing our local Bronte church.

During the Ontario provincial election in 2007, Dalton McGuinty of the Liberal Party promised that, if re-elected premier, he would establish a provincial holiday in February. On October 12, 2007, the provincial government established Family Day on the third Monday in February. As we celebrate our relationships with our families this weekend, let’s ask ourselves: what can I do to make my family/loved ones feel a little extra special? It can be as simple as spending some quality time together, but the point is to be intentional in your plans for the people you care most about. Knowing their love language would help but if you don’t know what that is, ask yourself, what would that person appreciate the most right now and how can I help them feel loved. While every family and relationship is different, I encourage each of you to take advantage of this holiday! The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. This family day, let’s follow Jesus’ example and not wait for someone to do something for us but do something for someone we love.

Have you ever seen a diamond? They are one of the most beautiful gems in the world. What’s interesting to me is how they’re made. As most of you know, a diamond is created when carbon is subjected to tremendous pressure deep inside the earth. Today, history was made back in 1905 when the largest diamond was found and dug up from the earth in South Africa. The diamond found weighed 3106.75 carats or 621.35g and the value is estimated at 2.6 billion dollars CAD. That’s a lot of money for one diamond. Today I want to take a moment to remind you that to God, you are valued more than anything in this world, so much so that in Romans 5:8 and John 3:16 it says that God gave his life for us. Why would He do such a thing? One word, love. Today, this week, never forget how much you’re worth and that God loves you.

We’re a wonderful church family here in Oakville that lives by the word of God, represents the faith of Christ, serves our community with love and strives to be a voice of hope. Last week I was fortunate to spend the weekend at Camp Frenda with my family and a group of young adults from across the province. There was a group of young people from our Bronte church family who went as well. We enjoyed getting to know one another, playing games and listening to great speakers like Pastors Liz and Orlando Pule from the Ontario Conference. This is a once a year retreat called Refresh right at the start of every new year that gives young people a chance to get away and spend time reconnecting with God and making new friends in the beautiful setting of the Muskoka’s. One of the things that was said in a talk by Pastor Orlando Pule came in the form of a question, he asked, “Is the community around your church a happier place because you’re there? Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been around, are people happy you’re in their community or do they even know you exist?” This is a great challenge for me and to all of us. My dream is that we keep building on what we accomplished in 2018 and make 2019 a year that makes people even happier that we’re in this community! Please join me as we pray together and allow God to give us His vision and use us to make a positive impact in our community this year. Happy 2019!