To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
We serve a RISEN SAVIOR!
As we leave Holy Week, may we never leave what it represents! We serve a risen Savior! He is LORD, and alive, and we can know Him.
Does your life show that you know Him? My longing is that all of us would be driven and defined by our relationship with Jesus, that we would know Him, and that intimacy would, in the power of the Spirit, cause us to live our lives for Him!
If you were to have Jesus central to everything you do perfectly, what would you life look like? What changes do you think would be first and foremost? Are you willing to live a pitiable life if Jesus is not raised from the dead?
Remember 1 Corinthians 15:58, nothing can steal the reality that it is worth it to serve the risen Savior!
He is alive, He has RISEN…HE HAS RISEN INDEED!
We are seeking to build a CULTURE as a church family, where who we are produces the ministry we want. We need programs to facilitate this, however, more important than any of our programs is our passion to be who Jesus wants us to be.
So, what is the culture we want to have as followers of Jesus at CBC, and what can you do to help us to get there?
Our passion in terms of culture development is: Discipleship, Love, Evangelism, Prayer, and an ever growing first love relationship with Jesus that defines everything about us!
The Gospel orientation and word saturation are the core elements of being able to be these kind of people, really the foundation of everything else.
So, God willing, over the next weeks and months we will discuss what the culture we want to develop is, and your part in that.
The Foundation #1: Gospel Orientation:
Two key questions that we need to answer...What is it? & How do I keep it central?
So, question 1 today, what is it?
I love this summary…
A good way to summarize this good news is to biblically unpack the words God, Man, Christ,
Response.
- God. God is the creator of all things (Gen. 1:1). He is perfectly holy, worthy of all worship, and will punish sin (1 John 1:5, Rev. 4:11, Rom. 2:5-8).
- Man. All people, though created good, have become sinful by nature (Gen. 1:26-28, Ps. 51:5, Rom. 3:23). From birth, all people are alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to the wrath of God (Eph. 2:1-3).
- Christ. Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to bear God’s wrath in the place of all who would believe in him, and rose from the grave in order to give his people eternal life (John 1:1, 1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 7:26, Rom. 3:21-26, 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Cor. 15:20-22).
- Response. God calls everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and trust in Christ in order to be saved (Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21, Rom. 10:9-10).
- Role. God has a plan to use you to further His Kingdom and display His glory (Ephesians 2:10; 4:11-16; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Matthew 28:18-20).
(Some of this material has been adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever, p. 43)
Do you know this Gospel?
Have you acknowledged your need, and God’s pathway to forgiveness and freedom from the penalty of your sin?
If you have not, building the culture we want as a church is impossible. This is the pathway to relationship, and the passion for us to share with others.
If you know the content of the Gospel, and next week, the way to keep it central, then you are ready to join us in building the culture God desires for us to have at CBC.
Review the content one more time…and rejoice in your forgiveness and freedom from the consequences of sin…
Knowing The Gospel is foundational to living our lives together for God and His glory!
May we know the GOOD NEWS…it is a content to be known!
A fellow servant,
Pastor Rob
Sunday Is Coming:
As you prepare your hearts for Sunday, review what we have studied and will study and take the time to read the book of Colossians again.
Text: Colossians 2:8-15
Title: Beware of Belittling Jesus:
Read Colossians 2:8-15
- Why is it so important to our lives to keep Jesus central to everything?
- What does this look like in your life?
- What changes do you need to make to live with the supremacy of Jesus at the heart of who you are?
- What does this passage teach about Jesus character and work that can help you in this goal of living where He is all and in all?
Bulletin
Summer Missions Trip
August 17th – 25th, 2024 We're sending a team led by Pastor Dwight to share the gospel in St. John’s, NL through a kids soccer camp in August. Support the team now >
Baby Showers
The Women’s Ministry is inviting all ladies to join them in blessing and celebrating with a number of first-time parents who are welcoming a precious little one into their family. Showers will be held on April 15th and 22nd at 7pm in the Fellowship Hall. Food sign-up available here >
Mystery Dinner
Sat. April 20th / 5:30 pm / Fellow. Hall Are you between 25 and 55 years old? Join us for an evening of fun, fellowship, and great food! Childcare will be provided. Register on April 7th and 14th at our table in the foyer ($5).
Discipleship Classes for Adults
- *New* Can I Trust the Bible? (Fellowship Hall) Are there good reasons to take the Bible seriously? Can we have confidence that it hasn’t been altered, adapted, influenced, and edited since its last book was penned nearly 2000 years ago?
- Navigating Your Finances God's Way (Rm. 218) There are over two thousand verses in the Bible that deal with money and possessions, and in this new class, we will explore how God wants us to handle our finances.
Easter Offering
The Easter Offering will be for Mile One Mission for projects to enhance church planting activities and will remain open until April 30th. Please mark your envelope or electronic gift "Easter Offering".
Growth Group Notes: Colossians 2:8-15
Thank you for joining us in seeking to help God’s people connect with Him, and to connect with His family at Cloverdale Baptist Church. Growth Groups are the heart of our strategy to connect with God and one another in unity for His glory…so THANK YOU for your part in pursuing this with us. Please continue to keep these relationships strong and intentionally pursue the Christian life in these communities, especially with our New Year’s goal of increased community.
Text: Colossians 2:8-15: Part 2
Title: Believer Beware Belittling Jesus
In what ways do you think that others, in other churches have been impacted by the worlds way of thinking?
Why is it hard to see our own failings in this?
How does the, “right”, that is not from the Bible impact our thinking?
Where do you think the patterns of this world are forming your worldview (Romans 12:1-2)?
How does Colossians seek to help these believers stay loyal to Jesus and His Word?
Why is our view of Jesus the most important thing of us?
Read Colossians 2:8-15
How does your view of Jesus help you to avoid the distractions of the world around us?
Colossians 2 introduces 7 realities of our relationship with Jesus:
- We are filled by Him
- We are circumcised in Him
- We are buried in Him
- We are raised in Him
- We are made alive in Him
- We are forgiven in Him
- We are safe in Him
If you could sum up in a few words what it means to be IN CHRIST, what would you say?
Why is this so important to the NT writers, and because of this so important to us?
Summarize what each of these seven realities of what it means to be in Jesus means…and what it means to you.
What are some practical ways that you can find your identity in CHRIST so that you can avoid all of the distractions around us?
Having the right view of Jesus will save us from deception and distractions. What are some practical ways that you can make sure that your view of Jesus is biblically accurate, and life impacting?
How can you constantly grow in your alignment with God’s Word and not culture on the right, or left?
How can you help one another stay focused on the Biblical Jesus?
How can you grow in your first love devotion to the Jesus of the Bible?
Prayer:
- Keep praising Jesus for who He is and what He has done, using Colossians 2:9-15 as a guide for this.
- Make, ABOUNDING IN THANKSGIVING a central part of this prayer!
- Pray for the person that you would want to impact with the Gospel!
- Pray that we would be free from traditionalism and mysticism and humbly follow God’s Word!
- Pray for our search committee in their pursuit of a Discipleship/care pastor.
- Other prayer requests: