November 24, 2016
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV) Brothers, we do not want you to … grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
At times we all experience the pain of losing something. We lose our keys, our wallets— I even lost our car once in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I was thankful for the alarm button on the FOB. It led me right to it.
Our frustration and anxiety level with loss is directly related to the importance of the thing we can’t find or don’t have anymore. This week I am thinking about what I have lost. I list them not in order of importance, but in sequence. Yesterday it seems we lost the bid to receive funding for a 42 unit apartment building for the poor.
Our project was not named in the BC government funding announcement for low cost housing. (I will be having a meeting with BC Housing later today and will better understand where we stand after that.) On the same day, I was notified that we lost on our request for grant funding to replace our aging furnaces from Columbia Basin Trust. Last week I lost my step-son to a heart attack. Within the past year I lost my nephew and best friend to a car accident and my adopted niece to cancer. In the last couple of years I lost a friendship of 25 years due to a misunderstanding and unwillingness to reconcile.
These are significant losses. A natural response to any loss is grief. Grief happens after a loss and the more significant the loss the more intense the grief. But grief for a follower of Christ is different than for one who does not have faith. The process is the same with one difference. Hope is attached to grief. We don’t despair. Death is not the victor. That is because of the resurrection of Christ. That one event makes a difference in all our losses. Because of the resurrection and their faith in a risen Christ, I shall see Gord and Drew again. They are very much alive. But also because of the resurrection I can have hope that broken relationships can be restored, projects that are seemingly dead can be revived, things that I had hoped for but now seem out of reach can be attained.
Yes I grieve, but still I have hope. This makes all the difference in the world. I want to encourage all of you who are experiencing loss today or in the past that you can find healing and hope in Christ. He is alive and he is very much aware of our losses. He knows our pain and is able to heal the broken heart. I am personally putting my trust in Christ. I am inviting you to join with me and letting Jesus walk with us together in our significant losses.
If you would like to discuss this further, feel free to contact me. Being stuck in grief is a terrible thing. Jesus will help us to move forward again.
Opportunities to Pray Together
Prayer is the life and breath or the church. You can join us at 10am on Sunday morning at KCF in the Sunday School Room and/or start your day out on the right foot and join us Wednesday mornings, 7am at KCF. Come and experience God moving.
NEW! Junior Youth
Each Friday, from 4 – 5:30pm Youth ages 11 – 14 will meet at KCF and are welcome to stop in for some fun times.
Christmas Tales
Christmas Tales is a wonderful theatrical production at the Capitol Theatre featuring storyteller Justyn Rees, singer/songwriter Russ Rosen, Multi-instrumentalist Brett Ziegler, percussionist Scott Melnyk and special guest Graham Ord. This is a great opportunity to purchase tickets for yourself and some friends and/or family. It’s a great gift idea. Tickets are only $10 per person at the KCF Office (special pricing).
Haiti
In January 2017, a team plans to travel to Haiti Arise at Grand Goave. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact Pastor Jim.
Calendar of Events
Visit our website at http://www.kootenaychristianfellowship.com for all the news, sermons, and places to donate.
Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Pastor Jim
E-transfers to office@kcfoffice.com
Kootenay Christian Fellowship520 Falls Street (1/2 Block up from Baker Street)Nelson, BC V1L 6B5