Glory of Christ Fellowship

Here is a marriage exercise taken from a workbook titled "Building Marriages God's Way" designed by Faith Lafayette Church in Indiana. The Exercise: Evaluate the way you you express love to your wife. Circle the ways you are neglecting. Ask your wife to go over the list and put a check mark in front of the ways she would like you to express love. Ask her to add other things to the list. You may express love to your wife by: 1. Functioning as the loving leader of your home. 2. Frequently telling her you love her. 3. Giving her a regular amount of money to spend in any way she chooses. 4. Leading family devotions regularly. 5. Smiling and being cheerful when you come home from work. 6. Helping her wash and dry dishes. 7. Taking care of the children for at least three hours every week so that she has free time to do whatever she wants. 8. Taking her out for dinner or to do some fun thing at least once a week. 9. Doing the "fix-it" jobs she wants done

Here is a marriage exercise taken from a workbook titled "Building Marriages God's Way" designed by Faith Lafayette Church in Indiana. The Exercise: Evaluate the way you you express love to your husband. Circle the ways you are neglecting. Ask your husband to go over the list and put a check mark in front of the ways he would like you to express love. Ask him to add other things to the list. 1. Accept your husband as your leader and praise the leadership qualities he has. 2. Show interest and belief in his goals, ideals and achievements. 3. When your husband is talking, show attentiveness and belief by looking at him. 4. If you have excess weight -build hope for your husband by disciplining yourself. Set little goals and achieve them. Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 10:13. 5. Let your husband know that you need his protection in every area of your life: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and volitionally. Ask him to help you learn to say "No

Announcements – July 26, 2015 Quarterly Strategy Meeting August 2: The next quarterly strategy meeting for GCF will be held on Sunday, August 2 following the worship service in the gymnasium. Members of GCF are expected to attend and everyone is welcome to join the meeting. Boy’s 2T and 3T onesies and clothes needed. There is a Safe Family for Children in Elk River who is caring for a medically fragile 9 month old boy. He is in need of onesies and some clothes. If you are able to donate these items, see Carmen Gunderson or call her at 763.370.2041 . Meeting At Elk River High School: GCF will be meeting in the Little Theatre at Elk River High School on August 9 and 16 for its Sunday morning worship services. Christian Movie Promotional: Contact Mary Prange about information regarding a Christian Movie titled “Beyond The Mask.” The movie will be playing at the Elk River theatre on Monday, August 17 and you must reserve tickets by August 7. Please consider su

Many are rejoicing in our day about the advances of same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court ruling by a margin of 5-4 now makes it illegal for any state to ban same-sex marriage. Depending on where you land on the spectrum of "tolerance" or rejection of same-sex marriage there are some myths to dis-spell regarding this issue. Before I get to the myths, it is crucial for me to point out that the Bible treats homosexuality as a voluntary act of rebellion against God (Romans 1:26-27). Scripture calls believers to respond to homosexual individuals with kindness, gentleness, and sympathy for their struggle (2 Timothy 2:24-26). However, there is nothing in Scripture that suggests homosexual behavior is natural or a part of God's design nor a part of human flourishing and fulfillment. Therefore, Scripture teaches that the correct response to homosexual inclinations is to repent and trust Jesus for forgiveness and strength (Luke 3:3).  Without further ado, here is the first

As I preach through 1 Peter and deal with Husbands and Wives in the context of marriage I was inspired to put together a list of resources that might be helpful for those who would like to follow up on these topics. I did my best to categorize the resource appropriately. I hope this is helpful.              Husbands The Exemplary Husband  By Stuart Scott (Husbands) The Complete Husband  by Lou Priolo (Husbands) Point Man  by Steve Farrar (Husbands) Ripped: My Wife Left Me…What Will I Do?  by Marshall Asher (Husbands) The Resolution For Men  By Kendrick/Alcorn (Husbands) Husbands, Wives And Marriage What Did You Expect? Redeeming The Realities Of Marriage  by Paul Tripp (Husbands/Wives) Renewing Marital Intimacy: Closing The Gap Between You And Your Spouse  by David Powlison (Husbands/Wives) What To Do When Your Marriage Goes Sour  by Jay Adams (Husbands/Wives) Sweethearts For A Lifetime  by Wayne and Carol Mack (Husbands/Wives) A Homework

Announcements – July 19, 2015 Thursday Morning Prayer Meeting:   Please join us for an hour of prayer on Thursday mornings from 6:00-7:00 a.m. at the church office. If you are unable to stop by the church office, feel free to join in wherever you are or send prayer requests to Pastor Kevin. Pastor Charlie’s Sabbatical Updates: Pastor Charlie has been updating his time away on his Sabbatical through his blog. You can feel free to follow along at http://bornoftheword.blogspot.com/ . Christian Movie Promotional: Contact Mary Prange about information regarding a Christian Movie titled “Beyond The Mask.” The movie will be playing at the Elk River theatre on Monday, August 17 and you must reserve tickets by August 7. Please consider supporting this movie with your family. There is more information available at the missions table and the GCF Facebook page. Student Ministries Summer Gathering: The next student ministries summer gathering (grades 6-12) is on Frida

Announcements – July 12, 2015 Thursday Morning Prayer Meeting:   Please join us for an hour of prayer on Thursday mornings from 6:00-7:00 a.m. at the church office. If you are unable to stop by the church office, feel free to join in wherever you are or send prayer requests to Pastor Kevin. Women’s Ministry/Ladies Park Day : We will be having another ladies and children park day on the 14th of July at Otsego Regional Park (by the Mississippi River) at 10:00 a.m.  Bring a lunch and enjoy some fun and fellowship. Student Ministries Summer Gathering: The next student ministries summer gathering (grades 6-12) is on Wednesday, July 15. Meet at the church office, 9:00 a.m. to head to Rochester for the Root River Canoe Trip. Bring a bag lunch, snacks, and $7 for gas and dinner. Pivot Meetings: The college age ministry meets on alternating Thursday evenings. 7:00 p.m. at Josiah Lee’s house. The next meeting is July 23. Stay Connected: All of our announcem

I was away with two other leaders and twelve students from June 14-21 on a missions trip to the Lakota people in Martin, South Dakota. It was a wonderful week for everyone who participated. We are thankful to Youthworks for their work in Martin and their willingness for them to partner with us. Their expertise and connections in the community made our time truly valuable. Our team will be presenting on Sunday, July 12 during the worship service. Here are some takeaways: We were able to paint several homes while we were in Martin. The home that got everyone talking was a home that was filled with cockroaches. There were holes and stains in the wall as well as cockroaches on the walls, ceiling, and in the pantry. Needless to say, the teens who painted this home won't be complaining about chores, at least not for a few weeks. It seemed to be impactful for each teen realize the reality of poverty even in the United States of America. There were three churches that come together

Announcements – July 5, 2015 Thursday Morning Prayer Meeting:   Please join us for an hour of prayer on Thursday mornings from 6:00-7:00 a.m. at the church office. Women should bring at least one other person with them so that we can honor the Lord by maintaining appropriate boundaries. If you are unable to stop by the church office, feel free to join in wherever you are. Women’s Ministry/Ladies Park Day : We will be having another ladies and children park day on the 14th of July at Otsego Regional Park (by the Mississippi River) at 10:00 a.m.  Bring a lunch and enjoy some fun and fellowship. Student Ministries Summer Gathering: The next student ministries summer gathering (grades 6-12) is on Wednesday, July 8. Meet at the church office, 5:30-9:00 p.m. Remember to sign up for the July 15 Root River Canoe Trip. Contact Pastor Kevin for more details on this. Pivot Meetings: The college age ministry meets on alternating Thursday evenings. 7:00 p.m. at Josiah Lee’s house. Th

Five Things To Avoid Saying In Order To Love People Through Suffering By Pastor Kevin This past week my family and I went to Family Camp at Pine Haven Christian Assembly near Park Rapids, MN. It was a wonderful time of fellowship that I hope families from GCF will be able to enjoy in the future. The morning adult class featured a video teaching on suffering. This post is something that was inspired by my last week and not any particular situation. With that being said, it seems that well intending Christians who don’t quite know what to say to console someone in the shock of tragedy could use some basic training. Here are five things not to say in an attempt to love someone when they have suddenly encountered “various trials”: 1.      Do not quote Romans 8:28 and tell them that God has a purpose. Stay away from quoting any other common passage that every believer already knows, including but not limited to James 1:2-4; Romans 5:1-5; and Hebrews 12:11. Simply listening and