1. Welcome:
(36
sec)
Welcome to The Salvation Army. Susan, Heather and I are
unable to be here this morning. Today we are very Thankful to God for Nancy
Wilmot and The Scoop on Port Alberni for putting this service together
on the screen. So I do invite you during the singing today to sing
enthusiastically. I think we have picked some good songs you will know with
which to worship our Lord.
2. ANNOUNCEMENTS
/ Upcoming Events (2:00)
· This
week the kids have been at performing arts camp at The Salvation Army
Camp Sunrise in Gibsons
· This
upcoming week the Ramsays are at Officer Retreat at Gibsons
· September
is always a busy time at The Salvation Army:
o
All our programs supporting the schools get up
and running again: the breakfast programs, the lunch programs
o
All our church programs: kids, Bible
studies etc get going again
o
Rena and Tim will be leading the services at
the seniors homes
o
and each weekend it seems like we have
something else:
· September
7th is the fall fair parade would you like to help us
decorate a float again this year?
· September
14th is the toy run. Let me know if you can help cook hamburgers
and hotdogs or help us collect toys or anything else
· September
21st is the big community run food drive spearheaded by Bruce
and Dorothy and team
· and September
28th to 31st is Men's Camp. I'll be going this year. A session mate of mine
is the guest speaker. Let me know if you would like to go to that and I will
register you. It should be good!
· And
then Augst 30th and 31st TSA is involved in Overdose awareness. Travis
will be heading that up if you need more information
· and
also on August 31st we will be helping with the Bullhead derby. I invite
you to listen to what Carol-Anne had to say about last year's bullhead derby.
It will be just as much fun this year!
3. VIDEO:
Bullhead Derby (1:51) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzSOQwsX1so
4. Let us
pray... (20 sec)
5. SONG
INTRO (7 sec): We know that we can always lean on the Lord so I
would like you to Join us in singing Blessed be the Name of the Lord
6. VIDEO:
Blessed be the Name of the Lord (2:47) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wp_OP3mxk
7. TESTIMONY
INTRO (8 sec): Did you sing? we can try another song in a
moment, first here is a testimony about how God used the Army in Remi's life...
8. VIDEO: Remi Tom
(1:41) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq0vWJXNGOU&t=16s
9. SPEAKING
(3:50):
The next two songs we are going to sing you should recognize them very well. We
often sing them when Susan isn’t here and I need to find songs on-line. they
are very important to me.
The second one will be I'll fly away. This one
has a real special place in my heart. When I served in Stony mountain
Pennitentiary for two year in Winnipeg. The worship team, every service would
play this song. It talks about the prison doors being open and the guys flying
away. I always think of my friends in Stony Mountain Penitentiary when I hear
it.
And as I am recorded and there is no one to
stop me I will ramble on a little about that. Those fellows will always have
such a close place in my heart. My first ever sermon that I preached as an
ordained and commissioned officer was to my friends in Stony Mountain
penitentiary. It was among the most gloriously humbling experiences in my life.
You know when God gives you a word for someone and even more than that they
have a word for you. I compared their experiences getting ready to be released
to prison to mine about to be released from College to Jesus' about to be
released into ministry and how the temptations we all face will be similar and
so we can take heart from Jesus’ story for as he can over come he can help us
over come.
And the next song we will sing is I Saw the
Light by Hank Williams. This song means the world be me because of a couple of
things. one, this is one of the songs that my friends in Stoney Mountain always
requested and 2 because of when I was serving down in Galveston Texas after
Hurricane Ike destroyed that area. Most people escaped - except for the really
poor people and those who wanted to stay. Some chose to die; some were to poor
to live.
I was down there helping before people started
returning. We were providing food for people who would be unable to eat if it wasn’t
for our food trucks. There was no electricity or amenities. My job was to
debrief people who were leaving, going back home as well as to provide
emotional and spiritual support to people in need.
One day I was debriefing a fellow who was going to go back
home. He himself, was in rehab, and had not that long ago given his life to the
Lord. He told me about Paul, a young man who lived in the ghetto with his whole
family under one roof. He came out to the food truck everyday and began
helping, and getting to know the people and then he let the workers know that
he wanted to give his life to the Lord. The workers had never helped anyone
with that before so they invited me to come. I did. The next day, I helped our
friend who was going home lead his friend, teh young Paul to the Lord. We
prayed and gave him a Bible and then we met the angels. 2 angels in a pickup
truck. There is no way they could have known what we were doing. They drove
into the parking lot, played "I Saw the Light" on their radio and
then they were gone. They had just come down from heaven to celebrate Paul's
salvation with us. Let's all sing I saw the light and then I'll Fly away.
10. SONG: I
Saw the Light (2:44) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zndKvAVUHl0&list=RDzndKvAVUHl0&start_radio=1&rv=97wp_OP3mxk
11. SONG: I'll
Fly Away (2:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMf5nep8Q6g&list=RDzndKvAVUHl0&index=24
12. VIDEO
CLIP INTRO (1:00) The hope that Paul grabbed hold of is
available to us all both for eternity and for now. We are going to go to a time
where we can give God our tithes and our offerings but first I would like you
to watch this clip. This clip is about a young man who swam Sproat lake to
raise funds for his mission trip. Elly, who volunteered with our kids program
in the past is also going on that same mission trip. at the end of this clip
you will see how to donate to any of the kids going, or if you would like to
make a donation to Elliana, just right Elly on an envelope and put it in the
offering plate.
Please enjoy this clip.
13. VIDEO:
Sproat Lake Swim (3:53) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z37VbGaRq0
14. SONG AND OFFERING INTRO (30
sec) I will now invite the ushers forward; let us pray...
15. VIDEO:
Tis so sweet to Trust in Jesus (5:09) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DdgkvnsHjM
16. SCRIPTURE, REFLECTION, PRAYER, VIDEO
INTRO (6:53)
a. Read
Romans 5:1-5 (51 sec)
5 Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through
whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And
we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4
perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to
shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us.
b. Reflection
(5:55)
I have
been thinking about this a lot lately. In the past week or so someone I knew
here hanged himself. He is the third person I know since I have lived in Port Alberni,
6 years? 7 years? Who has hanged himself.
I
can't even count on both hands, all my fingers and all my toes the number times
friends of mine have overdosed. Many of those time fatal. How many of those are
on purpose. I think of the hopelessness that many people struggle with every
day. I implore you to please share with someone the reason for your hope so
that they don't need to struggle through this life alone!
I have
one more story to tell you today.
One
morning when we were missionaries on Vancouver's downtown eastside, I was
mugged. It was early in the morning and I was on Main and Hastings – that most
infamous intersection in this most infamous neighbourhood - and I was on the
phone with Susan who was out of town at the time.
Someone
came running up behind me, grabbed my briefcase and tore down Main Street. In
the briefcase was my laptop and all the information for the summer school
program I was running for the kids in the area; so, like anyone mugged in the
depths of skid row, I…well, I chased the mugger.
I
followed him down Main Street through Chinatown across busy streets and around
the myriad of mazes that are Vancouver’s back alleys. Scaring rats, jumping
over sleeping street folk, I pursued my assailant. When I was within reach of
him… I fell right in front of a bus and though I escaped with my life, the
mugger escaped with my briefcase, my laptop, and the program files for the
kids.
It was
when I was walking back, completely distraught and despondent, that I
experienced a miracle: I encountered an angel, a messenger of God, in the back
alleys of Vancouver’s storied downtown eastside. I can still remember vividly;
he looked like a ‘dumpster diver;’ he prayed with me and he offered me these
words of encouragement from Romans 5:3,4 “...but let us also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance,
character; and character, hope.” Inside I sighed. I knew he was right. God gave
me these words to encourage me. God sent His messenger to prepare us for
impending challenges ahead.
In the
next months a number of tragedies and struggles would confront our family. We
were to receive serious, vocal, practical and other opposition from the Enemy
through even people very close to us. We had to consciously protect even our
children from harm; the foe is relentless.
The
Apostle Paul says here that we should rejoice in our suffering because - if
indeed our suffering is for the gospel - it will produce perseverance and you
know what perseverance is good for, right? It gives us the ability to get
through more suffering and difficult times and you know why God gives us the
ability to get through more suffering and difficult times? …Because we’ve got
more suffering and difficult times to get through still. So as we rejoice in
our perseverance through difficult times we can rejoice because we will be
ready for the even more difficult times that lay ahead.
Romans
5: “...rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” And this hope will
never disappoint us (v.5).
I do
hope you will take my encouragement to encourage someone you know so they can
experience the hope that Jesus offers us every day
c.
PRAYER: Let us pray (27 Sec)
d.
VIDEO INTRO: I
want to encourage you with one more thought. Here are some ways that each of
you as part of us here are contributing to hope in our community. (20 sec)
17. VIDEO: The
Salvation Army We're Always Here (0:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIIvQRHGoNs
18. SONG
INTRO (0.38) Now just before we go we will sing another song that
is connected to hope and to both my time with the people in Galveston and the
folks at Stony mountain penitentiary, we sang the song in both places, as we do
sing it in so many place, a song about grace inspired to a person saved by
grace, amazing grace.
19. VIDEO:
Amazing Grace. (4:02) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhChKHBJFok
20.PRAYER
AND BENEDICTION (40 sec)
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