To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Was reminded again today what a privilege it is to be a part of God's plan. That He has actually chosen me to be a part of His work in reaching people and discipling people is amazing! Makes one very thankful to belong to Him, and know and rejoice in His ways! Each of you that knows Him has a part in His reaching and discipling people, be overwhelmed at His grace, and actively look with joy for the good works He has prepared in advance for you to do.
We have been talking about threats to the church, especially in light of our series, IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD, and noticed that Balaam's threat is tempting us with sexual sin. Kora's with grumbling, attacking leadership, and bringing about division. We need to pursue purity with passion, God's standards being ours. We need to joyfully join together, and speak in a way that glorifies God (Ephesians 4:29), never grumbling or divisive (Titus 3:10). Those two are dangerous! A third attack on the church is materialism, the sin of Achan. This sin of Achan's has always surprised me in that the punishment was the entire nation of Israel, and his personal punishment impacted his entire family. Our sin impacts those around us, and most horrifically those we love. His sin, was overtly choosing to disobey God for the materialistic gain he saw available to him. He chose the goods of the world over obedience to Jesus. This can show in a number of ways, but most specifically in our culture when we choose material treasure over investing in Kingdom work with our time and treasures. The way we live impacts the church and those around us, so let us personally and corporately fight against Balaam, Kora and Achan.
I love to hear stories of great things happening in our church family. Excited that Agape English will be working on translating the sermons on Sunday mornings, and rejoice that already people from other nations who don't know Jesus are hearing His Word through the hard work of our people! Love to see so many interacting with the texts of the sermons, and the sermons and growing! The hunger of God's people for God's Word is a joy! Thank you for serving Jesus with me here! If you want to join with Agape English in this ministry, please let me know I will get you in touch with its leadership. For all of us, if we know people who would benefit from this, please invite them to participate in this, where they will grow in their knowledge of english, and the Gospel.
We are a church that is known for our love, and this needs to constantly be a focus. On Sunday, take the time to grab a coffee and find someone you don't know well, and get to know them. Look for visitors (or people you think are visitors) and greet them and offer them the love of Jesus! If everyone who calls this church home is looking for one or two people to befriend, we will win in this effort. Please join us in seeking to be an every increasing friendly church!
The persecuted church has long been on my heart, and reports are coming out of Russia that seem to point to a rekindling of persecution of God's people there. Please would you pray that this would pass, and that God's children would be strong there. As you pray for Christians in Russia, certainly expand that to include persecuted Christians all over the world!
Sunday Is Coming:
Text: Daniel 1
Title: In But Not Of: Protection & Passion
As you read Daniel 1, try to imagine that you are a young teenager going into exile, and what you would do if you were asked to compromise your faith in small ways?
How does 1 Peter 2:11-12 inform our passion to be pure, and to make an impact. To avoid isolation, or assimilation and engage as servants of God?
Remembering Daniel 1, why do you think the Babylonians did what they did to the Hebrew exiles?.
What can we learn from Daniel and these three friends as we follow their lives through this great book about engaging in the world, as we avoid being of the world?
Looking forward to another great Sunday!
Privileged to serve you as we serve Jesus,
Pastor Rob