OCC Women's Online Meeting

2011-07-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Even a blog needs to rest now and again, and so I say goodbye for a while. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to publish now and again in the next month, perhaps not. If not then we will return in August - may God bless you!

I have corrected the time for Mariposa Ministry - it is at 3 oclock on Sundays, not at 2.

In the meantime - do you know our official church website has had an amazing transformation? Check it out by clicking here www.osoyooschurch.ca

~ Barbara

News from Osoyoos Christian Centre - July 6th, 2011

2011-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre - ONLINE!

Here's what's happened at OCC this past week, and what's coming up:

MP3 Audio Sermon - Pastor Jospeh Fernandes (right beneath this commentary)

"God Meant It For Good" (Gen. 50:20) - poem by Freda Hanbury Allen (click the From the Heart tab located top of this web page)

Current and future events (scroll down!) NEW! Light lunch and fellowship - tarry with us after the service, light lunch provided.

photos from "The Booth" - luncheon time, parade pics and Children's Church

Free scripture wallpaper (click The Gallery tab at the top of this web page) - here's a preview for this week:

*****

Pastor Joseph will return here next week with his contribution for "Good Word" - in the meantime, here is the MP3 Audio of his July 3rd Sermon. Click on the triangle to listen. PS - if the volume is not loud enough for you - you can click your mouse on the little "bars" on the player, to the left of the word "shuffle" When the bands are all blacked out then the volume is to the max on the player, then you need turn your computer sound up.

*****

CURRENT EVENTS

Pre-service Prayer every Sunday before Service.

Osoyoos Christian Centre 9:30 a.m

What better way to come together and prepare our hearts to accept God's Word into our hearts. Please, gather with us.

Light Lunch and fellowship

Following Sunday Service each week. We encourage you to contribute sandwiches (sign up sheet if you know ahead - or feel free just to bring something unannounced if you don't)

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one July 6th

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We are exploring the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible! ... and a friend!

Thursday Night Prayer and Song

Each Thursday - 7:00 on

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens -

8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 3 pm

Mariposa Gardens is a beautiful Senior's home located here in Osoyoos. OCC has the honour of being invited to share the Good Word of hope in Jesus Christ. We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship!

Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Shoe Boxes!

Yes, we are encouraging you to get started to fill shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Shoebox.

These boxes are filled with more than just the good things you fill them with - they are also filled with HOPE, LOVE & COMPASSION and even better, many children are shared the story of salvation and come to know the Lord - the most important and life-changing gift of all. Bring your boxes into church with you when they are filled. Let us know if you have any questions.

May God bless you richly this week!

News from Osoyoos Christian Centre - June 29, 2011

2011-06-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre - ONLINE!

Last week was our very first "Prayer Walk" in our community. Part of our congregation met at the church and then walked downtown, visiting businesses along the way - getting to know people and then entering into a time of prayer for these businesses. We hope you can join us on the next one - date is to be announced. If you know of a business who would like to request us to come and pray for them we would love to accommodate!

Here's what's been happening at OCC this past week, and what's coming up:

MP3 Audio Sermon - Dave Oosterveld - Pastor visiting from Cheers Church in Penticton (right beneath this commentary)
"A Prayer for Canada" - devotional by Kaye Harkness (click the From the Heart tab located top of this web page) and an inspiring Canadian Song Video
Current and future events (scroll down!) - NEW! Prayer Walk for Osoyoos! NEW! Light lunch and fellowship - tarry with us after the service, light lunch provided.
photos from "The Booth" - just a few snaps of everyone enjoying a beverage, light eats and fellowship after service (OCC Photo Album Tab - look up!)
Free scripture wallpaper (click The Gallery tab at the top of this web page) - here's a preview for this week:

*****

Thank you to Pastor Dave and his family for gracing our church this past Sunday. Here is the MP3 Audio recording of his message - just click on the triangle to play.

*****

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

Pastor Joseph returns with a fourth installment to his series in 1 Samuel. We encourage your feedback!

Last time I left you with thefollowing challenge:

If the Philistines took the ark as a spoil of victory, which they wereentitled to do as victors, then why didn’t they just return it as is?

Why were they advised to providea trespass offering?

You’ll also remember that I mentioned that as you thinkabout this question, think about how the unsaved view God.

We continue to look at this question now. Just to clarify - theissue here isn’t that they returned the ark (there is little argument that thiswas the appropriate step), but rather that they felt this need to return itwith a trespass offering. You’ll remember this was the recommendationof the religious leaders when called upon to contribute to this discussion andto provide some direction. These spiritual leaders advised the Philistine lordsto send the ark away with a trespass offering.

During this time period of the Ancient Near East, therelationship between a specific people group and their god(s) could be tenuousat best. Keep in mind too that this was a time when one’s way of life wasprimarily connected to the earth. The gods were viewed as governing the naturalelements like the wind, rain, harvest, etc… As such, it was important that thegod be kept happy at all times. These gods were often considered precariousdeities and their actions without rhyme or reason. You need only to think ofthe Greek tragedies to get a sense of the typical view of the gods.

These deities could also be mean and vindictive to theirdevotees - the evidence of which was a drought or some kind of natural disasteras had been thought. In these instances the deity’s anger was brought onbecause of a failure of some kind on the part of the people, whetherindividually or collectively. In this case some kind of trespass offering wasrequired to appease the god and make amends for the wrong that had been done.You will likely see what I’m getting at here (in my opinion) the reason why thePhilistine spiritual leaders recommended a trespass offering is simply becausethey saw Yahweh’s actions as paralleling those of Dagon.

Dagon was the storm god or the god of thunder who broughtrain upon the crops. As such, in the eyes of the Philistines’ drought or thelack of an abundance of rain meant that Dagon was withholding the rain becauseof his anger. I believe the Philistines were just going by the experience oftheir own interaction between them and Dagon.

Dagon withheld the rain from watering their crops - maybethey failed in their worship of him; consequently they presented a trespassoffering to appease him. The point here is that they were simply going off of a well-established perspective. Assuch, the relationship between thePhilistines and their god Dagon forms the context relating to the steps theytook to return the ark. In this instance, because they believed Yahweh wasangry with them for taking the ark. In response to this they did what they’vealways done – present him with a trespass offering because that is the only wayto appease an angry god.

Again, in my opinion what they, the Philistines, couldn’tsee is that God was actually trying toget their attention and used a language that they could understand. Isn’tthat like God to communicate to us in a way that we understand! In other words,I believe God was demonstrating to the Philistines that he was in fact the one true God – he demonstrated this inDagon’s temple and now he was doing the same through these (yes harsh) occurrences. Again, this was a language that theyunderstood. Rather than see this as an attempt to get their attention, theyinterpret it as “We must have done something wrong and must present a trespassoffering to appease the Israelite God. “

Earlier I asked to think about how the unsaved view God andI believe that this is often they way that they see God because they don’tunderstand his ways. He is an angry God who must be appeased.

What we have is the cause and affect as follows:

1. something bad has happened to me,
2. I’m being punished (by God) because I didsomething wrong,
3. therefore so I must makes amends,
4. If I didn’t do anything wrong then everythingwould be fine.

All too often this is how individuals—the unsaved—think orperceive of God and because of this perception they miss out on what he isreally trying to do. Instead of seeing a God who loves them and is trying toget their attention through a mode of communication that they can understand,they see “Angry God.” I want to say this, that the mode of communication isn’talways negative. God also does incredibly wonderful things in the lives of theunsaved but this can be missed too because it’s chalked up to the fruits ofhuman effort. I digress.

My point here is very simple. We live in a world today thatreally needs to see the love of God. They need to be told that God loves justthe way they are. Yes we are all guilty before God but let’s not doubt orquestion that God truly loves people just the way they are. “But God showed his great love for us bysending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8).” Jesushas become that trespass offering.

God doesn’t hate anyone – we are all created in His image.Yes he wants to change and transform lives through the power of the Holy Spirit,but without a response to God’s love, as evidence through the act of acceptingChrist into one’s heart, the Holy Spirit will not force a change. Love is whereit’s at for the unsaved – they need to see a God who truly loves them.

As we strive to be salt and light in world filled withdarkness and hate, let’s salt our words with God’s love, let’s shine forth withthe love of the Heavenly Father. As we do so we lift up Christ who died forlost humanity and when we lift him up he will draw all people to himself.

Blessings,

*****

CURRENT EVENTS

Pre-service Prayer every Sunday before Service.

Osoyoos Christian Centre 9:30 a.m

What better way to come together and prepare our hearts to accept God's Word into our hearts. Please, gather with us.

Light Lunch and fellowship

Following Sunday Service each week. We encourage you to contribute sandwiches (sign up sheet if you know ahead - or feel free just to bring something unannounced if you don't)

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one July 6th

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We are exploring the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible! ... and a friend!

Thursday Night Prayer and Song

Each Thursday - 7:00 on

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens -

8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Prayer Walk for Osoyoos

Starts at Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch Crescent
Next Time "To Be Announced"

What a wonderful opportunity for us to pray for our local businesses. We encourage you to do your own personal "prayer walk" the next time you find yourself downtown - and then lets come together in a corporate group too!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Shoe Boxes!

Yes, we are encouraging you to get started to fill shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Shoebox

I'm adding a new link into the sidebar of our blog - you may want to check this out - its' a website called Daily Audio Bible. A few of us from church have been listening to the daily audio broadcasts and find it valuable. It is FREE daily readings from the bible with a bit of commentary. There is also a daily Proverb and also Kids bible reading too! You can also click HERE to get there too!

May God bless you richly this week!

News from Osoyoos Christian Centre - June 22, 2011

2011-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre - ONLINE! Here's what we've updated since last week:

This Sunday we look forward to a message from Dave Oosterveld - Youth Pastor for Cheers Church in Penticton. He will also be bringing a band to provide this weeks worship music - I understand its on the "lively" side. Won't you bring a friend and give Pastor Dave a warm welcome?

Here's what else is new:

Audio Sermon - Ralph speaking about Father's Day - an inspiring and encouraging message.(right beneath this commentary)
"Confessing is a Blessing" - devotional (click the From the Heart tab located top of this web page)
Current and future events (scroll down!) - NEW! Prayer Walk for Osoyoos! NEW! Bread at the Booth - tarry with us after the service, light lunch provided.
photos from Amalia's (Osoyoos Baptist Church) yard sale a couple of weekends ago, a huge success and raised monies for their very worthwhile ministry in Argentina.
Free scripture wallpaper (click The Gallery tab at the top of this web page) - here's a preview for this week:

*****

Pastor Joseph will return next week with an addition to his series exploring 1 Samuel. Stay tuned!

Today we provide you with an audio recording from Ralph Hargrave as he speaks on Father's Day:

*****

CURRENT EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

NEW!!

Prayer Walk for Osoyoos

Starts at Osoyoos Christian Centre

42 Finch Crescent
Saturday June 25th - 1:00

Grab a friend and join us as we walk through our community and pray for the people and businesses here. In case you might be wondering how this will work - we will walk the streets and visit businesses and silently pray for hearts to be won to the Lord and for our town to prosper for His Glory!

NEW!!

Bread at the Booth

Each Sunday following service

Our church family loves to spend time together and we love to get to know newcomers... the trouble is that the end of service falls right on... lunch hour. Doesn't it just make sense and seem fun to come together and "break bread" together after worship and the word? We invite you to tarry a while at "the Booth" (our coffee bar) and catch up with everyone, no need for us all to rush off to make our own lunches.

You can be part of this ministry by bringing a plate of "finger food" (sandwiches, fruit, veg, cookies) - anything that can fit on a napkin! We will circulate a sign up sheet for the summer months but if you've not put your name to claim a week and find you want to bring something - just show up with your offerings. The more the merrier, indeed.

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one June 23rd

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We are exploring the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible! ... and a friend!

Thursday Night Prayer and Song

Each Thursday - 7:00 on

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Everyone welcome!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens -

8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

News from Osoyoos Christian Centre - June 16, 2011

2011-06-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre - ONLINE! Our church building is undergoing a "face-lift" in several areas in anticipation of a busy summer. We would love to show you what's new!

We hope to post a few photos from last Sunday when we celebrated Pastor Joseph's birthday - I want to just check with a few people for permission. Thanks for your patience and be sure to check back next week for those photos. Thanks to everyone who contributed - it was a nice celebration and a wonderful way to show our appreciation to Joseph.

We will also try to post a picture or two of our friend Amalia's (Osoyoos Baptist Church) yard sale last weekend, a huge success and raised monies for their very worthwhile ministry in Argentina. Thanks for inviting us, Amalia!

Please forgive us our lack of an audio sermon this week - unfortunately our technology failed us this time. And I heard it was such a good message - delivered by Dale Archibald.

This week we can look forward to a message from Dave Oosterveld - Youth Pastor for Cheers Church in Penticton. Won't you bring a friend and give Pastor Dave a warm welcome?

Here's what else is new:

winner of week 3 book giveaway

Good Word - Pastor Joseph (right beneath this commentary) - further exploration of 1 Samuel

"The Gift" - a poem (click the From the Heart tab located top of this web page)

Current and future events (scroll down!) - NEW! Prayer Walk for Osoyoos!

Free scripture wallpaper (click The Gallery tab at the top of this web page) - here's a preview for this week:

Congratulations to Shirley Kubryn who is the winner of the third book in the giveaway celebrating the 100th post of our church blog! Hope you enjoy, Shirley! Shirley won a copy of the book "No More Christian Nice Girl!"

*****

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

Part 4 - exloration of 1 Samuel:

Greetings!

Today I would like us to take a look at I Samuel 6:3.

It states:

“So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send itempty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then youwill be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed fromyou.”

The point bring to your attention is the concept of the trespass offeringwithin the context of the social historical setting for this specific passage.

If you read in the earlier verses of this chapter you’ll seethat the Philistine religious/spiritual leaders weighed into the discussion concerningwhat should be done with the ark. Their position is that it needs to be sentaway - however it cannot be sent away empty – rather there should be a trespassoffering that should accompany it. I want to explore this a bit and to share mythoughts on this suggested action. The question that I ask is “why would theyfeel the need to return the ark with a trespass offering?"

Let’s take a quick look at the significance of this offering,

“The trespass offering was to atone for specific transgressions where restitutionwas possible.”

We need to pause as thispoint – the offering was to atone for a specific transgression. Earlier weaddressed the concept of “to the victor go the spoils.” This was a very commonpractice within this time period– and even earlier. It states in Genesis 14:21,

“Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goodsfor yourself.”

The king of Sodom acknowledges that as the victor in battle,Abraham gets the spoils – and as king he could take whatever he wanted; this isa sign of respect that honors Abraham’s efforts in battle. My point is this–the Philistines took possession of the ark fair and square. They won the battleat Ebenezer and the battle field was ripe for looting and as the victors theycould claim the spoils of victory. However, we see that the religious leadersrecommend that the ark be returned not simply as is, but with a trespass offering– why?

I want you to think about this for a bit and as you do so I wantyou think about how the unsaved view God. I’ll answer this question in the nextblog post.

Blessings,

*****

CURRENT EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

NEW!!

Prayer Walk for Osoyoos

Starts at Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch Crescent
Time "To Be Announced"

Grab a friend and join us as we walk through our community and pray for the people and businesses here. In case you might be wondering how this will work - we will walk the streets and visit businesses and silently pray for hearts to be won to the Lord and for our town to prosper for His Glory! Please call OCC for more info or email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com for a firm time closer to the day. We have a church family member moving this day as well (could always use help if you're interested!) and so we need to square away the time for that so there is not a double booking situation.
Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one June 23rd

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We are exploring the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible! ... and a friend!

Thursday Night Prayer and Song

Each Thursday - 7:00 on

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens -

8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

What's New at Osoyoos Christian Centre - June 8th!

2011-06-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre online! We welcome you to drop in any Sunday in real, live person to see us too! Here is what's new online this week:

Book draw, week 2 - book 3 (this page)

Audio Sermon - "un titled" by Pastor Joseph Fernandes (Good word section this page, below)

From The Heart - "What you wanted - was it what you needed?" (click on From The Heart tab, top of page)

Current and Future Events (this page - scroll down!)

New Free scripture wallpaper - Matthew 6:31 (click on The Gallery tab, top of page) Here's a peek at what it looks like!

*****

When passivity and false niceness don't bring the abundant life Jesus promised, some Christian women try even harder to hide behind a fragile façade of pleasant perfection. Paul Coughlin and Jennifer Degler give women the empowering message that they have options far beyond simply acting nice or being mean--if they will emulate the real Jesus Christ and face their fears of conflict, rejection, and criticism. Brimming with enlightening information, thought-provoking questionnaires, real-life stories, and biblically based teaching from both the male author of the pioneering No More Christian Nice Guy and a female clinical psychologist, this book will motivate women to allow God to transform them into authentic, powerful women of loving faith.

To get your name in for a last chance at this book simply make sure that you are a "subscriber" to our weekly newsletter or leave a comment (click COMMENT at the bottom of this blog post) or send an email to us at occwomenonline@gmail.com and let us know you would like your name to be "put into the hat". If your name is drawn we will contact you!

*****

Pastor Joseph will provide a "Good Word" here next week, stay tuned! In the meantime, here is an mp3 audio recording of last Sunday's message titled ... untitled actually, to find out why just click on the audio player (triangle) below!

*****

CURRENT EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

NEW!!

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one June 9th

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We will begin with the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible!

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Baptist Church Garage Sale (at Amalia's)

6808 Nighthawk Drive, Osoyoos

8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Raising monies for their ministry for Campo Grande Argentina! Donations welcome.

Come out and support this very worthwhile ministry!

100th "Blogaversary" and New Content for June 2nd!

2011-06-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Greetings to you from Osoyoos Christian Centre for the beginning of June. Here's whats new for our church this week:

100th Blog post here - and a winner of our book draw, week 2 (this page)
Good Word from Pastor Joseph - Part 3 in his exploration of 1 Samuel (this page)
From The Heart - "Be Still" (click on From The Heart tab, top of page)
Current and Future Events (this page - scroll down!)
New Free scripture wallpaper - Psalm 42:2 (click on The Gallery tab, top of page) Here's a peek at what it looks like!

*****

I'm so proud and excited to say that today's blog post is the 100th! I really can't believe how the time has flown by. The first post to this blog was on December 9, 2009 and so this means I've been faithfully writing here for one and a half years. What a journey this blog has carried us through. I must admit that there were times I was weary and some times that I wondered if our blog was making an impact but I will tell you that each time I prayed for this ministry that I also was blessed with some sign that yes - this blog has become an important part of the fabric of our church.

We have welcomed new family members and said goodbye to others. We've had weddings and funerals. We've seen people come to know Jesus in this time. All the Glory to the Lord. We are thankful we are blessed with our beautiful church and all these tools to reach out to the lost and weary.

Many people take the time to hit the "reply" button when they recieve notice that we've updated and I want you to know that each time you did you encouraged ME and your kind words became the fuel for me to continue to provide this service.

Some of you told me you enjoy being able to listen to the sermons here if you happen to miss Sunday (blushing to say that I failed to provide adequate instruction to Pastor Joseph in how to use my MP3 recorder so last week's message did not get recorded) Some of you thanked me for posting current events so that you were able to join in to activities.

A few people appreciated being able to be part of our family even though you might only live here in the summer months.

For so many reasons, this blog seems to bridge a gap, fill a niche that is of value. I thank each and every one of you for letting us know that our blog has value. And most important of all, this blog would be nothing without YOU to read it. Thank you so much coming each week to visit with us here. As long as there is a need for our blog I will continue to bring you new content each week as I am able. I invite you to give us feedback if there might be a feature you would like to see here, or if you have a suggestion!

******

As you know we have been giving away books here as we neared the 100th post and this week's winner of the following book is...

Valinda who subscribes to our newsletter and hails from way down south in Georgia! We hope you enjoy and we thank you for subscribing. Thank you for your comments you've left for us here.

We still have one more book to give away over the next two blog posts. This book piqued my interest - especially as I listened to the Midday Connection (Moody Radio) podcast series on this topic:

Product Description

To get your name in for a chance at this book simply make sure that you are a "subscriber" to our weekly newsletter or leave a comment (click COMMENT at the bottom of this blog post) or send an email to us at occwomenonline@gmail.com and let us know you would like your name to be "put into the hat". If your name is drawn we will contact you!

*****

This week Pastor Joseph has provided part 3 of his series exploring 1 Samuel. In the future he will provide new content here on a bi-weekly basis. We have begun a bible study within our church (see Current Events - scroll down) and so due to prep for that he will submit content here on the alternate weeks.

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

As we look to are third and final installment of I SamuelChapter 5, we turn our attention now to verses 6-12.

I’m going to say right off the bat that my goal is toobserve this from a critical analysis point of view because a cursory read ofthis passage fails to do it any justice.

1 Samuel 5:6 reads:

New International Version (NIV)

6 The LORD’s hand washeavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on themand afflicted them with tumors.

A superficial read of this passage presents an angry God whopunishes the Philistines with tumors and mice—which some scholars believecarried the bubonic plague. A questionthat needs to be asked here: “Is it the author’s intention to paint thispicture of God?”

Now I know there are some who would question the idea thatwe could somehow know the author’s intention – after all he’s dead, and severalthousand years have elapsed since the writing of this historicalnarrative. However, I disagree and alsoI think that we can know it and even go further to say that this is was notSamuel’s intention.

Let me quickly add that if we are truly going to understand God’sword then we can never (nor should we ever) isolate any verse or verses outsideof its larger scriptural unit. The scriptural unit provides the verses with contextand a better understanding of the author’s purpose - for writing the passage ashe was so led by the Holy Spirit. In this instance, if Samuel had intended topaint this picture of God as an angry deity who lashes out against thePhilistines – he would have not have included the dismemberment of Dagon. If his intention was just to show that Godwanted to attack the Philistines – and avenge the Israelites’ loss at Ebenezer,then the inclusion of Dagon’s fall was pointless.

However, this event iswithout question crucial within this scriptural unit because it points to thefact that Yahweh, in his defeat of Dagon, is the victorious God - and as far asthe Philistines are concerned the one true God because he defeated their god.As the God who is victorious Yahweh gets the spoils of victory – in this caseDagon’s worshipers.

You can’t miss thispoint – before God moves against the Philistines he attacks and defeats theirgod first.

If this was all about anger and wrath then God would have attacked the people first. Dagon (think about this) was just a piece of rock. Why would Godbreak a piece of rock if his point ispour out his anger upon the Philistines? It’s obvious that his point was to demonstratethat he is mightier than Dagon and also that the Philistines failed to do what they shouldhave done in this situation – to humble themselves before God. When they refused to humble themselves beforeGod – he then moved against them. Havewe seen this elsewhere in the Old Testament – maybe back in Egypt? Pharaoh hardened his heart and what did Goddo? He greatly demonstrated that he was the one true God as he moved againstthe Egyptians with a heavy hand through the plagues.

As I look at this passage I can’t help but believe that God wassaying to the Philistines: “I was victorious in battle against your god Dagon, you are my spoils of victory – humbleyourselves before me.” This is just mytake on it, but when the Philistines refused to humble themselves God movedagainst them.

Let’s quickly go back to the Exodus event – where we see that when the Israelites left Egyptthat they were accompanied by a “mixed multitude.” Yes – I believe that it issafe to say that among this mixed multitude you would have found Egyptians wholeft Egypt to follow after and serve the God of the Hebrews.

Why have I raised this point?

I bring this up because I believe that there were Philistines whoeventually converted to Judaism because, like this mixed multitude, they saw their god defeated and witnessed thepower of Yahweh and served him.

Is there more evidence for this position?

Yes! When you read ISamuel 5:6 you should ask yourself this question: “Where did Samuel get hisinformation from to write this narrative with such specific detail?” You guessed it - he got it from a Philistine- and judging from some of the specificdetails, he may have received it fromsomeone who was a high ranking spiritual and/or military figure – this is myposition at least.

May I leave you with this thought:

Is it possible that instead of the angry God portrayed in ISamuel chapter 5 – we instead see God reaching out to these Philistines in amanner that would get their attention?
Could it be that he was reaching out to them in a mannerthat would point to an all-powerful supreme God who deserved reverence andhumility?
Could it be that he was reaching out to them in such a way thatwould lead them into a place of being in relationship with him?

I leave it up to youto consider and answer these questions. My belief however, is that how weanswer them will determine our ability to compassionately impact our world withthe good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

These are my thoughts and I encourage your feedback!

Blessings,

Pastor, Osoyoos Christian Centre

*****

CURRENT EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

NEW!!

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, next one June 9th

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We will begin with the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible!

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Side note: The Children's Church room is undergoing a transformation! If you can help with painting, organising etc let us know so we can schedule a time that works for you.

OCC Week 3 May 2011 - Good Word, Pastor Joseph, NEW Bible Study, From The Heart, Free Wallpaper and Book Giveaway!

2011-05-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to OCC online! Here's what you'll find new or updated for this third week in May:

Good Word by Pastor Joseph. Another section of our journey through 1 Samuel (stay on this page, below)
Book Giveaway (stay on this page, below)
Announcements, Current Events - NEW - Bible Study! (stay on this page, below - end of post)
"Stop Comparing!" (From the Heart tab, top of this page)
Free computer wallpaper (The Gallery tab, top of this page) - preview below!

*****

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

We continue with our look at I Samuel chapter five.

We last looked at the following position:

If we read through that passage quickly then it’s easy tomiss the significance of this simple statement and its impact. “Yahweh wasdefeated by another god!”

Let’s take a look at verses 1: “Then the Philistines tookthe ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.” Here’s what I would like tosuggest to you, that battle had not ended in Ebenezer but instead itshifted to Ashdod. It may have ended in defeat in Ebenezer but it will continuein Ashdod. The difference however is that God enters the battlefield in Ashdodand vindicates his name and his people in the process.

I Samuel 5:2-4 states: “When the Philistines took the ark ofGod, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. And when the peopleof Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face tothe earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in itsplace again. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallenon its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon andboth the palms of its hands were broke off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torsowas left of it.”

In verse two I believe what we see in essence is a show-downbetween deities. One the one side you have Yahweh the God of the Israelites andon the other Dagaon the god of the Philistines. The venue for this showdown is noneother than Dagon’s temple – his home turf so he has the advantage. This mayseem like an awkward description to you but if you’re an Israelite that has seenone on one combat I believe that this is picture that you would see. In verse 3we see round one between the two battling deities and Yahweh is the victor asDagon falls before him. The battle continues in verse 4 and Yahweh wins again -only the torso of Dagon is left after his hands and head were severed.

Don’t miss this picture – this is not meant to be seen as anythingless than a merciless dismemberment of Dagon – when God says that he will haveno other gods before him he not was joking around.

In Ebenezer the Philistines won on Israel’s home turf whichmeant that Dagon beat God on his own turf. Although the Philistines thoughtthat they were taking the ark of God back to Ashod as a spoil of victory, theywere in fact only bringing the battle back to Dagaon’s home turf and there heis defeated. In battle against Dagon, Yahweh acts in a calculated, exact way ashe mercilessly dismembers Dagon and vindicates himself as the one true God andin doing so he vindicates his people too.

I wonder what this story says about the battles that we fightin our life?

I wonder have you ever found yourself defeated; admitted therewas something in your life that prevented God from moving on your behalf, muchlike the Israelites when they fought the Philistines? Is there something herefor us, that even when we fail in ourown strength and we lose the battle, that God will redraw the battle lines andfight on our behalf? I think so.

God wants us to walkand live in victory! I have no doubt, and this is the life that we need tocontinually strive and struggle for because only then are we truly free and victorious.

However, if you feel that you’ve failed, trust that God willnot leave you alone and He will have a show-down with the enemy on your behalf. On the flip side of this we need toremember that God will not allow any other god before him.

I think this is a good story for us to think about as welook in our own lives to see if we have erected idols before Him - whateverthey may be. If our lives are his templehe will not have any idols before Him.

Blessings,

*****

Book Giveaway!

And, as we are only ONE post away from our 100th blog post at OCC Women Online - (post meaning how many times we have put information on this blog and updated it) we have another book giveaway for this coming week.

Product Description

WARNING: This is not just another book on evangelism. It's a simple idea of evangelism through friendship first, and the opportunities to share your faith that follow. It will bring friendships you already have to a new levels, and create opportunities for new, authentic friendships with those you will eventually meet. OUT: Evangelism as sales pitch, as conquest, as warfare, as ultimatum, as threat, as proof, as argument, as entertainment, as show, as monologue, as something you have to do. IN: Disciple-making as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as conversation, as dance, as something you get to do. You're more ready for this than you realize, and so are your friends!

From the Back Cover

WARNING: This is not just another book on evangelism. This book contains fresh, encouraging, challenging, groundbreaking, and doable ideas you’ll want to share with your pastor, your small group or class, your board, or your parachurch organization. OUT: Evangelism as sales pitch, as conquest, as warfare, as ultimatum, as threat, as proof, as argument, as entertainment, as show, as monologue, as something you have to do.

IN: Disciple-making as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as conversation, as dance, as something you get to do.

You’re more ready for this than you realize, and so are your friends!

So, how YOU get your name into the draw for this week's book? Simply comment (look at the bottom of this post for the COMMENT button) on our blog or email us at occwomenonline(at)gmail{dot}com and request to either put your name "in the hat" or alternately sign up for our weekly newsletter which lets you know whats happening at OCC each week on our blog and for special events! Please, invite a friend or two (or your congregation) to sign up! We also welcome your church to place event notices on our blog as well.

*****

CURRENT EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

NEW!!

Bible Study

Every 2nd Thursday, beginning May 26th

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We will begin with the book of Mark. Materials provided though we encourage you to bring you to bring writing materials and of course, your bible!

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Two Sermons, Book Winner and Another Giveaway and From the Heart - Week 3 May 2011

2011-05-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for visiting us here at OCC women Online! Here's what we have for you this week:

2 sermons! (main page, below this info) One sermon from our own Pastor Joseph who spoke at Elim Tabernacle in Keremeos and the other sermon from Pastor Jason who spoke at OCC here in Osoyoos! Thank you Jason and your lovely family for your visit and encouraging message. It is truly inspiring and wonderful that our churches are getting together and we welcome this opportunity in the future. You can visit Jason's church by clicking on the Elim Tabernacle link on the sidebar of this blog.
Book winner is Sheryl P - Congrats Sheryl! You have won a copy of The Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf
New Book Draw - (info below this list)
New and Current events (info below)
FREE scripture wallpaper for your computer (under The Gallery tab - top of page) Here's a preview:

"What It Means To Win" (under From The Heart tab - top of page)

*****

Pastor Joseph has a life beyond our Church and his job is needing his attention at this time so as much as he would have liked to post a "Good Word" here this week he's apologising and hopes to post again soon. He thanks you for your patience!

In the stead, we have both sermons from Pastor Joseph and Pastor Jason Weibe as follows:

Pastor Joseph - The Struggle (click on triangle to play sermon)

Pastor Jason - God in the Valley

You can also visit Elim Tabernacle online at:

www.elimtabernacle.net

*****

A WINNER! (drum roll, please!) The winner of The Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf is Sheryl P. Congrats Sheryl!

And, as we are only two posts away from our 100th blog post at OCC Women Online - (posts meaning how many times we have put information on this blog and updated it) we have another book giveaway for this coming week.

Product Description

From the Back Cover

IN: Disciple-making as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as conversation, as dance, as something you get to do.

You’re more ready for this than you realize, and so are your friends!

So, how do you get your name into the draw for this week's book? Simply comment (look at the bottom of this post for the COMMENT button) on our blog or email us at occwomenonline(at)gmail{dot}com and request to either put your name "in the hat" or alternately sign up for our weekly newsletter which lets you know whats happening at OCC each week on our blog and for special events! Please, invite a friend or two (or your congregation) to sign up! We also welcome your church to place event notices on our blog as well.

*****

CURRENT AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

*note* we will be beginning bible study as well during this time as well - every second week I believe. Stay tuned for more info!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Event - Celebration of Life for Greg Tweedy

2011-05-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Our condolences to Linda Tweedy (Kaye Harkness's daughter) on the loss of Linda's husband Greg this week. There will be a Celebration of Life held in his honor at the Sonora Centre on Saturday May 14th at 2 p.m.

FREE Scripture Wallpaper, a Book Draw and Mother's Day at OCC!

2011-05-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

If you are blessed with a mother, we hope you had a special day with yours - or honoring her at least. Perhaps you were pampered yourself? At this time its also our calling to think carefully for those moms who might be a single mother, or a widow with no children nearby. Perhaps you can think of them today, as you read this, and though the official "Mother's Day" is over, in the name of Christ Jesus, wouldn't it be nice if you were to do something kind for them today?

This week's blog is on the short side - here's what we have for you:

Book Giveaway - last week to get your name in for the draw
From the Heart (tab at top of this page) and article called "STAND"
Photo - Moms of Osoyoos Christian Centre 2011 (OCC Photos tab)
FREE Scripture Wallpaper - John 6:35

Book Description - Jesus came to give us abundant life. So why are so many Christian women living with worn-out faith, struggling just to get by? What if there was something more? What if we could be set free from worry, fear, and the constant cycle of searching for significance? The Faith Dare is a 30-day challenge for women who are tired of ho-hum living and want to break the pattern of self-reliance and people pleasing by putting their trust in God alone and learning to live to please him. This energizing book will change a woman's focus from her moods and attitudes to living in the power of God's Word. It will encourage her to take the next step and begin to live out real faith in her real life.

To win this book, please send us an email at occwomenonline@gmail.com or leave a comment here and we will enter you into the contest. We would love to add you to our newsletter mailing list so mention it if you are interested and we can do that. Signing up means we will send you a notice via email each time we update the content here on the blog (about once a week) so you will be the first to know what's going on at OCC (current and upcoming events), benefit from some positive messages and even download FREE scripture computer wallpaper each week here. We will draw a name for this book on Tuesday, May 17th. Please, send your friends here to put their names in! Men - don't think this is not for you too - surely you have a mom, wife or friend who would love this for a gift! 

*****

There will be no sermon posted this week, nor a "Good Word" from Pastor Joseph but stay tuned for next week!

*****

CURRENT AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550
An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm
We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Work Bee
Osoyoos Christian Centre
Wednesday, May 11
10 a.m. onward
We are redesigning our Children's room at OCC and doing some general sorting and cleanup of the storage area in the basement. We will spend the day sanding, priming. If you would like to lend a hand just stop in. We will be there from 10 a.m. onward!

*****

As always we encourage you to leave a comment here on our blog or you can also email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com

There's Lots going on in May at Osoyoos Christian Centre!

2011-05-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone - OCC wishes you a wonderful week. Perhaps its just me but I usually think of March or April as the months that are changeable - the weather never the same one hour to the next, but if the first few days of May are an indication then you might want to be packing your umbrella with you just in case! Here's what you will find new on our blog this week:

GOOD WORD by Pastor Joseph: "Two Gods"
Upcoming 100th blog post BOOK DRAW giveaways - happening over the following six weeks of posts
Current and upcoming events (scroll down on this page!)
FROM THE HEART (tab top of the blog) - "Priorities" taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others
THE GALLERY (tab top of the blog) New FREE Scripture Computer wallpaper

*****

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

TWO GODS

Ongoing exploration of 1 Samuel

As we continue to work through at our series inI Samuel we will take a look at 5:1-12.

When I first approached this narrative Ilooked at this passage several times over. When we read the word of God we needto keep in mind that as readers we stand over the Bible in such a way that wecan read its stories in a matter of mere minutes, yet the events that have unfoldin many of these narratives have occurred over a period of days, weeks, months,years or decades. With this is mind we need to be very intentional when weapproach the word of God and sometimes we just need to slow down so we don’tmiss anything. Let’s take a look at this now:

In I Samuel 5:1:“Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer toAshdod.” Now before I go any further I would like to bring one thing to yourattention. You would think that the author would have went into more detailabout the significance of this event and spend a bit more time on it. However,it seems as if he has just glossed over this event - but, there is a reason forthis. Let’s take a look at this for amoment. The reason for such sparseamount of detail around this event is realized by the fact that author iscommunicating in a high context. “High context refers to societies or groupswhere people have close connections over a long period of time. Many aspects ofcultural behavior are not made explicit because most members know what to doand what to think from years of interaction with each other. Your family isprobably an example of a high context environment.”

As significant asthis event is, the author doesn’t need to say too much about it because ifyou were an Israelite reading this story the full weight of it would bear down onyou. “The Philistines took the ark of God,” is all that was needed for theJewish reader or audience to hear and they would have gotten the full impact ofthis statement because they lived in a high context culture. Everyone knew howimportant the ark was to their way of life, their identity as a nation, and totheir security. Being of a high context culture, the author doesn’t need to saymuch about this event, however, for those of us who live in North America thesame cannot be said. Because we do not have intimate knowledge of Jewishcultural realities during the time period in question, we come into the storyfrom a low context position, and as such it’s easy for us to miss the pointbecause we would expect a very serious event of this magnitude to be describedat length.

When the Philistinestook the ark of the covenant, it sent a message that their god Dagon wasvictorious over Yahweh. Remember the old saying: “It’s to the victor goes thespoils.”? Well, in those old days of war, the winning army pretty much got to loot thecountryside and take what they wanted--wealth, harvest, women, whatever. Thosewould be the spoils of victory. There is little doubt that this message wouldhave been devastating for the Israelites when viewed from this perspective. Ifwe read through that passage quickly then it’s easy to miss the significance ofthis simple statement and its impact. Yahweh was defeated by another god! Whenthe Philistines took the ark it meant that they had won and they took the arkdemonstrating this point. The fact is, if they hadn’t won – they would not havebeen able to take it, it’s just this simple.

At this time I wouldlike you to think about this the point and how you would feel as an Israeliteexperiencing this event for the very first time. We will continue to look atthis chapter for the next two weeks and I believe that what you will find willbe fascinating and encouraging at the same time!

Blessings,

*****

Our blog is coming up on 100 "posts" (each time we update here it is called a "post") in the near future. We are at 95 so we want to celebrate over the next six weeks until we reach 100. For the next three sets of two weeks we will be giving away some books - one each two week block. The first of three books is:

To win this book, please send us an email at occwomenonline@gmail.com or leave a comment here and we will enter you into the contest. We would love to add you to our newsletter mailing list so mention it if you are interested and we can do that. Signing up means we will send you a notice via email each time we update the content here on the blog (about once a week) so you will be the first to know what's going on at OCC (current and upcoming events), benefit from some positive messages and even download FREE scripture computer wallpaper each week here. We will draw a name for this book on Tuesday, May 17th. Please, send your friends here to put their names in! Men - don't think this is not for you too - surely you have a mom, wife or friend who would love this for a gift! 

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry
Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Communion Sunday & Fellowship LuncheonSunday, May 8th
This is a pot-luck style luncheon. Barb will call you regarding your contribution to the luncheon, however you are welcome to bring whatever you like! Please, spread the word, bring a friend - or TWO!

*****

As always we encourage you to leave a comment here on our blog or you can also email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com

New Message and Audio Sermon, Upcoming Events, Inspiration, FREE Scripture Wallpaper, Parade Photos

2011-04-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Did you and your family grieve the "alone in the garden" as Jesus prayed to be delivered? Did you collectively shake your head in "No, not I!" as he was betrayed into the hands of the authorities? Did you flinch in pain and anguish as he made his way through the booing, hissing crowd in excruciating pain? Did you weep at the foot of the cross as he meekly hung upon the cross for YOU and me? Were you bereft as he spent three days in the sealed tomb?

Most importantly, did you rejoice when he rose again to show that he is ALIVE and well and does your life today, this very moment reflect that miracle? Did I catch you at a difficult moment of your day, perhaps a mundane one? Does this bring you back to the fact that whatever your day is bringing you, count it all JOY! Yeah, wherever you are, whatever you're doing I dare you to dance with joy at knowing you were bought for a price - you're FREE. Now, enjoy your perfectly extra-ordinary day!

We have much new content for you today including:

An inspiring message from Pastor Joseph
Audio recording of Sunday April 24th Sermon (thanks to Leila for the recording!)
Current and Upcoming Events
New thought "From the Heart" (click From the Heart tab top of this page)
New Scripture wallpaper Isaiah 26:3 (click The Gallery tab top of this page)
Review of April 24th Children's Church lesson (click Childrens Church tab top of this page)
Photos from April 23rd Easter Parade photos (click OCC Photo Album tab top of this page)

*****

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

Today I’m going to take a bit of a short turn and discuss something that isn’t related to the sermon that I spoke on last Sunday. As I was preparing to write this entry, I remembered a story that my instructor had told us about back in my days of theological training. It was quite simple yet profound and I feel that’s it’s something that I should share at this time.

The initial conclusion that I came to as he told us about this part, was that just as a symphony has a conductor - that we as believers have a conductor and his name is Jesus. I thought that perhaps Jim would tell us that when we were led by the conductor that we would all come together and our lives would be a symphony to God. However this was not the case, instead he spoke about the person who played the triangle.

At this particular performance there was someone who played the triangle and every now and again this person would strike his or her triangle at a precise moment and it would lend to the musical piece that was being played. Jim went on to explain that sometimes we can think that we play such a small or insignificant role in God’s Kingdom but this simply isn’t the case – this isn’t the way that it works.

We all play a crucial part in God’s symphony and we need to remind ourselves of this as often as it is needed. At Osoyoos Christian Centre the last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of acknowledging many of the individuals who put in so much work and effort to make things happen. It doesn’t matter what part or role that they play, what is important is that it complements the thing that we are doing as a church and we need this. It all lends to a much larger production.

Today I just want to share this thought with you and to allow it to serve as a reminder that the role that you play in the Kingdom of God is a very important and significant role.

Maybe you’ve felt that you hold this tiny insignificant triangle and every now and again you are motioned to hit it and then you wait and wait until it’s time to hit it again and because of this feelings of doubt or insecurity have cropped up. If this is the case you need to remember that your role in God’s symphony is very important. You can’t judge what you do by what others are doing in the kingdom – rather you need to keep your eyes focused on God and move when He gives the motion. You’ll find that if you do this that the part that you play is equally as important as all the other parts and together it sounds and is amazing!

Blessings,

And the following is my sermon from Sunday, April 24th, titled "User Friendly Interface" Click on the triangle to play the mp3 audio recording.

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry

Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Communion Sunday & Fellowship Luncheon

Sunday, May 8th

This is a pot-luck style luncheon. A sign up sheet will be circulated this Sunday and alternately you may recieve a call from Barb regarding your contribution. Please, spread the word, bring a friend - or TWO!

*****

As always we encourage you to leave a comment here on our blog or you can also email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com

New Easter Events, Sermon from Pastor Bart, Worship Song "Away Team" & FREE wallpaper - Isaiah 35:2

2011-04-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to OCC online!

We hope that you've been walking through the bible up to THE CROSS as the Holy Spirit reminds us of the significance and impact of the sacrifice God made of His Son, Jesus Christ on that day in history - as a reminder that our lives were bought at the price of blood. Blood that washes us as we live our imperfect lives, gives us hope, renews and restores lives and that we will never take that for granted. The bunnies and eggs are cute, chocolate delicious etc, and we enjoy these things as tokens and traditions but never ever to replace what Easter really represents. Getting together with family, sharing good food, but not just that - let's share the GOOD NEWS which is life changing, that Jesus is RISEN - He's alive and living and our hope is in Him. We wish you a blessed Easter weekend.

A little note - we welcome some of our church family - Ken and Marg Smith, coming home to OCC this weekend for a visit! It will be wonderful to have you here. And also "a little bird" told me we can expect to be welcoming our church family members Dale and Florence Archibald home in the very near future. Dale and Florence have been ministering down south across the border for several months and we look forward to fellowship and hearing about their RV ministry and adventures when you return!

Today we have the following new editions to our site:

Audio Sermon for Sunday, April 17th - guest Pastor Bart from Park Drive, Oliver on this page
Worship song Let it Rain - "Away Team" guests from Park Drive, Oliver - under the "Music" Tab

New FREE scripture wallpaper to decorate your computer - under "The Gallery" tab
"Shirley's Quilts" commentary under the "From The Heart" tab
New Events - upcoming events for OCC and community, Easter Parade etc!
New Tab - OCC Children's Church - moments with our little ones

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THE GOOD WORD - words of wisdom by Pastor Joseph Fernandes will return next week! He's enjoying some quality time visiting with his Mother who visits from Toronto!

We hope you enjoy this inspiring audio sermon which was delivered by guest Pastor Bart from Park Drive, our sister church from Oliver. There may be a slight overlap in the middle part of the sermon because of technical issues - please forgive me. We thank Bart and the "Away Team" for their faithful support and ministry to OCC. Y'all are family!

Click on the triangle to start player:

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550
An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Inter-Church Good Friday Service April 22nd at 10:30 a.m.
Osoyoos Baptist Church
6210 97th St
Phone for more info: 250-495-6581

Easter Parade

Saturday April 23rd 1:00 pm on Main Street
(if you would like to take part IN the parade, we meet at 20 mins to 1 on Nighthawk Drive!)
Churches of Osoyoos joining together to proclaim Jesus!

Easter FREE BBQ
Gyro Park @ 1:30
Servin' up simple food and Good Fellowship!

Mariposa Christian Ministry Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm
We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

"Good Word" from Pastor Joseph, Sunday Sermon (audio) by Betty, Upcoming Events and FREE John 10:27 Wallpaper!

2011-04-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks for "virtually" visiting Osoyoos Christian Centre through our online blog. We hope you find the time you spend here of value and leave feeling uplifted and inspired. Our blog - like life in general - is continuously changing and we would love to have your feedback. We love to recieve comments - there is a comments feature at the bottom of this post. Have a suggestion - perhaps you might have a thought about Pastor Joseph's "Good Word" or you may want to encourage Betty on her message of "unity" this week. At any rate - your voice is what makes this blog a two-way conversation. In today's busy schedules this virtual meeting place can be such a blessing.

This week Pastor Joseph continues along the word he's been providing over the past several weeks - today he will focus on Eli. Again, we highly encourage you to let Joseph know what you might have gained from his words - and questions are always welcome.

Under current events we will invite you to an Inter-Church Good Friday service. It's a special time when the churches of Osoyoos come together to worship at this time leading up to Easter. Why not bring a freind along?

This week's FREE computer scripture wallpaper was requested through our comments - thanks for asking! We have added an extra screen size of 1360 x 768 in case you happen to need this size. You will find this wallpaper under "The Gallery" tab at the top of this page!

In case you do not know just how to download and install our wallpapers on your computer, please email us and we will try to walk you through the process. Send your email to occwomenonline@gmail.com

Be sure to check out a "Spring Cleaning" challenge you can take part in, online and for FREE on our "From The Heart" tab at the top of this page too!

We warmly welcome Joseph's Mother who will be visiting us from the other side of Canada!

We also look forward to Pastor Bart and "The Away Team" as they minister to us with music this Sunday - accompanied by Pastor Joseph who will bring us our Sunday Sermon.

Lastly - we're posting a 10 minute segment of Sunday's worship music under the "Music" tab - enjoy some soothing music in your busy day! Miles leading "Lord I Give You My Heart" & "God Will Make a Way"

*****

by Pastor Joseph Fernandes

If you haven’t listened to the audio version of my last sermon, that’s alright because I’m I want to briefly touch on one of the points that I spoke about.

In I Samuel 4:13(a) we read the following words:

“Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God…”

When it comes to the authorship of I Samuel most scholars believe that Samuel himself penned the first of these two books – well, up until the point that he died which is before the end of I Samuel. I raise this point because when we come to I Samuel 4:13 it’s evident that the author (Samuel) had a first person perspective of this event. I have not doubts that he was with the elderly Eli at the very moment in question and this is why he could write that his “heart trembled.” In my mind’s eye I see Samuel beside him as Eli says “Samuel, in my heart I can’t help tremble – I fear for the safe return of the ark (my paraphrase).”

What we see at this time of Eli’s life is a man in great turmoil – look at the use of the following verbs – sitting, watching, and trembled.

Interestingly, if you look down at verse fifteen we read: “Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.” Do you see the picture of this man sitting there, watching, even though he couldn’t see, but he tries his best to look and to find out what is going on and he does so because he’s in a place of turmoil. He acts in a way that doesn’t make sense—but isn’t this often the case in our own lives? We find ourselves in a place of turmoil and end up doing things that don’t always make sense.

Now, what I really want to bring your attention to is that I don’t believe that this is what God intended for Eli’s life, especially as he is nearing the end of it. Keep in mind that he was the priest of the house of Aaron. Eli knew what it was to enter into the holy of holies and present the sacrifice before God. While the Israelite congregation watched from within the courts of the temple—they could only guess what it was to experience what Eli experienced once a year on the Day of Atonement. I believe that what God wanted for Eli was that he would grow to a good old age and then be gathered to his fathers. I believe that the way he should have exited from this life would have been a time that was not wrapped around in turmoil, but it was.

This truly is a sad story – and it’s meant to be seen as one, and the very fact that Samuel included it when he could have left it out tells me that it is a story that he wanted heard and known.

If you look at I Samuel 2:29 it says there: “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offering of Israel My people?”

This is a sad story because even though Eli knew what it was to enter into God’s presence, he still put his sons before God and was self serving. What we see in Eli’s life is what the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 6:7: ”Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Eli sowed in his sons and in himself and at the last days of his life he reaps turmoil. He made his choices, sowed his seeds—but these were not seeds that honored God or gave him priority.

Now, I’m not going to leave my comments on down note, as true as it may be; the thing is - God DOES NOT call us into a life of turmoil!

We don’t see this anywhere in his holy word. Jesus calls us into a place of abundant life; he calls us to cast our burdens on him and to take his yoke instead, because it is easy and lighter.

When we find our selves in that place of turmoil we really have to take a step back and find out where it came from - what choices, decisions did we make? And, yes it’s true that sometimes we find ourselves in turmoil because of the choices others made. Either way we need to realize that this is not the life that God intends for us.

Does this mean that we’re going to live a life of easy and tranquility? Well, you know the answer to that question just as well as I do - NO!

I believe that when we really get a hold of a right understanding of the life that God wants us to experience through Jesus Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll begin to make those choices that will not reap turmoil. We’ll understand that in Christ we can truly have abundant life and we’ll make the right choices to walk and live in this reality.

Notice I said with the help of the Holy Spirit -you’re not left alone in this process!

Blessings,

*****

In case you were unable to attend last Sunday, April 10th - you can listen to this inspiriting audio sermon by Betty. Just click the (triangle) button to play.

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's
Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550
An intimate time of prayer - personal, community, government and worldwide for the Lord to meet spiritual and physical needs. Bring a friend!

Inter-Church Good Friday Service
April 22nd at 10:30 a.m.
Osoyoos Baptist Church
6210 97th St
Phone for more info: 250-495-8011

Mariposa Christian Ministry
Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

New Message from Pastor Joseph - both written and audio & FREE Scripture Wallpaper - Job 5:10

2011-04-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Osoyoos Christian Centre ... online! Now that spring break is over our posts will resume each week. It was nice to take a break and get away even. Have you ever noticed that as much as going away is refreshing that when you return you appreciate where you live in an entire new way - look at it with new eyes and value what you have right here?

Be sure to check out the encouragement under the "From the Heart" tab at the top of this blog and also our newest FREE scripture wallpaper for your computer under "The Gallery" Here's a preview

And now, we will jump right in with this week's post, a message from Pastor Joseph.

*****

with Pastor Joseph Fernandes

I was away a couple of weeks ago and had an opportunity to go rock climbing. It was the first time for this year so I was eager to get back to it. I will say this - one of the many things that I love about climbing is that it provides so many meaningful connections to Christianity. Allow me to share this with you:

There are times when climbing a route that things start off really uncomplicated; right where your standing it is easy to see where the first hold is and even the following one.

photo: Na Padra @ sxc

But as you continue up that route it can be a bit more challenging. Your arms become a bit tired and your feet tend to feel the pain of being crammed into very tight shoes. As you hang there under so much stress and strain, seeing the next move isn't as easy as it was when you were just standing on the ground. It's funny how life can be like this at times!

We can find ourselves in a very comfortable place where things are pretty good and seeing the next move or hold is fairly easy - sometimes it can be right in front of us. There are times however when the stress and strain of life makes it very difficult to see where our next hold should be.

Maybe there's something painful that is an incredible distraction and the focus is on the pain. Maybe you just feel tired and exhausted because you've been going at it so long and it seems as if the end is far away, much like the top of that route.

I've found my self in this place many times both in life and in climbing. There I am at the middle of the route and trying to focus, in spite of the tiredness and pain. I'm just looking at the end of my climb and thinking - "what's my next move?"

photo: sxc

Here's the thing, and this is just awesome, I look for chalk. Chalk you may say? Yes chalk!

The reason for this is because the lead climber, the person who has went ahead of me, has already been to the top, and on his way there he used chalk to make sure his fingers did not slip when they found a good hold. My experience has been that if I put my fingers where that chalk is, that there's a good hold, and that will help me to make my upward and forward progress.

All of the sudden something happens when I find a good hold - I can move my feet and feel immediate relief because I get to move on now that I have a different hold. My hands don't feel as tired because I've been able to changes positions. In that moment you truly feel as if you can go all the way to the top -sure enough, if you stick with it, you will be able to go on and reach the top, and there's nothing more satisfying than reaching that point!

photo: sxc

Think about this - in our Christian experience Jesus Christ is our lead climber - He has led the route for us and we just need to look for the chalk from his lead climb!!!

When life comes at you will all its pressure, pain, and disappointment and can't find the next hold - look for the chalk. When individuals abuse you, mistreat you and do their best to hurt you and you don't know what your next move will be, look for the chalk. Look for the chalk that Christ as left behind - it's His way of saying "I've led the way for you, you can hold on here." We can all be assured of this - if we continue to follow his lead - we will make it to the top!

Blessings,
Joseph

And just in case you were not able to join us this past Sunday Service, you can still listen to the message in audio using the player below. Just click on the triangle to start the player.

*****

PRAYER:

Osoyoos Christian Centre this week, asking you all to please pray for:

our church and church members that we may be of impact to our community.
other churches in our area.
needs within our town.
our government, both provincial and federal
world disasters
missionaries afield
Israel, Egypt and marginalized countries

These are just a few prayer requests we bring to you - and a reminder that in our "Events" listed below we have set aside an entire evening devoted to prayer. Please come, bring a friend and enter in together for:

Matthew 18:20

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name,

I am there in their midst."

*****

Prayer at Kaye's
Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship
Every Thursday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Mariposa Christian Ministry
Mariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Praying for Japan, New FREE Scripture Wallpaper, Current Events and From The Heart

2011-03-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Even though its officially spring here in our beautiful Okanagan Valley, my heart - our hearts as a collective are on the other side of the world. As our many miles of orchard trees begin to bud and the peach and apricot and cherry blossoms will force themselves open in the near future they cause us to think of a place which is known for its stunning scenes of cherry blossoms - Japan.

With the recent 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami the Japanese have suffered a physical catastrophe almost beyond human comprehension. The scope of loss of life has not even been tallied - who knows how many 10,000's of lives lost it will eventually total. Add on the continuing concern and danger posed by the failing nuclear reactors and its right up there on a scale of what some disaster movies cannot even touch.

What we do know is that we need to help in the ways we can and being a church family this means that we must all pray for the needs of the Japanese people, both their physical needs but as importantly to the welfare of their souls. In this way won't you focus on prayer for the many missionaries who are located in Japan? Though some may not be in the direct area which suffered this disaster the ripples are felt throughout the entire country and even globally.

As we at OCC are a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada church I am going to list and link to two missionaries who you may consider to donate to (donation link on the POAC links) and pray for:

Damon & Kafi Ealey

(click on image to be taken to the POAC web page)
You will have to use the back button to come back here.

Jeffery and Akiko Sonnenberg

(click on image to be taken to the POAC web page)

Jeffery and Akiko have a "Pray for Japan" list posted there which will give you a list of how to pray for the needs in Japan.

*****

Don't forget to check out our "From The Heart" section for a short message! We also have this new FREE scripture wallpaper for your computer in "The Gallery" (both tabs located at the top of this page)

*****

We will return with our "Good Word" from Pastor Joseph next week!

*****

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 6:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Keep your eyes HERE for new events coming up for April for both our Women's ministry and Church Activities!

"Good Word" for March 13th, Recap Women's Sweet Night, New Music and Free Scripture Wallpaper

2011-03-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome all! Thank you for visiting our Women's blog, our online place where we can meet even if we have not had a chance to gather at church this week. For those of you who do not live here in beautiful Osoyoos BC we hope what we've recapped here for you is of value. There is lots of new ground to cover this week so please, draw up a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

New entries for this week include: (look under the various tabs, top of your screen!)

Pastor Joseph's "Good Word" on this current page
Julie shares her thoughts on "Praising the Lord" which she shared on our Women's Sweet Night in the "From the Heart" tab
new FREE scripture wallpaper for your computer desktop in "The Gallery" tab
3 audio editions under the "Music" tab - the song "Believe" sung by Pheonix, Guest Speaker Bart from Park Drive church delivers his message, a few words of encouragement from Pastor Joseph
a few photos from our Women's Sweet Night

Preview of this week's FREE scripture wallpaper:

Just a note - this coming week is Spring Break from school and so we are going to observe the break by skipping one week of posting to the blog here. We look forward to returning to our normal update on March the 30th!

*****

As always, we welcome your thougths and feedback on this content - you can "comment" at the bottom of this post or you may email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com

God Can Transform Your Life - Pastor Joseph Fernandes

There are times in our lives when we look in the mirror and aren’t too impressed by what is staring back at us. Have you ever had this experience – it seems as if maybe you’ve exhausted God’s grace or simply can’t ask for forgiveness yet again. In that moment helplessness it is so easy to think that nothing good will come of your life. As we continue to look at our series in the first Book of Samuel – I believe what we see is hope – hope for a better day; we also see that God can bring about a transformation.

Now I want to identify two things before we proceed here,

I recognize that I’ve stepped out our series order as we will be looking in chapter two at this time and last week we were in chapter three;
as we look at this chapter I’ll just be providing you with my take on things based on a cursory look.

I am hoping however that you will be blessed by these simple observations.

In I Samuel 2:12-17 we read the story of Eli’s wicked sons – if you haven’t read it you should. One of the things that we see in this passage is that both of these individuals were very self-serving when it came to Lord’s offering. In so doing they engaged in practices that ought not to have occurred. One of the things that we see in verse 16 is that their servant would actually employ violent means to take what did not belong to them – see further in the Book of Leviticus. What’s interesting is that in chapter 2:14 is says there, “So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.”

Here’s the thing that I would like to bring to your attention, it is simply that, because of the sinful practices of Eli’s sons–God’s priests–Shiloh had a bad reputation. It was a reputation that was not flattering at all. It had an unflattering reputation because of wicked and self-serving priests. It had a reputation where individuals were mistreated and exploited. It had a reputation where simply anything went. Having this reputation was incredibly unfortunate given that this was meant to be a sacred place before God, as sacred place where individuals brought their offerings to be presented to him.

This is my take on the situation, but I believe that the actions of these two priests did not represent anything positive and may well have further contributed to the already practiced norm of “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” I wonder if there were those who prayed that it would return to a place of true worship—a true place of sacrifice as it once had been. I wonder if there were those who cried out to God, praying that his place of sacrifice would be all that it was meant to be. Maybe however, there were those who were very critical of Shiloh because of its bad reputation. These

individuals likely would have snickered or sneered at it with contempt. They may have even pointed to the hypocrisy of the priests whose lives were in complete contradiction given the office that they held. These individuals would likely have concluded that no good would every come from Shiloh, and for all intents and purposes they may have been right, however, it does not end there.

The story of Shiloh does end in chapter two but it continues and we see a completely different picture in chapter three – I Samuel 3:21 “Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” Did you see that!!! God comes on to the scene and Shiloh’s reputation is changed!! Where it was once known as a place where wicked and self-serving men who did as they pleased, it is now know as a place where God reveals himself. I think that this is absolutely amazing and it serves as a reminder to me that when we let God into our situation that his presence can bring about a significant change. Allow God into your place today, whatever this place may be: discouragement, disappointment, failure, helplessness, etc… let him in and allow him to bring about a reversal in your situation. You only need to invite him in because God can transform your life!

Today your life may represent a Shiloh of sorts. You’ve made mistakes and felt that your life was in a complete mess. Maybe you have created a negative reputation for yourself and feel that it will never leave you. You may have even called out to God to change your situation, change your reputation because you truly want a change. Of course there are those who criticize you because of your mistakes. Their cruel hurtful words try to reinforce the concept that your life is never going to change. What do you do? Allow the words of God’s love, grace and mercy to enter into your life – your Shiloh – and begin to experience the transformation that only he can bring.

Blessings,
Joseph

*****

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open WorshipEvery Thursday - 6:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Mariposa Christian MinistryMariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

"Something New" from Pastor Joseph, Recap of March Luncheon/AGM, a Beautiful Song, New Wallpaper, Addition of our Photos Section!

2011-03-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

There is a saying that "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb" though I am certain this was intended to refer to the weather. It certainly has been lion-like here at Osoyoos Christian Centre - busy! Nobody is lamenting the busyness because we have all been enjoying fellowship together and working hard to build new ministries. Because of our flurry of activity I'm going to add two more pages onto our blog - these will be one for music, because our church is gifted in music ministry and it will be a great place to share some of that music with you. The next page I am going to add is one for a few photos of our latest get-togethers. I won't share ALL the photos I take, just one or two, though if anyone from our church family would like I can provide a private link to photo albums for you to view, download and print.

To visit the other "pages" of this blog, simply look above this writing and click on the tabs that say "Home" "From the Heart" "The Gallery" "Music" "OCC Photo Album" and you can see what's new.

Here's a preview of our latest desktop wallpaper for you which will be available for download in "The Gallery" today - available in almost every size to custom fit YOUR computer desktop! Please, send your friends here to grab their own graphics to give your computer a "spiritual face-lift" (hmmm is that a correct thing to say?)

And you will not want to miss listening to Pheonix singing "You Lift Me Up" over in our "Music" tab... be prepared as this young man has a true annointing upon him in the area of musical talent.

*****

And we especially thank our Pastor - Joseph, for providing us with weekly content, a recap of each week's sermon so that for those of you who were not able to attend you are still able to know where we are going in the Bible at this time. We welcome your feedback here - we would like to think the Sunday message is an opening for conversation, not something just reserved for that short hour during the service. Give us your thoughts, lets start a dialogue!

If you missed this message and would like to hear it, let us know, we can provide an MP3 to you via email.

Pastor Joseph Fernandes

Sunday, March 6th 2011

Something New

I believe that there are times in our lives when we get so sick of and tired of things that we call out to God for something new – anything is better than the disappointments or the negative set backs in our present situation. I wonder though, are we truly ready for something new, especially when it may mean abandoning our suppositions or predefined categories? In our sermon series of I Samuel we recently looked at chapter 3:1-21 within this context of God doing something new.

What I find interesting here is that God does something that is unprecedented – he speaks to a boy within the period of the Judges. Let’s stop here for a moment and explore this further. When you go through the book of Judges you will observe time and time again that God used men and women as judges. If we wanted to take this a step further, we could, justifiably so, describe these individuals as warrior judges—look for example at Othniel or Ehud. Now admittedly Gideon wasn’t much of a warrior at first, but he definitely grew into the role. Finally we take a look at Samson who most would concede is a warrior judge. My point is this, that God uses individuals to judge Israel who, in our human perspective, just makes a lot of sense. However, God in his typical does something that does not make any sense.

Now, before I go any further it’s important that we try to remove our own biases from the text. What I mean by this is, if you grew up in Sunday school you heard wonderful and inspirational stories about the little boy Samuel. I remember listening to a song about Samuel and I remember one of the verses went like this: “if you want to do quite well be a Samuel.” Despite all of the wonderful stories, when you look at the context of the period of the judges—it just didn’t make sense that God looks to use a child. Although Eli is a judge over Israel this could be a de facto position because of his role as priest, the last real warrior judge that we see in the Book of Judges is Samson – the superman of sorts and then the book of Samuel opens up with the story of Samuel’s miraculous birth and then in chapter 3 where God speaks to this little boy and ultimately uses him and “not one of his (Samuel’s) words fell to the ground.” Imagine that!!!

I wonder if there were skeptics who questioned or even criticized Samuel for daring to speak as a Judge to them? Maybe given that Eli was a judge himself there were some who would have felt that it was out of line or disrespectful for Samuel to operate in this capacity. But the fact is – God was doing something new, he chose a little boy to lead his people. Yes, someone who was untested in battle; someone who had never seen war; someone who in many ways could not relate with the average Israelite because of his protected upbringing in the temple. All the these things could have defaulted him from being seen or accepted as a credible judge – but yet we that God was in fact doing something new and he was faithful as he did not let one of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

Today, you may be in that place where you want God to do something new in your life and if you are that’s a good thing. Here’s the thing though, sometimes God does something new in our lives we just don’t realize it because it doesn’t look the way that we expect it to. We think that it will look a certain way or conform to our expected norms but this isn’t always the case. All the more reason why we need to abandon our suppositions or predefined categories and just accept that God will do something new and it may not fit these parameters as we think. In the end, he we can take confidence in the fact that he will be faithful to see it accomplished.

Blessings,

Joseph

*****

EVENTS

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open WorshipEvery Thursday - 6:00

Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Mariposa Christian MinistryMariposa Gardens
8816 97th Street, Osoyoos
Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

A Guest Pastor, Upcoming Events and new FREE Scripture Wallpaper!

2011-03-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome Visitors!

Osoyoos Christian Centre is a "happening" place these days. The first thing one would notice if they were to visit after having been away a while will probably find their senses piqued with some new scenery and inhale the smells of paint and varnish etc. As the Lord favours our church to move forward into the future with some exciting changes our family is drawing together to build strong core ministries. Won't you drop in one day soon to see what all the buzz is about.

Be sure to check out new updates on the "From the Heart" tab, up top for an encouragement and then "The Gallery" where we also have two new FREE wallpapers for your computer. I've been compiling some of my own photography and also joined it with professional photography from my friend JanMary http://www.janmary.com/ from Ireland, who has generously agreed to donate pictures for our "wallpaper ministry" Be sure to send your friends here to visit us and grab something attractive and uplifting to decorate their own desktop! Here previews of these wallpapers:

Sweet Friendship - Romans 12:15

(recognise these faces?)

photo: Barb Derksen

1 Corinthians 13:7 - Love

Photo: JanMary

*****

GOOD WORD

Pastor Joseph will return here with a word in the following weeks but today we will take a moment instead to thank Pastor Peter Neave who ministered to us, coming from our sister church, Park Drive Church located in Oliver, BC. Pastor Peter brought us a word based on the topics of Hope, Love and Contentment - all in all very uplifting. I have listened to his sermon once more (every bit as encouraging the second round) and have extracted the following scripture references. I have linked each so which you can click on each if you would like to read them for a review of what we learned, or to listen to them at the Bible Gateway site. When you are at the site, look to the top and you should see a little "speaker" icon, if you press this it will read the scriptures to you.

His message can be summed up by what he said - your manner, demeanor should reflect the Love of Christ no matter where you are and who you are communicating with. I believe that Pastor Peter's willingness to come and minister to us, and the generosity of Park Drive to provide Pastor Peter's presence (this is in danger of sounding like a tongue twister!) We truly appreciate you.

I will end this section with scripture which Pastor Peter ended his word with - about being contented. He pointed out that negative behaviour can be attributed to discontent, always wanting more, better, new. If we trust in the Lord that He has us where we are supposed to be right here, right now then we can know the essence of being content. Read: (Philippians 4:4-7)

*****

Lots of GOOD stuff happening this coming week!

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship
Every Thursday - 6:30
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Fellowship Luncheon & OCC Annual General Meeting

Sunday, March 6th

Osoyoos Christian Centre

42 Finch, Osoyoos

For more info: 250-495-2550

- bring a dish, bring a friend!

Mariposa Christian Ministry

Mariposa Gardens

8816 97th Street, Osoyoos

Sundays at 2 pm

We welcome you to join us if you are able to assist with your musical talent or to help with fellowship! Email us for more info: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Praise Report - Last Sunday saw 17 people in attendance, very positive turnout. Thanks to Ralph, Krista and Moira for your faithful tending to this ministry.

March Women's Sweet Night

Tuesday, March 8th - 6:30 pm

Kaye's Place

7806 Gravenstein

- baking and beverage provided. We will be doing a fun "gift exchange" - bring something wrapped, a hand made gift, home-baked or purchased for under $10. Please email if you need more information: occwomenonline@gmail.com Bring a friend - RSVP appreciated but not necessary.

Look what's New, Words from Pastor Joseph and Current Events!

2011-02-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our Osoyoos Christian Centre women's blog - there's a lot of NEW ground to cover so let's jump right in.

Hopefully - if I've done everything correctly here today - you will see some big changes here to our (YOUR) blog today. The first thing will be that we have two extra "pages". These pages are separate tabs you can click on to find more content. I'm going to reserve this first page for the messages - or message summaries that Joseph will provide. The text he will provide will give you an idea of content we are covering on our Sunday Sermons with a personal slant on it so that it gets you thinking and he may supply scripture, passages for you to refer to so that hopefully we can have you studying and we encourage you to email us or leave comments here with your input too! Lets get a conversation happening!

I will also leave the Events section on this front page so its easy for you to refer here for what's coming up at OCC.

The second page will be called "From My Heart" - (Look UP - there is a tab up top) these are my own writings which I think are relevant to us, especially they might have a feminine perspective. I certainly welcome all of our women to provide content here - poems, photos, scripture etc are all very welcome. Email: occwomenonline@gmail.com

The third page is going to be called "The Gallery" (Look UP - there is a tab up top) and every so often (if I get very ambitious then every week) you will be able to visit here to download FREE inspiring wallpapers for your computer, iPhone or iPad! If you have a favorite scripture - let me know and I will try to incorporate it into a wallpaper.
Please bring your friends here to download some encouraging graphics.

And you may even notice the addition of the Bible Gateway on the side panel of our blog - you can type into the search window to look up bible passages etc - which should be very helpful! Do you know that you can listen to audio there? When you find a scripture to read, look at the controls at the top and you will see a little speaker "icon" - click this and your passage will be read to you.

*****

GOOD WORD from Joseph

At Osoyoos Christian Centre, we're going through a sermon series from I Samuel.

One of the things that I find fascinating about this book is found in the historical narratives of Old Testament and that is the author's strong grasp of literary devices. This is just an observation, and time doesn't permit me to go into much detail - but as you go through this book be alert to how the author (who according to biblical tradition is Samuel himself for the most part) has woven this story.

At this time I just want to bring on thing to your attention and that is in 1 Sam 3:3-4b

"And before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, the at the Lord called Samuel"

... Do you see the imagery that the author uses?

The light was about the go out. I don't want to stretch this passage beyond it's reasonable application, but let's look at this within its social historical context.

We learn from Judges that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. I believe that in social milieu there could only have one outcome - a chaotic state where might makes right. Read through Judges and I believe you will see evidence of this.

In I Samuel 3:1 we read that

"the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was not wide spread revelation."

Take a look at this, the social historical context was one in which everyone did their own thing and the word of God was rare - what would you imagine that they were left with? Yep - pretty dark times! When I think about this context I can't help but get excited when I read 1 Sam 3:3:4 -- before the light goes out - God speaks.

This is just my opinion, but I believe the author is trying to say something to the reader by including this otherwise irrelevant detail, really it's just a lamp! I believe the author is trying to tell the reader that God does not abandon us no matter what. The Israelite congregation was in a state of spiritual darkness and before all hope was gone God speaks and he used his servant Samuel.

I don't know where you are in life right now - maybe the enemy has you believing that it is too late for you, that your hopelessness is a far gone conclusion. If that's the case you need to hear this, before the small light of hope goes out, God can and will speak to you. No matter how difficult is may be, God will not abandon you, listen because he will speak.

Blessings,
Joseph

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Thursday Night Open Worship Every Thursday - 7:00 p.m.
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Worship Music Practice
Saturday nights - 7:30 p.m.

Mariposa Gardens
Ministry to Seniors
3:00 Sundays

Fellowship Luncheon (pot-luck)
Sunday, March 6th - following service
Bring a dish, bring a friend!

Women's Sweet Night
Tuesday, March 8th
Hosted by Amanda and Betty
Speaker: Julie
more details to follow
RSVP appreciated: occwomenonline@gmail.com

Wearing The Badge

2011-02-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

We hope you had a good week!

At Osoyoos Christian Centre we pride ourselves on being a close knit community - and like any community or family, our members can ebb and flow from week to week. Some of us work and then there are times we may be called away for ministry or visiting friends and family or even vacationing. Our blog seems to play a vital role in drawing everyone together - a central hub of sorts where anyone who has access to a computer can still come and 'catch up' with your church family here. Our blog is a work in progress and our goal is to bring a continuity to you, that even if you are not able to join us every Sunday (though we love it when you do, there's no place like home!) then our blog is available for you.

With this in mind we are trying to bring new content and features online which will help to learn, connect and inspire each and every one. This week, we are bringing a new section in and we would love your feedback to know if it is of value to you. Pastor Joseph is going to provide a post which will be in line with the message he delivered Sunday, February 13th. Here is his first installment:

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photo: sxc.hu

Any reference that I've heard mentioned about the pharisees has always been in a negative context. Quite frankly, this people group are often vilified. However, I believe that there isn't a pastor in North America that wouldn't want a church full of pharisees.

Allow me to explain, the pharisees were the best at what they did. They could be found at the synagogue or temple. When it came to giving they would tithe mint and rue - in other words they tithed from even the smallest part of their possession. They knew how to pray, it may not have been the right way, but they could pray. Consequently, a church full of pharisees would be a church without an attendance problem. The prayer meeting would always be full on a Friday or Saturday night - even in the summer! There would not be any financial problems because they would be 100% tithers. This is really impressive when you sit down and think about it.

Here's the thing though, despite their religious perfection, Christ still says: "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Imagine the best christian or person you have every met in your life and then being told that to enter God's Kingdom your goodness or righteousness must be much better!

Now you have a point reference and I believe that this was Christ's point. Those who heard this message in the first century would likely been shocked and astounded by this word because if the Pharisees couldn't get in how would they?

Thank God we do not stand in our own righteousness but in Christ. As such, when you feel that some how you're not worthy to approach God because you haven't prayed enough, read your Bible enough, or preformed enough goods works, the fact is you stand in Christ's righteousness and can boldly enter into God's presence.

Blessings,
Joseph

*****

Please, let us know what you think about Joseph's post here - was this helpful to you?

And now, I'll share some observations from the congregation side of things.

This past Sunday's message was centered on encouragement and about how we sometimes (OK, often) allow situations to control us instead of walking in confidence - when we have brought it before the Lord and know He has control. And it got me thinking (which is what a good message is supposed to do, right?)

My mind began to think about authority and my mind came up with words like authority, power, rule, master, sureness, lordship, obedience, etc. And my mind combs over scripture and it also draws illustrations - this is normal, correct? Do you do this too?

And don't we all sometimes find ourselves  quailing, and worrying, even mourning and weeping for what we SEE - when what we really need to do is to immediately give it over to the One Who Controls over All, and then we need to be walking in that, and it should show visibly. If we are confident and secure that our Lord is Savior then we should be able to experience joy knowing He has taken care of it. This does not mean things will be handled in the way we would choose to orchestrate the details. For our Lord has knowledge and wisdom beyond our human limitations.

Time for one of these little illustrations I was talking about:

When I was a kid and watched westerns - OK, I'm not saying I liked all the westerns but my Dad had control of the TV (and yes, this was even before there were remote controls) I used to notice the Sheriff. There was always a Sheriff who was fair and good and kept outlying little dust bowl villages from falling into anarchy. If a difficult situation came up which required even more authority then the Sheriff would even take a regular cowboy and deputize him and give him a ... badge.  Funny thing about that badge. Everyone would take that badge very seriously. When it was worn it signified that the person wearing it stood for good and they were bound to uphold the good name of the law.

Did you notice too that the badge was always a nice polished gold or silver? And it was always visible. The Sheriff would have still been a Sheriff even if he wore the badge on the inside of his coat or something - but the point is, he always wore it with great pride - and people always treated him with the due respect when they saw that badge. Even the evil outlaws, though they would fight with the Sheriff, you always had knew they still respected him - they just had chosen to work the other side of the law.

Where am I going with this?   Well, what that badge represents is authority and when we pray to God and we are submissive to Him and walk in His ways then we too should wear the authority of the Lord visibly upon us. Though we don't receive or are even expected to wear a physical metal "gold star" badge - when we walk in CONFIDENCE, in JOY, and radiate HOPE when to all the world we might be going through some trial - then that is our badge and others can plainly see this.

How would anyone know we trust in God when they see us pray - see us petition our Father upon our knees, shed tears of repentance and lay our troubles at the altar of the One who is Author of our Lives - and then turn around and not be changed? WEAR the confidence of the Lord upon you. LEAVE your tears and weariness behind - it is dealt with. His mercies are new every morning - wear the badge!

By the way - the badge? Its REAL - I've created it at 300 dpi and saved as a .png format image which means you can right click on it, choose SAVE. It is on a transparent background, perfect for all your presentations or cards or whatever you choose to use it for, personal or commercial.

~ Barbara

*****

Please pray for Dale and Florence Archibald as they minister in Arizona.

*****

EVENTS:

Board Meeting

Thursday, February 17th - 7:00 p.m.

Prayer at Kaye's Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship Every Friday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Worship Music Practice
Saturday night - 7:30 p.m.

Mariposa Gardens

Ministry to Seniors

3:00 Sundays

2011-02-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

It was our OCC "Women's Sweet Night" last night, hosted at Sheryl's home and it was indeed a precious time of fellowship. We were about a dozen ladies and the evening passed sweetly and quickly! Sheryl really took a great deal of effort with making her own meringue cookies and serving cheesecake and a variety of other treats.

We had a gift exchange/game and everyone went home with something very nice. I must say it was rather funny because the game involved one guest choosing a present, unwrapping it and then the next person could either take a new gift or "steal" the gift of someone who had opened one already. Unfortunately, being a group of Christian women we were all hesitant to "steal" from each other :) However, Julie soon changed the definition to exchanging gifts and we were alright with that.

I brought my new point and shoot camera and unfortunately am still getting used to how it runs so I only have a few nice photos of our time together, forgive me Ladies!

Thank you to Sheryl for all the effort you put into this event and we are looking forward to another next month, to be announced in the future.

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I was asked to share a word at our event and so I am going to share it with you here today:

MEEKNESS is not WEAKNESS!

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Meekness is certainly not something which is upheld in today's society and it’s no wonder because it is one of the "fruits of the spirit" and therefore essential for us to model as followers of Christ. The enemy knows his kingdom cannot prevail against God's people as long as we are led by the Spirit of God, so the enemy is going to do his best to keep us distracted from developing the very traits we need, in order to mentor as true women of Faith. What we hear through today's media is very SELF-centered and self-serving. We are told "I'm worth it" and we are invited to keep focus on ME and what I am entitled to and how the world should relate to MYSELF. But the bible tells us that we are to live our lives through how we relate to OTHERS. In Philippians 2:7 we are shown that Jesus himself was meek - that He made Himself of no reputation. In other words He didn't put emphasis on Himself or what He could do, but on God.

The worlds take on meekness IS weakness. The Biblical take on meekness is strength in the Lord. "Meek", in the Koine Greek, (which is one of the primary languages of the New Testament), means, "To be under the master's control". So, no matter what we do as Christians we are to be controlled by God. We are not to BE CONTROLLERS - of ourselves, nor others. We are encouraged to be weak, but only in God - not to man. A meek Christian is one who is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in all he or she does. We should live our lives according to the will of God and through this we become towers of strength in and through HIM. We are instructed to be humble minded, possessing a gentle, and of quiet disposition. We shouldn't think we are higher than, or more important than others. Having the character of meekness means we should show a tendency to consider the needs of others irrespectively of what our own needs may be. The meek work to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, being blameless, harmless and without reproach in the middle of a crooked and perverted nation. We are to shine as lights in the darkened, arrogant, self-seeking, selfish world of the spiritually blinded.

There are biblical women who modeled meekness which served them to garner great power and strength, for example we see Esther 2:8 "The girl pleased him & won his favor." Yes, she had 12 months of beauty treatments as did all the other virgins brought before the king, but she had to get the king to LIKE her too, to win his favor. Ruth also was meek and trusted in the council of Naomi who she knew to be a Godly woman.

I believe that many of us might confuse meekness with weakness, but consider that Jesus, though he was meek could also get good and angry when need be - for example when He went into the house of prayer and knocked the tables over. He being wasn't a rude there, and was still meek in heart even though He was pushed to take measures to get his point across that what people were doing was WRONG!

And how does this relate to our lives today? It means we should normally handle people and situations with dignity, patience, submissive spirits, being compliant, gentle and kind. In a society which is loud, demanding and in-your-face, our meekness will shine our light for Jesus in a way that is like a beacon in the darkness. It means we will invest in others to build trust and respect. Respect and trust encourages others to desire to surrender authority to us because we are genuine and they value our counsel. Then when we do occasionally use forcefulness, whether it is through our actions or words, others LISTEN and take heed because it’s not a standard of our behavior. They know that something REALLY must be wrong. We don't abuse our meekness.

I've seen this in my own marriage countless times. A prime example is something my husband told me a long time ago. He said "Honey, if you would like something from me, if instead of getting angry and yelling -- (yes, being REAL here I confess that I used to resorted to yelling at times) -- if you put your arms around me and gently ASK, there's not much I could ever deny you!" I also admire a dear friend who joins me to pray about our marriages - we do it in meekness, sometimes never mentioning specific needs, and coming from a standpoint of the Lord changing US and how we handle these situations rather than changing our spouses. I'm fortunate to have a friend who is a mom to several kids and has a really busy life who 0rchestrates their schedule and situations with grace, patience and gentleness - giving time and engaging each family member with genuine interest before choosing how to handle it. The way she sorts it all out and allots everyone their orders in such a caring way is a true ministry to me. And I see meekness modeled through the senior women in my life, who have had MUCH more life experience in than I have for they offer wise counsel in meekness when they might by authority of seniority TELL me how to handle situations.

Meekness says "I need others - Lord, I need YOU. I CAN'T do it myself" Weakness, on the other hand causes us to look pretty silly sometimes because when we are weak we give into the self-centered "Me" way of thinking. For example, we might give in to being pushy, loud and demanding on a regular basis because we've heard "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" Which is true sometimes, only that's a temporary fix because it creates the sort of person who gets served only because we do anything just to get rid of them.

One thing I've personally observed about being meek is when we model it, it IS visible. Whenever I've been meek my husband recognizes it and I in turn recognize and admire it in the Godly women in my life. Now is the time for us women to be meek but not weak. We need to claim authority on every level of our families and in the world. We need to set the high standard of honor wherever we have influence - in our homes, at work and in Church. We need to be strong and stand firm and at the same time to be meek in our dealings with others that we should show the presence of God in us.

I'll leave you with a quote from a very dear friend of mine, Eileen Bowden, who at 90 years old shared this bit of wisdom and I think it models meekness in relationships: "Don't be too bossy. Look into the other person's point of view as well as your own. and see if you can mingle the two with the best of your ability."

*****

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's
Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship

Every Friday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Keeping Fit - Inside!

2011-02-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

I've covered the idea of keeping our bodies fit over the past two weeks I think its a good idea for us to start taking a look on the inside with the thought of a good Spring Cleaning. We can look as good and polished on the outside as we want but God is not impressed with that at all. TRUE beauty really comes from within and physical beauty eventually fades away.

If you don't do constant upkeep on your reputation you do a disservice to our Lord who we represent as believers:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable,

so that when they speak against you as evildoers,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify God on the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:12

So now is a good time for you to do a good self examination inside and take stock, for its not all about YOU - its all about Jesus in you.

Do not let your adorning be external -

the braiding of hair and putting on of gold jewellery,

or the clothing you wear -

but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart

with the imperishable beauty

of a gentle and quiet spirit

which in God's sight is very precious.

1 Peter 3:3-4

I think a really good way to take stock is to ask yourself "What do others see in me?" Really try to step into someone else's shoes and get to know the you that they see. And if you are brave enough you might even ask for a "report" from someone you love and trust enough to give you honest answers. Be prepared to lay down your little perfect vision of yourself. You may be surprised what a wonderful exercise this is in renewing your relationships with others.

Think of it this way - you walk into your own home each and every day, sometimes several times a day but you sometimes never think what it must look like to a visitor. Try looking at your own doorstep the next time you enter.

I give you a challenge today - be accountable for whatever trait you might have at the moment that might be hindering your walk with God. Choose someone close to you and invite them to pray for this area. You needn't even confess what this might be, but allow your trusted friend to pray with you and check back in a while to see how you're working in this area. God built us to be accountable to one another. Sometimes our flaws draw us together in a way nothing else can.

Want to add to this topic? Why not leave a comment here and start a conversation?

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There are some beautiful desktop calendars for February available at Crosscards.com! And while you are there you may be inspired send someone an encouraging free e-card too.

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EVENTS:

Sheryl Parolin is hosting a "Women's Sweet Night" in her home. This is by invite and you are welcome to bring a friend as well. We would love an RSVP to get a number on the desserts. I will be guest speaking as well :) Come out for a night of food, fellowship and fun!

Thursday, Feb 10

7:00 p.m.

7804 Gravenstein

email barbaraderksen@gmail.com for more info

Prayer at Kaye's

Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship

Every Friday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550

Spiritual AND Physical Fitness Part 2

2011-01-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Before I begin I would like to catch you up with some recent activity at Osoyoos Christian Centre. This past Sunday was a "Missions Sunday" and we were blessed by the presence of David and Valbona Pennoyer. David and Valbona have family in this area and they are POAC Missionaries currently serving in Albania. What a powerful message of hope they bring! What wonderful things are being done in Albania. Despite unrest and many obstacles they must face in carrying the Good News of Jesus to the people of Albania, David and Valbona are seeing tremendous work being done there. They have established help groups for many of the marginalized people - children, widows and children in poverty, street people and they have also started successful youth gatherings, the largest in that region. What an inspiration they are.

Whatever I was planning on writing here today was dimmed by the needs David and Valbona brought before us this past Sunday. How incongruous it is that we have too much food when others don't have enough to eat. Do we appreciate our beautiful church, our church family, the freedom to worship when others are in danger if they proclaim Jesus as Savior in public. How wonderful we can be part of the 'vehicle' of sharing the hope and God's message even by praying for and contributing money toward David and Valbona's ministry.

You can find out how you can get involved by visiting The Global Christian Ministries - Albania. I will put a link on the sidebar of our blog so you can access it at any time. Thank you David and Valbona for blessing us with your story this past weekend. OCC looks forward to next year - if we all pull together, as you mentioned, what will your missions look like next year at this time. Thanks for allowing us to share.

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Spiritual AND Physical Fitness Pt. 2

Last week I focused the physical working out part of fitness and I have just a few words to add to this. When David Pennoyer was speaking on Sunday, he told us that he had experienced some medical issues over the past year and had, under his doctor's recommendations, had to make some changes in his life. Of course you all know what I'm going to tell you that is - a) diet change and b) more physical exercise must be introduced into his daily routine. David knows the BIG picture. He's not just doing this for himself - he's got his family and his whole missions who depend on him. Keeping his "vessel" in tip-top shape is another part of his ministry too!

I was inspired when David talked about how besides cutting down his portions of food, he also has begun walking. Remember last week I was telling you how walking could be turned into a time of value? Well, turns out that some of David's walks have allowed his eyes to be opened to the needs of where he is in Albania. His feet are taking him to places where his eyes (and heart) did not see when he possibly drove by in a car previously. As he began to walk, he began to become aware of needs. He began to pray for those areas he walked by, the people living there. And then one day he heard voices from behind shrubbery in a public park. He walked around the shrubbery and found several homeless men. He has since come to know these men and they have come to share food and be prayed for at the church where David and Valbona minister.

Your walks can be the same. Osoyoos has homeless. When you walk, pray for these needs. Pray for US to meet these needs. Pray for eyes and hearts to reach out for those in need. Who will you reach out to this week?

So, we have figured out that we all live in a country where, for most of us, having and eating enough food is not a problem. In fact, a great deal of us are suffering from over-indulging in food. We are poisoning ourselves with food. We eat too much - we eat the wrong type of food. Its not due to lack of education on the facts, we hear it on the news, learn about it in the schools etc. We know what a doctor will tell us is the first steps to take to get healthy - eat right.

I like what Michael Pollan, a famous author of books all about food and what the food industry has done to our food quotes "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" He also tells us that when we look at ingredients on food labels we should not eat anything that has a name that our Grandmother would not recognise. He has some great books on the subject of today's food and even a young person's version. Reading his books makes us aware of what we put into our bodies. I confidently recommend reading his books "Food Rules", "In Defence of Food" and "An Omnivore's Dilemma"

Dear friend,

I pray that you may enjoy good health

and that all may go well with you,

even as your soul is getting along well.

3 John 1:2

God wants us to be healthy. Of course the first thing we must do is to pray for God's help with our diets. We must sincerely turn over control to Him, and ask for "portions" - not of food, but of strength to deny ourselves of the (poorly nutritional... empty calories) food that is pushed at us at every turn. I am not saying that we have to cut out every single good thing we like to eat. What I'm saying is that really rich, sweet good things should be reserved as "treats" or "desserts" or "rewards". These things should be reserved for times of fellowship, times of celebration, as a reward or even to break up a monotonous diet.

I personally find that a steady procession of rich and delicious foods, the ability to be able to have them at any given moment somehow takes away the joy of having them. One piece of pie now and again is delicious - three pieces and I don't taste it any more. You know what I am saying?

I have a rule at our house, I still bake for our family, even though there are just the two of us, but when I bake a "batch" of something (because really, what recipes are just for one or two people) I only make enough for us to eat right now, the rest I give away to someone else. Its a joy multiplied. My husband battles with his sweet tooth and it would just be unfair of me to leave temptation around. So I have a little food ministry going on which works wonderful as I love to bake.

I actually think my favorite thing is the reward system. I know that when I get together with people (family for holidays, church family for pot luck luncheons, fellowship meetings - tea and desserts) that I will "save up" to enjoy the goodies with them because its twice the joy. The sweet fellowship and something sweet to eat.

Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat,

for drunkards and gluttons become poor,

and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Proverbs 23:20–21

I think the basic rule is to eat food as close to raw as you can. Don't eat anything when you are not actually hungry for it. If you eat mindlessly you are allowing food to become an idol in your life. Everything in balance. The funny thing is, the more you start to exercise and getting in shape then the more you start caring about what you are putting into your body, the fuel.

When we become complacent, when we spend our time idle it becomes a habit that's hard to break. In our prosperous society we have a real danger of becoming slothful. People have struggled with this through the bible too, for example:

Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit;

they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek.

Their evil deeds have no limit;

they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,

they do not defend the rights of the poor.

Jeremiah 5:27–28

And knowing the danger of this we are warned:

and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

Proverbs 23:2

I know it is a hard struggle to diet. Its a daily battle. I want you to know that we would love to pray for you if you decide to take the challenge.

One thing which is a useful tool is to track your food intake. Lucky for us we live in a day and age of useful technology and one of my favorite recommendations for this is Spark People. Spark People is a website which you can sign up with and fill out the form with all your information (age, height, weight etc) and it will set you up with a personalized tracking system for both your fitness and your diet! It has a database of thousands of foods and their nutrition so you don't have to repeat enter a food you use all the time. You can also add a "custom food" (a food not in the database) and it will stay in there. They also have most restaurant food. Your food and exercise input is then put into a database and you are able to view summaries which show you over weeks, months - your progress.

They have a whole healthy recipe section and ... even better, they have a whole Christian Connection where you can communicate with other Christians going through this process as well. You are not alone!!! This is a FREE resource - why not start today?

I hope you have found value in what I've shared today. The Lord built us to be a community, to fellowship, admonish, encourage, help, love etc each other. This subject is one that I could not pass over as I care about each of you. Did you find this helpful? I'd love your feedback!

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Our OCC women hosted a Fellowship Time at Moira's home last Thursday. We had some guests coming in from other churches and it was a wonderful time together. Kaye read a poem she authored and Helen played some hymns. Eileen shared a report about the meeting she attended at the Baptist Church recently about the poor in our own community - a real eye-opener. Thank you for all who attended, we look forward to getting together next month. Here is Kaye, reading her own poem "Battle of Jerusalem"

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EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's

Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship

Every Friday - 7:00

Osoyoos Christian Centre

42 Finch, Osoyoos

For more info: 250-495-2550

Spiritual AND Physical Fitness!

2011-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

It's the middle of January, always a difficult time of the year. Do you know we just passed what is called "Blue Monday"? It falls on the third monday of January and it was named because someone (with too much time on their hands on their hands?) figured this date out by creating a mathematical formula which takes into factor the lag after holiday celebrations, the debt people find themselves in from the holidays, the days being shorter and darker... it all adds up to a tough time to get through.

And then there is the fact that most of us have even put on a few pounds with all that celebrating and the good food that goes along with it, and the fact its harder to get outdoors and stay active. As good as our intentions are not to over-indulge its almost impossible to resist. I don't even try! The Lord blessed me with a Mother in Law who's "love language" is to feed her boy... and over the years she's teased out my favorite treats too and so now we both can't resist and I confess I don't even try anymore. After all, what an honour to have someone show love in this way.

And along comes January and what to do? In conversation with others my heart is moved to know I'm certainly not alone in feeling like a few changes need to be made. I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions - for me, they seem to set me up for sure disappointment and failure, instead New Years for me is EVERY day - for every day is a new day in the Lord, when I turn it over to Him.

As women, as children of Christ, we need to be encouragers to one another and in today's post I'm hoping to do just this for you! I'm fairly certain we all could lose "a few pounds" so I'm going to try to inspire you, encourage and motivate you. I know that for most of us, our days are FULL already and a big issue is finding the time to fit some physical exersize in. If you're like me, sometimes it difficult to fit bible-study in, and its not even a question that bible-study should come first. So, sometimes I have to try to combine and complement both soaking in the word and Praising the Lord with getting fit.

The first thing I should address though is why we should find value (from a Spiritual point) in keeping in shape. The very first scripture that comes to my mind is

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you, whom you have received from God?

You are not your own;

²⁰ you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

I will interpret this in the plainest of terms - God blessed us with these amazing bodies with which He enables us to carry out HIS work. I certainly don't know exactly where your body is at, you may have some sort of disability but I have been inspired by many people who have severe disabilities. The common factor with this situation is each person who inspired me made the most of the situation they were in, did not rest in it, give up in it, they persevered because of it. They often ignored what their human-given diagnosis they were given, and, giving it over to the Lord, in faith, became witnesses of His mercies by igniting in us a spark to try harder. Certainly, no matter what physical shape we are in we would be hard pressed to not find someone worse off, physically (perhaps emotionally as well) than you, dear reader, are today.

I believe the reason we should push ourselves to get into our best physical shape is because when we are fit and healthy we have more energy and our physical bodies are able to help others who are not able to help themselves. If we have a body that is not completely afflicted to the point we cannot use it, we are almost obliged to keep it in tip top working order for the service of our Lord. Sometimes we take better care of our houses, our vehicles than we do our bodies. We can possibly buy a new house - a new car, but not a new body.

My husband and I used to climb mountains, and I'll tell you, each time we reached a peak I was reminded that some people will never EVER have the physical ability, to experience the joy to stand at that peak and look down and observe all of God's glory over the land. It is so powerful and motivating that is - so, what I'm saying is since God gave us healthy bodies which can do this, isn't it a true GIFT to be able to do it? Isn't this enough of a reason to push ourselves to do it while we can? We are gifted top physical strength for a season of our life, don't let it pass by.

Another reason to keep in good shape is to have the energy to play with your children. Children spend a great deal of their time engaged in play and its a fabulous opportunity to mentor to them, to connect with them. We are accountable to be good examples to them, if we do not stay in shape, keep active then we are leaving them a legacy of inaction and all that goes with that. What a burden of responsiblity we have!

So no matter whether you have 5 lbs to lose, 50 or just need to be motivated to get more active - this post is for you. I know its so difficult to get started - and be prepared the enemy will definately be lurking in the sidelines to make it hard. So the very first thing I'd suggest is to lift up your physical situation in prayer. (I'd love to pray for YOU too!) Surrender your body and mind to Jesus and He will enable you.

Philippians 4:13

¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Yes - God built us so we cannot do it alone. We all need support and that's probably why I find myself sitting here typing this to you. (I have a huge "to do list" trying to distract me, saying 'you should be doing this, and THIS' SEE? That's the enemy working already) I believe as women I'm given an ability to write this in the hopes it might inspire even one of you to get active.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing. 

Now, lets get down to making this first step, now that we have surrendered your need to Jesus. I am going to start off assuming you have virtually no physical exercise in your life at this moment. I am going to assume you don't have a means or desire to join a gym. The very first thing I would suggest is for you to do is to be accountable. Find someone who is willing to help you or even just encourage you. When you get a friend involved you are more likely to stick with it, and its rewarding to share your successes as you build up. A joy shared is a joy doubled - again, we need to encourage each other.

Walking is great way to get into shape and there are many rewards. It does not have to be a long walk or a strenuous one. Taking a friend along is a terrific way to connect and before you know it the distance slips by. As you make it a habit it will come easier and you will go further. Walking also allows you to enjoy being outside. We are fortunate to have warm clothing in the winter, umbrellas in rain etc. Ah, come on, when was the last time you splashed in a puddle? How come we stop that when we are adults - running out into the rain and reveling in it??? My husband and I love walks and runs outside, some of our fondest memories are these times together. I am constantly reminded of God's wonder of the beauty of nature which we experience when we get outdoors.

If you have to stay indoors, why not consider a stationary bike - make the time count by either watching something worthwhile on tv (there are all sorts of good Christian shows on these days) or having someone read scripture to you or listening to an audio book? (there are many FREE books to listen to and download at http://www.librivox.org/) If you have a computer and internet connection you can listen to passages of the bible at http://www.biblegateway.com/.

You might like to dance? You can always tune into http://www.radiotime.com/ where you can search for "Gentle Praise" and can listen to live streaming beautiful and gentle music which you could dance to for a while each day. If you are at a higher fitness level and would like some music to work out there are hundreds of online Christian radio stations available to listen to, and some have "Christian Dance" streams with upbeat music to motivate you. If you want just instrumental music which you can download for free in podcast format I often go to http://www.podrunner.com/ where you can download one hour workouts which offer choices of how many BPM's (beats per minute) you would like to get up to. Podcast can be listened to live on your ipod if there is a wireless connection and alternately you can download the podcasts right onto your ipod/iphone for listening to offline. We are fortunate to have so many resources available to us!

And speaking of how much is available to us, why I'm realizing there is a ton more than I can share right here, today, so I am going to break this topic up over to next week. I hope today has been helpful to you and I'd certainly love your feedback.

Next week I will concentrate on tracking your progress and on the nutrition aspect. In the meantime, thank you for taking the time out to visit here today. I'll certainly address any questions you might have about this subject and help you get started.

May God bless you this week!

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's

Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship

Every Friday - 7:00

Osoyoos Christian Centre

42 Finch, Osoyoos

For more info: 250-495-2550

OCC Women's Fellowship Meeting

Thursday, January 20th - 1 to 3 p.m.

Moira's place - 8006 Vedette Drive

Bring a treat - bring a FRIEND!

This is just a time for us to "hang out" together. If you've been inspired by a poem, story anything please bring it along to share!

Missionary Sunday

January 23 - Sunday Service

Osoyoos Christian Center

This Sunday we welcome missinaries David and Valbona Pennoyer who are involved in ministry missions for Albania. They will share their vision and we hope to bless them in their endeavors! You can find out more by visiting their website: http://www.lovealbania.com/church_main.htm

Christmas Photos, A Worship Song and a A Poem by Kaye

2011-01-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are a few photos from our Christmas Dinner, 2010. It was a luncheon, actually and a wonderful time was had by all. We always set for more people than we invite, and the chairs are always filled. There are more photos which I will gladly share via a private email link should you request it!

Our church is especially blessed in the music department and we were treated to a rendition of "I Can Only Imagine" during the dinner. Wonderful!

Speaking of which, we welcomed part of the "Away Team" to join us for this past weekend's service - the Away Team coming from Park Drive Church in Oliver. Thanks to Bart and Maurice for singing, soundboard and organization. And we also recognise our team members - Miles, Nathan, Pheoniz, Ken and Sheryl (from our women, Sheryl an extra thank you for your voice lends a wonderful complement)

Here is a song, which you can enjoy here if you were not able to join us last weekend. Just click on the triangle button to play.

Exciting transformations are taking place at OCC - one nice feature is the addition of "rear screen projection" which allows the worship team to see the words to songs, and no more cluttering of computers and cables and mics in front of our stage. Thank you to all you (yes, Nate and Leila!) for your help.

And there's more happening all the time so stay tuned for news here.

Kaye has supplied me with some of her poems and I'll share you with one today:

Kaye

Such Love

This wondrous love is like sunshine to my soul

It penetrates the very marrow of my bones

In your path let me ever be

On the tempests of life's stormy seas

Your hand in mine will give me rest

Jesus saviour of my soul

Your hand in mine will make me bold

To tell others of your great love

The gift of salvation sent through Jesus from our father above

Let me tell others of your plan of redemption

Provided by Jesus for you and me

This my prayer shall ever be

To lead your lost sheep home to thee.

~ Kaye Harkness 2010

EVENTS:

Prayer at Kaye's

Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.

7806 Gravenstein

Friday Night Open Worship

Every Friday - 7:00

Osoyoos Christian Centre

42 Finch, Osoyoos

For more info: 250-495-2550

OCC Women's Fellowship Meeting

Thursday, January 20th - 1 to 3 p.m.

Moira's place - 8006 Vedette Drive

Bring a treat - bring a FRIEND!

This is just a time for us to "hang out" together. If you've been inspired by a poem, story anything please bring it along to share.

Amazing Testimony

2011-01-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have seen the news clip about this, Ted Williams, man on Global TV - he has an amazing story. I shared it with my husband who missed the news - and so having searched it on YouTube, came up with a full interview on CBS news instead. This interview is 5 minutes long and contains his testimony of faith, very moving. If you find yourself with 5 minutes to spare today please watch, it had us in tears. God is Good - all the time!

An Update on Dale and Florence

2011-01-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

I received an update from Dale and Florence who are hosting a rally down south in Arizona. Rather than list all the descriptions of the pictures I've added the captions directly onto the photos and I am embedding a slideshow into this post. Please continue to lift Dale and Florence in prayer that they continue in their ministry.

Some readers have mentioned the slideshow is a little FAST. There is a "pause" and "play" button located underneath the slideshow (hover your mouse over the photo to see the buttons) - you can click that to have the photos stay still and then manually use the arrow keys, if that works better for you. Thanks for letting me know!

What's Happening - Nov 28th to Dec 5th!

2010-11-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

What a thought provoking sermon spoken this past Sunday by Ralph. I always appreciate a message which springs from someone's life experience. In this instance, though Ralph himself admits - is not a "puzzle person" himself, he's part of a family which is made up of many avid "puzzlers". Looking through eyes of faith, Ralph (and I know Krista sees with the same eyes) began to draw some concrete parallels between a puzzle being made up of many peices and us as being parts of the body of Christ.

He painted the picture of how each piece is equally important to the entire picture, how the outside pieces create the "framework" to help guide the rest of the pieces together, but also to ensure the center pieces have a border to hold them from straying, how there are "cornerstone" pieces, which could be visuals of the pillars of our church and how if just one piece of the puzzle, upon completion, is missing - why we don't rest until we find that piece, this vital piece to complete the picture. Oh, and not to forget mentioning the very shape of each piece causes us to have to "interlock" - we need to not just know one another but we need to enter into each other's lives - to overlap!

I'm sure each of us who looks through eyes of our faith can draw parallels to the world around us. This is what the Lord wants, I believe, for us to have a "living" faith which is reflected in everything around us. As you work with your hands this week, enjoy hearing or seeing something which impacts you - won't you tease out the "spiritual" significance in it? I'd love to share your thoughts here!

*******

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

Dale and Florence as they minister "down south" within the RVing community. (We miss you!)

*******

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Church Events:

Prayer at Kayes

Thursday's @ 10 a.m.

Kaye is one of our Pillars - a true prayer warrior! Join Kaye and church family in prayer times at her home.

Open Worship

Friday's @ 7 p.m.

Come join us for a time of open worship! Bring a friend and find warmth and hope as OCC welcomes you to bring prayer requests forward.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS:

With the holiday season fast approaching there are many events at all of the churches in our area. It is wonderful for us to support the other ministries in our town and surrounding region. Here are the events I've been notified about:

Festive Tea

Friday, December 10th

1 - 3 p.m.

Little Brown Church

9063 87th St, Osoyoos

Festive Tea

Saturday, December 4th

1 - 3 p.m.

St Ann's Catholic Church

7610 87th St, Osoyoos

This is a free tea & also a fundraiser for Canadian Food for Children

Craft Fair

Saturday, December 4th

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Concordia Lutheran Church and School

2800 South Main St, Penticton

Admission - $1

Short term babysitting available

Raffles

Concession

Our very own Leila Freeman will be holding a table at this fair - featuring some of her home preserves (I've tasted and delighted!) and her beautiful fragrant hand-made soaps. Leila would love to see some familiar faces here :)

*******

You may be noticing some BIG physical changes to our building - some exciting things in the works! Stay tuned for some exciting things to be happening

OCC Weekly Recap, Events, Encouragement and a GIFT!

2010-11-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

What an exciting time at Osoyoos Christian Centre - funny how everything outdoors is edging toward a time of hibernation while inside things are heating up.

Our church family, and extended church family of Park Drive Church from Oliver connected with us to do a little sprucing (or on second thought I might say "cedar-ing") up around our building. A small bobcat arrived on Saturday, along with some helping hands and even though the temperatures had plummeted severely and there was a bitter wind blowing everyone pitched in to begin the arduous task of taking out some of the cedar trees outside as there have been some which were sickly (and eye-sores) Here are some of the photos of the action on the outside. Does'nt Pastor Bart (Park Drive) look like he's actually ENJOYING this machine?

And while the outside was being looked after, there was some 'elbow grease' being lavished on the inside! There really is something special when we labour together, we come together as a family. We accomplished much - but even with all that was done Sunday night - in the dark DARK cold night (we are talking - 10 c) if you were to drive by Osoyoos Christian Centre you would have been witness to a group of zealous, passionate, energetic men STILL working with the bobcat and the cedar trees! No kidding, now thats impressive.

Thank you to all who helped. We will schedule another Work Bee in the future - stay tuned!

*******

Thank you to the Away Team (Praise and Worship) from Park Drive who annointed us with music ministry. Its always amazing how the music they choose works to enhance the message delivered, even when they are unaware at the time they choose their songs. Pastor Joseph delivered another segment of "Chaos to Destiny"

*******

Shirley shared a word from the congregation how she has been aware of the thought that we are to LOVE DEEPLY - as in the following scripture:

I Peter 1:22

Now that you have purified yourselves

by obeying the truth

so that you have sincere love for each other

love one another deeply

from the heart.

As this is our women's blog this scripture resounded within me and I thought to share it with you who could not be with us to hear it. I liked how Shirley said we need to look at one another with eyes of love - eyes that are able to find the good in each other. In this same strain I came across this scripture, which if we love deeply, this is an action of that love:

Galatians 6:2 (RSV)

Bear one another's burdens.

This sort of love removes the judgement from our vision - often the judgement of familiarity, when we seem the same faces all of the time. We must gaurd ourselves from this. Which leads to this quote I found as well.

Do not think that love,

in order to be genuine,

has to be extraordinary.

What we need is to love without getting tired.

~ Mother Teresa

And as our church moves forward, Pastor Joseph reminded us, what would it matter if our church became a "big success" if we don't grow together as a family? This week, when you find yourself with a few free moments, why not reach out to your church family via phone, email etc?

*******

EVENTS:

Thursday Prayer at Kaye's

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Friday night Open Worship

Time: 7:30 p.m. @ OCC
Bring a friend!

And speaking of events, its always wonderful to support the other churches in our community! I was sent this announcement for a fund-raising event for the Baptist Church. Lets come out and support this worthwhile ministry"

Garage Sale

Osoyoos Baptist Church (downstairs)

6210 Hwy 97

November 26th (friday) and 27th (saturday)

Time: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

All proceeds to support the Community Christmas Dinner and Alfredo and Amalia Sommer's Ministry in Argentina.

*******

We need your BAKING!

Our church would like to be able to meet the needs of anyone who should come hungry to our door. What we need are tinned soups, tuna, salmon, dried soups and HOME MADE baking. When I say home made baking, it would be nice to have a few lasagnes in our freezer and things like cookies so that if we need to warm something up quickly its there. So, if you feel you would like to contribute it would be much appreciated!

*******

Lastly - I wanted to give something away here on our blog - a small way to say thank you to those of you who visit and support our blog. So, as one of my gifts is working with graphics, I've created this Christmas Ornament which you are free to use for whatever purpose you would like. I'm hoping it might suit some of your needs for PowerPoint Presentations etc. You are free to use it in any way you like but if you include it in a digital scrapbooking kit for resale or anything like that, I ask that you would give credit to me - Barb Derksen.

This ornament is a PNG file, meaning it has a transparent background. Just right click on the picture and choose "save as" It is aproximately 6 inches in size (I still don't think in metric) and is 300 dpi (dots per inch) - meaning its very high quality and can be easily resized.

Blessings ~

Barb Derksen behalf OCC Women

"Farewells" "Welcomes" and "In Rememberance"

2010-11-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Isabelle Lukacsic

What a privilege to take part in our rememberance of our dear sister Isabelle, today at Osoyoos Christian Centre. I can honestly say this was the most beautiful and "real" memorial service I've ever been part of.

Thank you to Nathan and Leila Freeman who had a very special bond with Isabelle. Leila knew Isabelle from the time she was 11 years old (Leila, not Isabelle) lots of history there! Later on, during a "challenge" with the youth group in our church, Leila chose Isabelle's name to be paired with - each teen pairing with a senior, to develop a relationship. Later on, Leila and Nathan married and together they both continued to invest in Isabelle's life. Thursdays were "Family Day" for Nathan, Leila and Isabelle no matter what. Today, Leila and Nathan contributed their insight and used their gifts to help us all honour the memory of Isabelle. Nathan played several songs with themes that Isabelle would have loved to have heard and Leila delivered an eloquent eulogy - she captured the true essence of Isabelle.

Thank you to Pastor Ralph Hargrave for Officiating and to Krista Hargrave, Betty Henniger, Dale and Florence Archibald for all their hard work to put together the luncheon afterward. Thank you to The Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 173 for representing Isabelle as well.

Thank you to Pastor Don Schneider and wife Shirley for being here, it was wonderful to see you at OCC again.

First, a few facts about Isabelle. Isabelle celebrated her 80th birthday this past January. She was with our church for MANY years - 40 plus years!

Isabelle must have observed so much over her faithful years to our congregation - our family. Everyone who attended today knew Isabelle as part of the church, she clung on through all the ups and downs and changes over time, some of those times must have been discouraging but she never wavered. This quality about her has been a true ministry to each of us women in our body.

There was a time of open sharing from the gathering and here were some of the words and thoughts shared - the more personal touches that we each enjoyed about Isabelle - the things that made her ... HER!

Isabelle often had "words" from the Lord. She always shared whenever she did - and many people concur that these words were "right on"

Isabelle loved to share scripture, and really dwelt in the Psalms. Again, when she shared it more than likely "fit" with the message spoken by our Pastor(s)

Isabelle was a dear friend to the widows!

She shared 40 years of sweet friendship with Kaye Harkness - thats a tremendous amount of time.

Isabelle was a prayer "warrior" She was not afraid to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, whether she was in church or on the street.

She was an encouragement to others and to other ministries in our community.

Isabelle was completely unique - forthright, she "spoke the truth"

She was faithful.

She had a great sense of humour.

She was independant.

She was "gruff" on the outside at times, but if you worked to get to know her you discovered a beautiful, warm, and very very generous person waiting to share friendship with you.

She was "proud" in that she did not want to be a burden on anyone.

She loved to join in church activities and you could count on her to be there.

She loved to open her home for church activities.

She was a good cook.

Isabelle was this, and so much more. We will miss Isabelle so very much but we celebrate that we can be confident that Isabelle is with her Lord and savior today. Thank you to Isabelle's family for sharing her with us over the years.

*****

Ralph and Krista Hargrave

We welcome Pastor Ralph Hargrave and Krista to our ministry. Ralph and Krista are also long-time members of OCC over the years with a small gap the past few years when they were away due to ministering to the needs of family members. We are so glad to have you back, and back on board! Ralph and Krista will be taking responsibility for home visitations and are also will be leading worship services at Mariposa Gardens, bringing ministry to the seniors.

*****

Farewell for a season to Dale and Florence Archibald who are vital, well respected and much loved in our OCC family. Dale has preached over the year - faithfully shared God's Good Word with us and we have benefitted from His obedience and annointing. Dale and Florence took ownership of the Mariposa Gardens ministry to date before passing the torch to Ralph and Krista. Besides these essential contributions, both Dale and Florence have provided so much more service to our church. They are always "helping hands" with all events. They are the first faces you will see when an event happens - I'm talking they are there when things need to be set up, and I've worked side by side with Dale, his shirt sleeves rolled right up, doing dishes! Florence is like a hummingbird in the background, swiftly and efficiently taking care of all things in the way of setting up and dishing out the food and taking the laundry home as well. And I've not even mentioned her Operation Shoeboxes ministry she is faithful to each year.

Dale and Florence will now follow the Canadian Geese south where they will pour their blessings into the ministry they've built up "across the line" in the warmer climes. They've grown quite an impressive little "RV ministry" and seen much fruit from this. We will truly miss you both. Thank you for everything you do, so selflessly. We will pray for your safe journey. We love you! Please send home reports 'from the road' for us to share here!

*****

REMINDERS!

Farewell Luncheon for Dale and Florence

Sunday, November 14th

Following morning services

Where: OCC

No need to bring anything but a hearty appetite! Come say goodbye to Dale and Florence for this season.

Work Bee
Saturday, November 2o 10:30 a.m.
Where: OCC

Don't wear your new clothes. Do bring a good attitude and elbow grease.

Prayer at Kaye's
EVERY Thursday morning 10:00 a.m.

Come, bring a prayer requests!

Upcoming Events

2010-11-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Memorial for Isabelle Lukacsik

Date: Saturday, November 13th
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Where: Osoyoos Christian Centre, 42 Finch Crescent, Osoyoos
Phone: 250-495-2550
Info: There will be an informal luncheon following the service - welcome to bring a dish along!

Shoebox Deadline

All shoeboxes should be submitted this Sunday for Operation Shoebox. Please be sure to include the form and monies for each.

Date: Sunday, November 14th.

Church Work-Bee

This will be a time of prepping our Church and yard for the winter months. Bring Elbow-Grease!

Date: Saturday, November 20th @ 10:30 a.m.
Where: Osoyoos Christian Centre

There is Hope

2010-11-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

credit:

created by Barb Derksen

one of the picture layers from a phtograph by mancity@sxc

Have you ever watched a ray of light break through dark clouds in the sky? Ever wondered what this phenomenon is called? I did, so I looked it up - there's an actual name for these rays. They are called Crepascular Rays. They stream through gaps in the clouds or between objects. Dark cloud areas seperate the bars of light between. The name Crepascular refers to the TIME these occur, a time called Crepascular hours - the time between around dawn and dusk, when the light/dark contrast is the highest. I am always drawn to these rays, pausing whenever I see them.

I think what thought forms in my mind is that the reason the rays make such a visual impact is that because the rest of the sky is dark and forboding, the small slivers of light which pour through and illuminate appear brilliant! Though they take up the least amount of the vista, they draw our full attention. They make me think of HOPE.

No matter how dark the world seems, no matter how alone you feel, Jesus is there - even when we cannot see him. When the clouds block out His light - but never forever. The goodness and light is merely biding its time. Sometimes, for me, a small ray of hope does more for me than an entire sky of sunshine.

Here's a small poem which I found in Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Chas E. Cowman, which is a good reminder for us:

God is above the clouds! - the darkest; most depressing;

The clouds of disappointment, burden, anguish, pain;

The clouds of long suspense; of tidings most distressing;

God is above the clouds! - and skies will smile again.

-by J. Danson Smith (from "Thou Remainest," London, England.)

Welcome!

2010-10-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Our church warmly welcomes Joseph Fernandez as our official Pastor! Keep watching here for updates.

“The Word” for Sunday, August 1, 2010

2010-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

I apologise for posts to our blog to be brief during these summer months – I hope to bring you more content in Autumn! A special thank you to Pastor Joseph Fernandes who shared an inspiring message this past weekend. Joseph comes to us from Cheers Church, located in Penticton. You may click the graphic above to visit the Cheers website. Please forgive me if the following recording may not be of the highest quality, or may even have a piece missing or repeated as I had to cobble it together from a recording made on my iphone when the battery in my audio recorder failed. Click on the player to hear this week’s message.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Pastor Joseph will be leading us this coming Sunday as well – service at 10:30 (though we encourage you to drop in for pre-service prayer at 9:30)

*****
THANKS

Thank you to Pastor Don Schneider of Bethel Church in Penticton for speaking at the service of Richard Allen last week and also our sincere appreciation for the Osoyoos Baptist Church women for coming alongside and providing food and help with the following tea.

*****

EVENTS

Women’s Prayer
Every Thursday at Kaye’s Place 7806 Gravenstein @ 10:30 a.m.

The Soaking Well
A time of open worship – bring a friend!
Each Friday at OCC, 42 Finch Crescent @ 7:00 p.m.

Week of July 25th

2010-07-26T20:23:00.001-07:00

This has been a particularly poignant and difficult week for our congregation with a loss of two of our church family. The Johnson family grieves the loss of their Father, Dallas but celebrates knowing he is HOME with the Lord. Richard Allen as well, leaves behind his wife Zdena. Details of their services follow this week’s message.

I was not there to hear the word as it was delivered today by Betty – but I had my husband record it so I could post it here to share with you, and I have just listened to it now. I’ve been struggling lately and there seems to be so many things going on and constantly changing and I feel like I’m in water over my head some days – but I’ve found such love and support exactly through this time. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me and I wish I could put my finger on it, that it was something “tangible” that I could just deal with, but then the enemy works just in this way – in the background, insidiously, just tainting everything we see and do so that we doubt, second guess and are robbed of “The Joy of the Lord” I’m so grateful for today’s message all the more for it speaks right into the situation. Perhaps it will do the same for you. Just click the “Play” button to enjoy!

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Events:

The Johnson family are holding a memorial for Dallas on Tuesday, July 27th in their home at 18 Larkspur Place starting at 2 in the afternoon and running into the early evening. This will be an informal time of celebrating the life of Dallas. Please call Al Johnson at 250-495-5133 if you should need more information.

There will be a service for Richard Allen held at the Osoyoos Christian Centre on Friday, July 30th at 1:00. 250-495-2550

Last week of June

2010-06-28T10:24:00.001-07:00

Its hard to believe June is coming to a close, soon the children will be out for summer vacation.

How I remember those happy childhood times, looking forward to vacation and a seemingly endless summer stretched out before me. Now as an adult the days seem to whiz by like calendar pages whipping off in a gale. This is because I am busy, of course, as so many of you are. But what about those who are suffering or not well? Time is elastic for them, a painful process of just getting through the days. Like our good sister Isabelle who is in hospital at the moment. May our hearts have sympathy, may our thoughts turn to them with our prayers and certainly if we find time out of our busy schedules to brighten up their days would make the clocks tick faster for them. God created us to fellowship, after all.

God bless all sick folk everywhere,

And all who suffer pain,

All invalids, all crippled folk,

And all who long have lain

In bed by day and night, and know

How wearily the hours go.

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THE MESSAGE:

In case you were unable to attend this past Sunday, here is the Word for Sunday, June 27th delivered by Pastor Jussi.

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ACTIVITY:

Did you notice (and duh, I should have taken a photo!) Our church is looking all bright and fresh with the new painting that Pastor Jussi has done. What a welcome upgrade to our building. Did you have a difficult time getting into our parking lot this past Sunday? The grounds have been disrupted as the town is putting in new sidewalks and a retaining wall along the bank at the side of the highway. What welcome improvements! However, the road was closed off on Sunday with no clear instructions on how to get around it all. It will be wonderful when all the work is done.

The friday night “Soaking Well” ministry is enjoying a great beginning. This past Friday was the third “soak” and the people who “came to the well” received answers to their individual needs. Praise God!

Sunday school turned out to be a good time this weekend, even as I re…luct…ly dragged my feet downstairs to do it. For some reason I fear that I won’t be able to bless the children – I’m always afraid I won’t be able to give value to them in the way of Bible learning. But whenever I follow God’s nudge on my heart the children minister to ME and it works out. I was very grateful Florence asked to help – things just flowed.

We decided to simply let the Spirit show us what to do and it only took a few moments for us to discern the children were quite happy drawing and colouring. One boy, Steven, was an absolute EXPERT on all things airplane related so we went along with him. Florence even knew a lovely song called “Jesus is my Pilot” so we learned the song as we all drew pictures and flew paper airplanes. We talked about relying on faith along the same lines as a pilot relies on “auto pilot” These children were QUICK and drew the connecting thoughts right away. With no further ado, here is the song and some of the wonderful pictures and airplanes we got to see!

Thank you to Steven, Lauren, Hail and Autumn for your help with these wonderful pictures and the song.

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When my Pilot comes I’ll take my aeroplane ride,

Won’t that just be grand with Jesus by my side,

Higher than the sun, the moon, the stars above – we’ll fly,

When my Pilot comes I’ll take my aeroplane ride!

Operation Shoebox Challenge

As you know our church participates in Operation Christmas Child – a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse and so we have put out a “shoebox a month” challenge. May’s challenge was a COLOR theme, June’s an ART theme – the box above a collaboration between myself and Melanie Olsen. We have come up with a new theme for July – it will be a “HANDY MAN” theme. So why not fill a box with some good tools and useful things to help a “Dad’s little helper” box, if you would like to do for a younger child – or a Carpenter box for an older child. (don’t forget to pray for the child who receives it as well!) Who knows, this might be something that will allow a child to develop the skills for a career in life! These shoebox gifts are sometimes the ONLY present a child in the third world might receive. What a great opportunity.

If you don’t have the way to shop for a box but would like to “sponsor” one, we figure it costs between $15 - $20 to nicely fill one. We will gladly “SHOP and PACK” for you if you would like! Just contact Florence if you are interested to do this.

To learn more about Operation Christmas Child and the good work of Samaritan’s Purse, just click on the photo of the shoebox above!

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EVENTS:

Kaye’s Power Prayer

Be prepared to spend a good hour of DEEP prayer. Kaye has hosted Prayer, Thursday mornings for over 30 years!

Kaye Harkness

10:30 a.m.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

7806 Gravenstein Drive

The Soaking Well

A time to soak up the presence of the King! An unstructured time of worship and praise where we wait on Jesus to meet in prayer and fellowship.

7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 18, 2010

42 Finch Crescent

Phone: 250-495-2550