C. S. Lewis said, “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.” While truth can, at times, be painful (e.g., finding out a unwanted diagnosis or how much is really in your bank account), it has the potential of leading us to a solution. Living in untruth, however, may comfort us for a time…until it doesn’t. This month’s series, Twisted Truth, is an opportunity for us to look more in-depth at lies many people within the church and world believe that in the end lead to despair. Just like having the right antidote to a dreaded disease, no one wants a “sugar pill,” when a real solution actually exists.
The truth about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, humanity’s sinfulness, and the authority of the Bible area all vital areas of teaching that the church needs to be well-grounded in. These are ultimate issues with eternal consequences. My role as a pastor is to help ground our Bailey family in the truth found in God’s word. If you have been able to be with us or have watched the messages online, I hope you have been encouraged to dive deeper into this search for truth. However, I also realize messages like this may raise further questions. If you have questions—or even if you disagree with something I said—I would love to talk further with you as we pursue God’s truth together!
Growth/Building Project
As I mentioned yesterday, in light of our nearly 37% growth in attendance since 2022, the elders and staff believe one way we can make room for more people to attend is to adjust our service times, so as to even-out the numbers in both services. Beginning the first Sunday of December our times will change to 8:30am and 10:30am. We hope this will encourage some folks to attend the second service, while also allowing our first service room to grow further. After a 6 month trial, we will evaluate the impact of this decision. We will also be discussing other possible ways to make room for growth. Please, 1) be in prayer for wisdom as we grow, 2) look for ways to warmly welcome and assist new people in finding their way through our building and ministries, and 3) have a servant’s heart, seeking for ways you can make room for others!
As we look toward our special Thanksgiving Offering and pledge commitment Sunday, November 23 for our Called to Grow children’s wing project, please be in prayer for what God might have you give toward seeing this dream become a reality. Though there has been a lot of talk about the cost of a project this size and the need to raise funds, I want to suggest that God is less concerned about raising funds as he is about raising up faithful stewards. That is, a campaign like this is actually an opportunity for God to grow you. As you take steps of faith to give, trusting God will supply your needs, I believe you will find that God may have things in store for you spiritually (and, possibly, financially) that you might never have seen had you not taken this step to give and trust. A steward is someone entrusted with time, talents, and treasures that are gifted them by God. Faithful stewards know that what they have is not ultimately theirs to begin with; it is God’s. What we do with what we have been given is our way of worshipping and serving God. So, as you consider giving, I hope you will view your giving as an act of worship to the God who supplies all of our needs. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us as we move forward in this season! (Matt. 25:14-30, 2 Cor. 9:6-11)