Glory of Christ Fellowship

  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...

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: A survey 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 by next Sunday, January 31. We are asking each individual member and attender of GCF age 14 and up to fill one out.  Student Ministries Winter Retreat: Students grades 6-12 have the opportunity to spend a weekend together...

Ok, ok, this isn't just a mark of a healthy church, it is more than that. It is an essential  mark. It would be impossible to have a healthy church, or even be a true church at all, if it wasn't found upon the exposition of Scripture.   So what is expositional preaching and why does it matter? Good questions! What Is Expositional Preaching?  According to Mark Dever, "expositional preaching is the kind of preaching that, quite simply, exposes  God's Word. It takes a particular passage of Scripture, explains that passage, and then applies the meaning of the passage to the life of the congregation. It's the kind of preaching most geared to get at what God says to his people, as well as to those who are not his people."  This is a helpful quote from Dever. Other popular types of preaching, which can be legitimate on occasion, are topical preaching and biographical preaching. Topical preaching is aimed at gathering one or more passages that address a particular ...

Announcements - January 17, 2021 Download the New GCF App: A new GCF app will be available to the church and we will be offering some explanation about it on Wednesday night at the annual meeting. We encourage you to download the app to your phone prior to the meeting so you can reference it. Text the keyword 'gloryofchrist app' to 77977 to download the app. Completion of the app is still in progress.  Annual Business Meeting January 20: Join us for the Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, January 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Living Waters. We will be voting on the annual budget, church treasurer, talking with the prospective elders and hearing updates from the elder team progress. This meeting will be available by Zoom but you must be present to vote. Members are asked to attend but all are welcome.  Delaying the Vote on Elders: Though we are very encouraged by the progress the prospective elder team has made so far we simply need a little more time to prepare before bringin...

My desire is to add a series of blogs about what a healthy church should look like. This isn’t to suggest that our church isn’t currently healthy. I think there are many great signs that we can rejoice in. The real reason I want to educate us on this topic is because I believe it will help us to gain a clearer sense of identity as we seek to stabilize and rebuild in 2021.   For this series I will be commenting and summarizing the book by Mark Dever: What Is a Healthy Church? There are nine different aspects Dever points out so you can imagine there will be at least nine blogs relating to this topic. Since I won’t be covering one of the marks today, there will be a minimum of ten.  I know the suspense is killing you as you curiously await the unveiling of the first mark. Before we discuss what that is I would like to point out that knowing what a healthy church is and isn’t applies to everyone in the congregation, not just the church leaders. When Paul writes his letters h...

Helping Move Elevier Women’s Center (Abba): Elevier Women’s Center (Abba) is moving between January 12-16. Would you be available to help? Contact Julie Springfield for more information (763) 607-1253 or Julie@abbaprc.org . Annual Business Meeting January 20: Join us for the Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, January 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Living Waters. We will be voting on the annual budget, church treasurer, talking with the prospective elders and hearing updates from the elder team progress. This meeting will be available by Zoom but you must be present to vote. Members are asked to attend but all are welcome. Delaying The Vote on Elders: Though we are very encouraged by the progress the prospective elder team has made so far we simply need a little more time to prepare before bringing Jesse Daas, Phil Thompson and Erik Aleckson before the congregation for a vote. However, in order to allow the congregation to know these men a little better, everyone will have the opportuni...

I write this after just getting done with a very fruitful meeting with the prospective elders. Somehow we got onto discussing a recent trend of prominent church leaders who have failed morally, even at the height of their powers.  When I say “fail morally” you might assume it was sexual failure. It wasn’t. It was the failure of using intimidation and manipulation to further the “success” of their ministries.  Thus, the sin of lust is real, whether it be a lust for the female body and for sex or lust for power, influence and control.  Small church pastors can make themselves feel better by looking down on them. Yet it is possible for many pastors in small churches to be guilty of the same sin. Let me explain.  The core desire to become the biggest church in America is likely a lust for power and influence. This thirst for success drove pastors and their fellow leaders to utilize fear to push the church forward. It was this same thirst for success that other church lea...

This prayer is taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.   The words in parenthesis are brief explanations to what might be hard to understand. Length of days does not profit me Except the days are passed in Thy presence, in Thy service to Thy glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, That I might not be one moment apart from Thee,  But may rely on thy Spirit      To supply every thought,      Speak every word,      Direct every step,      Prosper every work,      Build up every mote (ounce) of faith, And give me a desire To show forth Thy praise,      Testify Thy love,      Advance Thy kingdom. I launch my bark (cry) on the unknown waters of this year,      With Thee, O Father, as my harbour,      Thee O Son, at my helm,      Thee O Holy S...