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Message from the Pastor - Dr. Ken Radant 

Hi everyone!  I hope you’re all managing to stay cool.  Funny, isn’t it, how we long for the sunshine and then complain about how hot it is? I guess it’s an opportunity to practice the discipline of being thankful in all things.

On the subject of summer heat and church ministry ...

Did you know that WVBC held its first ever church picnic on July 23, 1927 at Second Beach? I was a little surprised to learn that it took several years to put on a picnic (somewhere between 3 and 6, depending on when you date our start!). Perhaps the summers weren’t very sunny between 1924 and 1927? No doubt the fact that there was no bridge over Burrard Inlet and that people had to ferry across for the picnic also made it a larger event to plan! This was 1 year after our first Sunday School was organized, so maybe with the growth of kids’ programming there was also growing demand to get together on the beach.  J   In any case, our people have been gathering on the beach to fellowship and worship for a very long time.

If I’m reading the records correctly, 1927 was also the year we appointed our first organist. It seems like this was a big deal, since it’s one of the things that made it into the record books. The records also show that when the church was formally organized as West Vancouver Baptist within the Baptist Union in July 2024, the initial meeting opened with the hymn How Firm A Foundation. I wonder what songs we’ll sing at our anniversary party this September 15, and whether anyone will make a record for posterity?

How Firm is not a song we use often these days, because it has a lot of “thee’s” and “thou’s,” but it has a great message. 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus hath fled.

 “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

“When through fiery trials, thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, will be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

Isn’t it good to know that our faith rests on God’s promises, which are as reliable as His own character? And that He not only helps and strengthens us, but is able to use our difficulties to refine us into something beautiful?  No doubt if we could gather all the members of our church from across the decades, we’d be able to tell many, many stories of ways in which these things have proved true for us. I hope we’ll have opportunity to share at least a few more recent accounts as this year unfolds.

On other fronts, this will be the last Sunday in our series on the book of Proverbs. I’ve enjoyed the study. I hope you’ve found our little forays into the book to be helpful as well. The message this Sunday will take a different format than what we usually follow, in an effort to capture the “feel” as well as the truths that run through the early chapters of the book. I won’t say more than that, now, so I don’t spoil the surprise. However, if you’re looking to read ahead again this week, our Scripture reading will be chapter 8.

Speaking of which, I need to get back to preparing this week’s message. So I’ll sign off for now. Have a wonderful week, keep cool, and God bless you all richly.