GBC Community Update: Allow God to use you, even if it hurts

​Good morning! I hope you’re making this a great week. Welcome to the Friday edition of the Thursday update!  I thought I’d sent it out but it got stuck in drafts. Oops!
Pray for our latest outreach as our youth group leads a kid’s drop-in at Willow Road on Sunday for the Junction Neighbourhood Group.
 
 
Reminder: family potluck and communion service Sunday night
Don’t forget our next evening potluck and communion service happens this Sunday.  The dinner starts at 6, please bring something to share and the communion will start between 645 and 7pm.
People are encouraged to share a scripture, hymn or thought on the Advent theme as noted below.
It's not too late to sign up! You can do it on Sunday or by contacting Dan Chapman. Please indicate what you’ll bring.
 
 
Financial Update:
Here’s the latest update from our treasurer, Ken Finlay.
Our financial position to November 21 is as follows:
Budgeted offerings: $182,471
Actual offerings received: $178,166
Shortfall: ($4,304)
Thank you to those who gave this past week, we appreciate your support!
 
 
Prayer for Transition, Provision, and Mission
We will be hosting prayer for thirty minutes before the service for the next 5 Sundays at 10 am in the Adult Ministry Room.  Prayer will be in-person and online.  There will be a time of praying for pastoral transition, raising funds for the next year, and gospel fruitfulness leading up to Christmas.  Coffee and donuts will be available for those who need fuel before prayer :) 
 
See link for Zoom below and the phone numbers for those who wish to join in online or by phone.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/21216757733?pwd=Z1JkN3dEeE9nTkhXY0tldlhEcWZFQT09

Meeting ID: 212 1675 7733
Passcode: 733870
Dial by your location
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada
        +1 778 907 2071 Canada
 
 
Thought for the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Allow God To Use You, Even If It Means That He Will Break You
Next week, not surprising, I’ll be sharing some Christmas-related thoughts. Until then, here is one last idea on thanksgiving before we move on (and before Black Friday hits!).  This may be the hardest one I’ve shared thus far.  The best way to be truly thankful is to walk in the center of God’s will and allow him to use you.  But here’s the thing- that may mean He will do things that are unpleasant and may even break you of things that He doesn’t want for you.
We read this in Isaiah 64:8 “And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.”
Have you ever seen a potter give up on a piece of wet clay? No, they will continue to shape it until it comes out in the form they desire.
But there is a breaking point.
Potter’s will give up once the clay is no longer pliable or usable.  The point for us today then is don’t allow yourself to dry up. Stay hydrated in the Word of God and connected to him through prayer.  God will always use us, the clay, for His purpose. He’s the potter  and we don’t get to choose if we turn into a statue, a vase, a jar, or a plate. We can pray that God will use us for His glory, but we don’t necessarily get to choose our path for that glory. Sometimes that glory is seen in our weakness… in our eventual redemption… or even in our battle with disease, with no healing in sight.  Your Father is using you for great things, but they are HIS things, and it’s only through His eyes that we can clearly see our place in His masterful plan.
Can I get an “amen”?
Let’s be thankful for God’s knowledge and purposes, even when we don’t understand it or its not pleasant.  That helps me be thankful no matter what, I hope it is for you as well.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris