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The Perfect 7-day Diet – ‘Mourn With Those That Mourn’ Day 1: 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14 – “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 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 2: Matthew 5:4 – “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Day 3: Psalm 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Day 4: 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 – “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” Day 5: Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Day 6: Galatians 6:2 – “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Day 7: Philippians 3:20, 21 – “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

By the time you sit to read this message, I will have been retired for one week. After fifty years of working in retail sales, my finish line was crossed last Thursday. At the ripe young age of sixteen in 1973, I began working like most other teens at the time. There was no long-term goal, just the prospect of earning my own money to buy a car, and date a girl. I would have never guessed that my first job would be my last job. The money was never enough to dream big, but looking back, it was what I now know, almost enough to provide what I would need. I may have changed employers five times over my fifty-year history, but the fundamental tasks were pretty much the same. Looking back, I do have a few regrets, but I sit today realizing that my life has been blessed beyond those regrets. The circle of close friends I have may not have been, had I not been where I was at any given moment. The faith family I cherish may not have come into my life if not for the timely changes that occurred for me. The communication and labor skills I possess today may not have turned out how they have. My regrets are overshadowed by the blessing God poured onto me. My employment finish-line was always there, yet invisible to me until God began to reveal it, one event at a time. Over the last eight years these included three shots at knee replacements, my wife’s victory over breast cancer, and the loss of a very special brother-in-law. His passing was the wake up call for me to plan my exit from work, to be home with my family. That one life stopping event was moment I realized that I should never take any day for granted. Actually, it reminded me to enjoy and savor every single day. All of these set me to determine my retirement day. So now for me, a hobby has become a small business where my goals and opportunities are ahead of me. The road will have many curves so each day will be an exploration of life beyond my finish line. My story has been written and planned by God. I acknowledge that now. Yours is also being written so pay attention. As we all go through this event of life, we are all assigned a blank book. The thickness of that book depends on how long we live. The story line and content of the writings depend on the life you live and share. There was a time when God was not a part of my life, let alone knowing Him the way I do now. I came to accept Him twenty years ago and every day I am amazed how He makes Himself known to me. The thousands of little blessings, or signs He gives, were never on my radar when I was younger. I can only imagine the millions of times He was there for me, and I never even knew. Yet, He cared enough for me to provide me with long and winding roads. Now that I know Him, the scripture Jeremiah 29:11 is now my mantra, and I share that a lot. Looking back, I acknowledge that His provision in my life far outweighs any wants or goals from my youth, and I am content with that. Everything I have, value, love and know are all because He loved me enough that He sent His son, Jesus to die for me. When I think of that fact I am humbled beyond all understanding. Spoiler alert folks, He has done the very same for you as you read this, and for those who have yet to accept Him. That is agape love right there in a nutshell. As for me, He has gifted me with yet another birthday recently. He keeps my body as healthy as I can expect for a sixty-seven-year-old. He has blessed my finances to provide me with enough. He keeps my wife by my side in our advancing years and blesses our family to remain tight knit. Are there some things being worked on that are not perfect yet? Yes, and I will continue to pray that He works those things out. Our lives here are all on the road to our own finish lines, yet His promise to us in John 3:16 reassures me daily that when He is done with you and me here, there will be life beyond our finish line. What kind, you may ask? Eternal, and we’ll not be alone. Mike Shindruk Master’s Hand Ministry

You know, one really does not fully realize just how close to the edge of the cliff one is walking until you look back and see how close you were. Last week, I was out in the back country and we hiked up to the top of a rather large hill. If I was to name it like it felt, I would have called it a medium sized mountain. It took a bit of time to actually get up to the top (except for two intrepid mountain goats whom shall remain nameless who went straight up) because we were being cautious and were zig-zagging our way to the crest. There was deadfall on the path, some rather tricky parts on a side slope but we made it right to the summit. One of our hikers had a slight sprain and I took a bit of time to assess the ankle and, while I was doing so, someone snapped a picture and showed it to me. Now generally I am a fairly safe person but I did not realize just how close to the edge I was sitting because I was more focused on the needs of the other person. Another thing I did not notice was there was another person close beside me who was, it appeared, watching to make sure I did not go for a tumble. You see, this cliff behind me was a rather large drop with basically nothing on the face to arrest a fall and, when I looked at it from the bottom on our way up, it was a shear rock face. I am very grateful for the fact that someone was watching my back while I was helping another. So this leads me to part two. We can burn the candle at both ends at times and, as we get used to the pace, we can get quite comfortable with that pace but forget to take a look around us to see what all is being affected. Sure, there are things we need to do and other things we are expected to do but there is a time when we need to stop, take a look at what all is around us and assess our surroundings. It may seem that we have it all in hand but when we stop to take a look, we see the damage that is in our wake. An eight-hour day turns into a nine-hour day and then into a ten-hour day. There are not enough hours in the day so Saturday becomes an option. Suddenly the family and friends start to feel neglected and out come the excuses. “Just let me push through this on the weekend and next weekend we will go to the beach”. The beach never happens, more promises get broken, and the stress begins to affect the health of not only the individual but also the relationships around us. For those going to church or participating in faith activities, it becomes a thing that can be whittled away to make time for other things and it just keeps spiralling out of control. The most important person who can speak into this chaos is the one who is getting pushed to the back of the priority list. Scripture states that He will never leave us or forsake us yet we are the ones putting up the wall and shutting Him out. Ask yourself this, has the time come to do a re-org and re-prioritize life? As I write this, I am in day one of my sabbatical and have already been warned to take a break, a real break and re-org life. They took away my phone and distributed my responsibilities to others who are more than capable of handling them. I am in a time of rest and relaxation so that I might renew and rebuild. With God watching over me and my friends and family watching my back, I know I will not fall. 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 ‘Times and Seasons are God’s’ Day 1: Psalm 90:2 – “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.” Day 2: Isaiah 46:10 – “Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.” Day 3: Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Day 4: 2 Peter 3:8, 9 – “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” Day 5: Psalm 62:5, 6 – “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.” Day 6: Daniel 2:21 – “He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.” Day 7: Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

The Perfect 7-day Diet – Peter’s Picks ‘You Can Have an Abundant Life’ Day 1: John 10:10 – “ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Day 2: Matthew 6:33 – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Day 3: Luke 6:38 – “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Day 4: Psalm 31:19 – “How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.” Day 5: 2 Corinthians 9:8 – “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” Day 6: Ephesians 3:20 – “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Day 7: Psalm 23:5 – “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a friend regarding the church. It was a common discussion where the person said they were a Christian but the church had hurt them and they stopped attending because of it. Now I can understand being angry with a person or leader of a church, I can even understand if people were upset with the rules of the church but to stop attending because they have an issue with a person is a bit of a stretch in my mind. You see, the church is full of people who are fallible and prone to messing up. Jesus came to allow us all to be on the same footing even though we are, none of us, saints. When the girl in the square was being chastised by the masses by the “clean” members of society, Jesus knelt down, declared “those who are without sin, cast the first stone” and the “righteous” slinked off into the shadows. Here is the key to this, there is not a single one of us who has not caused angst to another but in Christ, we are all family who need to stick together, support each other and forgive as we have been forgiven. It seems simple but it is rather more difficult especially when God is not a part of it. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself. Eph 1:19-23 NLT We are the church, the holy gathering, and we all look to the great I AM for the hope, love and forgiveness. None of us is perfect, none of us is above the other but we are all made complete by the agape love of Jesus. If a person of the church hurts you, spend some extra time and effort to love on them, forgive them and stay in relationship with them because we are only complete when the family is all together. 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 Calls Me…’ Day 1: John 15:15 - His Friend – “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” Day 2: 1 Thessalonians 1:4 - Chosen – “We know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.” Day 3: Ephesians 2:10 - His Masterpiece – “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Day 4: 1 Corinthians 6:19 - His Temple – “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?...” Day 5: 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Brand New – “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: Galatians 3:25, 26 - His Child – “And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Day 7: Acts 1:8 - His Messenger – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ** Verses taken from the New Living Translation

Have you ever had that moment where you think “If I get out of this unscathed, it will be a miracle”? Sitting in a restaurant and someone yelled “stop that guy” and before my brain could register time, place and circumstances I stood up and promptly was run over by a guy who registered on the Richter scale the second he stepped out of bed. The only thing I could think of as I bounced off his chest and rolled backwards down the aisle was “what was I thinking?” I, like so many others, have had numerous moments in life when we get into situations and realize we are well over our heads. Some will scream out to the sky hoping for a lightning bolt to fix the problem while others would rely on their own strength or smarts to find a solution. When the going gets tough, the strongest lean on the Holy Spirit for the strength and fortitude to overcome. When the Holy Spirit is on your side, there is nothing that cannot be overcome. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:26-28 I am a strong advocate of the immense power of Holy Spirit and truly believe that our strength comes through Him for He is above all things created and, by the Scripture above, He is making prayer out of our wordless sighs. The details of our lives, the events of our past shape us, our reliance on the Holy Spirit helps us grow in our faith walk and gives us a hope and a strength that is only found in the love of our Lord and Saviour. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 There is power in the Holy Spirit that is beyond our comprehension and knowledge, and I am sure He has acted in our lives more often than we realize. As we pray in the Spirit, seek out His wisdom and listen to His directions, we might learn to sidestep the great monster that is trying to harm us and not get run over by a set of size seventeen shoes. 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 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”