This weekend we take an important post Easter spiritual step, Transformation Weekend. Over 50 people plus leaders and prayer team will gather in the Conference Hall to embrace the power of the cross and to encounter the power of God’s Spirit. It will be a beautiful time of worship, confession and Spirit work. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31. The promises of God for the seeker of the Spirit are plethora. God loves a sincere heart and promises to bring renewal and strength. He desires to bless you, guide you and prosper your life (what you lay your hands to and where your feet take you). Pray for these days.
Sunday launches a new sermon series across all campuses – sermons from the Book of James. James was the earthly brother of Jesus, a leading Jewish pastor of the Jerusalem church. His perspective, under the inspiration of the Spirit, was one of the earliest letters to Jewish followers of Christ spread across the Roman Empire. It’s rooted in the ideas of Jewish Torah observance and Messiah eschatology. For many Gentiles, they gravitate towards Paul’s writings, but these next 10 weeks will be good for us to hear the words of an early leader of the Christian movement. There are important exhortations laid out for this “new group”. The points of application for a practical faith in Jesus will be both challenging and encouraging. Join us!
On Sunday afternoon we turn to the CLA membership for corporate guidance on the purchase of property for our Abbotsford Campus. Corporate guidance in Christian decision‑making is one of those topics where Scripture, early church practice, and later church history all line up surprisingly well. The New Testament never treats discernment as a purely individual activity. Instead, it assumes that major decisions—doctrinal, ethical, or practical—are best made together, under the Spirit’s direction, through a community that listens, tests, and confirms. Over the past month our Board has provided CLA with information, an open house, a motion and backup documents for your consideration and prayer. In Acts 15 the early church faced a massive controversy: must Gentile believers follow the Mosaic law? The apostles, elders, leaders gathered, debated, listened to testimonies, searched Scripture, and then concluded that their decision “seemed good to them and the Holy Spirit”. This has been laid down for us as an example. What is important in this form of church governance is mutual sharing and submission to the whole. This works against our cultural norms of “individual rights” and “the need to be right”. The mind of Christ belongs to the community not to the individual. In church history, the Nicene Creed, is an example of corporate guidance. I appreciate the opportunity to have dialogue, not in isolation, but in community. It slows us down, keeps us from our own impulses, and allows the Spirit to guide us. If we are on the side of a minority expression, it’s important to remember that our voice was part of the mix and that humility demands yielding to corporate guidance and support. It’s a mature spiritual discipline.
