GBC Community Update: A different way of looking at rest

​Good morning!  Thanks for all the positive feedback I received after our service on Sunday.  I’m glad people liked the series graphic that went up and also the message. While I’d prefer everyone was there with me I’m SO glad we can still connect through our livestream.
I’m finishing my thoughts today on putting some resolve in New Years resolutions. Thursday I will be returning to the theme of hope and some reasons why we can have hope in 2021 no matter how long our lockdown goes.
 
 
Staying Connected
With us unable to meet together in large groups again, and especially on Sunday mornings, I’ve become aware that there are some again who may be struggling with isolation.   There are a number in our church family who don’t have internet or smart phones so they’re not getting this update or tuning in to our services.
We’d like to be able to help.
For those not able to see the service due to a lack of internet, we can make burned DVD copies of the Sunday service available for those who have a player.  This is where you come in! If you know someone who fits into this category, can you reach out to them please and let them know we can do this during the lockdown?
Also, for those who are single and live alone, another reminder is you are allowed to connect with another person or family during the lockdown.  Wouldn’t it be great if those in that category perhaps had someone ‘adopt’ them so they could get together on Sunday and watch our service livestream together? Let’s seek creative ways to stay connected!
 
 
Wednesday Prayer
Join Jacob and Karen Ginter for a time of prayer on Wednesday afternoons at 3pm here at GBC in the Side Auditorium.
For questions or further details please contact Jacob at– [email protected] or text 519-803-4453
 
 
Thought for the day: A different way of looking at rest
Last time on this issue and time to move fully into the New Year. But before that, I want to finish with this one:
4. Rest
New Year’s should be a time to rest. First, we rest in the reality of our identity in Jesus. We may have failed to meet our heady goals in 2020 due to Covid or some other reason but Jesus still loves us, despite our failures, unchecked boxes, and disappointment at the scale. The gospel tells us that he loves us in the midst of these.
It’s not the voice of your Savior, but the whisper of the enemy that says you have less worth because you blew your resolutions. A “more successful 2021” will not make Jesus love you any more. He’s the one, after all, who calls broken sinners and empowers them for his mission. Failed apostles, former persecutors, recovering Pharisees—his church is full of them. 
Second, we should plan to physically rest. We don’t often do this on New Year’s. We plan to work and hustle. But do we schedule time to reflect and acknowledge our need for sleep and leisure? Rest isn’t a sign of laziness or weakness; it’s a sign of spiritual strength and confidence that when we close our eyes, our lives are in the grip of a sovereign God. To sleep is to say that we’re not God and that the world can go on without us. This is something I’m trying a lot harder to get better at!
So, as we make our plans, let’s remember that even in our failures, we serve the one who remembers our frame and knows we are dust at is says in Psalm 103. We make plans, but we hold them lightly. We entrust our future, not to our Apple Watch or Google Calendar or a reading list, but to the King who holds the world in his hands.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris