To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Thank you for all of your emails and connections asking where this update was. Love your encouragement and blessing, thank you!
It has been a heavy week, and as such sometimes things like this get slid to the side, but given we have one more day, thought worth sending. Encourage you to keep praying as many in our congregation suffer loss. A wife yesterday, a mother today, and as you probably know, many more in the last few months.
It has been over a year since we entered the darkness of restrictions and physical isolation. Many in our family have experienced death, or near death experiences, some with COVID, others with normal life circumstances, and the pain has been intense and real. I am so thankful for our doctors and nurses, and encourage you to be a blessing to those you know serving our communities during these difficult times. THANK YOU to the doctors and nurses in our family for the extra hard work, care and attention, you are giving to being a blessing! THANK YOU to police officers, ambulance employees and firemen as well, working hard to keep us safe, and help the hurting.
As you probably know and have been praying, we had a godly youth experience what could have been a catastrophic sickness (please keep praying if you know of this situation), and the pain of that so real. This family, and particular growth group had already been through so much with the loss of family and friends, and one of the things that the dad in this situation said to me was, “it’s always the darkest before the dawn” (their favourite theologian), and personally, “God’s love is amazing, I am experiencing it in a new and fresh way”. As we cried together, it gave me hope that in these situations, God is at work in His people, and together we are functioning in such healthy ways. So thankful for the testimonies I hear each week of those faithful to Jesus and His bride at such a time as this.
So, how should we respond to crisis as a unified family? Which we most certainly are in now as a nation and world, but perhaps even more profoundly for those receiving this, as a local church, as we seek to love one another and minister to the vulnerable and those in intense pain?
- Encourage one another: This is the call of Hebrews 10, but so MANY MORE PASSAGES. Numerous of you have been a deep encouragement to me, and I want to THANK YOU. Even without knowing the depth of struggle in my own battle for JOY, you have ministered to me with emails, phone calls and texts.
If each of us will take seriously the commands in Scripture to build one another up, and to focus only on what is godly and best for all, we will get through this unified and stronger than when we went into it.
Memorize Ephesians 5:1-2, and seek to practice it with those God has placed in your sphere of influences. Stop anything that is happening around you that would not be a blessing and encouragement to God’s people, and choose to be a blessing. Thank you for being that kind of church for me, when I struggle.
- Thankful: It is almost impossible as James tells us to truly curse or speak evil against brothers (James 3:1-10, 4:11-12) if our mouths are full of praise and thanksgiving to God.
If each of us will start the day focused on our salvation, and filled with the joy of what it means to be one that God loves seeking to bless others made in the image of God it will change how we speak, as our hearts will be shaped by God’s love and humility, not the flesh and our own brokenness.
Try to start your conversations from now on with words of praise and thanksgiving, this will chase away the ways of the world and flesh, replacing those with the ways of the One who loved you and gave Himself for you!
If we truly are thankful for what Jesus has done for us, and the mission He has placed us on to build His church, and bless our world with His love and Gospel, it will shape the rest of our lives. I am thankful for the elders God has blessed this church with, who encourage me this way daily, and at our prayer meeting this week so powerfully prayed it for one another and our church family.
In one of the memorial services I have been a part of recently this was so powerfully shared about the man that we were remembering. He lived His faith, his integrity was on display, and all knew him as a good man who walked by faith not by sight. I want to be this kind of man, and to be a part of a church filled with this kind of people. Join me in personally pursuing this.
- Engaged in spiritual battle:
I will speak about this a lot more in the at our congregational meeting, and perhaps an article or two after that, as one of the things I need to constantly remind myself of is that we are not in a battle against flesh and blood, a virus, or a government, but rather against the demonic realm.
Some of the conspiracy theories I have heard and read are truly impossible and sad, but what is possible and real is that we are in a battle against the demonic realm and the conspiracy they are at work to accomplish is real and strong.
We have victory in Christ, and as we work through the Bible, especially in our study of Revelation we see the overall victory is sure, but right now, we must engage in spiritual warfare.
How?
Keep your spiritual armour on, PRAY PRAY PRAY, and focus on being on God’s side at all times. If you find yourself battling humans, or dividing against one another, stop…and engage with the real enemy in God’s power, focused on God’s way.
I needed this reminder this week, and expect you do as well! More on this at our congregational meeting in a few weeks (May 25, 2021 @ 7:00, remember to pray for the meeting and to sign up to seek God’s will with us through your view of God’s will for our church family).
- Examine Your First Love Devotion:
As I have shared before I try to begin my days in prayer, and keep my prayers relational with our Heavenly Father. Often we forget that Christianity at its core is a first love relationship with Jesus, and the rest of our disciplined pursuit of holiness and love, an overflow of that.
If we forget this, we can find ourselves in conflict with God, even as we see ourselves as very religious (Pharisees), or we can slip into the political realm and find ourselves apathetic towards God (Sadducees) and very political. Religion without first love relationship is dangerous.
Let’s avoid both the mistakes of the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and start with a first love relationship with Jesus, every day surrendering all we are and all we have to Him, and living our lives as an overflow of that relationship. Romans 12:1-2, so powerful with this call, and then the rest of the book an overflow of this communal surrender to God.
If we do these 4 things as a family, CLOVERDALE BAPTIST will thrive together in love and unity through these trials, and together we will build one another up, and be used by God to share His Gospel through our lives and lips with a hurting world around us.
Invite 1, Encourage 3, and share the Gospel with your life that is lived so differently from the world that when they ask you the reason for the hope you have in you, you can show them the love of Jesus!
Sunday is Coming:
In fact it is tomorrow...
We are starting our journey through Revelation, and I am so excited as we begin what is a delightful book to apply, with so much passionate focus on Jesus, the head of the church, who is walking amongst the churches (including ours), and offering hope, commanding obedience, and demanding our first love devotion.
Would love if sometime over the next week you read the entire book of Revelation.
Title: He Is Worth It
Text: Revelation1:1-6
There will be no study book for Revelation, but we are working on a book on prayer for the summer months, to focus us together on seeking God in our time of need. If you would like application questions to work through as families, some of our Growth Groups are getting those and you would be welcome to them.
- Some questions to prepare your heart:
- Why do you think talking about Jesus return is so important?
- Why do you think so many in history have gotten it wrong as they tie it to current events in their times?
- How can we be focused on Jesus and longing for His return at such a time as this?
Pray that as we begin this journey through Revelation it would unite us as a church in our longing for Christ’s return, and that we would live lives here on earth expectant and passionate in our relationship with Him.
Humbled to be called with your elders to serve you at this point in history,
Pastor Rob
P.S. If you have actually read this entire, super long email (feels like a sermon, not a weekly update), and would like a copy of John Piper's book, WHEN I DON'T DESIRE GOD, email me, and the first four will get a copy of this book.
Other:
Please pray that we would be permitted to gather in the church building again! We are seeking to courageously follow God’s Word in difficult times, and believe we are doing the right thing together, BUT it would sure be wonderful to be able to gather again in freedom and joy as a family. Pray that God would move in people (remember He is Sovereign) to accomplish this, and that COVID would end soon. We pray in faith, and trust God, together we long for this!
STAY INFORMED AND PRAYING
We have congregational meeting on May 25. Please note this on your calendar and join us in seeking God's will together as a family. Your prayers and pursuit of unity with us are what makes the congregational system of church governance work. We long for the mind of Christ, and a unified passion to do His will together.
Other Helpful Information
please check out our online bulletin that is updated every week:
Keep Informed
cloverdalebaptistchurch.ca/onlinebulletin
Other:
Please help our search committee as they look for the man of God that will help us exalt His name in song and deepen our love for Him as we celebrate His greatness together. We long for God's man for the ministry, and would like this to be sooner than later (our timing), so please pray, and help us to pursue this patiently and in God's POWER! If you know of anyone...please share with them this amazing opportunity and have them apply!
Kids ministry is seeking to serve you, and help in discipling our children and families even though we are not gathering physically. Please take advantage of this, and continue to make church a priority that your children can see and taste!
Make sure you are taking advantage of opportunities to gather like Connection Cafe, memory verses, Growth Groups, and don't stop meeting where we can. I love the idea of going to a park with 10 others, listening to God's Word preached and sung, and glorifying Him publicly. Try not to bother too many people, but to show them the beauty of Jesus love in a gracious, truth filled way...and do what you can while you can!
Thanks all for staying informed, and for being a family who has a positive impact for God's glory and the good of His church in the world He has sovereignly placed us.
Please join me in making an extra effort to pursue unity, encourage a family member, and share what God is teaching you with someone else.
STAY STRONG, FAITHFUL, COURAGEOUS and FOCUSED!