To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
It is not enough to get the Gospel right, we must also believe, or we stand condemned already…we must apply it to our lives by grace through faith!
We are seeking to build a God honoring culture at Cloverdale Baptist Church, and this means we are trying to create a place where who we are impacts what we do, and it is such a part of us that it overflows from hearts fully devoted to Jesus.
We want to be a healthy church that, has a passion for, Discipleship, Love, Evangelism, Prayer, and an ever growing first love relationship with Jesus that defines everything about us!
To get there we need the right foundation…knowing the content of the Gospel, and keeping it central in all of our lives. We are those who must get the Gospel right in terms of its GOOD NEWS, and impact on our lives. We must believe it, and we must stay oriented on it.
So for today, in terms of building our foundation in a healthy way, having the content right is essential, but it must never stay there, we must be those who are GOSPEL ORIENTED. This means we must keep our lives in the flow of the river of the grace of God and live in light of it.
We must believe…and we must stay oriented on what it means in our lives. Relationally, this means being driven and defined by our love for Jesus, intellectually this means preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day.
How do we do this generically, and specifically? Generically it is a reminder that we are forgiven in Christ, and now stand forgiven by Him with NO CONDEMNATION! We look in the mirror in a Psalm 42 sort of way, and shout to our hearts, I am in Christ, I am forgiven, I have His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1). This always yields humility and courage, and a life that is devoted to Jesus.
If you struggle in any area of your spiritual life (and we will struggle until we go to glory), then the Gospel has a solution!
If you struggle in any of the following areas, the Gospel is the answer if experienced and embraced!
- Freedom from self-condemnation: Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21
- Passion for living life for God: 2 Corinthians 5:14
- Love from God, love for others: Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:19; Ephesians 5:1-2; 3:14-21
- Forgiven and forgiving: Matthew 18:21-35; Ephesians 4:32
- Identity In Christ: 2 Corinthians 5:21
- Humility before God and others: Matthew 5:3
- Confidence to do what God wants: Ephesians 2:8-10
- On Mission Always: Philippians 1:27; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8
- Holiness: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Titus 2:11-14
- Hope & freedom from Anxiety: Romans 8:32-39; Philippians 4:4-6
It is impossible to live a victorious joy filled Christian life if we lose sight of the Gospel in our living out our lives for God. We must know the content, believe it, and keep it in sight as we battle the world, the flesh, and the demonic realm or we will be overwhelmed and defeated.
If we want to be healthy as a church and as individuals it must start with a Gospel Orientation that includes content, credence and concentration.
How can you make sure this is your foundation? For me it is building into my life constant reminders, and seeking to make sure I never lose sight of the Gospel. I preach it to myself every day and seek to simplify everything that happens back to my relationship with God by grace through faith, and His plan for my life. This simplifying allows for an understanding of the next step that God would have me to take in my life, and the joy and peace that His presence brings in taking that.
So, make sure you have the content right, make sure you believe it, and are constantly reminding yourself of His love and grace, and all it means!
If this is our ever increasing cultural foundation at CBC, we will be able to have the power of the Spirit and freedom that is in Christ to please the Father as we step forward in passion and peace to do His will!
We need to learn to talk to ourselves more than we listen to ourselves, and use self talk as an opportunity to remind ourselves of the richness and reality of the Gospel!
Our foundation: Gospel Orientation!
May we never leave this!
Sunday Is Coming:
Title: In Chains & Free!
Text: Colossians 2:16-23
- As you prepare your hearts for Sunday, reflect on these verses.
- What holds you back from an embracing of God's rich grace?
- How can you experience His grace so richly in your life that you are protected from the dangers of these distractions?
- Why is this text important for your life right now?
Allow the Holy Spirit to prepare you now, and for the service as you seek to know and apply God's Word faithfully to your life!
Bulletin
Adult Discipleship Class Update
Navigating Our Finances God's Way Please note that this class is taking a break on April 21st and will return on April 28th at 9am.
Baby Shower
April 22nd at 7pm in the Fellowship Hall The Women’s Ministry is inviting all ladies to join them in blessing the Melnyks as they welcome their precious little one. Food sign-up available here >
Men’s Breakfast
Sat. May 4th / 8:30 AM / Fellowship Hall Men of all ages, come and enjoy a wonderful breakfast, fellowship, and spiritual food together!
Easter Offering
The Easter Offering will be for Mile One Mission for projects to enhance church planting activities and will remain open until April 30th. Please mark your envelope or electronic gift "Easter Offering".
Summer Missions Trip
August 17th – 25th, 2024 We're sending a team led by Pastor Dwight to share the gospel in St. John’s, NL through a kids soccer camp in August. Support the team now >
Growth Group Notes:
Growth Group Notes: Colossians 2:16-23
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 2:16-23
Title: A Free Life…In Chains
Do you know someone who has gone to jail?
How do you think they felt, when they were in jail?
Have you ever felt bound by your situation in life so that you were overwhelmed?
Read Colossians 2:16-23…
How should knowing and feeling the richness of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us impact how we feel in the midst of all of life?
Review:
Colossians 2 introduces 7 realities of our relationship with Jesus:
- We are filled by Him
- We are circumcised in Him
- We are buried in Him
- We are raised in Him
- We are made alive in Him
- We are forgiven in Him
- We are safe in Him
This text is on how we can avoid the worlds way of thinking and stay intimate with Jesus and His people.
- We must avoid:
People Pleasing: 2:16
- What is this?
- Do you ever demand this of others on non-biblical issues?
- How does Galatians 1:8-10 inform us on this conversation?
- How can we make sure in our lives we are more concerned about what God thinks, than what others think?
Rule Keeping: 2:16-19
- This is one of the major faults in Jesus time, and sadly, in ours.
- How does this show in our lives now?
- How can we avoid being legalistic in our approach to Jesus?
- How can we keep holiness as a passion, while avoiding legalism?
Division & Laziness: 2:19
- Why do you think that God hates division in the church so much?
- o Proverbs 6:16-19
- o Titus 3:10
- Why do you think that we don’t hate division as we should?
- How can we grow to seek the mind of Christ, and in truth and grace, unity in the fellowship of the local church?
Mysticism & Emotionalism: 2:18-19
- Why is seeking experience as dangerous as having a non-experiential relationship with Jesus?
- How can you make sure your experience of an all defining relationship with Jesus is authentic?
Asceticism & Self Denial: 2:20-23
- Why is self-denial dangerous, when we are called to deny ourselves by Jesus (Luke 9:23)?
- What choices can we make that lead to holiness and love rather than asceticism and hurt towards others and a lack of the abundant life Jesus promised?
How is being found IN CHRIST the answer to these dangerous distractions to authentic Christianity?
How can we make sure we are in a first love relationship with Jesus, and not succumbing to the dangers of false religion?
Remind one another of what it means to be IN CHRIST and why that is so important to a healthy following of Jesus, in the world, but not of the world.
Prayer:
- Keep praising Jesus for who He is and what He has done, using Colossians 2:9-15 as a guide for this.
- Make, ABOUNDING IN THANKSGIVING a central part of this prayer!
- Pray for the person that you would want to impact with the Gospel!
- Pray for the person God wants you to encourage this coming Sunday…
- Pray that we would be free from the dangers attacking the church, and love Jesus fully!
- Pray for our search committee in their pursuit of a Discipleship/care pastor.
Other prayer requests: