December - Issue #4

decsaturday 13th - 2pmsunday 14th - 6pm

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY CHRISTMAS PRODUCTION

VOLUNTEEROPPORTUNITIES

Just a few of our volunteer opportunities ~ we want to help you discover the passions and gifts you have and

how you can use them to impact our community & the world.if you are interested in getting involved please email Karen ([email protected])

On December 13, 2014, ‘Hope In Christ Ministries’ is making plans to host its fourth annual Christmas Music Concert at Keyano Theatre. The money we raise this year will be going to help four local charities. Since we started our ministry, we have had the priviledge of helping many charities such the Center of Hope, (Santa Packs for the Homeless), Frank Spragin’s Outreach High School, Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club, and The Food Bank. Please join us for an evening filled with your favourite Christmas music performed by local artists. Tickets are $25 each and available @ McMur-ray Gospel Assembly, Keyano Box Office, or by emailing Beverly Fawcett at [email protected]

Make this a part of your Christmas celebration as you join Hope in Christ Ministries for an evening of music for the whole family. For more information contact www.hopeinchristcanada.com

Beverly Fawcett founded Hope in Christ Ministries in January of 2005. From the start, it has been making an impact on the lives of those that they have had the priviledge of ministering to. Beverly has written two books, one of which is available right here at our MGA bookstore called, “Planting the Seed”. She shares a twice-daily feature called Word of Hope which airs on KAOS 91.1 radio station Monday through Friday at 6:20am and 4:40pm For the past two years Hope in Christ Ministries has organized a Municipal Concert of Prayer with the last one hosting over 400 people from all de-nominations. Next year’s event is already scheduled for June 8, 2015. Hope in Christ Ministries also has the priviledge of partnering with St Gab’s Rock Group every Christmas to fill 250 Santa Packs for the homeless. Beverly fa-cilitates the Holy Spirit night every second Sunday evening of the month at McMurray Gospel Assembly, along with teaching and preaching at various churches when asked. This year, Hope in Christ Ministries started a Profes-sional Women’s Group, which is held the last Saturday of every month at the Sawridge Hotel. They also continue to partner with other churches, schools, and so forth in the city. As Hope in Christ continues to be directed by the Holy Spirit, may you know that your support enables them to proclaim liberty to the lost and see the work of God accomplished in the lives of others.

beverly fawcettpresident, hope in christ

C a n a d i a n Christmas 2013 was a first for my son, Russell. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, a case of high functioning autism. Rus-sell, and his sister Jillian, moved here to Canada from the Philippines in January 2012. Autistic people love routine. Un-fortunately for him, it was a big change from having family support back home to an independent Western life of wash-ing dishes, taking out the garbage, riding the city bus, wearing layers of clothing, going to a new school, and most of all, a COLD WINTER. To top it all off, snow came really early - October 8, 2013!

Moving to a new house was another change that Russell had to deal with. It was dif-ficult for him when the school bus didn’t get to the house on time. One afternoon, they were short of buses so instead of one route, the driver did 2 routes for Thickwood and Timberlea. They finally arrived home at 5pm, when it was dark, cold, stormy and Russell was hungry. He was so frustrated! He knew that he was late to shovel the walk way, unload the dishwasher, and do his homework. He was sure that if he missed any of these, he would lose his internet privilege for the day and I would get angry.

It was all about the routine.The following day, they had the Candy Cane Lane program at the Christian School where parents donate unused or gently used items and the kids can buy Christmas gifts for their mom, dad and siblings for a dollar each. I thought about Russell while I was at work. I asked him how his day was, and this was his reply:

I thought maybe he had bought something and later found out it had missing parts. I assured him that everything was okay and as long as it was a gift from him, I would love it. So I came home, sat beside the Christmas tree and called him. Russell, my 14 year old young man, handed me a paper bag full of 5 red Christmas balls that he bought from the Candy Cane Lane. He had bought some hair items for his sister too. On the way home, he had fallen asleep from the long trip in the

school bus. When they got to the bus stop, he woke up and all the Christmas balls had rolled out of the bag and under the seats. He rushed to pick them up and the bus started to move. The other kids yelled to the driver, “Stop! He’s still here!” Russell told me, “I bought these nice balls for your tree, I saw 2 more balls on the bus floor, but I ran out of time to get them. I am sorry.”

I broke into tears as I saw the innocence and sincerity in Russell, giving such a special gift from the heart. These Christmas balls held a special spot in our home last year and will for the many more years to come.

Russell with mom Girlie Jones

Donations can be made through MGA and will be receipted.

Gift options can be picked up from the Christmas trees that will be displayed in the lobby of MGA beginning December 7.

MGA HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE A MISSIONS CHURCH. WHY? BECAUSE IT IS THE HEART OF THE CHURCH, BECAUSE IT IS THE HEART OF GOD

Here at McMurray Gospel Assembly we take Christ's commission seriously to Go into all the world with the Gospel. We are thankful for all who partner with us in helping fulfill that mission. Financially we have the privilege of supporting 15 di�erent Missions on a monthly basis and there are a number of people involved in each one. The first Sunday of each month is Missions Sunday and all the loose o�ering as well as designated go to support Missions. As well 10% of the church budget goes to Missions. We feature our supported Missions on the First Sunday of the month.

Here is a list of the Missions we currently support

contents10 GOD HAS SPOKEN

12 CHRISTMAS STORY

13 CRAZY CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE

14 GLS REVIEW

16 THE VERGE (YOUNG ADULTS COMMUNITY)

17 THE VERGE CHRISTMAS PARTY

18 LIFT HIM UP

19 MEN’S & LADIES CORNER

20 THE TEAM / FINANCIAL UPDATE

21 LIFE GROUPS / VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

22 CALENDAR

23 GET CONNECTED

PUBLISHERglen forsberg

managing directorgrace carabeo

asst. managing directorwhitney lu

content development editorrick kirschner

copy editorjoy mckoy

designersgrace carabeowhitney lu

productionprinting unlimited

GODHAS

SPOKEN

oices are powerful. The voice of Adolph Hitler convinced the masses that discrimination was justified. The voice of M.L. King moved another na-tion towards equality. The voice of God is most amazing and powerful; it moves millions towards belonging forever.

The first chapter of Genesis describes the power of God’s voice in the creation of our world; its water, land, flora, fauna, and the human race. The account describes a massive amount of creation taking place within six days. The narrative is remarkable in its logical sequence of creation; first the infrastructure, then the life forms it would support. The voice of God is heard in at least five ways.

• In creating the world - Genesis 1• Through creation – Romans 1• Ancestors listened via the prophets - Hebrews 1• By the Holy Spirit - II Peter 1:21• By His Son - Hebrews 1 & 2

By creation, through creation, prophets, Holy Spirit, Son. The variety of ways God speaks continues to this day. God’s most powerful expression was reserved for the last call, His voice came through the cry of a baby, who became a man, who was and is the Son of God! Hear His voice, love Him, follow Him to transformed living!

glen forsbergsenior pastor

When my son, Liam, was five years old he asked me if Christmas was about just getting presents. I explained to him that Christmas was about celebrating the birth of Jesus, that is was a big birthday party for Jesus!

I asked Liam what we did to celebrate someone’s birthday. He was thoughtful for a moment but I quickly saw the confusion set in. After a moment, he asked, “Mom, we give gifts for people’s birthday, but how do we give a gift to Jesus? I don’t think the mailman delivers to heaven!”

With a soft chuckle and a smile, I confirmed that, “no, the mailman doesn’t deliver to heaven.”

Considering my reply he asked me, “Mommy, then how do I give a gift to Jesus?”

“Well, the way we give a gift to Jesus is to give a gift to someone in need. That makes Jesus happy when we help others.”

It wasn’t long before Liam mentioned a little boy in his kindergarten class who he thought was in need He told me that the boy didn’t have a dad and that sometimes it made him very sad. Liam decided at that moment, that he wanted to give him a gift. We went to the store and chose something special, wrapped it up and took it to school just before Christmas holidays.

We gave it to his teacher and asked if she would give it to the little boy when he got picked up by his mom and explain that someone wanted them to know that they were cared about.

We stood back at the end of the day busying ourselves with outdoor clothes and watched quietly as Liam’s classmate was picked up by his mom. The teacher handed them the gift and told them someone just wanted to do something kind. The little boy was so excited and the look of joy on his face as he opened his new truck set, melted my heart.

Then I looked over at Liam. I had to push down the knot in my throat as I was overcome with gratitude! The delight on his face as he watched his classmate, told me that he was experiencing the joy of giving, he had captured the lesson that had escaped me for so long. He knew the truth that it is better to give than receive…and at the age of five! He still lives out that truth today. I often wonder if that joy Liam felt in that moment was perhaps the same joy that God felt when He gave His Son Jesus, the greatest gift of all.

CHILDREN & FAMILY PASTOR

Himself. Paul spoke similarly of this when he acknowledged that some were preaching Christ out of selfish ambitions. “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” (Phil 1:18).

So the question for those who claim to follow Christ is how are you lifting Him up so that all people can be drawn by Him? Clearly we have a responsibility to do the lifting, and one of the greatest ways to do that is in wor-ship. Praising Jesus in song is an obvious way to elevate Him. Lifting Him up in the work-place, in the stores, on the roads, at the plac-es outside the church walls is very different.

What does it take to stand out in our so-ciety? People go to greater lengths than hand scrawled signage when they really want to get noticed. What will you do to lift Jesus up for all to see Him clearly? What lengths will you go to because you’re convinced that people need what you have? Christmas is a ready-made, still somewhat “socially acceptable” opportunity to share the Gospel. If Jesus truly is the “Reason for the Season” then it merits our going the extra mile to declare his Lord-ship and His love for people.

LIFT HIM UPJohn 12:31-33

Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Have you ever been to a sporting event, or seen one on TV, where fans were holding up signs to encourage their favourite players, or rebuke the refs, or chastise an entire team? One disenchanted fan held up a sign to his beloved Boston Bruins, who clearly had just lost an important late-in-the-season game and it read: Golf is fun too.

In 2010 General Motors spent $4.2 billion in ad-vertising costs, while Ford followed closely with $3.9 billion. Walmart spent $2.5 billion. Verizon spent the same. Companies like these believe in their products and they go to incredible lengths to let people know.

We go to great lengths to communicate sometimes don’t we? Nobody brings a sign to a hockey game without intentions of holding it high in the air and waving it around. Companies don’t invest billions of dollars in marketing without being confident that people will want, and even need, their product.

We only lift up that which we want everyone to see. We only bring attention to those things that we feel people will want to see, or that they need to see. When Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” He was referring to His death on the cross. Today the principle still ap-plies; when we lift Jesus high, for all to see, He will draw them to Himself. Notice here that Jesus is not doing the lifting up, but He is doing the drawing. The Roman guards were to lift Jesus up, not with Godly intent, but instead with evil in their hearts. Yet through their wick-ed actions Jesus did indeed draw both you and me to gordon ponak

worship & christian arts pastor

Men’s

Corner

Men’s Ministry is starting a new 6 week-bible study series called - GOD’S AT WAR (Nov 18 - Dec 23)! every tuesday @ 7pm. Join Pastor Robert as he facilitates this study

There are gods at war within each of us. They battle for the throne of our hearts, and much is at stake. This is why idola-try is the most discussed problem in the entire Bible. Behind every sin struggle that you and I have is a false god that is win-ning the war in our lives. Don’t give in to the myth that gods are only statues that people of other cultures or long ago wor-shiped. Pleasure, romance, sex, money, and power are just a few of the gods that vie for our allegiance in today’s society.

- Kyle Idleman-

“ “

Ladies’Corner

Women’s ministry is a place where we are given the opportunity to connect with God, one another, our community, friends and family. We just finished our study of the book of Colossians and a lot has happened over the last months. We turn on the radio or televisions and hear and see the tragedies that occur all around the world. This constant consumption of negativity can become very wearisome on the heart and mind. We need to remain in God and His goodness in the midst of it all, and not fear or become discouraged. We are to make known to the world the glorious gift of redemption and forgive-ness through the cross. Paul wants us to stand firm in the truth and continue to share the Good News! Colossians 4:2-6 says,

1. Devote ourselves to prayer2. Stay Alert / Watchful3. Be Thankful/ Have gratitude

This is not the time to shrink back but to stand as one body, ful-ly loving one another and committed to finishing the race God has called us to run.

“Therefore as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on LOVE, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. AND BE THANKFUL. Let the message of Christ dwell

among you richly” Colossians 3:12-15,16

Where there is light there can be no darkness, continue to shine brightly and pray that God will open doors for us to share His message!

Shawna Vincent

special men’s breakfast with Guest SpeakerEMMANUEL CHIWELE(from Lac La Biche)

SATURDAYDECEMBER 6TH9am-12pm@Canadian Legion (Waterways)TO REGISTER: 780 743 2446 $20

december 2014events

december 2014recurring events

SUNDAY, DEC 7 Newcomers Lunch

THURSDAY, DEC 11 Young Adults Christmas Party

FRIDAY, DEC 19 LOL Christmas Party

FRIDAY, DEC 12 Youth Christmas Party

SATURDAY, DEC 13 The Reason (Keyano Theatre)

SATURDAY, DEC 13 SUNDAY, DEC 14

Children’s Ministry Christmas Production

WEDNESDAY, DEC 24 Christmas Eve Service

WEDNESDAY, DEC 31 New Year’s Eve Service & Potluck

SATURDAY, DEC 20 Chinese Outreach Meeting

MONDAYS7:00pm JamNite

TUESDAYS7:00pm Men’s Bible Study

WEDNESDAYS7:00pm The Base (Junior High)7:00pm Prayer Meeting7:00pm Youth Bible Study

THURSDAYS7:30pm The Verge (Young Adults)

SATURDAYS11:00am Saviour Street Talk1:00pm W&CA Team Practice

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES: >9AM > 11AM > 1PM KIDZONE (6MOS-12 YRS OLD): > 9AM > 11AM (4-12 YRS OLD): > 1PM

SATURDAY, DEC 6 Men’s Breakfast

FRIDAYS7:00pm The New Experience (Youth)

DECEMBER 25, 26, 31 & JANUARY 1 THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED

GET CONNECTED

this is your first time here, or if you have been coming for some time, come and visit us at the Connection Centre. We have a Newcomers lunch on the first Sunday of every month, so come for great food and great new friends.

MISSED A SUNDAY? GET CURRENT

MCMURRAY GOSPEL ASSEMBLY10110 MAIN STREET, FORT MCMURRAY AB T9H 2G7

P. 780 743 2446 F. 780 791 2443E. [email protected]

karen boldtconnecting co-ordinator

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

CHRISTMAS EVESERVICE5PM | 7PM

SCHEDULE

NEW YEAR’S EVESERVICE

9PM | POTLUCK10:30PM | CELEBRATION

WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS. PLS CONTACT PASTOR RICK AT 780 743 2446 OR [email protected]

December - Issue #4

Documents

Transcript of December - Issue #4