Category: About Canelo Cowboy Church

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Church This Sunday!

Good Morning!
This coming Sunday, May the 10th is Mother’s Day! I don’t know about you but I am so thankful for my mother and I want to celebrate her in a special way even though she’s now in heaven. How about if we have church outside this Sunday? It will be a BYOC & C (Bring Your Own Coffee & Chair) service because the ban on getting together anywhere but Walmart or Home Depot hasn’t been lifted yet. That way we won’t all be touching the same surfaces and we all aren’t inside the building stacking chairs breathing the same air. If we do it this way I feel we will be safe, especially if we don’t hug one another (That’s going to be hard for me) and don’t greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16)! We shouldn’t shake hands but elbow bumps are still in style.

We will have just 1 service and it will start at 8:30 that morning. After the service we should disperse to our homes as quickly as possible.

Please plan on sitting in family units and six feet apart from other family units. Please wear masks and/or gloves if you feel a need. And, if you’re not feeling well, for goodness sake stay home. Or, if you have a compromised immune system please stay home. The service will be broadcast live on Facebook also. If you feel safer staying in your vehicle and watching the service please do that as well. I am looking forward to seeing your faces.

In His Service,

Pastor Steve
Senior Pastor Canelo Cowboy Church

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Baptisms

Today is the day that we are going to baptize quite a few believers! I’m excited about it folks! I know that God is working in the lives and hearts of these people and their desire is to show the world that they have changed! That’s what baptism represents really. Paul writes to us in Romans 6:3 & 4, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we to may have a new life.” What this is telling us is that baptism symbolizes our death, burial and resurrection just like Christ’s. And then we need to live a life that reflects that we are saved and striving to live as He wants us to live!

Some people think that baptism is a necessity for salvation. And while it is a commandment from Christ, it is not necessary for us to be baptized to get into Heaven. All that is necessary to make Heaven our home is the Blood of Jesus Christ. He shed His blood and died that we may have eternal life and as Paul writes in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So that all it takes, confessing and believing. Paul never says anything in this passage about baptism and if it were necessary to be baptized for salvation Paul would have told us about it.

Did you notice that Paul says we are buried like Him in baptism and we rise again to a new life? So that means we are laid down in the water and raised again in new life! So after we are baptized we then strive to live a new life. We will still trip and stumble but we know we have the forgiveness of sin that Jesus promised us. How wonderful is that? Jesus died for us so we can be saved, He rose again for us so we can have newness of life and He forgives us when we don’t walk as we should love. He has done all of the work and we just reap the blessings! How fantastic is that?

So if you know Christ as your personal Savior but have never followed Him in baptism, it’s not too late! Just let me know and we can get it done! It would be such a blessing to me to do that!

It is such a privilege to serve here at Canelo Cowboy Church! I thank my God daily for the call He placed on me and all the wonderful folks in our lives! Pray for me and I’ll pray for you!  Naomi and I love you all.

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Sawmill fire

What a week it’s been! With all the fires and displaced people and animals, some lives have been turned upside down. Then between doctor’s visits, financial difficulties and relationship issues it’s a wonder we are able to survive at all. But if you stop and think, it’s this thing we call life. Every human from the beginning of time has had these same types of issues and, if you can believe it, even those that don’t know Jesus as their personal Savior somehow find a way to survive! In reality I do not know how anyone could make it through life without knowing my Jesus.
The Sunday school workbooks for this quarter are titled, “The Rescue Begins.” The last few quarters we have been learning about the coming Messiah and how every book in the Bible points to the world that they need a Savior. And now, the rescue begins! Jesus is on the scene and only through Him we have the promise of eternal life! He will rescue us from sin and give us a place in the Kingdom of Heaven! That is what He has promised to all that have called on His Name.
But you know one thing He didn’t promise? He didn’t promise smooth sailing through life. Quite the opposite. He said that, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NIV).” We’re going to have troubles, problems and even death all around us, but we can overcome and have peace in these things if we know Jesus and trust in Him that He has it all under control!
In Matthew 7 as Jesus was finishing up His “Sermon on the Mount,” in verses 24-27, He tells us a very interesting story. He talks about two distinctively different types of people. Although they had everything in common and everything that they went through was the exact same, they had two very different outcomes. And the only difference in the two men was one was wise. He put into practice everything that he heard Jesus say. The other one didn’t put it into practice and Jesus calls him foolish. In this story both men built houses (Or were living life). Both men had the rain come down and the streams rising (Signifying the problems of living life). But the one that listen to Jesus’ Words, well, his house stood firm. The one that didn’t listen, his house fell with a mighty crash. Both living life but very different outcomes. Which one are you? Think about it. Naomi and I love y’all.

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The Church and Bride of Christ

Jonas asked me to ride with him this past week, an opportunity that I jumped on because I enjoy checking cattle on horseback almost as much as I enjoy preaching! And I don’t get to ride near as much as I get to preach!

As I was riding along taking in all the sounds, sights and smells I got to thinking about how many times I’ve heard people say, “I don’t need no church to worship God! I can look at the beautiful things that God made and be right next to Him out here in nature!” And while this is all so very true, we don’t need a church to worship God, we need THE church to truly know His heart. You see, the church isn’t a building. The church is the people that use that building. The Bible calls the people that use the building the bride of Christ. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” Christ’s bride is the church! Christ loves you and me with all of our faults and sins because we are His bride!

Ok preacher, what are you getting at? What does this have to do with me coming to church instead of communing with nature? Well everything actually! Think about it, if you are horseback all alone or hiking by yourself or even if you’ve stayed at home and are reading the Greatest Book, the Bible, how are you putting it into practice? Sure, you may be dealing with a hard headed horse or a witchy old cow, but is there a human that is maybe rubbing you the wrong way and MAKING you put His word into practice, namely, love your neighbor as yourself? Is there a cow (bovine) that is telling you what kind of person you are or are not? Most likely no. See, we need each other to rub off the rough edges and to make us more like Jesus. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7 NIV).” Jesus couldn’t do that from His throne in Heaven. He had to come to the Earth and rub shoulders with imperfect people to get that done. And He loved them anyway, no matter what they said or did or how they acted. He loved them.

So, next time you come to church and you see someone acting like the world, just remember Jesus loves them anyway. Remember, you can’t love Jesus and hate His bride.

You pray for me and I’ll pray for you. Naomi and I love you all.