Glory of Christ Fellowship

Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 328-c. 390) was a fourth century pastor, bishop, and author who, along with several others, stood strong against the tide of Arian heresy. Last week I wrote briefly about his life and ministry, and this week I want to draw our attention to some of his shortcomings and sufferings. Gregory is indeed a hero of the church, but as we will soon see, he is a broken hero. First, as for his physical appearance and condition, Gregory was a small, bald-headed man who sported a long red beard and matching red eyebrows. Due to constant fasting and other extreme spiritual exercises, he was rarely in good health and almost always in pain. While it is no sin to be less than good looking and healthy, these aspects of his life provided challenges to fulfilling the call of God upon his life. Second, and more importantly, Gregory preferred solitude, prayer, and contemplation to the company of others. Christopher Hall notes that he was “quick-tempered, sullen, unhappy in t...

Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 328-c. 390) was born into a family of moderate wealth and influence that resided in the Roman province of Cappadocia (eastern Turkey). His parents were ardent Christians, in fact, his father (also named Gregory) was bishop of the small town of Nazianzus where he built a church and served the Lord for some forty-five years. The younger Gregory, born near the beginning of his father’s ministry, was the second of three children. Along with his younger brother, he was educated in several great centers of learning, including Cappadocian Caesarea, Palestinian Caesarea, Alexandria (Egypt), and Athens (Greece). While on the way to Athens, the ship on which Gregory traveled encountered a violent storm and thus he prayed that if the Lord would deliver him, he would devote his life to the service of the Lord. The Lord did indeed deliver Gregory, and he would eventually use him, along with several others, to protect and prosper the church. At Athens, Gregory met, ...

I can't take credit for this title or the idea. I came across this article today from a ministry I have connection with called Made To Flourish. They have posted this article and I thought it would be worth sharing with others in our church.  You can find the article here: https://www.madetoflourish.org/resources/your-daily-commute-is-one-way-god-transforms-you/ Praying this helps you get a vision for how your commuting can be used as a place of transformation in your life.  In Christ, Pastor Kevin

Athanasius (ca. 295-373) was a fourth century pastor, theologian, and leader who loved God with all of his heart and stood strong against the onslaught of Arian heresy, even when no one else would stand with him. Over the last two weeks we have considered aspects of his life that were commendable, and some that were unfortunate. We have seen that Athanasius was a broken hero, so now the question is, what can we learn from his life? First, Athanasius sincerely loved the Word of God and the God of the Word. As his good friend Gregory of Nazianzus wrote, “From meditating on every book of the Old and New Testaments, with a depth such as none else has applied even to one of them, he grew rich in contemplation, rich in splendor of life” ( Oration 21.6). This long meditative journey shaped his soul and prepared his mind for the battles that lie ahead, and formed in him a confident and accurate conviction about what the Bible does and does not say. Were it not for this fundamental passion...

Athanasius (ca. 295-373) was a fourth century pastor, theologian, and leader who loved God with all of his heart and stood strong against the onslaught of Arian heresy, even when no one else would stand with him. As I mentioned last week, if Athanasius did not stand, the church could well have fallen, and therefore we ought to give thanks to God for him and consider him a hero. However, I suspect that if we were to meet Athanasius, many of us would not like him. He was rough around the edges, to say the least. Christopher Hall calls him a “theological cage fighter” who was simultaneously “courageous, cagy, and cunning” (Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers , 57). Robert Payne concurs, adding that he was implacable, intense, and derisive of his enemies. “There was something in him of the temper of the modern dogmatic revolutionary: nothing stopped him. The Emperor Julian called him, ‘hardly a man, only a little manikin’” (quoted in Hall, 57). Indeed, even his good friend G...