In an effort to begin consolidating several years of teaching through the Bible, I’ve launched a second blog.

Check it out here under Study and Teach the Bible.   My wife, a gifted teacher, is also assisting with her insights in various postings.   We covet your prayers for this new venture.

I had 2 interesting original letters left in my Toronto Baptist Seminary mailbox over the weekend.

Letter #1 Dated January 14th, 1874

on letterhead marked “Thomas May & Co.” 68 Yonge Street, P.O. Box 1141, Toronto

Dear Sir:

….been informed that the Building Committee are about selecting a site for the proposed new Baptist Church.   I beg leave to offer them my lot in the corner of Jarvis & Gerrard Streets  110 feet in Jarvis by 262 feet (more or less) on Gerrard for the sum of Eight thousand five hundred dollars ($8500) cash.   This offer to remain open until l1st February next.

I am Yours truly

J. Paterson

To Wm. Elliott-Esq, Toronto

Letter #2 Dated Toronto 28 Jan, 1874

James Paterson Esq.

Dear Sir,

Referring to your letter of the 14th  month and to the memo on it of this date, I hereby, on behalf of the building committee of the Bond St Baptist Church accept the offer of your lot on the corner of Jarvis and Gerrard Sts for the sum of eight thousand dollars cash, the said sum to be paid as soon as the proper titlte deed is furnished.

Yours truly, Wm. Elliott

In response to Wm. Elliott’s letter, Paterson (on his original letter) wrote “I thereby agree to accept the sum of Eight thousand dollars cash for the property described.   James Paterson

This was the original transaction for the property on which Jarvis Street Baptist Church is located.    JSBC is the church adjacent to the Seminary in which God has given me the privilege to serve. I doubt if you could buy the property for $8,000 today!!!!!!

Here’s a picture postcard from 1911 of the building where Jarvis Street Baptist Church meets.

Billy Graham nearing the age of 80 was invited to speak on Technology and Faith at a TED conference in 1998.

You can watch the video here. I found his comments insightful.

From November 2-4th, 2009 I had the joy of attending the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada National Convention.   I was representing TBS and am grateful for new contacts made while there in Niagara Falls.

One of my renewed acquaintances was with Rev. Francois Picard of SEMBEQ.   In typical French Canadian fashion this brother in Christ greeted me warmly and expressed his interest in my life and the work to which God has called me.   We conversed about a variety of topics and then we parted.     On my way home from Toronto on November 8th I saw Francois again while he was driving on the 401 headed east towards Montreal.

To my great joy in listening to Help and Hope – a great podcast from Help and Hope which is seeking to restore Christ to Counseling and Counseling to the Church, I heard a wonderful interview which profiled Francois Picard and Francois Turcotte, 2 (or should I say deux) brothers who are serving God together in Montreal.

Check out this link to the Help and Hope website.    Praise God for vital relationships, for connections with brothers and sisters in Christ elsewhere in North America who love our Lord Jesus Christ and are seeking to train leaders for gospel ministry in this challenging era!

I have just returned from British Columbia where I was investigating support of a Bible training institute with local churches in the Lower Mainland as well as Vancouver Island.    I left Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. from Pearson International – had a marvelous sunset flight across Canada and arrived 6:00 p.m. local time.   I spent the first 20 hours with Carolyn, my daughter, who is using her talents to serve God in a variety of ways.   Carolyn has been in B.C. since August 2008 apart from holidays and just loves it.   She is currently employed at Starbucks and ReMax but is tracking towards some other responsibilities with the RCMP.

We had a great time together – checking out a few eating establishments and getting caught up on “all the news.”   After a delicious lunch at “White Spot” she dropped me off at a  church in Port Coquitlam where I dialogued with pastors and interested students about an extension centre – a local Bible institute – committed to solid teaching and linked vitally to local churches.   I had an opportunity to speak at an evening gathering – a mid-week meeting and then was billeted in the home of a professional photographer who has a vital interest in training as well.

Thursday I visited in the Vancouver area with my host, Lloyd Douglas, and a couple who supports TBS.   Lloyd and I took the 5:00 p.m. ferry for the island and had a wonderful dinner together on the trip across the water.  My only regret of the trip was the darkness which had already shrouded the water and island so I did not get to see the beauty of this part of God’s creation.

Friday, Lloyd and I trekked as far north as Parksville and then worked our way south connecting with pastors, wonderful saints and interested students in a few different settings.

On Saturday we made further contacts and then I called it a night.   I flew home Sunday, arriving in Toronto at 2:15 p.m., traveled home to Oshawa, caught a quick rest (1 hour) then headed back to Richmond Hill for the evening service.

It was a busy week but incredibly fascinating to meet these ‘Brothers in Christ.’   If you are interested in supporting this initiative please contact me through Toronto Baptist Seminary.

Ruth and I just returned last evening from Niagara Falls where we had been representing Toronto Baptist Seminary at the Fellowship Baptist National Convention.  Here’s a quick picture of our table.   We changed it around featuring different aspects of the ministry each day.

I am grateful to those who pray for us as God has been directing our steps.   Although this conference was only attended by 126 out of 500 churches, God gave us some wonderful contacts.    It was great to renew acquaintance with alumni such as Eugene Ciria (from a past generation of students) and Justin Galotti (who recently graduated and has entered into pastoral ministry at West Toronto Baptist Church.    Pastoral friends like Ken Davis and Jim Clemens were also there and provided some stimulating conversation.

What I am most thrilled about is the door God opened to congregations with whom we have had no previous contact.   Our commitment to God’s word, the local church and a Biblical model of training leaders attracted these newer leaders to our booth.   Please pray for follow-up to these contacts.

Tuesday I fly to British Columbia where again God is opening doors.   My vision, by God’s grace, is to see a network of supporting churches who are convinced in “Theological Education that Transforms” and that believe sound doctrine is not optional.   We are trusting that God will direct in the establishment of regional training centres where godly pastors can provide solid teaching and training for eager students who will serve Christ in local churches.    Some of those, we trust, will complete a 1 year diploma at a local level, and then consider vocational service as God sets them apart for ministry.

The harvest in Canada is plentiful, the workers are few.     Let’s keep praying to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out more workers.     TBS exists to train workers that God is calling into harvest ministry!

Recent days have  involved conversations with burdened leaders, burdened with the responsibility, burdened with the challenges of helping people deal with tough life situations, burdened with the ongoing consequences of sin.   I’ve listened and at times wept when these “shepherds” of souls have unburdened their hearts which are at the point of breaking.

Praise be to the LORD, the God if Israel, who daily bears our burdens.   Thank God we have a burden-bearing God.    Scriven wrote so well, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”   God is the great lifter of burdens as we spread it all out before Him.   Isaiah notes that even young men can fall under the burden upon their shoulders, but “those who hope in the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

But even in carrying our burdens to God in prayer, we are grateful that God supplies us with help through others who help to carry the burden.   Never say “I’ll pray for you,” if you really don’t mean this.  Why not pause, right there, right then, and commit this brother of sister to the LORD.

O may our great Burden bearer sustain my burdened brothers and sisters in Christ.    This is my prayer!

I regularly travel from Oshawa to Toronto following Highway #401 to Kingston Road and then follow it to Dundas Street in “the big smoke” on my way to work.   As I travel down Kingston Road I pass a number of motels that have been in existence for several years.   Their advertisements show that they are “locked in time.”   What modern hotel would advertise “radios, colour TV, and phones” and features.   Why not MP3 players, plasma or HD TVs and wi-fi?

These motels, at least in their advertising, are locked in time.   In an earlier era the general public would have been delighted, impressed, even drawn to motels providing radios, colour TV and phones, but that era has passed.

Seeing these old motels has made me wonder about the strategy of churches.    Is it not tempting for churches to be “locked in time?”  Perhaps you’ve heard the oft-quoted 7 last words of the church – “We’ve never done it that way before!”  But is change evil?   Are we so convinced our “way of doing church” is perfected so that we have nothing new to learn?

I would like to see honest exposition of the text – “Sing to the LORD a NEW song…..”   How NEW is new?   Just composed, composed in the last year, composed in the last decade, composed in the last century, composed in the last millenium?

May the LORD enable us to leave UNCHANGED what must not change (cf. Paul’s challenge in Galatians 1 on the subject of tampering with the gospel) and be willing to CHANGE what is simply a method.   Churches that remain locked in time will soon find themselves as museums of the past rather than auditoriums for the truth in the present.

The psalmist urges us to “Declare His glory among all nations, His wonderful deeds to all people.”   How amazing that we can have a part in honoring God and notifying the nations that God reigns.

We just came through a spectacular Global Ministries conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa.  Our guest was Rev. Ashok Andrews of Partners International, an Indian pastor-evangelist, who was used by God amongst us and is being used by God in his home country.

Following our plenary sessions we were given the opportunity to hear of God’s work in Oshawa, Togo, India, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany to name most of the countries where this year’s guests serve God.   Church planting, leadership training, homeless youth rescue, evangelism and edification are the core ministries to which our partners are committed.

Though tired after a busy weekend, I marveled last evening at God’s direction through the planning and presentation of this conference.  To Him be the glory.    Check out last Sunday morning’s challenge here.

Where’s the “Amazing Grace” in this ministry?