Glory of Christ Fellowship

Over the last seven years it has been our privilege at Glory of Christ to serve Abba Pregnancy Resource Center. Two of our members currently serve on their Board of Directors (Pastor Charlie is the Chairperson), and several others play significant roles as well. So please read the following information, and pray about how the Lord might have you engage in, or otherwise support, the ministry of Abba PRC. And more importantly, may the Lord empower us to win the cultural victory in the fight for life!  From Abba's Website (www.abbaprc.org) All services at Abba Pregnancy Resource Center are free and confidential. We offer the following to help you make an informed decision about your pregnancy. 1. Pregnancy Testing: A free, self-administered test in the Center. Tests can provide instant results. 2. Consultation: Trained counselors offer a safe nonjudgmental environment to talk and ask questions.  Be informed about all your options and make a well-informed decision.

Last Sunday at Glory of Christ we had the privilege of hearing Ruby Gunderson speak about the ministry for which she works. It's called "Safe Families for Children," and they help families in crisis. Their s ervices include providing temporary housing for children whose parents have lost jobs, homes or are going through rehabilitation. Safe Families’ main focus is family reunification by preventing children from entering the state’s social services system. Most of the families in need have limited support and can use a helping hand.  Safe Families, therefore, calls on families from local churches to host the children for a set period of time. Each host family shares the love of Christ through this act of service. For more information about the ministry, you may contact Ruby Gunderson at ruby@safefamiliesmn.org or visit their website at www.safe-families.org . 

Quarterly Strategy Meeting: Please join us for our regular church strategy meeting on May 3, 2015 from 11:30-1:00 at the Handke. Safe Families for Children: A ministry which helps families in crisis . Services include temporary housing for children whose parents have lost jobs, homes or are going through rehabilitation. Safe Families’ main focus is family reunification by preventing children from entering the state’s social services. Most of the families in need have limited support systems. The ministry calls families from local churches to host the children. Each host family shares the love of Christ through this act of service. For more information about the ministry, contact Ruby Gunderson at ruby@safefamiliesmn.org. Spring Outreach:   The Abba Pregnancy Resource Center's Spring Banquet will take place on May 14, 2015 and GCF is set to have a significant role in it. Five of our members are serving on the Banquet Committee, and more than ten others are committed to he

Several years ago, Josh Reeves, Pastor of Redeemer Church in Round Rock, Texas, developed a resource entitled, “100 Practical Ways to Engage your Neighborhood.” The idea behind this resource is to help Christians add gospel intentionality to everyday life, to help lovers of Christ live as missionaries in their own neighborhoods.  Over the next several weeks, I will be posting these 100 ideas 10 at a time. Not every idea will work for everyone, but please pray over each list and ask the Lord to help you identify one thing you can do each week. And if none of the ideas on a given section of the list works for you, then let them inspire you to think of something else. Whatever the case may be, ask Jesus to enable and empower you to join him in the joy-producing, God-exalting quest of seeking and saving the lost in our neighborhoods.  Here are the first ten ideas:  Neighbors – Your Immediate Neighborhood 1. Stay outside in the front yard longer while watering the

One of the most well-respected ministries in Elk River, Minnesota is that of Community Aid of Elk River (CAER). The people of Glory of Christ have served with this ministry in various capacities through the years, and we encourage you to read the following description and prayerfully consider how the Lord might have you pray for, donate to, or engage in the ministry. May the Lord continue to bless CAER as they serve the "least of these" in Elk River!  From CAER's Website ( www.caerfoodshelf.org )  Hunger knows no boundaries, has no age limits and it never takes a vacation! City or suburb, one in ten Minnesota families will go hungry tonight. More than 30 years ago, members of an Elk River ministerial association saw the need and established COMMUNITY AID ELK RIVER, often referred to simply as CAER or CAER Food Shelf, to assist people in the community who might need help with food and other basic necessities. Today, local churches, schools, youth groups, civic

In his book Preaching in an Age of Distraction (Downers Grove: IVP Press, 2014), J. Ellsworth Kalas comments on the ease with which preachers can become disillusioned in their work. People are so busy. They're so distracted. They're so fascinated with all of the gadgets. They're so used to super-high-quality entertainment. They're constantly barraged by a load of messages designed to get their attention and call them to action.  How, then, is a preacher supposed to win and retain people's attention with nothing more than a sincere presentation of the Word of God? The answer to this question is multi-faceted, to be sure, but Kalas, as a seasoned preacher, offers the following encouragement to his fellow preachers. We would do well to read his words well:  “However dull of interest the listener may appear to be, and however distracted by the uncounted voices that clamor for attention, the preacher’s claim was there first. The breath came from God. The sou

Mother ~ Son Extravaganza (for sons 5 yrs and older): Saturday, April 25, 4:00-9:00 – A Fanciful Dinner at Russell’s On the Lake and Bowling Extravaganza at McPete’s in Big Lake. Our purpose is to create an opportunity to engender biblical masculinity in our sons and for our sons to cherish biblical femininity through their relationship with their mothers. It will be a night of competitive, fun bowling and sweet time of fellowship. Sign up and buy your bowling tickets before and after the service today. If you have any questions, please ask Julie Springfield (763-607-1253) or Jenny Arant (763-245-4938 ). Quarterly Strategy Meeting: Please join us for our regular church strategy meeting on May 3, 2015 from 11:30-1:00 at the Handke. Spring Outreach: The Abba Pregnancy Resource Center's Spring Banquet will take place on May 14, 2015 and GCF is set to have a significant role in it. Five of our members are serving on the Banquet Committee, and more than ten others are committed

The following is a meditation from Pastor Kevin that he sent to the other Elders of Glory of Christ. We thought it was so insightful and encouraging that we wanted to post it here. May the Lord bless you as you carefully consider his words.  Let me encourage you this morning as I have spent some time praying for you and our church. I want to connect two points that God has impressed upon me within the last 18 hours. One insight from Tim Keller and one from 1 Peter 5:1-4. Tim Keller was talking on the gospel and idolatry. In a nutshell, he claimed most people are not successful (achieving what we think would make them happy and give them a sense of justification) and they live under the illusion that someday they might achieve it. This gives a shred of hope to keep on going but ultimately, success eludes almost everyone. This morning I was meditating on 1 Peter 5:1-4. " So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. To be specific, Jesus is the heir of all things which includes all of creation and the promises of God. Jesus is the one through whom the Father created all things. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God. Jesus is the exact imprint of his nature which means that to see Jesus is to see God in utter perfection. Jesus is the one who upholds all things and guides them toward their appointed purposes by nothing more than the power of his words. Jesus made the once-for-all sacrifice for sins by offering up himself to God the Father on behalf of sinners. And having made this stunning and all-sufficient sacrifice, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God where he is today, and from where he is ruling over all things as the King of kings and Lord of lords. By highlighting these seven attributes of the being and work of Jesus, the author of Hebrews has only begun to show that J

Mother-Son Event: Save the date for our first Mother Son Event on Saturday, April 25. It will be a “Fanciful Dinner and Bowling Extravaganza” at Russell’s on the Lake and McPete’s Bowling Alley in Big Lake, Minnesota. Please RSVP to Jenny Arant (763-245-4938) or Julie Springfield (763-607-1251), and prepay $8.00 for the bowling (this covers two games and shoes). The dinner will be paid ala carte.  Spring Outreach: The Abba Pregnancy Resource Center's Spring Banquet will take place on May 14, 2015 and GCF is set to have a significant role in it. Five of our members are serving on the Banquet Committee, and more than ten others are committed to helping in one way or other. Please see your bulletins for more information and ways you can be involved. Most of all, please join us in praying that God will pour out his blessings upon the ministry of Abba and upon the pro-life movement at large. Thursday Morning Prayer Meeting: Please join us for an hour of prayer on Thursda

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The seventh claim the author makes about the Son is that, having made purification for sins, he now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The words “he sat down” set the stage for chapter 7 where we’re taught that Jesus is both Priest and King. Prior to Jesus, no king offered his own sacrifices and no priest sat on the throne of David, for that wouldn’t be right. God had decreed that there should be a separation of powers between the priest and the king, but Jesus, unlike all before him, is worthy and able to fulfill both roles. So, on the one hand, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God after making purification for sins because the sacrifice he offered, namely himself, is sufficient. Other priests were always standing, as we see in chapter 10:11-14, because their work was never done. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins, so the priests could

Several years ago I (Pastor Charlie) had the privilege of hearing Manny Mill speak about his ministry. It was moving to hear a man speak of the grace of Jesus that poured so powerfully into his life that it had to pour through his life. Manny has a great passion for prisoners, and his passion is surely a fruit of the fact that Jesus is living in him and loving through him.  So please read the following description of the ministry of Koinonia House National Ministries (taken from their website), pray for them, and consider partnering with them financially. May the Lord greatly increase the fruit of this ministry for the glory of his name!  FROM THE WEBSITE:  Koinonia House® National Ministries (KHNM) is an educational and training organization, registered as 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, and incorporated in May, 1997. The ministry is completely funded through the gifts of individuals, churches, foundations and corporations. Further, the ministry is a member of the Evangelica

Recently I read a book by J. Ellsworth Kalas entitled, Preaching in an Age of Distraction  (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014). The following quote so grabbed my attention that I decided to reproduce it here in its entirety without further comment. Please read Kalas's words prayerfully and carefully, and if you're a preacher, please join me in searching our hearts and ridding our ministries of poor preaching.  "I have bet most of my life on preaching, and my mind hasn't changed. Yes, I do have some caveats. I tell my preaching students that they have no greater enemy than the poor preacher, because poor preaching makes poor listeners, and poor listeners in turn make for still more poor (or discouraged) preachers. Poor preaching lowers the expectations of the people who come, and it drives out those individuals who hunger for something better. Poor preaching discredits the product it represents. It's dreadful to think of anything that makes the Cross commonplace

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 blessings upon the ministry of Abba and upon the pro-life movement at large.   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

“1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. “4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ “8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not b

Over the next several weeks we will be featuring four ministries that show the mercy of Jesus Christ in the world. We invite you to read the following summary and pray about whether or not the Lord would have you partner with one or more of these ministries. First up, Compassion International ( www.compassion.com ). Compassion's three Cs distinguish us. Christ Centered. Child Focused. Church Based. Our Commitment to Christ Jesus Christ is at the heart of our ministry. Our  commitment to Christ  drives the content of our programs, characterizes the kind of people we hire, and guides our ethics. Our Commitment to Children Our ministry is  focused on the individual child  and his or her development. By working holistically with individual children to address their spiritual, economic, social and physical needs, we present every child with an opportunity to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. Our Commitment to the Church It is an hono