Saturday, May 31, 2008

Susan's preaching tomorrow


Scripture for this Sunday: Judges 5:6-9


"Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel."

- Judges 5:7




visit the Nipawin corps website: http://www.islandnet.com/~havelock/NipawinTSA.htm

Friday, May 30, 2008

Relay for Life is tonight

In TSA we are all about Life, of course, a new lfe. A new chance. A new opportunity. The relay for life is coming up to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer. Why not enter a team, join the fight against cancer, and be a noticeable part of the community all at the same time:

For more info (Canada) : http://convio.cancer.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=RFL_CAN_home_accueil

For more info (Nipawin) : http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFL_SK_Nipawin_?pg=entry&fr_id=2179

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Is Jesus God?

By Captain Michael Ramsay
Nipawin Journal, May 28 2008.

Is Jesus God?

Yes.

Like every Christian, I affirm that Jesus is God. This is a non-negotiable in Christianity and it is an important question. If you go to a church or have someone show up at your door talking about religion, I encourage you to ask her this very question: Is Jesus God? Simply put, if the person cannot answer with an unequivocal yes, then she is not a Christian.

Jesus Christ is ‘truly and properly God’ (TSA Doctrine 4). ‘He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made . . .’ (John 1:2-3). The character and being of God were fully present in the life of the man Jesus, for ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14: 9). In the Gospel of John we read that ‘the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us’ (John 1:14). In Philippians, Paul expresses this truth when he describes Christ as ‘being in very nature God’, and yet ‘taking the very nature of a servant’ (Philippians 2: 6-7). In Hebrews, Jesus Christ is referred to as ‘the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being’ (Hebrews 1:3). A number of names and titles taken from the language of the Old Testament and from the first-century world are brought to the aid of those seeking to express in relevant language the inexpressible mystery of the fullness of God present in Jesus Christ. … At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a statement was formulated which embraced the twin truths that Jesus Christ is one integrated person, with a divine and a human nature, ‘without confusion, without change, without division, without separation . . . at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man’ (from the Chalcedonian Definition). In the person of Jesus we see humanity fully open to divine grace and we see God revealed to us. (‘Salvation Story: Salvationists Handbook of Doctrine’, pp 37-38).

Jesus is God and as Jesus died and returned to life, he is the Lord of both the living and the dead and sooner or later actually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:9-11, cf. Isaiah 45:23) for 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).

Click to read The Salvation Army Doctrines.
Click to read Salvation Story (elaboration upon the doctrines of The Salvation Army)
Click to read more articles

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Canadians, Send an e-petition to your PM

Hat tip to armybarmy:

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

Canadians are looking for heroic actions for children when you meet with G8 leaders in Japan. We would like you to:

1. increase Canada’s contributions to HIV and AIDS work. For example, Canada’s fair share of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria is estimated at $300 million per year up to 2010, yet our last commitment was for half that amount.

2. set annual funding pledges for AIDS commitments for children. In 2007, G8 leaders committed to provide $3.3 billion for pediatric treatments and the prevention of mother to child transmission—these pledges require firm implementation plans.

3. establish a budgetary plan to fulfill promises on Canada’s aid program. Our aid is currently 0.29% of Gross National Income, a decline from 0.34% in 2005, the year you pledged to increase aid toward the national average of donor countries (0.42% at the time).

visit the site, get more info, send the e-petition: http://campaign.g8action.org/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=54&ea.campaign.id=388

Ballet and EDS Fair





Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Life Long Covenant

In the previous couple of blogs, articles, sermons, we have been exploring among other things the permanence of covenants. Excepting covenants that are specifically for a designated duration (cf. Num 6:1ff), we have been examining the claim that covenants last until one is deceased (cf. Rom 7:1ff). We are certainly finding that this is true.

There is one thing that does need to be addressed however. This claim of the life-long covenant only applies if the covenant is made WITH God or BEFORE God (and then it applies even if it is a covenant that God warned you not to enter into). Covenants, when God is EITHER one of the parties involved OR when He is called as a witness seem to be binding for the duration of a person's (nation's, race's, etc...) life. It ends with their death (so it is no guarantee of eternal security) and it does not necessarily apply (but cf. Matt 5) to covenants where God is neither a witness nor a party to the covenant.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Covenant from Jephthath's Parachute

Now covenants are good and covenants are important and because of this the Lord himself warns us (Mt 5:34) while discussing the prohibition against divorce: “But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” We should not take our oaths, our promises, our covenants, lightly at all. We are obligated to them (cf. Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2-3, and Deuteronomy 5:11; 6:3; 23:21-23.).[7]

In the OT, Numbers 30:3, it records that, "If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth (Numbers 30:2; see also: Deut. 23:21-23)”. And Jephthah knows this.

Do we know this? How well do we do at keeping our vows? Last week[8] we explored the numbers of divorces in this country and the drastic results that disregarding these covenantal vows have on future generations as well.

What about our other promises?

read more from Jephthath's Parachute (link is in blog below)

Friday, May 23, 2008

Sunday's Sermon is on Judges 11:29-40

Read ahead (9-36 below):


"Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD'S, and [/or] I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering” Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.” “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites."

more on covenant, vows, promises: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/search/label/Covenant

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Covenant: a tie that won't be cut (no matter what we tell ourselves)

I would like to emphasise a couple of things here:

1) God does not sever the ties of covenant that binds us to (or before) Him. He is faithful to His promises, even if we are faithless (Romans 3:3,4).This is important for us to remember. We should not enter into our covenants lightly. I don’t believe that God says we can simply declare (through the courts or otherwise) that our partner did not live up to the marriage covenant and so we are no longer married. I don’t think that God says that simply because we had a drink we can throw out our Soldiership agreement. I don’t think the shackle is cut. I don’t think that God says that just because we decide not to be Officers anymore that we are released from our vow to ‘make soul-saving a primary purpose of our lives.’ I think that this covenant referred to in Genesis 15, Joshua 9, Judges 2, and Samuel 21 points to the fact that God doesn’t break His covenants with us and as a natural result, there are consequences for us if we are trying to break that chain.[16]

2) Covenants are not punishments; the consequences for rebelling against covenants are not punishments: the consequences of rebellion are the natural and logical results of our own actions. Now, as I have pointed out before, the origin of the Hebrew word for ‘covenant’ comes from a root word meaning, to be shackled together. The image of a covenant then is one of being shackled to God through a promise.I often compare a covenant with God (be it through marriage, Soldiership, Officership …) to being shackled to a locomotive, with God being the locomotive. When we are chained to the train and ride comfortably on it – following the Lord’s leading - we wind up where He is going a lot faster and a lot easier than if we travel the road on our own strength (under our own steam). This is the benefit of a strong covenant with the Lord.But, if once we are bound to the Locomotive of the Lord by a covenant, if we try to go our own way or try to shackle ourselves to something going in a different direction, it is not going to be a pleasant experience. The tie doesn’t break. Disobedience to our covenants is like jumping off the train and trying to run in the opposite direction while we are still chained to it.It’s going to hurt but it is not God’s fault; He doesn’t throw us from the train and because God is faithful (cf. Rom 3:3,4), this covenantal chain is so strong that won’t break – and what we suffer are the natural results of our own actions.

This is what happened in our Judges chapter 2. God, wanting the Israelites to experience the full rest of the promise land entered into a covenant with them. They willing shackled themselves to His train but then, however, at the same time they shackled themselves to the Gibeonite train that was going in a different direction and suffered the natural and logical consequences of their actions. And this is exactly what happens to us when we don’t respect our covenants.However, there was good news for the Gibeonites. There was good news for Israel and there is good news for us in this as well. The Gibeonites, even though they didn't deserve it, even though they acted deceitfully, the Gibeonites gained access to the promise. The Gibeonites -as they aligned their covenant with the Lord's - the Gibeonites -Joshua 9 records- the Gibeonites were saved. And truely I tell you that God was faithful to His promise that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham and this was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And there is still more good news in this for us for no matter how many times we are faithless and jump off that train. No matter how many times we try to break that covenant; no matter how many times we throw ourselves on the tracks, under the wheels of the ‘God Train,’ the Lord is faithful: the covenantal chain will not be broken as long as we live; God will not give up on us. God is faithful, and Jesus himself is standing there as the new chain that binds us in our relationship to God; Jesus is the new covenant through whom whosoever may be pulled back up onto the train. As this is the case, instead of rebelling against God, instead of pulling against the tie that binds, let us all give our lives over fully to the Lord, buckle up, lean back and enjoy the fully sanctified ride on this train because this train is bound for glory.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sask politicians want to elect senate.

Why?

A stewardship / accountablity double take from one theological point of view...

Elections are expensive: The cost of the 2000 general election, including the partial reimbursement of election expenses to eligible candidates and political parties and the maintenance of the National Register of Electors since the 1997 general election, was $200.6 million (StatsCan)

Elected politicians pay themselves more than non-elected ones get paid (more than 50% more!). Elected politicians who do absolutely nothing (you actually get paid more if you chair a committee, sit on Cabinet, drive your car to work, eat lunch,...really) earn $155,400 each before perks and expenses (the Hill Times)

Of all the corruption and ensuing scandals in the past couple of years that have cost Canada all that money have been because of elected politicians -not Senators

Of all the scandals that have cost us time and money in the last decade (Mulroney corruption trials, Schreiber affair, helicopter debacle, Grewal deceit, Emerson trickery, Conservative election fraud allegations, Harper/Chretien scandals, etc.) - almost all of them have been directly
related to elections and/or elected officials.

Senators work hard through their committees and have saved us from a lot of nonsense from our elected politicians.

We don't have to pay hundreds millions of dollars to hire Senators, fire them, train and hire new ones every couple of years like we do with our elected politicians.

Senators saved Canada from the unpopular actions of the elected politicians re: Meach Lake, let the Canadian public speak on Free Trade and cost more than 50% LESS than an elected backbenchers get paid to do nothing but show up to work.

Electing the Senate would then would mean paying considerably more and getting considerably less.

Is there anyway that a Christian can support an initiative that show such poor stewardship?

let me know what you think: blog@sheepspeak.com (really)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Transgressed Covenants: Natural and Logical Consequences...

Breaking a promise to God is not a trivial matter. In the book of Judges alone (and the breach of this particular covenant will come up again in other books) generations of people suffer the results of their forefathers broken promise to God. For hundreds of years, their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even more than that experience the consequences of this broken promise.

Now this should be easily understandable for us because, really, as we think about it we realise that this same thing happens in our world today. Think about the children who are raised in broken homes. Think about many of the children whose parents broke their marriage contracts with each other and with God.[11] There are consequences.

Some of the consequences are immediate and some of the immediate consequences are the struggles of how to raise a child in two separate homes with two separate sets of rules. Some of the immediate consequences are the challenges involved in that fact that whatever the problem was that split up the marriage in the first place was obviously never resolved: mom or dad still moved out. Some of the immediate consequences of divorce are that children from broken homes are more likely to be ‘latch-key kids’ and less likely to have all the material support that their peers do. Some of the immediate consequences include the fact that, at best, one will only ever get a good night kiss from one, single parent. (Praise the Lord, in light of this, for His grace that is available to all)

There is more than that in our world today: there are consequences for future generations as well. Many people who get divorced once wind up getting divorced twice or even thrice.[12] Children of divorce are more likely to be divorced themselves[13] and perpetuate the devastating cycle that contributes to generations and generations and generations going without the emotional, spiritual, and other support that only comes from a strong marriage covenant.

While recognising the power of the Lord's grace, this is still very sad because there is so much benefit from continuing in a strong covenant relationship but when we stray from it there are often devastating results. And as we continue to read through Judges, we will see that much misery comes as a direct result of the Israelites and their parents’ disobedience to their covenant with the Lord. There are consequences for not walking in proper covenants.

read more: http://www.sheepspeak.com/sheepspeak.htm

Friday, May 16, 2008

Is Jesus God?


By Captain Michael Ramsay
Nipawin Journal, May 28 2008.

Is Jesus God? Yes.

Like every Christian, I affirm that Jesus is God. This is a non-negotiable in Christianity and it is an important question. If you go to a church or have someone show up at your door talking about religion, I encourage you to ask her this very question: Is Jesus God? Simply put, if the person cannot answer with an unequivocal yes, then she is not a Christian.

Jesus Christ is ‘truly and properly God’ (TSA Doctrine 4). ‘He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made . . .’ (John 1:2-3). The character and being of God were fully present in the life of the man Jesus, for ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14: 9). In the Gospel of John we read that ‘the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us’ (John 1:14). In Philippians, Paul expresses this truth when he describes Christ as ‘being in very nature God’, and yet ‘taking the very nature of a servant’ (Philippians 2: 6-7). In Hebrews, Jesus Christ is referred to as ‘the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being’ (Hebrews 1:3). A number of names and titles taken from the language of the Old Testament and from the first-century world are brought to the aid of those seeking to express in relevant language the inexpressible mystery of the fullness of God present in Jesus Christ. … At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a statement was formulated which embraced the twin truths that Jesus Christ is one integrated person, with a divine and a human nature, ‘without confusion, without change, without division, without separation . . . at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man’ (from the Chalcedonian Definition). In the person of Jesus we see humanity fully open to divine grace and we see God revealed to us. (‘Salvation Story: Salvationists Handbook of Doctrine’, pp 37-38).

Jesus is God and as Jesus died and returned to life, he is the Lord of both the living and the dead and sooner or later actually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:9-11, cf. Isaiah 45:23) for 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).

Click HERE to read The Salvation Army Doctrines.
Click HERE to read Salvation Story (elaboration upon the doctrines of The Salvation Army)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

DTES & TSA

The Salvation Army is delighted that the Government is providing funding for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

May 14, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Wednesday May 14, 2008 – The Salvation Army is very pleased by the announcement that The Government of Canada has committed to provide $10 million over five years under the Treatment Action Plan of the National Anti-Drug Strategy for treatment services for Vancouver’s Downtown.

The Salvation Army works extensively in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and has seen first hand the harm caused by addictions to drugs and alcohol. “Every day we see the affects of addiction,” says Major Brian Venables, Divisional Secretary for Public Relations and Development in British Columbia. “Because of the devastating affect addiction can have on families, we are extremely pleased with the federal government’s announcement.”

The Salvation Army is committed to serving vulnerable and marginalized people, providing services to men and women suffering from addiction, shelter for people without a home and practical assistance for families. In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, The Salvation Army provides addiction treatment for women in its Harbour Light Cordova Detox program and Homestead. The numbers of those seeking assistance continues to grow and The Salvation Army feels that this increased financial commitment will reduce wait times that can already be up to eight weeks. Across the country, 2,000 people successfully completed addiction and rehabilitation programs in 2007.

The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and everyday in 400 communities across Canada and 115 countries around the world. The Salvation Army offers practical assistance for children and families, often tending to the basic necessities of life, provide shelter for homeless people and rehabilitation for people who have lost control of their lives to an addiction.

When you give to The Salvation Army, you are investing in the future of marginalized and overlooked people in your community.

- 30 -

News releases, articles and updated information can be found at www.SalvationArmy.ca

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Covenant: both, and

This Sunday we will be looking at Judges 2:1-5, through the lenses of Joshua 9 and 2 Samuel 21. It is interesting, When Joshua and the Israelite leaders made two competing contracts, they were obligated to fulfill them both even though in order to fulfil the one they had to break the other.

Our covenants are not to be taken lightly...

Feel free to read ahead...

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

We're almost there


We're still working on the repairs since the site suffered the dammage it did recently. We're almost done.


Don't forget to check out what is happening this week at the corps at the Nipawin Salvation Army Website. You can reach it through our main page: http://www.sheepspeak.com/


EDS Show this weekend at Candle Lake - be sure join us after church in Nipawin!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Friday, May 09, 2008

Romans 10:2-3

Romans 10:2-3: “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”
-
These people then, though they are zealous for God, try to develop their own righteousness and in the process reject Jesus as God and therefore cannot know God and, as a result, they do not win the prize. They reject Christ, they reject God, and they reject His righteousness.
-
It seems like (if anyone remembers) the classic story, ‘Alice through the Looking Glass.’ At a point in that story there are two groups of people: those who are determined to reach a goal (like Israel here in our story) and those who are not. Now those who are most determined to reach the goal walk towards the mirror where it is reflected but – of course – they never reach it because its not there – only the reflection is there. The ones, however, who turn (repent) and walk in the opposite direction are the one’s who in the end actually did find it.
-
It’s like us as we are looking a mirror. We can never grab a reflection in the mirror no matter how hard we try because it is not a real item: it is just a reflection. This is like the Law was to Israel – you see, the Law is a reflection of God. It is not God and as long as one is just reaching for His reflection (The Law), one can never grasp God. As long as one is just reaching for His reflection rather than for Jesus himself - even though He is standing right beside you – as long as you are just reaching for his reflection you will never reach him.
-
Now are there anyways that we can be tempted to do this? Are there ways in our own lives when we are tempted to ignore God and try to grasp an image, a rule maybe, or a ritual instead? Are there times when we, like first century Israel, might rely on our own righteousness and in the process actually turn our backs on God?
-
read the whole sermon on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/05/romans-930-104-law-through-looking.html

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

In my in-box...

Sent: May 7, 2008 3:51 PM
To: Michael Ramsay
Subject: RE: renewal of subscription (Expository Times)


Hello. Attached is the invoice requested for the term July 2008-June 2009. Let me know if you need further assistance.

Please exuse my note: I have to say that the Salvation Army is my UTMOST favorite organization ever since I read the book about how it started. I am always surprised as to how many ways they help people. Blessings to you and your staff!

Kind regards,

Who Is My Neighbour?

Read this issue of
INTERPRETATION: A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY (April 2008).

www.interpretation.org


It has some great articles. Among the others, I recommend 'Who is my Neighbour?' by Naim Ateek. He provides, in this context, a look at the current Isreali-Palestian conflict. Naim Ateek is Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem and he is a Palestinian Christian.

I encourage you to read this article and this whole issue for that matter.

comments: blog@sheepspeak.com

I don't get it.

1) There is a movement to remove Gideon Bibles from places...

2) a Star rating system has appeared on my blog - please don't use it; I am trying to remove it. If anyone knows how to remove it, let me know: blog@sheepspeak.com

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

AA

I was speaking to a friend from AA/NA today.

He reported that he was called to do an intervention the other day.

The end result was that the person repented and gave their life to the Lord.

Hallelujah. Amen.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Revolution Christian Style

from Aaron at http://www.armybarmy.com/ (posted Friday, May 02, 2008)

Violence and Resistance...People clearly find non-violent Christian revolution difficult to grasp. No wonder, we are so conditioned into violence as a default response. But those who at least in their words and arguments have come to a place of decrying violence then sometimes also have a hard time incorporating a notion of aggressive resistance. Again, small wonder, as most pacifism is characterized as passive and non-involved.

The danger here is a portrayal of Jesus as simply a victim of his fate, rather than as a resister of evil, a conqueror over death, and an instigator of societal revolution. Jesus absolutely took the way of vulnerability, suffering, solidarity and crucifixion. He forsook the way of earthly power, and discipled his followers into that Way as well. But his Way was not a simple acceptance and acquiescence to the powers that be. It was an informed, intentional, and inspired attack on the Kingdom of Satan, the Kingdom of Death.

Therefore, the language of resistance, of revolution, of overcoming is utterly appropriate. To avoid that language, in fact, would be quite wrong. We need to be clear on the WAY that Jesus resisted and overcame, and that we must NEVER grasp after worldly power or violence, but we must also be clear that there is nothing particularly "soft" about Jesus. He was God and Man with the hard edges left on, confrontational to the powers and tender to the afflicted.

See James Douglass' take: "Jesus resisted evil with an intensity which revealed the uselessness and irrelevance of violence, and this resistance of love constitutes the Christian revolution."

Viva la Revolution of love. Lets Fight.Grace,Aaron

Related: 2007 Nipawin Rememberance Day Address by TSA Captain: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/11/greater-love-has-no-man-than-to-lay.html

Sacrifice Keeps Hope Alive from The Nipawin Journal : http://www.sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#Hope


Child Poverty in Canada

More from Aaron at http://www.armybarmy.com/

Child Poverty In Canada..Here are the Canadian stats for child poverty - nearly 900,000 children considered to be living in poverty in our wealthy nation.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080501/national/%20census_child_poverty

Grace,Aaron

Related, from The Nipawin Journal:
As a Christian, do I have a responsibility to take care of the poor?
http://www.sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#poor