Glory of Christ Fellowship

The following Bible memory strategy is based on a method developed by Dr. Andrew Davis in his booklet, An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture . With this method, weekly Fighter Verses can be easily memorized and retained with an investment of about ten to fifteen minutes each week. If you have a few more minutes to spare you can retain hundreds of previously memorized verses. Sunday Read this week’s memory passage with surrounding verses so you can see it in its context. Ask the Lord to help you commit this passage to memory, apply it to your life and use it to bless others. Monday Read this week’s passage (with the reference) aloud ten times . Cover the passage and try to say it aloud (with its reference) ten more times , peeking if you have to. Say each memorized passages from previous weeks one time aloud with references. Tuesday Cover this week’s passage and try to say the verse aloud (with its reference) ten more times , peeking if you have to. Say each memori

     “Listen! We have come—you and I—once more to the parting of the ways. All our past failure, all our past inefficiency and insufficiency, all our past unfruitfulness in service, can be banished now, once and for all, if we will only give prayer its proper place. Do it today. Do not wait for a more convenient time” (35).      This is the clarion call of the third chapter of The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). Our anonymous author had earlier stated that he was setting out to do the impossible in this chapter, namely, to exhort Christians to a life of prayer by relating stories about answered prayer. He thought this task impossible, “For if men will not believe, and act upon, our Lord’s promises and commands, how can we expect them to be persuaded by any mere human exhortations?” (29)      But he quickly pointed out that even the Lord once urged his followers to believe in him on account of his works if indeed they were unwilling to believe on ac

We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear O Come All Ye Faithful Angels We Have Heard On High The First Noel O Holy Night Hark The Herald Angels Sing Glory In The Highest -- Sermon Title: Glory To God In The Highest Sermon Text: Luke 2:1-21 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     “I am quite certain of this fact: God wants me to pray, he wants you to pray. The question is, are we willing to pray?” (27). So writes the anonymous author at the close of the second chapter of The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He had just laid out for his readers the stunning nature of Jesus’ promises regarding prayer in the gospel John, skillfully drawing attention to the fact that Jesus repeats his promise seven times in the hours before his death—seven times.      The first iteration is found in John 14:13-14: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The final iteration is found in 16:26-27: “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”      These promises are truly stunning, and s

We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. Hark The Herald Angel's Sing Joy To The World Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) He Will Come And Save You Adore You Forever Reign -- Sermon Title: Peace Be With You Sermon Text: John 20:19-23 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     “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

Parents and church leaders...test your knowledge on Generation Z. Those  born between 1995 and 2013 belong to what is known as Generation Z. If you are like me you are intrigued by studies on generational distinctives. By no means is this authoritative or exhaustive (or true of each and every individual), it does help us to understand sweeping trends that will help us to understand the contours of doing ministry to the next generation, which God very much cares about (Psalm 78:7; 145:8). Take the quiz and then respond to me and ask me for the link to the article put out by a ministry called CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ). I interacted with some of the leaders of the ministry at a national conference I recently attended in St. Louis. Quiz (Worth 20% of your overall grade). Remember, contact me for the link to the article if you would like the answers and more info on Gen Z.     1.      What percentage of Gen Z’s internet users own a smartphone?        2.      The emerg

We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Here In Your Presence How Great Are You Lord Glory In The Highest Heaven Came Down I Wonder As I Wander Mary Did You Know Resurrection Hymn Hope Has Come -- Sermon Title: Woman, Why Are You Weeping Sermon Text: John 20:11-18 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

Looking Up To Our Teens: What Mary and Joseph Teach Us About Living Lives of Faith If you go through my advent devotional titled Getting Ready To Get Ready you will glean some of the very same thoughts I am expounding on here, particularly as we get to Mary and Joseph.  The reality is there is a lot of intrigue around the way God worked in and through this couple. For starters, it is probable that Mary was between 12-14 years old and Joseph just a few years older. Isn’t it a little bit of a wonder that God would choose someone so young to carry such a huge responsibility? Perhaps it is fitting with the overall narrative: Jesus was born in lowly town of Bethlehem in a stable that was cold and smelly and noisy from the animals. Oh, and he was carried by a young teenage girl who didn’t even have her drivers license yet. And the shadiness and difficulty doesn’t stop there. Let me point out a few more things surrounding the birth of Christ that might help us to appreciate the mean