Dear Church Family, There are certain words or phrases in the Bible that especially intrigue me. One of those is the phrase “living hope” in I Peter 1:3. The verse reads, “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ  from the dead.” What is a “living hope?” Our hope is alive in that it is the God-given life that is in us once we belong to Him. “Hope” is the eager expectancy that grips the born again soul. So our living hope is the God given life inside us that causes us to look with eager expectation to a future that is full of optimism. Regardless of our present circumstances the living hope inside us gives us optimism that everything will be just fine. That living hope is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus. May the living hope in you give you complete optimism as you face an uncertain tomorrow. Hoping that you “see me” on the day that our living hope was sealed, Easter Sunday. Because of Jesus, Pastor...

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Dear Church Family, One of the challenges of the Christian life is waiting on the Lord. That challenge is certainly seen in our current pandemic. People who are accustomed to being on the go most of the time are being forced to slow down, focus on spiritual things, and wait until life returns to normal.  Some of my favorite verses in the Bible are about waiting on the Lord. Here are two of them. “Wait on the Lord;  be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; Wait I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14. “ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord,” Lamentations 3:26. God promises to strengthen our hearts and to be good to us if we wait on Him.  Waiting on the Lord is always worth the wait. Slow down, enjoy your family, but especially enjoy your God! In His Matchless Grace, Pastor...

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Dear Church Family, This will be the first devotional sent to you in light of the coronavirus pandemic. In Psalm 29:2 we read, “ Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” We don’t often think of holiness as being something that is beautiful. True holiness is extremely attractive. Jesus is perfectly holy and people were attracted to Him like a magnet. God is committed to our holiness. He wants the bride of Christ to be “without spot or wrinkle,” Ephesians 5:27. One of God’s favorite tools is trials and uncertainties that show us our imperfections and drive us to Him. Let the Lord use the current trials to make you more holy and increasingly beautiful to Himself and others. Since the lift of the shutdown does not appear to be just around the corner, Canton Grace is suspending all Sunday and Wednesday services until further notice. In other words, we will contact you when we can meet together again in person. In the meantime, we will continue to serve you via the internet on Facebook Live on Sunday mornings at 11:00. The Sunday services will be posted on our church website, cantongbc.org, and we are connecting small groups via various platforms. You are loved and prayed for. God bless you and have a great day! Pastor...

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Dear Church Family, With services canceled tomorrow, March 22nd, we have been working on ways to continue serving you at Canton Grace. Tomorrow morning we are going to attempt a “Facebook Live!” stream. We plan on going live with a shorter service and message from Pastor Joe at 11:00 am.  The livestream will be viewable on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cantongrace Canton Grace Brethren Church Canton Grace Brethren Church, Canton, Ohio. 225 likes. We are a Bible-believing, Christ-following body who strives to provide a strong foundation of love and values with events and teaching that is… www.facebook.com . We realize that not everyone has Facebook. Therefore, we also will be recording the service and it will be available on our website http:www.cantongbc.org/media/sermons a couple of hours after the livestream is concluded. Finally, all services on Wednesday March 25th and next Sunday March 29th are canceled. We will livestream next Sunday morning as well. May God bless you and keep you. “See” you tomorrow. In His Matchless Grace, Pastor...

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Dear Church Family, In order to help slow down the infection so as to not overwhelm our healthcare system to the point that they will not be able to provide medical services to all those who become seriously ill Canton Grace will not be having services or activities Sunday March 15th. We also are concerned that some people will likely come to church who should not, thereby exposing themselves or perhaps exposing others to the virus. We also hope that this decision will help relieve our dear people in the church family from having to make the decision themselves. Please be in prayer for our health workers, public servants, elderly, and physically struggling folks in the church family. We have many who fall into one of these categories. I love coming to church and will miss not worshipping and being together with you. God bless you and keep trusting in Jesus. In His Omnipotant Hands, Pastor...

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Dear Church Family, What we value or is important to us ultimately determines how we live life on a daily basis. This is true of an individual, a business, or a church family. The name given to these priorities is “core values.” For the next 5 weeks we will be looking at the 5 core values of Canton Grace Church. Sunday’s message title is “Core Value #1 – Worship.” A few verses that will prepare you for our time in God’s Word are Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 6:24, and John 4:21-24. I am looking forward to starting our 5 week core value series on Sunday. On Sunday evening at 7:00 we will celebrate what the Lord has done at Canton Grace during our Moving Forward Meeting. Everyone is welcome. Until Sunday may your life be a continual fountain of worship to our Lord. God bless you and have a great day! Because of Jesus, Pastor...

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