January 31, 2021
Upcoming Events and Notices
This week San Diego Country remains in the highest COVID-19 risk category of Purple/Widespread. The State of California guidelines for San Diego County states that all worship services should be conducted outdoor. And given the challenges of weather and logistics, we will continue to hold our Lord's Day worship service online only.
Please join us 10 AM, January 31, 2021, for worship. You can participate in this week's service via YouTube here. You can find the order of worship and songs here.
You can find the sermon from the January 24, 2021 service here.
Please join us as we read another collection of great books for the year 2021. You can find the list here.
January 31 (Lord's Day 11:15 AM): Please join us for fellowship after the worship service via Zoom: Meeting ID: 879 4595 5692 — for meeting passcode please text pastor Ken.
February 3 (Wednesday 7 PM): Please join us for for "Knowing God" Zoom study. This week's study will cover chapter 17 — "The Jealous God." Meeting ID: 831 0828 6050 — for meeting passcode please text pastor Ken.
Thank you for your continued support of Grace Fallbrook (PCA). Your loving support makes the proclamation of the gospel and the building up of the saints possible. Please continue to mail in your gifts and offerings to our church treasurer, Bruce Summers. In addition, our church website now features online giving. Please visit the church website and click on "Give" which you will find in the upper left corner of our church's website. When you click on "Give Online Now" button on that page, you will be directed to the PCA Foundation where you can give towards Grace Fallbrook (PCA).
Before We Worship
We reflected on God's goodness and severity during this past Wednesday's study of Knowing God. In simple terms, God's goodness means he is generous far beyond what we have any right or reason to expect from him. On the other hand, God's severity means he withdraws his goodness from those who spurn it. Knowing this, we were encouraged to both appreciate the goodness of God and his discipline. God disciplines those whom he loves in order to bring them to the place of humble faith.
God's discipline takes many forms. Job was permitted to experience gut-wrenching trials. Peter's self-confidence was shattered through the spiritual failure of denying the Lord. Elijah faced circumstances he knew were too great for him to face. Paul discovered the hidden sins of his heart as the Lord peeled away the veneer of his self-righteousness. The Bible, of course, is full of many other people whom the Lord disciplined to sanctify and to equip for service.
This is very instructive and edifying. Because the Lord loves us, he will also discipline us. And just as he did with those whom he loved deeply, God will teach us holiness and wisdom by showing us our hidden sins, making manifest our weakness, and the hopelessness of our scheming. This is a painful thing to experience. But because God loves us, there is hope.
Lift up your heart to the Lord. He afflicts to heal, and chastises to bless. Hebrews 12:11 (ESV) "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Remember this, dear friends. And hope in God!