October 30, 2014

Trunk or Treat is moving!  The forecast for Friday night is for a lot of rain.  We faced the dilemma of canceling the event or finding an inside venue that would help us reach our community, so we are partnering with Sunrise Mall to join them in their candy giveaways.  We believe this could be an AMAZING opportunity to be out in the community with our event!  They are excited we are joining them and are giving us FOUR HIGH TRAFFIC areas to set up our tables and give candy away . . . and also to take pictures with our very own super heroes that will be present that night.  The time is 5-7 pm.  If you have volunteered for the night we will be contacting you (or possibly already have) for the changes.  Feel free to connect with Pastor Brent at brentp@baysidech.com or 916-726-2100.

We realize some of you have spent a lot of time and effort preparing your trunk decorations and costume, and we do apologize for the inconvenience.  Since we have no control over weather, we are trusting God’s leading in this change, and appreciate your support and prayers!

I’m so grateful for Pastor Brent and his Bayside Kid’s team for their leadership on this.  If you were planning to bring your family to get candy at Trunk or Treat come on over to the mall, we’d love to see you there!

For this coming weekend we are going to be extending our talk from last week about restoring balance in the presence of worry and anxiety.  If you would like, take a look ahead and read through Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-8.  I believe this is going to be an opportunity for healing and hope!

We look forward to seeing you this coming weekend as we gather with friends to catch up, worship, receive a challenge from God’s Word and be refreshed for the week to come.

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

PS: We are growing again and so appreciate your patience with growing pains.  What great issues to work through! Also, Daylight Saving Time ends this coming Sunday, so remember to move your clocks back 1 hour Saturday night.

October 1, 2014

““Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over…” Judges 6:13

Last week we began talking about expectations in regards to hope, and it’s a helpful discussion for us to have.  One aspect I wasn’t able to bring out in this story has to do with what Gideon believed he knew about God and His people.  Gideon was convinced that God had abandoned them, but this was not true.  God had always been with them.  The truth was that God had given the Israelites over to their rebellion.  They rejected God; He did not reject them. This is an important key to this story.  Gideon is blaming God for his circumstances while the whole while Gideon is engaged in sin himself.  He points fingers at God when he should be pointing them at his own heart.  The crazy thing is that the real story was always available to Gideon if he had done a little research.  He could have consulted priests, prophets and the scrolls for clarification, but he didn’t and it cost him his faith.  Fortunately for Gideon, God had not abandoned him…He sought Gideon out to restore his faith.

The study of God’s Word is so critical to our daily walk with God, and truthfully, many of us are not as faithful to it as we could be.  It actually made me pause and ask the question of myself, “What part of the story do I think I know but actually have wrong?”  Study of the Bible is the only way to get the story right.  Let us not neglect our source!  If you need help in your study then seek it out…ask people for help, join a study, or get a version of the Bible you can read easily.  I am often asked what version I use, and I prefer the New Living Translation.

This week we are continuing our series “Unleashing Hope,” while wrapping up Gideon's story.  Take another look at Judges 6, 7 and 8 ahead of time.

We so look forward to seeing you this coming weekend as we celebrate God, catch up with friends and challenge ourselves with God’s Word.  We love you!

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

PS: Thanks to the team who designed and constructed our new stage design, and “yes” the pallets are fastened together securely.