禁食祷告，帮助去垢 (无名 － 三月二十七日)

最近有个反思：作为老基督徒，很多毛病的！其中一样是灵里消化不良、食欲不振、老油条、软弱无力。

好吧！去响应四十天禁食祷告。

那天，怀着清除灵里污垢、排除病毒的心情来等候神。依稀记得一节经文有洁净的意思。感谢神给我找到了，是诗篇119:9。对了，神的话是冲洗剂。“给我！快给我！”

往上读诗章一小段1－8节。

“我看重你的一切命令，就不至于羞愧。”（6节）像一只脱兔跳出来要我去注意。我便停在那经文，好好思量。

神的话光照我内心的污迹，是压抑下来的愁烦。因为太注重别人的评价，加上自己和别人比较，令我困扰，受捆绑。

“神啊！赦免我没有注重你的话语，是生命之道，是活水江河。我需要你的清洗，帮助我不再活在人的眼光底下。”

我继续慢慢跟他细诉，心里慢慢释然。谢谢神垂听内心发出的一切呼求。

邀请去 “不吃”，是什么意思？

华人教会或在家里或在礼拜堂举行Potluck，往往会吸引许多人来， 因为大家有个共识，民以食为天，喜欢有吃有谈，乐在其中。

最近接到一个非常特别的短柬。培灵会的讲员邀请我们禁食。他不是请我们去吃，而是去 “不吃”，到底是什么意思？

他提到耶稣曾在旷野禁食四十昼夜。他也要求我们在培灵会之前四十天实行禁食。

难道耶稣作的，我们亦必须作吗? 况且他是在旷野，根本没事可做, 但我们百务缠身，非做不可。怎可以跟他？

目前教会推行的禁食调整了方式，但禁食的精义是历久不变的。

禁食，不为什么，是单单专注在主，和他有个 晨曦 / 正午 / 黄昏 的约会，细细私语，渴慕聆听他, 和他共话。

话说回来, 我们习惯每天吃3顿，一旦不吃，怪怪的。没错，禁食是一个属灵的操练，正如锻炼身体前，先做热身运动，可能一些准备前奏容易进入禁食。

信徒在路途上奔走一段时间，很容易在不知不觉中远离了神，需要刻意安静，心绪全然静下来，默祷，重拾信心，唯有信心的门开了，才可以通往主那里去。

“人非有信，就不能得到神的喜悦，因为到神面前来的人，必须信有神，且信他赏赐那寻求他的人”. （希伯来书 11: 6）

社会是个大染缸。信徒几乎无法出淤泥而不染, 所以需要刻意安静一段时间, 让心绪全然静下来省察。求十架上的主洁净。穿上他的义袍去见他的面。

“ 清心的人有福了，因为他们必得见神” 马太福音 5 ：8

刚谈过禁食, 进一步说说禁食和培灵会有什么关系？

培灵会的目的在造就信徒。讲员是来释放从神来的信息，至于信徒受造就多或少，就视乎个人了。

这次培灵会的讲员特别邀请会前禁食。完全是为了我们的好处。让个人先做准备工夫，和神亲近，渴慕灵命更新，深化。用一颗等候的心追求，充分吸收神的话。

“… 人饥饿非因无饼，干渴非因无水，乃因不听耶和华的话” 阿摩司书 8 : 11


你觉得灵里饥饿吗?

一个丰盛的灵宴设在四月二十四～二十六日

欢迎你！

～海滴

教会周报 & 读经计划

弟兄姐妹，

我们现在可以在我们教会网站下载教会周报及读经计划了。盼望我们可以多多为我们教会祷告、可以参与我们教会的读经计划。

主内，
吴建广

欣华中文学校外展活动 “四川地震报告”(羅錦添博士)

3月7日

在欣华学校的宽敞食堂里，家长们星罗棋布。有些在进早餐，有些在闲聊。食堂的一角在售卖糕点小吃，另一角在进行专题讲座—四川地震救援考察报告，围坐聆听的是教会的弟兄姐妹及一些欣华学校的学生家长。

荧光幕上呈现山崩地裂、桥断路陷、高楼平房坍塌尽成瓦砾。灾区伤亡无数，哭声震天，令人目不忍睹。
在不知不觉中食堂里的噪音消失。大家凝注着图像，有人悄悄地擦泪。

放映和讲演的是罗锦添教授，他是卡尔顿大学环境工程系教授。去年亲临地震灾区考察，他的个人感受节录如下：

见义勇为，拯救危难
地震预测，难度极高
震害可减，但很难灭。

以日本为例，专家们经过长期研究，到目前仍未有仪器可以真正预测地震的发生。

罗博士亦是华基教会的长执。他提出地震与末世。从数据显示，现代地震的次数和以前相去不远，但破坏力是越来越加剧。

他引用约翰福音16：32 “在世上你们有苦难，但你们可以放心，我已经胜了世界。”

总结，天灾难免，救灾、灭灾，任重道远。

离开会场后，那些触目惊心的图像犹历历在目，幸有赐平安的主在心中，抚平忐忑起伏。脑海里却浮起一个问题：那些在食堂里的同胞这时会心有余悸吗？我真后悔当时没有跟任何一位交谈沟通，分享从神来的平安。

~ Heidi

2008年年刊

Dear OMAC members,

Some of you may not know that 2008 Board, in the interest of cutting non-essential expenditure where other means can serve the same purpose,prioritizing our expenses and saving a lot of hours of work of the publishing team at year end ,decided to discontinue the production of our annual report in hard copy with colored pictures. This way we saves about $500 dollars. Instead we will host the annual report in our church website for those who are able to access it electronically. For those who are not able to do so a print-out copy will be provided upon request. Hope this arrangement will satisfy everyone.

Thank you all who provided your annual reports during the last 6-8 weeks representing OMAC's ministry of 2008. For those who have provided some pictures of your groups I thank you. You can still provide short report to OMAC's Blog with pictures on your group's activities throughout the year. As far as the AGM is concerned you will be asked to accept 2008 Financial Statement and 2009 Budget which were handed out last week (sorry for the lateness). If you have any questions about the report or see any corrections that need to be made please kindly contact Robert Xiong or Kian Goh.

I like to thank brother Kian Goh and Robert Xiong for their effort in checking the reports and hosting the entire annual report in OMAC's site. I am sure that as we go down this road the report can be even more simplified and focused if we can report diligently OMAC's ministry carried out by each group/department on an as-it-happened basis. I encourage you all including cell group leaders and deacons to avail yourselves to the OMAC Blog as a means of communication and sharing with the our members.

Your servant in Christ

Allan Hu (Feb 16, 2009)

两个在基督化家庭里成长的孩子

博華 博潤在讀中英文聖經

小博華在拖地

圣经上说：“你们作父亲的，不要惹儿女的气，只要照着着主的教训和警戒养育他们。”郭庆牧师的两个儿子博华（9岁）和 博润 （7岁）在这个基督化家庭里正茁壮成长着。他们早晨起床后先读圣经，然后才吃饭。两个几岁的孩子可以读中英文圣经 ，而且会用中文背《诗篇》和《罗马书》 的不少章节，尽管有的意思还不太明白。不僅如此，两个孩子还很有礼貌，爱干活，帮大人端飯，拿餐具，飯後擦桌子，拖地 ，忙個不停。

据Lucy 介紹，他們兩個孩子還喜歡打冰球，在班級比賽中還是冠軍呢！在家裏，他們開始自己掙學費，小博華教附近的小朋友學小提琴，小博潤給外出差的鄰居養狗，養貓，他們還都有個自己的‘小金庫’呢。

你看，在主裏的孩子就是不一樣啊！

顧伯伯供稿

郭慶牧師的分享

如果你是2004年的下半年來國宣的話, 這會是你第一次見到郭慶牧師. 我們教會親愛的弟兄, 路加小組的中間份子. 四年前他回應神的呼召, 前往台福神學院受造就, 畢業後在滑鐵盧 Lincoln Road Chapel 事奉, 最近被按立為牧師.

二月下旬, 教會特邀他回來一趟, 他留下苦口婆心的勸勉, 發人深省的警語, 一個猛烈喚醒!

　　＂一般教會目前到底出現了甚麼問題?”

　　＂什麼是信耶穌？什麼是認耶穌為主？什麼是住在主裡？＂

他引用路加福音十章, 馬大請耶穌進他家, 她伺候的事情忙不過來, 而馬利亞安靜在耶穌腳前聽道. 於是馬大要求耶穌吩咐馬利亞去幫忙她.

馬大是自己作主？還是耶穌作主？

郭慶牧師很清楚神給他的職事就是專心傳道, 所以無論探訪, 培訓領袖, 他都是用神的話教導他們. 神的話使他們生命改變, 起來事奉, 成為他的同工, 他重覆強調神的話最重要.

他指出光讀經而不行道, 就是法利賽人,不會得到神的啟示. 他反問：為什麼信徒要帶著面具到教會？

他的問題帶尖銳, 他的語調卻極其溫和,一字一句發自內心的真誠和關愛.

感謝神,　藉著郭牧師, 把他的祝福帶給我們！

Heidi

OMAC儿童舞蹈班

2009年3月15日〜 2009年5月3日，渥太华国语宣道会儿童舞蹈班开课！
2009年5月10日，母亲节主日崇拜上汇演！欲知详情，请点击以下海报。


以下是去年圣诞节儿童舞蹈班成员表演的照片及录象：

Christmas 2008: Children's Christmas dance & music performance
Performance Date: Dec 19, 2008
Dancers: Catherine, Elim, Lisa, Sarah and Victoria
Musicians: Daniel and Shalom

Arrival of Kianna

We are thrilled to announce that our precious baby girl Kianna Hui Robertson Estabrooks has arrived at 13:06 Jan. 22 at Ottawa Queensway Carleton Hospital. She weighed 6 pounds and 11 ounces. Both mom and daughter are safe, we came home on Sunday Jan. 25th.

Kianna cried very loud which shows that she has a personality. She looked a little bit anxious .which seemed to tell that she was not quite ready to meet the world yet -- she was delivered through a scheduled Cesarean section 10 days before the due date because I had complete Placenta Previa -- a high risk pregnancy condition that might cause uncontrolled bleeding before or during delivery.

I was found to have complete Placenta Previa through an routine ultrasound exam when I was 32 weeks pregnant with Kianna. 70% of women with this condition had unexpected bleeding before the baby reaches full-term, in many cases, the baby had to be delivered pre-term by C-Section if the bleeding can not be stopped. The doctor asked me to withdraw from work right away and rest at home. A C-section was scheduled after the baby reaches full-term, but if there was any sign of bleeding before that, I would be rushed to the hospital and baby would be taken out immediately if the bleeding became uncontrollable.

My family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ started to pray for me feverently. During the six weeks before the scheduled C-Section, I had zero bleeding, I had been feeling healthy and energetic. Not only that, I had peace in my mind and joy of expecting a new life. I knew it's not from me, God had been watching me and granted me the assurance -- both my baby and I were in His good hands.

Here she is, a healthy full-term baby of miracle. She has been loved and cared by many even before she was born. Her life, my life, and my husband's life have been touched by God's almighty hands and connected to many lives through prayers. We pray that she will grow up to be someone who knows her Creator and serve Him with all she has and all she is.

~ Yu Zhong and Kevin