Community Grace Brethren Church Long Beach

For those new to our page/church here is a list of our services and regular events. Sunday: 9:00 am Sunday School 10:30 am Worship Service 5:30 pm Prayer... 6:00 pm Evening Worship Service Wednesday: 7:00 pm Bible Studies (Men's, Women's and Home) Thursday: 9:30 am The Connection (with Dr. Borror) 7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal (for Palm Sunday cantata) 2nd Saturday each month: 9:15 am C.L.A.S.S. (Women's ministry)

Notes of Faith November 12, 2020 When I was a cessationist, I never saw God heal anyone because I never prayed for healing.1 How can you pray regularly for something that you believe God no longer does or that he does rarely? When someone told me they believed in healing and miracles, I shot back, Oh, you’ve seen blind eyes and deaf ears opened? You’ve seen someone walk on water or someone multiply food with prayer? Cessationists always go to the biggest miracles, especiall...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 11, 2020 We should share with those around us the things that are important to us, therefore, I share with you a story and the importance I have in my heart to give thanks to our veterans, past, present and those that will serve in the future. - Pastor Dale For a long time, I ran away from my grandfather’s story as a Medal of Honor recipient. I didn’t want to be overshadowed by it. It was too spectacular and too distant for me to connect with. He had...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 10, 2020 Much of our confusion and misery in life is due to our underestimating (or ignoring altogether) the enemy of our souls. Some of us rarely think of Satan and his demons, and if we do, we often downplay their power and influence. Surely, we could overestimate Satan (and many do), but in our day, especially in the West, it seems like he gets less attention and resistance than he deserves. While the devil is already defeated and his end is sure, h...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 9, 2020 If you grew up going to church youth camps, you may remember that kid who would seem to have a spiritual breakthrough every summer, only to go back to his former way of living soon after. No matter what he did, he failed to make lasting progress. Maybe you were that kid. Maybe you feel like that kid today. The book of Hebrews addresses the danger of not living up to what we know is true. The author writes to a group of Christians struggling to ...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 8, 2020 Some of it may be modern life. Some of it may just be human life. Confusion. Complexity. Uncertainty. More data than we can get our minds around. More options than we know what to do with. More happening that we can really process or learn from. We are human, and not God. And the complications and worries of our world and everyday lives make for constant reminders. Yet even in the sea of uncertainties and complexities that humble us if we wil...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 7, 2020 You shall love your neighbor as yourself sounds, to any Christian, like a grand and noble calling. Jesus’s words can inspire visions of sacrifice, courage, and daring good works. We can lose ourselves daydreaming of future plans to love. Jesus did not see small acts of service as interruptions to his calling, but as part of his calling....Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 6, 2020 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. Psalm 10:4 NIV Deep in the heart of November, I received two e-mails from women who were each fighting fierce battles, one losing her husband to ALS, the other losing her husband to an addiction he seemed unable to control. Different stories with similar shades of emotional trauma. I thought about how in years past these wonderful women would...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 5, 2020 Few words are more precious in the Christian’s vocabulary than the word grace. And yet few words are more misunderstood and misapplied, even by those who treasure the gospel of Jesus. Already in the New Testament, we find the two basic ways grace can be twisted. The first is the legalist delusion, on display in Paul’s warning to the Galatians: You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace ...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 4, 2020 Almighty God, only You have eternal power. Any human power is borrowed from You. May all those with authority use it for good and to honor You. William Tyndale (14941536), Adapted... O righteous Lord, You love righteousness. May Your Holy Spirit be with our rulers, that they may govern in faith and honor, striving to put down all that is evil and encourage all that is good. Give Your spirit of wisdom to lawmakers. May they grasp the gravity of the work You have given them to do, that they may not do it lightly. May they put away all wrong and oppression and advance the welfare of all people. Thomas Arnold (17951842), Adapted God, reveal Yourself to those who have power in this world. Help them behold Your glory and humble themselves before You. Build their faith in You; grow their love for Your ways and grow their love for the people they represent. Give them wisdom and discernment; make them pure-hearted, respectful, diligent, and conscientious. Save them from selfishness, pride, corruption, and hardheartedness. May they honor You by honoring those they serve, treating them with dignity and kindness. May they lead with prudence and love, cultivating justice and mercy. Help them persevere in doing what is right in Your eyes, both privately and publicly. Bless and help these stewards of great responsibility, Lord. Weave them into Your kingdom work and use them to carry out Your purposes. C. M. O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under Your care. Send down upon those who hold office the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice; that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people. Book of Common Prayer Almighty God, all thoughts of truth and peace proceed from You. Kindle in the hearts of all people the true love of peace. Guide every leader in every nation in Your pure and peaceable wisdom, so that Your Kingdom may go forward, till the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of Your love. Francis Paget (18511911), Adapted Excerpted from A Prayer for Every Occasion by Carrie Marrs, copyright Zondervan. We need to be much in prayer, depending on God who holds all things in His hands. We are to continue to live as little Christs in a dark and sinful world. No matter the outcome of our election in the U.S., we serve the only risen and sovereign King. Live in righteousness and truth and be prepared for the return of the Bridegroom! The signs of the time are near and clear! Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 3, 2020 Temptation often prevails against us because of our simple and naive assumptions about temptation. We expect temptation will march through the front door, dressed like a wolf, announcing itself loudly as it comes. But temptation often prefers the back door, and the bedroom window, and that crack between the floorboards. Temptation relies on subtlety and nuance, on deception and surprise, on ignorance and naivete. To begin to taste victory, we h...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 2, 2020 Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 In the classic Broadway musical and film The Sound of Music, the Reverend Mother sends Maria away from the convent to work as a nanny for the Von Trapp family. Maria is unsettled at the idea of leaving the abbey and giving up on her dream of becoming a nun. The Reverend Mother reassure...Continue reading

Notes of Faith November 1, 2020 As you get out of bed in the morning be aware of My Presence with you. You may not be thinking clearly yet, but I am. Your early morning thoughts tend to be anxious ones until you get connected with Me. Invite Me into your thoughts by whispering My Name. Suddenly your day brightens and feels more user-friendly. You cannot dread a day that is vibrant with My Presence. You gain confidence through knowing that I am with you that you face nothing...Continue reading

Don't forget to set your clocks BACK one hour tonight!

Notes of Faith October 31, 2020 Ouija boards. Psychics. Tarot card readings. Necromancy (attempts to communicate with the dead). The list of spiritual antics and so-called parlor games share a common thread: encouraging people to place hope and find solace in people, spirits, and sources other than God. Most people traditionally dive into these activities for entertainment’s sake. But while many assume these actions are benign or comical, a brief look at Scripture offers a co...Continue reading