Every congregation takes on a culture, or cultures, and that while keeping Jesus the gospel. As the love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, there are certain irresistible repercussions (like loving our neighbor). May God grant to Grace a culture of adoption, not as the gospel, but as an expression of the gospel!
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I read the First Importance Blog almost everyday. It has been a great jolt from a brother or sister that aids my looking unto Jesus. Today's quote is a powerful summary of what Mark's gospel has been saying to Grace Church this entire year.
"Salvation is not a detached gift of God in some gracious and miraculous way bestowed upon man. Salvation is Christ, and to experience salvation is to experience Christ. It is not the experience of something, but of someone.
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Grace's "Church Card" contains lots of information in a small space. The card pictured contains important details for September thru December.
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Grace Church will NOT be meeting in dowtown Memphis this Sunday (Aug 31) due to our all-church retreat. But, I have a feeling that no matter how much we try to get the word out, someone (like a visitor that's never seen this website) will show up at Bridges ready to meet with the Lord and His people.
I'm asking a favor and offering a suggestionWould someone who's staying back in Memphis volunteer to hang out on the sidewalk at Bridges from 8:45-10:15AM to notify eager worshipers of our excursion?
And, for everyone else who'll not be joining us at the retreat, I would encourage YOU ALL to worship with New Beginnings and be blessed by worshipping as my good friend Sam Murrell expounds the Word of God. (And, for anyone who's not baptistically convinced, then I would encourage you to attend New Beginnings every week!)
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Watch John Piper answser this question. Be sure to watch the end of the answer...which is a simple explanation of the great end of the gospel = GOD!
Click here to see the short video.
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If you are one of the several people or families that have mentioned (or not told us yet) that you'll be driving to the retreat to join us for worship this coming Sunday (31st) please submit a contact letting us know (again!) so we can prepare enough food for everyone. Thanks!
You can click "read more" to see the Sunday schedule.
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Please Take Note
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Ever heard of Peter Van Mastricht? Me either. Until a few weeks ago.
Van Mastricht wrote a work called, A Treatise on Regeneration, which Jonathan Edwards--the greatest theologian America has ever produced--praised by saying, "...take [Van] Mastrict for divinity in general, docrine, practice, and controvery, or as a universal system of divinity, and it is much better than Turretin or any other book in the world, excepting the Bible, in my opinion." (Jonathan Edwards to Joseph Bellamy, Jan. 15, 1746/47).
If you're wondering, that would be a pretty high compliment coming from a guy who is not the least bit interested in flattering people.
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It was September 2005. Neither the city of Memphis, nor the name "Grace Church" had been made clear to Bryan, Nathan, or myself as the location or name of the church that we were called to plant. At the time, we knew we were called to plant a Christ-centered church together, we just didn't know where, or what it would be called. The Smith's and Sawyer's came to Minneapolis so we could meet with some of Bethlehem's staff, attend the Desiring God National Conference, and spend time praying, planning, and dreaming together. The fellowship was precious and priceless.
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Just as the worst part of any sin is what might have been had we obeyed, so the worst part of being spiritually hard of hearing is what glories we might have seen in Christ had we had receptive hearing to the gospel.
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I hope you are anticipating the upcoming cycle of Grace Groups. I trust that Clyde's book will be a timely study for our congregation.
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We're continually trying to update the Grace Church website.
This week we began adding responses to some of our most frequently asked questions.
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Grace Churchers... notice on the events tab (to the left) we have changed corrected the date (to the 24th) of the GraceKids Worker Orientation (and corrected the title from "Leader" to "Worker").
Basically, if you are on the "Spiffy Worker Spreadsheets" for GraceKids or Nursery, then you are urged to be at this orientation.
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On October 12, Lord willing, Dan Cruver will be a guest preacher at Grace Church. He will seek to unfold for us
the beauties of spiritual adoption. Pray for him, and for those who
will hear.
Dan recently wrote a tribute in honor of Maria Sue Chapman and his own son, Daniel. In his tribute, Dan clearly and biblically expounds the vision of the people of Grace Church. One line in particular stood out to me:
"We asked our God for grace. Grace to let Daniel go for His glory and Daniel's eternal joy."
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As far as discipleship is concerned, our first responsibility is to
our own soul, our spouse, and our children. Most of this takes place in the home, and
usually through informal settings that arise during "teachable
moments."
Tracy and I are encouraged and challenged by the families of Grace. We've seen several ways that parents have been thoughtfully preparing their children for corporate worship.
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For Pastors Only - Prayer of a Minor Prophet
By A. W Tozer
This is the prayer of a man called to be a witness to the nations. This is what he said to his Lord on the day of his ordination. After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on him he withdrew to meet his Saviour in the secret place and in the silence, farther in than his well-meaning brethren could take him. And he said:
O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou hast called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour.
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Attempting to avoid the haughty presumption that we could see all that Christ sees in Scripture, we are well-served to remember that Christians have the same Spirit indwelling them as Christ has indwelling Him.
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I'm guessing that many of you have already come across this CNN article by Steven Curtis Chapman on the physical and spiritual beauties of adoption.
A striking opening line:
"...there are 143 million children in the world who have lost one or both parents."
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Syllogisms are arguments that lead to obvious conclusions. They work like this: If "A" is true, and "B" is true, then "C" must be true.
Would this syllogism hold up for every Christian?
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Other than a few details of the gory events, and providing sufficient
detail to evidence the verifiable historicity of the events, the
gospels have relatively little to say to us by way of spiritual
application of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. At times it
feels a little bit truncated to read the crucifixion chapters of the
gospels. The believing heart wants to see the application. Don't fret, that's what the remainder of the Bible is for.
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From "Counselor A":
"It was a joy for me to give them the truth about our ourselves from Scripture and then share the gospel and to see the LORD hit them with [His] truth. Also, the pleasure of driving to camp with one camper and talking, then with soft music playing, watch a little boy fall asleep in a quiet comfortable environment. I guess it really made me look forward to pouring in to my own son."
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Last week when Westminster was running a 50% sale, I used puppy-dog eyes and a little
sweet-talkin' that somehow convinced (not the norm!) Tracy to order
for me a copy of Thomas Shreiner's New Testament Theology. I feel like a kid in line at the ice-cream shoppe waiting for it to arrive!
As I'm anticipating its arrival, here are three questions:
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The Lord initiated HIs 'Triumphal Entry' (Mark 11:1-2) knowing that the Jewish leaders would seek to destroy Him as a result (Mark 11:18).
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