By Pastor Bill Gaube

BREAKFAST CLUB, every Thursday at 10:00 AM

The every Thursday format gives greater opportunity for more to be involved. We meet at the Waffle Shop, corner Zinfandel & Folsom Blvd. Order what you like and enjoy the fellowship. We’d love to have all those 55+ join us.

PEP MEETS THE MISSIONARIES, Thursday, February 9 at 10:00 AM

This is part of our Missions Weekend. You will have an opportunity to not only hear Rev. John LeTexier from the Alliance Arab field, but also to question and interact with him. We will meet at the Waffle Shop, corner Zinfandel & Folsom Blvd. Order what you like. We’d love to have ALL those 55+ join us

POTLUCK DINNER, Sunday February 26
We will meet in Rudat Hall, across the foyer from the Sanctuary following the 11:00 Service. The menu will be soups, stews, salads and breads. So think of your favorites in these categories and share one of them with us. These are always fun times of fellowship and encouragement. All those 55+ are invited! Bobbie Robbins is our hostess.

PEP GOES TO THE THEATRE , Sunday, March 4 at 2:00 PM
* The play will be presented by the El Dorado Musical Theatre. We have enjoyed polished performances before.

* We are going to see 42nd Street, a classic light hearted Broadway Musical. It is full of tunes like “Lullaby of Broadway” and “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
* It will be given at the beautiful new 3 Stages Performing Arts Center at Folsom Lake Community College.
* Tickets are $23 and will be on sale Sundays in Rudat Hall. Tickets are limited at this price.
All those 55+ are cordially invited to join us.

By Pastor Bill Gaube

I have a nasty habit of trying to domesticate God. It’s hard to keep him on a leash so he will not get into certain parts of my life. I certainly do have to put a muzzle on him lest he say something embarrassing. He is terrible to walk with because he often wants to go different ways than I do. And teaching him tricks is so hard because he seems more interested in training me.

Let’s face it: God is hard to understand. He created the earth and threw the stars into space. He set in motion laws of the universe we still are trying to figure out. His power is beyond our comprehension and his justice is so pure that we fall before it. We start to boast and explain ourselves and he reveals he knows our inner hearts already.

Maybe we should just bow before this one who explodes with power, wisdom, righteousness and justice. How? By hearing his heart of love. He revealed his love in his son Jesus. Be captured by the truth that “God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son.” Hear Jesus’ heart of love when he cried over Jerusalem saying how oft he would have gathered them as a hen gathers her chicks … but they would not.

True, we can’t fully understand God, but we can know him because he invites us through the cross of his son Jesus Christ. Be humbled that the great God who molded the earth and flung the stars in space, says to you “Come unto me … and I will give you rest.” His great grace, mercy and love motivates him to forgive us. Then Jesus said I will give you life and life more abundant.

Breakfast Club meets at 10:00 AM every Thursday. The every Thursday format gives greater opportunity for more to be involved. We meet at the Waffle Shop, corner Zinfandel and Folsom Blvd. Order what you like and enjoy the fellowship. We’d love to have all those 55+ join us.

Sunday, January 22, after the 11:00 service, we will be going out to eat at Brookfields Restaurant, 11135 Folsom Blvd on the corner of Folsom and Sunrise. You can order off the menu. Come for a good time and get to know others better. Rusty Bloomquist will be our host.

Boldly Facing the New Year 

How are we going to face the New Year? Financial, political, physical and emotional problems abound. Yet I left out the most important part. That is the spiritual. Psychological studies have shown people can survive anything if they have a strong “center” to hold them secure. For the Christian that center is God.

The Apostle Paul put it well speaking to the Athenians in Acts 17:28: “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Paul tells us who is the “center” of our lives and then in a powerful ascending scale details how that works.

For in Him
This is proof of God’s nearness, not stoic pantheism, but the real immanence of God as God dwells in us. Paul challenges us to stop and meditate on what it means when he says in Phil 1:21 “For me to live is Christ.” As I start this new year I feel God calling me to dig deeper into the mystery of living in His presence – NOW.

We live
The Gospels abound with the fundamental truth that when we accept Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, he gives us new life (John 3:16). Pray with me that the Lord will apply this stunning truth in our daily lives.

And move
This new life then leads us in the movement of our lives. Colossians 2:6-7 says ” As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him..” Pray that the roots of your faith go deep into Him and His word. Let this be shown in the way we move and talk.

And have our being
The ascending scale reaches it’s climax in our very existence in God. Paul calls us to deepen our understanding of this in Colossians 2:9,10: “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power…” Ask God’s Spirit to reveal this mind boggling truth to you.

We can boldly face this New Year as we meditate and pray about these biblical concepts.

By Pastor Bill Gaube

Do you know where this picture was taken? Of course, Half Dome is the iconic symbol of Yosemite. I took many views of it on our recent trip to Yosemite. In other pictures it looks different. From Glacier Point it looks almost thin and fragile. How Half Dome looks depends on your viewpoint.

From what view point do we view our lives? Our well being depends on it. I remember back when a thirty-something friend grieved he was getting older. (Very funny from my view point.) I asked why he felt that way. He replied that for the first time in his life he walked under a basketball hoop and didn’t want to jump up and touch it. He felt like he was losing something.

Ever grieved that you have lost something in your life? Most of us do. I also remember my mentor in the ministry when he was in his 70′s. He was an interim Pastor and mentioned how he couldn’t run around and do the things he used to. But he viewed that fact from a different view point. He replied that he didn’t need to anymore. He had figured out how to get it done without wasting all that energy.

My mentor didn’t view life as a process of losing but of gaining. Sometimes we are like a butterfly that grieves because he has lost his familiar but confining cocoon. He doesn’t see he has so much more.

The Apostle encourages us to adopt a different view point of our lives. Philippians 1:6 says, “… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Christ is leading us in an exciting journey – and it’s successful completion depends on Him! Yes, rejoice in the places you have been, but press on to where the Lord is leading.