To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Don't forget our Congregational Meeting tonight (Tuesday May 29). All are welcome as we gather to worship and seek God's will together. Please be in prayer for our unified understanding and pursuit of what God wants from us as a church in the coming year. These meetings are important, and your pursuit of God with us key in the way we understand how to grasp God's will as a congregation and follow it through as those you believe God has called to be deacons and elders. The way we seek a Christocracy is through your prayer filled, unified, God centred voting. So please prayerfully join us tonight at 7, for a time of WORD, WORSHIP, PRAYER and Discovery of God's Will.
Last week we had a supper to celebrate all of those who have served Jesus blood bought church at Cloverdale. It was a great night of food and fellowship, and a reminder to me of the importance of seeing our church as a church. Ephesians 4:11-16 lets us know that we are to be a place where everyone chooses to serve, using their gifts so that we can be who God wants us to be. I am so thankful to be a part of a family that is filled with servants. THANK YOU for giving to the LORD, lives were changed because of your partnership in the Gospel. Be encouraged, and continue to serve. If you are not currently serving, please be encouraged to find a place to serve. As a biblical church we believe that God has brought you here to grow through studying His Word with us, and engage in service to help us to become who He wants us to become as we exalt His name together! Love that we are doing well here, know we have a long way to go, so thank you, be encouraged, and find a place to serve Jesus and His people.
I was asked last week if I think we are a loving church. And I do! However, I also believe this is an area that we constantly need to improve! How?
1. Always look for ways to greet people with friendliness. On Sunday's, come prayer filled looking for people to show God's love to. We do this well...and your help in this is appreciated! May God continue to help each of us to come to church with our love antenna's up, looking for those in need. Every week God will bring people into our church who have a deep need for our love, visitors who are looking for God, or a healthy church, and each of us seeking to display love is key to becoming this kind of church. If you come looking to be loved, I hope you will experience it, however you will miss out on the blessing of loving. Always look for ways to greet people with friendliness;
2. Always pray for opportunities to engage people at a deeper level, and be an answer to your prayers. Invite people into your home, or out for lunch. Take the time to engage with people and ask them questions, and LISTEN. This is praying for and pursuing people in our family at a deeper level! This is an area that we constantly need to grow in as well, especially as we as a church grow. Look for people to love in this way, and do it to people who can't pay you back...or at the very least don't do it with the desire to be paid back.
Growth Groups are key in building these kind of relationships, so join a Growth Group, and find many to show God's love to!
I love the love we display as a church, and in a culture that is radically self-centred...it will take concerted God centred focus to keep this up, and have it ever increasing! So the challenge, help us love in both of these ways in an ever increasing way, and if each of us takes this seriously, then we together will more and more grow into being who God wants us to be in LOVE.
There is much going on in our church life, please stay informed:
Baptism: We have another baptism service that is coming JUNE 10. If you want to obey in baptism as a believer by immersion, please contact one of your pastors, and we will help you to take this joy filled relationship step.
Communion: Please prepare your hearts to remember. This is one of the greatest celebrations, and most reverent things that we do in obedience to God as a church. It is something we should approach with hearts focused on Jesus, so this week prepare your heart for a great Sunday of remembrance!
Blessing Of Other Churches & Ministries: I praise God that we are partnering with churches around Canada in the Gospel. In Newfoundland there is a little baptist church that is shining brightly for Jesus, Calvary Baptist Church. Newfoundland is one of the darkest places in North America with only 1% claiming to be evangelical. Pastor Stephen Bray is there, seeking to start a movement of evangelical churches that will bring more and more people to Jesus and devotion to Him. We are partnering with, One Mile Mission, and Stephen in this through prayer and resources, and I am excited to see how God will use this partnership to bless Newfoundland and Cloverdale! Please pray for Stephen and this movement this week!
Sunday Is Coming:
Title: A Model Of A Mess: Persevere
Text: Judges 7-9
Why is perseverance so important for us as Christians?
How does Gideon show us how not to end well?
Gideon is deceived into thinking that he deserved credit for the victory that God brought with only 300 men. How can we avoid this mistake and seek to glorify God alone?
How does how we treat others display our God focus?
As you look at your own life, how do you treat others? When you are mistreated, or ignored, how do you respond? How did Gideon respond?
How can we be loyal to God today in every situation we are in?
As you look back at your life, you will notice that sin has horrific consequences. How can we learn to look forward and see this before we choose sin, so that we don't?
It is an honour to serve Jesus with you at Cloverdale Baptist Church!
Pastor Rob