Make Time

Posted on Oct 29, 2021 in Pastor Deric's Blog |

I make it a point to wake up every morning at 5:30 and take a walk with my dog, Thor. I value this time to reflect and talk to God before the city wakes up. Thor and I slowly walk to the Dog Park on the beach and there are always the same five dogs and their owners there. I realized recently that Thor has his own community, and he always trusts that his fellow dogs will be there daily before the sun is up. This community was built on a foundation of trust and love; they know they will see one another and spend time together. I have also found it to be a very special time for me as I can have intentional time with God every day.

Our goal in every aspect of NextGen ministries is to establish and foster a sense of community and to share the love of Christ in an engaging and accessible manner. Two questions arise from this mission. How can we form community? And how do we share the love of Christ? Community seems to be the easier one so let’s start there. The first step in community is establishing a solid foundation… a good example of this seen in the Gospel of Matthew 7:24-27 ²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” We need a community that has solid foundation, and that foundation is Christ. In our community Christ should be at the centre of who we are. But what does that mean?

For Christ to be the centre of us and who we are we must allow Christ to guide us. We must ensure that we make time for Christ to guide us on what we are supposed to do. We need to explore scripture, have intentional conversations, and have genuine faith that the Holy Spirit will guide us. If you were ever able to join us on a Tuesday for Youth, Drop-In or Impact Young Adults, Friday for Youth Group or Sunday for Youth Bible Study you would see young people who love to be around each other. What led to that community setting was not from the amazing leaders, cool trick shots, or the movie nights, it is from following the Holy Spirit. The NextGen team makes it a point to pray for each other, the ministry, and the entire church family and that we can be guided in what topics we cover in every area of teaching.

Now how do we share the love of Christ? There are so many ways to answer this question… Make time for your neighbour, get involved in your community, serve your church, and spend time with people who guide you on your faith journey. I encourage you to take time to pray and ask God how you can serve your community. I would like to remind you of this passage in the Gospel of John “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:12-14. I also encourage you to reach out to any of the ministry leaders here at City Centre as they are always looking for individuals that have a heart to serve with a vast array of skills.

As I ended my first sermon with a challenge, I will also end my first blog post in a challenge. I challenge each of you who read this blog post to ask yourself the following. Am I leaving room in my life to be guided by Christ? Am I submitting myself for his will to be done through me? If you can answer yes to that question, then you are like the wise man who built his house on the rock. If not… I encourage you to make time for an intentional relationship with Christ. Set aside specific time with the sole intention being an increased relationship with God. Through work, school, hobbies or whatever you have going on make time for your relationship with Christ.

Pastor Tom