Regular Posts Moved to Substack

I plan to write more frequently to encourage you, our church family, but I will be doing so in another place on the internet - a newsletter service called Substack.

This will make it easier to get these posts and updates out to you - Substack makes it easy to get these posts sent right to your email inbox, so that you don’t have to go looking for the posts - they come to you.

Click here to go to the newsletter, read my posts, and subscribe: https://comfortsandjoys.substack.com

About this newsletter:

This is my weekly (hopefully!) newsletter for Kingsboro Baptist & South Lake Christian Churches. My main goal with this publication is to share thoughts from Scripture that will encourage you throughout the week. In particular, this fall, as we go through the Bible reading plan, working through the Gospels, I’ll share some of the ways our reading has spoken to me, and trust that the Lord will speak to you as you read along.

I’ve called this newsletter “Comforts & Joys.” Drawing from the memorable line of an old Christmas carol, I hope that as we see the good news of the Gospel in Scripture, we receive “tidings of comfort and joy” - knowing the comfort of God’s amazing grace and faithful love in our struggles and sins, and finding joy in his goodness.

Pastor Alec

Songs of Hope in a Broken World: Is He Worthy?

Easter is almost here, which means that Jesus is alive! Or, more accurately, Jesus is still alive, and I can’t wait to celebrate his resurrection together, when the Light of the World came out of the grave and has “shone into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Yet, we still live in a world that feels desperately broken and filled with darkness.

One of the best ways to fight the darkness is by meditating on the hope of the Gospel as expressed in song. At least, it is for me. Songs to sing joyfully, even when circumstances throw curveballs and snowball over you.

Andrew Peterson’s “Is He Worthy?” has been the song in this vein that I’ve played most of late. He begins by asking, “Do you feel the world is broken?” To which the choir replies, “We do.” We long, “Do you wish that you could see it all made new?“ We do.

And yet, there is hope: “Is a new creation coming? Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst?“ It is! Jesus, the Lion of Judah who conquered the grave - He is our hope. Because the Father truly loves us, the Spirit moves among us, and Jesus, our Messiah, is holding forever those He loves.

Listen, and find hope.

Do Not Fear Reading Plan: Week of January 23

Even though we are unable to meet together for our regular programs due to our current COVID-19 situation, we can still seek God together in Spirit, and together in what we are reading in Scripture and seeking for God to speak to us in.

For the next few weeks, I’ll post a Bible reading plan for that week that will be related to the previous Sunday’s message. This week, we looked at how we can face difficult and threatening circumstances with courage because the God who is with us as we trust Jesus for salvation is far greater than even the most fearful time.

This week’s readings will show us who this God is - and how that gives us confidence.

Monday: God is All-Powerful King of the Universe 

Psalm 93
Isaiah 40
Jeremiah 32:26-27

Tuesday: All-Present & Eternal

-Psalm 139
-Matthew 28:18-20
-Psalm 90:1-2
-Hebrews 13:8

Wednesday: All-Knowing & Wise 

-Isaiah 46:9-11
-Job 28:20-28
-Romans 11:33-36
-1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5

Thursday: Holy & Just 

-Isaiah 6:1-7
-1 Peter 1:14-16
-Isaiah 1:16-20
-Psalm 146:5-9

Friday: Compassionate & Loving 

-Exodus 34:6-7
-Psalm 103
-Matthew 11:28-30
-Lamentations 3:19-27

The Gospels in Fall 2020

Read with me through the Gospels this fall.

It’s all about Jesus. All things were created through him, in him was life, and “to all who receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God… indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness.” (John 1:12, 16). Jesus is what our faith - our lives - are all about. So it’s important to know Him. To know what He is like.

To that end, I plan to read the four Gospels this fall. I shared my reading plan for this in our worship service yesterday, and it’s my hope that you’ll read along with me.

A few highlights about this plan:
-1-2 chapters a day; a small portion, can be easily done alongside your regular reading.
-6 days a week. Sunday (or another day, if you choose) can be used to catch up on any missed reading, reflect on what you have already read, or read something else.
-11 week plan, finishes the week before the Advent season begins, when we reflect on the coming of Jesus; thus, we will gain an understanding of who this Saviour is that the world desperately needed and longed for, and still does.

Here’s the plan:

Click here to download a printable version

Matthew 1-2

Today’s reading is Matthew 1-2 (Click here to read it). It’s a familiar story. We might think it’s a little early to be reading about Christmas, but this is the beginning of the story of Jesus’ earthly life, so it’s a good place to begin.

What struck me as we begin the Gospels is all the ways Jesus is described in these opening chapters. Keep an eye out for how we’ll see Him as these things as you read on:

Jesus is:
-The long promised, long awaited One through history (Matthew 1:1-17, the genealogy)
-Saviour (1:21 - “you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”)
-God With Us (1:23 “they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God with us.”)
-Humble One (1:25 “she gave birth to a son.” He humbled himself, becoming a helpless baby, a human being like one of us.)
-Rightful king of God’s people (2:2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”)
-The Christ/Messiah - God’s anointed one (2:4 “asked them where the Christ would be born.“)
-Good shepherd (2:6 - “And you, Bethlehem… out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.“)
-Joy giver, worthy of our worship (2:11 - “When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child… they worshiped him.“)
-Son of God (2:15 - “Out of Egypt I called my Son.“)
-Hometown, Nazareth (2:23 - “Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth… that he would be called a Nazarene.“)

A Prayer of Thanksgiving for the God who Always Hears

I love the Lord because he has heard
my appeal for mercy.
Because he has turned his ear to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live.
(Psalm 116:1-2).

Lord our God,

We love You. We love You for countless reasons. We love You because You first loved us. We love You because You are worthy, lovely, perfect in all Your ways, good to us. We love You because You have heard our appeal for mercy.

You are not merely a customer service agent who registers a complaint and then moves on with Your day. You are are the God who hears us when we pray, when we cry out, cry out for mercy, for Your compassion and help. You don’t just give a pat answer that may or may not be satisfactory. You are the God who is near, who hears, and who will not move on by the end of the call; You are with us, You are working in us, You are working, even when we can’t see it, in all things - good and bad - for our good.

So we have every confidence to keep calling out to You.
Crying out for Your mercy.
Your mercy to forgive our sin.
Your mercy to help in times of trouble.
Your mercy to supply our every need.

So Lord, on days we feel like it, and days we don’t,
On days we feel strong and days we feel weak,
On days we are overflowing with trust, and days we hang on by a thread,

For all the rest of our days, Lord,
We cry out to You,

For You are the Lord, full of grace, goodness to us that we do not deserve;
You are righteous, right and good in Your every way;
You are compassionate to us.

So we pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Return to rest, my soul,
For the Lord has been good to you. (Psalm 116:7).

A Prayer for Trusting God for our Future and Hope

For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Lord God,

When your people went into exile for their unfaithfulness and sin, You didn’t give up on them. For a time, they had to suffer the consequences of their sin. Life in captivity in Babylon was hard and humiliating. You humbled them to return them to You.

Lord, return us to You.
Day by day.

Lord, some days it can be hard to see our way forward. What will tomorrow hold? What will next year hold? In our world, or in our lives? We don’t know. But You are the God who knows tomorrow. You know every high and every low. There may be things we consider disaster, like COVID-19, but even in those things, You still promise a future and a hope. We have the hope of eternal life, the very best future. Sin, hopeless and end it may bring, does not have the last word; You did not abandon us because of it. You brought us so great a salvation through so great a Saviour. We find our hope in Him!

How much better to have Jesus and suffer in this world than to be without Him and gain the world with all its comforts. He is our hope, even in darkest days, for a future far brighter than what we can hope for in this life. With You, in this life, Lord, we have hope for even the darkest day, for You are our life, our light, our great comfort and confidence, and You have our well-beign at heart.

Keep our eyes fixed on Christ;
Keep our eyes fixed on eternity.

We pray this in His great name,
Amen.

As we continue to face these uncertain days of COVID-19, pray for wisdom for health and government authorities as they look toward slowly reopening things. Pray for one another, that we would know Jesus’ hope and help today.

A Prayer of Worship to the God who is Still Good to Us

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.”
(Psalm 95:6-7)

Lord, our God,

As we shelter at home, wondering when restrictions from COVID-19 will ease up, we still have every cause to come and worship You. Even if we are still at home, we remember that we ultimately come to You. We come to You with our fears and disappointments and anxieties and struggles and weariness and remember that You are still the Great God, the Good God.

In all that’s gone wrong in the world around us, as we feel deeply the brokenness of the world, perhaps even in ourselves, we look up, we look to You, and remember that You are God over all and You are still very good to us. Even if the whole world be shaken and our lives turned upside down, we still have every cause to worship You, because if we have You, if we have been saved by Jesus Christ and have the eternal life that comes through Him, we still have all we need; we lack nothing.

So we worship and bow down before You, our Maker, our Sustainer, our Hope to the very end.

We belong to You. We are your sheep. We are those who had gone astray, gone our own way, but those whom You came to find, bring home, and restore. Forgive us when we go our own way; Lord, help us to return to You daily. We look to You for all we need, and we thank You that You watch over us perfectly.

Help us to depend on You for everything.

We pray this in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

A Prayer for the Fear of the Lord for Our Wisdom

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
(Proverbs 9:10)

Our Great God,

You are the infinitely wise God, whose thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and yet You have revealed Yourself to us; You have come down to be among us in the person of Jesus Christ. You have shown us all we need to know You and love You and serve You and live this life to honour You. You know what is for our good, You know what is best - and so often, we don’t know it for ourselves.

It was in a moment when we didn’t fear You, Lord, that we made the most catastrophic choice imaginable. There in the garden, our first ancestors taking a bite from the fruit forbidden by You. They did not respect Your word or fear Your name. Every time we sin, we do not fear You, we do not respect You as we ought, and we love You less than these other things.

Lord, we repent.
Lord, forgive us.
Lord, change us.
Lord, cause us to have a right reverence
and love for You.

Lord, Your word tells us that You delight to give us wisdom when we ask. Lord, as we face COVID-19, as we go about our day-to-day lives, our daily decisions and major ones, the words we speak, the things we do, give us wisdom. Lord, first, give us a heart that sees You rightly, sees You high and lifted up and we weak and humble, dependent on You. Help us to see You rightly in order to see our world and lives rightly. With that, help us through each day.

We pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
(Romans 11:33-36)

A Prayer for God's Strength & Courage to go His Way

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9)

Lord, our Mighty God,

You are our faithful God. You call us to faithfulness to You. Your commands and your ways are for our good. At times, they may be hard. They may seem too difficult. We are weak. We don’t understand all Your ways. We don’t understand the depth of our sinfulness. And yet, You are God, and You are good, and we will trust You.

Lord, give us Your strength. In our weakness, in our weariness, we can’t depend on what we can do alone, much as we might like to try. Even on our strongest days, we’re weaker than we’d like to admit. Fill is with Your strength to do what honours You. Strengthen our hearts to give us courage. We might shrink back and we might prefer to stay with what we know or feel comfortable with, but give us courage - courage to do what You call, go where You lead. Help us have wisdom to discern that.

Lord, thank You for Your presence. You’re the source of life, and You’re the One who sustains us, gives us strength, reminds us of the eternity that lies ahead. You’re the One who brings salvation from sin and the death it leads to, salvation through Jesus Christ. Whatever You bring is for our good and whatever You withhold is also for our good, for Lord, You are our ultimate good.

Lord, we are Your people.
Help us to see Your way.
Help us to be willing to go Your way.
Help us to see it as the good way, the way You are leading us home, even through these difficult days.
Help us to be strong and courageous,
Seeing You with us each step of the way.

We pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen

Click here for some ways to pray for our situation in COVID-19

A Prayer for God's Love in Tragedy

Come, Lord Jesus.

Acts of violence and mass shootings. Here in the Maritimes, in our part of the world, this hits close to home. A community on stretch of country road I traveled many times on the way to my high school home, to a highway many of us in our part of the world may have traveled on the way to Halifax, the 100+ km crime scene. Shock, sadness, searching for answers.

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God before his eyes.

He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil. (Psalm 36:1, 4).

Come, Lord Jesus.

We are reminded this day of the brokenness of this world. And especially, today, when people do what is utterly evil. How can someone take life so willingly? Lord, we grieve the depravity of the human heart, whatever circumstances would lead someone to do this, and especially, we mourn the loss of so many lives, each life so precious, such a loss to their community, their family. We hurt with them.

Come, Lord Jesus,

And bring an end to evil in our world.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge
in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 36:5,7

Come, Lord Jesus.

We see the evil in a person’s heart, we are angered at it and we grieve the results. How Long, O Lord? And yet, as we turn our eyes up from looking at it to cry out to You, we see Your steadfast love. You, the mighty God, are still with us, still love us, and will love us through times like this. You are faithful. You will not leave or forsake, even in tragedy. Lord, cover us in the shelter of Your wings. Be our hiding place, our safe place, our help in weakness and sleepless nights and hurting hearts.

We need You.

Lord, we pray for each family that has lost a loved one in this tragedy. Comfort them, strengthen them, give them rest, give them peace. Lord Jesus, You wept at loss as each one today does, and so You understand.

Lord, we pray for the RCMP, losing one of their own, continuing the investigation in these coming days. Give wisdom, strength, help.

Lord, we pray for the communities affected, as they are involved in the investigation, in the healing process. Bring them together, and give them the hope of the Gospel.

Lord, shine Your light into the darkness in our part of the world in these days.

Lord, remind us all of Your faithful love and Your presence with us each moment.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.