Uncategorized

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.64″][et_pb_fullwidth_header background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” header_fullscreen=”on” header_scroll_down=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.64″ background_url=”https://dev.grandpoint.church/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/gpln_slide-graphic-web.jpg” image_orientation=”center” content_orientation=”center” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_letter_spacing=”0″ button_one_icon_placement=”right” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ custom_button_two=”off” button_two_letter_spacing=”0″ button_two_icon_placement=”right” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ background_image=”https://dev.grandpoint.church/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Lawrence-Blog-Banner.jpg” /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” module_class=”diagonal-shadow-right” _builder_version=”3.0.61″ background_color=”#fcfaf2″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px” background_color=”#55504c” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.64″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_position_1=”top_left” background_repeat_1=”no-repeat” background_position_2=”top_left” background_repeat_2=”no-repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text background_layout=”dark” _builder_version=”3.0.64″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_css_main_element=”margin: 0;” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]

Welcome to Pastor Lawrence’s Blog!

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text background_layout=”dark” _builder_version=”3.0.64″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.64″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_position_1=”top_left” background_repeat_1=”no-repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_blog admin_label=”Pastor Lawrence – Blog” fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”30″ include_categories=”222″ show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” offset_number=”0″ _builder_version=”3.0.64″ show_content=”off” show_thumbnail=”on” show_date=”on” show_comments=”on” show_pagination=”on” use_dropshadow=”off” use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Join the band Next2Nothing in concert on Saturday, July 22nd from 7:00 – 8:30 PM in the CFCOG Sanctuary.  This concert is in connection with The Tide radio broadcast ministry.

Next2Nothing will also be leading in worship on Sunday, July 23rd in the 9:45 and 11:15 Sanctuary Worship Services at CFCOG, and returning that evening for a concert and worship time.

Get a taste for Celebrate Recovery at our next CR Cookout night at the church pavilion.  Celebrate Recovery is our Christ Centered 12-step recovery program for anyone with hurts, habits and hang-ups.  It meets on Thursday nights at 6:30 in room B20.  Come find out how Christ can set you free through Celebrate Recovery.  Click here to go to the Celebrate Recovery webpage.

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_font_size=”14px” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

From the beginning, we were wired for relationships. When He saw that Adam in the Garden of Eden had no companion like him to do life with, God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. Everything else in creation was labeled “good” or even “very good,” but not Adam’s disconnectedness (Genesis 2:18).  Adam even recognized there was no helper that was right for him  (Genesis 2:19-20).  Maybe this was God’s plan, to help Adam realize the extraordinary gift of belonging he was about to give to him.

When life is going great and the friends abound, we pay it no attention.  But when life gets tough or we become isolated from others for whatever reason, we feel what Adam felt to some degree…alone.  And it reminds us that this isn’t how life is supposed to be.  We are meant to have a tribe or circle in which to belong.  That’s why God created family, but even beyond that, we are meant to experience life together with others in God-honoring community.

Even Jesus, when He came to save the world, surrounded himself with twelve guys to travel the journey with Him.  He called them, taught them, equipped them, and then multiplied His life priorities and mission through them, as they went out to share what they experienced. Their experience of doing life with the Son of God, changed them, and after Jesus’ resurrection, empowered them to do the impossible.  What they saw with their own eyes and heard with their ears, compelled them to bring others into this new way of living.  It was contagious, it was real, it was beautiful, and so much more. Quite literally, Jesus’ LifeGroup changed the world.

Fast-forward to today.  We live in a digital world that promises connectedness at the click of a button, but inside we feel more isolated than ever.  Where can we find community the way God intended us to experience it?  It’s not a perfect representation, but we can find it through God’s people, the church.  More specifically, when we go beyond the surface and the crowds, and intentionally enter relationships with a few committed families to do life together in God-honoring community, we can find our place to belong.  This is how we make the BIG church, small.  We call it LifeGroups, and we believe that in the context of a LifeGroup, we can grow with God’s people and begin to discover that life is better together.

Visit our Adult Discipleship page to Find a LifeGroup or to register for the next LifeGroup Connect event.

 

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]