Glory of Christ Fellowship

In his book Preaching in an Age of Distraction (Downers Grove: IVP, 2014), J. Ellsworth Kalas addresses the issue of cultural distraction as it relates to the increasing biblical illiteracy of American culture. Although he by no means sees a singular solution to this problem, he argues that excellence in preaching in teaching offer one significant antidote. For, he asserts, something in the human soul is attracted to excellence no matter what its source or even its content. People can sense when something has been constructed thoughtfully, thoroughly, and honestly, and thus, he writes, “In a time of increasing biblical illiteracy, the pastor must lay new claim on the Scriptures and preach them with more depth, conviction, and excellence than ever before…[The] Christian preacher and teacher has an obligation to both God and culture to be counterintuitive and to push the cause of excellence in the morass of cultural deterioration” (90-91). Although I have much to say in resp...

Easter Services:  Please note that we will celebrate Palm Sunday on March 29 from 9:00-10:30 a.m., Good Friday on April 3 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. @ The Handke Center, and Easter on April 5 from 9:00-10:30 a.m.  Mother-Son Event:  Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. There will be an event activity and a nice sit down dinner. More details coming soon. Julie Springfield and Jenny Arant will be heading up this event.  Spring Outreach:   After much prayer and discussion, the Elders have decided to focus on Abba Pregnancy Resource Center's Spring Banquet for our spring outreach effort. On the one hand, this event helps us to maintain our focus on the lost and "least of these," and on the other hand, five of the members of GCF already have leading roles on the Banquet Committee. So please save the date (May 14, 2015), look out for more information in the coming weeks, and join us in praying that God will pour his ble...

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The sixth claim the author makes about the Son is that he made purification for sins. The Son is the heir of all things, he is the one through whom the Father created all things, he is the radiance of the glory of God, he is the exact imprint of the nature of God, he upholds all things by the word of his power, and oh by the way, he also made purification for sins. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, and the destructive entrance of sin into the human heart and race, one of the main questions hanging over history, and the Bible itself, is this: how can our sins be washed away so that our consciences are cleansed before God, and we are able to enter into deep communion with God? The author’s answer is “nothing but the blood of Jesus.” He’ll go into a lot more detail later in his sermon, but for now he wants us to hear and be blown away by the truth that after several millenni...

Here's an hour-long discussion between two of the great Christian apologists of our time. The conversation begins around 6:30, we would recommend skipping to that point. 

The book of Psalms, let us not forget, was the “hymnal” of the nation of Israel. We read them; they sung them. Generally speaking, I try to build my theology and practice of worship from the Psalms, not only from the theological content thereof but by their form, structure, and use of language. For example, should we as evangelicals sing short, repetitive songs or long, theologically-rich songs? As I look at the Psalms, I answer “both.” On the one hand, Psalms like 1, 23 and 117 are very short and can be sung in a matter of seconds. So I assume that the people of Israel sung them over and again, much like we do with “worship choruses.” The content of our choruses matters, but it seems to me that from the Psalms we get all the permission we need to sing them. Sometimes it’s good to let a song focus our hearts and minds on one truth, and to repeat it until we connect with that truth. On the other hand, Psalms like 18, 119, and 136 are long and would have taken longer to sing....

Easter Services: Please note that we will celebrate Palm Sunday on March 29 from 9:00-10:30 a.m., Good Friday on April 3 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. @ The Handke Center, and Easter on April 5 from 9:00-10:30 a.m.  Children on Palm Sunday: Parents if you want your children to participate in Palm Sunday this year, we will be having a practice the first 10 minutes of Sunday school this Sunday, March 22. Then please come 10 minutes early on Palm Sunday March 29 to get ready. If possible please wear a white shirt. If you have any questions please contact Jenny Arant at 763-245-4938. Mother-Son Event: Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. There will be an event activity and a nice sit down dinner. More details coming soon. Julie Springfield and Jenny Arant will be heading up this event.  Spring Outreach: After much prayer and discussion, the Elders have decided to focus on Abba Pregnancy Resource Center's Spring Banquet for our spring outrea...

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The fifth claim the author makes about the Son is that he upholds all things by the word of his power. The word “upholds” literally means “to bear up or to carry,” and so the idea here is not just that Jesus is bearing the physical weight of creation but that he is continually exercising his sovereign power over all things at all times, as only God can do, and that he is bearing all things toward their appointed end. Jesus is in ultimate control of the existence and purpose of all things, and he exercises this control by nothing more than the words of his mouth! Now, the ESV translates this phrase, “and he upholds the universe by the word of his power,” but if you have another translation—really, any other major translation—you’ll see that they translate this phrase “and he upholds all things by the word of his power,” or something along those lines. The translators of ...

As a follow up from last week's post, here is a documentary-style argument from Lee Strobel as to why it makes sense to believe in a God who created all things. 

In his book Teach Me to Pray (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2002), Andrew Murray writes that Christ’s “life in us is an ever-praying life, if we only trust him for it” (page 8). I have really benefited from meditating on this statement, but I do want to offer a bit of nuance. On the one hand, Christ lives an ever-praying life for us whether we are specifically trusting him for that or not. Of course, to know him is to cling to him by faith, but his intercession for us is not tied to our direct consciousness of the same at any given moment. As the author of Hebrews writes, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them ” (Hebrews 7:23-25, emphasis mine). This verse makes no mention of our faith, for our fait...

“Be Filled” Women’s Retreat: all ladies 12 and older are invited to participate in our conference on March 20-21st at the beautiful Koinonia Retreat Center in South Haven near Annandale. We will explore together what it means to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. Registration forms are available on the information table. Contact Cheryl Perry with questions. Mother-Son Event: Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. There will be an event activity and a nice sit down dinner. More details coming soon. Julie Springfield and Jenny Arant will be heading up this event. Spring Outreach: After much prayer and discussion, we have decided to focus on Abba Pregnancy Resource Center’s Spring Banquet for our spring outreach effort. Please save the date (May 14, 2015), look out for more information in the coming weeks, and join us in praying that God will pour his blessings upon the ministry of Abba and the pro-life movement at large. Thursday Morn...

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The fourth claim the author makes is that he is the exact imprint of the nature of God. The word for “exact imprint,” character in Greek, referred to “an engraver or an engraving tool or a stamp” of some sort. It was sometimes used of the image of a ruler that was stamped on the currency of his kingdom, which is what I think the author has in mind here. The idea is that God has put the flawless imprint of his being on the currency of his Kingdom, but in this case the currency is not a medium of exchange like money, but the being of his Son. And this imprint is made up of everything God is, in other words, it’s made up of his very nature. It’s made up of his very being. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, perfectly represents the essence of the being of God, and in this way he perfectly displays the glory of God for all to see. This is why Jesus said to Phili...

This video is a bit long (47:02) but a helpful summary of why it makes sense to believe in a God who created all things. 

Sherry Turkle, in her book Alone Together (New York: Basic Books, 2011), comments on the relationship between smart phones, constant connectivity, and solitude. “But a stream of messages makes it impossible to find moments of solitude, time when other people are showing us neither dependency nor affection. In solitude we don’t reject the world but have the space to think our own thoughts. But if your phone is always with you, seeking solitude can look suspiciously like hiding” (203). For Turkle, solitude means having time to ourselves wherein no one is giving to us or taking from us. Solitude is being alone with our own thoughts and feelings. This discipline is crucial for emotional and spiritual health, and for creativity, but she is concerned that ceaseless connectivity is diminishing our desire for it, and damaging our ability to do it. Constant attachment to our smartphones is training us not to be alone even for a few minutes, indeed, some can’t even be alone for a few sec...

“Be Filled” Women’s Retreat: all ladies 12 and older are invited to participate in our conference on March 20-21st at the beautiful Koinonia Retreat Center in South Haven near Annandale. We will explore together what it means to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. Registration forms are available on the information table. Contact Cheryl Perry with questions. Mother-Son Event: Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. There will be an event activity and a nice sit down dinner. More details coming soon. Julie Springfield and Jenny Arant will be heading up this event. Spring Outreach: After much prayer and discussion, we have decided to focus on Abba Pregnancy Resource Center’s Spring Banquet for our spring outreach effort. Please save the date (May 14, 2015), look out for more information in the coming weeks, and join us in praying that God will pour his blessings upon the ministry of Abba and the pro-life movement at large. Thursday Mo...

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The third claim the author makes is that he is the radiance of the glory of God. There is so much to say about the meaning of the phrase “the glory of God,” but in the interest of time let me just define it this way: the glory of God is the sum total of the excellencies of God. God is holy, just, right, true, wise, good, gracious, faithful, patient, kind, unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present. God is, and everything God is he is to utter perfection, and when we think of all of his perfections together we rightly call this the glory of God. There is a sense in which the glory of God refers to the beauty and brightness of his being, but more profoundly it refers to all God is, thinks, feels, wills, says, and does. The glory of God is the totality of the being of God, and Jesus Christ, the Son, is the radiance of that glory. Now, the word “radiance” gets used ...

Need some encouragement to share your faith with others? To obey those nudgings from the Holy Spirit when they come? Then you have to listen to this quick three-minute video from Lee Strobel. Great story, great way of life, may we all join in the adventure!  Unfortunately, Blogger was unable to locate the proper video to upload here, so we'll have to ask you to click this link and go straight to YouTube. 

In her book Alone Together Sherry Turkle writes, “To make more time would mean turning off our phones. But this is not a simple proposition since our devices are ever more closely coupled to our sense of our bodies and minds. They provide a social and psychological GPS, a navigation system for our tethered selves” (167). Hmm, that’s a profound point. Our phones are no longer just a tool we use to get things done; they have become part of who we are. They make us feel awake, alive, and connected to the world, and therefore we must have our phones with us at all times. But why is this so? Or to ask a question that gets closer to the heart of my issues with my phone, Why do we feel the compulsion to check and respond to messages multiple times per hour? Perhaps… We want to feel important, bigger than we are. We want to feel needed, even indispensable. We fear the disappointment, disapproval, or anger of others if we do not respond in a certain period of time. We feel i...

“ Be Filled ” Women’s Retreat: all ladies 12 and older are invited to participate in our conference on March 20-21st at the beautiful Koinonia Retreat Center in South Haven near Annandale. We will explore together what it means to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. Registration forms are available on the information table. Contact Cheryl Perry with questions. Mother-Son Event:  Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. There will be an event activity and a nice sit down dinner. More details coming soon. Julie Springfield and Jenny Arant will be heading up this event. Spring Outreach: After much prayer and discussion, we have decided to focus on Abba Pregnancy Resource Center’s Spring Banquet for our spring outreach effort. Please save the date (May 14, 2015), look out for more information in the coming weeks, and join us in praying that God will pour his blessings upon the ministry of Abba and the pro-life movement at larg...