To God's Beloved @ Cloverdale Baptist Church:
It is good to know that our God is on the throne, and that we can trust Him always and no matter what goes on around us. Encourage you to pray for our new Prime Minister, that he would come to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, and that we would have freedom to hold to Biblical convictions in this country. May our God help us to be a great Light House, in this community and nation as we seek to glorify His name (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-3; Daniel 4:17; Psalm 46:2)
It was a busy week at The Gospel Coalition, Ontario for me last week. Exciting to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. The conference part of my trip was on Revival, from the book of Isaiah. One of the breakout sessions was on the pre-requisites for revival, and I was so encouraged by the realities that God is the one who brings revival, and that often these awakenings come in times of darkness. The three pre-requisites for revival are: 1. Prayer; 2. Faithful Preaching (loyal to God's Word); 3. Participation of churches in the pursuit of God's glory together. I dream of seeing God move with such power in our church that people would shine with life and lips the glory of the Gospel, and many would know our LORD, that in Canada people would be forced to make a decision on what to do with the Jesus of the Bible because as churches we are so effective at living holy and loving lives! Would you pray for this with me? Meditate on Isaiah 57:15, and seek God's face with me.
God is Sovereign over revival...but He has chosen to use people like us to be a part of it, and we need to choose now at such a time as this to commit ourselves to prayer. I will try to share more on this in terms of our strategy for prayer, preaching and participation in the coming months.
A reminder for you that Sola Scriptura is coming, and that we, in hosting this event, get a special price to come and enjoy some world class preaching. Steven Lawson is one of the great conference speakers of our generation, and although you may not agree with everything he says, well worth your time and money to be a part of this. He will also be preaching on Sunday morning, November 8, so I am excited about that. Cost for the conference is $20 for the Friday night, and Saturday morning.
Christmas is approaching...I know most people wait until after Halloween to announce this, but...for us, we can start now. Encourage you to start to pray for opportunities to share the greatness of Jesus with your friends and family who don't know Him, or who are not living their lives in light of the Glory of the Gospel. Start now, and through our prayers and taking advantage of opportunities, who knows at what God will do through us.
Our church is also offering Evangelism Training, and one of our goals is that everyone who comes to our church is trained to share the Gospel clearly, and shares at least once a month with someone. If you would like to be trained, or even to get some great reminders, please see our Deacon of Evangelism (Rick Crompton) for information on this class. If each of us knows Jesus and shares our love for Jesus with others, we will need to double service next year, so please do your part...
Sunday Is Coming:
Text: Mark 10:13-31
Title: Learning The Way To Heaven
If you could ask Jesus one question, what would it be?
Why do you think that Jesus wants us to be like little children?
What is significant about the rich young ruler passage following this teaching on children?
What lesson about entering the Kingdom of Heaven, does he teach us?
How does knowing we are lost, help us to be ready to be saved?
If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven? Why, or why not?
If God was to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would you say?
I am excited to be your pastor at such a time as this.
I pray for revival in God's people, and that this would happen for God's glory. Would you join me? And would you please pray for me, that I would be faithful to God's Word, and that His Word preached in our church would bear much fruit and conform us to the image of Jesus...
Excited to see you Sunday, and to hear how God is using you to impact the lives of those in our community!
Pastor Rob