MARTHA CHEVERIE: a parishioner from 3014 Kingsway in the 1980s.

You may recognize this corner!

This photo was taken by the city of Vancouver and is from somewhere online.

How this brings back memories.

I've decided to turn this blog, Sunday Thoughts, into a place where all my church memories will be archived. I came across a set of photo books of church members in my archives, and I've scanned the photos in. They aren't the best quality but they are all I have.

Here is the second Pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church at 3014 Kingsway, Vancouver BC.

He served from 1977 until 1985, after John Schriner retired due to ill health.

Pastor Dave was my favourite pastor.

I enjoyed his sermons, and I loved how he and his wife, Elsie, kept things in ship shape order.

My Dad, Jack Williams, was the main usher.

He took his duties very seriously and was always on time and at his post.

He wore a suit and tie; no shorts and T-shirt for him in God's holy house.

He greeted everyone with a firm handshake and a smile.

He often locked up late at night.

Here is a photo taken of the little church 15 years ago in 2001.

This was our last year here. The people in charge had decided to sell and relocate to Langley BC.

The church was torn down in 2002, and a 4 story business was built on the land.

Martha Chevrie was an older woman who sat at the back.

She lived at 5548 College Street, just a few blocks away.

I remember her testifying that she would come to church when she was young in order to see the ladies hats and to admire them! She got conviction shortly after that, and realized her need of salvation, and prayed through and became a Christian. She began attending the Apostolic Faith as she lived nearby. 

I keep a lot of things, and I actually have a copy of Martha's memorial service, which took place in 1983. She was born April 18, 1904 in Whitemouth Manitoba, and died October 17, 1983 in Burnaby General Hospital. After much searching I found her death record online; her surname is spelled incorrectly above. It should be CHEVERIE.

I found her online on the 1906, 1911, and 1916 Canadian censuses! 

Here she is age 2! Her father's name was Ferdinand Kriger, and her mother's name was Pauline Breitkreitz.

Here is Martha age 7 with various siblings.

And here she is age 12.

I find it amazing what you can find online.

I wonder why her family moved out here to Vancouver?

I did find a family tree online for Martha, and she was married twice.

Her first husband, Harry Ernest Cheverie was born May 24, 1899 in PEI, parents names unknown.

He died Oct 18, 1960, age 61.

Martha remarried again October 6, 1962 to Edmund Klause.

She has three sons; Morvel, Elwood and Larry, according to the memorial brochure I have for her, and numerous grandchildren.

Martha was a nice quiet woman. She always had a lovely smile.

I also remember she loved to listen to Peter Poppoff on TV; a rather dubious preacher.

He seemed to amuse her.

I will try to write about more of the people who once attended that little church at the corner of Kingsway and Rupert all those many years ago.

By Loretta Williams Houben

Please click on the copy of Martha's memorial service to see the details close up.

Wrestling with God

Our Pastor's first sermon in 2008 was just what I needed. He ended with this sentence: "If you're limping in 2008, it's OK." He has such profound and uplifting statements from God's word. That's why I return each Sunday. The church is so huge and I don't know a living soul except for a handful of people. There are 3,600 people who attend, during 4 different services. It's hard to believe.

His subject was on the account of Jacob wrestling with God, in Genesis 32: 22-32. The points outlined were:

1. The struggle is with God, not man.
2. Struggling with God can be grace.
3. Struggling with God can lead to insight.
4. The result is our destiny and our blessing.

Worry is a lack of trust in God to oversee all aspects of my life. Isaiah 45:7 "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things."
Proverbs 16:33 "The lot is cast into the lap but its every decision is from the Lord."

The Pastor told us something that happened last week as he was driving his son across the border, to fly to a dangerous place for a missionary trip. He didn't want to let his son go to such a dangerous place, and wasn't trusting God to take care of his son, and was anxious and worrying about it. The border guard asked why they were going into the US and they told him. He asked them if they spoke Spanish and they replied no. The guard began to speak in Spanish for a few minutes, then asked them if they knew what he'd said. Of course they didn't. He'd quoted Philippians 4: 6 & 7 "Do not be anxious about anything..." Wow.

Profound thought:
The thing you want God to take away is the thing you need in your life.

The Real Prosperity Gospel

Taken from our pastor's notes:

"All of us have heard about the prosperity gospel. It is a false teaching that says if you claim wealth in faith, you will become wealthy. Interestingly enough, this message is based upon a half truth. What is true, is that there are in fact economic ramifications to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a general rule, (there are significant exceptions to this) obedient Christians tend to do better financially than those who do not fear God. This is due to two factors. The first is the blessing of God. The second is that a redeemed personality is more likely to treat money differently."

He went on to explain that it is a notable phenomenon that when people give their lives to Christ, they give their money too, and their time. They have a different mind set, and don't spend money on themselves. Money begins to accumulate and instead of spending it on alcohol, gambling, parties, etc. they have more than when they lived a wasted life. In tribal countries where men used to beat their wives, and let them do all the work, after they found Christ they began to work with their wives, and so earned more to bring into the home. It's an amazing concept. Once our lives are cleaned up and surrendered to God, the blessings come upon us.

Deuteronomy 28: 1 & 2 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord...all of these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you."

Points from the Pastor's message:

The godly life often has economic advantages.
The godly life heightens our EQ. (emotional intelligence)
The godly life combines worship and work in one unified whole.
The godly life seeks the way of peace.
The godly life sees compounding benefits.

Prosperity and generosity are related.

Navigating Crises

The sermon on Sunday Sept 16 (I'm a tad behind here on this blog) was about how people respond to crisis moments. The main point our pastor brought out was that even though we might think that a crisis is an unwelcome event, if we let God train us in it, we'll find that it can be a rewarding moment of learning.

His points were:

God often creates the crisis.
Goodness has drawn us to him.
Revelation has convinced us of him.
Obedience has tested our faith in him.

Crisis often defines our character. God is determined to show us what is in our heart.
The test of courage; the test of integrity (to break our schemes of earthly joy); the test of humility.

But God never abandons his children.
He always remains determined to bless.

A lamp to my feet

The message in church today was about the Bible. The minister spoke about Psalm 119, and how it's a celebration of God's word. Usually our Bibles sit neglected on a shelf, used only in emergency. He had really good, clear points. He also reminded us of the fact that we memorize a lot of scripture when we're young, and say we can't do it when we're adults because our memory isn't any good. That isn't true, as we know a lot of useless facts! It's all in how we memorize.

He said if we spend a lot of time reading God's word, it will become easier to memorize it. We need to listen to more of what God is saying through His word, and depend less on what other people say about it. Psalm 119 shows us what to expect from the Bible:

Verse 103: Food to make you strong.

Verse 5-6: A mirror to keep you honest.

Verse 14: Gold to make you rich.

Verse 105: A light to guide your path.

Verse 130: "The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."

To get the most out of the Bible:

Verse 12: Pray for insight.

Verse 15: Think about it regularly.

Verse 172: Declare it to others.

It was an interesting sermon. I need to heed it!

Sunday thoughts gone AWOL

Ahem...I wasn't at home on Sunday. I skipped out of the city and took a ferry ride to a delightful place called Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast, and yes it was actually sunny there! Linda, if you're reading this, that's where you can find some summer! It's one of my favourite spots in the whole world.

Here's a Sunday thought on Tuesday, to make up for this past Sunday...

"That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2: 14 & 15)

That was in my Daily Light reading this morning and the words leapt off the page, as I've been thinking of death a lot recently, and discussing it with my Mom. One of her sisters has congestive heart failure. She is quite weak and wants to go Home. But being human, we are all a little afraid of dying, aren't we? Life seems so strange at times. It's fine and wonderful if you are young, and have your health, and all your years stretching ahead of you; so much to look forward to.

But when you are 87 and have a weak heart, what then? You know your days are really numbered. I know a few people who have cancer, and their days are limited too. Of course, none of us knows if we will live until tomorrow, but disease and old age really put a lid on things! So it feels like all my life I've been subject to the fear of death, but I don't need to keep that fear, because Christ has delivered me, by destroying him that has the power of death, by dying Himself. What a marvelous thought, and not just for Sunday! It really encouraged me.

Sunday ramblings.

Sundays have always been a special day in our home. I've been thinking lately how Sunday now seems like any other day of the week to most people in the current culture. I'd wanted to begin this new blog last Sunday, but couldn't figure out if I could make another account under my first blog, "houseofhouben", or had to begin a brand new blog. I figured it out tonight, so this is my first post.

We attend a large church near our home. We've been going there for one year now, and it's so huge I still haven't made any new friends. We love the pastor's sermons, though, and lately they've really been a help to me, so I thought I'd post a few of his main thoughts each week so I don't forget them. I doubt if anyone will ever read these pages, but just in case you've rambled by, I hope the thoughts help you in your spiritual walk as much as they've helped me.