Glory of Christ Fellowship

     The gloriously good news of the gospel grows out of the ashes of the horrifically tragic news of human rebellion against God. Therefore, unless we take the time to carefully meditate on the bad news, we will never understand the glory of the good news.      One of the most helpful summaries of the gospel in the Bible is Ephesians 2:1-10, for it begins by telling us the bad news (2:1-3), it then tells us the good news (2:4-7), and it finally tells us about the effects of the gospel in the lives of those who believe (2:8-10). This week we’ll consider 2:1-3 and then over the next three weeks we’ll consider 2:4-10.      Paul writes, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body ...

As someone who is parenting teens and has worked with them for the past ten years, social media and transgender are two topics that have gotten my attention. I can't say I'm an expert on either...but you can if you want to;) In all seriousness, let me bring something to your attention for our collective consideration. This is, at best, a theory with a title that kinda sounds like it is the next episode of Nightline. I am not speaking authoritatively here as I would if I was trying to tell you that Jesus is Lord. Not even close. However, in bringing this observation to you it may help the church with some helpful insights on the effect of technology and the effect of our cultural movement towards sexual confusion. In other words, I am going to suggest that technology shapes us in certain ways that makes sexual confusion more plausible and it all equals the erosion of what it means to be a human being. Let me flesh this out for you: Social Media Has Created A Whole New ...

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. Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee Here In Your Presence Holy Cornerstone Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) We Will Feast In The House of Zion Forever Reign -- Sermon Title: By The True Light Is Shining Sermon Text: 1 John 2:7-11 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ

A few years ago, I was listening to a radio program on which Marshall Shelley was being interviewed about his new book, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham (Zondervan, 2005). They were giving away a few copies of the book to those who called in, and something inside me felt compelled to call. But I didn’t have a good question to ask, so I prayed to the Lord and said, “If you want me to have a copy of this book, please give me a good question to ask and I’ll call.” I’m not sure if the Lord gave me this question or if it just popped into my head, but one way or the other, I thought to ask about the connection in Billy’s life between his private pursuit of holiness and integrity, and his public effectiveness and longevity. So, I made the call and was given the last copy of the book they had to give. A couple of years earlier, I had breakfast with some friends and the subject of Billy Graham’s life and ministry came up. We talked mostly about his commitment to integrity in the area...

      Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth . So Says Psalm 100:1. It seems simple enough. At face value this is a familiar phrase in the Psalms and when I hear it, I tend to know what it means without giving it much thought. Today, however, I am tasked with writing a devotion on Psalm 100, so I need to find something to say that is worth reading. Thus, I slow down a little bit and examine the Psalm more carefully.      There are a few interesting points to ponder. First of all, the Psalmist calls for a joyful noise. Initially when I hear this Psalm, my mind automatically interprets that as a nice song, maybe by Chris Tomlin or an ancient hymn. However, the Psalm doesn’t say “sing a joyful song unto the Lord” it tells us to “make a joyful noise.”       In other words, the qualifications of our response to God is much broader than merely singing, it includes any number of ways noise can be made. Good thing the noise is ...

In his classic, little booklet Born to Reproduce (Navpress, 2005), Dawson Trotman writes, “Soulwinners are not soulwinners because of what they know, but because of the Person they know, how well they know Him, and how much they long for others to know Him.” The only word I would add to this quote is “primarily” so that it would read like this: “Soulwinners are not soulwinners primarily because of what they know…” I agree that the most important thing in soulwinning is knowing Jesus, indeed, Christianity is not essentially informational but rather relational. However, what we know about Jesus matters very much, even if it flows from the fact that we know him. For instance, if you were to say that my mother came from the south of France, stood 4-feet 8-inches tall, and worked most of her life in the textiles industry, I would be quick to tell you that you were not speaking about my mother. My mother was from Missouri (pronounced Mazura), stood 5-feet 6-inches tall, and worked mos...

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. Your Name Lamb of God Before the Throne of God Above Who You Say I Am Let Your Kingdom Come Holy Spirit Trust and Obey -- Sermon Title: By This We Know Sermon Text: 1 John 2:1-6 Making Disciples For The Glory of Christ