Announcements - July 30, 2017

Change in Location for Sunday Worship Services from July 16-August 20: We will be worshiping at Elk River High School July 16 through August 20. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us there!

Pastor Charlie on Vacation July 17-August 7: Pastor Charlie is on vacation until August 7. If you need assistance with anything, please contact Pastor Kevin at kevin@gcfmn.org. Please pray for the Handrens as they draw away with Jesus and seek to refresh their souls in Him together.

Youth Camping Trip August 6-9: The youth camping trip is targeted to high school students but junior high students who enjoy hiking and camping are also welcome to attend. This is an adventurous trip designed to use exploration in God's creation as a way to make disciples for the glory of Christ. If you would like to sign up you can do so by submitting $10 payment to Pastor Kevin. Please direct any questions to Pastor Kevin (kevin@gcfmn.org).

Quarterly Business Meeting Sunday, August 20: Please join us for a time of sharing, thanksgiving, and prayer as we gather to celebrate what the Lord has done over the last year and to dream about what he might do in the coming year. The meeting will take place after church on August 20, from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the Handke Center. Please contact Pastor Charlie for more information (charlie@gcfmn.org).

Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting: Please join us for this weekly time of prayer as we bring our praises and requests to the Lord. The meeting takes place every week at the church office from 6:00-7:00 a.m.

Next Week's Fighter Verse

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Psalm 91:7-8

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The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit. Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF. However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive. I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church. In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority. Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative , [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n

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