October happenings and Love Gives notes

Oct 7, 2015

It’s been a full week! We’ve had a wedding, met a new baby, and have church members travelling abroad! Rebecca and are I truly thrilled to be part of such a faith filled generous group of people. We are looking forward to some amazing stuff this fall.

Below you will find dates to plan for and items to pray for. Also, I’ve included some important thoughts and Scriptures regarding the theme Love Gives.

Enjoy!

Ben Malmin, Pastor
City Bible Church
410.929.1619

Please remember that you can listen to previous Sundays at CBCBaltimore.com and on iTunes search City Bible Church Baltimore.

In October we’re praying for:

Mother’s Cry – Millicent Brown bringing Baltimore’s mothers of murder victims together for healing

Jesus Our Redeemer Church in Federal Hill – Pastor Brad O’Brien

South Sudan Medical Missionaries Matthew and Maggie Loftus MatthewAndMaggie.org

Save the Date

October 23                    Worship Night
October 31                    Serve the Neighborhood
November 7                  Ladies Lunch
November 13-14            Origins Youth Conference
November 14                Ethnos Conference EthnosBaltimore.com
November 21                Mother’s Cry Thanksgiving

October 31 Give Party

Last year more than 400 families came to Pastor Ben & Rebecca’s front door on October 31st to be given candy and a box of popcorn (with an invitation to church). Join the party and help us out! Bring a friend to see the mayhem, for a few minutes or the whole afternoon. You can help us by bringing bags of new individually wrapped candy. You can come as early as 3pm and help us box popcorn and attach Invite cards. We’ll share a casual dinner and love our city by giving. Address: 820 Wellington St Bmore 21211

October Give Donations

Sunday September 27th we heard from medical missionaries Matthew & Maggie Loftus. They will be moving to the South Sudan on a long term mission, at the end of November. We will be supporting their effort with our prayer and October special offering. Please memo your donation “Give” to help. Learn more at MatthewAndMaggie.org

Families in Need

We are always looking to help people in need. A loss of employment or a medical emergency can make the holiday season very difficult. Please let us know if you are connected to a family in this situation. Contact Pastor Ben (410) 929-1619 Ben@CBCBaltimore.com

Mother’s Cry

As a church, we help Ms Millicent Brown and the Mother’s Cry team in their service of Baltimore City’s mothers of murder victims. They help provide a support network to families suffering senseless violence. As you make your Thanksgiving and Christmas plans please set aside a little time, energy, and money to help us bring love where it is needed. This starts on Saturday November 21.

Ethnos Conference

Our friends at The Village Church will be hosting a conference, “Ethnos: The Multicultural Mission of the Church”. Please check out EthnosBaltimore.com for info and plan to be there November 14th.

Love Gives

Agape Love: a God kind of love that gives – to have love for someone or something, based on sincere appreciation and high regard. To love, to regard with affection, loving concern. Describes attitude of God to His Son and the human race. To convey His will to His children concerning their attitude one to another. To express the essential nature of God. Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 from ESV and Message

  1. Love is patient, kind: love is does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others,”

  1. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

“Isn’t always ‘me first,’ doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,”

  1. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

“doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,”

  1. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

“puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.”

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:1-11

“Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my followers.” John 13:34-35

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed us how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John 4:7-12

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” 1 John3:16, 18

“Love each other, work together.” Philippians 2:2

“Serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13-14

“Make every effort – unity,” Ephesians 4:1-3

“Motivate each other, don’t neglect gathering, encourage each other.” Hebrews 10:23-25

Devote, fellowship, meals, prayer, work together strategically, worship together in big group, eat together in homes, Acts 2:42-47

Helping people connect with Jesus, grow in faith, and share His love.

We connect by gathering on weekends for worship, to receive and respond to his love.

We grow by meeting in small groups for prayer, learning, and sharing life.

We share by living like Jesus and sharing his love, every day and everywhere.

Connect: Weekend Worship – Intimacy with God

Grow: Life Groups – Community with Insiders

Share: Serve & Share – Influence with Outsiders

Community – the intentional development of meaningful relationships, based on God’s purpose/principles, resulting in each person having a sense of belonging, acceptance, and significance.

Forgiveness is Possible with Jesus

– Grace Reunites Us Ephesians 4:32 Colossians 3:13 Matthew 18:15-35

  • What does it mean to forgive?
  • How often are we to forgive?
  • What will help us forgive?

God’s Purpose: Remove Guilt & Restore Relationship

Forgive: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for, to grant relief from payment of, to cease to feel resentment against. Forgiving: allowing room for error or weakness.

God’s Forgiveness: a commitment to pardon graciously those who repent & believe so that they are reconciled to Him.

Repent – turn around in actions and attitude….to change behavior as a result of a complete change of thinking and attitude.

We’re saying, “I will not dwell on this incident, bring up this incident again and use it against you, talk to others about this incident, let this incident stand between us or hinder, our personal relationship.”

Why? “By making and keeping these promises, you can tear down the walls that stand between you and your offender. You promise not to dwell on or brood over the problem or to punish by holding the person at a distance. You clear the way for your relationship to develop unhindered by memories of past wrongs. This is exactly what God does for us, and it is what He calls us to do for others.”

How to respond to unrepentant?

  • Resolve to not take revenge.
  • Proactively show love.
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