GBC Community Update: How to be thankful

Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week!  Welcome to November!  If you feel like October flew by and you missed out on opportunities, well, a new month is before you. Seize the moment!
 
 
Christmas Choir coming! 
As was mentioned on Sunday, Jamie is organizing a choir for the Christmas season. Here’s what he’d like shared about this and how to get involved:
It is SO exciting to be thinking and planning a choir at GBC! I have spoken with a number of you who are equally excited about the idea of gathering together for a more focused time of singing and praise. My thinking is that the choir would sing December 17th and essentially lead worship that Sunday morning with band members accompanying. There would be 5 songs: 3 would be sung with the congregation (essentially leading worship Dec. 17th) and 2 would be performance type pieces. The hope is that some would be 2-part harmony, some would be 4-part harmony.
Rehearsals would be Sunday afternoons from 12:15 - 1:45 in the main auditorium. Pack a lunch to eat in the side auditorium following the Sunday morning service. Rehearsal dates are Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26, Dec 10, 15 (Fri night). Please fill out the form below as to whether you plan on being involved in choir this Christmas!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScX8WazdxXAHntvhsUlnOWIh1lJEC9IIssK7GvwkctMWjQYMg/viewform
 
 
Operation Christmas Child is on
Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child are still available in the foyer to pick up.  Every time you pack a shoebox for a child, they receive the Gospel message at the shoebox distribution party.  They also receive an invitation to a 12 week discipleship course where they go deeper into God's Word.  You can also pack a box online at www.packabox.ca   Please bring your packed shoeboxes to GBC by Nov 5.  For questions, contact Andrea Thornton at [email protected]
 
 
‘The Dawn of Redemption’ A series on the book of Luke. Join us Sunday
We continue our fall series on the book of Luke. We are looking carefully at this key book in the months to come as we examine Doctor Luke’s gospel so we may have certainty in what we believe.  In this particular series of passages we look at God’s plan to bring salvation to the world.
This Sunday Pastor Dan will be looking at Jesus experience as a boy in the temple.
What happened and what does this mean for us? Join us Sunday and find out.
If you want to prepare, please read Luke 2:41-52.
If you can’t make it, you can connect through our website:  
www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
 
 
Thought for the day: How To Be Truly Thankful- Some Thoughts on Developing Gratitude as a follower of Jesus
We’re a few weeks past our Thanksgiving and Americans will be celebrating it in a few weeks themselves.  I’ve been thinking about being thankful since our own Thanksgiving last month where my whole family was able to be together. It was something for years I took for granted but now is very special to me. I was thankful.  So, I’d like to share some thoughts on the topic.
 
Here's a question, and perhaps a different way of addressing this issue: do you feel pressured to be thankful as a Christian? Have you ever thought about it?  Let me tell you what I mean.  There seems to be an almost unspoken pressure in the realm of Christian social media circles to be thankful for each day you have on earth.  Instagram captions about thankfulness are in style. Even if you’re not on social media, do you ever feel pressure to be grateful? Have you wondered how to be truly thankful? Are these social media posts genuine or are they faking it?
 
Don’t get me wrong- you SHOULD be thankful.
 
If we get right down to it, we all should be thankful every day.  Think about it, we don’t deserve the next breath that we draw apart from the fact that God is gracious enough to give it to us. We do nothing to earn it or the gift of life we’ve been given.  So we should be grateful that He has us on this earth to fulfill some important part of His will.  But the reality is not every moment, or even every day, is Instagram-worthy. It’s definitely a hard line to find, let alone to walk it.  And so, often it’s faked. Have you ever done that? I know I have.  The reality is a truly thankful soul is hard to achieve and hard to keep at times.  So, over the next few updates I’m going to share some thoughts that might help us find our joy in true Christian gratitude no matter the circumstances and in a consistent manner.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris 
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