Reflections on 1 Thess 5

Good word for the morning for spiritual leaders (church members):

1 Thess. 5:14 And we urge you, brothers,

warn those who are idle,

encourage the timid,

help the weak,

be patient with everyone.

 

15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

 

                16 Be joyful always;

                17 pray continually;

                18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt.

 21 Test everything.

Hold on to the good.

 22 Avoid every kind of evil.

 

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.

 

In verse 14 there are 3 ways to handle three categories of people in our lives and be patient with them all.

 Verse 15 Kindness

Then 16 through 22 has 8 commands/instructions. Included are the words “always” “continually” and “all circumstances.”  These are lifestyle choices to be chosen minute by minute.  Any given minute we could chose the opposite: be “woe is me,” “self reliant”, or “ungrateful” or “unappreciative.” These are attitude choices that lead to the kind of words we use and behavior we choose.  Lord, may I (we) be joyful, prayful, and thankful today.

Good words to start off a Wednesday morning! May others see a difference in me and you.

What is Happening? Revival

Last night Monica shared with me a conversation that she had with someone yesterday as the church gathered.  The conversation went something like this:

Lady said, "It has been a long time since I have felt so broken and on my face before God."

Monica reply, "I know, this is revival."

I agree.  God is at work in many different ways throughout the church family and gathered guests.  People are evaluating their lifestyles and choices based on Jesus's demands for His followers.  People are experiencing fresh calls from God and responding in obedience.  People are experiencing brokenness before God over sin and rebellion.  Family members are worshiping together again. 

A reevaluation and conversation is taking place among the church as to how we position ourselves in relation to our community to be most useful for the mission of God to see the lost found and the needs of the poor met.

What do you call this? Revival.  Keep praying and seeking Him.  Follow Him.

Mission Trip Wrap-up Thoughts

On Sunday night the mission team that participated in serving on the mission field in Toronto shared insights with our church.  Several benefits from serving on a short-term mission trip were mentioned that I would like to recap here:

1. Gaining a larger perspective of God's activity in the world. By changing latitude and longitude location a person can gain a larger framework for the world, the church, cultures, and the mission of God.
2. Learning the value of service.  The group is the servant of the host missionary/pastor/church.  A "whatever we can do to help" attitude is healthy to develop and implement back home as well.
3. Families strengthened.  It was eye opening to see a father and his two daughter serve the Lord together during this week.  They were able to observe and help one another accomplish new task and goals that had never been attempted in the local home environment. 
4. A mission team is a great source of refreshment and encouragement to a resident missionary/church planter.  The work of a missionary can become lonely and tiresome. A little help and encouragement from a team can multiply the effort and energize the work.
5. Team building.  Working together we all achieve more.  Flexibility. Using our strengths and covering each other's limitations. Everyone on the team experiences the "magic" of being on a winning team.
6. Gaining new insights for ministry that can be implemented in the home church.  Simply being around catalytic and innovated leaders on the front lines of creative ministry provided ideas that can be helpful to an established church.
7. Fun and laughter amid the adventure.  Teams that work and serve together build a camaraderie that lasts long after the trip is complete.

I am hopeful that in the days to come a long term relationship/partnership can develop between our church and the church planting network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Landed Safely in ATL

The team had made it back safely to Atlanta. All are thankful to be headed to Carrollton and looking to a glass of sweet tea.

Made it to Buffalo Airport

Almost on the plane. We had no problem at the border. Thank you for your prayers.

Great last night in Toronto

The team helped put on a family gym night where we saw some 20 folks from the community come out for basketball, volleyball, kickball, and snacks. There were families there from Iraq, Malaysia, Europe, and Africa. Just an amazing picture of the diversity of this community. Great week serving a great church. Praying we represented Jesus and Pleasant View well.

Photos from Thursday

After delivering invitations to around 225 homes and other projects we spent the late afternoon at Lake Ontario and downtown Mississauga. Beautiful day.

Pray for opportunities this afternoon

This afternoon the team will be going out in the community to invite people to the family gym night on Friday night. Pray for many great conversation and divine appointments to share the Good News.

Yesterday Recap

The team from Pleasant View was all over the place in Streetsville.  From baking cookies for the local school teachers where the church currently meets for worship to handing out flyers and invites we were spread in several directions.  Keri and Noelle helped run some errands yesterday around town that needed to be accomplished.  Linda and Pam were imputing date and organizing information for the church.  Sarah organized materials for the church. Kip, Sam, and Myles went throughout businesses,the library, bowling alley, and  the senior center looking for potential meeting places for small and large group gatherings.  Great conversations and opportunities developed for relationships with the church.

Then we spent the night in the heart of the city of Toronto. Subway, Eaton Center, and CN Tower. An amazing city!

Top of the world in Toronto

Plans for Wednesday

As the team has turned in for the night we are looking forward to much needed rest from a busy day.  The plans for tomorrow include at least the following activities.  Pray for opportunities to share the gospel and share about Fellowship of Streetsville.

• Meeting with several church planter/missionaries at John and Diane's home.
• Baking and taking cookies to the school teachers at the school where Fellowship of Streetsville is currently meeting for worship services.
• Meeting local business owners  and employees to invite them to next preview worship service for the church.
• Make contact with the local police department.
• Door-to-door surveys in the community that could lead to church invites and sharing the gospel.

Hopefully pictures will be coming of these activities tomorrow as I have wifi access.

Taking Treats

Taking a few treats to local firemen.

Great of Work

The team heard an overview of the work and opportunities from John and Diane Worcester. John is the church planter for Fellowship of Streetsville. The ladies have spent the day cleaning and organizing the home/office/group meeting rooms for the church. The guys spent the day meeting new people and church contacts at the local fire department and local businesses.

Snowing

It is snowing this morning with more snow throughout the day expected as we start our first day in Toronto!

End of Travel Day

We wrapped up the evening tonight having dinner with Fellowship Streetsville church planter intern Daniel.  He took us to a Canada staple: Tim Horton's.  We enjoyed the fellowship with him as we heard a little about the community where we will be volunteering this week.

Tomorrow we will hit the ground running at 8:30 AM.  Pray for opportunities to share Jesus, share kindness, and join God where He is at work in the lives of the people here. Pray for open eyes to see the work of God with fresh perspective.

Arrival at Niagara Falls

We made it to the Falls. We had no problems at all at the border crossing. Before crossing into Canada we ate lunch with a local pastor, Bill Smith, at the home the original Buffalo Wings. Here are a few pictures of the Falls and the last picture shows the snow falling as we arrived at our hotel just outside Toronto.

Up up and away!

1 hour and a half flight. Going great. Waiting for our snacks.

Ready for take off!

The team has made it through check in and security with Sam receiving the extra pat down! Boarding will start in a few minutes. Pray for Noelle Jones. This is her first flight. Excited but a little nervous.

Toronto Team Headed to ATL Airport

Pray for our mission team headed to the airport this morning. Updates will be posted here all through the week whenever wifi is available.