Community Grace Brethren Church Long Beach

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Community Grace Brethren Church Long Beach We are a friendly, Christian church whose motto is EACH ONE, REACH ONE. We believe that every time we exit our building we are entering our mission field.

10/02/2026

Notes of Faith October 2, 2026

The Best Water

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV

Last year in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, the 35th Annual International Water Tasting Convention took place. Judges, who tasted eighty waters from four continents, gave the Gold Medal to water from the Goura Spring in Greece. This is some of the purest water on earth.1

The Lord Jesus is the water of life that satisfies our thirsty souls. He renews us day by day. As Christians, we have learned that only Jesus quenches our inner thirst. He satisfies our deepest longings better than the purest, sweetest water on earth. All our springs are in Him.

Give thanks that the Lord renews your soul day by day. Enjoy your time of Bible study and prayer because that is where your soul drinks in the refreshing water of life.

Soul-restoration is peculiarly the work of God. He alone knows that wonderful instrument, and He only can keep it in tune. The inward man is renewed day by day!
Joseph Parker

1Ashley Epperson, “The Best Spring Waters in the World: Highlights from the 2025 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting,” Salacious Drinks, February 24, 2025.

Ps 42:1
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.

John 3:5-7
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.

John 4:13-14
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

John 7:38
38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Eph 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Heb 10:19-25
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Water is used often in the Bible to represent spiritual cleansing and refreshment. The Word of God (as water) washes our repentant soul and presents us clean and pure before a holy God. This same cleansing water flows from us, a living stream, to offer the life God freely gives to those who will receive the truth from His heart of love for all mankind! Come to Jesus and drink deeply of His pure, cleansing water and be saved to eternal life with Him in heaven!

Pastor Dale

10/01/2026

Notes of Faith October 1, 2026

Today’s notes from a friend that sits at the feet of Jesus, draws near to His heart to have a true relationship that God desires for all of mankind!

Relationship

I’ve been thinking. If I could eliminate one phrase from the “Christianese” vocabulary, it would be, “I just want God to use me.”

Why? you might ask. It sounds so humble, so pious, so “servanty”!

Unfortunately, I think it promotes an unhealthy idea of who God is and how He sees us. God is not utilitarian; He is relational. We are not objects to Him, not tools. We are people. Human souls that He loves dearly. He is not so much concerned about what He can get out of us, as He is about how much of Himself He can pour into us.

At best, this misconception promotes a transactional view of God, and something like an employer/employee way of relating to Him. We want to produce and please Him, expecting a corresponding compensation. “If I do this, He will do that.” We end up trying to bargain, manipulate, and “use” God in return. This performance/reward mindset also causes us to see fellow humans as objects, too—trophies to be won and collected or “jewels in our crown” or—if they don’t cooperate—barriers or obstacles to goals we need to achieve and the good that we hope to receive.

At worst, this image of God can make Him seem cruel. A relationship where one party has power over another, and uses them for their own personal gratification or gain is an abusive relationship. We can begin to see God as a self-serving sadist, not caring how much pain or trouble He puts us through, as long as He gets what He wants in the end.

But this is NOT our God. God is love. He gives us Himself in the hopes that we will reciprocate, and eagerly pursue knowing Him. Our hearts will then be turned in love toward others, reflecting the very heart of God. And yes, this will transform the world, one life at a time. But there is nothing mechanical or utilitarian about it. It isn’t even efficient. It’s organic, relational, and messy. And that’s the way He prefers it!

May you have the joy of “wasting time with God” this week, releasing the need to produce or see results.

Pastor Dale

09/30/2026

Notes of Faith September 30, 2026

Let God Lead

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

It is true that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But it is also true that straight lines rarely exist in real life. More often than not, the plans we make involve many twists and turns that we had not planned on encountering. One measure of our trust in God is seen in how we navigate the unexpected changes in our plans.

Jonah had a plan—rather than obey God and head east to Nineveh, his plan was to go west to Tarshish (modern Spain) in order to avoid meeting his enemies face-to-face. But God’s original plan did not change. Instead, God changed Jonah’s plan by casting him into the sea and having him swallowed by a great fish. When faced with the likelihood of dying as fish food, Jonah repented of his disobedience and decided to submit to God’s original plan. Even then, Jonah’s story does not end well. He was not happy with God’s mercy toward Nineveh, and Scripture leaves him in a state of self-pity.

A valuable lesson from Jonah’s life is that God’s plans will not be foiled by human failure or intervention. If God changes your plans, seek His will and follow His lead.

God has no problems, only plans.
Corrie ten Boom

James 4:13-17
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a v***r that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I have not seen a life that did not experience changes to plans, divergence from a straight line travel to a myriad of movements away from that original straight-line plan. Life is responding to those changes through which God is leading. May we understand the changes and be truly blessed in following God’s plan for our daily walk with Him!

Pastor Dale

09/29/2026

Notes of Faith September 29, 2026

Sulking

Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?
Jonah 4:9

The book of Jonah is a remarkable testimony of a man who learned valuable lessons in unusual ways. The fact that he wrote his story indicates he came to understand what God was teaching him. God wanted to pass the lessons on to us. One of the greatest lessons has to do with God’s compassion even when we’re in rebellion against Him or when we are feeling resentful toward Him. Just as we help our own children when their emotions spiral one way or the other, so the Lord helps us.

No matter where we are in life, God is always with us—when we are obeying Him, when we are running from Him, when we are struggling to view others as He views them, and even when we are sulking about something as ordinary as a wilting plant.

Lift up your heart and rejoice today that you have a God who understands your moods and who intends to transform you into the image of His Son from one degree of glory to another as you gaze on Him and contemplate His beauty (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When our trials come…it is our joy and comfort to lift our faces heavenward and to go on, standing on the promises of God.
W. A. Criswell

It is hard to believe that God would see a defiant, disobedient, creation, designed in His image, and love that person, leading, guiding, disciplining, encouraging, uplifting, everything to ensure the salvation and forgiveness of one in need. I would not respond to my outbursts, anger, frustration, contempt, and disobedience in the loving manner in which God loves me.

May you be comforted, assured that God knows everything about you, and still pours out His love on you. Let the cry of your heart be heard in heaven in your earthly struggles. He will respond to your prayers and be the perfect heavenly Father that you need for any and every moment and situation.

Start each day with God in prayer and His Word and focus on things that are eternal and you will find the things that are causing you emotional angst, frustration, and anger will begin to change through His power and authority in the child (you) that belongs to Him.

Pastor Dale

09/28/2026

Notes of Faith September 28, 2026

It Is Well

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
Jonah 4:1

When Christian author Jennifer Rothschild was a teenager, the doctor told her she was going blind. Returning home with her parents, everyone was silent in the car. Jennifer recalls, “When we got home, I went straight to our old upright piano…. I started to play a song I had never played before. I could no longer see to read music. I played the song by ear. Yes, that was a gift from God, that ability to play by ear. But the greater gift to me was what I played…. I played ‘It Is Well with My Soul.’ I think God, even then, was reminding me what He had already embedded in my spirit—that while it was not well with my circumstances, it was probably not ever going to be well with my circumstances, but because of Jesus, He really had already made it well with my soul.”1

Jonah became very upset with the way he perceived God was treating him, but he was wrong. The Lord was blessing him, molding him, and using him in ways we are still talking about today. Even when you feel upset with the events of life, you can trust the Lord.

So I chose, even then, to believe He was good and to trust Him.
Jennifer Rothschild

1Jennifer Rothschild, “Is God Just, Not Fair?” C. S. Lewis Institute, May 15, 2025.

There is nothing that happens to us that God does not know. He is not surprised. All things are under His control and used for our ultimate spiritual blessing! Even during what we see as the most horrible of circumstances, it actually lasts for a short time, for our lives are but a v***r that soon disappears. Our eternal lives will be perfect, healthy bodies that will never decay or die, full of strength and vigor, we will serve the Lord and praise His name always, while we live in the awe of what He has planned for those who love Him!

Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh!

Pastor Dale

Address

5885 Downey Avenue
Long Beach, CA
90805

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
6pm - 7:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 10am
10:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+15626341056

Website

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