GBC Community Update: Be a Friend!

Good morning!  I hope you’re making this a great week. How are you doing?  I’ve talked to many people who are struggling with this third lockdown for a variety of reasons.   If this is you, don’t keep it bottled up inside. Talk to someone, talk to me if you’d like, don’t do it alone. Times like this are meant to be lived out in community, not isolation. 
 
 
Join us on Sunday for Faith that Works!
This Sunday I’ll be continuing our new series: “Faith that Works”, a look at the book of James.
This week I’ll be looking at the last part of ch.1 and examining what it means to be a ‘doer of the word and not a listener only’.  Do you know what that means?   Find out on Sunday as we build together a ‘faith that works’.
Remember, you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
 
 
Thought for the Day:  Sharing your faith: Be a Friend
Tuesday I started my new series of thoughts on sharing our faith. I examined first that we should look at our motives and why we’re doing it before getting started. So, motives in the right place? Great!  Let’s look at the next step.
Be friends to be friends, not to “get someone saved.”
This is huge. I think it’s easy to give the impression that we’re only friends with someone to try to “get them saved.” This leaves people feeling used and devalued, which is the opposite of how God feels about them.
If I’m going to be friends with someone, we are going to be friends whether or not they come to know the Lord. And sometimes I will pray for more friends who don’t know God because I want people to know about Jesus, because I’ve seen how much joy He’s brought into my own life! (And I also don’t want to get stuck in a totally Christian bubble.) But I’m definitely not going to stop being friends with someone if they don’t become a Christian.
That said, our friends are very influential in our lives, so it’s important to be careful about whom you choose to be your closest friends. We can have acquaintance friends and then we can have close friends who play a significant role in our lives. And those close friends make a big difference in the person you become, so it’s important to choose them wisely.  So just be careful as you choose close friends (no matter what their faith), and ask yourself: “Do I like who I become when I’m with this person?”
As you’re genuine friends with someone, as you spend time together and are there for them in hard times, then they’ll know you care. And that will make it so they can actually hear your heart and your love when you tell them how much Jesus loves them.  That opens the door for conversations and natural opportunity to share your faith. More on this next week!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris