BITS and PIECES
295th Edition – May 17, 2026
A random collection of news and views compiled by Frank McClelland for the Toronto Free Presbyterian Church.
MINISTERS’ WEEK OF PRAYER
The Toronto church hosted the biannual Ministers’ Week of Prayer last week. It was a blessed time and beneficial to all those who were there. Apart from Canada and the United States, representatives came from South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Northern Ireland.
On Thursday night, a Fiftieth Anniversary dinner was held. The church basement was packed for the celebration. Officially, the fiftieth anniversary is on July 4, but it was decided to have it during the week of prayer so that the visitors could participate. In the ensuing service, several ministers brought greetings, and the North American moderator, Rev. John Wagner, brought the closing message.
Earlier in the evening, glass plaques were presented to Dr. and Mrs. Frank McClelland for their pioneer work starting in 1976. Dr. McClelland is the founding pastor, and his wife, May, was the organist for most of the fifty years. Mr. McClelland thanked the Lord for faithfully fulfilling His many promises down through the years. He also thanked the current minister, Dr. Saunders, and church officers and congregation, for their kindness and support.
THE APOSTLE PAUL
Paul was deeply conscious that God had set him apart from birth. His birthplace, his heritage, his education – all contributed to his service for Christ.
Tarsus, his hometown, represented the ideal union between the cultures of east and west: Jewish and Greek, and Roman influences coexisted.
His Roman citizenship gave him the rights he used effectively for the advance of the Gospel. His contact with the Hellenic culture contributed to his mastery of the Greek language, so evident in the epistles.
His Jewish heritage trained him thoroughly in the law of God. As a student of Gamaliel, he most likely commenced his education when about thirteen years old. Gamaliel, known as one of the progressive educators, encouraged not only the rigorous study of Old Testament law and tradition but also Greek literature.
Gamaliel also taught that the study of the law without another vocation led to sin. Thus, Paul learned to make tents. Nothing in Paul’s life was wasted.
[From Footprints of Faith]
THE WHOLE TRUTH
“All the counsel of God” [Acts 20:27].
Ephesus was a place of exciting memories for Paul. It was a city where much gospel fruit was gathered, with many Ephesians coming to Christ. It was also a place where he encountered great opposition, especially when the idolatrous silversmiths saw their profits endangered. It was therefore understandable that Paul wanted to meet the elders from Ephesus, however briefly, when returning to Jerusalem at the conclusion of his third missionary journey. It was a short, joyful reunion, but a sad parting when he said farewell to them for the last time.
He exhorted them to watch over the flock of God, reminding them that he had not shunned to declare unto them “all the counsel of God.” He was a faithful preacher and gave them the Word of salvation “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
In our Bible reading, we, too, must pay heed to “all the counsel of God”. Some Christians will return to their favourite portions of Scripture to the exclusion of the rest. That is one reason it is good to read right through the Bible from beginning to end. We should pray for the help of God in understanding the more difficult portions. We should also pray for grace to obey those promises and commands that are a little harder for us to put into practice.
The whole Bible is like a great orchestra, where all the instruments produce a beautiful, balanced harmony. To play just a few to the exclusion of the rest is likely to lead to unbalanced disharmony. To focus on just a few favourite passages of Scripture will produce an unbalanced Christian life. Read, meditate upon, and obey, “all the counsel of God.”
