Parkland Evangelical Free Church

Parkland Evangelical Free Church Parkland Evangelical Free Church in Kamsack, Saskatchewan

09/07/2026

READ PROVERBS CHAPTER 9.
BECOME MATURE IN HOW YOU HANDLE CRITICISM. Nicky Gumble of Alpha writes: “My natural reaction to criticism is often to be tempted to lash out verbally or try and justify myself.”
I think many of us can identify with that response!
Maturing involves learning to take to criticism more kindly. It also involves learning to discern between “wise” criticism and the useless criticism of mockers. Verse 8, “Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.”
PRAYER: “Lord, give me wisdom to be constructive when I give criticism and gracious when I receive it” (Nicky Gumble's prayer).

This is Day 20 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 6/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday

09/06/2026

11am Sunday Service with Children's Church. Come!

09/06/2026

READ PSALM 25.
THE SINS OF OUR YOUTH: MATURE BEYOND THEM! Verse 7, “Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.” Media, political parties and others can be very unforgiving of transgressions uncovered from the youth of a public figure.
A State Governor got embroiled in controversy over his photo in his Medical School Yearbook where he was in blackface. Shortly after this was publicized, his Attorney General admitted wearing blackface to dress up like a rapper when he was 19 and in college. Attorney General Herring said, “It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.”
I did my share of ridiculous and ignorant things when I was younger, and I suppose if I were on the national stage, there would be scandal-mongers rummaging through photos and friends of the past to find stuff to embarrass me.
The Psalmist reminds us that we have real sins in our past. We can't deny that, but let's not carry on in the same old sins as though we cannot change. I have met older people that seem to be carrying on in the same old sins they've been steeped in since their youth. That is SO immature!
But I'm gentle with them, because I have caught myself doing doing that, too!
PRAYER: LORD JESUS, sin destroys people. Thank You that there's forgiveness and renewal in You. I can grow and mature.

This is Day 19 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 5/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday

09/05/2026

“A Beautiful Life Starts To Fall Apart.” (1 Kings Chs. 4-12) Sept. 6/26. S. Ruten sermon

09/05/2026

READ JOB CHAPTER 38.
DON'T BE CHILDISHLY DEMANDING; MATURE BEYOND THAT!
Sometimes we're like selfish children in the demands we make. “Give me that!” a child demands. And we may talk to God like that. “God HAS to heal that person,” someone said to me once on the phone. But he died...Because God DOESN'T have to. He is God! I had cautioned her.
“Let the Almighty answer me!” Job said in 31:35, as he ended his words. He felt God would justify him. When God did answer, it wasn't what Job wanted or expected. “I will question you!” God said, “and you shall answer me!” (38:3).
And the Lord gave no explanation for Job's sufferings. Instead, He turned Job's attention to God and His works, and away from himself and his problems. And when He was done, Job said, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know... Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (38:3, 6).
A PRAYER FOR TODAY: LORD, You are infinitely wise, powerful, and loving; I will trust You, no matter what happens. You do not need my puny wisdom or knowledge to run Your universe! You don't have to explain everything to me.

This is Day 18 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 4/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Satur

09/04/2026

READ ESTHER CHAPTER 4.
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, MAKE SURE TO INVOLVE OTHERS IN WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR GOD.
Verse 16, Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.” That’s code for: “Pray for me!”
I preached at a funeral a few years ago—the only funeral I’ve officiated where a Hell's Angel member got up to share some “good words” about the deceased. I asked people I know to pray for me as I prepared the words I was going to speak. When people do that for me, I believe they are as important by their praying as I am by my speaking the Good News of Jesus!
Esther got people fasting or praying for her.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY: LORD, followers of Jesus fellowship and serve together. Thank You!

This is Day 17 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 3/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday night.

09/03/2026

READ NEHEMIAH CHAPTER 2.
GROW AS A LEADER BY LEARNING THE LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF NEHEMIAH.
We all have to lead sometime, in some area. It may be in your family, or a small group of kids, or in something else. Let Nehemiah teach you to be the best leader possible!
“Nehemiah enjoyed security and prestige as the king’s cupbearer, so there was no reason for him to ask about the needs of people hundreds of miles away. But he loved Jerusalem and was concerned about the welfare of his people (Jer. 15:5). How do you respond when you learn that others are hurting?” (Warren Wiesbe).
So ONE LESSON is: Do not take the easy way in life. It is stressful to lead something, but rise to the responsibility God puts in front of you, and nudges you to take. It is always easier to avoid responsibility than to take it on. Be willing to lead!
A SECOND LESSON: Become a person of prayer. Ten prayers of Nehemiah are included in the book. He was very busy, but he took time to talk things over with God, and to seek guidance.
A THIRD LESSON: Warren Wiersbe writes: “He depended on God’s great power to work in and through him (Eph. 3:20–21). He was not content merely to get answers to prayer: he wanted to BE an answer to prayer. Has God used you lately to be an answer to somebody’s prayers?” Become active in some way for God!
A FOURTH LESSON: Expect opposition, but don't let it paralyze you. The Enemy just wants you to stop what you're doing!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY: LORD, I need to grow in Christlike leadership—thank You for Nehemiah's example.

This is Day 16 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 2/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday night.

09/02/2026

READ EZRA CHAPTER 1.
GOD DISCIPLINES INDIVIDUALS, AND NATIONS. IT'S FOR OUR GOOD!
Hebrews 12:10, “God disciplines us for our good.” Verses 1-3, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing... “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.”
Seventy years of discipline had passed. They could go home, now. It's amazing to think that God would bring the main push for rebuilding Israel's temple through a pagan king. But God had said many years before this that He was going to use Cyrus in a special way. We can apply Dr. Martin Luther King famous words, slightly modified, to the new freedom in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to [the Jews who] had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity" (from his “I Have A Dream” speech). God had told them ahead of time their captivity would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:8, and it was “Because you have not obeyed my words”).
“The books of Ezra and Nehemiah offer an account of the Judahites' return to Judah in the sixth century BCE and their efforts to restore Jerusalem and Judah socially, religiously and physically in the face of significant opposition from various quarters” (David J. Shepherd and Christopher J. H. Wright, introduction, “Ezra and Nehemiah.”)
Notice that Ezra and Nehemiah belong together, and should be read together.
A PRAYER: LORD, Your discipline hurts, but it doesn't last forever, and it does us good.

This is Day 15 of “Grow To Maturity!” Sept. 1/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday night.

08/31/2026

READ SECOND CHRONICLES CHAPTER 36.
THE TENDENCY OF GOD'S PEOPLE IS TO DRIFT AWAY FROM WHAT IS TRUE, RIGHT AND GOOD.
Verse 15-”The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.”
Arnold Cook, missionary and President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, wrote a book titled: “Historical Drift: Must My Church Die?” He wrote, “Succintly stated, historical drift is the inherent tendency of human orgainizations to depart over time from their original purposes” (Pg. 11). How can we “Stay Alive?”—to quote something from the Bee Gees’ song in the mid-70s? They sang about life in New York City: “Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive! / Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me / Somebody help me, yeah...”
Jim Cymbala expressed his frustration to God wanting to serve people and form a church family in New York City. Arnold Cook quotes his frustrated words: “Lord, I have no idea how to be a successful pastor. I haven’t been trained. All I know is that Carol and I are working in the middle of New York City, with people dying on every side, overdosing from he**in, consumed by materialism, and all the rest. IF the Gospel is so powerful (Romans 1:16)...” He couldn’t finish that line of thought in his prayer. God broke in, deep in his spirit, telling Jim: “If you and your wife will lead my people to pray and call upon my name, you will never lack for something fresh to preach. I will supply all...that’s needed, both for the church and for your family, and you will never have a building large enough to contain the crowds I will send in response.”
Jim returned to share this with the people in church, telling them: “From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night will be the guage by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us.” At the time Arnold Cook recounted this from Jim Cymbala, there were 1,000 to 1,500 people who would meet each Tuesday evening to cry out to God in prayer (of about 6,000 who attended multiple services each Sunday.)
We need to learn this simple lesson: If you feel yourself or your church is drifting away from its original purpose, bend the knee to cry out to God in prayer to bring you back, and your church back if that’s what is needed, from that drifting away. God is faithful—He will hear and answer!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY: LORD, this tendency to drift away from what is true, right and good is a tendency I must fight against inside ME! Lord keep me in Your way—and restore me, when I drift! And Lord, bring Your life to our church family!

This is Day 14 of “Grow To Maturity!” Aug. 31/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday night.

08/31/2026

READ FIRST CHRONICLES CHAPTER 29.
A MATURE FAITH IS GENEROUS TOWARDS GOD—RECOGNIZING THAT EVERYTHING WE HAVE CAME FROM GOD IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Verse 14, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
An immature faith will say, “But I used my brains to figure out how to make all this money!” A mature faith will say, “God gave me these brains in the first place, and put together circumstances, opportunities and wisdom to make wise decisions!!”
An immature faith will emphasize, “But I worked hard for this!” A mature faith will acknowledge: “Yes, I worked hard, because God wants us to work hard, but God gave me the strength, stamina and health, and He worked it all out!”
Mature faith does not diminish human responsibility in human activity. Instead it highlights how God is sovereign; He is in control of all things, and lifts up whoever He wills, and brings down whoever He wills! Psalm 75:7, NLT, “God...decides who will rise and who will fall.”
So I can afford to be generous with God because everything I have comes ultimately from God. That is how mature faith looks on the matter. The selfish, stingy person is, among other things, very immature. If they acted according to faith AND the facts, they would become generous.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY: LORD, I will be generous, because You have been so generous with me!

This is Day 13 of “Grow To Maturity!” Aug. 30/26. What maturity looks like, How it happens, What Hinders, What Helps. AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. READ A CHAPTER A DAY. (This 47th Series of 66-Day Adventures, written and re-written by Stephen Ruten, originally published in 2019 as “Mature.” Would you like to receive the current “Adventure” on Prayer? It’s called “Father, Can We Talk?” It’s in the process of being written week by week, and sent out by email every Saturday night.

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329 Carment Avenue
Kamsack, SK
S0A1S0

Telephone

+13065424140

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