Westedge Church

We had a great day yesterday at church. I LOVE gathering with Westedge and always walk away feeling FULL. 

I shared a thought in our prayer time about this coming Christmas season and wanted to re-iterate the thought so you might consider it this week and during the holiday season.

I was sitting at Starbucks at Chinook mall with my daughter on Saturday. We were talking about all sorts of stuff and I told her "Berea I love sitting here and watching people. I pray for them and wonder which ones do or do not know Jesus. Which ones do you think know Jesus?" Berea responds "Well that lady for sure...." "Why is that?" "I love her shoes." HAHA! 

As we talked, the phrase from the famous Christmas song "Joy to the world" began to run through my mind. It has a phrase that says "Let every heart prepare Him room..." I began to wonder what that looked like during the Christmas season. And as I drove to church on Sunday morning with that song playing I realized that it isn't just people who don't know Jesus that need to "prepare Him room" but also many believers do too.

Yes, its fun to take in all the sounds, smells and tastes of Christmas. Its fun to embrace the atmosphere, the feelings and the nostalgia it can bring. But, Christmas can be a season of clutter. It can be a season of anxiety, putting up facades, fear, hurt, pain, un-forgiveness, loneliness and sadness. It is easy to allow all sorts of materialism, consumerism and ME-ism fill our hearts and minds. It is easy to forget the main point of Christmas. The main idea of why we celebrate this season. 

As my daughter would say "It's Jesus' birthday!". But it is so much more than that. It is the season in which my forgiveness came to earth. The season in which I am reminded that God had a plan to get me out of my mess. The time of year I am reminded that I am only where I am today, because of the grace, love, acceptance and blessing of my Father and He did this by sending His son to the earth to die for me. 

On December 21st we will be having a special Westedge Christmas Service. There will be cinnamon buns, cider and hot chocolate, a special time with the our Edge Kids, videos and a short message about HOPE. It would be a great time to invite some of your family or friends to church. It will be a good time celebrating Christmas. 

We also have two FA Christmas Eve Services this year. They will be at 4 & 6 pm at the Elbow Campus. You can expect to see my family there. This would also be a great time to invite your family and friends to church. 

Community Christmas Parties - Each Community will be having a Christmas party. 

Ryan & Stephanie's Community - December 5th, 7PM, at our house (Click here to email us for more info)

Brendan & Lauren's Community - December 12th at the Haggiths house (Click here to email Brendan & Lauren)

In order to have a consistent and powerful prayer life we must first understand that there is a reward for those who “come to God” in prayer....the reward is the Holy Spirit. He guides us and helps us pray. Without the Spirit of God actively involved in our prayer life - they are just words. The Spirit of God enables us to pray. He enables us to pray accurately. He enables us to pray consistently. He enables us to pray continually. He enables to pray when we don’t want to, or know what to say...He partners with us. 

A few upcoming items you need to know about:

Worship & Prayer Gathering - We want to gather several times a year to worship & pray together as a church. Our first one will be on Wednesday, November 5th from 6:30 - 8:00PM at Mark & Anna Cole's house. The agenda is simple. We want to worship and enjoy God's presence together and see where the Holy Spirit leads us. It will be a great time together. 

Westedge Communities - Starts Tonight! (October 24th) If you are unsure what our Communities are click here to find out more. If you want to be a part of one of our Communities, sign up here and the Community leader will contact you. 

Operation Christmas Child - As you may or may not know, 3 times a year we partner with local initiative and help them however we can. (If you don't know, find out more about Westedge's ministry approach here.) This Christmas we are partnering with Samaritan's Purse and their Operation Christmas Child initiative. If you'd like to find out more about this cause or watch a video click here. 

So here are the details of how you can get involved: 

Fill a Shoebox: We want to fill 75 shoeboxes to donate to Operation Christmas Child. If you don't have a shoebox we will have some available to you on Sundays, as well as, the necessary labels for each box. Click here to find out how to pack a shoebox and what to put inside. We need these back to us by Sunday November 16th at the latest. We will pray over them and take them to the Samaritan's Purse facility later that week. 

Early this week a new addition was added to our community. Ryan & Julie Voros had little Chloe Marie. She was 7 lb 10 oz. 

Yeah!!!

Colossians 2:1-7 

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 

Context for this scripture:

Paul is writing this letter to the church of Colosse and the surrounding areas of Laodicea. He was addressing some false teaching that had begun to creep into the church. It stemmed from the religion called "Gnosticism".

They began to teach that Christ's death, burial and resurrection wasn't enough for salvation. It was too easy. There was a "special knowledge", a "mystery", that hadn't been discovered yet and when you attain it you will receive a deeper salvation. This knowledge was attained on your own, by your own consideration, by your own power. Truly they were slowly removing Christ from the equation. 

They also began to teach the importance of following all the Jewish customs of the Law. Faith in Christ wasn't enough, there must be obedience to the Jewish law. Therefore, they began to return to obedience to the law, in order to secure their salvation. Faith in Christ alone was becoming less and less the focal point. Therefore, they were being encouraged to attain salvation on their own.  

These false teachers were trying to create a religion that would exist without Christ. In fact, in Revelations 4, John writes about the church of Laodicea. Writing on behalf of Christ, he says...

Revelations 3:15-17 5 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Jesus is calling them on the carpet. "You are lukewarm. You say, 'I am rich, I have everything I want, I don't need a thing!'" Wow. They don't need a thing. Sounds like a religion that has removed Christ from the equation. They no longer have a need for the redemption and salvation of Christ. They received what they needed from God and now they have no need of God. 

What was Paul saying?

Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-7

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 

He encourages the Colossians to "follow him", "grow down into him", "be built on him"..."THEN your faith will grow strong and you will overflow with thankfulness." He wants them to focus on Christ, centre their lives on Christ, make it about Christ. You can't do this on your own. It isn't possible. We NEED JESUS. So continue to make it about HIM. THEN their faith will grow strong and the natural result will be true, genuine thankfulness that is focused on Jesus. You'll remember that the only reason you are here in the first place is because of Jesus and what He did for you on the cross. 

In fact, the Greek word used for "thankfulness" is Eucharisteo(ia). This word is used several times in the New Testament. Here are just two:

1. Healing of 10 lepers

Luke 17:15-17 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

There is a lot here that we won't talk about but the main idea is that 10 men cried out to Jesus. They called him "Master"! They needed the salvation and redemption of Jesus. Jesus healed all of them. They all were restored, renewed and redeemed - but only ONE came back to give Him glory and to thank (Eucharisteo) Him. 1 out of 10 men put their attention and focus on Jesus and thanked Him for what He did. 

2. The Last Supper

Matthew 26:26-28 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” 

Interestedly it was used by Jesus in Matthew 26 during the Passover feast. They were gathered together to remember and celebrate the time when the people of Israel smeared the blood of a spotless lamb over their doorpost so that the death angel that would come through the camp wouldn't harm them. They were protected and redeemed because of the blood of the lamb. They were remembering, focusing their hearts and minds and thanking God for this. 

He broke the bread and handed out the wine and THANKED (Eucharisteo) God for it. Then he encouraged them to do the same when "remembering" (or focusing their hearts and minds) on Christ. Thankfulness was the response to the body and blood of Jesus Christ. True, biblical thanksgiving was focused on Christ FIRST. Our thankfulness isn't only about what He will do or for what He has given us (though important and good) but our thankfulness is about what Christ has already done for us. 

When we focus on Christ, centre our lives, hearts and minds on Christ the natural (and spiritual) effect is our faith grows deeper and stronger and a true Eucharisteo (thankfulness) will OVERFLOW from our life. This will lead to being even more rooted in Christ, which leads to a deeper faith, which leads to even more thankfulness in our lives. See the cycle?

Today it is easy to just live life and forget how much we truly need Jesus. We live in such a blessed part of the world and many of us have so much. It is easy to start living a life that isn't centered on Jesus. A life that is about us. A life that is about our happiness and possessions. Those things aren't bad, but they, at times, can take the place of Christ in our lives. We all needed healing, redemption, salvation and forgiveness and now that we have received those we can tend to forget to THANK HIM, REMEMBER HIM and FOCUS ON HIM.

Operation Christmas Child 

Okay. I know. Christmas? Really? HA! Well I felt the same way. BUT, this cause is fantastic. As you may or may not know, 3 times a year we partner with local initiative and help them however we can. (If you don't know, find out more about Westedge's ministry approach here.) This Christmas we are partnering with Samaritan's Purse and their Operation Christmas Child initiative.  So here are the details of how you can get involved: 

Fill a Shoebox: We want fill 75 shoeboxes to donate to Operation Christmas Child. If you don't have a shoebox we will have some available to you on Sundays, as well as, the necessary labels for each box. Click here to find out how to pack a shoebox and what to put inside. We need these back to us by Sunday November 16th at the latest. We will pray over them and take them to the Samaritan's Purse facility later that week. 

Serve at the Operation Christmas Child facility: On Thursday, December 04, 2014 from 7:00PM - 9:30PM we will be heading down to the Samaritan's Purse facility to help put together boxes to send to children across the world. We only have 10 spots available so if you'd like to be a part of this team please sign up here.

It's time to Walk On Water...again.

Matthew 14:25-31 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here![b]”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Fear: the enemy of Faith

Notice the progression of emotion and position in this verse:

Fear of the unknown

Faith to walk on water

Fear based on difficult circumstances

This means that in this instance, fear was 2/3 of the situation. Fear is and continues to be, the biggest enemy to faith in our lives. In between our fear lies our faith.

Fear of the Unknown

The fear that led to faith was the UNKNOWN. There are many of us, me especially, that have experienced what Peter experienced. God approaches us with an opportunity or speaks to our hearts and immediately FEAR fills our hearts and minds. The UNKNOWN of what God is calling us to scares us. We are unsure about what is next, how it will look and what it really means. Also, we wonder: Will I be safe? Will I be provided for? Is this the RIGHT choice? Or, we start to think and feel things like: I am not capable. It is too big and I am too small. I am insignificant. It is too challenging. 

The key to Peter's response of faith when facing the UNKNOWNS of God is recognizing that it IS God. It is Him. It is Jesus. He is calling. He beckoning. God is in it! Once Peter realized this, he stepped out in faith and walked on water. He stepped out of the boat once he was reassured that Jesus was in the unknown. This means that his natural response of fear was the spring board for his faith in Jesus. His fear led him to have faith to walk on water.  So, let me ask you, what is your "walking on water"? Is it the start of business, start of a family, asking that girl to marry you, requesting a promotion at work, sharing Jesus with that barista you've been developing a friendship with or starting/joining the ministry you've felt God call you to?

Okay, now what "Unknown" is keeping you from doing these things? Whatever your "walking on water" is don't let the unknown stop you. Let the assurance of God fill your heart and mind and know that GOD IS IN THIS.

Fear during difficult circumstances

The second fear that comes AFTER faith is when challenging situations come and this causes your momentum in life to come to a halt. The response of fear that is caused by these circumstances are normal, human reactions. We have to understand that the issue isn't the emotion of fear, but taking on the spirit of fear. 

Peter had stepped out. The fear of the unknown, led to faith in Jesus and he was now walking on water. But then he saw the powerful, mighty wind and waves. And then Peter responded with deep fear.

This word fear means: to cause to run away from a situation or circumstance, to be seized with the emotion of fear, to hesitate, to fear for the safety of your life.

Peter wanted to run. Peter was overwhelmed and began to hesitate and was in fear for his safety. His immediate reaction was to cry out to Jesus for help. "Save me Jesus!" This is, hopefully, our natural (spiritual) response when facing hardships. Ask Jesus to help. Jesus and Peter are still standing on the water and Jesus says to Peter "Where has your faith gone? Why do you doubt me (God)?"Jesus is wondering where His faith has run off to. Fear has taken residence where Faith used to be. "Why Peter?"

When you are "stepping out on the water" and challenging situations come - don't run, don't hesitate...don't fear. The reality is - FEAR will most likely be your first respond. But, once you get it out of your system and process the situation, make a decision that you will get back out on the water. 

Fear no longer has the upper hand!

Today, we are finished letting fear have the upper hand in our lives. The unknown and difficult circumstances are honestly all a part of life and being disciples of Jesus. The UNKNOWN is all a part of being a disciple of Jesus because it requires faith and trust on our side. He also knows that we will face hard times (Even when they happen while we are "obeying" God).

As believers, when fear comes, faith must be our next reaction. It easy to allow the UNKNOWN and DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES to keep us from having faith in God. They cripple us, they keep us back, they confuse us and even cause us to question the character and nature of God. But we must make a decision today...we will get back out on the water.

Here is a final scripture to remind you of our position when it comes to the SPIRIT OF FEAR:

2 Timothy 1:7 AMP  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

God has given us the Holy Spirit and His Spirit is a Spirit of POWER, LOVE, A CALM AND WELL BALANCED MIND and the ability to have SELF CONTROL. 

On the week of October 19th we will be launching our Westedge Communities. 

First, what are these "Communities"? 

This is the second of three areas in which Westedge expresses itself in Calgary and the lives of believers. In Acts 2 we see the model of the New Testament Church.

Acts 2:44-46 "All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts..."

They had ALL things in common, the CONTINUED to meet together, met in homes and ATE TOGETHER WITH GLAD AND SINCERE HEARTS. This is the life blood and centre of our Communities. We want to create environments for you to share your life with your faith community and open your life to those around you that do not know Jesus. 

Our Communities are focused on one thing: life. Simply sharing life with each other. They are people who want to engage in authentic relationships and simply enjoy the life God gave us. 

Will there be bible reading, prayer and spiritual growth? Yes. Because we are Christians the topic of faith, Jesus, prayer and spiritual matters are constantly on our lips, on your minds and in our hearts. Therefore, when spiritual people get together naturally these things will happen. 

Communities are organic and focused on your life. 

When will these start? 

Each Community will launch the week of October 19th. The day will differ depending on which Community you decide to partner with. 

When will they take place?

Each Community will have differing times and places, but each Community has committed to getting together at least twice a month. Some Communities may get together more than this. These Communities aren't focused on "attendance", but rather on sharing life together. We want them to fit your schedule and be something you truly want to be a part of. 

What Communities are available? 

Currently there are three Communities:

Brendan & Lauren Melanson - Located in Kensington.  Brendan & Lauren have been a part of Westedge since December of last year. Brendan plays on the worship team and is an Engineer. Lauren is a part of the Edge Kids team, as well as, visual media team and is a school teacher. They are both are a part of the Westedge leadership team.  They are both wonderful people, in their mid-twenties, have been married for over a year and currently have no children. Simply these people are GOOD people. They have the gift of hospitality and love people. 

Ryan & Steph Iverson - Located in Oakridge.  My wife and I have been a part of Westedge since February of this year and have been the campus pastors since April. We are newbie's to First Assembly. We moved to Calgary over a year ago from Portland, Oregon. (Yes, I am an American) I am a full time business owner (RyanIverson Media) and my wife is a part time Education Assistant at Woodlands Elementary. Our daughter Berea (5) and our son Ezra (3) are the centre of our lives and are fantastic kids. We just love Westedge, the people of Westedge and want to see many know Jesus better. The truth is, with us, what you see is what you get.

Warren & Joan Dynna - Located in the Aspen Woods (near Signal Hill). Warren & Joan have been a part of Westedge since the beginning. Warren plays on the worship team and is an Operations Lead for an Oil Company. Joan is on our setup/teardown team, ushers team and hospitality team. She works in administration for an Oil Company.  They are also wonderful people! They are in their 40's, are almost empty-nesters, have been married 20+ years and also are a part of the Westedge leadership team. Warren & Joan truly give their lives to people and are very generous people. 

How to be a part of a Community?

Here is the easy part - simply click here and choose which Community you'd like to be a part of. 

Need further info?

If you want to find out more about what our Westedge Communities are and why they exist please email or call me. 

We simply love people. We want you to feel accepted, loved and connected to your faith community. Love Jesus. Love each other. The rest will fall into place. 

John 11:38-39 

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Yesterday at church, during our time of worship I felt this scripture drop on my heart and mind. Jesus' best friend had just died. Mary and Martha, Lazarus' sisters, were upset that Jesus hadn't come sooner. They knew that if Jesus did come He would have healed Lazarus. 

I can imagine several days before Lazarus died Mary and Martha were praying, hoping, asking, dreaming and begging that Jesus would come and heal their brother. But He didn't. And Lazarus died. Now, their prayers would have to be that Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead. Although they knew Jesus could do it, this prayer still required tremendous faith. They prayed and prayed and prayed, but never received what they were asking for.

Jesus finally came to see them. Mary and Martha both expressed their frustration "If you had been here he would not have died." At this point they accepted the death of their brother and were ready to move on. They had processed his death and knew that life wouldn't be the same and that Jesus simply didn't answer their prayers. 

Then Jesus, after expressing deep sadness and emotion of losing his friend, came to Martha and said, "Take away the stone." I want to do a miracle. I want to do the impossible. Despite how long its been, how much you've prayed, how you thought it would work out...I want to do an impossible miracle. 

Then Martha responds by saying "But, Lord...he stinks...he has been there for four days." But, Lord. I've been asking, praying and hoping you would come through and NOW YOU WANT TO DO A MIRACLE? Why not yesterday? Why not when he was alive? Why now? But Lord? This has been dead for a long time. Come on Jesus, because you didn't grant my request, life stinks. Its got a bad odor. You want me to do what?

Take away the stone. Maybe there are things in your life that are dead, stinky, old, dead and gone and you have stopped praying, hoping and dreaming. You've quit. Your faith has gone stale. Your hopes have been dashed. You have simply given up. Now, all you have are excuses about how bad it is. 

My encouragement for you today is this: Despite how long you've been praying, despite how long you've been asking, despite how impossible it may seem at this point...Jesus wants to take away the stone. He wants to do a miracle. He wants to change your life. He wants to do what He promised He would do in and through your life. Don't give up faith. Don't stop believing in His goodness. It may not feel as though He is around to help in your current situation, but the truth is He is. He is coming. It may be in four days, but HE...IS...COMING. Just hold on. Keep praying. Keep having faith. And don't give up.