To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
One of my favourite people in history is a man by the name of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. Not only does he have a great first name, but he shines out what full devotion to Jesus can mean even if your life is short. All of us have a "vapour" life, but for him it was a short 29 years, and yet his legacy and impact for eternity live on.
He had a friend write his memoirs (Andrew Bonar), and they are well worth your reading. Two things he said have been a tremendous help to me, one for my own life, and one for people I spend time with. For me personally, "The greatest need of my people is my personal holiness". I think he was right, and love his prayer, "Lord make me as holy as a forgiven sinner can be". What a challenge for those of us with the privilege of giving leadership to God's people to remember, our holiness has a much greater impact than our gifts! The one that I think can help you, is, "Take ten looks at Jesus for every one look you take at yourself". That is so helpful in pursuing holiness in joy, perhaps a pre-cursor to, PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOURSELF EVERY DAY! Sometimes we can get so caught up in our pursuit of life that we can lose sight of THE LIFE. So, may I encourage you today to read about Robert Murray M'Cheyne (Piper has a great biography on him at desiringgod.org if you want the shorter version), and learn from this man who gave his all for God.
May his short life, and tremendous impact be a reminder to us all that, with whatever time we have left, we can be used by God to make an eternal difference if we will look to Him, pursue holiness, and serve people. A worthy laser pointer to Jesus, and how we can live lives that matter! 176 years later we are still talking about God's servant, and I think a million years from now, His life will continue to wring into eternity as a trophy of grace!
Some things worth celebrating:
A few weeks ago Robyn bounced into the staff meeting sharing that the last week every child that attended Sunday morning had brought their bible. What a great deal! Maybe we as those who remain behind in church could seek to be like our kids, and bring our Bible's! Well done children of CBC, and the parents and servants in this area of ministry!
Huge congrats to Pastor Thomas & Julie-Ann. Exciting, and Jessa is joining a great family, and church family! WELCOME! Please continue to pray for them as they recover and learn to function with joy and energy in this NEW NORMAL!
Had a member of our church share that they had the opportunity to invite four friends to church on Sunday, and then on Sunday I had the privilege of meeting them. He shared with me, that all he had to do was look for opportunities and then take advantage of them. WELL DONE, and may we all follow that example. As our focused celebration of Resurrection Sunday approaches may we be an inviting people!
Tax returns are coming. Well, I hope they are for you! Thank you for all you do to help us to succeed as a church in ministry, and your giving is a major part of that...THANK YOU! Encourage you to continue to invest in ministry at CBC and know that your gifts are appreciated!
Prayer: Missions prayer requests this week are for Castro's in Spain. Please continue to pray for them as they serve God in Spain on our behalf.
Baptism: April 14. Please talk with one of your pastors if you would like to learn more about obeying Jesus in believers baptism by immersion.
Child Dedication: April 21: If you are wanting to learn more about child dedication please talk to one of your pastors, and we would be thrilled to be a part of seeking to dedicate our church to loving and leading children to Jesus, and families devoting their lives to being obedient to Deuteronomy 6.
Sunday Is Coming:
This Sunday we have a guest speaker coming, Steve Janz. He is a friend, a fellow lover of God, a TGC-BC council member, and a great preacher! Currently he serves as the director of Millar Bible College, Sunnybrae campus.
Covet your prayers as I will be at TGC meetings, and excited to hear how God uses my friend to bless His people at Cloverdale.
He will be preaching on Hebrews 3:1-19, and focusing on how to avoid drifting by considering Jesus.
Will miss being with you!
A fellow servant of the KING
Pastor Rob
"Joy is increased by spreading it to others" Robert Murray M'Cheyne