Light Under a Bushel
In the song, This Little Light of Mine, there is a lyric that says, “Hide it under a
bushel ... NO! I’m going to let it shine!” The word ‘bushel’ is not in common use
today – it is an obsolete word meaning “bowl”, and it comes from Jesus’ stateSOUL FOOD
by Bob Hibbard ment in Matthew 5:14-15, where he says “Ye are the light of the world. A city
that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the
house” (KJV).
Jesus’ teaching is clear: if his followers are purposed to be lights, then their light must function
as it is designed ... to shine bright so that it is seen. Hidden light (such as under a bowl) is of no
good use, and doesn’t make sense.
God expects his children to be visible examples of holy living - with the testimony of Jesus on
their lips. If we are his children, then we ought to be 'shining lights' to the rest of the world.
We should stop and seriously consider that we may be the only contact our neighbour, colleague, acquaintance, etc. sees who belongs to the church of the Lord. So what are they seeing
in us? What are they seeing as our example and our conversation?
Choosing to hide our light can lead to serious consequences. Below are a couple of ways that
our light can be hidden under a bushel.
Worldly Living:
Sometimes in our desire for friends and their acceptance of us, we live just like the world does,
where there is little differentiation. James wrote, “Do you not know that friendship with the
world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself
an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Why does James use such strong language here? Reading in
context, we see that James equates ‘the world’ with quarrels and fights (v1), passions (v1 and
v3), murder and covetousness (v2), pride (v6), and ultimately the devil (v7). The apostle John
confirms this in his first letter when he wrote that the world is characterized by the lust of the
flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). So worldliness and godliness do
not mix, and friendship with one results in becoming an enemy to the other. We certainly see
this in the case of Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10 as he befriended the world and deserted Paul.
Lack of Service:
In the parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30), one the servants hid his talent by burying it. A
talent was a sum of money, which the servant received to put to work in order to produce an
increase for his master. The servant then was purposed by his master to be a worker. But like
a light that is purposed and designed to be seen, this ‘worker’ was idle; he did nothing with the
talent. His choice was to hide it. And when his master returned, the master described him as
‘wicked’, ‘slothful’, and ‘worthless’. When Jesus spoke about those who would follow him as
‘the light of the world’, their lives would be a testimony of whom they belonged to – after the
character of Jesus, seen by their good works. This servant’s sin was a refusal of doing the good
work of his master. And the consequence of this refusal was punishment into the outer darkness.
Are you hiding your light? My prayer is that each one of us can commit and recommit to letting our light shine before the world, so that we can emphatically state: “Hide it under a bushel ... NO! I’m going to let it shine!”
VOL 65 #47
STRATHMORE
BOULEVARD
CHURCH OF CHRIST
346 Strathmore Boulevard
Toronto ON M4C 1N3
Phone:416-461-7406
E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Websites:
www.strathmorecofc.ca
www.keytothekingdom.ca
November 20, 2016
2016 Theme:
“Witnesses of Jesus in our daily Life”
(Luke 8:39)
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
SUNDAY
Bible School ............... 9:45 AM
Worship ...................... 11:00 AM
Worship ....................... 6:00 PM
Spanish Worship ......... 3:00 PM
WEDNESDAY
Bible Study ................. 7:00 PM
ELDERS
Peter Dwomoh
Steve Gill
Marvin Johnson
Moises Velasco
Jean Volcy
DEACONS
Kwabena Akuoko
Jonathan Braga
Ed Brown
Gerald Ellis
Leonardo Razon
EVANGELISTS
ENGLISH
BOB HIBBARD
Max Craddock
Marlon Molina
SPANISH
Santiago Molina
Santiago Molina
SUNDAYS 2 p.m. EST
Joy TV 10
Vancouver, BC
Rogers digital—channel 173
FRIDAYS 8:30 a.m.
The Vision Network
Rogers - Channel 60
Star Choice - Channel 394
Bell Expressive - Channel 65
The Strathmore family welcomes everyone
to our worship. With humble and contrite
hearts, let our worship show our adoration
and loyalty to God for His grace and mercy.
If you are visiting, we invite you to come
back again soon and often.
SPEAKERS TODAY:
Max in am ; Moises in pm ;
Santiago at Oshaw a; Jean at
Bayview.
STATS FOR LAST WEEK:
Attendance:
Sunday AM/PM : 218/15
Bible Study:
82
Wednesday:
33
Contribution:
Offering (YTD Average) $3,031.07
Offering:
$2,373.95
Key:
$ 170.00
Missions:
$ 115.00
Serving Next Week
November 27, 2016
PRESIDER: ....................Andr ei U
PRAYER:………………………..Moises V
READER:……………………...Darwin K
CLOSING PRAYER: ……..Kwabena A
SONG LEADER: …………....…Rayis I
Passing emblems Nov 20 & 27:
Santos M, Sam P, Ryan D,
Pons T, Joel O
Special Gift – Great Lakes
Bible College – November is
GLBC Month: Stu dents ar e
important to any school. Please
pray during this week for Randy Ang, Kim
Huliganga and Ron Sampson who are enrolled
fulltime and for part-time students: Ken
Burtch, David Nickele and Moises Velasco as
well as others taking a course to improve their
knowledge and service to Christ. Today and
next week w e w ill give you an
opportunity to make a special gift to the work
of GLBC along with your normal contribution.
Please mark your gift as being for Great Lakes
Bible College.
Wedding Bells! Ryan Kevin
Ramos and Chela Mae Ramos
(Dollesin) were married
yesterday (November 19) at the
Bayview church building. We
wish them God’s richest
blessings in their life together.
Congratulations! We rejoice
and give praise to God in
announcing that Jennifer Volcy
passed the California Bar Exam.
The Volcy family thanks the
congregation for their prayers
and continued support.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are trying to
update our church telephone directory with the
most current information, so we ask that all
members (who haven’t already) take an
Attendance Card (cards are stored at the back of
the pews) and provide the following information
(whatever is applicable): Name, Address,
Home Tel, Mobile Tel, E-Mail, and names
of family members. W hen com plete,
please place completed cards in the offering
basket when it is passed around following the
Lord’s Supper. Thank you to all for your help.
 Following another CT scan, doctors now suspect that Prem Tillock
has Castleman Disease, which is a

rare disease affecting lymph nodes
and related tissues. Prem’s kidney
function has also dropped. He began
treatment last week. Prem wants to thank the

church for their continued prayers and support.

Cony Ruiz h as asked th at w e pr ay fo r
Francisca Duarte, w ho is a sister in
Christ from Nicaragua. Francisca has been diagnosed with cancer.

Santiago Molina is beginning to h ave
some health issues. Please pray for him.

Continue praying for Kingsley Bonsu, as his
son, Seth, who died a couple of weeks ago will
be buried on December 3rd in Ghana.

Hildebrando Rodriquez will be having further surgery next month related to his dialysis.
Continue praying for him and his family.

Oliver sever ely cu t h is finger w hile oper ating a table saw, requiring it to be stitched
back into place. Pray that his finger heals well.

Isaac and Teresa’s daughter, Gabby Persaud,
had her final chemo treatment – they will now
need to wait a few weeks before deciding on
whether to proceed with radiation treatment or
further surgery. Please keep Gabby in your
prayers.
Robert and Cindy McCollum’s son,
Ethan, fr actur ed both feet at Navy B oo t
Camp.
Jack Royle has r etur ned ho m e fr om th e
hospital – continue praying that his health improves.

Janice Lalor’s cousin, Renee, had h er
surgery (cancer) Friday, November 4th and is
recovering. Renee’s family thanks the congregation for their prayers and asks for continued
prayers.

Blanche Maddeaux for str ess and pr essures she has been enduring.

Also continue praying for Allyne’s friend,
Christina, as sh e is u nder going ch em o therapy.

Continue to pray for:
Elizabeth Alvarado + Ellen David + Victor Fernandez + Noemi Skibinsky +
Estelle Parker + Wil Maddeaux + Don
North + Yolande Jeremiah + Marjorie
Williams + Art Groom + Eldon Belo +
Mark Robinson + Elsie Gill + Laura
Bird + Mavis Stonefield + Daphne Pegg
+ Romaine Newman + Rigoberto Flo-
Lost Necklace: Please note that a gold necklace that was in a plastic bag was
lost here at the building last Sunday. If anyone has any information about this
item, please see Bob Hibbard, so that it can be returned to the proper owner.
Thanks for your help.
Semi-Retirement/Welcome Dinner (for the Cr addocks and the H ibbar ds): This
coming Saturday, Novem ber 26 at 5:30pm , her e at the bu ilding. The congr egation is invited. The dinner will be provided free of charge. A sign-up sheet has been posted on
the door by the front entrance – please sign it with the number attending from your family so
we know how much food to supply.
Key Filming: Our next filming is scheduled for this Friday, November 25th at 6:15pm. All
who can help are welcome.
Please Note: Du e to the Novem ber 26 th congregational dinner, there
will be no potluck the last Sunday of November.