Happy Labour Day Weekend!

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8

So are you labouring around your home this Labour Day Weekend or just enjoying these last lazy days of summer? I am in the process of painting our front porch and Gary is working downstairs in his barn getting it better organized. His office is upstairs. Doesn’t it make you feel good to see a project completed? Our neighbour mentioned yesterday that she had to kick her ex-son-in-law out this summer as he was getting too lazy. Why does that happen? That was not the deal. Even though many of us don’t like ants or spiders (lots of webs on our porch!) they are a great example to us all.

Our son, Rob, has decided to go on his music mission trip to Turkey and Kyrgystan even though his finger is not in great shape for guitar playing. He says, “Both Turkey and Kyrgystan are in great need of the Gospel and we will be on the frontlines delivering the message through music, dancers, unicycling, fire breathing – a traveling road show of sorts!” He will leave September 12th, the same day his wife goes back to work from her maternity leave and will be gone over 5 weeks. That is a long time to be away from one’s family. Please pray for his safety and his need to raise $2500 for the trip. Donations will be receipted through our charity, Kainos International Ministries. You can mail money to our address below or send me an e-mail money transfer to wendy.carter@kainos.org.

Please remember our children returning to school this coming Tuesday with all the new adjustments they will encounter. Brandon Spears, in particular, is heading off to Sheridan College in Oakville to take an electronics course. Sure hope the Go buses don’t go on strike for his sake. Please pray for Chris Burton and Debbie Macdonald who will be teaching or supervising children.

Home Group happens this Wednesday at the Burtons at 7:00 p.m. as we are helping Sara Burton celebrate her 40th b-day on Thursday evening at 7:00. Congratulations, Sara! Thanks for your music ministry at Heartland.

God bless,

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116. It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

On Being Lazy by Gary Carter: When did you get your first remote control for your television? Gary’s dad had one for his large Zenith T.V. in the 70s which worked on the basis of high pitch sound unlike the later versions with infrared. Zenith had invented one way back in the 50s called Lazy Bones. Now really – how far is it to cross the room to change channels or even turn off a light switch. We do like our labour saving devices or our “energy saving mode” as Hayley Macdonald describes it which cause us to become lazier or even more lethargic. Parents and adults alike struggle with this feeling. The Proverb verses above remind us of the business of ants who have no internal command system or a boss that looks over their shoulder and yet they keep working. Do we need that snooze button to escape like using a drug? Let’s take our eyes off of this world with our laziness, pick ourselves us and put the energy we save into something productive that has eternal value.

Conversations with Jesus - On the Mark by Debbie Macdonald: (We were so excited this morning to have Debbie present for the first time in our services. Good job, Deb!) A conversation is an informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts. In the Gospel of Mark, there are almost 100 different conversations involving Jesus. These conversations were one on one, only 2-3 people, groups from 4-5000 or implied/assumed conversations. We can determine if these conversations can be authoritative, instructional, or prayer. They may fall into more than one of these categories.
One on One: There are 25 of these in Mark. Authoritative conversations include any time Jesus speaks to a person, a demon, malady or nature. Disobeying His words is not an option. There are 11 one on one authoritative conversations. Instructional conversations include any conversation with Jesus where He is either passing on information about things to come or is teaching the person. There are 9 of these. Prayer conservations include each time Jesus spoke to God either before the trial or when He was on the cross. He has three such conversations in Mark. There are 2 conversations which combine both authority and instructions.

Two or Three: There are 8 of these conversations; 5 fall under the authoritative category and 3 under the instructional heading.
Four or More: Jesus had more conversations with larger groups than he did with smaller groups. In total he had 50 of these conversations; 45 were instructional and only 5 were authoritative
Implied: There are a number of conversations which took place in Mark where no words were actually recorded so classifying them is not possible; yet they should be included. These were Jesus and John the Baptist, Jesus and God (after His baptism), Jesus with Satan in the desert, Jesus with Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus with Levi and the disciples at dinner, Jesus with the disciples to ready the boat, Jesus and the impure spirits (don’t say anything), Jesus appointing the 12, Jesus going to numerous villages, Jesus to the disciples about His death, Jesus speaking to Elijah and Moses, Jesus going to the Jordan and Judea, Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene after He has risen, and Jesus to the disciples about their lack of faith.
Clearly Jesus spent most of His time giving instructions, teaching, and explaining. He spoke to a lot of large groups of people for He knew His time was limited and needed to have as many people hear the Word and understand. He also exercised His Divine authority in many instances; however He knew that giving the people the right understanding of the new order was the most important task so they could be saved.

The Places by Steve Macdonald: On Paul’s first missionary journey he travelled to Antioch in Syria, Seleucia, Salamis (Cyprus), Paphos (Cyprus), Perga in Pamphylia, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium and then on his way back he went to Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch, Perga, Attalia, Antioch in Syria, and Jerusalem.
In Antioch the people with Paul were Barnabas (Acts 11:26), Agabus (Acts 11:28), Mark (Acts 12:25), Manaen (Acts 13:1), Simeon the Niger (Acts 13:1*), Lucius of Cyrene (Acts 13:1*), Rufus (Acts 11:20* and Alexander, Mom*) (The * assumes they were there but the Scripture does not refer to them specifically.) In Cyprus (Salamis Pathos) there were Barnabas (Acts 13:4), Mark (Acts 13:5), Bar-Jesus (Acts 13:6 – sorcerer), Sergius Paulus (Acts13:7), Elymas (Acts 13:7), Lazarus* (tomb of Christ’s Friend), and Aristobulus*(native of Cyprus - Brother of Barnabas, cousin of Mark). In Perga Barnabas (Acts 13:14) and Mark (Acts 13:14) were with him. In Pisidian Antioch we are down to Barnabas (Acts 13:42). In Iconium it was Barnabas (Acts14:1) and Tertius (Romans 16:22* - second bishop in Iconium). In Lystra only Barnabas and in Derbe there was Barnabas, a crippled man (Acts 14:8), Timothy (Acts 16:1), Lois/Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5) and Gaius (Acts 20:4*). On the return trip Barnabas went with him to all the cities. Tertius was probably in Iconium and Titus in Antioch (Acts 15:2*; Galatians 2:1). And finally in Jerusalem Titus (Galatians 2:1), Peter (Galatians 2:9, James and John were his co-workers.
With all this leadership no wonder the world changed.

Obstructed View – Why Can’t They See? by Gary Carter: If you are acquainted with Fenway Baseball Park on Boston you will know that many seats are obstructed by posts due to the age of the building. All the seats in life have an obstructed view. People often have a fixated view but they won’t tell you what it is. Others say you can become what you want to be; you can have what you want to have; you can find happiness on your own etc. Gary is continuing to read about the life of Johnny Appleseed. In the 13 colonies there was religious freedom but bad guys went west. The frontier was incredibly evil with numerous scams so that people found out that they couldn’t have what they wanted e.g. there was winter when people from France were told there was no winter, land supposedly purchased did not exist, life was hard with an average life expectancy of 38 years.
We learn from Genesis 1:26-28 that people are amazing. Man was created in the image of God; he is a replica of God, set apart to be in charge of the animals, not just a higher species. There are several aspects to that image.
The Moral Aspect (Ecclesiastes 7:29): Man started off right morally but then wandered away. A 2-year old is very familiar with the word “no” - that child has learned to resist. A 5-year old understands that life is not fair.
The Mental Aspect (Romans 1:20): Man has the capacity to look into the world and realize that there is a higher power that makes it all work. Water freezes on top so that the animals in the ocean won’t die. This is one of the numerous things that a loving Creator thought of. One can be drawn to Him as one’s knowledge of science expands.
The Personal Aspect (John 1:3): Man relates to each other and to God on a personal level. God is not aloof.
Matter & Non-Matter: Our bodies are made up of 206 bones controlled by 630 muscles. One of the Canadarms is going into a museum on display but it can’t do what anyone’s finger can do. God made us to stand on our feet. We are constructed differently than animals. Our soul or personality is the seat of self-awareness. We have a memory bank. We also have self-determination that allows us to decide on our own. We can choose to work or be lazy with our intellect, emotions and will. We were made to use our minds, to control our emotions and our actions. Our spirit gives us the capacity to reach out, to relate to God and accept His provision.
Isaiah 43:1-12 , written over 700 years before the birth of Jesus, shows how precious every soul is to God and that Jesus alone can save so that we think, feel and act as God has chosen us to.

Punny or Not – Here They Are! by Steve Macdonald:
When Measles Collide! By Kay Rash
Outlaw Muppets by Kermit A. Krime
No!!!! by Kurt Reply
Foolproof Gambling Tips by Lou Zerr
Tight Clothing by Leah Tard
Computer Memories by Meg Abight
Karate for Beginners by Marsha Larts
Long Walk by Miss D. Bus
Southern California Pachyderms by L. A. Funt