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Finding a church fitting your needs can be a difficult task.  The Church at Cahaba Bend makes this process easier by creating an environment that's reverent, relaxed, relational and relevant.  Our goals are to honor God and help you feel at home.  Whether it's a Sunday morning worship or a chili supper, our desire is for you to draw closer to God, the Body of Christ, and help you find a place to serve in God's world.

Food for Thought: Connect Written by: Paul Johnson, 02/08/19

My armpit hurts today. I got a flu shot on Wednesday in my left arm. It hurt; at least the skin that was punctured. Later that night, as I was with the youth group, I noticed the muscle under the puncture was a little sore. And the next day, the hurt spread further. For two days, that area has been doing battle with the flu. The lymph nodes in my armpit have been called in to do battle in order to prevail in this internal war against the forces of disease. Overall, I am a little more tired as my whole body either sends forces or provides support for the battle. Many parts are doing battle for my one body.
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, NIV)
If we call ourselves a church, then we are one body in Christ. So if we call ourselves a church, we must, as an individual part, connect to the body of Christ, that is the Church. It is hard at times; it is inconvenient and uncomfortable and sometimes flat out painful. Is the church perfect? Actually, yes. Not in the Greek understanding of the word perfect, which is to be without blemish. It is perfect in the Hebrew sense of the word—able to accomplish the intent for which it was designed. The church, though not  all flawless, does do what it is supposed to do, which is bind us in order to grow us, a feat we cannot accomplish in isolation. Isolation tends to have the opposite effect—it stunts us, shrinks us, atrophies us.
We were made for connection. And connection is more than a nice pleasant feeling of being close. It is to be profoundly involved and affected by one another. And this push and pull grows us, fills us in, maximizes us.
I was dumb enough to have illness injected into me. But my body, its parts, are pulling together to protect. This pulling together will also have a broader affect. I will grow from this experience.
Connect to the body of Christ: for your protection; for your growth.

Food for Thought: Commit Written by: Paul Johnson, 02/15/19

One of the moments that stood out in Keith’s sermon last week was the slide that said, “I am slowly becoming the person I should’ve been a long time ago.” 

When exactly is that “should’ve been” moment? How long ago exactly? Time is an interesting thing, and most of us think that when it comes to time, what should be should have already happened. Understand clearly the first part—I AM (that is current) SLOWLY (it’s happening, though we don’t like slow, unless it is a slow cooker or slow roasting) BECOMING (which is the “should be”, it’s just being unwrapped). 

Colossians 3:1-4 points out the two things that is our focus on this journey of “I-am-slowly-becoming.” Here’s the verses, in the NIV: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The first of the two things is “set”—that’s the commit part. It means to focus your attention and keep/commit your attention to stay there; renew that focus and commitment each day. Set your heart and mind on things above, to the Kingdom way of considering and doing.

The second of the two things is imbedded in the phrase, “when Christ, who is your life, appears.” We are not talking the second coming; we are talking about when God-moments happen and when His character shows up in our choices—when He appears in the actions we take and the life we live. So our second job is to notice; to be aware; to recognize it when it is happening.

We tend to think “should have been a long time ago” as a missed opportunity, and thus our focus is on our guilt that we messed up, which then leaves us focusing on being messed up and seemingly incapable of being anything else which, uh-oh, here comes more guilt and and and... here goes our focus down some rabbit hole. 

Do not forget this essential Kingdom reality—we are BECOMING! If He is our life, He has us right where He wants us at this time. More is to come, but right now right where we are is just fine. The long-time-ago means The Fall of Humanity with Adam and Eve. So today, stay focused on “Set,” aka Commit, and Noticing when His character appears within us. If He is the I-Am, then so are we.

Stay Focused. Keep Noticing.
Connect. Commit. Be.

Here is a sampling of some other opportunities going on at the Church at Cahaba Bend.