BCB IN CANADA - DAY 6, 20TH APRIL 2011: ST. JACOBS AND OWEN SOUND
Daily Blog: Karen Farmer (Flugel Horn) writes.......
At last the sun was shining. The T-shirts came out of the cases and the warmth of the Canadian sun shone down! Just then the beep of my alarm woke me and I realised that it was all a dream! It was raining..........again!
We left Simcoe at 9am and within the first hour we had yet again stopped at another ‘Tim Horton’s’ for yet again another coffee and donut!! It was for me, my first donut of the tour, honest, but for many it was maybe their fifteenth (Tim Kershaw)!!
On our way to St Jacob’s we presented the daily ‘Clanger Pot’ award. It was a fairly long list today with many members of BCB being a clanger!! Tuesday’s award went to Paul (Budgie) Meredith for him unknowingly offending most of the congregation at the festival last night!!
Our sight seeing plans for the day had to be amended due to the ever falling rain!! St Jacob’s (a small village) was our short stop for lunch where we were serenaded by the bells of the church playing “Wonderful Words of Life” and “I Surrender All”. This lovely little village would have been delightful, I am sure, on a warm sunny day but on this soggy cold day it became just another excuse for us to eat and drink even more coffee! Although I passed on the coffee and found my way to the shoe shop!
It was then time to get back on the coach to continue our journey to Owen Sound. The next few hours passing quite quickly with many of us sleeping!
We had been told of the snow falling in Owen Sound so were quite disappointed when we arrived to find that it was raining and still really cold! It was even more disappointing though when many of us rang home to find that it is really warm in the UK!
During tea (or supper as they refer to it) the first snow flurries of the day began to fall as many tucked in to cold rice pudding!!
Our evening concert was at the ‘Roxy’ Theatre. This was a place more accustomed to ‘Singing in the Rain’ and ‘My Fair Lady’ but for tonight we filled the theatre with the loud sounds (and sometimes quiet) of our brass band!
We were warmly welcomed by the deputizing ‘Nightmayor’ and then had a quick history lesson in the early days of The Salvation Army from Ken, a larger than life character who had done much of the organising for this evening’s event. BM then did his usual clanger of the day by telling him to “hurry up”!!
Our programme was very much enjoyed by a full theatre, many of whom do not regularly attend a church. The soloists were once again given rapturous applause with Dave Taylor gaining quite a following after his kissing and hugging moments with May and any other lady who needed a UK squeeze!
Many of us then had a long journey (60-90 mins) back to our billets. This journey, however, was well worth it when we woke on Wednesday morning to find ourselves looking out over the snow covered bay of ‘Lion’s Head’, a beautiful sight. This was then followed by a fantastic breakfast of pancakes, sausage and maple syrup at Mary Dale’s.
Programme
The Ambassadors
The Lord is Gracious
Cornet Solo: Song of Exultation
Trombone Feature: I Will Follow Him
Written in Red
Easter Glory
Cong. Song: Thine Be the Glory
Just a Closer Walk
Spirit of Joy
Euphonium Solo: Brillante
Horn Solo: Over the Rainbow
Crimson Tide
Kerygma
Three Kings Swing
Irish Blessing
Check out
Matthew 10v4; Mark 3v19; Luke 6v16;John 6v71 and of course John 12v4 which we looked at on Monday. Following on from the account of the anointing of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel the whole dreadful course of events begin to unravel with Judas playing centre stage. Read Matthew 26vv14-25 and then vv47-50.
It is interesting to see how Judas addressed Jesus! First see how the 11 addressed Jesus (Matt 26v22) and then look at v25 and then v49. The implication is that Judas only knew Jesus as a teacher, not Lord – certainly his knowledge of Jesus had not changed his behaviour (Check out John 12 vv4-6). Did Judas struggle with finding an answer to the question ‘Who is this?’ Liar, Lunatic or Lord? - even after he had been around Jesus for so long? There is a warning for us all!
Immediately prior to the recording of the infamous acts of Judas in history is another of those well known parables that were spoken in the context of Holy Week – the parable of the Sheep and Goats, Matthew 25vv31-46 (Some of you with long memories may remember Keith Green’s epic presentation of ‘The Sheep and the Goats’)
What does the parable teach? Does Judas possibly figure anywhere in here? There is danger that one could interpret the parable as saying if you ‘don’t do good deeds’ then you receive the words of verse 45 and first half of verse 46, but if you don’t do good deeds you receive the last part of verse 46 i.e. eternal life.
How does that square with John 3 vv1-7 (notice how Nicodemus addresses Jesus) and Romans 8 vv9-11 (that takes us straight back to Holy week!).
The righteous receive righteousness as a gift from God! We are put right by His Spirit within us. We are made righteous and given righteousness. It is received by faith – i.e. by responding to God’s initiative. We don’t earn it by our good living, good deeds or even our good playing! The righteous cannot help not only loving God but loving those around them – their righteous deeds are a result of their experience of the living God within them.
“He is all my righteousness I stand complete in Him and worship Him!”
Could you love the unloved, never reckoning the cost,
Giving them comfort and care?
Could you seek the unloved, in the legion of the lost,
Sharing their grief and despair?
That's the creed of an Army, a God fearing Army,
With banners and bonnets they come.
Yes, to love the unloved in the spirit of the Lord,
Marching with trumpet and drum,
With banners and bonnets they come!
Sadly, Judas just didn’t get it…………………
Bible Study
Wednesday 20 April
Spy Wednesday
Judas
Matthew 26 v 14-16
Historically Wednesday of Holy week has been known as ‘Spy Wednesday’ with a focus upon Judas Iscariot. In recent decades if not centuries, certainly in the Western Church, this emphasis has been lost – I wonder why? (Surely coincidental that Band practice is on Wednesday!). Check out the references to Judas and see, like Bartimaeus, that he is always known by his infirmity ‘the betrayer’.
