Church during Reading week

I don’t really have too much to say about this week.(jinxed it now ima write 4 paragraphs of text)

Umm, so it’s been 2 weeks since the last time I hosted board games at the apartment, so I’ve been pretty people deprived.

Well actually I’ve gone to both queens board games club Monday’s and the anime club two Friday’s ago so maybe it’s just I’ve felt less community in my immediate surroundings.

Anyways, this weekend I had a chance to check out the Kingston Feb Fest, Amanda suggested it and I keep on realizing how much there is to do in Kingston, it’s getting me really excited to buy a home and get more settled in Kingston.

Living in Canada basically all the low cost events and activities happen in the summer, and being outdoors living on the lake is goona be a really cool experience.

I don’t know how many people are going to leave over the summer what with there being 16000 students or something crazy, but I’m looking forward to the chance to fill my week and weekends with activities and get togethers outside of the communities I’m currently involved with.

I was thinking about a camping trip towards the end of the school year, kinda like I had back in Edmonton, this is just an initial thought though, so I’ll have to follow it up later on.

If I buy a house and there isn’t a nearby park where do I want to go? Should I check online for any slack line communities? That’d be a good idea.

Also sports, I used to ref basketball in Edmonton so I’d like to continue doing that here, it has been since the start of 2017, but I did spend a solid few months doing nothing but think about basketball so I kinda really want that community back in my life.

Also with how my current fitness schedule is I could just do basketball a few times a week as my ‘cardio’ and then just continue with weightlifting.

Also I am going to start the real 5-3-1 sometime around when I move out of 655 Princess St, so I need to determine how big a jump that’ll be for my workout schedule. I was looking at it and it shouldn’t be too hard but it’s just a matter of finding what works best at the base gym, since that’ll be my primary gym as soon as I move out, kinda inconvenient but I can make it work.

Oh yeah I also have family members haha,

So jeri and Sam(sister and bro-in-law) are adopting Josh’s (sams nephew) daughter. That’s super wild.

Jeri talked with me about it a few weeks ago but it’s still amazing that it’s happening for real. My whole family is awesome and it’s amazing how jeri can keep growing her family. They’ll have Theo, Flynn, Calvin, Winter and now Luna Arya (I’m bad at names I had to text jeri)

Joel did a bunch of renovations in his living room, and mom and dad are doing a bunch of different ministries in Alberta and with the Gideons, so that’s what’s going on with the family.

I haven’t watched anything on Netflix recently, I’ve been thinking about some shows I’ve watched and I should probably pick up something from 2018 that I missed.

Church @ TDWC

Like I said last week my first impressions were really positive, from what I can tell I don’t actually know who the head pastor is or even how the church is structured, but I’ve got a while to still figure out these things.

I don’t know how many churches I want to check out before I know which one I’m going to commit to but I’ll have to keep being mindful about that.

Worship

Pastor _____

Announcements

Apostle is working is Syracuse,

Bev, bus organization and req drivers

Birthdays, for all the kids, real wholesome

...

‘Let God be God.’

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Not a pipe dream, it’s God’s promise to you

No matter what the problem is, 

The answer is the anointing of God

Tithes and offerings

...

Pastor Bruce Mercer, one of the assistant pastors here

-he was in the Armed forces I think

-have we met before? I honestly don’t think so, but if I’m wrong I’d feel bad, so idk. The only person he could have been is the Padre who did my initial screening for the JSR posting back in March/April of last year.

Mountaintop experiences, and what follows

Afterward there is a mind, emotion, or will change

Covenant with Noah

Elijah’s experience

God is all about enlarging and winning souls, 

His story with Pastor Peter and becoming a Christian

2 Corinthians 3:18

Matthew 17

Jesus transfigured on the Mount

Peter wanted to stick around on the mountaintop

The mindset change as soon as you leave the parking lot, going back to life and your worries and your anxiety, and you’ve already forgotten about the mountaintop when you’re in the valley.

Death Zone on Mount Everest,

Without the proper tools, it’s basically an area that you weren’t designed to live in, 

You can experience the glory of god but don’t forget what needs to be done outside(off the mountaintop)

3 ways to die on Everest and how that relates to our lives

Lack of judgement, wanting something so bad that they take it at any cost

The process of acclimatization, and every height has less and less oxygen

 Traumatic deaths, falling or avalanches or extreme weather. Things that happen to you that cause trauma

Arrested development, held back because of a traumatic experience they’ve had

Being stuck in the moment

A British climber who had submitted, and he sat down and froze

Haip and hais , becoming exhausted, usually on the descent

Struggling, symptoms are fever, laziness

In our lives we aren’t prepared what to do after we complete the summit.

The Sherpas are the heavy lifters, just like the Holy Spirit

The last thing we have to do is to yield

“Hear Him” yield to Jesus,

Story about the first blind person Eric, to summit Everest, he fastened a bell to the pack of the climber in front of him.

Not by sight but by faith.

That’s all for now

Church @ Third Day Worship Centre

This week has been less busy than the past few, but still pretty good.

Work stuff is work stuff so that’s been a change to the routine, not a bad one but it just means I need to be more vigilant to make sure all my after work stuff gets tracked.

I’ve kinda been getting discouraged with the house purchase agenda, but maybe it’s my expectations there...

Basically I want a house close to downtown Kingston,

The reasoning there is:

I already live near there so it’s familiar,

Queens, plus Summer Kingston Events, & my ulterior motive of getting out more (basically if it’s a short walk I can’t talk myself out of it, esp if I want to try a new beer or some mixed drink, etc)

And my current commute has already taken every route around, through, and over  Downtown Kingston, so the familiarity to timings already exists.

Also I want a detached house for some reason...I should talk to my brother about his experiences there

Are there many cons to this list?

Well it comes with a premium price tag...

Parking and garage access will probably be minimal,(need to buy a Kingston parking pass during the winter probably)

Church @ TDWC

Sean invited me,

First impressions, really outspoken, almost more evangelical? (can’t think of the ‘Christianese’ word right now) than Chanpion City Church, (obviously they aren’t really comparable but basically I’m saying that it’s a good first impression), classically welcoming, and I’m sitting at the back because I like to write these things down for my mental health.

It’s a family church, looks like a huge amount of families and young adults so that’s a really good opportunity to volunteer and get involved.

Names:

Pastor Edith video psalm 119:10-19 ladies bible study

, Pastor Robert,l

Service w/ Pastor 

Announcements,

‘Mercy the missing key’

Passover, 

Rally for parental rights in Toronto?

E-Transfer tithes, donate@tdwc.ca, memo line

Len of Osirius? A prophetic voice, she’s from Australia

‘Provision is coming by divine alignment’

2 Corinthians 9:6 passion translation

Stingy sower poor harvest, 

Let giving flow from your heart

...

Govt providing illicit things, so look to the church to provide the wholesome things

God provides seed for the sower,

Pastor  talking about replying with love, answering questions and intelligently responding, not hammering them over the head with your bible

I really relate with his perspective and attitude when it comes to answering questions like, ‘is homosexuallity wrong?’ Because even though he does have a firm stance on that it wasn’t in the way that I was familiar with growing up,

Tithes & offering

Kids church 

Encounters with God that are scary

Because of his magnitude, examples from Isaiah, etc

After Isaiah 6, he doesn’t prophecy the same way after

God got sick of him looking at the wrong guy, he revealed himself to Isaiah

When Isaiah was looking at Uriah

When angels show up you’re on the floor shaking like a leaf

The angel took a coal and touched Isaiah’s lips

The message that we carry is not popular, because the cross is about a bloody mess, his blood our mess

Churches are not to appease the seeker

Successful = spiritual

Saved =\ spiritual

They get angry, always hurt, and become critical and judgemental of others, but want to go to heaven

If we don’t forgive we aren’t Christians

Forgive, love, don’t judge, = no option if it comes from the Holy Ghost

Song and intermission

Worship & prophecy

Isaiah 40:12, 50, 22

Who has measured heaven with a span, in the hollow of his hand

Dust is you, this house is always filthy,

Calculated the amount of the earth in a measure

The nations are a drop in a bucket

And are counted as the dust on the scales

Young grasshopper, wax on, wax off

Heavens like a tent to dwell in

Story about a writer in the front row of an orchestra

Described it as glorious, felt both exhausted and exhilarated afterwords

The name was God the most formidable name our word has ever spoken, trying with music to explain what God is, rendition of trying to capture god in music

A great effort and a dismal failure

Infinite cannot be made finite

...

God has no rival

Romans says that you and I were made for glory

Taking kids to Disney world and stopping short at a billboard advertising Disney world.

Don’t stop at what is advertised, don’t be distracted 

...

Left early

I totally forgot that I had multiple churches today, so it’s kinda an abormally long post, eh, idk who would still read this anyways so I’m not too concerned

Church @ The Gathering

Sermon by Doug Caldwell,

He serves as a criminal defence lawyer in Kingston

New Wine, Old Wine Skins

Matthew 9:14-17

Like 5:31-39

Story about Jesus ‘should the eddding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them’ ‘new wine in new wine skins’

Luke’s ending “and no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says the old is good”

...

This parable is much more allegorical than other parables

...

Questions about how concerned he is with the New and the Old

The new and old are just not compatible

Jesus’ audience is the Pharisees,

They want the old wine, they don’t want the new wine.

This is a similar argument to our culture here,

Jesus is asking of his audience

Old wine

Jewish culture and ways of doing things and traditions

Old covenant

Law

New wine

Galatians was a response to this parable by St Paul

Why are we tempted to put new wine into old, new patches on old garments, mixing the old and the new? 

I’m probably going to have to leave early so I’ll have to remember to text Sean as I get more involved here

(But I’ll definitely pace myself because I can’t make myself overwhelmed with work and home and. Church things, especially since I’m trying to buy a house  and that has definitely put more stress on me)

That’s all for now!

Superbowl Sunday

Last week felt super busy at work, so I guess it’s been a minimally productive

I was also going to write more last week but didnt...

Church @ The Gathering

Speaker Allison Froese

Queens anesthesiologist

Matthew

Following a very busy day for Jesus

Centurions daughter healed,

Healed ______

Healed the demon possessed

And escaped across the lake

“Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”

We never hear about that person again

“Let the dead bury the dead”

An understandable attitude was held by the man, he was caught between two loyalties

And we never hear about him again.

Jesus is coming across as insensitive, maybe a little hit hearteless, and very counter cultural.

Story about a woman who felt called by God to go overseas,

Her mother hinted that she did not want that outcome

The daughter did not go overseas

Everyone has their own agenda

Jesus was blunt because he knows how often our agendas soak up our energy 

Jesus wanted the energy to be directed properly.

Story from her life about being needed but unavailable

Taking a hard look at Jesus insistence about being counter cultural

Not fitting in, being odd

What intention does God have with your life?

That’s all for now!

Two weeks of church

It’s actually been two weeks since the last church so I’ve got a bunch of stuff to write about.

Two weeks ago 

Basically it’s been two weeks of learning about what house hunting entails, what things to look in a house when I’m walking through it for the first time

Also this week on Wednesday was the biggest story I’ll ever get to tell,

Highlights:

Dude puked on my couch,

Guy had the cops called on him

Everyone got home safe

Also some minor drama but that’s nothing to write home about

Church at The Gathering

Speaker, Christian ________

He’s associated with Queens, CBC interviewed him for Canadian Defense spending, etc

Topic on the 12 Disciples 

The 12 apostles in Australia,

In attrition, just like ours

Hammered by the tides and rough seas in their winter (North America’s summer)

The apostles weren’t just picked up off the street and dropping everything

There would have been a pre established relationships, they would have seen Him around, known him, etc

Jesus let them heal disease and drive out evil spirits

What authority did Jesus give you?

If you were sick you were an outcast, thought to be contagious, thought that you must have sinned, etc

Part of Jesus authority here was to be with people who society would have shunned,

Judas is an outcast, he is an Edomite, the others were from the house of Judah

He doesn’t fit in his worldview and understanding

Important to come with a skill set,

There more probably more women who ended up following Jesus, also men, but for historical reasons we don’t read about them

This eclectic team reflect the idea that we can’t be good servants without seeing the strength of others and their weaknesses as well.

We can’t do these things alone

WWJD, well we probably couldn’t guess

The instructions, go to the lost sheep of Israel

Proof of concept approach, 11 would have affinity there and would be able to mount a ministry with less friction than the other places mentioned

Learn to walk before you run.

You don’t need to go very far, go back to your own people

...

Take no gold or copper, take no extra sandals

Means to trust the Lord to provide

...

Protecting and understanding your own ecosystem,

...

Jesus gives Judas authority, knowing that he will fail, but Jesus knows that he has a different experience and he brought 

What authority has God given you?

What opportunities do you have in life where you’re able to walk away and leave something behind? Or where you are holding on to things where you should have left it behind?

First Sunday since I got back

Christmas is all over, I did get a chance to see all of my immediate friends and family so that was good.

I’m working on buying a house here in Kingston, realtors, mortgages and BGRS are all going to be taking up most of my down time I think.

Finances are on my mind a lot more since the bank literally dictates where I’ll be able to live now, so it’s all about making the banks give me as much money as possible.

My down payment is not going to be as high as 10% I don’t think, but I am for sure above 5% so that’s good for the future plans.

Church @ The Gathering

Refugee theme

Speaker - Mimi Merrill

Refugee Settlement coordinator of the diocese of Ontario refugee support DOORS

Jesus the refugee Matthew 2:13-23

...

Walking in the cold, refugees still do that in this day and age

V. 16 65.6 million displaced peoples throughout the world, only a fraction can arrive in a safe area

V.23 still a fear of the people in power, 

Mimi’s job working with refugees

Topic of government sponsored refugees

Make friends with them,

The things that are naturally understood for Canadians 

Myth questions

Do refugees take our resources? Only govt sponsored ones and only for the first year

Do refugees bring diseases? No, tests

Are refugees uneducated? Not the adults typically,

Is Trudeau too easy on refugees? There is a lot of paperwork to get into Canada

To be considered a refugee they need to leave their country, or else it is an internally displaced person.

Refugees finding people from their culture or language

Our meal is an international one.

That’s all for tonight!

Last Sunday before I go home

Just threw some ribs in the oven but I’m using my own bbq sauce instead of the recipe so it’s probably goona be off.

Long hair don’t care.

Last Friday was the Base Dinner, so all my DEUs are still at B1, it was a good time from 11:30-bedtime I was with my coworkers so that was pretty neat.

Apparently it was much better than it had been in previous years so good to know.

Church @ The Gathering

Shorter service due to advent Christmas carol reading

Reading from Matthew 2,

The Christ birth

Speaker Lisa Chisholm-Smith

The original Christmas Gifts

Matthew 2:1-12

Multiple choice questions 

It doesn’t say how many wise men came

It’s just traditional with the three gifts I think.

Same with three kings, the text does not say

Connection with Isaiah 60, 1,3,6b

“King of the Jews”

...

Matthew 27:37

Date of dec 25, until the mid 300s.

Pope Julius of Rome declares it and it coincided with the winter solstice festival.

Cry of a tiny babe - Bruce cockburn

What gifts do you have to offer Jesus?

The Gathering after breaking the AirPod

This weekend I went to the board games night hosted by the anime club.

It was a good time, mostly played games that I brought.(wait nope I only played games I brought)

And then went to dinner afterwards, and after dinner I noticed I lost an AirPod, and I found it, take a look.

Yeah it’s rough, 

Rip Apollo(R), you will be missed.

Now The Gathering.

Announcements:

Bible study tonight,

Speaker: Rick Rowland

Beauty in small things matter 6:5-15

“Prayer”

The smaller you go you still see beauty and design and structure.

God is lavish with his creation.

We are impressed by immensity, but more impressed by gods attention to what should be obscurity

Story about his small home town school, and his smal hometown united church

The difference between small communities and big communities.

In prayer we merge our small needs with gods infinite provision for us.

Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep

And _______ I be a child of thee?

Learning about informal prayers, everyday language, etc

When you pray do you like spontaneity or a set prayer

Do you ask god for things or do you think he will provide

Do you think prayer strengthens your relationship with god and other people

Mr Dallas philosophy prof at Southern California university

Wrote the divine conspiracy

“Prayer is talking to god about what we are doing together.”

Jesus wasn’t against people being seen praying..

He was against people praying to be seen.

The Lord’s Prayer broken down:

Informal but respectful

Provision and protection

Giving god the glory. (Thine is the kingdom...)

Things that we cannot see are still real.

Heaven is very near to us

God is our father

Small is not a bad thing

God will provide and protect if we rely on him.

We have free will.

‘The Three Essential Prayers’

Help me, thank you, and wow

Story about riding a bike and dozing off.

Meal

Small group bible study

Acts 2:1-13