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Sunday
07Mar2010

The Second Cup

Jeff Bjorgan

Spiritual Formation Pastor

Today is communion Sunday. Once a month we take a small “meal” together. We set aside time to take the cup and the bread that Jesus told us to take as a way to remember the significance of his death. Salvation! Life re-defined! A new way of connecting with God!

I was reading a reflection by Eugene Peterson on the tale of two cups, the cups that Jesus spoke of on the night he was betrayed. The first cup was offered by Jesus to his disciples at the last supper. Jesus said to take and remember, and we do our best to honor his command even to this day.

The second cup is one that Jesus held in his hands while praying in Gethsemane. This was the cup of God’s will, God’s will to rescue the world through the death of his son. Jesus was in agony over this cup. What he had urged his disciples to do earlier, he was now personally wrestling with: would he take and drink from the cup himself?

A cup, Peterson states, “holds a liquid that is drunk. The peculiar property of the cup is that we hold it with our hands, put it to our lips, tip it into our mouths, and swallow the contents. It requires a coordinated, willing spirit, accepting and receiving.”

We are forever grateful that Jesus to the cup and drank “a sacrificial death in which Jesus freely takes sin and evil into himself, absorbs it in his soul and makes salvation out of it…” He chose to let the contents, God’s redemptive plan, course through his veins.

There is something about Jesus’ willingness to take this second cup that is directly related to us taking the cup that he offered his disciples and still offers us today. We too are faced with a choice: by participating in this meal today, will we take something that is not of us (suffering, salvation, redemption) and allow it to become part of us, part of our everyday living, sharing in Christ’s story?

Take, drink, eat, remember. These are verbs not just of ritual, but of the decision to jump into the ways of Jesus with both feet.

Sunday
28Feb2010

The Poverty and Wealth of Lent

Jeff Bjorgan

Spiritual Formation Pastor

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich

2 Corinthians 8:9

It is the season of Lent, that time of year where we remind ourselves of how rich we are because of the poverty of Christ.  The key words of the Corinthians passage above are poverty and rich. Lent deals intimately with both concepts. Lent gives us the opportunity to walk in poverty, to give up something as an expression of our solidarity with Christ. As we walk through the days of Lent, walking alongside Jesus (and he walking alongside us), we walk in the mandate of Philippians 2:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing…

Philippians 2:5-7a

And so, like Christ, we give up something. In our case we fast from food, or from time-consuming activities of little consequence; we resist indulgence, we attempt to live simply, we pursue modest living. These activities become reminders of the miracle and mystery of the Passion –God, dying a criminal’s death on a cross for us. In what ways can you “walk in poverty” in the weeks leading up to Easter?

Practicing poverty is not an easy thing to do when we live in one of the most powerful and wealthy societies on the planet. Lent, then, also serves to awaken us to how rich we are -not because of our material well-being, but because of the richness we have in salvation: lives transformed because of the power of the cross. Since we have great wealth in this good news, this gospel, we in turn give to others out of our abundance.  During Lent we give out of our material wealth, but we also give out of the abundance of our hearts, out of the excess of our time, and out of the skills that we’ve been blessed with.  Over the next month, in what ways will you be walking in the richness of Christ?

How are you practicing Lent? As a Christian community let’s walk together during this important time of the Christian calendar. Lent began on February 17 (Ash Wednesday) and continues through to Easter Sunday.

Sunday
21Feb2010

Our Future...

Derrick Hamre

Derrick Hamre

Lead Pastor

Tonight I have an opportunity to cast vision for our future direction. In the past, AGM’s have been about the past but more and more they are used as occasions to chart a course forward. We will look back to examine the year 2009 and to review our financial position. However, each pastor will also take some time to share how we see God leading us into 2010 and beyond. Since Christmas I have communicated that I have made a commitment to staying on as Lead Pastor well into this new decade. That commitment is not a promise to the status quo but a conviction to use all that God has given us to forge a future of greater Kingdom influence and effectiveness.  Together, we must “expand our tent pegs”. Together we must see what God’s desire is, observe the needs and march forward in a sacrificial way to be His hands extended in an every increasing fashion.

Tonight I intend to share what I see God doing (really it is a carry on of what I’ve seen from the fall 2009) and where I feel He is guiding us. The sharing will encompass both short term and long term goals. I want to share with you our leadership’s vision for both the Westbank & Peachland Campuses of Emmanuel Church. I intend to give you some clarity on Koch’s future and on summer / fall plans. In addition we are going to elect 3 deacons (two from the Westbank Campus and one from the Peachland Campus). This is a strategic hour for our church and therefore the appointment of 3 new deacons is an important part of moving us forward.

This week Martin Weilmeier (a deacon and engineer) and I spent 24 hours in southern California on a fact finding mission (we were able to do this because the church collects airline points). We spent time with a ministry that helps churches think strategically about their buildings and future ministry. It was sensory overload. We saw, heard and experienced so much. As we debriefed on the late night flight home, again, I realized how much potential there is in our church to impact the Central Okanagan for the glory of God. Our greatest days are ahead. Let’s continue a tradition of forward thinking for the Kingdom of God as we gather together tonight (despite what happens in the hockey game).

Sunday
14Feb2010

Annual General Business Meeting

Derrick Hamre

Derrick Hamre

Lead Pastor

Once a year the membership of Emmanuel Church are called together for an official church meeting. The goal is to deal with the previous twelve months and to cast the vision for the year or years that are before us. It is that time of the year again! Today I want to exhort all our members (and as many adherents as would like to come) to mark your calendars for next Sunday. This is an important time of sharing; please make plans to be there. We begin with a shared meal at 6 pm (which is a very New Testament concept) and then move into our meeting at 7 pm (the goal is to be done by 8:30 pm).

This year we are trying to do a few things differently. First, the AGM docket, which has taken so much time and cost to provide to each family in the past, is going paperless. The document will be online for each to peruse. If you do not have a computer and would like a copy of the reports, we can have them printed for you. Also, the financial statements are being made available to members early by request only. In addition, we will have statements at the AGM accessible to examine during the Financial Report. In today’s bulletin there is an insert that contains the agenda, membership list and those nominated for the deacon elections that will take place. Please take time to read that item.

Emmanuel Church is a family of over 600, coordinating dozens of ministries and events each week. We have a million dollars that comes through our church each year for our mission and for Christ’s global causes. We have a staff and a host of volunteers. Our Next Generations Ministries department is larger than many churches. It takes a coordinated effort to organize, evaluate and move all this forward in constructive ways. The team of leaders includes those who instruct or host a Bible Study, those who teach Sunday School and those who coordinate ministries (like the nursery, library or coffee bar). Each one who helps guide Emmanuel is appreciated and esteemed. In every family or ministry there is a place where “the buck stops.” Here, that is our Leadership Team. Our Leadership Team is made up of pastors and deacons. This team of 12 is a very important group and next week you will help decide its make up. I am thrilled with those who have allowed their names to stand for the 3 deacon positions available. It speaks of the strength and depth of leadership we have in our church. 

Sunday
07Feb2010

Are You Connected?

Jeff Bjorgan

Spiritual Formation Pastor

In your mailbox you will find a new edition of our connecting points brochure. I encourage you to look through it and discover all the different ways people are connecting at Emmanuel church. Our desire is to have every person at Emmanuel connected to others in community, whether that is through a home group, a Bible study program, a book club, or a network of friends. A connecting point is any environment, large or small, that enables people to become more like Jesus while journeying alongside others.

We believe that the Christian walk is a relational walk. It’s very difficult to work out one’s faith on a deserted Island.  We grow as Christians through our relationship with God and our relationship with others.

In his brilliant little book, In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen wrote about the importance of allowing community to inform our spiritual walk.  He writes,

“I have found over and over again how hard it is to be truly faithful to Jesus when I am alone. I need my brothers or sisters to pray with me, to speak with me about the spiritual task at hand, and to challenge me to stay pure in mind, heart, and body.”

One of my tasks I have been given as the spiritual formation pastor is to help people find Jesus within Christian community. If you are interested in being part of a connecting point, please don’t hesitate in getting in touch with me. Also, if you are interested in starting a new connecting point, whether that involves opening your home for a study or working through a creative idea that helps build community in some new way, I would love to chat with you.

Again, take the time to investigate all that we are doing in small groups. Besides the brochure, we will continually update the website small group calendar as to when the groups take place, and we’ll be providing updates of the different groups in the bulletin over the next few weeks.