CANORA - On a cool, partly cloudy Sunday morning that turned out to be pretty much ideal weather for an outdoor church service, the Canora in Bloom interdenominational service was held outside the Town of Canora office on July 16.
Pastor Brett Watson gave a cheery welcome to everyone in attendance.
“It’s wonderful to see all of you out here this morning,” said Watson. “This is our community service to help kick off Canora in Bloom. To me, this is one of the highlights of the summer.”
The worship band led in the singing during the service, which included Come, Now is the Time to Worship, This is My Father’s World and Amazing Grace. The musicians were: Pastor Watson (vocals and guitar), Cheri Kuhn (vocals and guitar), Abraham Martin (bass) and Caleb Senechal (keyboards).
Scripture readings included: Psalm 133, Psalm 139:1-18, Colossians 3:12-17 and John 1:43-51. Scripture readers were Dwaine Senechal and Wes Popoff.
The theme for the message by Pastor Greg Bright was Finding God in Summer.
Pastor Bright opened with a story about a young man looking for God, who eventually met up with an old man and asked him, “Can you help me? I can’t seem to find God anywhere.”
“I don’t know how I could help you,” replied the old man. “I see Him everywhere.”
Bright pointed out verses from the Gospel of John that "reveal God’s love for you."
“You find it all through the Bible,” he said. “God’s love permeates the Bible.
“Some people get caught up on things that don’t make sense to them, that seem wrong even. Two of those things are the problem of evil in the world and the violence we find in ancient cultures. Then they struggle with how a loving God can allow such things. I believe there are answers to those questions, and they are found in the person and character of God. But they are not simple answers.
“These answers have to do with God’s sovereignty, His authority and power as Ruler and King,” continued Bright. “They have to do with God’s character, His righteousness and His holiness and justice and mercy. The answers to these questions have to do with God’s decision to grant people the wonderful and terrible gift of free will, the freedom to make both good and bad decisions."
Bright suggested that these questions find their answer in Jesus. “In John Chapter 14, Jesus, describes Himself as ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’
“And He goes on to say, ‘No one comes the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.’
“The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was saying and it is our friend, Philip, who asked Jesus to show them the Father,” said Bright. “Jesus explains to Philip and the rest of the disciples that when they have seen Him, they have seen the Father. That is God. He explains that everything He did, the Father was doing through Him. He explains that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. He explains a little later that He and the Father are one.
“He tells them about an experience of unity that they can experience through Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, whom He will send. In that new relationship with Jesus and with the Father, God, anyone who believes can know God and find life, eternal life, in Him. That’s amazing!”
Bright urged listeners to “Check it out in the Gospel of John, actually, all through the Bible. But I encourage you to turn your eyes to Jesus. You will find Him revealed all through the Bible.
“There is a promise that God makes to His people in Jeremiah 29:13 that has become a life verse for me. It gives me hope when I share Jesus with other people who are earnest in their desire to know God. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said to His people in exile, people who had turned away from Him, He said, even to them, ‘And you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.’
“The author of Psalm 139 is David – a shepherd, poet, soldier and king – described as ‘a man after God’s own heart,’ (1 Samuel 13:14). He wasn’t a perfect person, but whenever he messed up, he turned back to God with his whole heart,” said Bright. “I find his story to be so refreshing, even with its struggles and difficulties. He continued to find God.
“David was aware of God’s nature, that God knew what was happening. God knew David, and He knows you. God is God. He is not overwhelmed by great volumes of data. He knows each of us individually and personally. God is able to meet us and know us in our day-to-day lives.
“Psalm 19, also written by David, reminds us that God reveals Himself to us in His creation. In poetic words, David reveals for us the truth that he has come to know. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.’
Bright explained that, “God’s glory is revealed as we look around us. So, I invite you, this summer, look around. Open your eyes. Look for God, invite Him to reveal Himself to you. Talk with Him as you enjoy the world He has made. Of course, such an experience of connecting with God is not limited to the summertime. Our God is not limited by seasons or times. He loves you and He is seeking you constantly, inviting you into relationship with Him, inviting you to know Him and to follow Him. He created you to live in relationship with Him.
“My invitation to you is God’s invitation to you,” said Bright. “In Matthew, at the beginning of what has come to be known as The Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.' As you seek Him, as you look for Him, as you struggle to find Him, He will prepare your heart to meet Him and to know Him. That’s His desire for you.
“Jesus came to the earth so that you may know God.”
In closing the message, Bright prayed, “Lord, I know You already see me. Open my eyes to see You this summer so that I follow You faithfully and do the things that You love.”
Watson and the worship band sang Bring the Rain, a song about feeling God’s strength and presence during struggles and trials, often even more intently than in good times.
Pastor Mavis Watson led the prayer and benediction to close the service.
“Father God, through Jesus Christ you said to us: ‘You did not choose me but I chose you.” You seek us and you invite us to receive your friendship and abide in it. Teach us to respond more deeply to this invitation, and grow in a life that is made more complete by Your presence in it.
“Lord God, You are the Author of Life and You call us to be Your representation in the midst of the world, to welcome one another as a gift created in Your image. May we see one another through Your loving eyes, which rest upon each person and help us to receive each other as Your beautiful creation. Amen.”
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