From The Back Pew VII

We are face to face with an awful indifference to religion. That is due to the passionless condition of the Christian Church, and that in turn is due to the utter uncertainty of Christian people about the authority of the Book of God.

Suffer a word of personal conviction. Where is the remedy? It is not by the defense of the Word of God, but by its study and by our own return to it until it so consumes us that we shall be able to say, ‘O Lord, how I love thy law: it is my meditation day and night.’

I have no panic in my heart as to its ultimate victory, my panic at the moment, if there is one there, is for the men and women who are neglecting it. My appeal is for a new devotion to it, a new answer to it. When our own people, of whatever section of the great Church of Christ, turn from books concerning it to the Book itself, to know it, to understand it, to live in the power of it, then you will have generated within their hearts the passion which it teaches, and for ever more makes possible to send the same message on to those in darkness.

A quote from Campbell Morgan

From The Back Pew VI

The Bible tells me that my KING is a seven way King… He is the King of the Jews, (racial) the King of Israel (national), the King of Righteousness, the King of the Ages, the King of Glory, the King of Heaven, the King of Kings, and He is Lord of Lords.....that’s my King!

David said,
The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork!

My King is a Sovereign King, The Everlasting, The Judge, The Cause and Concern of Life, and the Highest of high, The Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, the Glory and the Lifter of my Head....I wonder do you know HIM?

No means of measure can define the limit of His love. No far seeing telescope can bring in to view the coast line of His vast supply! No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing!

HE is: Limitless, All Supplying, All Knowing, Entirely Sincere, Eternally Steadfast, He is Imperially Powerful, He is Impartially Merciful....DO YOU KNOW HIM?

He is the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world! He is God's Only Son, And He is Our Savior, He is Wonderful, HE is Unprecedented, He is Faithful, He is True, He is the Cause and Necessity of life, He is Able, He is the Way, He is a Friend of Sinners, He is Peace in the Storm,

He Strengthens the Weak, He satisfies the poor, He blesses the young, He Protects His Flock,
He Guides the lost, He Discharges the Debtors, He Heals the Sick, He Forgives the Sinners,
He Serves the Needy, He Defends the feeble, He Cleanses the Leper, He Rewards the Diligent,
He Beautifies the Meek. I wonder do you know HIM?

He is the loftiest idea in literature; He is the fundamental doctrine in true theology! He is the supreme problem in high criticism! He is the miracle of the ages, He stands alone in the solitude of Himself, He is all this and He is unique! HE is: The Key to Knowledge, The Wellspring of Wisdom, Doorway of Deliverance, Pathway of Peace, Roadway of Righteousness, Highway of Holiness, Gateway to Glory,

His Office is Manifold, His Promises are Sure, His Light is Matchless, His Goodness Limitless,
His Mercy Everlasting, His Love Never Ends, He is Always the Same, His Grace is Sufficient,
He Reigns in Righteousness, His Yoke is Easy, His Burden is Light, His Word is Enough,

He is: The Rock of Ages, The Cornerstone, The Sure Foundation, He is Victorious, He is Mighty,
He is Coming Again, He is Alive, He is the Good Shepherd, The Lion of Judah, The Sacrificial Lamb, The Baptizer of Fire and Holy Ghost...do you know HIM? He is: Indescribable, Incomprehensible, Irresistible...You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't out live Him. You can't live without Him. He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they couldn't stop Him!
Pilate could find no fault, and the witnesses could not agree.
Herod could not kill Him. Death could not handle Him and the grave could not hold Him!
For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, forever and ever. AMEN.

Man, if that doesn't give you Holy Ghost goose bumps.... your probably dead!
Be blessed - Ed

Just another day in paradise.

Cherish the simple things in life.

From The Back Pew V

Every Christian is a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. He goes against the grain from beginning to end. From the day that he is born again until the day that he goes on to be with the Lord, he must stand against the current of a world always going the other way.

God expects him to be "beside himself," "a fool for Christ's sake," "drunk on new wine."

If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, and reduce him to the dreary level of the general average. If the devil cannot keep us from being saved, he next endeavors to make average Christians of us, and in this he usually succeeds. He tames the holy recklessness of God's dare-saints until they sink into the drab pattern of most of us, "faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly dull."

The devil does not mind our joining church if we behave like most of those who are already inside. But when a real, wide-awake Christian breezes along, taking the Gospel seriously, the devil grows alarmed and begins plotting his downfall. He gets plenty of assistance right in the church, for many church folk do not like to have their Laodicean complacency upset by these who turn the world upside down. So they conspire with Satan to turn the young Christian's fever into a chill. There are always plenty of human wet blankets to smother the zealot's flame, and they have put out more spiritual fires than have all the skeptics and infidels.

A New Year

First day of 2007.... a welcome event.

The Preacher...

Ed is ordained with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. He and his son Casey co-pastor both, “The Gathering Place” in Osoyoos and “Cowboy Church” in Rock Creek. He is also the president of Eagles Nest Ministries, and Chaplain with Canwest Fire Services. His wife Judi is the Praise and Worship leader at both churches. He and his family operate a 160 acre cattle and horse ranch. They are in the process of building a Christian Retreat on their property, in hopes to minister to the body of Christ.

Ed and Casey are also trainers for the West Boundary Heavy Rescue Unit and instructors for Saving Our Own Hands On Training for firefighters across British Columbia.

No claims of absolute originality are made for this material.

As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter."

From The Back Pew IV

During our prayer meetings and our fasting times God has been making Isaiah’s cry our cry as well. "Oh, that You would rend the heavens and that you would come down and that the mountains would shake at Your presence."

We are desperate for a Heaven-sent revival. We long for the restoration of the God’s Presence in our lives and in our church. We blush as we consider the modern-day church. It is High time to rebuild the churches with God’s resurrection power. Too many of our Pentecostal assemblies are devoid of the power of God and vacated by the youth.

"Oh, that you would rend the Heavens and come down" has always been the cry of the true Church, that living organism...the Body of Christ.

It seems that there is a growing realization for the great need for this to happen throughout the world again. Small groups of believers are fasting and praying through. God do it again!
We humble ourselves in prayer, seeking His face, we want to be those people that were absent in Isaiah 64… “There were none that stirred themselves up to take a hold of God!” We want God!

We are hungry for more than some warm and fuzzy religious retreat. We’ve done enough retreating! We are hungry for more than some devil tolerating, worldly compromising, harmless Spiritual Emphasis Week. We certainly long for more than a mere denominational drive or some wicked denominational PR ladened mission. We want to take a hold of God and absolutely nothing else will satisfy us. Don’t bother telling us that it can’t be done!
God has done it before… and He can do it again!

O God, split the skies and come down again in mighty power as you used to do. Lord, DO IT AGAIN!

From The Back Pew III

We live in an hour when the foundations of civilization are crumbling, the night of apostasy is deepening, lawlessness runs wild to its awful climax, the powers of Anti-Christ increase and abound, and wars and rumors of wars belt the globe. Yet the Church of God, with the only hope and cure for mankind's sin and misery, rests, for the most part, at ease in Zion, and we who claim that Name above every name make mud pies and daisy chains and twiddle our thumbs while a world sweeps over the brink of disaster.

We preach a Gospel that is God's dynamite and we live firecracker lives.

We sing of showers of blessing and the old-time power and faith, the victory and higher ground, and then we leave it all in the hymn books and go home.

We read that when our Lord held a service the congregation went home amazed and glorifying God and filled with fear and saying, "We have seen strange things today" Luke 5:26.

How many, do you think, go from our meetings today in such a frame of mind?

Please join us at 10:30 Sunday mornings for a relevant time of Family Worship.
The Gathering Place, not your typical church.
We are located at 42 Finch Crescent, (next to McDonalds).

From The Back Pew II

Communion, for the Christian is typically thought of as taking the cup of wine and bread representing the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. This service is traditionaly held on the first Sunday of the month. However, just partaking of the emblems isn’t enough. The blood and bread must be accompanied by fire. We have fundamentalism and facts; we have activity and earnestness and sincerity; we even have blood-washed and blood-nourished Christians, well-taught in the Word, WHO STILL LACK FIRE.

Some are prejudiced against it, identifying any definite experience of the Spirit with fanaticism. Some see nothing but a gradual growth in grace. Some mistake the indwelling of the Spirit for the infilling. Some have "received" with a cheap and easy "believism" who somehow did not receive after all. For many reasons the church is largely behind closed doors as before Pentecost, and believers try to stir up a fire from their own sparks instead of being set on fire of God. As a pastor I would rather deal with wildfire than no fire.

Please join us at 10:30 Sunday mornings for a relevant time of Family Worship
The Gathering Place, not your typical church.
We are located at 42 Finch Crescent, (next to McDonalds).

From The Back Pew I

I have printed the following statements in hopes to stir up your thoughts.

God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.

Sometimes your medicine bottle has "shake well before using" printed on it. That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are ever usable.

“A country schoolteacher, applying for a job, was asked, ‘Do you teach that the earth is round or flat?’ ‘Which way do you want it taught?’ was the reply, ‘I can teach it either way.’ Something like that is the attitude in many a pulpit today.

We are sometimes repentant because of the harm we have done ourselves and others in our transgressions, but there is little repentance toward God... We may regret what our sins do to our testimony and the evil effect on others but we are little concerned because the fellowship with God is broken. This makes for shallow and inadequate confession because we have not touched the heart of the trouble.

Please join us at 10:30 Sunday mornings for a relevant time of Family Worship
The Gathering Place, not your typical church.
We are located at 42 Finch Crescent, (next to McDonalds).