To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Is it worth the cost to serve Jesus?
That is a very strange question to open up a letter to God’s beloved at CBC, but one we must ask once in a while if we want to live authentic Christian lives. So often in our current cultural setting we think coming to Jesus is a decision, and I suppose it is, but it is SO MUCH MORE! It is a relationship that is to drive and define us by grace, through faith. It comes at a massive cost.
Just read Luke 9:23, or Luke 14:25-33. Being a follower of Jesus is not easy…and in this world we will have trouble if we are truly His. So, what is that cost, and is it worth it are important questions as we seek to be authentic followers of Jesus!
Obedience to God comes at a cost!
It means you trust God, and take Him at His Word. You choose to believe that what He says, He means, and when understood correctly, you obey. This includes a death to self, and full devotion to Him (Matthew 7:21-27). The Christian chooses obedience even when it hurts, even at great personal cost, because we know God is real and His Word is relevant and right.
Loving God and others comes at a cost!
When we follow God we are called to imitate Him, and live lives of love (Ephesians 5:1-2). This came at great cost to Jesus, and the cost to His followers, although not as great, is big. We are to be those who choose to self sacrificially love because we are loved, not because others deserve it, or have earned it. It is a trust in God that yields a willingness to choose to love those God’s way, even when they are sinners (Romans 5:8). That costs pride…and takes a humble trust in God that gives up all rights but to be a child of God (John 1:12).
Living on mission for God comes at a cost!
2 Timothy 3:12 lays it out fairly clearly, and it is true more and more in our culture. If we truly see God’s Word as true, and seek to live fully devoted lives for Him, it will cost us a lot! It means we will prioritize serving His familiy and living to show others the glory of the Gospel. These things will mean self sacrifice and radically different priorities than the world around us...
Was talking to some Christian teachers the other day, and they shared that Christians in their cultural setting are seen as unloving and bigoted…for our loyalty to God’s Word on gender...and yet we must be followers of God and His Word if we are disciples.
IT IS WORTH IT!
It is only worth it if Jesus is who He said He is, and if He rose from the dead and did what the Bible tells us He did…if Jesus did not rise from the dead, we of all people are most to be pitied because we count the cost. JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD!
It is a battle to stay loyal to Jesus from the inside out, and it is worth it! HE IS WORTH IT! Yes there is a heaven to gain that is amazing, but…the greatest gift is the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our LORD!
No cost we ever count even comes remotely close to the blessing of knowing the risen Savior, being a part of His plan, and living for His glory…so…see Him and savour Him, and choose to live in an all defining relationship with Him…it will cost you (So, therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple, Luke 14:33), and it is SO WORTH IT!
And if you bring the inheritance He has qualified us for IN CHRIST, than anything and everything we go through is WORTH IT (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). So, today reflect on what it means to be a follower of Jesus, count the cost, reflect on the gain, and JUMP IN WITH BOTH FEET (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20).
Choose today to have first love devotion to Jesus and to live your life in holiness, love and on mission for the SUPREMACY OF JESUS! Choose to see your life as His (1 Corinthians 6:20), and rejoice that as a devoted steward you can invest all that you have and all that you are in eternity (Matthew 6:19-21)
Knowing He is worth it,
Pastor Rob
Sunday Is Coming:
Title: Seeing & Savouring Jesus: Part 1
Text: Colossians 1:15-23
This is one of the greatest places in the Bible to grow in your understanding of who Jesus is, and because of that to grow in your relationship with Him. If you will read this portion every day this week (love it if you read the entire book every day, will not take you very long), you will find that at the end of this chapter in our series, you will know Jesus better, and really, nothing else matters as much.
So, encourage you to read Colossians 1:15-23, take notes on it, and SEE AND SAVOUR JESUS!
Bulletin
Missions Evening
Sun. Feb. 11th / 7:00pm / Fellow. Hall Julie Gibson, one of our missionaries serving with WEC, will be reporting on her ministry work.
Baptism Sunday
Sunday, Feb. 18th / During Service If you would like to be baptized, please sign up here >
Newcomers Lunch
Feb. 25th / After Service / Fellow. Hall New to Cloverdale Baptist in the last 6 months? Join us for lunch on Sunday, Feb. 25th where we’ll share with you who we are, what we stand for, and make you aware of our ministries. Pastor Rob will host a Q&A. No registration required!
Women's Retreat Save the Date
November 1st–3rd / Cedar Springs The Women's Ministry is planning a retreat this November at Cedar Springs Christian Retreat Center in Sumas, Washington. Stay tuned for more details like registration, schedule, and more!
Growth Group Notes: Colossians 1:15-23
Thank you for joining us in seeking to help God’s people connect with Him, and to connect with His family at Cloverdale Baptist Church. Growth Groups are the heart of our strategy to connect with God and one another in unity for His glory…so THANK YOU for your part in pursuing this with us. Please continue to keep these relationships strong and intentionally pursue the Christian life in these communities, especially with our New Year’s goal of increased community.
Text: Colossians 1:15-23
Title: Seeing & Savouring Jesus: Part 1
What is the most important thing in your life?
- o If there was a fire in your house and you could only grab one thing, what would you grab?
Why is having a biblical view of the greatness of Jesus so important?
If you were to describe Jesus, how would you do it? Take some time to talk about this before you read the text…
What are things you can do to make sure that you have a first love devotion to Jesus?
Read Luke 14:25-33: How is seeing the greatness of Jesus essential to counting the cost…
Read Colossians 1:15-23
How does this passage present Jesus?
- o Refer to the specific verses and what they say, and what that means in terms of grasping who He is…
Many think that this was an early hymn of the church…discuss the importance of songs and what they teach in terms of development of our theology as a church.
- o Colossians 3:16-17
The sermon covered a few of the specific pictures of Jesus from this text, discuss each one in terms of what it means, and how it changes your life to see Jesus in this way:
He is: The Image Of The Invisible God:
He is: The Firstborn Of All Creation:
He is: The Creator Of All Things:
He is: The One For Whom All Creation Was Made For:
He is: Before All Things:
We will cover the rest next week, God willing…
How can we make sure that our view of Jesus is in line with Colossians 1 (and the rest of the Bible), not culture or tradition?
How can we fight against diminishing His glory?
How can we be driven and defined by our relationship with Jesus?
Prayer:
- Begin this week praising Jesus for who He is:
Use last weeks words to thank the Father for what He has done for you:
- Qualified:
- Delivered:
- Redeemed:
- Forgiven:
Pray that we would be a family fully devoted to Jesus and have our eyes set on Him.
Pray for our search committee in their pursuit of a Discipleship/care pastor.
Other prayer requests: