Thank you FATHER for my dad!

Thank you Heavenly Father for my dad.   He would have been 94 today!

Thanks for a dad who taught me “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favour rather than silver or gold.”

Thanks for a dad who served sacrificially.   He never “demanded” payment.   He never “went on strike.”   Some times his hours of income tax preparation for an individual would be rewarded with a simple “thanks.”

Thanks for a dad who was unafraid of hard work.   I recall him telling me about time spent in Northern Ontario particularly in the bush.   How many cords of wood did Dad personally cut down?  How many bales of hay did he move to feed hungry sheep and cows?

Thanks for a dad who had convictions.   Dad was passionate about his faith in Jesus Christ.  Long before I ever went to a Bible college or Seminary my Dad taught me that God’s word was infallible, inspired and inerrant.    Long before I ever heard a stranger preach or had the joy of preaching myself, I heard Dad open God’s word and feed the flock.   This was of course a sermon prepared after a FULL week of many other responsibilities – farming, book-keeping, etc.    I’m not sure how many hours dad had in each day but he seemed to pack them full.

Thanks for a dad who modeled integrity.   In the joy of pastoral ministry in Northern Ontario I had the joy of reaping many of the “seeds” dad had planted.   Dad was well spoken of and respected by neighbours, friends and family.   O I know he was a sinner.  He didn’t always obey but I still saw a desire to live life wisely for the glory of God.

On what would have been my dad’s 94th birthday, I am most grateful to my Heavenly Father for  blessing my life with a great dad.   Honour your father and your mother!   That’s the biblical command and that’s why I posted this today.

Here’s the obituary written in the Simcoe Reformer in May 2004

EDWARDS: Pastor Chester Hutchings – passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday May 2, 2004 at the Norfolk General Hospital, Simcoe, Pastor Chester Edwards of Port Rowan and formerly of Thornloe in his 89th year. Beloved husband of Margaret (Veitch) whom he married June 17, 1942. Dear father of David and wife Beth of Ottawa, Joyce and husband Ed Doerksen of Port Rowan, Ronald and wife Catherine of Caledonia, Ruth and husband Dave Reimer and Kathleen and husband Phil Baese all of Port Rowan, Gordon and wife Jan of Haileybury and Rev. Keith and wife Ruth of Thornloe. He will be sadly missed by his 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Also survived by his brother Forde and wife Agnes and sister Grace Johnston all of New Liskeard. Relatives and friends may call at the JEFFREY W. GLENDINNING FUNERAL HOME, 36 Front St., Port Rowan on Tuesday from 2:00-4:00 and 7:00-9:00 p.m. Funeral service will be conducted from the Port Rowan Mennonite Brethren Church on Wednesday May 5, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Sandy Young officiating. Interment later in New Liskeard. In lieu of flowers donations to the Gideon Bibles or to A Special Project at the Thornloe Crossroads Baptist Church would be gratefully appreciated by the family.
Psalm 16:16 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”

March 5th – 7:30 p.m. Special Musical Evening

Pastor Jim Correnti – whose musical gifting and theological training have blessed many will present an evening of celebration in the auditorium of Jarvis Street Baptist Church on March 5, 2010.

Here’s a poster promoting the event.   Help get the word out.  If you live in Southern Ontario come and join us.

The LORD is doing GREAT THINGS

As Toronto Baptist Seminary celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2007, Dr. Michael Haykin, our principal at that time guided us to adapt William Carey’s motto, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”   This vision captured a fresh desire in my heart to see the LORD have dominion from sea to sea across this land.

Since that time God has been opening up doors.   We praise Him for warm fellowship and great partnerships forming in British Columbia and Alberta.   Many are praying and we are believing God for a great network of like-minded churches and leaders seeking to equip others to serve God in a variety of ways.

Please continue to pray that God will increase our faith.  I’m asking God for 40 new students for the Fall of 2010.  It may mean some crowded quarters, some renovations, changes for all of us, but if God is in it — He will provide.

Here’s a sneak preview of the back page of an upcoming Gospel Witness issue.   2010 Feb Gospel Witness Back Page

God has opened and is opening up some amazing doors of opportunity for our alumni.   Rejoice with us, encourage others to support this vital work.  The hour is NOW – the opportunity is GREAT – the harvest fields are waiting!

22 Years of Blessing – Carolyn Beth

On January 29, 1988 Ruth and I welcomed our first daughter into our home.    Carolyn Beth Edwards celebrates her 22nd birthday today.   Here she is in a picture with Jane as we were stopping on one of the islands on our May 2009 cruise.

Carolyn is an adventurer – she loves to travel and has “done her time” on planes.

Today she lives in the West awaiting new employment which will challenge her once again.

We miss her tons and are super proud of her as well as being deeply grateful to God for all He has done for her and through her life.    Happy Birthday Carolyn!

One of the websites I checked out indicates Carolyn means “joy” or “song of happiness.”  Another suggests “beautiful woman.”

So “beautiful woman” who brings “joy” – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Remember

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;  but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

Love,

Dad

Coming To Faith

We have had the joy in recent days of seeing “a new birth” – spiritually speaking.   In the church in which I grew up, we sometimes sang “I Know Whom I have Believed.”

One of the stanzas declares “I know not how the Spirit moves convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the word, creating faith in Him!” How true – how does the Spirit of God move upon the sinner’s heart – convicting of sin – showing the need – then showing the Saviour who alone can meet the need – then guiding the sinner to trust the Saviour.

Today’s hymn is entitled “Lord, in Humble Consecration”

Lord, in humble consecration I have given all to thee;

Let the work of full salvation Graciously be wrought in me;

Let the work of full salvation Graciously be wrought in me.

Chorus

All for Jesus, all for Jesus, Thine forever would I be;

All for Jesus, all for Jesus, Have thy way and will in me.

Unto sinners thou art gracious, Thou hast freely justified;

Still I trust the blood so precious To be wholly sanctified;

Still I trust the blood so precious To be wholly sanctified.

Take the will thy grace hast conquer’d, Take the heart thy love hast won,

Take the life thy blood hast purchas’d, Take me all to be thine own;

Take the life thy blood hast purchas’d, Take me all to be thine own.

My unworthiness confessing Humbly at thy cross I bow;

Here by faith I claim the blessing, Take me, Saviour, take me now;

Here by faith I claim the blessing, Take me, Saviour, take me now.

Thou art able now, and willing, Lord thy promise I believe;

With the Holy Ghost thou’rt filling, Full salvation I receive;

With the Holy Ghost thou’rt filling, Full salvation I receive.

Although this hymn is unlikely to be sung any time soon in today’s churches, the message is still powerful.  May the Lord have His way and His will in me today – This is my prayer!

Songs of The Kingdom

This semester at Toronto Baptist Seminary I have the joy of teaching “The Worshiping Church” a course designed to help students think through a biblical theology and philosophy of worship and to cultivate solid skills in planning and leading worship.

As part of my preparation for this new course I am reading a number of passages of Scripture and a wide variety of books and articles on the subject of worship.

I want to share the text of some songs from various hymnals, old and new, which have been given to me by a variety of acquaintances who know of my growing “hymnal collection.”  Perhaps the day will come when we will reintroduce hymnody and recapture a blend of worship using psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.   Certainly the Bible (Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:16-17) suggests variety in music.

Today’s hymn comes from The Songs of the Kingdom by The Christian Witnes Co,  1916

Blessed Jesus, Precious Saviour

Blessed Jesus, precious Saviour, Fill my heart with love to Thee;

Help me, Lord, to sing Thy praises, Still my strength and comfort be.

Oh, how sweet to feel Thy presence, With its sanctifying pow’r,

Bringing joy, and hope, and gladness, Day by day and hour by hour.

As along my pilgrim journey, Walking in Thy steps I go,

All is well, for Thou art with me, Thy rich blessings to bestow.

Trusting Thee in ev’ry trouble, Trusting Thee, whate’er my care,

Peace, sweet peace, is still my portion, And Thy tender love I share.

Lifting up mine eyes to heaven, How I long for that blest day,

When in glory Thee beholding, Things of earth pass away.

And thro’ all the endless ages, In my home in heav’n above,

I shall evermore adore Thee For Thy never failing love.

O that Christ would fill our hearts with love for Himself.   O to trust Him in ev’ry trouble.   Amen.

Let Him (Her) Deny Himself (Herself) and Take up her Cross..

My brother-in-law, Dave Reimer, sent me an e-mail this evening reminding me of the importance of self-denial.  His daughter (my niece Julie Preis) had written this note earlier today….

“Please pray for our church today.  It is a sad, sad day.

We commissioned a wonderful, kind, passionate lady in our church on Sunday morning who left for Haiti yesterday morning.  She does a yearly medical mission trip there for the past four years.

She arrived, and within a few hours, her building collapsed in the earthquake, and we just found out late this morning that she died.

We have heavy hearts.”

Julie knew Yvonne Martin and serves at Waterloo Mennonite Brethren church.

Y. Martin (Right) - A Servant of Christ To The End

Details of Yvonne’s death are all over Canadian media outlets including The Globe and Mail.

Please pray for all who mourn that God will comfort them.   Thank God for a woman willing to deny herself, take up her cross and follow her Lord right to the end!   What a contrast to the self-centred, self-absorbed culture we live in here in Canada.  In between updates on the devastation in Haiti a Toronto radio station was advertising affordable rates for luxury cars – does this make sense??????

Eight Summarizing Words on the Gospel

D.A. Carson provides a great article on the central place of the gospel.    This is well worth a read…..

The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-19)

Many have commented on the fact that the church in the western world is going through a time of remarkable fragmentation. This fragmentation extends to our understanding of the gospel. For some Christians, “the gospel” is a narrow set of teachings about Jesus and his death and resurrection which, rightly believed, tip people into the kingdom. After that, real discipleship and personal transformation begin, but none of that is integrally related to “the gospel.” This is a far cry from the dominant New Testament emphasis that understands “the gospel” to be the embracing category that holds much of the Bible together, and takes Christians from lostness and alienation from God all the way through conversion and discipleship to the consummation, to resurrection bodies, and to the new heaven and the new earth.

Other voices identify the gospel with the first and second commandments—the commandments to love God with heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. These commandments are so central that Jesus himself insists that all the prophets and the law hang on them (Matthew 22:34-40)—but most emphatically they are not the gospel.

A third option today is to treat the ethical teaching of Jesus found in the Gospels as the gospel— yet it is the ethical teaching of Jesus abstracted from the passion and resurrection narrative found in each Gospel. This approach depends on two disastrous mistakes. First, it overlooks the fact that in the first century, there was no “Gospel of Matthew,” “Gospel of Mark,” and so forth. Our four Gospels were called, respectively, “The Gospel According to Matthew,” “The Gospel According to Mark,” and so forth. In other words, there was only one gospel, the gospel of Jesus….

Inspiring Women – April 10, 2010

Women’s Conference Poster April 2010

The past few years Toronto Baptist Seminary has hosted a great  Day-away conference for women.  This year’s conference is April 10, 2010.

Contact Toronto Baptist Seminary for more information.

They Didn’t Think

Last night I had the privilege of sharing with the “Celebrate Recovery” group in my home church.    This ministry under the direction of Pastor Ken is serving a vital purpose in enabling individuals to identify sinful patterns of thinking and behaving and seek biblical change.

As I spoke I cited a poem from one of my old textbooks.

I cite it here for your edification – it is entitled

“They Didn’t Think”

Once a trap was baited with a piece of cheese;

It smelled so strong to mousie, It almost made him sneeze.

An old mouse said:  “There’s danger; Be careful where you go!”

“Nonsense,” replied the other; “I don’t believe you know!”

So he walked in boldly, No one was in sight;

First he took a nibble, Then he took a bite.

Close the trap together Snapped, as quick as wink,

Catching little mousie there, Because he “didn’t think.”

Once a little robin Stood outside the door;

He wanted to go inside, And hop upon the floor.

“No, no,” said the mother, “You must stay with me;

Little birds are safest Sitting in a tree!”

“I don’t care,” said Robin, And gave his tail a fling;

“I believe you old folks Don’t know everything.”

He went; but Pussy seized him, Before he’d time to blink.

“Oh,” he cried:  “I’m sorry!  But I didn’t think.”

Now, my little children, Learn from this my song,

Young folks are not always right, Nor old folks always wrong.

Don’t suppose you know more Than anybody knows;

For there’s often danger Where no danger shows.

There’s a great deal of wisdom included in this 1923 textbook for Ontario schools.   I wonder if the current Minister of Education would authorize such a text today!