August 19, 2014

It’s crazy to think we are coming to the close of summer. It seems like it just started. At the beginning of summer in June, I challenged myself and the church to grow through the summer months…to not take it off and count it as a vacation. Some of us did grow and we are farther along today than we were then. As we come to the close of summer and are on the cusp of the fall, we have another opportunity to grow and stretch. It’s easy to let 2-3 months go by and find ourselves exactly where we were—let’s not make that mistake as we move forward. It’s my prayer for us all that we press into Christ, seek Him daily and surrender to Him. Our hearts will never be the same “if” we do. To be honest, our families are counting on us to take our faith seriously. The church is counting on each of us to let God use us. Our friendships are counting on us. When we let God have first place we will not regret that decision. Let’s find a devotional, start a Bible reading plan, and set aside time each day to be quiet before God…let’s do something that will challenge growth in our lives.

For this coming Sunday we are continuing our topic of Christ’s return called “Hope’s Arrival.” Bring a friend and/or family member because it’s a topic many are interested in and we need not be in the dark about it.

Also we are coming up on our 5th year anniversary on August 31. We will only have two worship experiences that day, 10:00 and 11:30 am, with the Luau following the second service. Be sure to get your tickets for food this coming Sunday; prices go up the day of. It’s going to be a blast! Live music, great food, water baptisms, friends, games, great conversations…FUN!

Regarding water baptism: if you have not been baptized, we are inviting you to do it at the Luau. This will be an outdoor baptism. Please make plans to attend our baptism class the day of at 11:15 in AC-3 in order to participate. Bring a change of clothing and a towel.

We can hardly wait to see you this weekend as we gather to celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with friends and find ourselves challenged by God’s Word. We love you!

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

July 24, 2014

“The Lord always keeps his promises; He is gracious in all He does. ¹⁴ The
Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.”  Psalm 145:13-14

 

The news reports are confirming what many of us feared would happen in Iraq.  The second largest city of Mosul is being purged of Christians by the Islamic terrorist group
ISIS. Christians are being given three choices: leave, pay them a tax that financially destroys them or die.  Some of these Christian communities have been in Mosul for the last two-thousand years.  These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am asking for us to pray for them. They are indeed “bent beneath their loads.”  What we know is that God has not abandoned them and is currently with them.  He will “never leave nor forsake them.” 

 

Our prayers:

- We can pray for their protection and guidance as they flee their homes. 

- We can pray for safe places to go and start over.

- We can pray that their families remain intact and not have to be divided.

- We can pray that the Spirit of God will comfort and lead them to strength they did not know they possessed.

- We can pray that the evil that is ISIS will come to ruin.

 

It seems hopeless for these Christians but I know it is not.  “The Lord always keeps his promises.”  These are the moments our faith engages and grows.

 

Now we turn to this coming Sunday and our series “We Believe.”  We are in Exodus 3:1-15. This story is going to help us as we seek to know about the Nature of God. Dig in before Sunday and see what you glean from the passage.

 

We can hardly wait to see you as we gather with friends to celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with one another and find ourselves challenged by God’s Word.  We love you.

 

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

July 16, 2014

Psalm 100: 1-5 “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Sunday night saw hundreds coming together for our first night of worship. It was amazing!  Worship is such a critical part of our lives as Christians and we were excited to create an opportunity that met the need for young and older, where we experienced raw honesty and pure joy.  In these moments of worship God so often will speak to us. I think it’s because we are finally still and listening, and I can tell you God put His finger on a couple of things as I stood in His presence.  I felt the sting of sin, I experienced forgiveness, I saw future hope and I experienced His life-giving presence.  All of this and more only fueled my worship and called me to celebrate Him from my heart. Church, worship is what I give to God from a grateful heart.  This worship night was special because of what we experienced, but also because of what it says about us as His followers—namely that we are choosing to keep our eyes on Jesus the Glorious One! Church! When we gather and when we are alone…it’s an opportunity to celebrate the Glorious One. Don’t miss an opportunity to celebrate Jesus!  We will have another chance this coming weekend on Sunday morning…don’t miss it.

This coming weekend we will continue in our series “We Believe.”  Bring a friend this weekend as we celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with friends and find ourselves challenged by God’s Word.

We love you and will see you soon!

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

July 2, 2014

Hello!  I hope you are enjoying your summer.  My family and I are returning from vacation ourselves and can’t wait to be with you this coming Sunday.  We are returning for the third of our summer guest speaker series.  We are so looking forward to hearing from Jeff Manion, Lead Pastor of Ada Bible Church in Michigan.  Jeff is a published author and has seen his church grow from hundreds to over 8,000 people in the last 30 years of ministry.  You do not want to miss this!

We so look forward to seeing you this week as we gather to celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with friends and find ourselves challenged by the Bible.

We love you.

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

June 18, 2014

Galatians 6:14-16 “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. … What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. ¹⁶ May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” 

This last weekend was the first week of our teaching on the Cross.  There is much to be said about the Cross event, but at its heart, it is as simple as the Son of the living God making the choice that we may live through His death.  This is why Paul could write these words about boasting.  For him…he could not get over the Cross.  It was too fantastic to him to ever move on past it. Church, have we?

Seriously, have we chosen to move past the Cross?  When we do, it is certain we will begin to take it for granted and its impact on our life is diminished.  The Cross is the key event that satisfied the justice of God in regards to my sin and opens the door for relationship with the Father and also destroys the enemy's power. Today, right now…are we moving past the Cross or are we boasting in it?  It is my choice and yours.

This coming Sunday we have Dr. John Jackson, president of William Jessup University speaking to us.  He is always a favorite for us here at Bayside.  This would be a great week to bring a friend! Also, I wanted to give you a heads up regarding July 6.  We are going to have a very special guest with us by the name Jeff Manion. He is a pastor on  the east coast at Ada Bible Church where he has seen his congregation grow to over 8000 people.  You are going to enjoy him and his wife.  Please think of bringing a friend and give him a warm welcome.

We love you and can hardly wait to see you again as we gather weekly to celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with friends and respond to Gods Word.

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

June 4, 2014

Troubles, troubles and more troubles were what David was feeling on the day before he wrote Psalm 3.  He was feeling desperate, cornered by people and life!  If we’re honest we’ll admit that this is how we feel at times also.  I have been there and will be again, and so will you.  The good news is that David woke up the next day feeling something very different.  He wrote about it in Psalm 3…

“But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. ⁴ I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. ⁶ I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.” (Psalm 3:3-6)

Listen to the words of his heart: “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.”

He recognized he wasn't really desperate—God was on his side the whole time.  When God is on our side we are not desperate and without help, no matter what we feel.  God would be David’s glory, meaning that when people speak of David’s greatness they could not separate God’s visible presence from David’s success…they go together.  David was successful and saved from his enemies because God’s presence was strong with him.  David also recognized the protection or ”shield” of God surrounding him.  When he was unable, incapable and powerless to defend himself…God did it.  God was his encouragement; God was his safety.

Which day are you living in right now?  Take courage from these scriptures and call out to God not in desperation but to thank Him for being your “shield”, your “safety” and “watching over” you.  It’s about perspective and faith…my faith is in God.  I will not understand all there is in this life, but I have put my faith in Christ, my Lord and Savior.

For this Sunday we are in week two of our new summer series “We Believe.”  Last week we began looking at the Bible—where it comes from and why we can trust it in its entirety.  This week we are going to wrap up this topic and I know based on responses, you will enjoy this next one as well.  It is my strong desire to equip you with the facts.  We have no need to run from these questions, the facts are on our side.

Please be thinking of a friend or family member you want to invite to church this summer, maybe this coming weekend as we gather to celebrate the goodness of God, catch up with friends and find ourselves challenged by the Words of God.

We love you and look forward to seeing you.

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

May 22, 2014

The summer is fast approaching and we are excited for it to come.  We are going to have a great summer here at Bayside!  We are starting a brand new series for the summer called “We Believe.”  This is going to be an amazing learning experience for us.  I will speak more about the series on Sunday. We have some really fun children's events as well, a Luau for the whole church and some great guest speakers, new Life Group studies and of course we get to be with each other!

For this coming weekend you can get a jump on the message by taking a look at Romans 12:1-3.  Jot a couple notes down before Sunday and be even more prepared.  I’m looking forward to this messages impact on each of us.

I can hardly wait to see you this weekend as we catch up with friends, celebrate the goodness of God and find ourselves challenged by God’s Word.  Consider bringing a friend or family member with you…they will love it too. 

We love you!

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