Grace Baptist Church

Going...going....gone

2007-11-30T13:03:00.000-05:00

In order to post more content and have the ability to manage that content in a more useful way, Grace Baptist Church blog is morphing into two blogs...one will be my own blog, For His Glory with anything that I deem interesting, maybe some of it will interest you. There will also be a new blog on the Grace Baptist Church web site in short order. If you use feedburner or some other RSS program be sure to re-route it to the new blog. -Blake

A BIG shout-out to DADS!!!

2007-07-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Fathers’ Day was last month, but here are a few ideas for celebrating your dad anyway (trust me, he deserves it!) This is a perfect time to honor your father – he won’t even be expecting it!

Easy ways to celebrate your dad

Do something with your dad: this offers encouragement, appreciation, recognition and honor
Talk to your dad
Play with your dad
Find out what your dad likes and get interested in it too
If you can’t come up with any ideas, take a risk and ask your dad what he might want to do
Take him out to eat or for coffee
Ride a bike, take a walk, play games (bowling, board games, arcade), shop (if your dad’s into this)

Do something for your dad: this shows him love, care and honor
Tell others how great your dad is
Tell your dad how great he is
Beat him to it – think of a chore your dad usually does around the house that you could surprise him by doing

Do what your dad says: This brings him honor and joy
Your dad has good advice for you
In Proverbs, Solomon gives his counsel: "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, And do not forsake your mother's teaching; Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, And ornaments about your neck" (1:8-9, NASB).
As we thank and praise God for our dads, it’s an honor to our dads.

For those of us who have loving, Christian parents, let's never forget to thank God for that. Honor the opinion of your parents, talk to them, allow them to share their knowledge with you; I guarantee that you will receive the treasures God offers through your dad and mom. Dads have tough jobs that usually go unnoticed. Honor your earthly father and heavenly Father today in a special way!

Resources: I am sure there are tons more out there, these are just a few I’ve stumbled upon.

Devotions for dads and sons

Particularly, encouraging your sons to learn from their fathers

Raising sons to be godly men

Another link for raising sons

Grace Baptist Church--God's wonderful mess

2007-05-31T09:35:00.000-05:00

There words were encouraging to me today:

"The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their trust in Christ, gather to know and love Him better, and learn to love others as he has designed. The church is messy and inefficient, but it is God's wonderful mess--the place where he radically transforms hearts and lives." (Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, Paul David Trip. pg. 116)

BJ

New 9Marks Newsletter

2007-05-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

Be sure to look at the new 9Marks Newsletter found here at 9marks.org . This is a monthly publication that contains helpful articles, resources and book reviews.

BJ

Christ is Not a Culture

2007-03-07T10:58:00.000-05:00

We were blessed to hear the Word preached by Don Kim, a staff member of Trinity Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut this past Sunday. What follows are just my notes – by no means a full transcript; nor a commentary. If you missed being with us, enjoy and if you were there, use this to refresh your mind and spirit of what we’ve been taught.

Colossians 1:15-23

Christ is Not a Culture

Strange things were going on at Colossae. They were infiltrated by pagan thoughts and ideas. A new moon celebration, worship of angels. The Book of Colossians was written in response to Gnosticism; this idea that there was a secret saving knowledge. Our own culture, in some ways, is embracing this. Through sensations like the Da Vinci Code or even the recent (this past week if you were watching the news) supposed lost tomb of Jesus. Never mind that the scientific DNA tests prove it could not be Jesus, people still embrace the idea because people are so hungry for the deconstruction of Christianity. What Paul had taught the Colossians had lost its luster. Paul is writing to tell them that Jesus is better than you think – He’s the substance – the reality – not a fad or a culture.

Why and how is that?

1. He is not a creation of His creatures. He is beyond our logic. He is the image of the invisible. He is above all. He is the authority over creation. Who are we to dictate who God is? Francis Collins, a scientist who is known for his work on the Human Genome project wrote a book entitled The Language of God and in it makes a case for God as a scientist. We struggle with the fact that there is suffering in this world. Oftentimes, if you are sharing your faith, the first objection is why does God allow suffering? God is so far above our logic and understanding.

2. Christ is supreme. Jesus is the head of the church, not the culture of the church. Fox Faith – “Films You Can Believe In” was created to meet the culture of Christianity. Look at the tremendous success of the Chronicles of Narnia movie or The Passion of Christ. We are living in an age of pragmatism – where doing church matters. It’s empty. So often in America we are trying to sell the church as if it needed a marketing strategy. There’s an actual pitch – give us 22 minutes and we’ll give you the world – a fast-food sort of church service. Where is the shared experience in that? Where is the fellowship, the worship that is Biblically constructed? It is easy to have the appearance of the culture but that’s not what Christ desires to be. He is the head. We boast in Christ crucified, not church attendance. If Christ is supreme – if He is truly the head of the church, how do we submit to Him? → We submit to Christ in private prayer. The puritan Thomas Brooks wrote The Secret Key to Heaven: The vital importance of private prayer – (Thomas Brooks was one of the most influential people in the life of Spurgeon). A man is certainly that he is secretly. He may sweat on the stage, but be cold in the closet. Christ is the head, He doesn’t have to be the culture.

Lastly, Jesus came into the world for reconciliation, not condemnation. Christianity is so heavily associated with condemnation. The world wants to shy away from fire and brimstone. Even select portions Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is included in school anthologies to perpetuate the idea that Christianity is only negative. Reading John 3:16 and following we learn that the world stands condemned but there’s a message of reconciliation. Jesus came to reconcile, not to condemn. Jesus is better than anything we could think or imagine. But there is a caveat, a condition; we must repent and surrender to His grace.

Do you know this Jesus? If you do, what will you do?

MEJ

Sermon December 17

2006-12-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

If the Lord wills we will look at Isaiah 51:1-52:12 this Sunday. We will be focusing on the fact that Christ's Presence is what brings Joy to the Christian.

In preparation:
Read 50:4-11
Pray about what you read

The passage is speaking of God's Servant, Christ Jesus.
Ponder these things:

1. Did you notice that in v. 4 Christ speaks to the weary?
Can you remember accounts from the Gospels in which Jesus speaks to those who are weary? What were His words to them?
What situations cause you to feel tired, weary or anxious?
Does Jesus address those? (Matthew 11:28; John 11:25; Matt. 28:20)
-No matter what your load is today the Savior is able to care for you.

2. Did you notice that in v. 6 Christ endures anguish on the behalf of His people?
What suffering is this speaking of? Notice that Jesus "gave His back to those who strike."
How does this echo what is found in John 10:17-18?

--Verse 10 is true today! If you are walking in Darkness put your trust in the Lord! What a Savior!

Preventative Maintenance

2006-11-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

Thabiti Anyabwile has a set of great posts regarding church splits and how to prevent them. What he says is well worth your time to read. You can find them here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; and Part 5.

Read and think about the implications.

-BJ

The Word!

2006-10-17T14:56:00.000-05:00

I was blessed today in reading this passage by John Frame in his book, The Doctrine of God:

"One way to summarize the Bible is to say that it is the story of God’s word to human beings and their response to that word in belief or unbelief, obedience or disobedience, acceptance or rejection. At each point in the biblical history the word of God is the thing at issue…The first recorded human experience is that of hearing God’s words, words that defined the purpose of human life:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:28

God’s word also comes to Adam, commanding him to work and care for the garden (2:15), and forbidding him to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, while permitting him to eat from the other trees (2:16-17). At this time, God’s word alone is the issue. Adam has no independent means to determine the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. Like Abraham later, Adam has to make his decision on the basis of God’s word alone.

Then the serpent comes to Eve, essentially substituting his word for God’s word, pitting his own authority against the authority of the Lord. “You will not surely die,” he says (3:4). In the contest between one word and another, Eve chooses that of a talking animal over that of her gracious Creator. Unlike Abraham, she follows the enticing evidences of her sense and her unaided reason (v. 6a). Adam joins her in eating, rather than excercising godly authority over her (v. 6b). From that sin follow the curse and all the miseries of life here and hereafter (vv.14-19). (pgs 90-91) "

Dear Christian, isn't it true that we tend to rationalize and find ways to escape the commands of God's Word? We have not traveled far from our first parents. This is why in our worship--individual and corporate--we must give the primary place to hearing God's word and responding to it with faith and obedince. Have you done that today? Have you listened to God's word to your soul?

It's been a while!

2006-08-23T08:31:00.000-05:00

This week's sermon:

Is there something in my eye? Matthew 6:22-24

We’re OK !

2006-06-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

In our Sunday night sessions we have begun a study of I John. We have looked at the introduction for two weeks, I John 1:1-4. The question was raised: “Was it necessary for Christ to come in the flesh? What did it accomplish? What does it mean to you?” Firstly, God required a sacrifice for our sins, but all men since Adam were sinful, so it was necessary for Christ to become human to sacrifice himself for our sins – as a sinless sacrifice, the spotless Lamb. He could do this only by being God and thus without sin. So it was absolutely necessary. Secondly, we looked at Hebrews 2: 14-18:

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Christ can be our merciful high priest because He was a human who was tempted like us, and yet was without sin. So in addition to the Atonement, we end up with a high priest who mediates for us continually before the throne of God, and yet as truly human one we can relate to.

While we were discussing this on Sunday night, it occurred to me that there was another effect of the Incarnation (not that it was necessarily God's main purpose, but of course He thinks of everything!), is that it makes it OK to be human. John was writing his letter during a time when the heresy of Gnosticism, and also (and more appropriate to my line of thinking here, Docetism) was making inroads among the churches. Besides teaching that knowledge is superior to virtue, and that only a nonliteral interpretation of Scripture understood only by a select few was correct, they taught (like some Greek philosophers) that matter was inherently evil while only the spirit could be good. Docetism taught that deity cannot unit itself with anything material, including the body. Therefore one could live a sinful life without concern. The Gnostics also believed that there is no resurrection of the flesh.

But all their arguments are undone in Christ. Because in the Incarnation, God took the form of a human, lived a sinless life, and died and was resurrected. It seems very interesting to me that while God is a Spirit, and the angels are spirit beings, and we have a spirit, God intends for us to remain around forever with a body, (albeit a glorified one). And Christ himself will reign over us with His bodily form. So the Gnostics and Greek philosophers had it it all wrong! We are God’s creation, intended for His glory, and so it is great to be a human! While we can't live totally sinless lives, we can, through God's power, begin to come closer than the unregenerate human -- we are made in the image of God and it does matter how we live.

While Gnosticism and Docetism died out centuries ago (seemingly), I think we are seeing a resurgence of it again today. I recently read an action adventure called "Map of Bones" by James Rollins-- sort of a DaVinci Code without the blasphemy. Its story line included references to “Gnostic Christians,” and long-lost mysteries and secret knowledge maintained by a few. So as ever, we need to be on guard.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phillipians 2:5-11

posted by d. rogers

Lloyd-Jones and Rewards

2006-05-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

This is how Lloyd-Jones concludes his sermon on Matthew 5:11-12. May it stir in you a desire to claim the prize that awaits those who finish the race! Run, Beloved, Run!

"What is this reward? Well, the Bible does not tell us much about it, for a very good reason. It is so glorious and wonderful that our human language is of necessity almost bound to detract from its glory...So there is a sense in which even the Bible cannot tell us about heaven because we should misunderstand it. But it does tell us something like this. We shall see Him as He is, and worship in His glorious presence. Our very bodies will be changed, and glorified, with no sickness or disease. There will be no sorrow, no sighing; all tears shall be wiped away. All will be perpetual glory. No wars or rumors of wars; no separation, no unhappiness, nothing that drags a man down and makes him unhappy, even for a second! .
Unmixed joy, and glory, and holiness, and purity and wonder! That is what is awaiting us. That is your destiny and mine in Christ as certainly as we are alive at this moment. How foolish we are that we do not spend our time in thinking about that. Oh, how we cling to this unhappy, wretched world, and fail to think on these things and to meditate upon them. 'Rejoice, and be exceeding glad.'

How often do you think of heaven and rejoice as you think of it? Does it give you a sense of strangeness and of fear, and a desire, as it were, to avoid it? If It does so to any degree, I fear we must plead guilty that we are living on too low a level. Thoughts of heaven ought to make us rejoice and be exceeding glad."

What holds your gaze?

2006-05-24T10:33:00.000-05:00

Concerning persecution Jesus says:
"Blessed are you when others revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

Rejoice...why? Because your reward is great in heaven! Is this how you think?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones says in relation to this passage:

"According to this outlook [that of Jesus], my whole outlook upon everything that happens to me should be governed by these three things: my realization of who I am, my consciousness of where I am going, and my knowledge of what awaits me when I get there. You will find this argument in many places in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul once put it like this, 'For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.' (2 Corinthians 4:17 -18) The Christian should always be looking at that."

Are you looking at that or is there something more captivating for your attention?

The Ministry of Caring

2006-05-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

-John 13:34-35

Jesus instructed His followers to love one another. The New Testament speaks of the church as the context where biblical love should be practiced in its highest form. When the New Testament writers speak of love, they use language that brings to mind unity among members and reliance upon one another. Nowhere do we find language that would encourage or affirm individuality. This is the purpose of our caring ministry. We should take the initiative in caring for one another. This is accomplished through times of fellowship and through established relationships that enable us to serve one another.

The Ministry of Teaching

2006-05-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching…”
-Acts 2:42

Just as our ministry of worship is guided by Scripture, so is our ministry of teaching. The early name for a follower of Christ, disciple, means “learner.” As we have studied in Romans 12, we are to have our minds continually renewed by the Word. This is the purpose of our Sunday School program, the children’s ministry, the youth ministry and the library. We believe that through these avenues we can seek to apply the truths of Scripture to our congregation in a more deliberate way. Our desire is that every member of Grace will be equipped to live out their faith and to glorify God in all of their life.

Mission and Vision (part 1)

2006-05-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

The deacons and I this year set as our task to develop a comprehensive mission and vision for Grace Baptist Church. The purpose of this vision is to set the direction for years to come as we use our resources of time, energy, and money. We have settled on four biblical priorities that should guide our church. We have labeled them as ministries because we believe that these are the things that God calls His churches to do. They are the ministry of worship, the ministry of teaching, the ministry of caring, and the ministry of evangelism (including missions).

The Ministry of Worship

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
- John 4:23-24

The purpose of our corporate worship is to glorify God through the hearing of His word in exposition, reading, and the proper administration of the ordinances; and to respond to it with prayer, commitment, praise and obedience. In essence as we gather together we are to read Scripture, preach Scripture, pray Scripture, sing Scripture and see Scripture. New Testament worship is not limited to our corporate gatherings; we worship God and honor Him with all we do. This is the vision that we want to promote at GBC. We want to worship the God of the Bible, a holy and majestic God who communicates to us and who desires for us to worship Him in spirit and truth.

Blessed are the Meek

2006-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "

Matthew 5:5

We will take some time to meditate on this passage together this coming Sunday, if the Lord wills, but in the meantime ponder what the Lord means by these words.

Meek means 'gentle,' 'humble', 'considerate.' Our tendancy is to think of meekness as weaknesses. But consider that Moses was called the meekest man on all the earth (Numbers 12:3) and yet he had a powerful, extraordinary nature. He was humble and meek and yet he was strong. The testimony of Scripture is that meekness is compatible with great strength.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, 'Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others. It is two things. It is my attitude towards myself; and it is an expression of that in my relationship with others." The Beatitudes seem to get more difficult as we continue! Meekness is an internal spiritual reality working itself out in our actions and relationships. This being the case you can see how it follows being 'poor in spirit' and 'mourning.' You cannot be meek unless you are 'poor in spirit'. You cannot be meek unless you see yourself as a sinner and mourn that condition, and with these things in their proper place in your life there is an unwillingness to defend yourself--there is an absence of pride, there is meekness. Blessed/Approved by God are the meek!

Cur Deus Homo? (Why [the] God-Man?)

2006-04-18T07:54:00.000-05:00

Cur Deus Homo? Is the title of a book by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) in which he asks, "Why did God become man?" Have you wondered this yourself? --Why does God not simply forgive us, without the necessity of the cross? At this time in the year we tend to spend a little bit more time meditating on the cross, thinking about our sin and maybe even some of us seeking a closer walk with Christ and a deeper understanding of His grace. If we fail to see God for who He is and if we fail to see our sin for what it is we are tempted to minimize God and our own nature and by doing so we will short-circuit the process of growing in grace.

So, why the God-Man? If we sin against one another, we are required to forgive one another. Why does God not do it the same way? Why can't he simply forgive? Anselm's answer was, "if anyone imagines that God can simply forgive us as we forgive others, that person has not yet considered the seriousness of sin. That person has not yet considered what a heavy weight sin is." But furthermore, that person has also not yet considered the majesty of God. As John Stott says, "It is when our perception of God and man, or of holiness and sin, are askew that our understanding of the atonement is bound to be askew also."

When we sin against another man, it is two people who stand as equals. But when we sin against God, we are sinning against the Maker of the universe, a majestic and sovereign God! He is not our equal! Why the God-Man?, because we are sinful, responsible, guilty and lost! There was no other way for our condition to be rectified. Rejoice in Christ who saves sinners! Find hope in Him, for the God-Man is your only hope!

Heart Surgery

2006-04-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

What Christianity needs is an exposure to the life-giving logic of the beatitudes and the blessedness of their fearsome surgery. But is this surgery that we want? Would we rather have a mortal disease festering in us than to endure the pain of radical heart surgery?

Many times I think the answer is, ‘yes.’ We would rather have other peoples problems pointed out than to endure the pain of having my toes stepped on, or worse yet my heart laid bare. Are we so foolish to think that God does not see the sickness within? Do we think we can hide? No, may God grant us the grace to endure the loving hands of a wonderful surgeon. May he prune and in the end may we bear much fruit!

Theology For Everyday Life.

2006-04-05T07:19:00.000-05:00

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

"Theological questions especially regarding the sovereignty of God are not simply for bookish theologians or seminary students. They are important to each one of us as Christians. How you think about God impacts the way you live and what you want your church to be like. You must have a biblical understanding of God" (Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church pg. 58).

Whether we consistently think about theology or not, our theology (belief about God) determines how we live our life. It determines firstly what/who is the ruler of our life and secondly how we relate to that ruler. Our actions many times betray us and reveal that the very theology we profess, is indeed not what we believe. I fear that many of us have a disconnect between the God about whom we hear preached on Sunday and the god that "helps" us live our life throughout the rest of the week.

We have seen through the past year --in the books of Genesis, and Colossians, and Habakkuk-- that God is in control of all things. Do you believe that? What about when your friends or children betray you? What about when things aren't going well with work? What about when the doctor says that something isn't quite right during your exam?

What do your actions reveal that you believe about God? Is He really sovereign over YOUR life? Is He really able to keep you until the end?

Kingdom Life in a Fallen World

2006-03-30T08:25:00.000-05:00

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: " Matthew 5:1-2

And so begins what has been called, the Sermon on the Mount. At Grace Baptist Church we will be spending the next few weeks considering these words of Christ. The teaching contained therein sets a high standard. If we take it seriously we realize that we cannot attain the standard set before us and therefore cannot merit salvation. This teaching of Christ drives us to seek salvation not in our own work, but in Christ Himself.

Once we have received the salvation offered as God's free gift, the sermon shows us how we should live in the service of our gracious God. It shows us what life is like in the Kingdom of God. The sermon removes all complacency and hypocrisy --which is the problem with many Christians today and many churches. No matter how far we have gone along the 'Christian road' the sermon on the mount tells us that there is more ahead of us. It stretches our horizons, but at the same time it helps us understand more of what the grace of God means.

May the love and mercy of God be with us as we see what it means to live and be part of the Kingdom of God in a fallen world.

The Listener's Responsibility

2006-03-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

What follows is an article written by Tim Challies. It can be found here. I have reproduced it in full because it is wonderfully helpful and I believe that if we adopted these principles in our church it would bear much fruit.

"While a pastor bears great responsibility in preparing for and delivering the Word of God each Sunday, the listener shares in the responsibility. The church has no place for an audience. We are all to be involved in the preaching, even as listeners.

Weekly Preparation

Preparation for the worship service should begin before Sunday morning. The Bible exhorts us in many places to pray for our pastors. In Romans 15:30-32 Paul begged for the prayers of believers. “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.” To the Thessalonians he writes “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you.” We should be in constant prayer for our pastors, asking that God would continue to work in their hearts and illumine his words to them so they might in turn teach us. The congregation cannot grow beyond the pastor, so it is crucial that he continue to learn and grow in his faith. At the same time we should pray that the pastor would not fall to the attacks of Satan who surely seeks to ruin any fruitful ministry.

Physical Preparation

When I was a teenager, I usually tried to sit in the back rows of the sanctuary along with my other friends. We took pride in being able to be the first person to fall asleep during the service. Often we had been up well into the wee hours on the morning the night before and were looking forward to an opportunity to catch up on our sleep. And what better opportunity is there than when the pastor is speaking for thirty or forty five minutes?

One of the most important things congregation members can do is be prepared for the service. This means that we need to be well-rested and attentive rather than tired and glassy-eyed. Our minds need to be alert and both ready and able to hear the Word of God. As a child I was told that preparing for Sunday begins on Saturday night, the implication being that a good night’s sleep is an important prerequisite to attending a worship service.

Personal Preparation

When we attend church we should do so with the eager expectation of hearing words that will challenge, convict and change us. We come expecting to hear Divine words. We should approach the service with these goals in mind. We should seek to allow the words of God, as summarized and explained by the pastor, to convict us of sin and shortcomings, to challenge our presuppositions and comfort zones and to begin the process of change in our lives.

Spiritual Preparation

Knowing that we hope to be challenged, changed and convicted during the preaching of the Word, we should be certain that we are spiritually prepared. Our hearts must not be filled with unrepentant sin. So prior to hearing the proclamation of the Word, we should take opportunity to repent of sin and to make sure we come before God with clean hands and pure hearts. We should seek the Spirit’s illumination for the words we will hear. Psalm 119 models this as David prays “Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” (verses 17 and 18) David asks the Lord to open his eyes that he might be able to truly understand and apply the words of Scripture to his heart. In the same way we should ask the Spirit to work in us so we can understand.

Pay Attention

This seems almost too obvious, but we should make sure that we are paying attention during the service. It is easy to look around, to chat with the person next to you or to count heads. It is even easy enough to get involved in a “righteous” pursuit such as reading the Bible. But we have just one hour a week to listen to our pastor so we should listen attentively. It is not just a good idea, but is our responsibility. Listen, learn and grow. Take a pen, take your Bible and make a dedicated effort.

After the Service

Traditionally Sunday afternoons were dedicated to gathering as a family and speaking about the sermon and perhaps looking over notes that were taken. Many families would sit down together and re-read the passage of Scripture that had been exposited that very morning and would share what they had learned. This is a custom that has largely been lost, but we would benefit by its recovery.

Pray For Application

After the service, perhaps during some quiet time on Sunday afternoon, we should again pray that the Lord would help work in us what we heard in the morning. We should ask that He would allow the words to continue to convict and change us and that they would not simply fall out of our minds and be lost. In Revelation Jesus said “He who has ears, let him hear.” Hearing goes beyond the ears, but into the mind, the heart and the life. Hearing involves application.

Be Bereans

Our final responsibility is to imitate the Bereans who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11). We should not blindly accept what our pastor teaches us, but compare his words to the Scripture to ensure that “these things are so.” If your pastor is a godly man, he should be willing and eager to answer questions you may have, and be humble enough to accept correction when he has erred. I do not know of a pastor who would claim he has never made mistakes from the pulpit. When we do detect (or think we detect) error, we should approach the pastor humbly and prayerfully, going to him with our questions and not first to others.

Conclusion

While the responsibility of the preacher cannot be underestimated, the listener is also responsible before God. We are to prepare ourselves even during the week, are to listen attentively, to search the Scriptures and to apply what we have learned to our lives. I fear that far too often we expect the pastor to do the work and allow us to be the beneficiaries of his work. It is time for us to take seriously our role in the preaching of the Word of God"

May the Harvest Come!

2006-03-17T08:36:00.000-05:00

And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29

If, as stated in a previous post, God uses His word to build His church how should Scripture be preached?

Many of us give little thought to different ways that pastors approach the Bible in preparing a sermon or Bible study. Does the preacher come to it as the authority deciding what topic to preach and then finding passages that support his own thesis? Is this the way that we hear God speak? While this sort of preaching can and has been used by God, there are many dangers inherent in it. Could it be, that there are problems in a church about which the pastor does not know? Problems that God desires to be addressed through His Word? These issues may even be the root causes of some of the other problems that are visible. If he only preaches on the topics that 'strike his fancy' the congregation runs the risk of hearing the preacher speak and not necessarily God.

Is there another way? Yes, expositional preaching is the alternative. Expositional preaching is, “preaching in service to the Word." It is an exposition (explaination and application) of a specific text. In other words the pastor does not come as the authority to the Bible deciding what to preach rather, he commits himself to hear God’s Word—not just to affirm that it is God’s Word but to actually submit himself to it. If a pastor is preaching in service to the Word it is rare that he will be able to preach against the items he wants, in his flesh, to preach against. But instead, God will speak through his word and impact the lives of those who hear. Like the seed that grows as the man sleeps and rises night and day, the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. After time, the harvest is gathered.

May God work in our hearts at Grace Baptist Church that we will have an abundant harvest. May he equip us for every good work and provide us with leaders who do the difficult work of being in submission to the text of Scripture. May He be glorified in us!

Guest Preachers...Chris A. and then Chris B.

2006-03-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

The next two weeks at Grace Baptist Church we will have guest preachers.

On Sunday, March 19 Chris Ambridge will be preaching. Chris A. is a former intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and now resides in Washington, DC working as an architecht and continuing to serve at CHBC. His text will be Luke 15:11-32, the story of the prodigal son.

On Sunday, March 26 Chris Bosnyak will be preaching. Chris B. is the chairman of Deacons at Grace Baptist Church and lives in Hamden. His text will be Joshua 1-4.

One way that you can prepare your heart for these sermons is to prayerfully read the text in the days leading up to Sunday and then come with an expectation to hear from God's Word.

Come to the Stream

2006-03-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1

The Word of God is the instrument God has chosen to use to give life and to sustain life in His children. Those who walk by faith do so with the confidence that the Bible is true and reliable. We need God’s Word in order to re-create us and also to grow and shape us--like trees firmly planted by streams of water.

Many churches today, by their actions and not necessarily by their confession, have placed a secondary importance on the Bible. They focus on gaining a crowd instead of making disciples. Rather than thinking of new and exciting ways to get people into our churches we should look to how God has used His Word in the past and follow the example set before us.

We should constantly stand in awe of the fact that God would speak to us. Carl F. H. Henry states this well in God, Revelation and Authority, when he says, “God will not be known if He does not speak, and we cannot know Him if He has not spoken a word that we can rely on” We should desire the very words of God more than a starving man desires bread. Yet pitifully we do not. We have filled our lives with so many other things that the Word of God does not even captivate us. Our love for God’s Word should be rooted in the fact that God has spoken words of life to our hearts and we are able, by God's Spirit, to hear and understand and also to bring those very same words to others. Allowing God’s Word to percolate in our lives and sharing that with others is how the church is built. “…the church of God, can only be created around the Word of God” [Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, pg. 36] While the rest of the world’s industries are trying to market their products to a changing populace, God is continuing to build His people together by His Word.

So today, give time to hear God speak through His word. Meditate and listen to Him and may He be glorified in you!
In a future post we will look at how we are to proclaim and hear the Word of God!

Budgets, Committees, and Giving!

2006-03-11T08:09:00.000-05:00

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Is it just me or is this the time in the life of a church that many people dread? It is the time when we as a congregation have to make hard decisions regarding the budget and others have to make hard decisions concerning whether they will serve on a particular committee. I believe that Paul's words above should guide us and have implications not only for individuals but also for us as a church as well. Paul says, "The point is this:" (don't you love it when it is so clear? Or in this case would we rather it not be so clear?) "whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." It does not get much more clear than that. Paul in this context is exhorting the Corinthians to give monetarily to support the Christians who were in Jerusalem.

I believe that the application of this can be enlarged to not only be speaking of money but time, and gifts and abilities. Hence the title of this post...Budgets, Committees and Giving! Notice that Paul lists some reasons to give.
v. 6 Giving will result in a return
v. 7 God loves a cheerful giver
v.8-10 God has given freely to you v.11 God will bless you
v. 12 Your giving brings Glory to God

Will you pray, and consider how you can be used by God this year at Grace Baptist Church? For some, this means you need to join so that you can be involved. For others this means that you need to prayerfully consider how you can serve. May God be glorified in you. And remember: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

Grace Baptist Church

2006-03-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

The purpose of Grace Baptist Church is to glorify God by promoting His worship, evangelizing sinners, and edifying saints. We are committed to being faithful to God's Word as we seek to 'grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ' Our pastor is a former intern of Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Join us for our Sunday morning gathering at 10:50am.