Kevin Harvey and Katie McKay

Kevin Harvey

Title/vanity of vanities.
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The keyword in the book of Ecclesiastes is "vanity" the futile emptiness of trying to be happy
apart from God.
Introduction/ If there is no God. Defined as "Everything under the sun".No absolute truth.
No higher meaning to life, then just being here, or just "being". Then the introductory statement
found in the book of Ecclesiastes is absolutely true.
And the end result should be, "Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die"
And I don't say that lightly, because as one could argue that, we must , That is it is reasonable
to" manufacture" so to speak,meaning "in order to find purpose. A sort of well,we're here, we
need purpose,so let's make the best of it. Let's find a new higher purpose,. Maybe we can
"Evolve" purpose and meaning ourselves.… that is apart from God of course!
That's a sad, desperate and unnecessary kind of reasoning!
But if there is a God, and miracle of miracles he has made himself known to His creation.
And if he indeed loves us. Then the end result must be," to know Him " to love Him!, to worship
Him!
Then the whole thing makes sense, and as we will see in this book. We will find purpose and
meaning and True satisfaction!
Chapter 1 verse 9. That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Here then is a good argument for "a bleak outlook on life". That is if that's all there is.
This book was written by Solomon. Famed to be the wisest of all.
So let's see what Solomon has to say, and what we can learn from his wisdom.
Ch 1 vs 3 The vanity of labor.
Ch 1 vs 12'13 The vanity of wisdom.
Ch 1 vs 16 greatness
Ch 1 vs 17 madness and folly
Ch 2 vs 1 pleasure
vs 2 laughter
vs 3 drunkenness
vs's 4,ff 8 stuff
vs 10 through 16 all kinds of self indulgence and his Observations...vs 17 therefore I hated life
because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and
grasping at wind.
Then ,a ray of sunshine. Ch 3 vs 1-12.
vs 14,15.
Then if you are to read the remaining chapters of this book, which I recommend you do. You will
find many great life lessons, great wisdom and insight.
However, I wish to stay on track, and stick to a main point.
The main points that Solomon eventually gets to is this.
Ch 12 vs 1. Remember now your creator in the days of your youth. Before difficult days come,
and the years draw near when you say I have no pleasure in them.
vs 6. Remember your creator before the silver cord is looseD
vs 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter,. Fear God and keep his
commandments, for this is man's all. vs 14. For God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This is the conclusion that Solomon came to. And we could not only take advantage of what he
said and has written, but even more, much more. Think on this !
We each one of us, has this holy book, both the old and New Testament, and in it we see who
our God and Creator Sustainer is.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us, died for us, gives us purpose and meaning. And it is
Him who we worship and obey.
To conclude. Nothing can fill the God shaped void in man's life but God himself! For God has,
"Placed eternity in their hearts"
But,,, once seen from God's perspective,it takes on meaning and purpose, causing Solomon to
exclaim, eat… Drink… Rejoice… do good… Live joyfully… Fear God… Keep his
commandments,
Then skepticism and despair melt away when life is viewed as a daily gift from God.
Therefore, be found "in Christ" there is nothing greater.
God bless…

Katie McKay

I grew up in the Chateauguay Valley, and as a teenager and as a young adult I remember struggling. I struggled with not having two parents at home; I struggled trying to fit in throughout high school and later, into the world. I struggled as a girl searching for love, and I struggled with always feeling empty. However, I also remember a turning point. I realized I had been running away from God, but I knew that I couldn’t make it without Him. I knew what I had to do. I remember praying, “Lord, I need you. Take my life and use it”. I believe it was from that moment on that God began to change me.  I have found confidence I never thought I’d have. I found a voice where I used to be shy. I found love that filled where I was empty.

I realize there are many others in similar situations. Growing up we all struggle with different things, yet not all of us realize that God is right there waiting to help us. My vision is to reach out to the youth of the Chateauguay Valley, sharing with them the love and peace God has for them. If the youth of this generation are tended to and strengthened, what kind of effect could they have on the future generations of the Chateauguay Valley? 

The question is, how do we reach these youth? How do we help them to grow in their faith? Very few young people are still coming to church, and when they do, it is difficult for the already small congregations to offer them anything extra to meet their specific spiritual needs. Limited budgets have no room for a youth minister. I would like to help fill this gap. I want to make sure there is something available to help with the spiritual development of the youth in all the churches of the Valley. I would like to work with the churches to help them provide for and tend to their young people, as well as offer fun events where they can meet other Christians and invite their friends.

I’m working with Montreal Youth Unlimited to help see this vision through. My vision is to share God's transformational love with the youth of the Chateauguay Valley and help them learn to apply it to all aspects of their lives.

The match with Montreal Youth Unlimited is perfect because their vision is to see the youth of Quebec transformed though the love of God and effecting positive change in their world. Their mission statement is that they empower the youth of Quebec to attain their full life potential... by responding to their relational, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs and by encouraging them to pursue a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Each kid is reached in a different way, so to be effective in ministry we must be sensitive to all the individual ways of learning and relating. I plan to first connect with the local churches, and help them in a plan of action with their youth. Already I am working with one church and within the next few weeks we will be starting a Questions and Answers group for their youth. Whether it be a Q&A or an organised Bible study, every church should be offering something to help with the spiritual growth of their youth. Church needs to be fun too though. For the past couple years I have been organizing activities inviting the youth various churches to come together for a fun event. I plan to continue organising these events with the goal of having them once a month.

Many youth also need a chance to talk to someone one on one. I am excited to be available to kids in this way. I realize not every young person will connect with me personally, so I plan to do my best to connect them with some who will be able to be a mentor to them.
As I am able to be full time in ministry, I plan to also do local movie nights to help with church growth, allow individual youth groups organize the monthly activities, offer a summer life skills program, be present in CVR, and eventually be able to offer for youth to go on missions trips.

I cannot do this alone. As the ministry grows I will need a strong base of volunteers to help me. Already, it is my prayer that I am able to find one person in every church who is able to work with me to get a Bible study group started. I will need help this fall for a cookie dough fundraiser, to both sell and make the dough. Let me know if you would be interested in helping.  I will need people willing to pray for this ministry. There is great power in prayer. I am also in need of financial partners. Youth Unlimited is a raise your own support ministry. This means that the only salary I am able to receive comes from people who agree with my vision and want to help make it possible. I’m looking for people to partner with me financially to be able to move forward with all of these plans. If you have felt in your heart today that you would like to be a part of this, please come talk to me after todays service. I will be excited to have you as part of my team.
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Please talk to me today, or call me (514-778-4134) if you are interested in learning more or interested in helping to make a difference for the youth of the Chateauguay.    
 
Katie McKay
Program Coordinator-Chateauguay Valley
Youth Unlimited