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Upcoming Events at BCC

Upcoming Events and Notes of Interest

GEMS Girls’ Club

Monday, January 6th at 6:30pm. Jill Graham: 419-799-0316, jill@danielandjill.net

Adult Bible Fellowship

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 beginning at 6:30pm. Join us on Wednesday nights as we study the book of Colossians. Paul encourages the Colossian Christians to see Jesus as the center of all reality, so they don’t give in to pressure and they remain devoted to the exalted Jesus. Pastor Mark: 419-630-7049, mark@146.148.61.121

Ladies Bible Study

A new Bible Study will begin January 9 at 9:30am. 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ by Jen Wilkin.  You are encouraged to complete Women of the Word prior to the study, if possible.  If you have any questions, please contact Renee.  Renee Pitman: realmm@roadrunner.com

Baby/Child Dedication

Our next baby/child dedication will be on January 19th. If you would like to have your child dedicated, or if you have any questions regarding what dedicating your child means, please contact Pastor Mark. Pastor Mark: 419-485-8229, mark@146.148.61.121

Soup Sunday/Family Night

Sunday, January 19th beginning at 5:00pm for our first Soup Sunday of the New Year. No sign up sheet this month as the food is being provided! Sheryl Aeschliman from Simply Scripture will be our guest speaker. Visit her on her website at simplyscripture.org. Sheryl is excited to share her story behind Simply Scripture and how God put the ministry on her heart.  Angela Fritsch: 419- 451-0534, bubbles-1971@hotmail.com

GEMS Girls banquet

The GEMS Girls 4th Annual Banquet is coming up on Saturday, January 25th @ 5:30pm and will be held at the Kissell Community Building in West Unity. This is the annual fundraiser for the club. The evening will include dinner, music, fun and the ever popular pie auction. Tickets are $10 each (3 and under are free). If you would like to get tickets or if you have any questions, please contact Jill Graham: 419-799-0316, jill@danielandjill.net

Ladies Day

The Cambria Baptist Church in Hillsdale, MI is hosting their 9th Annual Ladies Day Away on February 29th from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Special guest is Sherry Anne. You can check out her ministry at sherryanne.com. There will also be coffee, food, jewelry, Christian literature, and much more! Registration fee is $20.00 if before Jan 26th. $25.00 after the 26th. To register call 517-357-4343 or email at cambriabaptistchurch@gmail.com. Cambria Baptist Church, 2772 Lilac Road Hillsdale, MI  

amazon.com

Did you know that if you place orders through smile.amazon.com and choose Bridgewater Community Church as your charity, we receive 0.5% from your order?  Prices are the same as amazon.com and it doesn’t cost you a penny. Please consider ordering from smile.amazon.com and choose to support Bridgewater Community Church. THANKS

Cancellation Policy

In the event of inclement weather on Sunday mornings, we will leave a message on the church answering machine (485.8229), have it posted on our webpage (www.bridgewatercc.org) and it will also be announced on WBCL( 89.5 FM). All church related activities on Monday evenings would be cancelled if North Central is closed due to snow or ice. If the weather would get worse following school and we would need to cancel, you can find out by again calling the church, checking our webpage or listen to WBCL.

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Overcome Anger with Grace

When my children were little, I thought it would be fun to be an assistant soccer coach. I signed up to be an assistant. I quickly found out, however, I would not be the assistant coach, but the coach.  I didn’t grow up playing soccer and had to become a quick study on the rules of the game. I rented videos and studied guides from the library. I also took a soccer reffing class in order to learn the rules more thoroughly.

My children are now well past their youth soccer years, but I continue to officiate games. I really enjoy the sport; however, I am saddened by the explosive anger and frustration often expressed by parents and coaches because of the official’s call.

Anger, in all its forms, is a problem on the field, in the home and everywhere in between—including the church.  It’s a problem for all of us.

Jesus said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Matt 5:21-22a).”

Anger in our hearts is murderous.  Because we have a desire to have our own way, we’re tempted to play God and to judge and punish people in our hearts.

The anger itself is not necessarily sinful (John 3:36 and Romans 1:18).  God gets angry (Exodus 4:14, 15:8).  Jesus got angry (Mark 3:5; Matthew 21:12).  The apostle Paul tells us to be angry yet do not sin (Eph. 4:26).  However, righteous anger is rare.  Biblical anger is anger when a real sin has taken place (1 Sam. 11), your concern is for God’s kingdom and not your own (John 2:13-17) and when you express that anger righteously (Romans 12:17-21).

Anger is deceptive and dangerous.  It can so quickly get out of control. Often we become angry because we want something too much (James 4:1-4)—that’s idolatry.

The only ability we have to overcome anger is by God’s grace.  Managing anger by just keeping it at bay is not a permanent solution.  It does not deal with the root issue of the problem. This problem is only overcome when the heart issue is addressed and that is only possible with gospel truth (Philippians 4:8-9, Proverbs 4:23).

So, here are five biblical truths to tell yourself when you are getting angry: (1) I want something too much (Romans 1:25); (2) I am not the Judge (Gen. 50:19); (3) God has been very gracious to me in Christ (Eph. 4:31-32); (4) God is in control and will not give me more than I can bear (I Cor. 10:13); and (5) I need to remember who I am—a new creature in Christ (Romans 6:11).

It is only as we trust our Creator and His provision can we deal with the root of our anger and be at peace.

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Sowing & Reaping

Because of the extraordinarily rainy spring we have had, many farmers haven’t been able to get their crops planted in a more desirable timeframe. This brought to my mind the inexorable law of sowing and reaping.  What you sow, you reap. This truth not only applies agriculturally, it applies to our lives. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 5:7-8).

One of the beauties of natural laws is that they do not change. Every part of the material universe is built on laws. They are consistent; they do not vary. Similarly, there are absolute and unchanging moral laws consistent with the nature of the Creator and His creation.

To one degree or another, most people misunderstand the consequences of their sinful thoughts and behaviors.  Even Christians are deceived—so focused on being under God’s grace that we act as though we can sin without natural consequences.  Scripture is clear: Christians should not continue to sin that grace may abound (Rom 6:1).  We are deceiving ourselves when we think there is not a consequence, and that the natural law will not apply.

If one plants seeds in the flesh, the harvest will be unrighteousness.  “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” (Gal 6:19-21). Do not be deceived. This warning is echoed in Numbers 32:33: “Be sure that your sins will find you out.”

Even Christians have the remaining sinful tendencies that continue to lead us astray.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things.”  We deceive ourselves, and that turns into a license to do what we want, promoting unholy living in the name of grace.

If you are a Christian, you have a choice.  You can walk in the Spirit or you can walk in the flesh. Do not think for a moment that you can walk in the flesh and not pay the consequence. “God is not mocked.”

This principle works in the positive as well as in the negative.  “If we walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).  And the fruit of a life cultivated by walking in the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Gal 5:22). If you walk in the Spirit, or sow to the Spirit, you will reap the fruit of the Spirit.  The fruit is what is experienced; you will harvest those virtues. If you sow in the Spirit, your harvest is holiness.

Instead of sowing division, sow peace; instead of anger, patience; instead of inconsistency, faithfulness. “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us let us do good to all people” (Gal 6:9).

 

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THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS

Have you ever been in a situation when you were sure you were the smartest person in the room–until you weren’t?  Conversely, was there a situation when what you thought was foolish turned out to be wise?  The apostle Paul says it is possible to do that with the cross of Jesus Christ.  “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

 

Paul writes that comment to a church struggling with major problems.  They were quarreling and creating divisions among themselves in part because of various church leaders: “I am of Paul, still others, I am of Apollos.”  In other words, my leader is smarter than yours, which makes me smarter than you.  Therefore, I am the smartest person in the room.

 

In the first century, Greeks had as many as 50 different philosophical parties or systems—each with its own view of the meaning of life, relationships, purpose, destiny, and interaction with the gods.  They loved philosophy—meaning “love of wisdom.”  Paul picks up that message when he says, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). Your alignment is only as good as your source.  If you do not have a reliable source, your search does not lead to consensus; instead, it leads to proliferation.

 

People are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The issue really becomes one of epistemology–your source of truth or and who you choose to follow.  The biblical worldview would identify our source of truth as God as revealed through Scripture.

 

Isaiah 55:8–9 say: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”   God’s ways and thoughts stand in stark contrast to our own.  The wisdom of God is not the wisdom of man.

 

Here is why this matters to us.  “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).   You can be absolutely convinced you are right while simultaneously choosing a path that leads to destruction.  There are many people convinced that what determines whether a person goes to heaven is their goodness or their works.  They believe they are a good person (certainly better than others).  How good does one have to be to merit heaven?  The answer is perfect.  The only perfect provision to satisfy God’s justice is Jesus Christ.  It is his sacrifice on our behalf (the wisdom of the cross) that deciares us righteous before God.  But it only applies to those who believe by faith.  The only means of salvation is Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.

 

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25).  Whose wisdom are you going to follow?

 

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).