His blog is devoted to experiences, questions, reflections, and thoughts on evangelism in the city of Toronto. It is an excellent resource and an excellent read. He has already written two posts this week. Here is an excerpt from the first:

Whatever happened to that evangelism blog? Wasn’t it called Good News for Toronto … or something like that? It was, it still is; in fact, it has been resurrected!

My last post was in May of 2010 (yikes! … it was  year of Sabbath rest!). Lots has happened since. Caleb was born (Dec 4, 2010) – Georgie and I love him so much!!! Praise be to God for such kindness to us! I served as Pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church for a year! And well … lots of other stuff too.

Something really cool just happened a couple of weeks ago. My dear brothers and sisters at the Grace Fellowship Church plant in Don Mills hired me to help in the work of establishing the Church! Georgie and I have long standing friendships with many of them so we are very humbled to receive this mercy – this opportunity to walk in the works that God has prepared for us here (Eph 2.10).

Read more...

I highly recommend you adding Paul's blog to your RSS feed.

Post from: Julian Freeman

Good News for Toronto!

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Paul & Georgie with Caleb

We are thrilled to announce the hiring of Paul McDonald to a half-time position where he will oversee ministries relating to evangelism and discipleship. Far from being a hired-gun evangelist, we’re desirous of putting Paul to work equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, creating a culture of evangelism and discipleship within the body.

Some of his work will include:

• Training for evangelism and leading evangelistic efforts
• Some one-on-one discipleship and mentoring
• Small group studies
• Preaching and teaching various series as appropriate
• Labouring for the church in prayer
• Providing the church with global missions vision & awareness

I’m so excited to work with Paul! In God’s providence we attended seminary together and have laboured together for a number of years at GFC Rexdale before the church plant. He is a man of unquestionable character, by God’s grace, and is, as Titus says, ‘zealous for good works.’ I can’t wait to see the impact of his ministry in our local body.

A Meeting Place

We continue to meet at Greenland Public School. We are so thankful to God for the renewal of the permit which just came through last week. God has provided for us in great ways! With this permit we have been granted the use of two rooms we were previously denied access to—and they are great! They will facilitate better ministries to children and families, so we are thankful for that.

From Mark to Peter

We have finished working our way through our first book studied together on Sunday mornings: Mark's Gospel. From there we will launch into 1 Peter on September 18. Please pray for me as I study and plan out that series in the coming weeks.

A Full Fall

This autumn we launch our full ministry schedule for the first time. We’ll be meeting for corporate worship Sunday mornings, doing group studies and children’s ministry on Sunday nights, and our small groups (Truth Application Groups) midweek in various homes. One thing I’m really excited about is the prospect of having all of our small groups led by members of the church rather than pastoral staff. What a blessing to have the congregation ministering to each other! I’m so thankful to God for giving us so many mature men & women from the start.

A Big Sunday

This past Sunday we ran out of chairs and bulletins. The gym where we meet felt full. In reality there was a lot of room to grow, but compared to previous summer weeks, this felt like a big change. It was an anomaly in the sense that many of the visitors from this past week were only visiting for one week, but it gave us a taste of great things to come.

A Week of Prayer

Beginning programs and ministries and beginning to see growth, far from making us feel strong, makes us feel our weakness, inadequacy and dependence more than ever. As a church we’re dedicating ourselves to prayer this week as we launch into our new fall schedule. Would you please join us in prayer? Ask our God and Father to strengthen us and equip us for the work he has called us to. Ask that we might be granted strength through his Spirit to comprehend the magnitude of the love of Christ, so that as a church, we might be built up to maturity, and that we might be increasingly conformed to Jesus, made a suitable dwelling place for our Lord.

Post from: Julian Freeman

Autumn Church Plant Updates

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The Last Supper

Mark 14.26 has always struck me as a bit of a funny verse. I've always wondered just why Mark felt it was necessary to insert this little detail into the narrative of Jesus's last night. After they finish eating the Passover meal, where Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper, we hear this: "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Why do we need to know that, I wondered.

As it turns out, this was part of the Passover meal as celebrated according to the Mishnah. The Hallel Psalms (Psalms 115-118) were sung at various points in the evening, especially toward the end, with the drinking of the fourth cup (there are four total). And it all wraps up around midnight.

So this detail is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which that it specifies the chronology of events as passing from evening (14.17) to midnight (here), to cock-crow (14.72), to morning (15.1), just exactly as Jesus had predicted the previous day in the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13.35). This is unfolding exactly as Jesus has predicted the 'coming' of the Son of Man would.

But beyond that, my (hopefully sanctified) imagination got working. The disciples got to sing a hymn with Jesus. What would that be like? How cool would it be to sing with my Lord? And then I got to thinking about what they would have actually been singing; so I went back and read those Hallel Psalms.

Psalm 118 is significant, of course, because it's the Psalm that the people are reciting when Jesus approaches Jerusalem in Mark 11. Psalm 117 is glorious, but short, so probably not what they would have been singing (or at least not all that they would have sung). Psalm 115 would probably have been sung earlier, leading to them likely (this is definitely speculation) singing Psalm 116 as Jesus prepares to go out to Gethsemane.

Can I challenge you with something? At some point today, read Psalm 116 as Jesus would have sung it that night. Imagine what was going on in our Lord's heart as he prepared for Gethsemane and Golgotha. Imagine how these words took on meaning like never before:

I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

I believed, even when I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 116, ESV)

And now, think about us. How amazing is it that we can sing about God hearing our pleas for mercy because Christ went to Golgotha? How precious is it that he inclines his ear to us because he did not incline his ear to his Son in Gethsemane? How wonderful that the snares of death which encompassed Christ have been defeated so that I will never feel the pangs of Sheol! I can call on the name of the Lord and ask him to deliver me, and know for certain that he will because he first delivered Jesus, the firstborn from the dead.

Now I actually can sing Psalm 116 with my Lord in an even truer sense than the disciples did on that fateful night. What they sung, unaware, I sing with retrospective faith, believing that Jesus has forever filled up the meaning of this Psalm, and will always sing it with me.

Post from: Julian Freeman

Singing a Hymn with Jesus

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Martin Luther's Prayer Book

I'm fighting the urge to fill this post with inspirational quotes on prayer. They're everywhere. It's a funny thing, but people (myself included!) often seem to be able to write things about prayer a lot better than they are able to actually pray. That's sad.

It's also true that it's very easy to make people feel very guilty very quickly about how little we pray, or how little faith we actually have even when we do pray. I don't want to make anyone feel guilty about that.

All I want to say is this: I've never regretted a moment I've spent in prayer.

And that's saying something. I've regretted time I've spent with people. I've regretted investments I've made. I've regretted places I've gone, things I've said, things I've thought, and things I've wished. I've regretted decisions I made for our family and decisions I made for our church. I've regretted things in just about every area of my mistake-filled life. But I've never regretted praying. Not once.

I've never ever met with God and then thought, 'Boy, that was a waste of time...' or 'Now how was that worth it?' It's always worth it. It's never a mistake.

I pray that for however long God gives me on this earth, my life would be one continually filled with an ever-increasing awareness of my dependency on God, leading to an ever-increasing felt-need for prayer, which leads to an ever-increasing quantity and quality of prayer. I know I won't regret it.

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** This is written as part of the series 30 for 30: Reflections on Life at My 30th Birthday **

Post from: Julian Freeman

Prayer

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I was convicted when I found this answer from John Piper:

The greatest enemy of the hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, “as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). In another place he said, “the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4: 19). “the pleasures of this life” and “the desires for other things” –these are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.

-          John Piper, A Hunger for God, 14-15

Post from: Julian Freeman

Why is Our Hunger for God so Weak?

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During the week of January 2-8, we are committing ourselves to prayer, meeting with the people of GFC West every day during the Week of Prayer. On Sunday, January 9, GFC West will hold a commissioning service, in which I will be sent, along with 17 other members from GFC, to officially plant a church. (18 is the total number of members from GFC, but others are joining with us who are not yet members or who are currently members of other churches as well). Our last day at GFC West will be celebrated in style -- with a Fellowship Lunch!

January 16 at 10am will mark our first Sunday morning out on our own. For the time being we will meet at the home of Nabil & Tania Tadros, as we continue our search for a more permanent meeting location. We are aiming to begin small groups (Truth Application Groups) on Sunday nights in February or March.

Please pray for us!

• Pray for me as I transition to the role of lead pastor. There are many adjustments to be made, and the learning curve is steep. Pray that God would give grace!
• Pray for the core group coming, that they would have unity with each other, and love for the lost. Pray that they would continue to find joy in the midst of the sacrifices they are making for the church plant. Pray especially for those who are beginning new ministries.
• Pray for provision of people, funds, and a more permanent location for us to meet.
• By God's grace, we have created a constitution and are awaiting approval of our request for charitable status. Please pray for the remainder of the government paperwork to go smoothly and quickly.
• Pray for Spirit-wrought effectiveness in our evangelism. God has been gracious to give us opportunities to share the gospel lately, but only he can bring true and lasting fruit.

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Want more information on the plant or on upcoming events? Please contact me for more information.

Click here to read the church plant constitution, including statement of faith.

Click here to read more about the church plant!

Post from: Julian Freeman

Some Church Plant Updates

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Here are the details in a summary:

• Where is it? The first two weeks (October 3 and October 10) we will meet at Julian & Stacey's house. Subsequent weeks will be held at Nabil & Tania's house. Contact us for addresses & directions.
• When is it? We will meet at 5pm and hope to be done our official meeting at about 6:10. There will, of course, be time for fellowship after for as long as you can stay.
• What's the purpose? Three things. (1) We want to dive in to the Word of God together and ask, 'What does God call his church to? What kind of church does he bless?' We'll be studying the book of Acts together. (2) We want to pray together. We want to make prayer instrumental, not supplemental to all we do as a church. (3) To get to know each other even better.
• Can visitors come? Absolutely! This meeting is for everyone who is committed, but also for those who are just hoping to find out about us and to figure out if they want to join us.
• What else is in the works? Lots of things! They will be announced as plans develop... but the best way to find out is just to come join with us!

Please contact me for more information.

See you Sunday night at 5pm, God willing!

Julian

Post from: Julian Freeman

Church Plant Update: Meetings Begin!

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As we were playing, I was filled with joy and delight in all that God has given me in this life. I am overwhelmed with blessing in my life.

At the exact same time, however, I felt twinges of sadness. Why, you ask? Because I can't remember the last time I took time and just played with my girls like that.

Life has been so busy lately. We bought a house, began renovating, and found the work that needed to be done was a lot more than we had anticipated. That, combined with the usual September busy-ness at church, has made for a long stretch of working every waking moment.

I don't like that. Busy is not what I was created for. It robs me of joy and peace and makes me frantic and tired. It brings constant temptation to stress and anxiety (a.k.a. pride and disbelief).

Busy is not what life is for. Being busy causes me to miss out on good things. Important things. The best things.

Lately, after our day of prayer, I thought to myself, 'I never get tired of praying. I never pray and then think that it was a waste of time. It never gets old. It's always worth it.' Today I had that same thought while I was playing with my girls.

That got me to thinking, what are the things in life that are always worth making time for? What are the things that never get old? What are the things you can do with your time that are always worth the investment? Here's my first attempt at a list.

1. Prayer -- private, family, corporate prayer with brothers and sisters from church
2. Time in the word -- reading on my own, studying for preaching, sitting under preaching
3. Going on dates with my wife -- we generally just get away somewhere where we can sit and talk... I can never get enough of that
4. Playing with my girls -- especially when I haven't wasted all my energy on everything else so that I'm too tired to enjoy them
5. Eating meals with my family -- time sitting, talking, learning fighter verses, hearing the funny things that kids think to say...
6. Time at 'my' Starbucks -- not that Starbucks is worth the time, but when I'm there I have a good book or just my Bible, sometimes my list of people to pray for... I sit, enjoy coffee, the change of scenery, meet with God and seek opportunities to share the gospel with the people I know there. It's always refreshing.
7. Preaching -- I've found that even when I preach and feel like it was a 'bad sermon', I hear reports from people of how the Spirit is working in their heart. His word will not return to him void, so it's never a waste of time to preach.
8. Being with people -- one of the saddest things that can happen in my job and in life in general is when I get so busy with 'stuff' that I don't have time to be with people and open up my heart to them and have them do the same with me. The more time I have to just be with people, the more I'm amazed at how I see God in that person and the more I'm blessed by them.

These are the things that I love. I'll never get to the end of my life and think, 'Man, I wish I had spent less time doing those things.' Would you have the same things on your list? What would you add / change / delete from your list?

The question I suppose I should ask is, 'What are the things in my life that detract from these things?' And then, is that necessary? Is it what is best?

I'm praying tonight that my God gives me grace to prioritize and wisdom to know how to find better balance so that I don't miss out on the very things I'm put on this earth to enjoy.

Post from: Julian Freeman

Things That Never Get Old

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In the past we've separated the two groups from the beginning and had separate studies on biblical manhood and womanhood. This year (since September) we've mixed it up a little and kept everyone together to study some issues that relate to all of us and how we relate to each other as men and women. These times have been quite beneficial.

This past Wednesday, since Paul was sick and unable to teach, we took a break from teaching and took some extended periods of time to read Scripture publicly and to meditate on the truths that we had read as we responded in song (thanks to Joshua for his extra work!). We sang lots, and read lots of Scripture, which was a tremendous blessing. 

But the part that I just about always find to be the greatest blessing is spending time in corporate prayer. What a blessing to be able to pray with God's people! What an encouragement to hear them intercede for me and for each other!

Of course, one of the greatest hindrances to praying for your brothers and sisters is simply not knowing how to pray for them. Here is the handout that we used on Wednesday to spur us on to pray biblically. It's simply a small collection of Paul's prayers from the New Testament. Reading through passages like this really does help you to realize Paul's priorities--and what our priorities in prayer should be as well!

I hope this might be of some value to you, as it has been to me: 

How Should I Pray for My Brothers and Sisters?

Post from: Julian Freeman

Praying for Each Other

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One thing I've learned about prayer already this week is a lesson I learned about life around the time I got my first job: You value something more when it costs you something to obtain it. 

The summer I turned 17 I worked my first full-time job for $7.50 per hour (or something like that). I couldn't afford much, but what I could afford I cherished; I knew how hard I had to work to get that money! For the first time, I really understood what it meant to have to work for something that I wanted.

This reality is true about prayer too. And, of course, no one puts it better than Spurgeon. Here he compares Jacob's wrestling with God to the Christian's prayer life.

Now, when the church begins to pray, it may be at first that the Lord will act as though He would go further (see Luke 24.28), and we may fear that no answer will be given. Hold on, dear friends. 'Be steadfast, immovable' (1 Cor 15.58), despite all. By and by, it may be, there will come discouragements where we looked for a flowing success. We will find friends hindering; some will be slumbering and others sinning. Backsliders and impenitent souls will abound. But let us not be turned aside. Let us be all the more eager.

 

And if it should happen that we ourselves become distressed and de-spirited, and we feel we never were so weak as we are now, never mind friends; still hold on. For when the sinew is shrunk, the victory is near. Grasp with a tighter grip than ever. Let this be our resolution: 'I will not let you go, until you bless me.' Remember, the longer the blessing is in coming, the richer it will be when it arrives. That which is gained speedily by a single prayer is sometimes only a second-rate blessing; but that which is gained after many a desperate tug, and many an awful struggle, is a full-weighted and precious blessing.

 

The children of persistence are always fair to look upon. The blessing that costs us the most prayer will be worth the most. Only let us be persevering in supplication, and we will gain a broad, far-reaching blessing for ourselves, the churches, and the world.

Here is grand encouragement for us to pray! We know the Father loves to give good gifts to his children who ask, seek, and knock (Matt 7.7-11), and we know that we will be changed and conformed to his image as we ask. Now we also know that in the struggle to attain the blessing we will grow in our appreciation for the blessing itself.

Our Lord is teaching us to value what is right and good by teaching us to fight for it... even when it costs us.

Post from: Julian Freeman

We Value What Costs Us

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