Church of Christ San Martin

07/23/2023

The other day, I was hanging out with a friend. This friend is a Christian, but she doesn’t always act, speak, or think like one. Some days, she is completely in line with God’s Word, and some days, her life is a struggle that gets the best of her.
As our eyes met, I really wanted to say something about it, but I decided to let the Lord speak to her heart, knowing nothing that I say will have the same impact as the Father’s words.
So…. I prayed with her, and after some time had passed, I winked at her and walked away from the mirror.
I try every day, and I fail every day. I am so not perfect, I am a work in progress, and I'm thankful for God’s grace and His promises to His believers.
I’ll never STOP trying to be a better person 🌺

11/17/2022

10/01/2022

We’re meeting in person, Sunday’s at 10:00am.

08/25/2021

This. Copied from my hometown church.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6.2).

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Phil 2.4).

“Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious … it does not insist on its own way … love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13.4-7).

At Eastside we desire to be a family that is rooted and grounded supremely in the love of God shown in our Lord Jesus and that fills us through the Holy Spirit. We want to be that place where we bear one another’s burdens, where we look out for the well being of others (because we love them), we want to be a place where patience, kindness and going the extra mile happens because we fulfill the law of Christ. In short, we all want nothing more than to be the people of the Jesus Creed.

For months during our lockdown, we practiced these things. We shifted to online services precisely because we believe the texts just quoted. As vaccines were developed in answer to our prayers we have been able to gather together once again. We confess with Israel of old, “I was glad when they said, ‘Let’s go to the house of the LORD” (Ps 122.1).

We are still to practice love, especially now. The apostle Paul reprimanded the Corinthians for not looking out for those in their congregation that were the most vulnerable. His entire instruction regarding the Lord’s Supper is grounded in the Corinthian's callus attitude toward the vulnerable. In that setting the vulnerable were the poor. In our setting, in our time, in reference to Covid-19, those people are the at-risk people among us. As we watched out for one another during “lockdown,” so we must remain diligent in the practice of love as we come together.

It is because of love for one another that we

- encourage everyone to get vaccinated.

- if you are not vaccinated to wear a mask.

The Contra Costa County Health Department (in our case, the Santa Clara County Health Department) and the State of California requires that unvaccinated person wear a mask. In fact on Friday, they recommended masks for indoor gatherings. We know that Covid is dangerous. With the rise of variants of Covid (like the Delta) we want to be cautious. But more than that we simply want to show people that loving is second nature to us.

Love, Love, Love, Love
the Gospel in a word is Love,
Love they neighbor as they brother,
Love, Love, Love, Love …

07/23/2021

https://g.co/kgs/BWmp9A

Song by Lauren Daigle

01/06/2021

A member of the church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.
It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.
The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the firey sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday."

Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

12/05/2020

We’re getting together via Zoom on Sunday’s at 10am. Happy to share the link to any interested visitors. We’re a small but mighty church with a nice blend of great families!

02/03/2020

https://www.facebook.com/532340820138958/posts/2995144990525183/

09/19/2019

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2455754177796692&id=473078199397643

I choose church with my kids NOT because I like the chaos of getting everyone out the door in clothes they think are “too dressy” (even though they are basically t-shirts) or because I like hearing the whines of why any shoe other than a tennis shoes is too tight. Because I do not. 🤣

I choose church with my kids NOT because it feels like the easy thing to do. Or the thing I want to do when I’m trying to curl my hair with constant interruptions from sons asking about where to find a toothbrush or because it’s fun to choose an outfit with someone pulling on my leg after finding three of my dresses feel a bit too tight. Because truthfully it’s just not very fun. 🤪

I choose church with my kids NOT because I see a huge and instant change in their hearts after the weekly lesson. Or that because by hearing a scripture that week it will make them listen better to me that day. Or stop crying at drop off and trying to rip my dress off. Because we’re ten years in and I always still have to pull at least one child off me crying. It’s just our thing. 🙃

So nope, that’s not why I choose to go to church with my kids. 🖤

Instead, I choose to go to church with my kids because I know it’s a life-long investment. Actually, it’s even more than that. It’s an eternal one that is worth every struggle to get them out the door.

And I choose it because I know that one day the scripture they learned today in Sunday school WILL one day be the one that Jesus uses to direct their heart in a moment of uncertainty. And fear. And they will find truth and comfort in what they’ve been taught. Because it was planted in their heart so the harvest would one day be there. 🌱

And I choose church because I know that by bringing them to these four walls where we consciously choose to make Jesus our priority, one day when they’re grown and need the church more than ever, they will be able to comfortably walk in and find peace within the walls of a church they choose for themselves. And just be able to breathe knowing it’s a place for everyone always — mistakes and all — including them.

Basically, I choose church not because I like the struggle of leaving home but because one day when they are in the middle of their greatest struggle, they will find their home in Jesus. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

And that makes every week of “seeing” the outward crazy of making church happen know the “unseen” growth of what is going on in their little hearts worth it.

That’s why I choose church. ⛪️🖤✨