CeleBrate
The Weekly Bulletin of
St. Joseph of Nazareth Anglican Church
725 Provencher Blvd. Brossard, QC J4W 1Y5
450-671-6481 / stjofn@gmail.com
Nov 3rd, 2019
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Welcome
Welcome to all who are with us today. We pray that you will be blessed by being here.
Nothing happens in any particular way unless God’s will is behind it,
therefore you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Oswald Chambers
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This Week
Monday Nov. 4 1:30 p.m……..Women of Faith
Wednesday Nov. 6 9:30 a.m……..Men’s Bible Study
Friday Nov. 8 10:30 a.m……..S.H.E. Ladies
Next Sunday Nov. 10 10:30 a.m……..Morning Prayer
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Bible Readings
November 3rd
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 32:1-7
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10
November 10
Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Psalm 17:1-9
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5,13-17
Luke 20:27-38
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Prayers and Intercessions
Prayer for Today
Almighty God, Whose chosen servant Abraham obeyed Your call, rejoicing in Your promise
that in him the family of the earth is blessed, give us faith like his, that in us Your promises may be fulfilled; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayer for the Worldwide Anglican Church
We pray for the Church of Bermuda (Extra-Provincial to the Archbishop of Canterbury) – the Right Reverend Nicholas Dill, Bishop of Bermuda.
Diocesan Prayer Care
We pray for Parish Secretaries, Wardens and Treasurers.
Prayer for our Church family
Father God, You desire peace and unity and encouragement for our body of believers. Help us, Lord, to pursue what makes for peace and for building one another up. Give us discerning hearts to know Your will and give us the courage to be obedient. Lord, we know that without You and Your Holy Spirit indwelling each of us, we cannot do any of these things. But, with You and for Your glory, grant our body peace and unity. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Prayer Team
For those who wish to pray with someone, a prayer team is available after the Service in the left-hand corner of the Sanctuary. The Prayer Team scheduled for today is: Susan & Christopher
Lord, What Do You Want Me to Do Right Now?(by Max Aplin)
According to the Bible, the normal Christian life is a radical one of extreme and wholehearted commitment to Jesus as Lord. It is about using 24 hours of every day to do the will of God to the best of our ability, and then doing the same the next day, and so on.
In 2 Corinthians 5:15, the apostle Paul states: “And He (Jesus) died for everyone, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for the One who died and rose for them.”
The vast majority of people channel all or almost all of their energy into living for Jesus as well as living for themselves and their families. In this verse Paul doesn’t just say that Christians should put some effort into living for Jesus instead of living for ourselves! This is totally radical.
A simple habit
As we seek to live our lives for Christ, there is a simple habit that I think is useful to try to get into. This is to frequently ask Him, “Lord, what do You want me to do right now?” and then to listen for His response to the best of our ability.
Most of us probably find that in many little ways each day we can unconsciously drift away from doing the will of God. For example, it is easy to stay chatting to someone longer than we should. Or we might put off till tomorrow a small task that we should do today, without really thinking matters through.
I find that if I stop to ask the Lord what He wants me to do at that point in time, things often come back into focus and any drifting ceases.
When I ask God this, I usually take a few seconds over it. But sometimes I spend a little longer and pray in this sort of way:
“Lord, this is where I have reached in the course of my life today. All my previous decisions in the last few hours have brought me to this point. I’m sorry for the bits and pieces that I’ve got wrong during that time. But I do want to do Your will better from this point on. So where do You want me to go from here? What do You actually want me to do right now? What is Your absolute highest will for my life at this point in time? Show me and cause me to do it.”
I find prayers like this to be very useful in helping me to walk in the will of God.
I am not saying that asking the Lord what He wants me to do next means that I always know the answer. Far from it. Life in this world, even for devout Christians, contains far too many uncertainties for that. But I do find that if I stop to ask God what He wants me to do at that point in the day, some small thing that I am getting wrong often comes into view and then I can make an adjustment.
Consider doing the same
Because I find this helpful practice, I would like to encourage Christians who read this article to consider doing likewise. I would be surprised if you don’t soon find that it is a good habit to get into.
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
To those celebrating this week, God’s blessings be with you
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Rector – Reverend Christopher Belle – 450-672-4549 / stjofn@gmail.com / padrebelle@gmail.com
Rector’s Warden – Diane Allen – 450-466-5112 / deedee-one@sympatico.ca
People’s Warden – Patricia Wood – 450-465-4733 / pwrightwood@gmail.com
Our Vision
To be a beacon of light and truth in our community
inviting all people to receive God’s promise of salvation through
Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
St. Joseph of Nazareth Anglican Church 