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.
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...
"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.
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."
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!
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.
On the Day of Pentecost Peter stood before thousands of folks from all over the place and preached that David wrote Psalm 16, "Because he was looking forward to the resurrection of the Christ" (cf. Acts 2:31).
Lord willing, in this coming Sunday's sermon we will be seeking to peer into Christ's glory in, through, and during the life and
writings of David. I covet your prayers. And I look forward to
worshipping with you!
Believer, bring a ready heart to revel in the gospel
And bring a lost friend with you to hear about the Savior
Summer is a great time for many. What will this summer be remembered for when you look back?
Imagine: Even if you had big plans to enjoy a long-anticipated
vacation, nothing would be greater than someone introducing you to
Jesus for the first time. That would make for the greatest summer ever!
You'll
be able to come up with plenty of ideas to commend Christ. Here's a few
simple thoughts that come to mind that may get your juices flowing.
More, it may lead to your great joy of being able to lead someone to
faith in Jesus this summer!
That would be a great (and telling) goal for all of us. Justin Taylor wrote:
"...wouldn't it be great if those who knew us best could honestly say, "It is so easy to edify him. It doesn't take much. It doesn't need to be the best
sermon ever preached or the most excellent song ever composed or the
most powerful book ever written or the most theologically eloquent
statement ever uttered. Just the simplest truth was enough to refresh
his heart in Christ."
I thought it might be helpful to supply the upcoming sermon texts here so you can prepare your heart for the Word each week. My sickness a few weeks ago has pushed back the remaining sermons in our series one week each.
I look forward to worshipping Jesus with you this coming Lord's Day!
June 21 - Christ Revealed from David to the Incarnation | Acts 2:22-41 (Yes, this text has changed since the publication of our church card).
June 28 - Christ Revealed through the Incarnation | Matthew 1:21
July 5 - Christ Revealed in the Church Age & Eternity | Ephesians 3:20-21
Last evening, Rick Cupples, one of Grace's elders, urged the other elders to "pester God" through intercession for several pressing needs in the body. I'd like to invite all who read this blog to join us in "giving God no rest" regarding one of these needs.
There's a family in our congregation that has been approved to
serve as missionaries through the International Mission Board. The only
thing left between them and the mission field is the sale of their
house. The catch is that for them to be "on schedule" the house needs
to sell in less than two weeks! Let us "wear God out" by "calling on Him day and night" to work for His glory!
No,
we don't presume to know for certain the Lord's timing in this matter.
Until this deadline passes, however, we beseech you join us in praying
fervently for God to sell their home!
Rick also reminded us that
the Great Commission is God's Great Commission. He must therefore be
the One who sees to it that it is accomplished. The work is His, the
joy is ours. Thank you for praying with us!
"The Lord works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Genesis is "the book of beginnings." Much, if not all, that is
foundational to our understanding of God, and His Christ-centered plan
to redeeem sinners, finds its origin in the book of Genesis. Steep your
soul in the pages of Genesis!
Or, maybe a more clarifying set of questions would be this:
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things." - Romans 10:14-15
My guess is that most of us have some pretty ugly feet, not because we don't have the "good news of good things", but rather we aren't "bringing" it to those around us.
As parents we are desperately needy (usually more often than we're
aware) for God to enable us to point our children toward Christ by being accurate reflections of Him.
Not
even Mary and Joseph, the earthly parents of Jesus, set the example
perfectly. We're all flawed, and we all need help. As we seek the
Lord's face, He will provide...
In one week's time, I attended two Christian concerts. I think that doubles my life-long total.
Last Friday, several Grace folks took 15 inner-city boys to the Don't Waste Your Life tour concert, and last night I joined another crew of Grace Church-ers at the Shane and Shane concert.
Needless to say, they were very differnt approaches, but both pointed clearly to the Jesus of the Bible.
I guess you can tell which picture is from which concert?...
Admittedly, I often feel that being busy equals being productive. Biblically, the exact opposite is often the case.
Those who know me know that I'm a "do-er." I like "getting things done." I even read a book by that title last year! So when I'm home in bed due to sickness, I
often feel that I'm "wasting time." But the Lord has His ways of
slowing us down, and reorienting us on something more important.
While
I've been home (literally "still" for hours on end), the Lord has been
reminding me of my neglect to pray diligently that the unreached
peoples of the world would know of God's glory and saving power through
Jesus Christ. To be honest, I've been sorely unfaithful in intercession
for the nations (The bible calls prayerlessness "sin"!)...
That's the title of Voddie Baucham's sermon that I read yesterday morning. It is an excellent call to every believer whether single or married. Highly recommended! Here's the PDF when you have time to read it yourself.
As I read, I rejoiced over God's kindness to Grace Church.
Though we're a small congregation, we've been blessed with many children. Oh that He will grant us the grace to be faithful with our calling to evangelize and disciple them well!
Grab our RSS feed
When co-teaching 
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."
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.
Summer is a great time for many. What will this summer be remembered for when you look back?
...and the entire series is slated be just nine parts long!
Or, maybe a more clarifying set of questions would be this:
As parents we are desperately needy (usually more often than we're
aware) for God to enable us to point our children toward Christ by being accurate reflections of Him.
In one week's time, I attended two Christian concerts. I think that doubles my life-long total.
Those who know me know that I'm a "do-er." I like "getting things done." I even read 
That's the title of Voddie Baucham's sermon that I