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...

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.”     ...

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 res...

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 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. 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 ...

     Even after thirty-two years of following Jesus Christ, I am still amazed by his sovereignty. When he determines to issue a message to his Bride, he sees to it that the message is articulated by the right man at the right time, and that the message reaches all for whom it was intended. Nothing stops him from accomplishing his purposes.        The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan, Grand Rapids: 1971) was written by an anonymous author “by request, and with much hesitancy” (7) and it was first published in England. Some years later, not long after brothers P. J. and Bernard Zondervan founded the Zondervan Publishing Company, P. J. stumbled across the work as he made a sales call in Seattle, Washington. The bookseller there had been blessed by the book and therefore commended it to Mr. Zondervan who in turn secured the rights to distribute it in the United States.       However, due to the devastating effects of World War II upo...

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. Hope Has Come O Come All Ye Faithful O Come, O Come Emmanuel The Gospel Song Grace Flows Down How Great Is Your Faithfulness Resurrection Hymn -- Sermon Title: He Saw And Believed Sermon Text: John 20:1-10 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gathered with his disciples in an upper room of a house in the city of Jerusalem and taught them many things. He was about to take up his cross and die in obedience to his heavenly Father and for the salvation of all who would believe in him. In other words, he was about to display the fullness of his love by loving his Father and his friends all the way to the end (see John 13:1; 15:13).      Since he wanted his beloved disciples to receive eternal life and learn a way of life from him, he taught them, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). With these words, he was inviting them into his way of life, namely, carefully listening to the Father and then faithfully applying the words of the Father by doing his will in the world. This is the path to joy and fruitfulness in life, an...

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. I Need Thee Every Hour At The Cross Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross I Will Sing Of My Redeemer Wonderful Merciful Savior Amazing Love Sing To Jesus -- Sermon Title: The Garden And The Tomb Sermon Text: John 19:38-42 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     The Lord is a God who speaks, and when he speaks, he reveals his glory, his purposes, his promises, his plans, his will, and his ways. When he speaks, he wants his people to listen to him so that they may know him, love him, walk with him, and glorify him in the earth. Since his words are so central to the life he wants to live with his people, he gives them a desire to hear it, read it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it. And while memorizing his words can be challenging, he inspires them to do it for at least seven reasons.      First, memorizing Scripture is encouraged by Scripture. The Lord says, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6), meaning, “you shall commit them to heart.” Or as Paul later wrote, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). What better way to obey this command than to commit that word to memory?      Second, memorizing Scripture helps re...

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. Bless the Lord Glorified How Great Is Your Faithfulness Let It Be Jesus It Is You Sovereign Hands Jesus Messiah -- Sermon Title: It Is Finished Sermon Text: John 19:28-37 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     Despite all his sinfulness and brokenness, King David loved the Lord and his Word with all his heart. This is, in part, why he wrote Psalm 119 and expressed himself with words like these: “In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word…I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes…Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:14,16, 48, 97).      Do you hear his heart? David meditated on the Word because he delighted in the Word, and he delighted in the Word because he delighted in God himself. One of the ways we display the value of a person is by listening to their words, and the closer we listen the more value we display. So, again, definitions and techniques aside, meditation on the Word of God is a fruit of our delight in and v...

     Psalm 111 begins with a call to and declaration of praise. “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation” (111:1). But the question is this: why is the Psalmist so eager to give thanks to the Lord that he promises to do so in the midst of a worship gathering and also calls on others to join him? The answer is found in verse 2. “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them” (111:2). The reason the Psalmist is so jubilant is because the Lord is so great, and he has revealed his greatness through his works. From this we learn that the works of the Lord make the greatness of the Lord visible, but because his primary works are contained in his Word, we must study his Word to delight in his works.       The Hebrew word for “study” means “to frequently return to a place” so that one becomes intimately familiar with it. So, to study the Word of God is to...

A Blog To Help Us To Prepare For Advent... For the first time in a cagillion years I am ahead of schedule. Just about every year prior to this I have done a good job reminding parents of Advent and when it begins. I have even offered lots of practical ideas to families so they can celebrate advent with their family. The problem was those ideas came as advent was upon us, when it was difficult to decide and implement something without feeling like you are behind the 8-ball right off the bat. Well, things are gonna be different...and its not just an empty promise. Here we are, November 1, with over a whole month to plan and decide how you will lead your family this Christmas.  What Is Advent and why should we Celebrate it? Let me raise and answer an important question for us to consider. Why do we need to celebrate Advent? Well, let me answer what it is first. Advent simply means the arrival of an important person. In our case, we are celebrating the arrival of the most im...

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 People Of The Risen King Unto The King Jesus Is Better Cornerstone Crown Him Communion Songs: The Power of the Cross You are My King (Amazing Love) -- Sermon Title: What I Have Written, I Have Written Sermon Text: John 19:16b-22 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

     The Bible assumes that God is, and it teaches that God created all things to reveal his glory to all creation. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).      Further, the Bible displays and declares that God has spoken in order to reveal his character, his thoughts, his affections, his actions, and his purposes and plans for creation. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:5).      It is glorious enough that God created in order to reveal himself, but it is glorious beyond compare that God has spoken in order to make himself known to humankind, the pinnacle of his creation. Since our Creator has spoken to us, our greatest privilege and obligation in...