To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
We are in our last week of summer, which means fall is upon us. The sun will be replaced by cloud, and the warmth by rain. Leaves will fall off of the trees, and grass will once again be green and soggy...and God willing we will be closer to gathering together as a large family again! Fall is something I enjoy because of football, but I do miss the snow and cold (spoken like an immigrant from the prairies). This fall, let us make it our passion as we have less time outdoors to have more time with Jesus and His Word, not Netflix and Nintendo.
The pandemic is dragging on, and as we pray for it to be solved, by whatever measures that God wills, we continue to need each person in our community of faith to make an effort to connect with others. Please take the time to express to someone in your sphere of influence what you are learning, and how that is impacting you. Bring over some fresh baked cookies to someone who might be shut in, send a card to someone who might be lonely, for it is only as EACH PART DOES IT'S WORK that no one will fall through the cracks. Please help us be the loving church that God has called us to be!
As we kick off ministries, we invite you to ENGAGE as best we can in the circumstances.
The best way you can engage, is through prayer...so you will find at the end of this update, a CALL TO PRAYER...please read it, and more important rely on God with us! October 2 is our call to a DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER!
Sunday School Class: Zooming In on the Christian Life.
This class will teach the ways the Bible tells us to grow in our faith, no matter where you are at in your journey.
Target age: Anyone from age 13 - 100. How to participate? Go on the CBC Website and watch the pre-recorded video on Sunday morning or Saturday evening. Then, at 9:30am on Sunday morning, login to the Zoom discussion with either Pastor Ray or Pastor Thomas. The discussion will end at 10am. How do I get the Zoom invite to participate in the discussion? Email Pastor Thomas at pastorthomas@
Join a Growth Group! This is one of the great places that we can find the community of faith growing stronger through Covid, not weaker! If you would like to be a part of a growth group, please let the office know and we will try to find you a place to grow!
Memorize Isaiah 41:10, and rejoice that you can trust God. Please join in all of the different events we are kicking off. These are times where we have to be creative and we are seeking to do this as best we can, with your prayers, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit!
Sunday Is Coming:
Trusting God: Isaiah 40
We are still in our series on trusting God and working our way through Isaiah 40, and what it has for us in terms of resting in God in the midst of all of life!
A.W. Tozer states, “What Comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” In fact Tozer goes on to state, “Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘what comes into your mind when you think about God?’, we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”
In this series we long to see a new grasp of the greatness of God and a rest in His power and grace.
- Read the entire chapter and journal on the greatness of who God is!
- Do you believe that God is in Control of all things? What does this mean? How does our responsibility to choose fit with this?
- What does it mean that God knows all things and is all wise?
- How can we grow in our experience of His love, so that at all times we have hope and choose to obey.
- Pastor Rob has said that trusting God means peace and passionate obedience, to these things show in your life? How can you grow in your faith, so you walk by faith and not by sight?
A Call To Fasting and Prayer: October 2, 2020
Thank you so much for joining us in our desire to seek the Lord in deep dependence through fasting and prayer. As we acknowledge our need for the Lord and desire greater intimacy and holiness this leads to far greater impact for the Glory of God and His will for us at CBC.
This is a strange time and the MOST IMPORTANT thing we can do is PRAY!
What do we need to do? We have chosen to set aside October 2; as a day for the church to fast and pray (following the pattern of the NT church) Acts 13.
Try for a 24 hour fast. Usually supper, to supper….eat supper, the night before…then begin your fast…don’t eat until supper of the next day (the day you are fasting). Feel free to drink fluids. Try to start your day in the Word and prayer. Confessing your sins and long for a pure heart of thanksgiving as you enter the throne of Grace. Pray for the requests for the body at CBC (given here) and anything else that comes to mind. Use your hunger pains as reminders to pray and crave for God more than you crave for food. We long for God to move among us helping us to delight in Christ and renew our passion for holiness, truth, mission and authentic love.
Pray as much as you are able, as often as you can and with delight in and freedom in your relationship with the King. Our great desire is for deeper intimacy and broader impact, and we know apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5)
Pray for:
A renewed desire for holiness to permeate our congregation as an overflow of our own lives. Ask the Lord to take you/us deeper and further with Him, and that He will show you/us the things that are standing in the way of a closer walk with Him.
- An awareness of sin
- Brokenness over sin, and helplessness
- Experience forgiveness from sin/healing /fullness of Joy
- Replacing sin in our lives with Christ shaped character
- A renewed passion for the Gospel, and its spreading in and through our lives here and around the world
Specific Requests:
Continued Community Love & Loyalty In A Pandemic: That we would be a family that stays committed to one another, and a place of constant encouragement and unity.
For Our Joint Servant Team Retreat: October 3, we are gathering as elders, deacons and staff to pray for renewed focus and passion in serving CBC.
Personal Revival: that we would be a first love people and in that find selflessness, humility and love for one another.
Corporate Revival: That God would light in us a fire of passion and focus to exalt Him alone. That CBC would be a place loyal to the Gospel, God’s Word, and God’s people.
Mission Accomplishment this year: In the midst of a pandemic we long to be a people who are creative in serving our LORD and one another!
Psalm 127:1; Exodus 17:10-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 6:18; Acts 6:4; Matthew 6:3-15
Other: Spend a lot of time in Thanksgiving for God’s Grace and His Gospel!
A Pattern Of Requests I Pray for Our Church…
- L Love Relationship with God…Core of who we are: Mark 12:28-31
That we would be a church that is relational, and has an experience of God’s love, that makes that relationship with drives and defines everything else!....First love relationship with God. Revelation 2:4
- O One Heart & Mind: Romans 15:5-6; Philippians 1:27
Unity together for God’s Glory!....Deep love for one another that we are known for John 13:34-35; 1 Peter 4:8
- V Vision would be God’s and we will pursue together…HTML
Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 1:16; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew 28:16-20; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Peter 4:8
-That we would accomplish the tasks God has given us!
- E Eager Servants…That we would be a great church full of eager servants.
Ephesians 4:11-16; John 13:1-14
Pray for God to bless us with impact on this world, a church full of people who are full of God.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Oh that God would use us way beyond our potential in unity and passion in our pursuit of His glory together
Privileged to join you in exalting our King, trusting Him, and seeking HIs face for strength to cause others to glorify His name!
Pastor Rob