Glory of Christ Fellowship

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. Several 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 fourth part of the list: Neighbors – Your Immediate Neighborhood (continued) 31. Organize and host a ladies craft night 32. Organize...

This blog is my manuscript from last week'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 deal with loneliness, especially when I cannot have interaction with people I enjoy being with? Introduction:  This is a really good question. Indeed, it is unnatural and unhealthy for us to be removed from fellowship. This is why one of the most severe punishments for a prisoner is solitary confinement as it takes away one of the most basic human needs. So far we have heard that God is in control of the virus so it begs the question, why would God cause a crisis that would leave me suffering the loss of something that is ...

This blog is my manuscript from last week'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 we handle disappointment biblically? Introduction:  Part of our disappointment is owing to the wrong expectations that we have. We typically go through life with the expectation and the thinking that we have rights, not privileges. When our kids have an entitled mindset they are more vulnerable to great disappointment. Thus, we can refer them back to James 4:13-17 as a key piece of biblical wisdom to combat thinking that leads to disappointment. Parents, help your kids to see the ways they are living in entitlement that deviates from what God prom...

Exodus 19 paints an awe-inspiring picture of God’s presence on Mount Sinai—a thick cloud, thunder and lightning, the mountain trembling and wrapped in smoke as God descends in fire amid trumpet blasts. The people of Israel are instructed not go up on or even touch the mountain and are told that if they do, they will die. Moses brings the nation of Israel out of their camp to stand at the foot of the mountain and meet God and they tremble in his presence. At the end of chapter 20, they beg Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”  Moses comforts the Israelites telling them not to fear and that God is testing them so that the fear of him may be before them that they may not sin. (Exodus 20:20) It is a kindness of God that he shows his people his holiness. When we see God for who he is, we learn to fear him as we ought and to live in light of that.  God’s holiness shows us our own sinfulness. In him, we see complete pe...

This Sunday, April 5, is communion Sunday, and rather than canceling this sacred part of our worship life, Pastor Kevin and I want to encourage you to partake of it as a family but in a way that preserves and celebrates our unity as a church family. So, let me first say a few things about the nature of communion, after which I'll offer some suggestions for partaking in it that will both bring honor to Jesus and unity to this body of believers. Through his life, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus Christ made it possible for people to be reconciled with God, and even more profoundly than that, to become one with him by faith in Christ. This doesn’t mean that we become God, but it does mean that we become profoundly united with God through Christ. And in addition to becoming one with him, we become one with all who also believe in him, and together we become a kingdom of priests in this world whose privilege it is to intercede for unbelievers, to preach the gospel to t...

Last week we were informed by the Handke Center that, due to the Governor’s updated guidelines, we will not be able to meet there through at least May 4 which means that May 11 is the first Sunday we could meet together again for worship. Because the Governor’s guidelines also include entertainment and event facilities like the Elk River Theater and the Holiday Inn in Otsego (which has a large enough meeting room for our church), it looks very doubtful that we’ll be able to secure a venue for worship before May 11, and who knows, maybe longer. In light of this reality, I want to encourage you to redouble your resolve to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ in every season of life. Whatever you think about this crisis, it’s way beyond our control and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. But what we can do is bow our lives before Jesus Christ and say, “Our hope is in you, our lives belong to you, and we’re gladly devoted to worshiping you and serving you and loving the lost no ma...

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...