Glory of Christ Fellowship

  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installmen...

  When the Israelites were journeying through the wilderness en route to the promised land there was clearly a journey and clearly a destination. God says there are dangers in both. Looking at Deuteronomy chapter 8 the overarching command is not to forget God:  v. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. v. 11-16 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you ...

The Bible offers us the simplest and clearest role description of an elder in Acts 6:4 "...But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” It is so simple and so clear that it is almost foggy and somewhat hard to understand. Well, I suppose prayer is easy enough. As elders we pray because we truly believe we need to hear from God. Come 6:00 a.m. every Friday morning, that is what we are doing.  Ministry of the Word, by comparison is a little less straight forward. What does this mean? Should every elder preach? Teach? Counsel? How do we fulfill this?  Let me tell you what I take it to mean. I think it means that one of the key ways the elders serve the church by prayer and ministry of the word is to discern the will of God for the church.  Let me explain.  This past week the elders of GCF began a project to discern our next leadership move (what will we do and where do we invest our time building?). We listed off 25 legitimate areas that cou...

I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...

 When I first saw this title I said to myself, "oh no." Probably because evangelism perhaps highlights one of the weakest weaknesses of Glory of Christ Fellowship. Perhaps you might disagree, in that case it's possible that you have been faithful to practice evangelism by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with unbelievers. Good for you. I for one can grow in this area and I long to see the day when many people will come to know Christ and convert to Him through the witness of GCF.  On the other hand, before I beat myself up too badly or set unrealistic expectations it is important to get a working view and understanding of how evangelism should mark the church. Let me say a few things about it. First of all, if you are looking to do some reading let me highlight a few good resources. Mark Dever wrote the book titled The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.  I have not read it but have only heard good things about it. If you are looking for a more theological treatise on the s...

 Maybe you are like me and find yourself surprised by learning that a biblical view of conversion is a key mark of a healthy church. Not that we should't prioritize a biblical view of anything, but we could say the church should have a biblical view of everything, right? Why single out conversion as a key indication of a healthy church? Furthermore, conversion seems like something that might be hard to detect. For instance, practicing communion and baptism are tangible and obvious, something you can clearly hang your hat upon. A church's view of conversion, this is less obvious.  If it didn't go through your head, it did go through mine. Let's start with an operational and clear view of what a biblical view of conversion is. Here is a definition from a strengthened version of the 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith.  We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseperable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby bei...

  Over the past two weeks at GCF we have and are devoting ourselves to the discussion on gender roles. We believe that gender roles are rooted in creation as a part of God's glorious design. It will inevitably sound archaic and sexist to modern sensibilities that men are primarily called to assume sacrificial responsibility characterized by leadership, protection and provision while women are primarily called to be helpers characterized by nurture, gentleness and caring. Yet, we believe this is what the Bible seems to clearly suggest. Scripture itself is clear in Genesis 2:18 that Adam needed a helper, so God created Eve who was fit to his specifications, and he to hers.  Creation itself self-evidently bears witness to the beauty and goodness of male and female complementarianism. The anatomy of males and females work together to create new life, for instance. And speaking of anatomy and physical attributes, simply by looking at the female form it is evident that she was const...

I will provide Lou Priolo's list of 25 ways parents provoke their children to anger. Beneath that I will comment on the top ten in the list.  25 WAYS PARENTS PROVOKE CHILDREN TO ANGER List created by Lou Priolo Lack of Marital Harmony Establishing & Maintaining a Child-Centered Home Modeling Sinful Anger Habitually Disciplining While Angry Scolding Being Inconsistent with Discipline Having Double Standards Being Legalistic Not Admitting You’re Wrong & Not Asking For Forgiveness Constantly Finding Fault Reversal of God-given Roles Not Listening to the Child’s Opinion or Not Taking His or Her “Side of the Story” Seriously Comparing Them to Others Not Making Time “Just to Talk” Not Praising or Encouraging Your Child Failing to Keep Your Promises Chastening in Front of Others Not Allowing Enough Freedom Allowing Too Much Freedom Mocking Your Child Abusing Them Physically Ridiculing or Name Calling Unrealistic Expectations Practicing Favoritism Child Training with Worldly Method...

Announcements Pre-Service Prayer: If you are interested in a regular opportunity for corporate prayer you are invited to join Pastor Kevin at 3:30 p.m. (for 20 minutes) on Sunday afternoons prior to the worship service. Please contact pastor Kevin if you are interested. Seminar: Critical Theory, February 20: What is critical theory? How does it impact the church and our culture? Come hear about how this significant worldview shift is widely being embraced and is threatening the purity of the gospel within the church that Paul calls his people to defend (2 Timothy 1:13-15). Recommended ages 13 and up. Saturday evening, February 20. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Living Waters Church. Please notify Pastor Kevin if you plan to attend by Wednesday, February 17. Vote On Elders: We have selected March 14 as our date to vote on prospective elders Jesse Daas, Erik Aleckson, and Phil Thompson. The vote will take place after the conclusion of the worship service. In order to vote you must be a mem...

I am beginning to ask my kids about how they see the gospel presented in the various sermons and lessons they sit under. My 16 year old daughter goes to a Wednesday morning outreach ministry led by a faithful servant in the community. This man’s heart is to see the youth in the community know Christ and shepherded by Christ. God has done an amazing work through him and some 300 kids show up to eat breakfast and hear the gospel presented. My own daughter has convinced four of her unchurched and unbelieving friends to participate. I ask her how it went and ask for the ways the gospel was presented. My desire is for her to be good at spotting it so she can reiterate it to her friends.  Truth be told, I am also training her to be discerning. It isn’t infrequent that large youth ministries degenerate into moralisms cloaked in some biblical themes. Thus, there is a real need to discern between the message of Jesus crucified, buried and risen to overcome sins and the message of try harde...

Announcements Pre-Service Prayer : If you are interested in a regular opportunity for corporate prayer, you are invited to join Pastor Kevin at 3:30 p.m. (for 20 minutes) on Sunday afternoons prior to the worship service. Please contact pastor Kevin if you are interested. Seminar: Critical Theory, February 20: What is critical theory? How does it impact the church and our culture? Come hear about how this significant worldview shift is widely being embraced and is threatening the purity of the gospel within the church that Paul calls his people to defend (2 Timothy 1:13-15). Recommended ages 13 and up. Saturday evening, February 20 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Living Waters Church. Please notify Pastor Kevin if you plan to attend by Wednesday, February 17. Student Ministries Winter Retreat: Students grades 6-12 have the opportunity to spend a fun weekend together on February 26-28. Details are still being worked out but it will be a local and overnight event and costs will be greatl...

How you leave a church says a lot about whether or not you think you are a sheep who needs a shepherd. This might make more sense after looking at some guidelines offered by Mark Dever for leaving a church.  These are very good and I would add, very needed. After being in church ministry for 15 years I can honestly say that most people do not follow these steps and it leaves me to wonder if they have ever been taught how to not only leave a church but what it means to be a member.   From Mark Dever: “Before You decide to leave... Pray. Let your current pastor know about your thinking before you move to another church or make your decision to relocate to another city. Ask for his counsel.  Weigh your motives. Is your desire to leave because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment? It it’s because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?  Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships. Be sure to consider all...

Announcements Download the New GCF App: A new GCF app will be available to the church. Completion of the app is still in progress but you are currently able to utilize the app to check the weekly Fighter Verse, watch the sermon, check the calendar of events and give online. You can access the app via the Apple store or Google play. The easiest way to download the app is to text the keyword 'gloryofchrist app' to 77977 to download the app. GCF Survey: There has been a survey that has been created (available on the welcome table) in order to better understand which of our efforts are truly connecting with our congregation. Your honest feedback is appreciated as it will help us know where we should be allocating our resources. Please complete the survey and return to pastor Kevin this evening, January 31. We are asking each individual members and attenders of GCF age 14 and up to fill one out. Seminar: Critical Theory, February 20: What is critical theory? How does it impact t...

  We continue our series on the various marks of a healthy church. There are several outcomes I would like to see in having an educated congregation. First, a congregation who understand what a healthy church is will be able to have the right expectations for their church. Second, an educated congregation will understand their role to promote health within the church, giving them a hand in the success of the church.  Healthy churches are marked by biblical theology. For those who study theology this isn’t to differential between systematic theology (where theological topics are organized into a system for easy reference) and biblical theology (looking at how a theological topic is developed throughout the course of Scripture and redemptive history). By biblical theology we mean theology that is sound.  In other words, we can look at 1 John 3:2 which says “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shal...