Glory of Christ Fellowship

During this very unusual season of life, your pastors want you to know how we’re thinking about the vital discipline of giving for the glory of Christ. So, in this blog, I’m going to touch on four things: (1) a summary of our point of view on giving, (2) an explanation of how you can give GCF, (3) an overview of our financial condition, and (4) some biblical wisdom about stewarding our personal resources at this time. First, our point of view on giving to GCF is this: offering our tithes and gifts to the local church is a vital aspect of our worship of Jesus because it expresses our faith in him and it allows us to participate in his mission in the world. Like every church, we depend on giving to do what we do, and so we need you to continue giving by faith in this season of life. But having said that, we’re also aware that for some of you this is going to be a very trying time from a financial point of view. For example, some of your jobs will be cut back or eliminated, some o...

Hi Parents, unless you were a part of some type of house church movement at one point in your life, and I realize that some of you were, you probably are not equipped to execute a worship service on Sunday morning. I am in the same boat and I do this for a living. So most all of us find ourselves in uncharted territory, figuring this whole thing out as we go much like trying to build an airplane while it is flying through the air already.  After two weeks of this here are a few tips I have gleaned from my own experience and watching others do it.  Here you go: Select A Time To Worship And Stick To It : The beauty of this lockdown is extra sleep on Sunday morning. Who doesn't like the sound of that? Strangely enough, this doesn't often translate into a reduction of stress, however. Having kids of my own I know the  Wac-A-Mole routine and how much of a fight it can be to get everyone at the same time on the same page, especially if its not something they are bu...

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. Two weeks ago I began the process of posting these 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 it 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’s the third part of the list: Neighbors – Your Immediate Neighborhood (continued) 21. Invite your neighbors to serve along with you for a local cau...

No one ever plans to have their lives upended. We know that the world is broken and bound in futility, we know that everything can change in an instant, and yet crises still have the ability to shake us to our core. None of us entered 2020 planning to experience a global pandemic this year, but here we are, practicing social distancing, wondering how the virus will affect us and our families, and wondering when we will be able to return to our regular rhythms and routines as what can feel a little like the world falling apart around us.  In the midst of social distancing, I miss my church family. I miss my Bible study, the kids in my Sunday school class, the ability to meet people for coffee, and I know that I am not alone in this. It is not wrong to grieve the temporary loss of these things. In fact, we ought to grieve, even as we seek to live joyfully and find satisfaction in Christ in the midst of difficult circumstances. If we feel no grief whatsoever over the loss of some...

This blog is my manuscript from last night's virtual meeting with our students. It is a question and answer format that features questions raised by students and parents along with biblical answers.  If you would like to watch the video version of this three part blog you can find it in two parts on Youtube:  Video Part 1: https://youtu.be/kVAWK3goWks Video Part 2: https://youtu.be/S32rD1j_vSM How do I accept God's will for us in a time like this when our world is turned upside down and our future is unsure? Introduction:  First of all, fantastic question! There are three areas that this question addresses. First, it addresses God’s will. Second, it addresses the issue of fear. Third, it addresses the uncertainty of the future, which causes us to fear. Lets take a look at each part and what the Bible says about them.  First, God’s Will . There are many things we can say about God’s will and believe it or not, it is a topic that can ...

My wife and I were going through our normal bedtime routine. Getting ourselves tucked in and comfy for our mini-hibernation. Just then Karen pops a question that doesn't surprise me at all: "what's our plan for tomorrow?" The first thing that went shooting through my head was something along these lines: "I was thinking of taking one of our kids out to breakfast, then maybe getting the rest of them and bumming around Cabelas or Costco, then we can take Ben to soccer practice and maybe we can have some people over for some games in the evening." Then I came to my senses and realized, "wait a second, none of that is going to happen...absolutely none of it."  You might have an entire Saturday staring you in the face with nowhere to go and no one to see. The reality of the quarantine settles in much like a first snow reminds you that you are going to have to deal with winter for the season. It is a time that most Americans have never had to deal...

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. Last week I began the process of posting these 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 it 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’s the second part of the list: Neighbors – Your Immediate Neighborhood (continued) 11. Have a garage sale 12. Organize a tasting tour on your street...

For many, Leviticus is a dreaded book of the Bible. Filled with chapters of strange laws, it is often where aspirations of reading through the Bible in a year go to die. For my part, it’s usually the first few chapters of Numbers that seriously challenge my resolve to keep going. More than once, the census and the silver bowls in the first few chapters have upended my efforts to read through the Bible in one year. I hate to say that I find some of these passages boring, and yet, it’s true. So, what do we do when find the Bible boring?  First, remember that God’s word is important to God. Those silver bowls and that census are important to God. If they were not, he would not have included them in his Word, and because they are in his Word, they are “useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) The “boring” books and passages of the Bible are there to equip us.  Second, desire eyes to see. God’s Word is not ju...

There is a lot of scrambling about with regards to the details of the  Coronavirus.   Some precautions are necessary and some are a little funny. I mean, why is everyone cleaning the shelves of toilet paper?  Of all the things we could go crazy about is this really in the top three? If we are not careful we are going to have a sanitation crisis suffered by all those who didn't get to the store on time to go ballistic on the Charmin.  In all seriousness, the possible pandemic brings us close to the seriousness and silliness of the human craze. Yet, while so much emphasis is going towards the details of the virus and how we can protect ourselves from it this blog aims at reflecting on the deeper issues that it reveals of the human condition and how the gospel applies to it. I will offer three ways our current crisis presents an open door for the gospel of Christ to be proclaimed. First, The  Coronavirus  confirms what the Bible says:  Roman...

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 yard 2. Walk...

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 Je...