Need a title v8

This is Kevin just after graduating from the Christianity Explored course.
Can anyone think of a good title?

GospelHall.org?

Seems that something has happened to the GospelHall.org website? A user on the discussion forum - here said

They seem to have shut down public access. Member login procedure doesn't seem to gain access either. Maybe they went exclusive!?!

Anyone have any info?

Wednesday prayer requests - McPray

"Prayer requests" are published every Wednesday and provide us with up-to-the-minute requests to help us cry out to God on behalf of others
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Last week I mentioned an all-night prayer meeting at Leaside Bible Chapel. I was pleasantly surprised that 15 people were there! 4 times as many as last time. This outpouring of prayer got me thinking back to 2004 when we went to the Olympic outreach in Greece. During that outreach we knew we needed lots of prayer so we asked folks to pray for us each time they saw, heard or ate McDonalds! We figured (well Paul did it was his idea) that McDonalds is such a big sponsor that it would be plastered all over the world and folks would be praying for us non-stop. A good idea it was! Since then I'm not sure how many people have kept that up, that little picture has been on the left margin of the blog ever since and hey if you have been "McPraying"...bada ba ba ba...we're lovin it! Thanks for the prayer :)

But we're not naive to think some of you have forgotten about it over the past 2 years. So to get you back in the habit, today for the prayer requests I thought I'd ask you to get into the habit of McPraying for us. Give it a try!

Monday's hot topics - Brethren converts to Catholic priest?

Recently, I ran into an interesting fellow on the world wide web. A man by the name of Vaughn Treco. He's from the Bahamas and grew up in the Plymouth Brethren. No big deal i thought, there are loads of people like that. Seems normal so far. The thing that makes Vaugn stick out is the header on his blog (below) :

The story of Vaughn Treco's journey from the intimate spirituality of the Plymouth Brethren Movement and Evangelical Christianity through the Anglican/Episcopal tradition into the heart of the Catholic Church and the priesthood.

Brethren? Converting to Catholic Priest? Huh? How is this possible? I'm sure a number of thoughts went through your mind when you read that but knowing the immenent barrage of questions, Vaughn has graciously shared some of his jouney on the discussion forum!! - here. As you can guess the reactions have been shocking. Click on over to read and dig into the discussion for today's hot topic!

Parenting 101 v4 - God

When I am confronted with a difficult parenting situation, I'll put the issue out there to plumb the depths of the vast parenting knowledge of my beloved readers....Here is our fourth edition of Parenting 101.
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Walking to daycare today Lukas turned to me and said:

Daddy, what does God look like???

Quite the question, anyone know how to explain this to a 4 year old??

The sayings of Lukas v21 - electricity

Lukas made an important discovery today - electricity is "ouchy"!

Lukas: Daddy, this is ouchy when I put it on my tongue
Daddy: Lukas!! That's the plug for daddy's laptop! Do not put it in your mouth again, it's plugged in!!
Lukas: Yes but Daddy, just don't plug it in any more!

Wednesday prayer requests - gimme some!!

"Prayer requests" are published every Wednesday and provide us with up-to-the-minute requests to help us cry out to God on behalf of others
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As Nigel mentioned some of us here in Toronto will be having an all-night-prayer meeting at Leaside Bible Chapel this Friday starting at 8PM. Here's the outline of the night:

8:30-9:00 Opening Welcome and Worship
9:00-9:30 God's desire to work in our hearts (discussion and the Word)
9:30-10:15 Pleading with God to do work in our hearts
10:15-10:30 Songs of dedication
10:30-11:15 What is God doing, and what does He want to do in our local churches
11:15-12:00 Interceding for the Holy Spirit to work in the churches
12:00-12:30 Worship and intercession through song
12:30-1:45 Interceding for the harvest of the nations
1:45-2:00 Open time of worship, prayer and closing thoughts

If anyone is interested in coming here are directions to Leaside Bible Chapel. However if you can't come, but want us to pray for something please let us know in the comments. We have lots of time allocated for prayer...so we need some prayer requests!! Write yours in the comments below :)

Monday's hot topics - Unite and divide

Well instead of just one "hot topic", this week I thought 2 would be good!! The reason for 2 is...well...one of them is so ridiculous that i figured I needed an alternative.

So the first hot topic, and in my opinion one of the silliest, is the King James only debate - here . That's right, click on over to read all 14 pages of sillyness...or maybe don't....nah instead of reading that, why not spend the time praying or doing something profitable.

Or if you don't want to dive into that diabolical debate but still are thirsty for a "hot topic" why not check out a very thoughtful post from our friend "Hawgsweat" in Virginia. He posted his "Cow analogy" - here which i find very insightful. Here's a taste:

Yesterday I was driving home through the Virginia countryside. Now here in southwestern Virginia there are a lot of cows. I see them every day and never thought much about it. This day though something happened that was unexpected. I looked at a herd of cows grazing in a field....
As I looked at this scene it suddenly occured to me that this was a picture of the church... All were feeding off of one field, they were one herd and they belonged to one person. The field could be seen as Christ, upon whom we all feed spiritually. The herd as the Body of Christ and the owner as God. Not all feed in the same part of the field in the same way. Not all do what the owner wants all the time. They don't see themselves as one herd.

Quite the analogy. Lots to "chew" on (get it...chew...cud...cows...ha). This analogy is strikingly similar to that of another open brethren writer Ernie Tatham, in his book "Let the Tide Come in" - here. Ernie said that each denomination is like a little puddle in the sand on the beach and when the tide comes in all Christians will be united. I haven't actually read the book but somebody told me that's what it was about. Happy hot topics!

Scott free

Not Acts 16 style, but Scott is out of jail. I am just chatting with him on MSN. More details soon. Keep praying as he's not "out of the woods" yet. They say the process for clearing his name will take at least a year, maybe 2, during which he cant leave brazil. Keep praying!

**UPDATE**Scott may be out of jail, but his name has not been cleared. Please continue praying. For those who didn't receive the email from him this morning (Monday) here is an excerp:

My passport was taken so I can't leave Brazil until the process is finished (I was told this would take at least a year), but I can travel within Brazil as long as I report with my lawyer. The lawyer's fees are very large, but I know the God will provide for these needs at the appropriate time. All in all it was certainly not an enjoyable experience, but I have never felt the Lord's presence with me as I did in those cells. I was weak, He showed Himself strong, and that was an amazing experience. My name has not been cleared. I'm awaiting trial, but I have absolute peace about it. Nothing can happen to me that God does not allow. Every time I am weak or scared or financially stressed it will be another opportunity for Him to show His power. I know that many people were praying for me. I felt those prayers and would like to thank you for them. Please continue to pray that the Lord would work everything out in His time and continue to give me peace and provide for all my needs. Among the many passages of scripture I had time to read during the last week Psalm 145:13b-20 stands out in my mind. Thanks again for everything and God bless.

Wednesday prayer requests - Scott Grieve in jail in Brazil!!!

"Prayer requests" are published every Wednesday and provide us with up-to-the-minute requests to help us cry out to God on behalf of others
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**UPDATE**Scott will be standing before the judge at 10am EST, Thursday, March 16th. Please pray that Scott will be vindicated, also that the Lord will soften the heart of the judge and open his eyes to see the truth.

My good friend Scott Grieve (left) recently stepped out on faith and went to Brazil to reach out to street kids! Scott helped me alot last winter, as we met every Thursday to hand out tracts in front of John A. MacDonald Collegiate, L'amoreaux Collegiate, and Timothy Eaton high schools. Earlier today I got a phone call from Scott's family about a serious situation that has arisen in Brazil. Please pray for Scott. Below is an email I received about his circumstances:

Our son Scotts exercise was to work with street kids in Brazil for six months, paid by his own savings. He was in touch with a Christian group in Belo Horizonte and decided the Lord would have him work with them.

He met two young men ( 29 years old) who were twin brothers, Brazilians who had been "adopted"from about the age of 9 by American Missionaries who had been living and working in that area since 1974.

Since the parents were going home on furlough for a year (to Grand Rapids, Michigan) and their sons and Scott both were looking for a place to live, THEY suggested that they move in together and share expenses.

Scott was having two sessions per day - morning and afternoon- working with street kids, playing/supervising soccer games and then having a time of spiritual focus. He was sharing with up to 50 kids per day. His plan was to start teaching English classes on Tuesday evenings ( was supposed to start last night) to adults using the bible as a text book.

While living in the apartment with Scott, they all had separate rooms. Unknown to Scott these fellows were living double lives. The two spent most of their time together, going out at night.

The police came to the door with a search warrant, looking for the twin brothers by name. They had been up early, before Scott got up, and left. Police were surprised at Scott’s courteous invitation to come. Scott was shocked when the police found a gun in one of the young men’s rooms, in a plastic bag in a bureau. The guys must have been tipped off that something was going to happen, hence the leaving very early in the morning.

Scott, being alone in the apartment was arrested and taken to prison.

We were informed by Foreign Affairs in Ottawa about this sad happening.

Scott is in prison in Belo Horizonte. He was shattered with the whole affair and broken. He is in a private cell.

Marilyn’s sister Kathryn got the name of a good criminal lawyer from a friend who works with a politician. Kathryn, her daughter and Marilyn’s brother Joe McClelland were in to see Scott this morning.

We believe that God will shortly vindicate Scott and he will be released very soon.

Please pray for Scott. It has been hard on him and on all of us. Pray too for the parents of these adopted twins. It is very hard on them as well.

Now unto HIM who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20

Sincerely
D&M Grieve

Please pray for him, that he would be freed and be able to continue reaching out! Stay tuned to see how God works this out for good! Please leave a comment below to let Scott know you're praying for him!

Monday's hot topics - Ray Comfort

How many people out there use gospel tracts? You know those little things you leave for waiters, gas station attendants and put in christmas cards? Yes those tracts. Well if you use them, which ones do you use? There are so many to choose from. Personally, I've found that the tracts from Ray Comfort, published by Living Waters have been quite helpful, especially at the local highschools. Each week I load up with "IQ tests", optical illusions, and specialized tracts designed to catch, and keep people's attention. Sound sweet, huh? The kids at the highschools love them, and I seldom find one on the ground. I love Ray Comforts tracts. Go buy some. Buy some now!!!

While Ray's tracts are filling up my tract bag, recently on the forum there has been some controversy about Ray Comforts doctrine - here. Some say that he preaches the "false gospel of Lordship salvation". His stance on repentance sounds to some like "works salvation". Others simply think he's trying to avoid "easy believism" and the gospel of "sign-this-piece-of-paper" or "say this prayer". Are there issues with Ray's doctine? Do you just like Ray's tracts? Have your say in the comments section, or on the forum

Random Ministry pics v4 - CE grads!

"Tonight was a special night" Jamoy said to me as we drove home in the car. Since January we have been taking some of our key guys to the Christianity Explored course being held at Leaside Bible Chapel. The course ran for 10 weeks and tonight was the graduation!! Jamoy, Clayon, Kevin, and Cookie (akeem) all recieved certificates and CE plaques for completing the course. Please pray for these young lives as they have made decisions to follow Christ!! Pray for us that we would be good examples to them and that they would continue to grow in their faith.

Our new table in action!

We had 12 people over for lunch on Saturday and 13 on Sunday! The table is great! Thank you Lord!

Mnason sensation!

Our good friends Isaiah & Isabelle Bondt caught up to us in the baby department recently with the birth of their third child Mnason Mark Bondt!! Since the Bondts live in New Liskerd and haven't figured out how to work their blog I'll post a link here to Noel the Uncle who posted the details! Congratulations Bondts! Say goodbye to sleep forever!

Need a title v7

My dad sent me this pic of Sylas. Anyone think of a good title?

Wednesday prayer requests - High School shooting

"Prayer requests" are published every Wednesday and provide us with up-to-the-minute requests to help us cry out to God on behalf of others
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**UPDATE2**
Here are the videos I took of the police helicopter:
1. From the window of the chapel (2MB)
2. From the parking lot(4MB)

**UPDATE1** Here are some news articles on the story: Globe & Mail, Toronto Sun: "I heard three bangs and I saw a guy lying in the park and another guy was holding him".

Every Wednesday around 3:15PM I usually walk over to the local highschool, Sir John A MacDonald (MAC) to hand out gospel literature and speak to students about Jesus. Also, every Wednesday there is Christian Fellowship group from 3:30-4:30. I was there last week.

This week I was in a meeting at Bridlegrove until 3:20 and the closing prayer didn't end on time. I figured I'd wait and go to the highschool tomorrow to hand out tracts instead of today. A short while later I saw a police helicopter flying overhead (I even took a video I might post later) and heard sirens. I chatted with a number of MAC students on MSN who told me that there was a shooting. A shooting when I would have been there. Ayeen was the guys name. Please pray. More soon.

The sayings of Lukas v20 - the phone call

Ladies and gentleman, behold Lukas' first phone call to a girl! Click here to see the video (14MB). Wait through the awkward pauses to hear Lukas and Katie chat it up.

Warning - I'm going to talk about money!!

Disclaimer - we're not trying to solicit funds here, just providing info incase the Lord leads you to support our ministry. If the Lord is not leading you to support us, send your money to Matt Cook :)

Today I was chatting with an elder from an assembly in Ontario, who I assumed knew we were commended through MSC, and they said:

"Can we support you and Haley via MSC at present... in a financial way? We have been burdened about this."

The answer is yes. If you look on the left margin of the blog you'll see a link to MSC's online donation - here. Mail donations can be sent to MSC Canada, 509 - 3950 14th Avenue, Markham, Ontario, Canada, L3R 0A9 and designated for "Shawn & Hayley Cuthill". We praise the Lord for everyone who is touched to support us in any way, and provide detailed reports ->here<- of how we use the Lord's resources. Financial posting over!

The ice princess

Monday's hot topics - Christians in Politics

Our good man Andrew Prescott recently was voted to the board of directors of the Guelph Conservative party. While some are thrilled that a Christian is excelling in politics, others say that "More is accomplished in a prayer closet than a voting booth." Others say flat out that "voting is unbiblical" and don't even cast a ballot. Should Christians be involved in politics? Maybe I should have an online poll so you can vote for wether you think Christians should vote :) Or just join the discussion on the forum - here - to have your say.

God provides v4 - Dining Room Table

You may remember previous "God provides" posts. Our new van, the Athens2004 Olympic trip, and our new bed are all examples of how God answers prayer. While there are always day-to-day stories about how God provides, we put off posting about all of those until God does something really remarkable! Here is a story that happened last week, told by Hayley:

For a long time (6+ months) we have been praying for a nice dining room table that we could sit arround with our family and friends to share our lives and Lord with them. The table we have, on the left, was given to us and can seat about 6. That's fine for a regular family, but when you have 13 to 20 people over for meals each week it can get a bit squished. We asked the Lord for a new table big enough to seat 10-15 comfortably, but it had to be compact as well so that it wouldn't swallow up our dining room which doubles as a playroom through the week!

At Ikea on Monday we spotted the table for us - here. It seats at least 12 and folds down to a small two person table...it was amazing, and the best part it was on for 1/2 price!! We talked about for a few days and decided today I would go back and get one. When I called to see if there were any in stock they said they were sold out and that particular model was discontinued. I remembered that there was a display table on the floor that we had looked at, so I decided I would go over this morning (thursday) and see if I could get it. When I got there sure enough it was in the "As Is" section. Perfect! But just then a man came out of nowhere and started loading it onto his cart!!! I pleaded with him a bit and he just shrugged his shoulders unaffected by my groans and the three infants in my cart. My faith quivered. The kids and I just sat and watched. He moved towards the check out. I begged the clerk for another, but that was the LAST ONE!! Then a miracle happened. The man looked it over one final time, then he looked at us and said "You can have it". I think he saw that we needed it more :)

Victoriously I took my table to the cashier and found out that the price was now half of of the already 1/2 price table!!!! For all you mathematicians that's 75% off! (100 rather than 400) Great! It came to just over $100 with taxes. I went to pay with my debit card and read the message "insufficient funds" on the machine. I asked the cashier if I could try another account and got the same message. "Oh no" I thought, "I won't be able to get it after all"!! I tried splitting the cost in half and taking from each account...one worked and the other still was not enough. I got 30 out of that account but still owed $15. I rummaged through my wallet and found a 20 dollar bill that I forgoten I had. Yes! The table was mine. No thanks to me. Thanks to God! And thanks to all of you who pray for the people we have over. I'll take a picture of everyone over with the new table and post it some time.

PS. later that day we checked the bank situation and discovered that we had 0.68 cents in the account! The Lord calculated it perfectly!

pps. Our old table is out at the curb if anyone wants it :) Just swing by and nab it

Need a title v6

This morning Sylas woke up before all of us and went downstairs. I assumed he was just watching cartoons, when I came around the corner and found this. Can anyone think of a good title for this picture?

March loggin in

01March06 - Wed - elders meet, prayer, projector, tracts@MAC, Christian fellowship
02March06 -Thurs- Read to daycare, prayer
03March06 - Fri - Florida trip planning. 37 @ youth, 4 new
04March06 - Sat - Games @ Wilfreds with 14
05March06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 13 (Clayon, Kevin, Cookie, Kellz, Jamoy, Deshawn, Malcolm, Travon, Tatiana, Davian, Frank, Nathaniel, Tyrell), Lunch @Mary's with 6, CE @Leaside with 4 (Kevin, Jamoy, Cookie, Kadeem)
06March06 - Mon - Zoo, Basketball league with Dave B
07March06 - Tues- date with HP
08March06 - Wed - prayer, highschool shooting
09March06 -Thurs- read to daycare, lunch with GW, 50 tracts@MAC
10March06 - Fri - 34@youth
11March06 - Sat - CRUX meeting - 12 for lunch, Annual meeting
12March06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 12, 13 for lunch, CE grad at Leaside
13March06 - Mon - Cassie interview, Lukas dentist
14March06 - Tues- zoo, date with HP
15March06 - Wed - prayer
16March06 - Thurs-read to daycare, Visit Phil in Cambridge with Sebas, Kevin, Cookie. Dinner at parents
17March06 - Fri - 33@youth - 8 new
18March06 - Sat - Airport, Pothaar party
19March06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 10, 7 for lunch
20March06 - Mon - Admin clean up, paperwork, florida trip
21March06 - Tues- zoo, date with HP
22March06 - Wed - Lukas sick, taxes,
23March06 - Thurs-office
24March06 - Fri - youth 46 (8 new)
25March06 - Sat - Missionfest, 3 over
26March06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 11 (Kevin, Clayon, Jamoy, Travon, Nathaniel, Tyrell, Noah, Tatiana (+2 friends), Kelsey. Lunch at Manukians. Evening meeting. Members meeting.
27March06 - Mon
28March06 - Tues

<-- You'll notice I installed a sweet google search bar on the left. It allows you to search the web, or the athensblog, or the SimpleGathering Forum, or the BrethrenPedia. Give it a try! Search away!

Wednesday Prayer requests - the unreached

Take a minute today and pray for those people who rarely get our prayer, or missions dollars - the most unreached. Here are some stats I got in an email:

According to missionfrontiers.org, Christians give about 1.7% ($213B) of their income to Christian causes (like their church).
Of that 1.7%, only 5.4% ($11.4B) is given to foreign missions. (Amazing: the *entire* annual global missions budget funding 250,000 missionaries is just 1/4 of Bill Gates' fortune!)
Of that 5.4%, 87% goes to missions among Christians, 12% goes for work among already evangelized non-Christians, and only 1% goes for work among the unreached or unevangelized people of the world.
That means that just 5.4% of 1.7% (0.0918%) of Christians' money goes to missions, and that just 1% of *that* (0.000918%) goes to missions among the unreached