Hello GBF Family and Friends!! — If you’ve attended weekly worship in the last couple of weeks you’ve probably noticed that by God’s grace we’ve experienced an increase in attendance as summer ends and new folks begin attending. Praise God, right!?!? But the seemingly sudden increase has caused some challenges for seating. If you’ve had to stand for part of the service or hunt down your own chair, we are truly sorry and appreciate your patience and grace. We also wanted everyone to know that we are making necessary adjustments to seating, or as we have said in the past, “MAKING ROOM, FOR MAKING DISCIPLES.” The last two weeks we’ve brought out and set up 30+ additional chairs as the service began. This week we’ve added additional seating for around 60 seats by removing some resource tables (under the CONNECT, GROW, SERVE signs) and making a few other minor adjustments throughout the auditorium. We want you to feel confident as you prepare your heart for corporate worship that we’ve made every effort to prepare for you, and anyone you may invite, to be here. Thanks for your patience and PLEASE continue to come. This church (and every church) exists to make disciples and weekly worship is an important part of discipleship.

With summer’s end and school back in session, you don’t have to scroll social media long to see pictures of kids and read captions like “Where has the time gone!?!?” or “How did they grow up so fast???” Time marches on, doesn’t it? S we feel an urgency to make every moment count. The last thing we want to do is regret the way we spent (or didn’t spend) time with our kids. I have a quote up in my study that reads “In the end, the family is your first and greatest calling.” Like most parents, I want to make the most of the limited time I have with my family. For my wife Casey and I, that mainly means, taking every opportunity to strive to give each of our 4 kids an understanding of, and admiration for God. The best and most important investments, are in eternal things. But we also just love having fun and making memories with our kids. We take family trips together, have running jokes that nobody else gets, keep some traditions, have long meals at the table, etc. Ephesians 5:16 reminds us to make the best use of the time. If you’re like me, always evaluating the use of your time with your family, you’ll enjoy this post written to parents, Check it out –> 5 Things You’ll Never Regret.

This Sunday at Grace Bible we’ll continue our study in the book of John, looking at John 4:46-54. In this text, God uses a tragic situation to bring a man to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The story will serve as an example of how God uses suffering to awaken and mature our faith.
Due in part to the false teaching of “Prosperity Gospel” teachers, some have mistakenly believed that if you have genuine faith, you will be exempt from suffering, but this is NOT what the Bible teaches. The Bible repeatedly shows that God can, and does, use trials and hardships to strengthen our faith in, and reliance upon God. As author Tim Keller says in his book ‘Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering,’ “You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
Are you currently facing a difficult season of life, trial, or heartache? If so, this week’s message might dramatically change the way you view it, and go through it.
Eager to be with you all on Sunday! Be encouraged to read ahead and make your own observations prior to our time together!
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I recently wrote a letter to our church family and took a mission trip to India. You can read my letter and see some pictures from the India trip, and here more about what’s going on in the life of our church, in GBF’s monthly newsletter GraceNotes. Enjoy!

Thought this post was share-worthy:

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2015/07/01/40-questions-for-christians-now-waving-rainbow-flags/

Last week, after the Supreme Court decision regarding same-sex marriage. As a reminder, and in an effort to be clear, I posted our position on the issue as a church. You can read that post here.

We made an announcement on Sunday restating that position and referenced some helpful resources you can equip yourself with. The links to those resources are provided below.

So-Called Same-Sex Marriage Lamenting the New Calamity

What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?

MAKING SENSE OF SCRIPTURE’S ‘INCONSISTENCY’

Remember church, as followers of Christ we are a people of grace, and truth. We hate sin, but love sinners (ourselves included). We are commanded to reach out, but warned to never sell out. We are in the world, but not of the world. This world is not our home, but it is our mission field. We serve as faithful stewards of gospel, speaking the truth in love, for the glory of God. Whatever the cost, God is worthy.

If you’ve been around our church, Grace Bible Fellowship, for any amount of time, our position on marriage shouldn’t be a surprise to you. As a church, seeking to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we believe that marriage is defined biblically as a sacred relationship between one man and one woman. I often recommend Tim Keller’s book The Meaning of Marriage for a greater understanding of how biblical marriage puts the gospel on display. Marriage is a gospel issue.

Also, if you have been around our church, you know that we don’t promote hate, but rather love, of everyone. We believe that all humans were created in the image of God. That God has called us ALL to repentance, faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and the pursuit of holiness. We believe in grace…and truth. Our mindset needs to be one that glorify God, by holding high the banner truth, in love.

The following video is a good reminder of how we can respond to The Supreme Court’s Decision on Same-Sex Marriage.

Tonight, we start Mega Sports Camp, a great time to share life and the gospel of Jesus with kids and leaders! Our first night of teaching will come from the Old Testament book of 2Kings ch 5. It’s the story of a little girl, who was a slave to the wife of Naaman, a powerful general who suffered from leprosy.  This little girl had every reason in the world to be bitter, angry, and want nothing but horrible things for her owners, Naaman and his wife. But instead, she chose to show forgiveness and grace, pointing Naaman to the God who not only heals horrible diseases like leprosy, but also heals the even worse disease of a prideful heart.

This servant girl points us to the ultimate servant – Jesus, who also chose to act in extravagant forgiveness and grace, dying in our place on a cross, making a way for us to have our hearts healed and be restored to God.

If you would like to review this story with your kids, or get a better grasp of it for yourself, I highly recommend the Jesus Storybook Bible. The story, ‘A little servant girl and the proud general’ can be found on p.136.

If you don’t have the Jesus Storybook Bible check it out here. I have it in both hard copy, and on Kindle.