“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity--the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6


On November 17, 2018, a twenty-six year old American missionary named John Allen Chau, was attempting to make contact by kayak with a remote island tribe known as the Sentinelese, when he was killed by them in a barrage of arrows. Since then John Chau’s death and ultimately, his reason for going to North Sentinel island, has stirred up much debate and discussion around the world. Because unequivocally, John had gone there to tell the Sentinelese people one thing: Jesus loves you. Reportedly, John had undergone a year of training and planning ahead of time, with his intent being of making contact, learning their language, teaching them about Jesus, and eventually putting their language into writing and then translating the Bible into it so they could read it for themselves.
John’s parents knew of his plans and were naturally concerned for his safety. But in a letter to them John wrote: "You guys might think I'm crazy in all this but I think it's worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people, Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed.” "I can't wait to see them around the throne of God worshipping in their own language.”
In order to reach them, Indian authorities say that John Chau paid local fishermen to take him to near the island so that he could paddle the rest of the way himself. John had tried to reaching them the day before and had paddled his kayak towards the shore carrying fish and a football as gifts, but the Tribespeople fired arrows at him, one of then piercing his Bible. He returned to the fishermen's boat and spent the night writing about his experiences before going back to the island the next day.
He never returned.
One source who spoke with the fisherman said: "He was attacked by arrows but he continued walking. He was calling out: "My name is John. I love you and Jesus loves you ... Here is some fish!" The fishermen then saw the tribals tying a rope around his neck and drag his body up the beach."
Now many people have called him an idealistic fool. He knew the risks, proceeded anyway and paid the price. I have also seen it said many times that he also potentially put the islanders at risk of outside diseases for which they lack immunity as well as violating their clear desire to be left alone.
But as I’ve read and thought a great deal about John and his risky mission and now as we approach Christmas once more, I can’t help but be struck by the parallels between John’s risky mission and the original risky of mission of the Jesus who’s footsteps he sought to walk in.
Think of the earth as a dark island filled with a people hostile to outsiders. They know little or nothing about love or peace or hope and their lives are filled with pain, despair and violence. Generation after generation are born in darkness, live out their lives in darkness and then die in darkness without ever knowing any differently. But then looking down on that island from a safe distance was God. He made the island, He made the people, and He loves them. But the people don’t know Him nor even care to know Him. Yes, God could have just as easily left them alone. That way there would have been no further risk to them or Himself... but God loved the people of Island Earth to much to leave them alone in the dark without Him and without the light of His love. And so motivated by His great love to reconcile the people to himself, God the Father set about on the riskiest of all missions... He decided that He would send His only Son to the Island of Earth alone and unprotected. He would go to them in the form of a helpless baby. He would go to them and be hunted from birth by a tyrant king. He would go to them and be misunderstood. He would go to them and be ridiculed. He would go to them and be hated. He would go to them and be betrayed. He would go to them and be pierced by nails and spear. He would go to them and be brutally killed by the very ones He came to save. So was it worth the risk? Was it worth the blood? Was it worth His very life?
Well Jesus Himself tells us that it was worth every drop. Because unless He willingly gave his life to forgive our sins and purchase our freedom, we would still be lost in the dark on Island Earth without God, without love, and without hope.
“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity--the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”
This message of Christmas is always urgent - Jesus is the one and only way to God! Through Jesus we can be reconciled to God, but without Him we remain lost in the dark. I believe that and John Chau believed that too. So whatever anyone wants to say about his risky mission, what’s clear is that John was following in the footsteps of Jesus. Regardless of the risks, He clearly understood the urgency of bringing the Good News of Jesus to the Sentinelese people and wanted to give them the opportunity to hear about Jesus, His love for them and respond as they choose. So how about you? Have you heard about Jesus and His love for you? Have you responded in faith? I hope that you have. I also hope that if you have not that you will seriously consider doing just that. Because Jesus came to Island Earth for everyone and that means He came for you too. And if you have already responded to Jesus in faith, who are you going to tell? Because the message of Christmas is just too good to keep to yourself!
From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and may God richly bless you in the New Year!
Sincerely,
Pastor Danny & Leanne Groening - Declan, Theodore & Adaline
Killarney Mennonite Church

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11


Let’s imagine for a moment that this most famous of all birth announcements and the birth of Jesus Christ happened not 2,000 years ago but instead took place just last night. What sort of media coverage do you suppose the story would receive? How would the news headlines read? Would they be positive or negative? Would it be met with jubilation or cynicism? The news would certainly be trending on Twitter, your Facebook feed would be filling up with grainy phone video of glowing hillsides recorded by eyewitnesses, the internet would be blowing up with opinion pieces, and the talk radio shows would be inundated with calls from believers, sceptics, and deniers alike. You would then turn on your television to see the appropriately serious news anchors of all the major news networks sitting at their news desks, nodding to the breathless reporter who has just concluded their interview with a shepherd from “live on the scene at Bethlehem” and then turn to their assembled panel of supposed experts for discussion. The first question would go to the expert on science: “Do these so-called angels, that the shepherds allege to have seen, perhaps have some scientific explanation?” The second question would go to the expert on psychology: “Let’s suppose these shepherds are telling the truth about what they saw, is it possible that multiple people can have identical hallucinations simultaneously?” The third question would go to the expert on religion: “How might deeply held religious beliefs, such as the belief in a coming saviour, influence how people interpret unusual events taking place?” The final question would go to the expert on sociology: “Could this be nothing more than a case of some shepherds having a little too much “Holiday Cheer”?” Then after the appropriate amount of back and forth discussion and banter, the news anchor would smoothly segue away...
The conclusion left to be drawn by the viewing audience is clear – a story about angelic messengers, a virgin birth and the coming of a long awaited saviour could not possibly be a factual event, so therefore it must be just another story to be thrown onto the ever increasing pile of “Fake News”.


Of course in today’s increasingly hostile political climate there is a constant battle being waged over what is or isn’t fake news. The net result for the general public left trying to discern truth from falsehood is that it becomes increasingly sceptical and doubtful of almost everything and everyone. In short – we just don’t know what or who we can believe anymore.
Now before we overly lament the sad state of affairs today, it helps to be reminded that this is far from a new phenomena, in fact 1st Century Israel was in a far more politically volatile climate than our own. First consider that they lived under the iron fist of Roman occupation, second they had the maniacal King Herod to contend with as well, third there were the Jewish Zealots who were always ready to rise up against the Romans in another bloody revolt, and fourth there were the ruling Jewish religious class who had authority in all matters of Jewish life whether great or small. Now with all of those competing voices telling the people what to believe, how to think, and what to do, it’s no surprise that the 1st century Jews were often just as sceptical and cynical about what they were told as we are today. Of course, having a sceptical mindset in these circumstances is entirely understandable, but the downside of it is that people can become so distrustful of everything and everyone that they often end up rejecting the truth even when it’s right in their face. That is exactly what happened to Israel with the arrival of their long awaited Messiah, for though they had been looking and waiting for Him for thousands of years, John 1:11 tells us: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

Now while it’s incredibly easy to criticize Israel for the fatal mistake of rejecting their own Messiah – we must also ask ourselves – is our nation guilty of making the same fatal mistake right now? Do we still recognize the Savior of the world and believe that the supernatural birth of Jesus Christ was a factual event? Or in our skepticism and cynicism and intellectual arrogance have we relegated the most important event in history into the category of “Fake News”? If so, we need to examine our thinking, tune out all the other clamoring voices and listen again to the only completely reliable source of truth which is the Word of God. And God’s Word tells us that though Israel missed their Savior, we don’t have to make the same mistake.“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12.

My prayer for you this Christmastime is that if you have not already done so, that you would receive Jesus, believe in His name and become a child of God! And if you have already done so, I pray that the reality of Jesus life within you would shine more brightly every day!


From our family to yours, have a Merry Christmas!


Sincerely,
Pastor Danny & Leanne Groening, Declan, Theodore & Adaline
Killarney Mennonite Church

A tourist once visited a church in Germany and noticed the carved figure of a lamb near the top of the church’s tower. He asked why it was there and was told that when the church was being built, a safety rope had broken and a workman had fallen from a great height and plummeted headlong into the church yard below which was cluttered with large stones. His co-workers had rushed down, expecting to find him dead. But miraculously the man was still alive and only slightly injured. How had he survive the fall unscathed? Well between two of the large rocks a lamb was nibbling on some grass. The falling man landed directly on top of the lamb, which broke his fall and undoubtedly saved his life. However in the process, the lamb itself was crushed and killed. In gratitude for the lambs sacrifice and his own deliverance, the workman carved a lamb on the church at the exact height from which he had fallen.
In the same way, we are like the workman plunging toward eternity with nothing but certain death waiting for us, both physically and spiritually. Make no mistake, it is what we deserve, but God’s grace intervened and a perfect Lamb was sent to break our fall.
John the Baptist gave testimony of Him when he pointed to Jesus of Nazareth and declared: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The Old Testament ears of his audience, accustomed as they were to animal sacrifice for the atonement of sins, would have well understood the implications of John’s declaration. In order for a lamb to take away sin, it must die in the place of the transgressor. In this way Jesus, the Lamb of God, died in our place in perfect atonement for our sin.
And as incredible as this sounds, Jesus sacrifice for us was not a last ditch rescue operation. In fact His sacrifice of mercy & love on our behalf was decided upon even before creation. The last line of Revelation 13:8 refers to Jesus as: “The Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” In other words – though it was yet too happen in the future... In God's mind, it was as good as done from the very beginning. His purpose and plan for mankind’s redemption would not be altered or thwarted.
1 Peter 1:19-20 say’s: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”
So this Christmas as you visit the oh-so familiar nativity scene once more, take pause and consider that the babe in the manger is none other than the Lamb of God slain before the world even began.
Consider that the Godhead foreknowing even before creation the incredibly high cost that a redeemed family of children would demand... agreed that the price was not too high... and so the course was set... the Son was given... the Lamb was crushed... Our fall was broken... and we are saved.
So allow me to ask, Where are you at in your life right now? Do you feel like you’re in free fall and that the ground is coming up at you fast? Then let me encourage you to exercise your faith and look to Jesus. He is a Savior who will not only break your fall, but He will catch and hold you safe and secure in his arms for today, tomorrow, and eternity.
My prayer is that just like that workman who carved a grateful memorial to the lamb that had unwittingly saved his life, that you will give your entire life as a living memorial to the Lamb who chose the cross for you.
This Christmas time may the wonder of God’s gift of grace move your heart once more to greater gratitude, deeper devotion, and wholehearted worship.
From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!  

Sincerely,
Pastor Danny & Leanne Groening, Declan & Theodore
Killarney Mennonite Church

 The devotional book entitled 'Blessed by God' shares the following true story of a man named Bill who was kneeling in prayer in the front room of his house at 6:30 in the morning. He had just confessed his sins and was asking God for a blessing that day, needing to feel loved by Him.

His little boy, Timothy, who was just 22 months old, had just gotten up, and Bill noticed out of the corner of his eye that Timothy had sneaked quietly into the front room. He was always quiet in the morning when his dad was praying because his mom asked him to be, but that day, he ambled straight over to Bill, put a hand on his clasped hands, and said, "Hi special one. Hi, special one. Hi, special one."

Never once had he called his dad that before. Six times he called Bill "special one." He said it enough for Bill to actually get it - that God was speaking to him and giving him a blessing, through his own little son."

Did you know that you too are God's special one?
It seems hard to believe, but it's true! Through faith in what Jesus (God's special Son) has done for us, we get to enter into the same "special" category as Him. 

Listen to what 1 Peter 2:9 states: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Do you feel unimportant, discouraged or weary today? Then just lean back, close your eyes and hear God whisper to you:

"Hi, special one."

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” Luke 2:15.

This past March, my wife and I were given the unique opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the shepherds and: “Go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” The rock covered hillside in the picture above is the actual location of the angel's announcement to the shepherds.Of course, in Bethlehem today there is no longer a humble stable to visit, for the large stone 'Church of the Nativity' now stands above the place it is believed that Jesus was born. But as impressive as it was to walk through a lavishly decorated 5th century church, I found it difficult to envision the events of the Nativity in that setting. There was no barn, no animals, no straw and no manger. In single file we walked around the right side of the lavishly ornate church altar and descended down a narrow stairway into the 'Grotto of the Nativity'. Far from the Christmas-card image, the place of Christ’s birth is a dimly-lit rock cave.

But even there, the rough and humble surroundings of the first Christmas have given way to marble facings and gaudy decorations. In the words of biblical scholar E. M. Blaiklock, the cave is “hung and cluttered with all the tinsel of men's devotions”. The original manger carved in the stone is still there, although you can't really see it. At some point in the late 4th century they decided to encase the rough stone cut manger in marble and place a silver manger above it. St. Jerome, whose own cave was nearby, did not approve: “If I could only see that manger in which the Lord lay! Now, as if to honour the Christ, we have removed the poor one and placed there a silver one; however, for me the one which was removed is more precious . . . .” Today, the silver manger is gone but the marble encasement remains, flanked by golden lanterns, with an ornate silver star encircling a small hole above the original manger. The closest I could get to the real manger was to get down on my hands and knees and reach down through the hole and touch the stone beneath...

"Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
    and clever in their own sight." Isaiah 5:20-21

The moral decay of  American AND Canadian civilizations has been well documented. We have systematically removed Him from almost every public sector and have naively come to believe that our nations peace and prosperity has come from our doing rather than from God's gracious hand. And though God is slow to anger, delights in showing mercy and abounds in love and faithfulness - there comes a point where He say's: "ENOUGH!" And judgement follows. It happened in the day's of Noah, it happened with the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah, it happened multiple times in the day's of ancient Israel, and the Bible points to the reality that that it will happen again at the end of the age.

So it begs the question: Are we seeing the beginning of the end? Are we living in the last day's that Jesus spoke of? While I can't say for certain... the signs are beginning to emerge more clearly every day. We have only to look at what the Supreme Courts of both Canada and United States are deliberating on to see how far we have collectively drifted from God's ordained designs for all of life. Just in case you are unaware what those issues are, Canada is deliberating on doctor assisted suicide and the United States is deliberating on legalizing same-sex marriage for the entire nation. These issues simply serve as examples of how far our civilization has turned from God.

So the question is - How long can we continue to reject God and His ways and still expect His blessing?

I think the time has come for all Christians to sit up and start paying attention to what's happening in the world around us. Because I suspect that the day is close at hand where we will stop reading about end times prophecy only in Scripture and will start reading about it on the front page of our newspapers! We live in VERY INTERESTING TIMES. And make no mistake about it - though evil always flourishes for a season, God always has the final word! 

So maybe we should start paying closer attention and take this season of grace, to repent, turn from our sin, and towards God.         

  I hate to say it, but summer is o-v-e-r! Oh sure we’ll all try to live in denial for another couple of weeks and keep wearing the shorts and flip sandals until we’re shivering and forced to put on something warmer, but the reality is that September is here. The leaves are beginning to fall, the nights are getting colder and the days are getting shorter. So put away the sun screen, park the camper, and say good bye to the beach. Now dig out the fleece jackets, locate the rake and say hello to the fall and a new school year.    

 While all that may be sad for many, the silver lining is that it also means that the fall church season is here!

So for this coming Sunday, Sept. 7th I want to invite you to go back to church!

Hebrews 10:25 say’s:  “Do not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Habits can be either good or bad. Chewing your nails is a bad habit while brushing your teeth every day is a good habit. In a similar way going to church regularly is a good habit and not going can become a bad habit. But like all habits, we have the power to change them (if we really want to!) So maybe you’ve been away on holidays or for whatever reason haven’t been in church for awhile, but this Sunday why don’t you change that? Going to church to meet with God and spend time with other people is one of the most positive habits you can ever form in your life. It’s the one place where you can take the time to confront the real issues of your life, hear what God has to say about them, and receive the encouragement and support of other people who have gone through similar things as well.

If you have children, most churches are starting up their fall Sunday School and Youth Programs this Sunday as well so it’s a great time to get your child involved in a Sunday School class or teenagers in a youth group.      

And if you don’t have a home church but are interested in checking one out, let me personally invite you come down to Bay Avenue Mennonite Church this Sunday (located right across from the hospital) . We are kicking off our Sunday School program for both children and adults at 9:30a.m., followed by the worship service at 10:45a.m. and wrapped up with a BBQ lunch after the service. We are really excited about what God is doing and would love for you to be a part of it!

So whatever church you call home, I want to encourage you to go back to church this Sunday!  

 

 

Gay rights is one of the most polarizing issues of our time (as evidenced by the comments for and against in any online debate). Healthy debate is a good thing, but what I find troubling is that our culture has dictated that the terms of the debate be fought along a false narrative of “Tolerant” (anyone who supports it) VS “Intolerant” (anyone who opposes it). This is patently false. “Tolerance” does NOT mean “to agree with”, what “tolerance” ACTUALLY means is: “to disagree with but still respect the others right to hold their view.” Someone can be perfectly tolerant (and yes even loving) toward a gay person while still disagreeing with their lifestyle and believing it is wrong. But according to our cultures false narrative: Last week World Vision was “Intolerant” then briefly became “tolerant” and is now once again “intolerant” of homosexuality. Following the same flawed logic when people say to Christians: “be tolerant”, what they really mean is “you need to agree with us or I’ll label you intolerant.” This is ironically (by the words true definition) an intolerant thing to do.

The second thing that I find troubling is when I am told that if I do not agree with the cultures accepted position on this issue that I am somehow being hypocritical or not showing Christian love. This is another false narrative. World Vision did not go from unloving last week, to loving, back to unloving. Last I checked they are showing tangible love to countless children around the globe. What really happened at World Vision was a struggle with whether or not they would remain an organization that is firmly grounded on the clear teachings of Scripture or not.

You see what this issue is truly about for the Christian is our fundamental understanding of the Bible and what it says about sin. Do we study and follow Scripture as the inspired, infallible, authoritive Word of God or don’t we? If we do, then we have to take it seriously about what it says about homosexuality - we simply can’t pick and choose only the parts we like and dismiss the rest. As a minister, I am called to “Correctly handle the Word of Truth” so for this reason I have studied Scripture exhaustively on this subject from all angles. I have read and listened to all the arguments that try to explain how the Bible does not actually say that homosexuality is wrong… but every last one of those arguments does not stand up to cross examination from within the consistent interpretation of the entirety of Scripture. Here is the bottom line of what the Bible says:

"Sin" is anything that falls short of God's glory and perfect design for life in any area. Ex. God's perfect design is everyone shares - the opposite of that is stealing - hence "sin." God's perfect design for human sexuality is that it happens exclusively between one woman and one man committed to only each other for their entire life. That means a)heterosexual sex outside of marriage is "sin" - b) homosexual sex is "sin" in any context because it falls short of God's perfect design. Homosexuality is no worse a sin than any other sin, and just like for any other sin (stealing, sex outside of marriage, etc.) it can be forgiven by the Grace of God. But as with all sins (of which I am guilty of many!) it can only be forgiven if it is acknowledged for what it is and confessed to God. We are all sinners and need God's mercy. This is not my own idea, because after years of intensive study I tell you with complete confidence that this is what the Bible teaches on this subject!

You can agree with it or disagree with it - but please don't do violence to the Scripture by twisting it to say something that it doesn't.

So to any Christian who believes that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authorative Word of God, and also believes that actively practicing homosexuality is not sinful, I honestly ask you this question: How do you reconcile those two beliefs? Don’t just blindly accept what our culture is telling you to believe and don’t just accept what I am telling you either – honestly dig into it for yourself! Look at the wide variety of texts that speak about this (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:18-27, Genesis 2:23-25, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13). Pray and seek the Holy Spirits guidance. Then if having done that, you still feel the same way, please show me how the Scriptures supports that view.

I realize that the Biblically grounded belief on this subject has already been rejected and is actively being attacked by our culture. I also realize that many Christians, churches and para-church organizations are giving way on this issue. But even if I must stand alone, I will gladly stand alone on the authority of God's Word rather than stand among the many on the authority of people's opinion.

Remember that in the end, we do not get to decide what is sin and what is not – God is the only one who decides that and He has spoken clearly. Thankfully God is also the one that loves us and decided that a sinner named Danny Groening was worth saving, so He sent His only Son to die for my many sins, in my place, so that I could be forgiven and so that I can walk with Him for the rest of my life and keep right on walking with Him into the next.

I also believe that He did that for every last sinner on planet earth and that His incredible love, mercy and forgiveness is available for every last one of us, including the homosexual. And because God's loved has changed me - I choose to love you. I choose to love you regardless of whether you vehemently disagree with me or want to label me as "intolerant". I choose to love you enough to tell you the truth about what sin is with the hope that you can turn to God for mercy, grace and forgiveness. But regardless of how you choose to live your life, I choose to love you. How is that possible? Because true love does not require agreeing with what the object of your love is doing - true love is willing to sacrificially put itself on the line to to help the person get out of sin - all at the risk of being rejected. Remember that God loved us so much, that while we were still lost in sin He sent Jesus, His Son, to get us out of sin's clutches - but He to was rejected. And so He had to die alone in the place of sinners so that we could be forgiven and set free from sin and death. And He is still giving us the choice to accept or reject Him... What do you choose?