Video of recent Baptisms at Grace Bible, including my 8 year old daughter, Norah (picture below). Special day for our Faith Family AND The Layman Family.

*Thanks to Jason Carney for making this vid!

Our sermon yesterday at Grace Bible was over the WHY of pain and suffering, and how we can view it/deal with it biblically. Below, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams speaks at his wife Ingrid’s memorial service after she died tragically in a car accident last week.  Clearly, Mr. Williams has a firm grip on the gospel and serves as an example to us all.

Also, here is a link to a post from Desiring God with deeper insights into the faith and example of Monty Williams:

What Would You Say If Your Wife Was Ripped Away?

Weary? We all are, at some level. The short video below and the post that follows by Jared C. Wilson (taken from ESV Men’s Devotional Bible) help us to realize the power of the gospel in the life of weary men.

Strength for the Weary

The gospel breathes life into a man’s weary spirit primarily in three ways:

1. It provides freedom from the past
2. It provides power for the present
3. It provides hope for the future

1. Freedom from the Past

I think every man carries around some sort of wound, baggage, things that they’ve done, mistakes that they’ve made, sins that they’ve committed. Even if they’ve repented of these things, sometimes they don’t feel forgiven or they feel like they can’t escape from under that shadow.

The gospel comes in and says that what you were does not define you. You are what God says you are in Christ. Understanding the rich truth of justification gives us great freedom from the past.

2. Power for the Present

In the gospel comes the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We really do have the Spirit working according to the Father’s will to make us more like Christ . We do have the power to obey.

But when we fall short—as we often do—we know that we have the grace to forgive us so that we’re not defined by our worst deeds. We really do have the Spirit’s empowering presence for our present work and effort.

3. Hope for the Future

Most men worry about providing for their families and making sure the bottom doesn’t fall out from underneath them. The harsh truth of living in a broken and sinful world is that we have no guarantee of security; Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

But we do have the guarantee that our hope is secure in the gospel. The hope that we have in Christ is not the same hope that we often refer to in everyday language (e.g., “I hope something good will happen.). Our hope in Christ is a sure hope—a secure hope.

Every man can wake up in the morning with fresh mercies and with the understanding that whatever happens to his bank account or with his family or whatever else, he is united to Christ and therefore he is as secure as Christ himself is.

Jared C. Wilson is the director of content strategy at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and a contributor to the ESV Men’s Devotional Bible.

This post originally appeared at Crossway.org

We’ve recently had a quite a few people join Grace Bible as members. Praise God for that! But with the influx of members and the announcement and welcome of those members sometimes comes the question, WHY CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?

Church membership is something that I have grown in my appreciation of over the years. At our last membership meeting one of our elders explained how 2 years ago, on our annual elder retreat, we looked at Hebrews 13:17 where church leaders are described as keeping watch over souls “as those who will have to give an account.” Our natural response as elders was, who’s souls are we going to give an account for??? The words in Hebrews require us to think about how we determine who is in our scope of responsibility. We didn’t build our whole understanding of church membership around this verse, but it was one of many that informed us and helped us to have a greater appreciation for biblical church membership.

But while we as leaders and as a church have come to value church membership MORE, at the same time, church membership has become LESS valuable in our culture, and among many people who profess Jesus as Savior. Maybe you’ve heard, or maybe even  at one time, said, things like:

“I love Jesus. But the church, not so much”

“Membership? Sounds like a private club?”

“I’m a Christian, why would I need to be a member?”

I am a Christian, and I am an avid sports fan. Nothing wrong with that per se. But sports, in the life of a Christian, like anything else, need to be enjoyed biblically–for God’s glory. After all, our charge is straight forward in Scripture, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor10:31). So how do we play as well as be a fan of sports, for God’s glory? It’s a good question. And one that requires study of Scripture, careful thought, prayer, and a lot of heart checks for the athlete as well as the fan.

Any time I come across good biblical thought and wisdom on this topic, I read it. I need all the help I can get. I found the post at the link below from author, pastor, and fellow avid sports fan, Jared C. Wilson, to be especially helpful. Here’s an excerpt, followed by the link to the entire post:

…when we use sports poorly, for our own glory and our own sake, we not only lose sorely but win poorly. And athletes, whether they’re Christians or not, reflect more the heart of God when they accept responsibility when losing and deflect credit when winning, when they seek the good of their team and the dignity of their opponents, when they do things like give up achievable salaries in order to provide financial advantage for their team in employing more highly skilled players who can benefit the organization. But when an athlete plays only for himself, he loses even if he wins. Many athletes love Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” but would that they’d also take Philippians 2:3 to heart: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

ENTIRE POST: FOOTBALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD?

Social media and cell phone misuse is a problem for teens and adults alike. But our teens especially need guidance, wisdom, and the example from parents and trusted adults on how to navigate the temptations and dangers associate with these forms of technology.

2Tim2:2 says …flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness… From these few words in Scripture we can conclude that 1.)there is a sinful desire that is especially associated with youth 2.) we are to flee from it, and 3.) there’s something to be followed after, “righteousness.” A cell phone and social media is not a safe playground for teens to go unsupervised. There are things to flee from and follow after. It’s especially challenging for youth. 

Here are a link to a post from Desiring God to help adults and teens raise our awareness to the dangers for us as Christians.

And here’s one from the Washington Post that will break your heart and scare the mess out of every parent who reads it. I’m honestly hesitant to share such a story, but I feel like sometimes we are failing to see just how serious this issue can be. My prayers are with this family.

I certainly don’t have all of this cell phone/social media stuff figured out for myself, or my kids. It’s a process. But here are 4 things I am working to “get better at” when it comes to my teenage kids and their cell phones and social media:

1. Get better at saying no — Sometimes we’re more concerned our kids will be upset with us, than we are for their sanctification and well being. We can’t be governed by fear that they may resent us. W need to focused on being faithful to God and protective of them. There are some apps, media outlets, that should be avoided, and ungodly practices on “safe” media outlets that should never be done. Using the Bible as our standard, we need to be ready to say no.
2. Get better at explaining why — “The answer is no because I said so” can be ok in the moment, but an explanation as soon as possible is very helpful. The older kids get the more they need to know the WHY behind the answers we give them. We don’t need to take their need for an explanation as disrespectful. It could very well be an effort to better understand and align with your decision. When explaining why, we should use applicable Scripture when possible and talk about God’s love and protection in His commands. Along with why, we have to be ready to acknowledge with them that “everyone else IS doing it” (maybe even people at church) but that doesn’t sway our decision. We have to explain that our goal is to be faithful to God and protective of them. (Explanation is also a good opportunity to pray with them about the matters being discussed)
3. Get better at monitoring — We need to look through our kids phones, timelines, and messages often. If we’re not tech savvy enough, or don’t have the time to do that, then they don’t need to have the phone. Phones also need to be made unaccessible to teens at times. We don’t want our youth out driving around at 2am, OR cruising the internet at that hour. We need to keep their phones (and probably their car keys) with us at night. (There’s no full proof content protection plan but K9 Web Protection can be very helpful)
4. Get better at setting an example — teens are like doppler radars for hypocrisy. Can you blame them? Don’t we all want authorities to go by the same rules we do? If I’m scrolling twitter, catching up on sports scores, and reading emails all the time, I can effectively say anything to my kids about their “screen time.” They need to be able to look to us for a healthy example of what to do, and what not to do. As with so many things, a good example can go a long way.

There’s a ton more I need to work on. It’s a work in progress. It’s very important that we stay in a healthy direction in this area. Which requires me to seek and submit to God and will, and that’s ALWAYS good.

Very simply, baptism is an outward testimony of the inward change in a believer’s life. Christian baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord after salvation; although baptism is closely associated with salvation, it is not a requirement to be saved. The Bible shows in many places that the order of events is 1) a person believes in the Lord Jesus and 2) he is baptized. This sequence is seen in Acts 2:41, “Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized” (see also Acts 16:14–15).

A new believer in Jesus Christ should desire to be baptized as soon as possible. In Acts 8 Philip speaks “the good news about Jesus” to the Ethiopian eunuch, and, “as they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’” (verses 35–36). Right away, they stopped the chariot, and Philip baptized the man.

Baptism illustrates a believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Everywhere the gospel is preached and people are drawn to faith in Christ, they are to be baptized.

The preceding wast taken from GotQuestions.org. You can read the entire post including more on Christian Baptism by clicking here.

Grace Bible Fellowship’s position on baptism says:

About Baptism by Immersion – We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely immersed under the water and (2) after salvation. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing (1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead. Acts 8:26-39; Romans 6:4, 5; Colossians 2:12

Check out Grace Bible’s monthly newsletter at the link below!

GRACE NOTES FEB 2016

We often view sports as the best example and teacher of teamwork. I’m not sure that’s always true. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the entertainment value of sports, and the many things they can teach us. But more and more the emphasis is placed on individuals rather than the team. Look at pro sports — Manning vs Brady, Manning vs Newton, Curry vs Lebron, who was better Jordan or Kobe? Individual stats, celebration dances, big $$ contracts, galore. All about the team, right? Eh, maybe not so much. We (or maybe it’s just me) even sometimes rationalize the over-programming of our kids lives with sports by saying it will “teach them teamwork”.  There’s truth to that! But maybe sports aren’t the best place for kids to learn the value of selflessness through teamwork.

The first place that “teamwork” should be modeled is in one of the basic institutions that God gave us, the family. And within the family, the most obvious example of good teamwork for our kids and others, ought to be the team that exists between a husband and wife (Gen 2:24). In one sense, marriage is a team sport. A biblical marriage is two people walking in God-glorifying unity, seeking the good of one another, making necessary sacrifices, loving unconditionally, forgiving and being forgiven, for a LIFETIME! (Eph 5:22-33) — now THAT requires some teamwork.

So, married folks — if you missed the tee-ball sign up deadline and are worried where your kids will learn teamwork this Spring, fear not. The greatest opportunity to teach teamwork won’t require any new sports gear for your child, but it might require a renewed perspective on you might be a better teammate to your spouse.

Below is a link to a great post from Focus On the Family, by Greg Smalley, with practical ways for husbands and wives to “Establish a teammates mentality”. Check it out:

You’re On the Same Team.

I recently read a post about a startling, unbiblical parenting paradigm — Family physician, psychologist and author Leondard Sax says parents are “raising kids wrong.” You can read the entire post here, but here’s an excerpt:

“Parents are incapable of speaking to their children in a sentence that ends in a period…Every sentence ends in a question mark…Some parenting experts told adults that they should offer their children choices instead of telling them what to do and parents believed them…The hierarchy of parent over child no longer exists…Instead of parents exercising their authority because they know what’s best, they are focusing on making children happy and boosting their self-esteem…They now see their job as facilitating whatever a kid wants to do…” 

He’s right. That’s wrong. Constantly giving a child their own way while failing to provide instruction and correction is an act of neglect by us as parents and an injustice to the child. The Bible is clear that much of our role as parents is that of loving, guiding, disciplinarian. (Proverbs 13:24, Proverbs 19:18, Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 23:13-14, Proverbs 29:15, Proverbs 29:17)

BUT–we are also warned not to exasperate our kids (Ephesians 6:4) or cause them to grow bitter toward us (Colossians 3:21)! How do we do both??? How do we act as the disciplinarians to sinful hearts (like ours) and at the same time keep them from hating us for fulfilling our role??? Well, there’s no short answer to that question. But we know it includes experiencing God’s corrective love and grace in our own life. The closer we are to God, the more instep we are with our Heavenly Father, the better we’ll parent. But what about some practical steps, some “how to” tips for scenarios that many parents face? I heard what I thought was a great radio program on this subject this morning from Focus on the Family and Psychologist and author Dr. Henry Cloud. One phrase that stuck out to me was “be hard on the problem, without being hard on the child”. You can listen to the episode here: Raising Kids With Healthy Boundaries (Part 1 of 2) It’s well worth your time!

Also, here’s a link to some helpful Focus On The Family Apps that you might be interested in downloading.