Sermon from April 27 2008 by Darryl Dash - Audio | Transcript

Once a year we set aside a Sunday to celebrate our intergenerational church. This coming Sunday, Pastor Ebe will be speaking on Super Seniors Sunday. Join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

This week's verse:

Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
(Proverbs 3:13-14)

Last week's verse:

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
(Proverbs 4:23)

We're currently studying the book of Proverbs, a book that's written to teach us wisdom, which is the skill of living well.

If you've been following along so far, you may have noticed that the book of Proverbs takes a long time before it gets to what we normally think of as proverbs. The first 9 chapters of Proverbs are kind of an introduction, and only in chapter 10 do we get to some of the short, pithy statements that we expect to read. We need to ask why the book spends so much time by way of introduction. I think the answer is that the author of Proverbs knows something about us that makes the first part of Proverbs necessary. He knows that although we want wisdom, we really won't understand what wisdom's worth. And because we don't know what wisdom's worth, we won't pursue it like we need to.

Sermon from April 13, 2008 by Darryl Dash - Audio | Transcript

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Sandy has offered some prizes next week for those who can say all three memory verses. Previous verses are:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:7)

For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:6)

Next Sunday is our Family Sunday and potluck lunch. We'll be looking at the importance of the heart from Proverbs 4, and we'll also hear a great challenge from the experience of one of our members.

Please plan on staying after the service for a meal.  If your last name begins with a letter between A-K, please bring sandwiches. If your last name starts with L-Z, please bring salad or veggies and dip. The seniors ministry will provide dessert.

If you go to Chapters this afternoon, and wander to the self-help section, you're going to find some books that are going to teach you how to live a good life. Here's a sample:

• One book shows how "transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world." It tells us "how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence."
• Another book offers "a five-day jump start that uses the principles in the book in a very specific, directed way to get you a fresh start on the path to optimal wellness."
• Just one other example. Another book gives a step-by-step process that will help us navigate the terrain of our best lives so we can set a new life course

These are all very popular books, and there are more. And if they're not enough, you can get magazines as well that teach you about friendship, how to look hot, how to improve every area of your life that you can think of.

There's a huge demand for wisdom, isn't there? This morning we're going to continue to look at a book of the Bible that offers wisdom so that we know how to live. Wisdom in this book means skill in living, competence in dealing with the realities of life.

And what we're going to see in this passage this morning is completely different than anything we'll find at Chapters. Proverbs 3 gives us three things we need to understand: the path to wisdom, the rewards of wisdom, and then - surprisingly, about failure.

Richview is searching for a post-secondary summer student beginning for up to 16 weeks beginning in May. Duties will include:

1. Researching our community by summarizing relevant information from the new census, doing community research
2. Building relationships with community leaders and organizations
3. Arranging two community projects for the church to serve the community
4. Helping with Etobicoke Strategy, homework club, and other local community initiatives
5. Proposing potential ministries for the church to pursue
6. Communicating importance of community ministry to the congregation

Students who are eligible to participate must:

• be in post-secondary education and under 30 years of age;
• have been registered as a full-time student in the previous academic year, and intend to return to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year;
• be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or have official refugee protection status under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and
• be legally entitled to work in Canada, according to relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations.

Interested applicants can send an email to Pastor Darryl Dash. Hiring is conditional upon grant approval.

For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

(Proverbs 2:6)

If God is going to use our churches to make a difference in Toronto, we must love the city as He does.

Motivated by our vision for the City of Toronto, we are calling all Fellowship Churches to join together in a night of worship, challenge, and prayer as we seek the peace and prosperity of our city.

Love Toronto

Toronto Fellowship Churches
United for the Good of Our City

Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00 p.m.
Willowdale Baptist Church
15 Olive Avenue, Toronto
(1 street south of Yonge and Finch)

Join the Fellowship Baptist Churches of Toronto in this night of worship, challenge, and prayer as we seek the peace and prosperity of our city.

Speakers:
John Kaiser, President of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches,
and the Choir and Orchestra, Morningstar Christian Fellowship, Toronto

“But seek the welfare of the city...and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

The Bible offers us valuable advice on how to live well. It also tells us what we can expect if we follow that advice. But best of all, it anticipates our failure to live up to its commands, and it provides a way of hope when we don't measure up.

Join us Sunday at 10:30 as we look at what Proverbs 3:1-12 teaches us about wisdom, rewards, and failure. We will also be celebrating communion.

We're setting up an email list to help us stay in touch throughout the week. We need you to sign up in order to take part. Just use the form below:

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Note: We expect to send out one email a week, occasionally more when special items come up. The list will be moderated, and you can control the amount of emails you receive. Your email address will be kept private.

Sermon from April 6, 2008 by Darryl Dash - Audio | Transcript

This past Wednesday night, we had "Coffee with the Elders." We had a great time - not only coffee, but tea and some amazing desserts. I think if people knew that we were serving desserts, we would have had more people out.

The idea of the evening was for the elders to talk about some of what we're working through, and then ask for what others are thinking about some of these same issues. I can't speak for everyone, but I think it was a very good night. And if I didn't mention it already, the desserts were amazing.

One of the questions that came up is how we change. Do you ever have the experience of waking up on Monday and thinking, "Where did last week go?" Life moves at such a frantic pace that it sometimes gives us the illusion of progress. But sometimes we stop and realize that we're not changing the way that we'd like to. We're not getting any better or any wiser.

Last week we began studying the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is written to give us wisdom. Wisdom doesn't mean that we become brilliant people with all kinds of theoretical knowledge. It's much more practical than that. Wisdom means that we become good at living.

So the question is: how exactly do we acquire this wisdom?

Sermon from March 30 2008 by Darryl Dash - Audio | Transcript