Pastor Tom's Journal

God has been speaking to my heart this week deeply, profoundly, and lovingly through my own devotional times and through the ministry of Dr. Richard Blackaby. The same messages can be heard at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary website under Chapel. As we were preparing for worhip today, I was remembering one of our saints who recently went home to be with Jesus. Caryl Borges lived a life that reflected God's love and that took her around the country and to Yemen in the service of the Master. As she fought cancer, she did so with valiant faith. I was honored to be with her during various stages of that disease process. While I wish I had been more of a support along the way, the greatest blessings came during the last two weeks of her life as I witnessed her slipping away, but enjoying every moment God gave her with family. At the same time, she was genuinely excited about going to Heaven. I was sitting in that seminary chapel this morning, waiting for students to arrive, prepa

For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously 1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set 2. A day without sunshine is like, night. 3. On the other hand, you have different fingers. 4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory. 5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot. 6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 7. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe. 8. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you. 9. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges 10. Honk if you love peace and quiet. 11. Remember half the people you know are below average. 12. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains? 13. Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool. 14. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 15. He who laughs last thinks slowest. 16. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 17. Eag

GROUP Ministry: Growing Reconciling Obeying Understanding Proclaiming God has called us to a lifestyle that embraces all these dimensions of being: We are expected to G ROW because that is what life generates. We will be growing until we die. We are commissioned with a word of R ECONCILIATION according to II Corinthians 5. It is God’s desire to bring people back into proper relationship with Him, A life of O BEDIENCE is how we can be most useful to God and live in His will. U NDERSTANDING is what happens as we gradually comprehend and act upon God’s will in our lives. P ROCLAMATION is the natural outflow of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We must grow individually and in community. Each strengthens the other. Group Ministry Materials - Copyright, 2006, Thomas B. Sims

Builders or Destroyers God has called us to be builders: Proverbs 14 1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Builders have certain characteristics. 2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD , but he whose ways are devious despises him. B = Basis for Life (foundation). We must start with a solid foundation for our lives. 3 A fool's talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them. U = Use of Tools - Words are useful and necessary tools in building toward our goals. 4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. I = Investment - Wise builders invest wisely in their growth. The ox pulls the plow that grows the wheat that is placed in the manger for him to eat which gives him strength to plow. 5 A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. L= Line (Plumbline - Truth)

Bruce Alderman is meditating here about the basic core issues of belief in his own life - namely why he believes in God and why, further, he embraces a belief in Jesus Christ. It Seems to Me... : " So who is right and who is wrong? Isn't that what religion is all about? In a word, no. It's not fundamentally about being more right than anyone else. It's about responding to God's call and being faithful to that call, however the call comes and wherever the call leads. " Rightness and wrongness might appear to be essential questions, but Bruce suggests that the relational question trumps them. It is what E. Stanley Jones called, "The Divine Yes." We start there with God and we can sort out the details as we go along.