Calgary Church of Christ

Free Clothing Give-Away!

2009-04-22T14:47:00.002-06:00

This Saturday, April 25, from 9am to 2pm, come to the church and take advantage of our bi-annual clothing give-away. Be sure to come early to get some new additions to your wardrobe, as the give-away is always a success and not very many items remain at the end of the day! Phone the church office for more information.

A Thought For Today

2009-03-31T11:28:00.001-06:00

“What have we to learn?

To be meek and humble; if we are meek and humble, we will learn to pray. If we learn to pray, we will belong to Jesus. If we belong to Jesus, we will learn to believe, and if we believe we will learn to love, and if we learn to love we will learn to serve.

Spend your time in prayer. If you pray you will have faith and if you have faith you will naturally want to serve. The one who prays can not but have faith and when you have faith you want to put it in action. Faith in action is service.

The fruit of love is service. Love leads us to say, “I want to serve.” And the fruit of service is peace. All of us should work for peace.”

“No Greater Love” – Mother Theresa

In All Kinds Of Weather

2009-03-26T10:46:00.002-06:00

"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." Matthew 28:20

"When Jesus sent His disciples out He gave them this promise: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). Literally, the word always means "all the days," according to Greek scholars Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.
Jesus didn't simply say, "always," but "all the days." That takes into account all our various activities, the good and bad circumstances surrounding us, the varied responsibilities we have through the course of our days, the storm clouds and the sunshine.
Our Lord is present with us no matter what each day brings. It may be a day of joy or of sadness, of sickness or of health, of success or of failure. No matter what happens to us today, our Lord is walking beside us, strengthening us, loving us, filling us with faith, hope, and love. As He envelops us with quiet serenity and security, our foes, fears, afflictions, and doubts begin to recede. We can bear up in any setting and circumstance because we know the Lord is at hand, just as He told Paul in Acts 18:10, "I am with you."
Practice God's presence, stopping in the midst of your busy day to say to yourself, "The Lord is here." And pray that you will see Him who is invisible - and see Him everywhere"
-written by David Roper

What Are We Holding On To?

2009-03-17T13:30:00.002-06:00

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." 1 Timothy 6:12

"Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings trilogy came to life in recent years on film. In the second epic story, the hero, Frodo, reached a point of despair and wearily confided to his friend, "I can't do this, Sam." As a good friend, Sam gave a rousing speech: "It's like in the great stories....Full of darkness and danger they were....Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something." Which prompted Frodo to ask: "What are we holding on to, Sam?"
It's a significant question, one that we all need to ask ourselves. Living in a fallen, broken world, it's no wonder that sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the powers of darkness. When we are at the point of despair, ready to throw in the towel, we do well to follow Paul's advice to Timothy: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:12).
In life's battles, let's hold on to the fact that good will triumph over evil in the end, that one day we will see our Master and Leader face-to-face, and we will reign with Him forever. You can be part of this great story, knowing that if you have trusted Jesus for salvation you are guaranteed a victorious ending!" - by Joe Stowell

Finding Our Calling

2009-03-16T09:30:00.003-06:00

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." Ephesians 4:1

"A continuing struggle as we seek to follow Christ is trying to find our calling in life. While we often think in terms of occupation and location, perhaps a more important issue is one of character - the being that undergirds doing. "Lord, who do You want me to be?"
In Ephesians 4, Paul wrote, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (v.1). He followed this with three "be's," as one translation renders it: be humble, be gentle, be patient, "bearing with one another in love" (v.2 NIV). Paul wrote this from prison, a difficult place where he continued to live out his calling from God.
Oswald Chambers said: "Consecration is not the giving over of the calling in life to God, but the separation from all other callings and the giving over of ourselves to God, letting His providence place us where He will - in business, or law, or science; in workshop, in politics, or in drudgery. We are to be there working according to the laws and principles of the Kingdom of God."
When we are the right people before God, we can do whatever task He sends, wherever He puts us. In so doing, we discover and affirm His calling for us." - David McCasland

Love Assumes The Best

2009-03-03T12:12:00.004-07:00

"Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7

"Love has no limits. Love never says, "You've gone too far. I can't love you now." "All things" means everything is included. Christlike love leaves no doubt in the mind of another that you will continue to love steadfastly. Do those close to you know that they can fail and do foolish things, yet you will not falter in your love for them? Are others assured that, even when they hurt you, you still love them, holding nothing against them?
Love assumes the best about others. If someone inadvertently offends you, you choose to believe the offense was unintentional. If someone seeks to harm you, you "bear all things," forgiving unconditionally. If a positive light can be shed on a difficult encounter, you grasp it. If someone continually provokes you, you "endure all things." You never lose hope in the ones you love. You practice the same unconditional love toward others that Christ gives to you.
Paul said that he was nothing if he had the faith to move mountains, the tongue of an angel, and the gift of prophecy to understand all mysteries, yet did not have God's love. It is unacceptable to say, "Well, I just can't love people that way!" When God loves people through you, this is the only kind of love He has! Read 1 Corinthians 13 with gratitude that God has already expressed this complete and selfless love to you. Pray and ask Him to express it through you now, to others."
-Experiencing God Day-by-Day, Henry T. Blackaby & Richard Blackaby

God's Promises Are Yes

2009-02-18T10:21:00.002-07:00

"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20

"God keeps every promise He makes. When we walk in intimate fellowship with Christ, we have the assurance that every promise God has made in Scripture is available to us. This truth should motivate us to search the Scriptures for each promise in order to meditate upon its potential for our life.
Jesus promised that when you ask for something in His will, He will give you what you ask (John 16:23b). This promise is available to every Christian. If you ask God if this promise applies to your life, His answer is yes. If you are not now experiencing this promise, it does not change the fact that God has said it. You may need to seek God's answer for why His promise has not yet reached maturity in you.
Paul claimed he had tested each of these promises in his own life and found them all to be abundantly true. That's why he could speak of the "exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7b) and the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8b). Paul had found a wealth of God's promises and enjoyed them all in abundance.
Don't become discouraged or impatient if you are not experiencing to the fullest all of God's promises in your life. God may want to prepare you to receive some of the great truths He has made available to you. Walk closely with your Lord and, in time, you will see Him bring His promises to fruition in your life."
-Experiencing God Day-by-Day, Henry T. Blackaby & Richard Blackaby

Encounters With God

2009-02-12T08:47:00.003-07:00

The thought today is presented from devotional material authored by Henry Blackaby.

"God was working in your life long before you began working with Him. The Lord knew you before time began, and He knew what He wanted to do with your life (Jer. 1:5; Ps. 139:13). Before the apostle Paul's conversion experience on the road to Damascus, Jesus already knew Paul and had a specific assignment for him. But Jesus only revealed this assignment after Paul's conversion (Acts 9:15). So misguided was Paul that in his sincere efforts to serve God, he had actually been waging war against Christians! Although God knew what He wanted for Paul, He waited to reveal it to him until He gained his attention and became his Lord.
Our Lord does not come to us to discover what we would like to accomplish for Him. He encounters us in order to reveal His activity and invite us to become involved in His work. An encounter with God requires us to adjust ourselves to the activity of God that has been revealed. God never communicates with us merely to give us a warm devotional thought for that day. He never speaks to us simply to increase our biblical knowledge. Our Lord has far more significant things to reveal to us than that! When God shows us what He is doing, He invites us to join Him in the work He is doing.
Are you prepared to meet God today? Don't seek to hear from God unless you are ready to ask, as Paul did, "What shall I do Lord?""

Monday Devotional

2009-02-09T13:55:00.003-07:00

We want to make use of this section on the church website and today, launch the first of a series of articles and comments that we hope will be thought provoking and are intended to be encouraging material that can help us as we journey together in our Christian walk.

The thought today is presented from devotional material authored by Henry Blackaby. He recalls some actions and incidents taken by Peter and then poses some questions for us to consider.

Here is the article:

Seeking Jesus - "Simon Peter is well known to us for his foolish, extemporaneous statements throughout the Gospels (Matt. 16:22; 17:4; 26:33). But Peter was always seeking after Jesus. Peter followed Jesus from afar during the night of Jesus' crucifixion (Matt. 26:58). Peter ran to the tomb when he heard Jesus had risen (Luke 24:12). Peter swam in the sea in his haste to get to Jesus (John 21:7) and even walked on water in order to join Jesus (Matt. 14:29). Peter did not always say or do the right things, but he did constantly seek to be with Jesus. Because of this, he was continually encountering his Lord and growing to be a more faithful disciple.
Whenever we see Peter coming to Jesus he is always accompanied by others. Because Peter was seeking Jesus, others sought Him too. What are you known for by those who know you best? Do they see you searching for fame, power, success, or happiness? Are you known as a person who seeks after Jesus? God promises: "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13).
Did you begin today intent on encountering Jesus? Is your search for Him halfhearted, or are you seeking Him with all your heart? Have others grown closer to Jesus because they followed your example and sought Jesus? If your heart is set on pursuing Jesus, you will always find Him. "And the spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come" (Rev. 22:17)."
-Experiencing God Day-by-Day, Henry T. Blackaby & Richard Blackaby

What are your thoughts or how do you respond?