To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Happy Thanksgiving.
Hmmm, it is not Canadian thanksgiving, and to be honest, I don’t feel very thankful….HOWEVER, we are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances, even when we desperately want to be able to gather together, and that is something we are laying aside…SO HOW DO WE DO THIS, at such at time as this?
There are three keys to being thankful, that if we have in the foundation of our hearts, they will help us to obey God’s commands to be thankful!
1. The Gospel
How can we not be thankful when we are faced with what we deserve, and the preciousness of what God has given us in Christ. If you struggle (as I am a little today) with being thankful, start here, and stay here until your heart is filled with white hot praise. Romans 8:32 demands we go here in the face of anything and everything and for those Romans is written to, their government and situation, far worse than ours!
THANK YOU JESUS!
2. The God of The Bible
He is Sovereign, Good, & With me. WOW. Read those three things again, and remember that Sovereign means He is OVER ALL THINGS, Good means that HE WORKS ALL TO GOOD, and with me means, well, He is with me….Therefore I will not be discouraged, though the earth gives way…(Psalm 46). Bring your mind back to who God has revealed Himself to be in His Word, and you will find hope. Today, in my devotions I was in Psalm 62, and what a great reminder for me to place my HOPE in GOD ALONE!
GOD you are AWESOME and PERSONAL!
3. The Goodness He Has Already Blessed Us With
Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings and see what God has done. Okay, if you are under 30 you probably don’t recognize the song, but you must recognize the wisdom. Make lists, and review them. Write things down, and don’t forget. This is so biblical, and in fact the word EBENEZER is not a reference to a Christmas movie, but a stone of remembrance. This we will see to NEVER FORGET!
So, this American thanksgiving, choose to be thankful as you watch a little football, and spend a lot of time with God! And I am hoping this year, the Godard family will be a little American and celebrate twice, what should be thought of and felt always!
I am thankful for my salvation, my family, our church family and how mature we are being through this (staying committed to the local church), our unity in spite of vastly differing opinions, your encouragement to my sad soul when we can’t meet, our love for one another…and SO MUCH MORE.
I AM THANKFUL, and that was not an easy road to get to this week, but one I want to spend a lot of time on as I seek to be obedient to our Master in choosing thanksgiving from a heart filled with the love of God!
Happy Thanksgiving. This week, let us share that with others. If each of us shares with five other people why we are thankful, we could experience a wonderful tsunami of thanksgiving overflowing fro the earthquake of God's grace. BE THANKFUL & SHARE IT!
Sunday is Coming:
This week we begin our journey through some important texts that help us prepare for Jesus coming, and focus on the richness of our salvation that He has provided for us. WE NEED THIS, as I think this will be a very DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS!
Title: Hope That Will Never Disappoint
Text: Colossians 1:15-23
- Why do we need hope as Christians?
- What is a good biblical definition of hope?
- How can you have hope in your own heart and life?
- This week what can you do to share that hope with others?
- This Christmas is going to be different than many others we have gone through, howe can you make sure to keep Jesus central to your celebration, and joy and hope central to how you share that with others?
The Children’s Ministry department has a CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR for our families! It gives you fun Christmas activities and easy crafts for your family to do each day that will point to the birth of the Saviour. The calendar starts on Dec 1 and has something for your family to do up to Dec 26. These are available at each to be picked up at the church office. The packet includes the calendar, instructions for use, and information about what is needed for the month. Pick yours up today and have fun with your family this special Christmas season!
HELP: We are looking for places to live for our precious family members that have recently arrived from Iran. We are looking for two accommodations. One for a mother and university age daughter, and one for a single female adult University student, who needs a quiet home and a space to study. Being on, or close to a bus route to Trinity Western University would be preferable. If you know of a place where they could stay and flourish, please let Bob & Jean Austin know: bobaustin@gmail.com. We would love to be able to help them as they become more familiar with Canada, and seek to live for God's glory here in this strange (and wonderful) place. I am so thankful God has blessed our church family with these precious daughters of His, and also know this is now our responsibility to respond to needs they might have. THANK YOU!
HELP: We need willing servants who can help us to serve God on Sunday mornings. If you are willing to help us with sound, or other servant roles we need filled and help with on Sunday mornings please contact info@
Please check out our online bulletin that is updated every week: Keep Informed
cloverdalebaptistchurch.ca/
ZOOMIN on Sunday mornings for Sunday School
We are continuing our Sunday School: Zooming In on the Christian Life. It is taught by Pastor Ray and Pastor Thomas.
How does this work? You go to the link below to watch the teaching time (about 15 mins), then join the Zoom conversation on Sunday morning from 9:30am - 10:00am. Please email Pastor Thomas to get the zoom link: pastorthomas@
Teaching Video Link:
https://www.
Join us for our ONLINE connection Cafe
Stay informed and stay connected and choose to be an encourager, the people God brings to your mind that need His love through you will miss it if you choose to ignore those promptings (and this one).
Share what God is teaching you, and be a blessing to another family member, as WE ALL NEED IT (Hebrews 3:12-14).
I am thankful for you,
Pastor Rob