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The last couple weeks, we have been talking about the Word of God written on our hearts and challenging each other to live the love of God for all around to benefit from. You see, our faith is one of love and peace. Yes, there are those factions who claim to be of the faith family but, unfortunately, do not live the love of Christ in their daily lives. There will always be people who point out the failures of those who are not in step with God like the gathered who are quick with their cellphone cameras when we have a YouTube moment. Let me throw this out there for an example. The other day I made a mistake and for the life of me I cannot remember what the error was. It did affect a couple other people and when the slipup was discovered, I did exactly what was expected, I blamed someone else and deflected. Actually, I did the exact opposite. I apologized profusely and took responsibility for the mistake. It did not cost me anything, this error, but it not only made me feel better for living out my faith but it was also a testament for others in that I was willing to name the error, claim the error and seek forgiveness. You see none of us is perfect but we are forgiven, if we seek His forgiveness. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So, we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:5-10 NLT Walk in faith, take responsibility for your actions, and make amends by seeking forgiveness. It is not all that hard. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide and follow His directives. You see, God does not set us up for failure but rather watches over us when we do mess up and yes, we will mess up. Great thing about our Saviour, like so many of our real good friends, He will not hold our mistakes over our heads. Praise God for that! We invite you to gather with us at 10:30 a.m. to explore His love and His message for our hearts. The service will be broadcast online (see links below), or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Ave. W in Sundre, AB. Blessing, Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘Be an Encourager’ Day 1: Proverbs 16:24 – “Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Day 2: Hebrews 3:13 – “You must warn each other every day, while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.” Day 3: Romans 15:1, 2 – “We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.” Day 4: Proverbs 25:11 – “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” Day 5: Romans 12:15 – “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.” Day 6: Hebrews 10:23, 24 – “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Day 7: Philippians 2:3, 4 – “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘We Have the Privilege of Prayer’ Day 1: Philippians 4:6 – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Day 2: James 5:16 – “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Day 3: 1 Timothy 2:1,2 – “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” Day 4: Psalm 17:6 – “I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.” Day 5: Matthew 26:41 – “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Day 6: John 5:14 – “But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Day 7: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

The other day, I was thinking about something and before I knew it, it was out of my mouth. Now don’t get me wrong, it was nothing bad, in fact it was not even a word that got me in trouble, it was a sigh. There have been times when I have said “sorry, did I roll my eyes too loudly” or let out a rather loud guffaw but this past week I got to thinking that this is all an external expression of what is in my heart. We have talked about this before, what is the foundation of our faith? God said that He has written His word upon our heart. Jesus has the perfect message, “love one another as yourself”. Ask yourself this then, would you guffaw, roll your eyes or, let’s kick this up a notch, yell at your friend or family member if you truly loved them. Funny how I was taught that we are the hardest on those we love the most and, in many cases, we will say things to them we would not dare to anyone else. This got me to pondering why? I truly believe, and you can correct me if you want, it is not the mouth that gets us in to trouble but rather the heart. Think about this for a moment, if we were to truly love our neighbour as ourselves or even love our enemy just as much, would we take jabs at them and fan the flames of the anger? I mean Jesus told us “blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Matt 5:9). This may be an old cliché, but I feel it is the one thing that may be missing in this world. I am talking about “what would Jesus do?” Let’s take this down a parallel path “what would Jesus say and why would He say it that way?” Yes, Jesus did raise His voice a co uple times but for the most part, He sought out ways to lift people up rather than let the situation control His heart and temper. The Pharisees were looking for ways to mess Him up, but Jesus’ mouth was in unison with His heart. The woman at the well was waiting for chastising but she found love and compassion in His words. The woman caught in adultery was waiting to hear the judgement of death by stoning and yet Jesus said, “where are your accusers?” This is where His heart shone through when He told her “Then neither do I, go forth and sin no more”. What is in the heart, I feel, is what guides our mouth in the direction of hurtful or helping comments. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Eph 4:29 NLT Read on further in this chapter because this is where we will be focusing on Sunday. We invite you to gather with us at 10:30 a.m. to explore His love and His message for our hearts. The service will be broadcast online (see links below) or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Ave. W in Sundre, AB. Blessing, Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘God, My Sure Hope’ Day 1: Psalm 147:11 – “No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Day 2: Psalm 16:9 – “No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.” Day 3: Psalm 119:114 – “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.” Day 4: Jeremiah 29:11 – “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Day 5: Lamentations 3:24 – “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’” Day 6: Romans 15:4 – “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” Day 7: Romans 5:5 – “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

There are those out there who are not big fans of Southern Gospel so they may not know the song “I Can’t Even Walk” by Cody Johnson. If you get a chance, Google the lyrics or search the song on YouTube because the message is so appropriate for today. You see, the world is reaching out and seeking answers to the issues that constantly bombard us every single day either on the news or in our daily lives. Last week, I asked the question “do you know of Jesus or do you know Jesus? There is a huge difference in that one single word. Consider the passage from John 12:44-47. Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. For those who know of Jesus I say this, even the devil knows of Jesus but that does not mean that he has put his trust and faith in the Lord. If you know Jesus, if you have put you hope and faith in Him and Him alone, if you have given over your life, your whole heart is with Jesus and you trust Him completely, you know the power and grace of our precious Saviour. This is when we all realize that we need Christ to walk with us, to give us strength, to show us the way. As the song says: I thought I could do a lot on my own. I thought I could make it all day long. I thought of myself as a mighty big man but I can't even walk without you holding my hand. If I put my trust in the world, the world will try to guide me in the way that it wants for it’s own benefit but if I put my trust in the Lord, He will guide my path in the direction that will benefit both myself and those around me. You see He wants us to be with Him in Glory, when the time comes. He will show us the path that will work best for our journey to Heaven and, through the Holy Spirit, we are strengthened and lifted along this journey. You see, I can’t even walk without Him holding my hand. There are big mountains and wide valleys that will provide some tough obstacles and that is a guarantee. The position of strength is on our knees in prayer, when the journey gets too rough. Reach out and let Jesus take you by the hand, let Him give you the strength to carry on, the wisdom to deal with the issues of life and the focus to keep on His path. There is a friend who just found out some terrible news. When we lose someone close and are left alone to wonder why, we can seek out comfort and care from friends plus we can take time out to pray for guidance and strength from the One who can truly comfort. I pray for His love to ease the burden, His wisdom to be able to come alongside others who are grieving and the strength to overcome the loss. Jesus is with us at all times and always is on the ready to take our hand in these difficult times. We will be gathering Sunday at 10:30 to celebrate Christ’s love for each and everyone of us. Service will be broadcast online (see links below) or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Avenue W in Sundre, AB. Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

Do you know Peter Ostrum? Mr. Ostrum is a veterinarian in Glenfield, New York. He graduated from Cornell in 1984 and went into practice shortly afterwards. He was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and Hunterdon, New Jersey. In 1987, he married Loretta Lepkowski, and they have two children. An ordinary man living an ordinary life. His son, Leif, is an up-and-coming actor in his high school and may be following in his father’s footsteps. Do you know who he is yet? His one and only role was that of Charlie Bucket, the sweet loveable kid in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He had a wonderful relationship with Gene Wilder who, for five months, mentored young Peter during the filming. An ordinary kid who did an amazing job for a brief period but his contribution to the arts has a long-lasting effect on millions of people. Here is the thing, there is a whole generation who do not know Peter Ostrum as Charlie because the show was remade and the new Charlie was played by Freddie Highmore, better known today as The Good Doctor. You see, today, very few people survive the popularity rollercoaster because society is very fickle and to tell the truth, once someone has had their “fifteen minutes of fame,” they can just fade away rather easily. Do you know Jesus? You know, if I ask that anywhere, most people will acknowledge they know of Him, a few will acknowledge they know Him personally. Like Peter, Jesus had a short public ministry, but His work continues. Peter walked away from the film industry even though they offered him three more films. Peter came back in a different way and continued to do great works in a way that benefits so many. Jesus lived, taught, showed us a wonderful way, and then stepped away momentarily, three days in the grave, and He came back in a new and magnificent way. His return signaled the fulfillment of a promise, He conquered death. After His ascension (His return to the Father in Heaven), His new position as intercessor for us all continues His message of Grace for all who call upon Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Here is my worry for society, just as people forget who Peter was, there are so many who are losing touch with the Saviour. This is the one person none should want to forget about because Jesus is the only way into Glory and to lose sight of Him is like losing the golden ticket. Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” John 14:6-7 NLT And remember this, the story is not over yet for He will return, and none know when that will be. So many claim to know but they are confused. Christ has made it clear that He will return. “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Rev 22:12-13 NLT Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you acknowledge Him as Lord and Saviour? Have you given your life to Him, laid your sins upon the Saviour and asked His grace to be upon you? Do you remember Him because I can assure you of this one fact; He knows you. We will be gathering Sunday at 10:30 to celebrate Christ’s love for each and everyone of us. Service will be broadcast online (see links below) or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Avenue W in Sundre, AB. Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘We Are in Training’ Day 1: 1 Timothy 4:7, 8 – “Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ‘Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.’” Day 2: Hebrews 12:11-13 – “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.” Day 3: 1 Peter 1:13-16 – “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” Day 4: 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 – “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” Day 5: 1 Timothy 6:10-12 – “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” Day 6: Philippians 3:12-14 – “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Day 7: James 1:12 – “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks This is Easter’ Day 1: 1 Peter 1:3 – “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation…” Day 2: Romans 6:8-11 – “And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” Day 3: John 11:25 – “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.’” Day 4: 1 Thessalonians 4:14 – “For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.” Day 5: 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Day 6: Colossians 1:13, 14 – “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” Day 7: Hebrews 12:2 – “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

I got up this morning and took a look in the mirror and noticed a few more grew hairs in the beard a couple more wrinkles around the eyes and a few less hairs on the mountain peak. It takes a bit more effort to get out of the chair, I grunt sitting down and getting out of bed sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies when you pour the milk on; snap, crackle, pop! When reading the newspaper, it rather looks like I am playing a trombone and people tend to have to repeat themselves more and more because I am either not paying attention or I can’t hear them. Afternoon scheduling must include a nap time and staying up late means going to bed at 10:00pm. This getting old is for the birds but I tell you the truth, one day this will all come to an end. Yes, there are two things that are assured, death and taxes but death is not the end but rather the new beginning for those who declare Christ as Saviour. You see, Jesus went to the grave, He faced the darkness and He conquered death. On the third day He arose and with that came the fulfillment of the promise, that through Christ we will be with Him in eternity one day. Paul wrote this inspired letter to the church in Corinth: What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Cor 15:50-58 NLT Our bodies may grow old and weary but every day we grow in the Lord, our souls remain strong and vibrant because the Holy Spirit is with us, filling us to overflowing and giving us a renewed strength as we reach for the eternal prize, eternity in Glory with the great Adonai! I have sat beside some of the greatest faith warriors I have ever known as they come against the wall of mortal life. The body may be failing but their faith is still strong as ever and they face this obstacle with the knowledge and joy knowing the Saviour paved the way for them and they face the new journey with anticipation. We will be gathering Sunday at 10:30 to hear a wonderful message from Rev Bob Hillock. Services will also be broadcast online (see links below) or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Avenue W in Sundre, AB. Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

When I start an article, the first item which needs to be addressed is the title. Usually this is not a big deal and, even today, the inspiration came from a daily reading but there was a twist. As I renamed the file it said “saving; faith of a mustard seed”. That go me to thinking about the completeness of the message for the season. Think about this for a moment. Christ had entered the city of Jerusalem, triumphant as the King of kings, and the people cheered Him on and rallied around Him. A few days later, He was falsely accused of crimes against the laws of the Temple, sentenced to death and suddenly the masses were rallied against Him and they turned. Suddenly they were calling for His death and willing to have a known criminal, a ruthless criminal, released back into their midst rather than have Christ set free. Their faith in Christ being the Messiah was replaced by doubt and fear, even His closest friend had turned away and departed. Just like Peter stepping out of the boat in faith, the second they took their focus away from Christ, they began to sink away and disappear. Christ had told them numerous times to have faith, that salvation faith in the Son of God. Scripture is pretty clear in this. Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more… Matt 12:12 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Matt 17:20 But when the people rallied against the Messiah and their hope was left hanging lifeless on the cross, fear for self replaced faith in Christ. The promise, however, was still in place and not even death could silence His covenant, for Christ had already told them the truth. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” John 14:1-4 The world is in a tough way right now and it is not the first time. Fear, doubt and self-preservation dominates the news, people have lost focus on the Way and now rely on the world to right itself. I hate to say this but the world will not fix itself, only through Christ can there be a love and a peace not available in the world. The time is now to refocus on Jesus, let Him lift you up from the waters of turmoil and set you on firm ground for He is the way, the truth and the light. Let the seed of faith find root in your heart and you, along with millions of others, can make a huge difference in this world. It is time to rally around the Saviour, and in one voice proclaim victory in His Grace, and we will be with Him always. We will be gathering Friday, April 7 at 10:30 AM for a Good Friday service and then again Sunday, April 9 at 10:30 for an Easter Celebration. Both services will be broadcast online (see links below) or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Avenue W in Sundre, AB. Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship YouTube Live – You Tube www.mainavefellowship.ca Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘Rest’ Day 1: Matthew 11:28-30 – “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’” Day 2: Hebrews 4:9-11 – ”So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.” Day 3: Psalm 23:1-3 – “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” Day 4: Jeremiah 31:25 – “For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” Day 5: Proverbs 19:23 – “Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.” Day 6: Psalm 62:1 – “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.” Day 7: Philippians 4:6, 7 – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation