Declaration on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

EMCC has released the following statement:

At a news conference on Parliament Hill on October 29, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) released a joint statement on euthanasia and assisted suicide. The Declaration…has been endorsed by over 30 Christian denominations together with over 20 Jewish and Muslim leaders from across Canada.

“Assisted suicide and euthanasia raise profound social, moral, legal, theological and philosophical questions–questions that go to the very core of our understand of who we are, the meaning of life, and the duty of care we owe to each other.”

    -Declaration on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

                                                                                     Read the full declaration here

Dr. Maraget Cottle of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recently presented a lecture at HMC, ‘Speaking From The Evidence’, in which she explored the questions and truths surrounding this sensitive issue.

Reflecting on ‘Reflections From The Heart’ ~ Curriculum

On Sunday we took a break from our journey through 1 Kings and Pastor Jason shared some reflections from the book of John.

As we’ve done with our 1 King’s series in providing curriculum for you to follow along with your G2G group, so to have we provided curriculum for this week as well – even though it’s a little bunny trail off what we’ve been learning.

Take a while to watch the sermon if you missed it.

John 1:35-42

The next day John we there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

    1.    John’s disciples decided to leave him in order to start following Jesus (v. 35-37).  What plans, attachments, or relationships are distracting you from Jesus?

    2.    How closely do you think John’s disciples were following Jesus when he turned around and asked them, “What do you want?” (v. 38). 

    a.    How closely are you following Him: could he whisper to you or would he need to shout?

    b.    How would you answer the question “what do you want?” if Jesus asked you?

    3.    Jesus invites the disciples to spend time with Him (v. 39) and they respond positively.  How much of ‘your’ time do you give to Jesus?  How much time do you have for others?

    4.    Andrew has such a great time with Jesus that he invites his brother to meet Him too (v. 41-42).  Does this happen today?  Why or why not?

    5.    Simon gets a new name. Peter (v. 42) in keeping with his character.  Pass around sheets of paper with your group member’s names at the top (one sheet per group member) and when each sheet gets to you, write down one attribute you appreciate about the person whose name is on the page. 

Give each person his or her page only when everyone has had a chance to complete the exercise. 

Celebrate together!

Week 6 – A Divided Kingdom – 1 Kings 12-14

1 Kings Sermon Series Curriculum

Week 6 – A Divided Kingdom (1 Kings 12-14)

(Our G2G Curriculum was crafted in-house and is designed to follow our Fall Sermon Series: 1 Kings ~ A Heart & House Divided. Want to get connected to a G2G group? Contact us and we’ll find a spot for you!)

You may want to begin by watching the sermon that goes with this passage.

1. Rehoboam solicited advice from two groups, both with different recommendations. Have you ever wondered how to discern a way forward when there are differing perspectives? How did you move forward?

2. Read 12:26-60. Jeroboam set up more places of worship outside Jerusalem to make it easier for those living outside the city. Have you compromised your own values to accommodate other activities or people? What calves have been set up in our society that cause us to make compromises?

Resources ~ Part 3 ~ The Time of the Church

by guest writer, Caleb Dyck
first shared on his own site, Truth Set Free 

Read Part 1
Read Part 2
 

How good is the church at using the time that it has? I am thinking of both how it utilizes its time throughout the week, and then how well the church is using the opportunities that are unique to its current place in history.

First of all, how well does the church make use of its time during the week? Most churches that I have ever been involved with have been very busy places. Almost every night of the week has some sort of ministry happening. The staff of the church are always busy, and the volunteers are often stretched to their capacity. However, are our churches busy with the right things? We have ministries for people in every stage of life. But, are we actually being effective?

Most churches can not possibly field a team of staff and volunteers that can effectively cover the wide array of ministries that are possible. They only have a limited amount of man hours to contribute to any cause. So, would it be more responsible to focus the majority of the time on a few ministries that can really make an impact, or is it better to try to spread out enough to touch each of the bases?

I don’t know if there is any one answer. I think that each church needs to prayerfully consider how to be the best stewards of the time that they have and then move forward into the areas that they feel they have been called to work in.

Secondly, we are part of a global church that exists in its own unique spot in history. Each generation of the church has its own set of challenges, along with opportunities to advance the kingdom of God. Each generation builds on the foundation of the saints who have gone before. As the church of the present, we have a period of time that is allotted to us. What each local church needs to do is look at what ways they can contribute in our current context. The church is notoriously bad at keeping up with the times. As a church, we need to make sure we are aware of what is going on in the world around us and respond to the needs in a timely manner.

We don’t want to be the church that completely missed the struggles and needs of our generation.

We don’t want to be the church that is clueless to the bigger picture of our generation.

I want my generation to be the generation that seizes the day and fearlessly presses forward and storms enemy strongholds.

I want my generation of church to stand on the shoulders of giants of the faith and make a stand that reverberates for succeeding generations to come.

I hope that I am not disappointed.