To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Welcome to a New Year:
Hope you have all made New Years Commitments, or I suppose maybe better put in the context of our walk with God, are living lives devoted to Him, and closing the gap in Holiness and Love.
I know this year will have many peaks and valley's, and together we can be who God wants us to be, and live life for His glory!
I think key for all of us is to live as if God is real, and align our lives as closely as possible with His Word. This takes humility, honesty, and a lot of time with Him. May we be this kind of people for His glory! I long for us to be a Psalm 16:8, and 11 people and live lives of faith and joy, growing in depth and intimacy with Him.
We always seek to enter the New Year in prayer, and this year we are calling our church family to prayer again! Please join us in seeking God, and His best or us this coming year! We long for deeper intimacy and wider impact, and the key way of attaining this is authentic prayer!
Week Of Prayer: Sunday July 9-15. We will gather for prayer on Wednesday night (January 12) as the youth and Pastor Thomas lead us, and we strongly encourage you to join us in seeking God, and His best for 2022 together!
I am thankful for our church family, and the privilege being partners with the Gospel with you. We know it has been a long go, and I am excited to live in God's power for God's glory with you! These are not easy times, as convenient Christianity is a thing of the past. Let us unite around God and His Word and stand firm with grace as we travel forward together!
Sunday School starts again this coming Sunday. Take advantage of this discipleship opportunity!
The world seems to be not only invading the church with the distractions, but is also changing moving further away from the Word. This means we have to be loving and courageous in our response to what is going on around us!
Here is a response to something that is going on in our nation, and we encourage you to rest in peace with our God! We believe that the world we live in is not our friend, nor do we want to fight so that she will be our friend (James 4:4), that said we also want to be able to respond in grace to what is going on around us!
We are not wanting to fight the world, nor do we expect the world to be inline with God's Word. We do want to stand firm, with grace to what God's Word teaches is best for people, and help all to see the wonder of His grace, the wealth of His salvation, and invite all to trust in Him and follow Him.
So we will continue to preach and teach God's Word, knowing it is from Him, and best for all humans!
This past week marked a monumental change in Canadian law and society with the enactment of federal Bill C-4, which amends the Criminal Code.
The law’s stated purpose is to outlaw “conversion therapy”. We strongly oppose the coercive and unscientific therapeutic practices the Bill was introduced to address. We appreciate and affirm the desire of parliamentarians to protect the vulnerable. However, we are deeply concerned that the effective reach of the legislation could be extended far beyond its stated purpose. Because its definition of “conversion therapy” is vague, many are concerned that it could capture parents, pastors and counsellors who teach a biblical understanding of sexuality in a variety of situations. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees our freedoms of religion, conscience, thought, belief, expression and association. It is our prayer that the law will be applied – and clarified as needed – in such a way as to honour these Charter protections.
We recognize that the greatest danger facing the Canadian church is not that we might face criminal prosecution, but rather that we might compromise in our teaching of the Word of God or fall silent in our proclamation of the gospel. Along with church leaders of like conviction across Canada, we stand before you today to pledge that we are committed to obeying God above all others (Acts 5:29). With the Lord’s help, we will continue to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) without fear or favour. This includes God’s life-giving design for human beings, made in His image, male and female (Genesis 1:27), with sexual intimacy reserved for the covenantal union of a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24). We will continue to issue the call to repent of all kinds of sin and to believe the gospel, knowing that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and that salvation through Jesus is the one true hope for the world (Acts 4:12). We will continue to love and serve all people in our community, without distinction, in Jesus’ name. As we press on in the work of ministry, we will trust our Heavenly Father to guard us and keep us, and to work out His greater purposes for our good and His glory.
We continue to pray for our government, and to plead with the Lord to have mercy on our needy land.
The Elders Of Cloverdale Baptist Church (with TGC Canada)
Sunday Is Coming:
Please prepare your heart for a sermon on prayer.
Blessings as you continue to love Jesus, and fix your eyes on Him with me,
Your servant because I am His,
Pastor Rob