GBC Community Update: Looking at the Character Traits of Jesus

​Good morning!  It was great to celebrate communion again in person as a church family for those who were here. For those still joining us from home, I hope it was also a meaningful experience.
I’m starting a new series of thoughts on the character traits of Jesus that we should be looking to emulate in our lives.  I heard character described as “who you are in the dark when no one is watching.”  I like that!  Character is the distinguishing nature or qualities of someone-it’s about who you are. Now, more than ever, we need to be people of character as we seek to let the light of Jesus shine and share the Good News of the gospel with the world around us.
 
 
Join us for Prayer Wednesday
On Wednesday afternoons at 3pm a small group of people gather here at GBC for prayer. We’re focusing on the themes in the 40 Days of Prayer for March. Feel free to join us!
 
 
GBC Family Shower for Levi Tamminga
We are excited as a church family to celebrate the birth of Levi Tamminga. On Saturday March 20 at 1pm we’ll be coming together with Ken and Rebekah for this great event. For those who are unable, or are still not comfortable attending public events, we’ll be giving you the opportunity to join in virtually.
Look for more details in the days ahead, but a reminder for you is if you want to participate in the group gift the deadline for contributions is Sunday, March 14. You can give your donation to either Andrea and Patrick Thornton or Holly Alac.
 
 
Thought for the Day: The Character Traits of Jesus
There have been some high-profile ministry leaders who’ve fallen of late and so the idea of character, and what it means to be a person of character as a follower of Jesus, has been on my mind.  Where do we look when those who we admire fall?  Christians, and even many non-Christians, agree that Jesus is a great role model to have. From His faith, perseverance, generosity, and even His intelligence, people see the best qualities that mankind can possess.
 
The Bible teaches everyone to become more like Jesus each and every day, so it’s helpful to learn about some of the character traits he had. So, over the course of the next number of updates, I’m going to give a brief overview of some of the character traits of Jesus that we all should be looking to emulate.
 
Compassion
Jesus never looked away from people; He always looked at them, seeing them for who they were and had compassion on them.  We see this in the story of the man with leprosy in Matthew 8. Compassion is an awareness of the suffering of others along with the accompanying desire to do something about it.  Whenever people were around him, Jesus understood what their real needs were and sought to address them. For some, physical healing was necessary, for others the root issue was spiritual. In all cases though, Jesus took the time to actually notice that people were hurting—and His compassion drove Him to help them.
How can you show compassion today and to whom?
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris