Nov 11/12, 2023

From the Pastors’ Desk: Pastor Karen Quan

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Gen 1: 14-15 (The Message)

“God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.” And there it was.”

The beauty of the fall colors are always my favorite time of the year. We are truly blessed to experience the variations of all 4 seasons in Canada. Ironically, the beauty of the colors of the leaves originate from the process of their death. As the leaves change color, they will eventually fall to the ground in preparation and waiting for winter. Only the mighty Evergreens can keep their needles & branches full.

So while these maple trees are preparing for more, we too as a church family are in a specific season. Our season is one of leadership transitions. A time where we have lots of questions and few solid answers. What does a Transitional Pastor and Transitional Coach look like? How will they assist us as a church family? When will they come to us?

Scripture tells us that seasons were always part of God’s design. From the time of creation in Genesis, God has “Marked” the start and end of a day, a year & groups our seasons. A way for us to delineate & trace God’s goodness in having a time for all things.

Waiting is always hard but waiting allows for an aspect of being quiet. Only as we are quiet, are we able to see & hear more clearly from our God. A time where we may be quietly & actively praying for ourselves and our church. A time where we continue to wait in obedience before the Lord as He unfolds what’s best for us. We can be quietly & prayerfully looking to see God at work. Who might God be shaping us to be during this special time? Are there people in need that we can be caring for or serving even now? We can be actively inviting God to mature and grow in faith as we wait for a new leader. We can actively consider and remove those attitudes that keep us apart from God. We can seek to do more inner work: self-reflection, review and re-alignment to God. As a church family, it’s a season to wait expectantly before God.

During this time we can be asking God to increase our faith in His good & perfect plans (Jer. 29:11). Invite him to focus our eyes increasingly on Him and not on human plans or strategies. A time where we can mature in trust while He quietly works and provides for us while we wait for Him to lead us into a new chapter.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan

2023.11.11/12

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

創世記1:14-15 神說：“在天上穹蒼中，要有光體來分晝夜；這些光體要作為記號，定節令、日子和年歲；它們要在天上穹蒼中發光，照耀地上！”  事就這樣成了。

秋色之美始終是一年中我最喜歡的時光，我們在加拿大真的很幸運，能夠體驗四季的變化。諷刺的是，葉子顏色的美麗源自於它們死亡的過程，隨著葉子變色，它們最終會落到地上，準備冬天的到來，只有強大的常青樹才能保存枝葉的荗盛。

因此，當這些楓樹正為將來做準備時，我們作為教會大家庭也正處於一個特定的季節，我們處於領導階層換屆的季節，這是一個我們有很多問題卻少有確實答案的時候。過渡牧師和過渡教練是什麼樣的？他們將如何幫助我們教會這大家庭？他們什麼時候會來到我們當中？

聖經告訴我們，季節總是神設計的一部分。 從創世記中的創造開始，神就「定」了一天、一年和季節的開始和結束，這是讓我們勾畫和追索神在所有事情上都有定時的美意。

等待總是很艱難，但等待卻存在安靜的一面。只有當我們安靜時，我們才能更清楚地看到和聽到神的聲音。在這個時候，我們可以安靜地、積極地為自己和教會祈禱。在這段時間裡，我們繼續在主面前順服，等待祂向我們展示對我們最好的。我們可以安靜地、虔誠地仰望神在作工，神會在這個特別時期怎樣塑造我們？此時此刻有什麼有需要的人我們可以服侍和關顧？當我們等待新的領袖時，我們可以積極地邀請神使我們在信心上更鞏固和成熟，我們可以積極反思並除去那些使我們與神隔絕的態度，我們可以追求做更多的內在工作：自我反省、檢視並重新調整至與神保持一致。 作為教會一家，這是一個在神面前抱著期待等候的時刻。

在此期間，我們可以祈求神增強我們對祂美好而完美計劃的信心（耶利米書 29:11）。邀請祂將我們的目光越發集中在祂身上，而不是人的計劃或策略上。 此時此刻，我們可以在信靠中成長，相信神在靜靜地作工並會供應我們，期待祂帶領我們進入新的一章。

主僕,
關潔玲傳道

October 28/29, 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk – Rev. Alex Poon

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

We’re studying the inspired and documented witness account from the Gospel writer Luke. And through Luke, God has gifted to us the precious words spoken from Jesus Christ himself. We are reading what our Lord has once said. We in 2023, are entering into the scene of Jesus, sitting before his large crowd on the mountain, teaching them, and them listening with attentive ears. Imagine that; we’re reading what Jesus once said out loud – this is precious work, what a delight.

I’m reminded of the important significance of our task from the author of Hebrews who wrote,

“¹ Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

 We are living in the “last days” now. We live in between the days that Jesus last spoke His Words, and before His imminent return to restore all things.

The point of the Hebrew author is this: We are reading the final, definitive, unchanging, complete, and consistent Words of Jesus today. God has written down for us all the Words we will ever need. Jesus’ Word is all that we need. His is the Word we can live by.

This is the Word of God – the person of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, and the work of Jesus, captured by inspiration in the writings we call the Gospel Accounts.

When I complain that I don’t hear God speaking to me, when I feel a desire to hear the voice of God and get frustrated that He does not speak in ways that I may crave… what am I really saying?

Am I saying that I have exhausted all my efforts into listening to what God has already said? Or have I treated the Word of God lightly? Have I skimmed through the Words of Jesus like I have skimmed through a newspaper? Clicked through it like a quick series of internet postings? And then have I decided I wanted something different, something more convenient, something more palatable? I’m afraid I am more guilty of this than I would like to admit.

God is speaking, and He invites us to listen. He is calling us to hear His final, definitive, and complete Word – to mediate on it and study it and memorize it and linger over it and soak in it until His Words saturates us to the core of our being. We will be transformed.

Let’s do that – together as a church – and individually as disciples. Because we will find hope and joy. And we will come to know our living and intimate Jesus better and better.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor  Alex Poon

2023.10.28/29

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

我們正在研讀福音書作者路加受神默示的記述，神透過路加將耶穌基督親身所說的寶貴話語賜給我們。我們正在讀我們的主曾經說過的話，在2023 年我們進入耶穌的場景，祂坐在山上的一大群人面前教導他們，而他們正側耳傾聽。想像一下; 我們正在讀耶穌曾經宣講的話──這是寶貴的工作，多麼令人喜悅。

我被《希伯來書》的作者提醒我們身負重務，他寫道：

“神在古時候，曾經多次用種種方法，藉著先知向我們的祖先說話；在這末後的日子，卻藉著他的兒子向我們說話。 神已經立他作萬有的承受者，並且藉著他創造了宇宙”（來 1:1-2）

我們現在生活於「末後的日子」，是耶穌最後一次說話，和祂即將再來恢復萬物之前的日子。

希伯來書作者的觀點是這樣的：我們今天正在閱讀耶穌最終的、明確的、不變的、完整的和一致的話語。 神已經為我們寫下了我們所需要的一切話語，耶穌的話語就是我們所需要的一切，祂的道是我們賴以生存的道。

這就是神的話語──耶穌自己、 耶穌的教導和耶穌的工作，透過聖靈感動著成的福音書。

當我抱怨我沒有聽到神對我說話時， 當我渴望聽到神的聲音時，當我因祂沒有以我渴望的方式說話而感到沮喪時…我到底在說什麼？

我是不是認為已用盡全力來聽神所說的話？還是我輕視了神的話？我是否像瀏覽報紙一樣瀏覽耶穌的話語？像點擊一系列互聯網帖子般快速閃過？然後我是否決定想要一些不同的東西， 一些更方便的東西，一些更合胃口的東西？恐怕我對此的虧欠比我願意承認的還要多。

神在說話，祂邀請我們聆聽。祂在呼喚我們聆聽祂最後的、明確的、完整的話語——默想、研讀、背誦、反覆思想、浸淫在其中，直到祂的話語滲透到我們存在的核心，我們將會被轉化。

讓我們作為教會的群體，並且作為個別的門徒，一起這樣做，因為我們會找到盼望和喜樂，我們會越來越認識我們活生生並親密的主耶穌。

主僕,
潘啟華牧師

2023.10.14/15                                                                                                                                                               親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：                  

剛剛過去的星期一是感恩節，我也為着 AYAYA 群體去感恩。

為了反映不同年齡的弟兄姊妹都有參與我們的崇拜這真實情況，我們於8月5日正式改名為AYAYA週六晚崇。靠著主的恩典，AYAYA 聚會人數在過去一年經歷了顯著的增長。2023 年初，我們的平均出席人數達到200 人，到9 月，我們的出席人數已達到300 人。在這300 人中，不少於60 人是參加與AYAYA 崇拜同步進行的AYAYA Kids 和AYAYA Teens 的兒童和青少年。每逢第5個星期六，我們的兒童和青少年會在大禮堂與成人一起進行家庭崇拜。我們現在有10個團隊在AYAYA侍奉，包括影音組 (AV Team)、AYAYA Kids團隊、AYAYA Teens團隊、關顧組 (Care Team)、餐飲組 (Catering Team)、車手組 (Carpool Team)、數據組 (Data Team)、敬拜隊 (Praise Teams)、社交媒體組 (Social Media Team)，以及迎賓組 (Welcome Team)。 一方面，我們感謝讚美主將更多的人託付給我們；另一方面，我們祈求主呼召更多弟兄姊妹參與侍奉。

在2023年我們有幾個特別感恩的新發展。首先，我們的會友兼神學生李楊敏賢姊妹 (Phoebe) 於 2023 年 5 月 1 日正式受聘為非全時間事工同工，在AYAYA 群體中侍奉。她是一位非常得力的同工，她不但與我同心侍奉，實際上也一定程度上舒緩了我的工作壓力。第二，是一個全新的少年敬拜隊的成立。為了培養青少年靈命成長和教導他們帶領敬拜，我們於2023 年4 月15 日成立了一個名為「種子敬拜者」(Seed Worshippers) 的敬拜隊。這是我們的第5個敬拜隊，負責在第5個星期六帶領敬拜。雖然他們每年只有4次侍奉安排，他們每月都有定時的練習和靈修時間。第三，是經過5個月以「撒母耳小組」的名義嘗試之後，撒母耳團 (Samuel Fellowship) 終於2023年6月3日成立，服事對象是從香港來到加拿大的9至12班說廣東話的青少年。目前我們每週的平均出席人數已接近15人。最近，有6位團友應邀加入新成立的團契職員會，開始在4位導師的指導下學習侍奉。

在未來的日子，我相信我們的人數會繼續增長，當中弟兄姊妹的屬靈需要亦會與日俱增。有見及此，我們在9月16日特別呼籲弟兄姊妹參與侍奉。感謝主，有超過40位弟兄姊妹回應。現在我們正在約見他們，在聖靈的帶領之下完成明辨的過程 (discernment) ，希望他們可以在12月之前投入侍奉。全是恩典，感恩不盡！

主僕,
陳榮基牧師

2023.10.07/08

From the Pastor’s Desk : Rev. Mark Liu

Dear brothers and sisters, may I wish all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

When we study history, we will know that Thanksgiving was established to thank God for His protection and provision. In other words, the object of Thanksgiving is God, not the food on the table. Today, when we celebrate Thanksgiving, we quickly think of turkey or all the delicious food. The focus has changed from thanking God for the provision to what kind of food will we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, or traveling to other places, etc. Over time, the purpose of establishing Thanksgiving has changed, and the purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving has been forgotten.

In fact, this phenomenon is not unique to today. The Bible tells us that when we forget who we are, the way we deal with many things will change. This week’s sermon will talk about the relationship between the Sabbath and Jesus. In Luke 6:5, Jesus said “He is Lord of the Sabbath.” The Pharisees at that time set up a lot of conditions for keeping the Sabbath, and forgetting the original purpose of keeping the Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath became a yoke for people at that time.

In Genesis, after all creation was completed, God saw that everything was good, especially when He saw human beings, God described as very good. And the Bible tells us that God rested on the “seventh day.” The “rest” mentioned here does not mean that God needs to rest. But it’s the beginning of everything. God chooses to be with people. The Sabbath is not about resting and doing nothing, but about returning to the Creator, and this return is demonstrated through worship. The purpose of worship is not what God needs, but what we need. When we forget to worship, we forget who we are. This forgetfulness will appear in our lives. This forgetfulness causes us to be unable to rest.

Today we all hope to have rest. This rest is not available until we return to heaven, but can be found today. We can rest because we place all values on Jesus Christ. Our worth is not gained by what we do, but by our Lord laying down His life so that our worth is fully reflected. When we replace Jesus with other things, we think that our own value is reflected through these things, but we don’t know that these things have no eternal value. Only Jesus Christ can give us eternal value. Only when we are willing to think carefully and discover that this is grace, will we be grateful. Only by being grateful can we have rest.

In this Thanksgiving, will you be thankful for salvation? How will you reflect this gratefulness in your life?

May God bless you all.  May God bless RCAC.

His servant,
Rev. Mark Liu

2023.10.07/08

列宣家的弟兄姊妹大家好。在這裡謹祝大家感恩節快樂。

當我們查考歷史，就會知道感恩節的設立就是要感謝神的保護和供應。也就是說，感恩節的對象是神，而不是放在桌上的食物。今天，當我們慶祝感恩節的時候，很快就想到要有火雞或者是玲瑯滿目的美食。注視的目光從原本要感謝神的供應變成為我們今年的感恩節要用什麼樣的食物來慶祝，或者是到其他地方旅遊等等。時間久了，設立感恩節的目的變質了，連為什麼要慶祝感恩節都忘記了。

其實，這個現象不是在今天才有。聖經告訴我們，當我們忘記了自己的身分的時候，有很多事情的處理方法都會變質。這個星期的證道將會講到安息日和耶穌的關係。在路加福音 6:5，耶穌說“祂是安息日的主”。當時的法利賽人卻把守安息日設立了一大堆的條件，連原本守安息日的目的都忘記了。守安息日變成了當時的人的枷鎖。

在創世紀，神在一切的創造都完成後，看見這一切都是美好，尤其是當看見了所創造的人類的時候，神以甚好來形容。神就在“第七天”安息。這裡所講的安息，不是神要休息。而是一切的開始。神選擇與人在一起。安息日不是休息，而是要回歸到創造主，這個回歸就是以敬拜來展現。敬拜的目的不是神需要，而是我們需要。當我們忘記敬拜，我們就會忘記自己是誰。這個忘記就會在我們的生活中出現。這個忘記就導致我們不能安息。

今天，我們都希望能夠安息。這個安息，不是要到了我們回天家的時候才可以有，而是在今天就可以。能夠安息，就是因為我們把一切的價值放在耶穌基督的身上。我們的價值不是以做什麼來獲得，而是我們的主放下自己的生命，好讓我們的價值充分反應。當我們用其他事情來取代耶穌的時候，我們以為可以透過這些事情讓自己的價值獲得反映，卻不知道這些事情沒有永恆的價值。唯有耶穌基督才能夠給予我們永恆的價值。當我們願意細心思考，發現這個原來是恩典的時候，我們才會感恩。唯有感恩，才可以安息。

今年的感恩節，你會為了獲得救恩而感恩嗎？你會用什麼來表達這一份的感恩呢？

願神祝福你。願神祝福列宣家。

主僕，
劉展權牧師