Why Go to Church

Why do you go to church?  Some might say it is just what we do on Sunday's or, in other words, it is a habit.  To see my friends, might be another answer.
The Bible says that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25)  For the early church, that might not have been in a building designed for that purpose.  It was probably in a home or perhaps a field.  Jesus often did his teaching outside which would accommodate a large number of people as well as allowing women to participate.
Going to church when I was young, was quite a formal event.  Women and girls wore hats, gloves and skirts or dresses.  Men wore suits.  Nowadays, parishioners wear just about anything.  I confess I haven't quite adjusted to that although I no longer don a hat and matching gloves.
Church, I believe is the place where we gather to worship God, to receive encouragement, teaching and enjoy the fellowship of like minded people.  The most important of these reasons is to worship God.  He deserves our praise and while we can and should do that all the time , there is a special blessing when you do it with others.  Even if you go to a small country church, as I do, those few voice raised in singing praises bring peace and contentment.  I also believe it blesses the Lord.
We may not be able to devote vast amounts of money or time to the Lord.  We might not serve Him in foreign countries or as a full time pastor but we can be faithful in our church attendance.
When our neighbours are doing their shopping, laundry or playing golf, we go to church and we go because we want to gather with others to offer our Praise to our Lord.

How the Disciples Died.

An interesting read.

HOW THE APOSTLES DIED.

1. Matthew. Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia when he was killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark. Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke. Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

4. John. Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully

5. Peter. He was crucified upside down on an x shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6. James. The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.

This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry.

As a strong leader of the church, James was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.

Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew-also known as Nathaniel. He was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew. He was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.

His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it". He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

10. Thomas. He was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.

11. Jude. He was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias was apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul. He was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Glad Sounds Choir.

Glad Sounds Choir will be bringing their voices and faith to Chetwynd Community Church on Nov. 24th.  A Fellowship Lunch will follow the service.  Please bring your favourite dessert, salad and/or dessert to share with others.  This yearly event is always greatly enjoyed by those in attendance and starts the Christmas season with a time of praise and peace.
Service starts at 10.45 as usual.

Blessings

Thoughts:
God doesn't bless us because of who we are or what we have done.  He blesses us because of Who Jesus is and what He has done.  This is wonderful news because when we pray for someone, the answer doesn't depend on how good we have been.  When we have a need, the blessing we receive won't be dependant on our holiness. That, of course, doesn't mean we can live as though we were not children of God anymore than,  after we  marry,   we continue to live as though we were single.  Our lives and the way we live it should reflect the gratitude and love we feel for the Lord's sacrifice for us.  When you love someone, you want to please them.
Accepting that our blessings are because of Jesus, helps us to deal with Satan when he tries to tell us that God will never use us, answer our prayers, bless etc. because we have sinned in some way.  Our answer can be:  yes, I failed but, Praise God for Jesus because He is perfect and God sees me through the sacrificial blood of His Son.
It helps to remember that it isn't about us but Christ.  For that I am thankful.

The Greatest Gift.

One of the biggest lies the enemy tries to crush us with is that we must change ourselves before Christ will accept us.  In Rom. 5: 8, it says that "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  He didn't wait until we were good enough, changed our lifestyle, quit smoking or whatever a person thinks is a fault too big for Christ's sacrifice to cover.
There is absolutely no way for us to earn salvation.  That is the whole point of the cross.  We could never be good enough.  The most saintly person the earth ever has or will see is not good enough. It is not humanly possible for us to meet God's standards of goodness.  This is why it was necessary for Christ to step in and pay the price for us.  We need do nothing but accept the gift.
When you receive a present from someone, you don't refuse to accept it until you feel you have earned the right to it.  Why would it then not make sense to have the same attitude to Christ's gift to us?
Salvation is the greatest gift from the greatest giver!

Out Door Service

A reminder that our service this week will be at the home of  Ed and Glenys LaPlante  for our annual picnic and out door service.
Please bring a salad and/or dessert as well as a chair.  There will be music, fellowship, worship and fun.  Time is 10.45 a.m.

Historical Documentation of Christ's Existance on Earth

There is more historical documentation for Jesus than for the founder of any other major religion.
The scriptures of Buddha, who lived in the 6th century B.C. were not put into writing until after the Christian era.  Muhammad,   lived from 570 until 632 AD, but his biography was not written until a hundred years after his death.
The first accounts of Christ were written within a few years of His death and resurrection.  Non believing writers such as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger all give independent evidence of His birth, life, death and spread of the Christian belief.