Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Kevin Corbin

  • God sees the big picture

    small waterfall, a part of the big picture - a larger waterfall

    We spotted this lovely little waterfall a week or so ago on a drive down a local area forest service road. What you can’t see is the bigger picture. It’s a tiny section on the lower part of a waterfall that probably drops 150 feet or more.

    The area we traveled through has several reasonably large falls, and, because of the rain, dozens of beautiful seasonal falls of various sizes. I always find being near a set of falls relaxing, and seeing the water’s power reminds me of God’s power.

    Just as the image today shows a complete waterfall, but misses the big picture, so it is with our lives. We often live as if we are the center of the universe and if everything that happens is about us.

    In truth, while every one of us is loved by God, we are just one of billions of people alive today, and God only knows how many have come before us and will come after.  The thought that we are one of many shouldn’t cause us to despair.

    God created each and every one of us in his own image. Every single one of us is uniquely crafted and gifted by God. Each of us has a divine purpose to fulfill in bringing about God’s kingdom. Knowing that should bring us joy.

    The person we are today isn’t who we were in the past, and it’s not who we will be in the future. I’m not the man I was 10 or 20 years ago, nor will I be the same in 10 or 20 years from now.

    The big picture of who we are in God’s economy is something we can’t yet see. I hope it will be revealed in glory, but even if it isn’t, we will be able to rejoice in our fellowship with Him, and in the wonder that He chose to love us and adopt us as his children.

    We get a fresh start when we become believers

    “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” I John 5:1

    …  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; … 1 Peter 1 ESV

    The Lord will finish the work He started in us. The final big picture will be something more amazing than we can ever imagine, and as believers, we will get to see it.

    That’s a reason to celebrate.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Created and Being Shaped Into His Image
    Every Member Is Necessary — 1 Corinthians 12
    Tribulation Produces Perseverance

  • Happy Anniversary Church – What is our future?

    A styled image of a church with the text Immanuel's 40th Anniversary - our lccal church is celebrating

    This weekend, our local assembly is celebrating its fortieth anniversary.  That’s both a huge milestone and a stepping stone for our little church. 

    Statistically, over 80% of new church plants last less than five years, so this one has done very well. Depending on which source you look at, churches that make it past the first 5 years last somewhere between 75 and 100+ years. There’s lots of time to go yet.

    Like most congregations, this one has ebbed and waned over the years. It’s presently undergoing significant change, with a much larger multicultural makeup reflecting our community as a whole. That’s a good thing.

    I’ve often spoken of the need for unity in the church, and an area that doesn’t often get touched on are cultural differences between what differing communities think of as “church.” I’m excited to see what we will look like at our 45th and 50thanniversaries,

    Will the music change? The service format? What about the ministries we are involved in? It’s likely. The question is by how much. Will we even recognize the church?

    Will you move as the Spirit leads, or will we fight change it tooth and nail because it isn’t the way we think church should be done?  Probably some combination of both.

    We can forget that it is never “our church”. The church in all its forms belongs to God. His pleasure is to use the church (both as the body of believers and the organizations therein) to fulfill His goal, of seeing all who will be saved come to Him, and as a training ground for believers to be shaped into His image.

    And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Matthew 16:18

    And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.  Ephesians 1:22-23

    He is preparing His bride (the church) to present to the Father and will shape her as He wills.

    That’s great news for us. We don’t have to fret about change. We are free to simply follow the Lord as He leads and walk by faith.

    I don’t know what the next 40 years hold for Immanuel: growth, decline, or even demise.  I do know I needed worry. I can celebrate what God has done, is doing, and will do.

    That’s a good place to be.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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    Every Member Is Necessary — 1 Corinthians 12

    Looking for a good church?

    Some thoughts on finding a good church

    Find a good church

    Live in Abbotsford? There are many good churches. This is where I attend.