God's Invitation

It’s normal to wonder if God really exists. The circumstances of life often call

out to us, questioning God’s involvement in our lives. In the last few weeks in

sermons, Bible studies and our Friday emails we have come to realize that

God is revealed all around us. God is at work all around us and He is inviting

us to join Him in His work. This invitation offers to us an intimate love

relationship with Him. When we finally come to terms with this reality we can

be confronted with a crisis or crossroads experience which requires us to go

God’s way or our way. Whichever way we choose requires us to adjust our

lives to that “Way”. Choosing God’s WAY necessitates obedience to His Word

and as we obey, we begin to discern His will, experiencing intimacy with Him

that is transforming. For some this transformation is soon. For others it’s a

longer process but the transformation happens, none the less.

Lives that are transformed by the redeeming power of Christ reflect that

transformation with changed behavior. We were all created in the image of

God. That image has been distorted by our willfulness. That image is being

healed and restored by that redeeming power. As we are restored it is natural

for us to grow from questioning God’s existence to affirming His presence by

our behavior. Our minds are transformed. We stop abusing our bodies. Our

relationships become more stable. We learn to live for others. We serve

instead of “deserve”.

It’s not logical or sensible in the world’s way of thinking that a person could

find their self by surrendering their self to God, but that’s what this is all

about. The Gospel of Jesus isn’t about self-promotion. It’s about self-denial.

Think about that for a while. Surrender to God’s way. Get to know Him. Build

a bridge and invite someone else along.

Pastor Brian

God is an ever present God

It’s possible to experience God. Recent surveys of younger generations suggest that it’s not that they reject the reality of God but rather that they haven’t seen God at work in their families. In their lives. They say that there’s a disconnect between what they see in Church on Sunday mornings and what they see at home, or anywhere for that matter.

Many people, having not experienced God working in their lives, attempt to explain this by saying that there is a god but that god doesn’t speak to us today, we are beyond that age of miracles. Having said that, I have often said “Don’t think for one minute that the God that you’re not experiencing now you will be experiencing in heaven”. This suggests that there is a God to experience, whether we’ve experienced Him or not. Our lack of

experiencing God does not limit God or define Him.

In recent weeks I have shared that God is an ever present God. He is all around you. He is always at work around you. This same God is pursuing a continuous love relationship with you, that is real and personal, and He is inviting you to become involved with Him in His work. But..... how do we know His work? How do we discern His will for us and our role in His work?

I would like to suggest that God still speaks to us today. My study, spiritual disciplines,

devotional time, and experience, reveal that God is alive and well and He is engaging us,

all the time. The Scriptures teach that God speaks to us today through His Holy Spirit. In

doing so He uses the Bible, two-way prayer, circumstances, other people, and yes, the

Church, to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His way. I have found that there is no limit to the ways that he will use to reach out to us. SO WHY DON’T I EXPERIENCE GOD?

My suggestion is that, if you haven’t already, start reading God’s word at least 15 minutes a day. Practice SOAPing. Read the SCRIPTURE. Write down what it says. OBSERVE. APPLY what it says to your life, not someone else’s. PRAY and ask God to speak to you, believing that He will. It’ll take a while, so don’t give up. He will gradually change your perception, giving you a new point of view.

Pastor Brian

God is Always at Work

God is always at work. It falls upon us to see Him working and then to join Him. It could be said that this is no easy task and so for the next weeks both during Sunday morning worship and our Bible study at 11am we are going to attempt to discern just what the Bible says with regards to how we can discern the will of God and hopefully experience Him in our lives. We will investigate 7 basic principles that were developed from the Scriptures by Henry Blackaby. Reading Blackaby’s book and hearing him speak had a transformative effect on my life. I grew in the depth of my relationship with Him. Sometimes God uses the writers of books to give a different perspective of His word, even to those who read the Word daily. Beginning February 2, 2025 at 11am we will study these 7 Biblical principles:

1. God is always at work around you.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit, through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the Church, to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways. This is the meat of the matter!

5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him ALWAYS leads to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

6. You must make adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.

7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work (in you) and through you.

I would like to invite all of you to join us as we all seek to grow in our relationship with

God through Jesus. If you like you could buy the book Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. It doesn’t matter which edition. We can also begin by doing SOAP together. Reading Scripture at least 15 minutes a day. Observing what the Bible is saying. Applying the passage to our lives and Praying that God will speak to us through His word and then help us to apply it 24/7.

Special announcement: Beginning 2/7/25 on communion Sundays we will celebrate

birthdays and anniversaries during our fellowship time at 1030 am. Please join us as we

have some fun celebrating!

Brian