Latest Entries
July 3rd, 2009
Something eternally seismic happened at the cross of Christ, and the empty tomb.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus "purchased for God from every tribe, tongue, people and nation"
a redeemed church. Those who were formerly alienated from God, and
therefore, His enemies, were bought with the invaluable blood of
Jesus--God's own Son, and infused upon converstion with the capacity to
bring glory God's great Name!
The saving work of Jesus is so significant and powerful and life-tranforming that the Scripture says that "the church" will redound the same degree of glory to God "forever and ever" as Jesus--His own perfect and
glorious Son--has always and will always bring to Him.
Or in one simple phrase, as Sunday's sermon text puts it,
"To God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
The parrallelism in that verse is nothing short of amazing.
Lord willing, I'll see you Sunday, with a ready heart! John 3:30
jt
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Filed under Grace Church
July 1st, 2009
Yesterday was a top seven day in my life. Or, to use the golf scoring system, it was a top-three day! The order goes like this:
- Conversion, March 1996.
- Marriage to the love of my life, July 1999.
- A five-way tie: The birth of each of my children, March '01, October '02, September '04, May '06, and yesterday.
- A trillion other undeserved blessings (Church, Christian growth,
family, friends, Providentially ordered pain, Mountain Dew, good books,
snowboarding, good conversations, shoes, breathing, et cetera).
The reason I'm publicly gloating over our daughter's birth...
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Filed under Jesus
July 1st, 2009
We're told in Hebrews 1:9 that God the Father spoke in Psalm 45:6-7 of the Lord Jesus saying, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness."
Two tremendous affirmations are made by God the Father in this statement concerning Jesus...
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Filed under Jesus
June 29th, 2009
Click here to follow their blog. Here's the upcoming schedule:
- Monday, July 13: Move into our new apartment
- Thursday, July 16: Brandon’s clinic check-up and final physical
- Friday, July 17: Hickman catheter put in
- Monday, July 20, Day -7: Admission to hospital. Day 1 of chemotherapy
- Tuesday, July 21, Day -6: Day 2 of chemotherapy
- Wednesday, July 22, Day -5: Day 3 of chemotherapy
- Thursday, July 23, Day -4: Day 4 of chemotherapy
- Friday, July 24, Day -3: Day 5 of chemotherapy
- Saturday, July 25, Day -2: Day 6 of chemotherapy
- Sunday, July 26, Day -1: Rest!
- Monday, July 27, Day 0: Transplantation Day, Begins minimum of 100 days staying in/near hospital in Nashville
- Tuesday, July 28-August 7: Minimum 11 days of hospital stay, could be more depending on his reactions
Of course, you will want to read the entire post, and keep up with additional posts.
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Filed under Grace Church
June 29th, 2009
Many thanks to the person who was willing to share this story of God's saving grace:
Amazing...God's providence, that is.
I was having an
imaginary conversation with an imaginary unbeliever on my 30-minute
commute to work today with hopes that I might be better prepared to
testify of the real Christ to a real person someday.
My story goes like this...
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Filed under Jesus
June 28th, 2009
When co-teaching a series of lectures with Edmond Clowney on Christ-Centered hermeneutics, Tim Keller put God's one way of salvation well; "While there are many ways to Jesus, there is only one way to God."
Jesus is God. And He is the only way to a saving relationship with God the Father (John 14:6).
The Lord's endless creativity is seen in the manifold ways He draws
people to Jesus, so that they can then be brought safely to God.
Share your story of coming to Jesus
We would love to hear your testimony of how you came to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior. Wherever you are in the world, "refresh our hearts in Christ."
Let
us know through the comments how you came to faith in Jesus. Since our
comments have to be moderated due to heavy spam, we'll pull out your
story after you submit it and post it here on the blog.
Perhaps
your story of coming to Jesus for salvation will be one of God's "many
ways" to bring someone else to Jesus, and to a saving relationship with
Himself!
Here's how God brought me to Himself through faith in Jesus...
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Filed under Jesus
June 27th, 2009
"You shall call His name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21
As you prepare your heart for worship tomorrow through the preached Word of God, ask yourself three questions from this verse:
- Who is Jesus?
- What did He come to do?
- Am I one of His people?
Pray with all your heart that people will be converted tomorrow
under the preaching of the gospel! Pray that your heart, and the hearts
of all who will gather with us, will be "fertile soil" for the Word and
will of God to be received with much joy.
See you tomorrow morning, Lord willing.
jt
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Filed under Grace Church and Jesus
June 26th, 2009
What about falling 50 feet from a rope when you are 17 years old and
breaking your back? How can you then say, "In the very accident, [God]
was showing me His very kindness and care."
What about "taking
a spill" many times after that because of your partial paralysis and
trying to "get back up" in a way that will show to those who watch that
you believe, "...even that, I consider to be part of God's love to me."
Watch Mark Talbot's short video...
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Filed under Jesus
June 25th, 2009
In
May 2009, Tyler began a one year Pastoral Apprenticeship with Grace
Church. The program is designed to give the apprentice a focused year of
guidance in three areas: (1) personal holiness, (2) exposure to pastoral ministry, and (3) theological
development.
Please be praying for Tyler, and for the pastors as we
pour into him!
By the looks of this picture, it's clear that he's having fun!
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Filed under Grace Church
June 22nd, 2009
Brothers and Sisters, my heart is burdened for the furtherance of the gospel. We as a faithful family have, by grace, done well to proclaim the gospel, but let us excel still more.
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Filed under Grace Church
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