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Posts by Andrew Swanson

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Good News!

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Brothers and Sisters,It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Supercluster this past week! This is a centrally important week for our churches. We will have Good Friday and Easter services. To remember and to celebrate our Saviour's death, burial, and resurrection is indeed a high privilege. May God bless you as you minister. May hearts and lives be changed by the Goo...

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Rules of Engagement for Giving Our Opinions

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Brothers and Sisters, There are times when we are asked for our opinions on certain doctrinal topics or some current event. I wonder if we treat both of these categories in the same way in our responses? By that I mean, do we answer a question about something objective in the Bible with the same confidence as we would give our opinion on some hot topic related to something...

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The Bible's Effect on Readers and Hearers

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Brothers and Sisters, The cut-off date for registering for the Ministry Retreat is today: TUESDAY, MARCH 12. We have 28 people registered and we are excited to gather in Moncton. If you are planning on being part of this, you need to register today. We are also very excited about our upcoming Supercluster on Thursday, March 21 at Crossroads in Truro. Pastors, please plan o...

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The Compelling Community

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Brothers and Sisters, The cut-off date for registering for the Ministry Retreat is within a week. If you haven't yet reserved your spot, see the section below. The calendar has turned to March. This month, let's particularly pray for Parker's Cove Baptist Church (Colin McMahon) and Living Water Baptist (Jeremy Head). March also means a Supercluster in Truro (Crossroads Bap...

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Living as an Outsider

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Brothers and Sisters, Our recent (Sackville) cluster discussion led us to talk about bold church ministry in these days. Steve Adams referred to an article he had appreciated, and he made some very important points. Pastors, if you want to know what they were, you'll have to ask someone who was there (I am trying to 'salt the oats' so you'll attend the Supercluster on Marc...

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The Preacher's Two Voices

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Brothers and Sisters, Have you reserved your place at our Ministry Retreat in April? The cut-off date is coming soon. See the box below for more information. Darryl Dash wrote a Gospel Coalition Canada article on The Preacher's Two Voices. The preacher's two voices are the one he speaks with and the life he leads. It is excellent and I encourage you to read it. In the arti...

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Quietness vs. Prominence

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Brothers and Sisters, Our February Clusters are scheduled for this Wednesday (in Halifax) and Thursday (in Sackville). Here are discussion questionson chapter 5 of Stronger Together. Have you reserved your place at our Ministry Retreat in April? See the box below for more information. From Ray Ortlund - Quietness vs. Prominence "I have calmed and quieted my soul." Psalm 1...

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Thanking God for Dreamers and Detailers

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Brothers and Sisters, As I write this, I have heard that a group of people from our Great Village church is on a mission's trip to Honduras. They had some travel challenges at the beginning of their journey. Please pray for them as they seek to minister this week. Our church here in Sackville is beginning the year by studying the book of Nehemiah. This week, we are in chap...

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Friendship with Jesus

Friendship with the Friend of Sinners

Brothers and Sisters, For Christmas I received the book Friendship with the Friend of Sinners by Jared Wilson. What a delight it has been for me! Wilson says that the idea for the book began one day when he was reading Exodus 33:11: "And thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one would a friend." "It gave me goosebumps," he writes, "to think about experienci...

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Helping the Weak

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Brothers and Sisters, Greetings to you all! Praise the Lord we get to minister together. First Thessalonians 5:14 has been a ministry verse that has caused me to do a lot of thinking. It says, "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." I want to particularly focus on the "help the weak" line as it ap...

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Making the Most of Our Opportunities

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Brothers and Sisters, Greetings to you all in this new year. I thank God when I think of you. One of the "things" about the end of one year and the beginning of another is book lists. I have probably read 10 lists of people's favourite books for 2023. Do you have some books you have really appreciated and been helped by? Do you have a plan for how to read good books in the...

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Resting, Rejoicing, and Responding

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Brothers and Sisters, This is the final Fellowship Atlantic update you will receive for 2023. Thank you to all who have read through the emails we send out each week. I hope they have been helpful to you and your church in some way. This time of year for churches is an interesting mix of two categories: "what needs to be done" and "what has already been done." On one han...

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How People Come to Christ

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Brothers and sisters, I am confident that we all are hoping and planning so we can share the good news this Christmas season. It's part of being a follower of Christ. I was helped by a discussion on evangelism at the micro-conference on "Creating a Culture of Evangelism" this past week to consider all the different ways God is working in us and through us to be light and...

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Is Church Membership Biblical?

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Brothers and sisters, Greetings to you all. This is the week for the micro-conference in Saint John, Moncton, Charlottetown, or Halifax on Creating a Culture of Evangelism. See below for more details. At National Conference, Fellowship International introduced "10 Essential Elements of Catalyzing Movements." Our Church Planting Director, Brad Somers, and others were helpf...

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Thank You, Pastor

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Brothers and sisters, Greetings to you all. It was a joy to gather with some pastors in Sackville and to see pictures of the Halifax Cluster this past week. Thank you to all who made the effort to come. It was a precious time of prayer for each other and discussion about what it means for us to be Stronger Together. We have run out of the free-to-you books we are discussi...

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An Update from Our President

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Brothers and sisters, Greetings to you all. It was so wonderful to see many of you at our Fellowship National Conference in Toronto this week. I think FA had the greatest representation, considering the number of churches we represent. We had warm fellowship with other delegates from our region and with men and women from across our country. Because of the National Confe...

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A Testimony from Frank Kohler

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Brothers and sisters, I am so delighted to be in partnership with you in this gospel work! Not only do we aspire to be stronger together, but we are showing signs of one-another ministry. Below is a testimony from our brother in Christ, Frank Kohler. In chapter 3 of Dave Harvey's book Stronger Together, we read, "Commitment and collaboration are central to society's he...

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Music in the Church

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Brothers and sisters, Greetings to you all. Here's a shocking and sad quote from the Toronto Sun:"The 13,241 MAID deaths last year accounted for 4.1% or one in 25 of all deaths in Canada, says Health Canada's fourth annual report on MAID deaths, adding all provinces except Manitoba and the Yukon continue to experience growth in 2022." We need national and local repent...

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Giving Biblical Counsel

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Brothers and sisters, It was such a joy to see so many of you at our Supercluster this past Thursday. Thank you for making the effort to be there and for participating in our discussions. Thank you to all who worked hard to make this event a success. Here is a summary of what we talked about: Just as the answer to bad authority isn't no authority, so the answer to poor...

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Why Doesn't My Neighbour Go to Church?

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Brothers and sisters, Our Supercluster in Truro is this coming Thursday! (Oct. 19). Pastors, I encourage you to plan to be there to gather with other pastors as we praise God and edify one another. We will have some time to share, some teaching, and some food. In preparation, please read pages 53-66 in Stronger Together. (If you don't yet have the book, please let us know...

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The Christian Virtue of Thanksgiving

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Brothers and sisters, Our Supercluster in Truro is coming soon! (October 19). Pastors, I encourage you to plan to be there and gather with other pastors as we praise God and edify one another. We will have some time to share and some teaching. In preparation, please read pages 53-66 in our Stronger Together books in preparation. THANKSGIVING: We read in God's word that t...

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An Update from Wayfarers' Church

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Brothers and sisters, Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that you are confident in His steadfast love and are resolved to earnestly follow Him as a disciple of Jesus Christ. This week we were delighted to receive an update from Andy Ardern, who, along with a team of others, is planting Wayfarers' Church in Spryfield, NS. He sends us an update on their...

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The Splintering of Canadian Reformed Evangelicalism

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It was so good to see many of our pastors at the clusters last week! It is good that we can look back over the summer months and remember the faithfulness of God. It is also good that we have opportunity to get together with other men in ministry to encourage, to pray, to laugh, and to cry together. We are absolutely stronger together. I point you to a recent article by o...

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Encouragement in Ministry

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Brothers and Sisters,Sunday, September 17 was Opening Day for Wayfarers' Church. Please pray for Andy Ardern and the team as God uses them to bring light to Spryfield. Thank you to our churches who are contributing with funds and with people. I encourage you to check outTimothy Trust. This is a ministry that exists to equip expository Bible teachers for the revitalization...

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Delivered

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What does Easter Mean? Delivered. Take a look at a video Main Street Baptist Church did to help celebrate Easter....

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"Whelmed"?

Brothers and Sisters,All of us struggle with the battle to be properly "whelmed" this time of year. Sometimes the personal and ministry demands seem overwhelming. We are called to care for souls as ones who will give account, and that is a daunting task. We are in unusual days for us and we wonder what successful ministry looks and feels like. This past week, I have heard ...

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