September 28, 2012

John 1:41 “Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah.””

This last Sunday we were reminded that sharing our faith should not be a big heartburn moment!  We don't need to get all upset over trying to remember every detail of every verse, we just need to share our experiences with Jesus.  In the above verse we see that this was Andrew’s approach.  He did not go into a long explanation about this and that...he just told his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah.”  “I’ve experienced him!  You can too!”  There would be time to answer questions from Simon, and the truth is . . . Andrew would not be able to answer them all, but that did not stop him.  It should not stop us either.  People often don't really want to debate with us over their faith or lack of, but they are very open to hear of your experiences with God.  Pray for open doors to share with them all the excitement you have experienced.

“Questions We Ask God” is the subject of this week’s message in our series “Portraits of Christ.”  We ask God a lot of questions throughout our lifetime.  This weekend we want to investigate three that a man named Nicodemus asked.  Our passage is found in John 3:1-21.  Take an early look and jot down a couple of notes for yourself.

Come hungry to give God your worship and celebration.  Come hungry to honor God with your finances. Come hungry to catch up and connect with friends.  Come hungry to experience God through His Word to you.  Come hungry to enjoy the life of a follower of Jesus Christ!

We look forward to seeing you!

Pastor Craig, Becky, Seth, Hannah and Riley the dog

September 19, 2012

Hello Friends! 

I hope you are enjoying all the benefits of being an active part of Bayside Church, I know I am. If you're not, make it your priority this fall. Each week we gather to celebrate the goodness of our God, to encourage one another in our faith, catch up with friends and find ourselves captivated with God's living Word all over again. Why would anyone want to miss that?

We opened our series "Portraits of Christ" this last Sunday with great anticipation and were not disappointed! John 20:31 "...these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name." We saw Jesus as "Messiah" and found ourselves directed back to Him for all things. We need not look for another...Jesus is the One! Are you looking for another? Someone else to meet the needs within you that only God can truly meet? Stop being disappointed with people who can never fulfill you even though they promise and try.

We also saw Jesus as the Son of God. He holds all power and authority...why would we doubt Him? We were re-challenged to live our lives in the power of Jesus' name. Truth be told...it makes no sense to live this life in any other name. I hope you have stayed engaged in the message from Sunday and have not let go of it. It's life-changing! Is your life being changed? Embrace your Messiah, Son of God, and live life in the power of His name alone.

This coming weekend we are covering the verses found in John 1:35-51 in a message called "Come and See." Take an early look at where we are going and see what God has to say to you.

We look forward to seeing you, friends, and please know we love you.

Pastor Craig, Becky, Seth, Hannah and Riley the dog

September 12, 2012

Wow! Sunday was awesome! Bayside 3.0 unveiled many new things on our campus as well as upgrades coming to ministries. With everything we do we want to do it better than we have before, and with excellence. We want to be as effective as we possibly can with the task before us: making disciples. Thank you to all who made the 3.0 reveal happen with your tireless efforts.

As if the morning was not awesome enough, the evening dedication service was just beautiful! The worship and prayer were perfect. I will forever have in my mind's eye the picture of 300 of us scattered over the campus either on our knees or walking and praying for our future. God met us as we prayed over and dedicated our new land to God for His use. I still can hardly believe what has happened in the last three and a half years. We can't forget that, because it would mean forgetting how good God has been to us . . . that would be a mistake.

This Sunday we begin our new series for the fall, "Portraits of Christ." I'm telling you, this series is going to hit home from the beginning! We can all expect God to use His Word to speak to our hearts weekly. This opening message will begin in the verses of John 1:1-18. If you have not already seen the preview of the series click the following link:

Portraits of Christ

Please know we love you and are praying for you to experience Christ powerfully in your life. Bring a friend and we will see each other on Sunday!

Pastor Craig, Becky, Seth, Hannah and Riley the dog

September 7, 2012

Psalm 145:6-7 "Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.  Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness."

Last week's message challenged us to take God seriously as we approach Him in worship . . . to be inspired by Him and pour out a heart of gratefulness to Him.  I hope you have done this throughout your week so far and have already determined to make it a lifestyle.  If you missed the message, please go back and listen online because it will be valuable to you.  Worship is not just what we call our singing . . . it is a reflection on the outside of what is being experienced and deeply understood on the inside.

This weekend we are revealing what Bayside 3.0 is all about, in our morning services.  Also we are going to be led in prayer for our church and city and end with communion together.  In the evening we will be hosting a worship and dedication event on our new property next door, starting at 6:00pm.  This will be about an hour gathering.  It will be a simple, but powerful event marking the goodness of our God to this growing young church.  We are inviting you to come as early as 4:30pm to explore the new grounds.  You can bring a picnic dinner if you like and root-beer floats will be sold until 5:45pm.  This will be an event marked in our church's history because of the faith it speaks of . . . faith to believe God for our city.  Bring a blanket or lawn chairs to sit on.

Lastly, I want to give you a preview of our new fall series.  I believe that after much prayer and study this series is our next step as we walk with Jesus. 

Portraits of Christ

As always, please know we love you and look forward to seeing you again as we gather this coming weekend.

Pastor Craig, Becky, Seth, Hannah and Riley the dog