To God's Beloved @ Cloverdale Baptist Church:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Well, our neighbours to the south celebrate with turkey, football and the promise of black Friday, this is a great reminder for us that we must be a thankful people if we are true Christians. I know this is hard sometimes because we can slip into the culture and think we deserve what we have received, or because we can get caught up in life and forget God, but thanksgiving is commanded and expected and logical for us as believers. When we believe the Gospel, we will be THANKFUL!
Romans 1:21 is a great reminder for us of what can happen when we, the religious do not honour God or give thanks to Him...and it is not pretty. Today, write down 10 things you are THANKFUL FOR, and tell someone around you four of them...ask your family, or friends what they are thankful for. One of the great by-products of thankfulness is that it chases away much sadness, and removes sin from our mouths.
May the American Thanksgiving cause the Canadian Christians to PRAISE GOD and give THANKSGIVING to Him.
And for our Americans, thank you for reminding us of this essential part of our Christian life. Have a great thanksgiving as we celebrate with you...GO COWBOYS GO!
They tell me that the best advertising of the modern world is WORD OF MOUTH. As a church we long to see people come to know Jesus, and follow Him, and continue to grow deeper and wider in our influence. May I encourage you to use Facebook, sharing and other tools to advertise for us for events like Christmas Eve, or even when God speaks to you through a particular Bible study, sermon, or song. Let's celebrate what God is doing in our lives in a way that engages the hearts of others to join us!
I read a great quote this week, "you can change your church just by praying". So TRUE. Beware though, it might also change your life, in fact I am sure that it will. Please be in prayer this week for me and our church family. We are absolutely dependent on God for everything, and our prayers allow us to do this actively. We long to move forward on our knees.
GROWING TOGETHER:
Being in God's Word is essential to growing. We say this a lot, so you already know this. Tozer said something like, "anything that keeps you away from your Bible is your enemy, even good things". Typical Tozer, very strong, but also very true. Let's make sure we are spending time hearing, and seeking to obey God's Word together!
Sunday is coming, please prepare now, as you get ready...
Text: Mark 11:12-25
Sermon Title: Learning The Importance Of Relationship:
Why do you think that Jesus is so hard on religion?
What can we learn about this as people who long to follow Him, and think we are?
What does this passage teach us about prayer?
How can we make sure we are in a relationship with God that is authentic?
Have a great week!
Thankful to be His son,
Pastor Rob