Greetings Beloved Of God At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Hope you are having a great week!
This week, I watched as the blood, super moon was covered by the shadow of the earth in a Lunar Eclipse. We had an amazing view out of our house window, and as we had a family date, watching a movie, we also watched the shadow slowly withdrawing itself from the brightness and beauty of the moon. It was fun to watch, although one of my precious children commented that the next time that this happens (2033) I might be dead...hmmmm...although true, hard to hear, :).
It was also a great reminder for me of how we sometimes allow the shadows of things going on around us here on earth to eclipse the beauty of Jesus in our lives. One of our goals is to allow Jesus to so impact our lives that we are a shining light of who He is to the world around us, as the moon reflects the sun, so we need to reflect the Son. May I encourage us as God's family here to take a good look at who we are, and to pursue the reflection that God wants us to have by saying no to ungodliness, and yes to those things that show how amazing He is. May the lunar eclipse, that was so fun to watch, help us to never allow our own flesh to shadow the Son. If you watched the shadow withdraw from the moon, as we did, imagine that happening to your own life as you get rid of sin, and welcome righteousness.
Men's Retreat is coming. If you have not signed up yet, please be in contact with Peter S. and join us in our pursuit of living our lives for Jesus as men devoted to Him.
AGM: October 27, please be in prayer for this and plan to attend and seek God's glory and will with us.
As a church we have two main passions that we are seeking to accomplish in God's strength for God's glory. Reach people for Jesus, and see people grow in conformity to Jesus. As you are a part of us, we take this personally before we take this corporately. In fact if we do not take this personally, we can not accomplish it corporately. Our programs are only as effective as our people.
So, today, how are you doing in reaching the community God has placed you in? Do you know the Gospel well enough to share it with your neighbours? When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? Is your life reflecting your commitment to Christ-likeness?
I love meeting your friends, when you invite them to church, to discover the greatness of God with you, KEEP IT UP, or START IT UP...
How about your own personal growth in pursuit of conformity to Jesus? We say you need to be: 1. Word Saturated; 2. Prayer Filled; 3. Committed To God's Family; 4. Gospel Centred; to grow in your conformity to Jesus. How are you doing in these things?
I long for our church and my own life to be a pursuit of this for the glory of our King, closer every day to who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do!
Sunday Is Coming:
Text: Mark 9:42-50
Title: Learning To Hate Sin
How we view life shapes how we live life...agree or disagree?
How does Romans 12:1-2 and 2 Corinthians 10:5 help us to know the importance of our thought life?
Why do you think that Jesus is so hard on sin in these verses?
How can we learn to view sin as God does?
What would change in your life if you were as passionate about rooting out sin in your life as God wanted you to be?
Why does Jesus refer to hell in this passage as a motivator for purity?
What does it mean to be salt in this world?
How does preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day help us to be motivated to root out sin, and live in light of the freedom of grace?
Have an amazing week, looking forward to Sunday!
with joy, thanksgiving and anticipation,
Pastor Rob