The Landing - October 21, 2022

This week during Borough Bible - as we've started to call it - we told the stories of the Tower of Babel and the calling of Abraham. Though humanity was drifting away from God, God had a plan for humanity. In the days of Seth, people were turning away from God, but a few started to call upon the name of the Lord. In the days of Noah, violence spread across the earth, but there was one faithful family. In the days of Abraham, people were worshipping idols and building towers for their own glory, but Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Unlike the others, Abraham wasn't walking with God. He was not upright and blameless. Joshua reminded the people of Israel that they were serving other gods (Josh. 24:2-3). But God intervened; he called out to Abraham and invited him to follow the one true living God. That day, Abraham’s life was changed and the world was too. What did Abraham do that was so spectacular? He believed God. He had faith. As the author of Hebrews writes, "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called" (Heb. 11:8).

Before then and after, all the way up to today, that’s been the standard. We trust in the promises of God by putting our faith in Christ. Faith then and faith now. No works could ever earn God’s favor or approval; it’s all grace, his gift to us.

It’s hard to put into words the joy of telling this story to kids we love so much. After a round of “Father Abraham,” we talked about what it means to be a child of Abraham, a child of faith, a member of the family of God. You can trust in God at any age. You can start a decades long journey of faith at any time. Will you trust in him? Will you go where he calls you to go?

The apostle John put it this way, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” Amazing grace!

In Christ,
Pastor Cole 

Coming Up: Advent 2022
During Advent, we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Though he came as a humble baby laid in a manger, he was God in flesh, the king of the world. His kingdom would come in the same way; like a mustard seed or a treasure hidden in a field. At Christmas, we celebrate God's kingdom breaking in on the world then and breaking into our world now. Each week of this series will focus on the coming of the kingdom, the events, people involved, and the unfailing plan of God.

November 27: A Kingdom of Hope
December 4: A Kingdom of Peace
December 11: A Kingdom of Love
December 18: A Kingdom of Joy
December 25: A Kingdom and a King

New Events Calendar!
There's so much going on at Carlton Landing Community Church this fall, we don't want you to miss any of it! Now you can track all of our events on our webpage and app. Go to "Connect" on the navigation bar and select "Upcoming Events" to see everything scheduled for the next few months. If you're on the app, just scroll down on the home tab and you'll see the "Upcoming Events" icon.

We'll be updating this calendar to include Advent and Christmas events in the coming weeks!