Longing for Perfection

Perfect in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:28

Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps imperfection; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters imperfection. You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you-you are perfect in Christ Jesus. In God's sight, you are complete in him; even now you are accepted in the Beloved. But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said-

With my Saviour's garments on,

Holy as the Holy One.

Then shall we know, and taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, Complete in Christ. Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean. Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in his glory, peerless in his beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ. 

Sent from the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Grace, Freedom, Laughter! 

Sunday January 27, 2013 at Dakota

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!

This week is our annual business meeting which will be followed by a brief gospel message,

Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!

Luke 18:9-14

 

The Great Physician

But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. 

- Colossians 1:22

A Christian is righteous and a sinner at the same time—both a friend and an enemy of God. The philosophers will not admit this paradox because they don't accept the right way of becoming justified. That's why they demand that people keep on doing good works until they don't feel sin anymore. This teaching has caused many people to become very distraught, because they have strived as much as they could to become completely righteous but could never achieve it. Even among those who spread this godless teaching, countless numbers of them have fallen into despair in their hour of death. This would have happened to me if Christ hadn't mercifully looked upon me and freed me from this error.

In contrast, we teach and comfort troubled sinners this way: Dear brothers and sisters, it's impossible for you to become so righteous in this life that you won't feel sin anymore. It's impossible for your body to become as bright and spotless as the sun. Though you still have wrinkles and spots, in spite of this, you are holy. But you may wonder, "How can I be holy since I sin and feel sinful?" Recognizing and feeling your sin is good. Thank God, and don't despair. It's a step toward health whenever a sick person recognizes his disease. "But how can I be freed from sin?" you wonder. Run to Christ, the Physician who heals the broken-hearted (Psalm 147:3). He makes sinners holy.

From Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther, James C. Galvin. ©2005 by Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced without written permission from Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49530. Sent from the Martin Luther's Faith Alone Devotional. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Grace, Freedom, Laughter! 

Sunday Morning Preview - January 27, 2013

It is that time of year again (already!) - time for DCC’s annual “Money Sunday”.

For those who may not be familiar with this particular tradition “Money Sunday” is our annual public business meeting. We will take a look at the year that was - financially, and lay out the projected budget for 2013. 

Please do not take this as an opportunity to skip church and sleep in. If Dakota is your church family then this is a meeting you should not miss.

Hope to see you all Sunday morning.

Sunday January 20, 2013 at Dakota

Welcome to Church

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!

Please follow along in the Bible using the links below and enjoy the service!

Matthew 2:14-15; Matthew 13:34-35; Luke 22:34-36; John 19:28-30; Luke 24:37-47; Luke 24:25-32; 1 Corinthians 4:15-16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-11; Ephesians 3:6-8; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:8

Sunday Preview - January 13, 2013

Well friends it’s January, and this Sunday will mark the first sermon I preach in 2013. If not for a revolutionary reawakening to the gospel, I would be trying to get you to take stock of your Christian progress. I would be asking you about God’s big dream for you, your “special” purpose, or maybe your Devine destiny! - I would be trying to wind you up, to launch you into another year of “DOING MORE” and “TRYING HARDER”.

I have some Good News for you - I’m not going to do any of that this year, in fact as you may have guessed from the title of this sermon, instead of pumping your tires about how special you are - I intend to do the opposite.
I want to encourage you to abandon entirely the idea that you are special. We both know that in the story of David and Goliath - we aren’t David! No, you and I are members of the cowering masses up on the hillside; desperately needing someone to come and save us.
I am going to encourage you at the start of this new year, to totally abandon yourself to nothingness in Christ. In the words of John the Baptist, in 2013, I want us to say “He must become greater, I must become less.”

I hope to see you this Sunday morning for: “2013 Aim Low”

Pastor Dan

Welcome to Dakota

We are so glad you have joined us this morning at DCC.

 

Enjoy the worship and fellowship along with the preaching of the Word of God by special guest speaker Pastor Brian Hamilton.

 

Thanks again for joining us.

This Sunday - January 6, 2013 - at Dakota

For far too many Christians the New Year involves resolutions, self improvement, goal setting and just a whole lot of navel gazing in general. In order to remedy this situation we started a new tradition at DCC a couple of years ago - devoting the first service of the new year to a missions emphasis.

I know you will be encouraged and inspired as once again this year we welcome Pastor Brian Hamilton of Ambassadors for Christ Canada - AFC is the Ministry that Kathy and I (And hopefully many of you soon!) have visited the Dominican Republic and Cambodia with. 

Pastor Brian will share the value of short term missions and the unique AFC approach to getting the job done in third world countries.

Invite a friend and start the year off on the right foot! May God richly bless each and everyone of us as we enter the harvest field in 2013.