I found a verse that represents where we are as a church!
Acts 2:47…they were praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
When I went back and checked the numbers I was astounded!Last Sunday our attendance was twice as high as it was at this time LAST YEAR!Isn’t that amazing?Do you think God has a plan for Bayside of Lincoln to reach people for Christ and impact the city of Lincoln spiritually?I certainly do.
This week as we continue,
“The Top Ten Principles for Better Living!”
We’re studying commandment #7 of the 10 commandments,“Thou shall not commit adultery.”
What causes affairs in the first place?
One psychologist says it’s easy to identify:
More fighting than fun. Extended separations. High fatigue, stress or depression. Grief. Self-sufficiency or pride. Difficulty with intimacy. Sexual avoidance. Spiritual disconnectedness.
Easy things to identify but how to combat them?
This week we’ll be talking about the TOP 5 NEEDS OF A MAN AND THE TOP 5 NEEDS OF A WOMAN and how the Bible addresses them.
Just understanding that much will get us far down the road to maximizing marriage.
We’re beginning to ramp up for “OPEN HOUSE!”
The month of September Bayside will be hosting an open house all 4 Sundays.
The Message Series for the month will be: “The 4 Qualities of a Strong Family!” Begin your family with the end in mind. Creating Celebration The Key of Commitment Family is spelled T.I.M.E.
We’re expecting record attendance so as you’re approached this next month with a request to serve in Kidsfest, ushers, small groups, hospitality, etc. please remember that, “…the LORD was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
A lot of folks raised their hands this past Sunday to commit themselves to obeying God’s 4th Commandment to practice a Sabbath.It means to rest, refresh, relax, stop, slow down, smell the roses, restore, chill out, kick back, and take some time for quiet!How are you doing in thinking through and planning out your Sabbath rest?Have you put it on the calendar and then scheduled it for each week?We obey and please God when we have a regular Sabbath rest.It includes our church, our family, and ourselves!
This week we’re continuing our series as we study how to honor our parents.
“The Top Ten Principles for Better Living!”
Message and Commandment #5: Honoring our parents.
Parenting has got to be the most difficult job in the universe.It involves taking responsibility for forming another human being into a fully responsible, fully functioning member of society.If you over-parent you create resentment, if you under-parent you create insecurity, if you withhold you create bitterness and if you over indulge you create a spoiled brat!Whew, it’s quite a chore to stay balanced.And it changes from infancy to pre-school, grade school, adolescence, adulthood, and the golden years!Obviously we can’t think through all these years in enormous detail but we will look at Biblical principles that will help every age group.
Let me give you one example that helped Cindy and I in raising our kids when they were really young.Someone said that the most difficult job in parenting pre-schoolers was to be able to distinguish between, “childhood inability and disobedience.”
What does that mean?
A 3-year-old at the dinner table accidently spills milk.That is childhood inability that calls for a parent to come to that 3-year-olds aid.That 3-year-old needs to feel that there are people in their family that encourage and help when there’s unintentional failure.One of the reasons kids can be so critical of each other is because parents haven’t been understanding when they unintentionally fail.If you as a parent are understanding and helpful when your kids fail, they’ll be more understanding and encouraging when people around them fail.
Now on the other hand when that rat of a 3-year-old picks up a glass of milk and pours it on the floor?That calls for a quick, sure response of punishment.
We’ll talk about this more this Sunday!
73 people attended our first “Celebration Meeting,” as we voted our new constitution, budget, leadership and nominating committee into place.We are now a fully functioning church!If you’ve attended Class 101 and filled out the Membership Form and haven’t signed our Founding Members Book we invite you to do so.It will be there on Sunday morning.If you haven’t become a member, then we invite you to attend Class 101 this August and be a Founding Member of Bayside of Lincoln.
Have a GREAT 4th of July, remembering to celebrate our enjoyment of freedom and liberty!
Last week we discussed the issue of not using God’s name in vain which opened the door to the issue of swearing…wow, what a service!Only at Bayside!Actually it was a great opportunity to talk about the condition of our hearts.We really don’t need a mouth transplant; we need a heart, soul, mind and spirit transplant.
This week we’re continuing our series and we’ll be using another four letter word…work!
“The Top Ten Principles for Better Living!”
Message and Commandment #4. Allowing for Leisure.
Exodus 20:8-11 says to, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
When I was a kid everything was closed on Sundays.You couldn’t go to the grocery store, clothing stores, sporting goods; everything was locked up like a prison.There’s was always one gas station open just in case.Other than Chick-Fil-A every business is attempting to attract customers.What is a Sabbath and how do you keep it holy in suburban hustle and bustle of the Sacramento region?I’ll give you some very practical applications for honoring God’s commandment without abandoning our culture by drawing your drapes and locking the front door.
This past week 75 kids rode through the badlands of Cactus Canyon during Breakaway ‘08, and they’ll be singing a spiritual “Home on the Heavenly Range,” tune this Sunday.If your kids were part of Breakaway please have them at Bayside by 9:30 for rehearsal and if you don’t have kids you’re in for quite the treat!(No video cameras on Sunday morning please, all Cactus Canyon songs are copy write protected … yeah right! Bring video, DVD, reel to reel, whatever you want this Sunday and let our kids wow you with their vocal cord extravaganza!)Also, be prepared to thank all of those teachers, leaders, helpers, staffers, snack providers, etc, etc, etc who spent 5 days or 15 hours or 900 minutes or 56,000 seconds leading our kids into greater commitment to and love for Jesus.
Finally, be a founding member of Bayside of Lincoln … attend our first official church business meeting scheduled this Sunday, June 29th.We’ll approve our constitution, approve our budget and approve our first group of official “Bayside Leadership Team,” members, and finally approve our first founding members of our church. It will be a great time of celebration as we officially birth a new church!Please email or call me with any questions you have concerning the budget or constitution since our meeting time will be very limited. edk@baysideoflincoln.com or 916.337.6515