From the Pastor's Desk:
Wow!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful outpouring of love and support for "Pastor Appreciation" Pot-luck Luncheon last Sunday! It was a wonderful surprise. It is such a blessing to pastor a church family who loves the Lord, loves their church, and loves their pastor. I am truly blessed and humbled to be at GBC. Jean and I consider you "our family" and love serving the Lord along side you. Thank you for the many cards, presents, and monetary gifts. It was such a special day!
When I first arrived here 16 1/2 years ago, my first sermon was centered on the following thought: a person cannot fully grasp and embrace God's love, until they have first grasped and embraced His wrath (judgment). It is so very true that God is a God of love. But it is equally true that He is also a God of wrath and judgment. The problem is that mankind has "twisted" his own thinking about God. First of all, God does not send anyone to Hell. In fact, it's the opposite. He does not want any to perish. He loves mankind so much He sent His Son to die to make a way for all man's sins to be forgiven, so man could have a relationship with God. But this relationship can happen only through Jesus. If a person rejects that love Jesus, they will stand in God's judgment. They do so by their own free-will choice. Second, mankind is stayed on the idea that if he is to be judged at all he should be judged by his own standards. Man's standards often don't match the standards of God. So this morning let us all accept the words and truths of God's love so that we do not have to be the recipient of His wrath.
Pastor Randy