Don't be Stupid

Yep.


I said it.


Jesus said it in Matthew 7:26


"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."


When we gather together to study his words, he is there.  Jesus, the Word, is there among us.  And here's the thing, he is with us even when we're not gathered together to study his words.  


Jesus.


The Word.


Is living in us.


Wherever we go, whatever we are doing, he is with us.  If you don't already, begin talking with him throughout your day.  I would suggest using your "inside your head" voice when you're in public, but hey, that's your call.  The point is, the more aware of his presence we are, the more we are able to work his words into our lives.  Nothing is off limits, no detail is too small or unimportant.  Make him your go-to not your last resort.  


So let's be smart.



"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock." Matt 7:24-25


What part of your life do you want to work his words into?

  

Remembering Summer

As we are all rolling into a busy fall, I want to take a moment and celebrate some summer memories....

What a summer we had in Women's Small Groups!

We spoke His Peace, Breakthroughs & Heart's Made Whole, every single day, over each woman in Small Groups this summer and our Daddy in Heaven MOVED.

Relationships were healed


Families were reunited


Bodies were healed


Children were saved


Hurts were mended 


...and we all stepped closer into His beautiful embrace.


Hallelujah!


We got together to celebrate and have a little old-fashioned fun in the park in August.  Here's a peak:

This is one of our beloved Lead Coaches, Julia Mateer, showing us what she's got in the ultra competitive sport of watermelon seed spitting.

Julia proved to be an amazing seed spitter, but it was Coach Marilyn Hayden that took the trophy:

Marilyn Hayden and her Big Trophy

 Mary, Bonnie & Cindy, 3 beautiful hearts for women

Diana, a new group leader & Suzette a new coach, amazing women! 

 Krista & Kathy, they are both stepping up to lead this Fall!

Julia & Dale, Two of our fabulous Lead Coaches

What is your Small Group Story?  We would love to hear it.  

Lead Like Jesus

Jesus.

The sound of His name alone brings me peace.  His name, spoken by one who loves Him, is a kiss.  His ways, practiced by one who loves Him, are life-giving.  He has shown us exactly how to lead and it is much less complicated than we tend to make it.

Let’s look at the story Feeding the Five Thousand in Matthew 14.  Just picture it, an epic gathering, a sea of 5000 men and their families spread out as far as the eye could see.  They have followed Jesus from the cities into the deserted place, not giving a thought to anything except being in His presence.  And our Jesus did what he does.  In His goodness and mercy, He healed them.  Some of them didn’t even know it was happening, weren’t even aware of their need, but that is just what happens in the presence of God.

As the disciples perceive this amazing day coming to an end, they think they have a good plan.  Their thoughts turn toward the natural and they begin to strategize and make plans and determine to send all the people away.  But what does Jesus say?

   

 “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

What???  Us?  Perhaps you don’t realize we only have a few loaves and fishes, Master?  Don’t you love how we feel the need to explain things to God?  As if He doesn’t see things as clearly as we do?  Scripture tells us to trust God with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding (Prov 3:5) and yet, time and time again, we filter each situation through our own understanding before moving.

It is here, in this moment that Jesus does the most amazing thing of all.  He blesses the tiny little bit that they had and

gave it to the disciples

He could have fed that crowd in any number of supernatural ways, but His choice was to use the hands and feet of His disciples, His small group.  Just imagine how those guys felt as their unbelief turned to wide eyed, joy filled, wholehearted belief in the everlasting, ever present, perfect provision of God.  It gives me chills!

The next time your small group meets, think of that day in the deserted place.  Expect miracles, breakthroughs and hearts made whole by the grace of God, but don’t stop there.  Expect to see Jesus use you, Child of God.  Instead of gathering prayer requests and sending them out in e-mail, try this;  when someone has need, have your small group members gather and lay hands on them.  Agree in prayer that their request shall be met, knowing that the prayer of the righteous avails much.


Then send them out to do the same…


by Jen Milne

Beyond our Small Group

In this series, we are going to look beyond our official Bayside small group, but keep our leader's hat on.  If we really listen, we can hear the Father calling us to lead in every area of our lives.....


Do you know your neighbors?  If your experience has been anything like ours, meeting your neighbors just doesn’t happen naturally anymore.  People are so busy and the days are so fast.  We pull in and out of our garages with our to-do lists dancing in our heads and give little thought to the people we live amongst.  When our family moved to Bradenton 4 years ago, I thought my dreams of moving into a warm and friendly neighborhood filled with lovely, Christ-centered families were dashed.  I allowed our less than warm reception to really mess with me for a while and the enemy had me right where he wanted me:  feeling sorry for myself and not seeing the land I was supposed to possess.

Moses says this to Joshua, just before he leads the people into the promised land:

 "Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he'd give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you. Don't be intimidated. Don't worry." (Duet. 31:7-9)

Perhaps you need to be reminded of this as well.  I sure did.  What a beautifully powerful promise!  As believers, we house the Spirit of the Living God.  He strides ahead of us and is right there with us at all times!  Talk about a confidence booster! How can I not go out of my way to greet my neighbor?  And going out of my way is what it took in the beginning.  We made an effort to be hospitable and didn’t let the “no’s” and “no-show’s” get us down.  

We chose not to be intimidated, not to worry. 

Today, a beautiful thing is happening.  Our home is “the kid house”, you know the one, where the door is always open, there is always a snack and a cool drink to be had and no one worries about the crunchy floors.  And those floors, while crunchy, they are nothing less than holy ground.  Christ Jesus lives here and everyone who comes in meets Him in a warm welcome, a bite to eat and nice conversation. Garage doors are beginning to stay open after the cars pull in and we all are enjoying sharing a little about our day, ourselves, our lives as we linger over the mailboxes.  We are taking this land: one wave, one hello, one invitation at a time.  

He is striding ahead of all of us.  


Your home is holy ground and by purposefully opening your doors and inviting people in, you will begin to change the culture of your own neighborhood.  Try it!  

by Jen Milne