p. 214

The path of following the Lord Jesus Christ is not an easy one. Along the way lies suffering and hardship, but nothing we experience will ever compare to the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross.

I have a problem with the “prosperity” teaching prevalent today, which tells us if we follow the Lord we’ll be safe and comfortable. This is completely contrary to Scripture as well as to our experiences in China. In addition to serving years in prison, I’ve been arrested about thirty different times for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To follow God is a call not only to live for him, but to die for him also. “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we died, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Romans 14:8.

We don't celebrate it American style (sorry kids, no days off from school), and instead of showing football on the English-Canadian channels, they have decided to serve a giant helping of this (if we choose to watch English TV).

At the very least, we are reveling in a winter wonderland that ambushed us over the past 48 hours. (Aren't you Northwesterners jealous?) The ski season has officially begun!:

 And more importantly, every saved sinner always have this to be thankful for:

15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

-1 Timothy 1:15-17

It's been a long time coming, and we still have work to do on the quality, but we finally have a couple of sermon videos up on our church's website. We will be adding more as time goes on.

Go ahead and check it out at Ecclésia St-Jérôme then click on "Prédications" on the menu to your left.

Generally, I preach 3 times a month, and Jacob preaches once. That may change as time goes on.

According to the US Treasury, the intention is that "the new $1 bill more accurately represent the current American spirit."

(A friend and fellow pastor here in Québec just sent me this one.)

Last week, Daniel and I made a quick video explaining "le lounge", the weekly ministry at the local college in St Jérôme. This video will, at the very least, give you a flavor of what goes on there. We are passing out literally thousands of invites to it. All of the invites have our "Le lounge blog", with this video inviting people to come and hang out: http://lelounge.blogspot.com/

1. You've gotta be at least a little crazy when hanging out with students.
2. We take the Bible very, very seriously... and we laugh a lot. 
3. I'll add subtitles a little later.  (Right now I'm in the middle of preparing a sermon on 1 Thessalonians for tomorrow morning.)

Happy viewing!

I caught this over at the Sovereign Grace Blog (By CJ Mahaney)

Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!

Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.

I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life-altering and work-altering insight. What I learned is that:

• Busyness does not mean I am diligent
• Busyness does not mean I am faithful
• Busyness does not mean I am fruitful
  

Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.

Keep reading...

Everything we do communicates something.

The building we rent, or buy, or build, screams something about our mission and values. There is no way around it.

As a church, Jacob and I desired to communicate our love for St Jérôme by the location and style of our building. Quebeckers are used to seeing huge catholic cathedrals in every town. I am used to seeing huge evangelical church buildings at the outskirts of every American town.

We found a number of affordable and available spaces outside the city, but rather than follow many evangelical examples of separation from the city, our desire is to influence the city as we participate in it. Rather than follow the opulant Catholic examples and feel comfortable, (like simply pay more and rent a hotel), our desire was to find something affordable and practical, freeing up our ressources to invest in people rather than facilities. Besides, hotels are for visitors and outsiders, we want to live here, not visit.

As we searched for a place to rent in the city, almost every obstacle we could think of presented itself. The city has a policy of "not renting to churches". Most schools either follow the same policy, or simply don't rent to anyone. (We contacted over 80 schools in our search to no avail). Most community centers are connected to the city, so no luck there either.

We had to find some kind of privately-owned and operated community center: "Ici Par Les Arts."

"Ici Par Les Arts" uses many different kinds of arts (painting, sculpture, dance, sewing, drama, poetry, etc.) to help troubled teenagers. The left wing (above) is a large room often used for workshops which can hold a maximum of (when emptied of all else) up to 150 people (we use this for our morning services). The front (at right, with the painted window) is an art gallery to display the work of local artists (we use this for our Sunday school classes).

Some Sunday mornings we strategicaly cover nude paintings located where we hold our Sunday school classes. One morning, as some kind of an unknown project, a huge bowl of condoms sat right next to the front door . The Sunday school classrooms are also far from ideal. We even have our share of local alcoholics asking for change during our coffee break. But here's reality: If you desire to influence a city, expect to feel uncomfortable sometimes. And since people in need stream in and out of this building all week long, and we rent the exact same facility, we are also seen as a friend of the community.

The leaders of "Ici Par Les Arts" love us as well. They call us "our Sunday friends".

Recently, I was even invited to meet with the executive counsel of "Ici Par Les Arts". The director wants me to meet this assortment of local lawyers and business-men because of the great relationship we have. The director (she is not a Christian) desires to show the entire community why the presence of our church is a great thing.

All of this because we did not (1) set up shop in the suburbs, or (2) rent a more comfortable, but more expensive space.

We will move eventually. We may buy or build a building. That's fine. But as we do so, we will ask a few questions of ourselves: 

• What will our meeting space communicate?
  
• Will it value mission over comfort?
  
• Will it communicate a desire to impact our city by participating in it, or a desire to separate from it?