“Tell No One”

Hello Baysiders, hope all is well in your souls! As summer is slipping away from us and the new school year begins, lets make the best of the last of warm and sunny days!

I find it interesting that every time Jesus did an incredible thing, He would say something to the people nearby. He raised a little girl from the dead, and what did He say? “Tell no one.” He met a guy with leprosy and healed him, and said, “Tell no one.” He healed two guys who were blind, and He gave them one admonition before moving on: “Say nothing to anyone.” In a world driven by self-promotion and spin, Jesus modeled something different for us. If I was being honest, I would say, “Tell everyone!” Yet Jesus was intentional and selfless, never doing anything for selfish purposes. Jesus knew God was over his life and any praise, admiration, promotion, gratitude was from his heavenly Father.

Can we as his followers do the same? We love, serve, act for the glory of God, not for the glory we might get from those things. It’s natural to expect praise or promotion when we do hard work or do something amazing. Yet Jesus shows us the best type of work is best done in obscurity, hidden, not baited for fame and popularity. Psalms 75:6 says, “For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” God ultimately will promote us, lift us up, praises us, in his timing and his way. We know the full story, Jesus does get promoted to the highest seat in heaven by dying on the cross and resurrecting but it was all in God’s timing and way. May we have this attitude and outlook when we help and love people.

Thanks to everyone who stayed after lunch for the church cleaning day. It was a great clean inside and out. Thank you Wayne for your continued diligence for making Bayside’s facility function smoothly and making it look beautiful with your gardening skills. Please mark Saturday, September 21st on your calendar for our City Outreach as we will be going to the Tenderloin District to pass out food and offer prayer to the homeless. Please RSVP if you will be joining this outreach event. On August 25th we will be having our Family Meeting we will discuss more on the Tenderloin Outreach, and on the family meeting’s new protocol format with agenda items, door locking policy and our back up roles for our ministries. August 29th will be the last Thursday Devotion of the Summer and will be taking our Fall break and resuming October 4th. Next Family Meeting will be on September 15th at 1pm after lunch.

Grace and peace, Pastor Aaron ?;^)

AA Church

Hello Baysiders, hope all is well in your souls in this summer season.

Many years ago, I once heard a preacher say, “Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital for sinners.” It got me thinking to my personal relationship with my local church. Did I go to church to look better than those who didn’t come to church? Was my weekly attendance a way to feel good about myself and belittle others who are not as mature as me? Was church simply about me? The more I thought about it and the more bible I read the more I realized I viewed my local church wrong. I saw church as only a means to fulfill my personal needs; an escalator to my own faith achievements. Then I ran into Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another.” And eureka! I discovered church wasn’t about me, it was for others and how can I offer my talents and gifts to God’s people. I started to see church not as an escalator, but as a bridge I build and cross with other Christians as we journey in the same direction to be more like Jesus. This is why church is so vital and the reason we weekly come together.

Church is not a place to look good in front of others or a fast food restaurant to be served the way you want but rather a place to be vulnerable and accepted by grace. I now see church as an AA meeting for sinners and a place a sinner should feel most safe. We all have the sin addiction and so we come together to get stronger, heal, encourage and learn from each other. The church is a forgiven sinful  community of the many facets of God’s good heavenly character. It’s our commitment and attendance to other Christians (not a building) that brings us into restoration, spiritual maturity and where weakness is made strong. Church is the place where God can speak to you, people talk to you, and gifts shared. Brothers and sisters can uplift you when you are down, encourage you when you need it, accompany you when you are alone, and most of all, comfort you when you are hurting.

Here are a few important dates for next month at Bayside. We will be having a Church Cleaning Day on Sunday, August 11th after lunch. We will be focusing on external maintenance of the church, so be sure to bring your garden clothes. The next family meeting will be on August 25th at 1pm.

Grace and peace ?;^)

Do It Again

Hello Baysiders! Hope all is well in your souls.

Summer is officially upon us and I am reminded to appreciate the season God has for us. Many wish it was fall already, others miss spring, and some long for winter but whatever season you are in, glorify God and rejoice in the wonderful blessings of the Lord. Let’s be children in the heart and be excited with summer joy. Being childlike is something Jesus encourages to do as his disciples. I love this quote from G.K. Chesterton, “Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” May our faith have that attitude of “Do it again” with God this summer season.

Thank you to all the ladies of Bayside for making Father’s Day so special, the men are truly grateful to be blessed with such kind diligent servants of God. We had a fun time on Arts and Crafts Day as participants decorated the church hallway with collages and pictures of Baysiders over the years; it turned out great giving the church a home like feeling. Thursday Night Devotion, July 4th, will be cancelled due to the Independence Day holiday and will resume the following Thursday July 11th. In addition, I will be going on Vacation at the end of July but our good friend Brett Butler will be filling for me in preaching on July 21st and I know he’ll bring the word in a powerful applicable way.

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Mark 10:14-16

Stay cool in this hot weather Baysiders,

Pastor Aaron ?;^)

Heaven’s Billboards

Howdy Baysiders! Hope all is well in your souls this spring day. I can’t believe its already spring and summer is right around the corner, which means it’s time for watermelon, beach trips and smores at the campfire.

Jesus tells us to shine our light so that people may see our lives and turn to God in faith. This got me thinking that Jesus understood that our lives have the power to communicate a message and he wants us to be aware of that message we display to others. We are always communicating a message. Your body movements and words are billboards to people. What you say, how you say things, what you wear, any type of action is sending a message.  The question is, what are you saying? What are you presenting to the world? The blessing is that you get to choose what that something is. Is it good character or bad values? It’s not always easy because communication can be unintentional and we constantly send unintentional nonverbal messages daily. You might not be aware of your sour expression, impatient shifting or sigh of boredom but others notice them nonetheless. Bottom line, all behavior has communicative value. Whatever you do, whether it’s speaking or remaining silent, confront or avoid, show emotion or keep a poker face, you provide information to others about your thoughts and feelings. Lets ask God to give us wisdom on the kind of billboard He wants us to display. We need to be communicative competent and be conscience of what we are broadcasting to our personal world. The more aware of our billboard life, the more we can effectively share God’s love to others.

Mother’s day was a blessing to worship together with so many faithful mothers at Bayside. Thank you gentlemen for putting your efforts and gifts to making that day very special. Evangelist Brett Butler stopping by, earlier this month, was awesome as many of us went out door to door one Sunday and offered prayer to our neighbors. We all got back with great stories of small ways God blessed us by simply going out letting people know Jesus loves them. Those who are members, on June 2nd there will be a pastor evaluation after fellowship lunch, be sure to make time to participate. Thursday Night Devotion will resume June 6th, so come prepared with notes and questions from Sunday’s sermon. Our next family event will be on Sunday June 9th as we will be having arts and crafts day by decorating the church hallway with hanging Bayside pictures of the church over the years. If you have any photos on your phone you would like to see on the walls, print them out yourself and bring them to this event. Please make time to donate pictures or frames and your hands to help us make our church decorative. Also, Father’s Day is June 16th so make sure you come and worship together with all the strong and committed men of Bayside.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Aaron ?;^)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matt 5:16

After Easter Musing

Hello Baysiders! Hope as is well in your souls.

My prayer is that we can take the resurrection power from Easter Sunday into the next journey God is taking us, because Jesus is still risen! Alive! For a lot of us, even after the resurrection, not everything is still in order; bills need to get paid, homework needs to be turned in, doctor appointment needs to be made, and more time needs to take place for the heart to be healed. God knows this and is in the process of restoring this world and your life. The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of world transformation and the start of turning all our wrongs into right–that is where the power is found, where the hope begins and where life is promised. Be encouraged to know the same Jesus who walked out of the tomb 2,000 years ago is the same Jesus who walks with us today. Let’s have faith to trust that and live out that resurrecting power in our lives.

I am excited for our next church outing. On May 5th, we are having guest preacher and evangelist Brett Butler give an exhortation on sharing the gospel and the meaning of the Great Commission Jesus commands us to follow. After fellowship lunch, Brett will give a training session on how to share your faith and then we will be going door to door in our neighborhood and invite them to Bayside Church. Mother’s Day is May 12th and there will be a special Mother’s Day sermon, so make sure you invite your mommas and anyone else to church to celebrate Christ among His heavenly family. Also, clear your calendar for Saturday May 18th for a Church Family Outing, as we will be going to the shooting range! More info to come on this fun event. In addition, Thursday Night Devotions will be on Summer break for month of May and will resume on June 6th.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Aaron ?;^)

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Jesus, Matt 28:18-20