Philpott Inside :: Jan 2004
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Thu, 29 Jan 2004
Jan 29, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news/deaths]
Our Philpott Family…
A Tribute To A Dearly Beloved Lady And A Faithful Servant Of The Lord Jesus
By Rev. Arthur Lee
It is often said that the light, which shines the farthest, shines brightest at home. Many will be able to attest to the great faithfulness of Beulah Sargent in her missionary service over many years in Africa, and in the significant fruitfulness of her ministry of love, of caring and of bringing many souls to salvation. Heraldine and I, however, knew Beulah in her later years as an active, enthusiastic and indomitable worker at home here in Philpott Memorial Church. Whatever the challenge, nothing was ever too much for her to undertake. Indeed her strong vibrant faith convinced her that nothing was impossible if she knew it to be God’s will. I am told that she liked a poem I used to quote from time to time:
Doubt sees the difficulty, faith sees the way;
Doubt sees a long dark night, faith sees the day:
Doubt dreads to take a step, faith soars on high,
Doubt whispers, Who believes?
Faith answers I.
This was so true of Beulah. I recall her excitement when we launched the Dial-A-Message phone ministry. Here was a way of reaching hundreds of apartment dwellers in our downtown area, who were otherwise inaccessible. Obstacles, for her, were turned into opportunities. She was a follower of the Lord, but she was also a leader in setting the pace for others. One time I said, Beulah, I want to change your name from Beulah Sargent to Sergeant Beulah! She was one who could be in command of a situation! In another new area of witness she showed her compassion and initiative when the ladies of Philpott recognized a need to care for a single mother and her twins. This led to others in similar circumstances being reached with the Gospel. For Beulah faith and works were close cousins. She combined study of the Word with sound practicality.
Today we all recognize her tenacity. She has fought a good fight, she has finished the course and she has kept the faith - and henceforth the Crown. In the terminology of the Salvation Army, Sergeant Beulah has been promoted to Glory. Hallelujah!
Heraldine and I will always give thanks to God upon every remembrance of dear Beulah, as we are also grateful for those who have ministered to her in her closing years.
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Tue, 27 Jan 2004
Jan 27, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news/congratulations]
Congratulations!
“On January 26, 2004 it was announced that Professor Malcolm R. Sears, Research Director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, has been appointed the first holder of a new Chair in Respiratory Epidemiology jointly endowed by AstraZeneca Canada and McMaster University. The establishment of the Chair in Respiratory Epidemiology will enhance opportunities for significant research to be conducted under the leadership of Dr. Sears, which will benefit those with respiratory conditions both in Canada and around the world.”
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Mon, 19 Jan 2004
Jan 19, 2004, 14:38
[top/cute_stories]
Church One Liners
Submitted by Chuck O’Keefe
1 Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited, until you try to
sit in their pews.
2 Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.
3 It is easier to preach ten (10) sermons, than it is to live one.
4 The good Lord didn’t create anything without a purpose.
But, mosquitoes come close.
5 When you get to your wit’s end you’ll find God lives there.
6 People are funny… they want the front of the bus, the middle of the
road, and the back of the church.
7 Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door,
forever.
8 Quit griping about your church… if it was perfect you
couldn’t belong.
9 The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up an audience…
“And in conclusion.”
10 If the church wants a better preacher it only needs to pray for the one
it has.
11 God, Himself, does not propose to judge a man until he is dead.
So why should you?
12 To make a long story short, don’t tell it.
13 Some minds are like concrete… thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
14 Peace starts with a smile.
15 I don’t know why some people change churches… what difference does it
make which one you stay home from?
16 A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on the Promises,” are
just sitting on the premises.
17 Outside of traffic, there is nothing that holds this country back, as
much as committees.
18 “Be ye fishers of men.” You catch them He’ll clean them.
19 Coincidence is, when God chooses to remain anonymous.
20 Don’t put a question mark where God put a period.
21 God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
22 God grades on the cross, not the curve.
23 God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
24 The one who angers you, controls you!
25 If God is your Co-pilot… swap seats!
26 Prayer… don’t give God instructions just report for duty!
27 The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
28 The will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God
will not protect you.
29 We do not change the message… the message changes us.
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Sat, 17 Jan 2004
Jan 17, 2004, 14:38
[top/reviews/movies]
Passion Revisted
By Jason Silver
After watching the movie, we streamed out of the auditorium, and into the foyer. The pre-screening of Mel Gibson’s The Passion was held in a large church. It was for church pastors and leadership, so there were all kinds of people milling around, recognizing each other, networking.
It was weird. I heard little snippets of conversation:
Ya, let’s go grab a bite at McDonalds. Where’d you get that hat? He’s over at 1st Baptist now. She did what in her youth group? They have never wanted to try that again!
and so on.
People were stopping each other, noticing each other, crowding around the way we humans so often do when we’re at church; connecting and veneering.
I was a little thrown. We had just seen a brutal - BRUTAL - depiction of Christ’s last days on earth. The crucifixion scene was not the worst of it. The whippings, the blood, the gore
it was disgusting. Looking around the foyer, it was as if these people had forgotten all about it seconds after the film was complete.
We Christians remember the cross and use words like victorious, saviour, lamb of God
these are clean words. These are inspiring and beautiful words. These were clean, inspiring, even beautiful people. But what of the gore? What of the disgusting? Did we forget already?
We pre-planned to meet with other staff from our church at a food court nearby. As I walked up to them, the obvious question was asked. What did you think?! I enthused.
Scowls. Ask a specific question. That’s too general. They were obviously troubled about the movie. One person almost fainted from the blood. Another person thought they could never recommend it to their non-Christian friends.
I was really shaken- as I write this now, I realize it’s taken me four days to even process it. I just thought everyone would feel as positive about the movie as I did.
Positive? About wanton violence and glorious gore?
We’ve done this story up like a birthday cake with chocolate icing. The whole point of Jesus’ life was to die for our sins and to suffer on our behalf- in our stead! But the suffer part is forgotten and we remember only plastic crosses and Easter lilies. Of course it’s gruesome! It was one of the most cruel ways to murder another human being, and we all swung the hammer- so to speak. I think we MUST look without blinking, and we must know. We need to be aware of what was done- even if we don’t believe.
Who knows, maybe that’s about to all change for you? If Jesus did that, then why wouldn’t I believe?
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Sun, 04 Jan 2004
Jan 04, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news/adult_ministries]
Christian Writers Series
“We read to know we are not alone”.
(quote from a student in Shadowlands, the film version of C.S. Lewis’ later life)
The first evangelical church that I attended was an Anglican one (that’s right) located in the town hall of Carlisle, Ontario. It did not resemble very much the Anglican church I had been attending for 15 years prior to my coming to faith. One of its peculiarities was the portable library that would appear every week or two out of a locked up trunk. The avid reader in me gravitated towards the book table where I was confronted with an array, albeit sparse, of writers whose names were totally unfamiliar to me. One of the first of my many embarrassing late-in-life -conversion moments was trying to respond to the charge, “You mean you’ve never heard of Frederick Buechner?” When you’d been an English teacher as long as I had, one of the skills you acquired was a certain name-dropping expertise. No, I had not read all the works of Tolstoy, Dickens or Dostoyevsky, but I could “hold my own at cocktail parties”, as it were, and name drop authors and titles with the best of them. However, this evangelical equivalent of cocktail party name-dropping caught me quite off guard. Tozer, Stott, Yancey, and Packer were total strangers. Of course I had heard of and read some of C. S. Lewis (who hasn’t?) and I had a vague recollection of a man called Chuck Colson from my fascination with Watergate in the 70’s. But, who were all these other writers with whom I was supposed to be familiar? Thus began my journey into the realm of Christian writers.
After tracing the rather reluctant conversion of C. S. Lewis, I discovered the solitary, almost monastic, musings of Henri Nouwen as well as the poetic remembrances of Frederick Buechner (happy to discover, among other things, the correct pronunciation of his name. It’s Beekner, for those of you who are wondering.) It wasn’t too long before I was asking of other Christians, “You mean you’ve never heard of Frederick Buechner?”
Five years later, I have come to realize that next to people’s own personal testimonies and Bible verses that have provided strength and guidance in their lives, the next area that produces the most passion on the part of Christians, when asked, is “what Christian writers have most impacted your life?”
I have been asking this question of several members of the Philpott community, and the passion of their responses clearly indicates that there are many stories to be told.
In fact, many of those questioned have agreed to share these stories.
And so, a new series of mini Bible studies, based on the works of Christian writers and their impact on members of the PMC congregation, will be presented, on Sundays, from 9.30 - 10.30, beginning January 11, 2004. All are invited to come out and get reacquainted with or introduced to the luminaries of Christian writing. The schedule up to Easter is printed below. Should you have a passion for a Christian writer and wish to be a presenter in this new and exciting series, please contact Bryan Wylie at (905) 526 9828 or bdwylie@hotmail.com.
DATE CHRISTIAN WRITER PRESENTER
January 11 Introduction to the series Bryan Wylie
January 18 Henri Nouwen Bryan Wylie
January 25 John Stott Malcolm Sears
February 1 Joni Eareckson Tada Barb Hartford
February 8 Paul Brand David Harvey
February 15 Chuck Colson John Van der Mark
February 22 Philip Yancey Val Harvey
February 29 Edith Schaeffer Leny Van der Mark
March 7 J. R. R. Tolkien Ben Hartford
March 14 (March Break Begins)
March 21 (March Break Ends)
March 28 Children’s Literature Brenda Brown
April 4 C. S. Lewis Pat Major
April 11 (Easter Sunday)
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