November 29, 2011 by Worship Director.

She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. - Luke 2:7

For many, this is the season excess; more gifts, more food, more parties, more decorations, more, more, more!  We jam pact our December days and nights until there is no room for another thing, another activity, another moment for anyone else. So full, yet so empty. In the days of Caesar Augustus, when a young couple came into town, there was no room for them either.  The people were so full of themselves, most missed the most important event of all time.  Someone made room and they were filled for a life time.

May we push back from the table and make room in our lives, in our budget and in our Christmas for Christ.

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November 27, 2011 by Worship Director.

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.  For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. - Hebrews 4:9-11

Stop what you’re doing! Pause – take a breath – reflect – recognize the beauty, the mystery, the message of the season looming before us.  We’re bleary-eyed and sleep deprived, and only getting worse as the year rushes to its end. Rest is important; even God rested.  While He created time, He did not intend for us to use it as just a launching pad to the next day, but for us to breathe in each moment as the gift it is.

What God provides is worth waiting for, worth walking through instead of running past.  As we step into this season of hustle and bustle, worry and want, may we not forget the season of gratitude we just left behind and enter into the peace and joy it is meant to be.

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November 24, 2011 by Worship Director.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge our God as the Giver of All Good Gifts.  A life of gratitude is a life that brings joy and contentment, that can summon the strength to overcome sorrows and pain, that finds the means to reach out to someone in need.  Give thanks today and learn what it means to really live.

1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.Let the whole world know what he has done.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!His faithful love endures forever.

Amos 4:5
Present your bread made with yeast as an offering of thanksgiving.Then give your extra voluntary offerings so you can brag about it everywhere!This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,”says the Sovereign Lord.

Romans 14:6
Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.

1 Corinthians 1:4
I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 11:24
Jesus took bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”

2 Corinthians 1:11
And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

Ephesians 5:20
And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:3
[ Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer ] Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Colossians 1:3
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:1
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

Revelation 11:17
And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty,the one who is and who always was,for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. 

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November 20, 2011 by Worship Director.

As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As He entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.  One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” -Luke 17:15-19

Just one returned to say “thank you.” Surprised? We’re often so excited for ourselves, for our success, for our accomplishment, we forget everything else that came before, which led us to that place in time.  The job, the healing, the unexpected blessing that seems to suddenly appear, are usually the effect of many hours of prayer, lifetimes of preparation, and the intricately interconnected plans of God.

It’s not by our power, not even for our pleasure, but so that everyone can know the source of all blessings and glorify God.

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November 19, 2011 by Worship Director.

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. - 1 Timothy 2:1

While we are thankful today for all that God does for us, we are urged to take our eyes off ourselves and be thankful for others and to pray that they too may be blessed.  There are so many people in our lives who help us every day, teach us from their lifetime of wisdom, support us in ways both great and small.  They may be family or friends. They may be coworkers or teachers.  They may be strangers and angels God has put in our path or some whose acts of secret kindness will never reveal their names.

This is why we give through the church: to show our gratitude asking nothing in return, to be a blessing to others because we have been blessed, to send out the Word of God to intercede for those who don’t know Him, but need His touch.  We give so that others may also receive.

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November 17, 2011 by Worship Director.

It’s time again for the annual “Ladies Christmas Brunch” at Community Bible Fellowship for “ladies” of all ages - mothers and daughters are welcome!  The Christian Women Connection sponsors this event each year as part of the national Christ Birthday celebration.  This year, we are especially “making room” for the Christ Child in our Christmas so that this season may be more meaningful than ever for you and your family.

Please join us for this free event:

 Saturday, December 3, 2011

10:30 am – 12 noon

At Community Bible Fellowship

5209 Duval Rd, Austin TX 78757

Free Admission

Please RSVP by 11/25 to Sue Breland

Sue@AustinCBF.org

Additionally this year, we are focusing on Con Mi Madre, a local nonprofit organization serving Hispanic women and their daughters to reach for the heights in their health educational goals. If you would like to bring a gift for Con Mi Madre and its clients, please see the “Wish List” attached to the left by clicking on it.  You can get more information about Con Mi Madre here.

We look forward to celebrating with you and all the ladies in your life!

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November 13, 2011 by Worship Director.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:23-25

Freedom is not the absence of responsibility.  It is not total independence from others. On the contrary, the freedom salvation brings releases us from the slavery of sin and its’ consequences on our lives; from the oppression of unreasonable, and unwarranted demands.

Being unbound by Christ, frees us to live and love and give out of gratitude not guilt or compliance.  We don’t have to meet together or support a local church, but to do so is a gift designed to give us help and hope for an unfettered forever – together. Thank you for being a part of this gift that keeps on giving.

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November 10, 2011 by Worship Director.

And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then He adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. - Hebrews 10:15-18

Before Jesus gave Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin (for all time!), serving God required a long list of rules, training and regulated sacrifices.  Only certain people could read His Word and even fewer were allowed to enter into His presence in the temple.  He must have seemed unreachable to the average person like you and me.  But Jesus changed all that.

He became the bridge, the brother, the friend that we needed – and not just for the Jews, but to anyone, everyone, that needs a Savior.  We were released from the requirements of membership, the price of admittance, and granted VIP status regardless of what we really deserve.  The gloves are off; we’re free to love, free to soak in His Word, free to fall at His feet and hear Him speak to us.  We’re unhindered – unhampered – unimpeded and grateful for freedom in Christ!

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November 8, 2011 by Worship Director.

Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).  Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).  Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David, who was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). -Matthew 1:5-6

The Bible is full of genealogies, demonstrating how important family is to God. In these families, just like many of ours, we find people who made bad choices, who had experienced loss and found love again, whose godly parents trained them in the way that would save them even after great sin shook their family tree.

This is the family that God chose to raise up His Son; a vine of imperfect fruit, pruned and shaped, to blossom and give us the perfect sacrifice.  If we dedicate our families to the service of God, just imagine what may bloom!

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November 6, 2011 by Worship Director.

But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

God could have come to earth as the king of an army, but instead He came as a child in a family.  The family is His creation - a unit built of love, hard work and hope.  As a haven of safety, a school of tradition, and a team trained to endure, a family is God’s gift to us.  Someone to walk with us and hold our hands; to talk with us and encourage us to go on.  They know the worst in us, expect the best of us, and work with us to help us on our way.

We are thankful for your family and that we are all a part of the extended family of God.

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