To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Today is GIVING TUESDAY.
What is that you say, well the Tuesday after BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY. Or, maybe better, a day that we can be reminded of the importance of giving to good causes. It is kind of funny that it falls on the day after the weekend that we spent our disposable income on other things…but it is a great reminder to us as Christians that we are stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
God has given us resources and enjoying those resources for His glory is a great responsibility. One of the ways that we display that God owns us is to see ourselves as those entrusted by Him with our time, treasures and talents. This is not easy in a world gone mad with selfishness, so today is a great day to STOP…and remind ourselves that we are those entrusted with the precious resources for God’s glory.
So…How are you using your time? NO REALLY! Take the time right now to look at how you spend your time, and evaluate if you are doing so as one who is entrusted with this time. A fellow pastor once challenged me with the story…if you won the lottery and were given $86, 400 a day for the rest of your life, and at the end of that day, the money you didn’t spend was gone and it reset at the start of the next day, how would you spend your money?
I have some brilliant ideas, and would have a lot of golf clubs, cars, and hockey cards…now the harder question, God has given you that many seconds in a day…how are you spending them?
So…how are you using your treasures? NO REALLY! This is for many personal because we want to be able to spend it on ourselves, and although I agree it is personal, it is one of the great displays of the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. How are you investing what God has entrusted to you in terms of finances for His glory and eternal reward. Randy Alcorn has said that Christianity is the only investment place where you can invest for eternal reward. He is right. How is your eternal investment portfolio? My email inbox is inundated today with parachurch organizations looking for money, and that is good…however make sure you give to Jesus church first (the local church you belong to), and then as an overflow to other places. I don’t say this because we are low on resources, I say this because we are high on Jesus priorities.
So…how are you in using your talents? NO REALLY! So many of us are not serving in the church, and Jesus has so built His family that each of us needs to be using our spiritual gifts or we will not be mature (Ephesians 4:11-16). Where are you serving others and building them up in our church family. Remember that in God’s economy least and greatest are defined differently, and each of us is to use the Spirit given gifts in His strength for His glory….SO WHERE ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Today is GIVING TUESDAY…so STOP...NO REALLY...STOP. And reflect on what your use of your time, treasures and talents says about you...and make any necessary changes so that your life reflects the reality that you are a grateful steward!
I hope as your inboxes are overloaded that this is a reminder for us to live as Stewards and invest in eternity.
A fellow Steward, saved by Grace, saved for God,
Pastor Rob
Sunday Is Coming:
Title: Jesus Is…The Prince Of Peace
Text: Isaiah 9:6
Read the text.
- What does Jesus title PRINCE OF PEACE mean?
- How is Jesus our Prince Of Peace?
- How can we experience peace with God, not only in reality, but also experientially?
- What does it feel like to have internal peace? How can you grow in this?
- What does it mean that those who follow Jesus are peacemakers?
- How can you be a peacemaker in your life?
Bulletin
Young Adults Christmas Banquet
This Fri. Dec 6th / 6:00 pm / Fellow. Hall Young Adults (18-29), don’t miss this festive night of games, laughter, and great food with our community this Friday! Details and registration >
Men’s Breakfast
Sat. Dec. 7th / 8:30 am / Fellowship Hall Men of all ages, come and enjoy a wonderful breakfast, fellowship, and spiritual food together!
Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes Update
Cloverdale Baptist packed 116 shoeboxes! Thanks for your great generosity and may God bless the children receiving them.
Family Ice Skating
Dec. 23rd / 9:15 am / Cloverdale Arena We're heading to the nearby ice rink! We've rented out the Cloverdale Arena starting at 9:15am and at 11 we'll be returning to the church for some hot chocolate and light refreshments. This church-wide event is free and for all ages, and if you don't own skates, the arena will have some available free of charge. Please come early as last year there were big line-ups!
Christmas Eve Service
Tuesday, Dec. 24th / 5:00 pm / CBC Join us for a joyous family service to celebrate the birth of Jesus with carols, a Christmas message, and more! Also, every child in attendance will receive a special gift bag from our Children’s Ministry. We look forward to celebrating with you!