Here’s a link to the handout from Sunday’s message:

Gospel vs Religion

God was so gracious to give us so much to celebrate on Resurrection Sunday.  The ordinances of Baptisms and The Lord’s Supper, God’s people lifting up their voices in song of praise to our King, The Word of God from Romans 8 — the love of God in Christ Jesus that we can not be separated from, BEAUTIFUL!  And then, to top it all off, a POWERFUL testimony from one of those baptized, Devon Mize.  I have heard LOTS of feedback regarding the things Devon shared. It was powerful. Devon shared a ton of great things about Jesus and how he has changed his life. Here are a few that I remember: 

“Jesus may have looked like a liar or a lunatic on Friday when he was crucified, but when he rose from the dead on Sunday, He proved that he was LORD.”

“I’m a part of Jarod and Lara’s small group and the Tuesday morning men’s study. I need that community.” 

“Before I was a Christian, I thought I was really awesome, and I didn’t really see how that was hurting people around me.”

“I make a really sorry God.”

“I use to think that you had to have it all together to be a part of the church, but Jesus said he came for the sick, no the well.”

The whole thing took about 10 minutes, but it was 10 minutes that people won’t soon forget. If you are reading this, I’d like for you to consider sharing a YOUR testimony in a similar way. You may be thinking that your not a good public speaker. I get it, getting in front of people can be a scary thing. But can I tell you that people appreciate someone NOT being a “slick” presenter? It’s refreshing. If you fumble your words, they can relate. Also, and I mean this in the most loving way possible, you sharing about what Christ has done….is not about you. It’s not. It’s about Jesus. In your testimony, you hold a GREAT source of encouragement to other Christians and an excellent way to share the gospel with people who don’t know the Lord Jesus. Please consider doing what Devon did. You won’t regret it.

If you are considering, it can be as simple as answering the following questions:

1. 1Peter 3:15 says that we should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in us. What is the reason for the hope that is in you?

2. 2Corinthians 5:17 says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. What is an evidence that you are a new creation in Christ?

3. What would you say to someone who is skeptical of Christianity?

If you would like to share your testimony with me, PLEASE let me know roy@thegbf.com I would LOVE to hear it. And certainly, if you are willing to share with the church family, we can discuss that too! 

I love our church. It’s a great privilege to serve as pastor to this great body of believers. 

Have a great rest of the week.  -roy

 

 

 

Taken from a GBF sermon on Romans 8:28-30

Divine sovereignty and human responsibility, which is it? It’s both. The key to a right view of divine sovereignty is also a right view of human responsibility, the Bible speaks unapologetically of both.

JI Packer, in his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God,  describes the existence of both divine sovereignty and human responsibility, an “antinomy”. An antimony exists when a pair of principles stand side by side, seemingly irreconcilable, yet both are undeniable.

Packer points out that modern physics faces an antinomy in the study of light. Evidence shows that light consist of waves, and equal evidence shows that light exists in particles. Well which is it? Light or particles? Both. Neither view can be ruled out in favor of the other. And you can learn from both. Because both are true.

We deal with divine sovereignty much the way that physics deals with light. Is man responsible? Yes. Is God Sovereign? Yes. It’s not something that our minds can fully grasp, but that doesn’t give us liberty to dismiss either principle.

Isaiah 55:8-9 offers a great reminder when we approach challenging truths of Scripture ...For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Here is a link to JI Packer’s book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

 

 

The Monday before Jesus was crucified, he approached the temple in the busy city of Jerusalem. The temple was suppose to be a place of prayer for the nations, but had become a place of selfishly ambitious “buying and selling.” Seeing this, Jesus did something so outrageous it made people want to kill him. He flipped the tables and seats of the money changers and sellers and stopped people from carrying things through the temple. He treated the temple like he owned the place, because he did. 

I shared this story with my 6 year old daughter a couple of nights ago, and she immediately said “Jesus wouldn’t do that!” I smiled and explained Jesus’ righteous anger, and that he actually DID do that.  My little girl had a limited understanding of Jesus, so do we. 

While Jesus has never flipped tables at my house or in my church, he has flipped tables in my heart. I was a sinful idol factory, worshiping myself, not God. Jesus wrecked shop in me, and gave me a new heart. He treated my life like he owned it, because by God’s grace, he does. By his death on the cross and resurrection he paid for my sin, saved me from hell, and displayed his power over everything including death. I am right with God because of Jesus. He’s all I have, all I want, all I need. 

I’d like to tell you that Jesus flipping tables in my sinful heart was a one time thing, but that’s not the case. My sin runs deep, but his grace runs deeper. Grace to forgive, but also grace to redeem. He’s still doing radical work in me. I’m so thankful I serve a Savior who is faithful to keep flipping tables in my life. Our body is the temple of His Spirit…He is still faithful to cleanse his temple.

…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 

Do you know my Savior, Jesus? Have you put your faith in Him? Are you following Jesus or following the world? Glorifying God or glorifying self? Tired of living for the wrong things? Jesus says “follow me…”

I’d love to talk to you about Jesus and my heavenly Father. If I can help you in any way, please email me roy@thegbf.com

It is the privilege and responsibility of every Christian to share the gospel with others. The app below, Knowing God Personally, from Campus Crusade For Christ, can help:

Get the Knowing God Personally App by going to the following link
http://itunes.com/apps/knowinggodpersonally

Other than the Bible, no other book has formed my understanding of prayer more than A Praying Life, By: Paul Miller. I highly recommend it. 

Does teaching the Bible hurt our chances at evangelism? Great post at the link below:

What I have learned about and from Church history has been a real game changer for me. I’ve come to understand that Christians have a great advantage in facing issues today by observing how they have been addressed for 2000 years. Makes sense right? But beyond the benefit from learning from our past, Church history is just so cool! It’s the history of the Holy Spirit working through people to make Jesus known. The stories are in every sense of the word, AWESOME. 

I just ordered the series of books below in hopes to teach my kids church history, and to learn more myself. (Yes, I still learn a lot from kids books. Don’t hate)  You can get this series for 50% off, which is less than $5 per book, for a limited time here.

I’ll let ya know how I like mine as soon as they come in and I put them to use!

Yesterday we held our church membership class for perspective members of Grace Bible. Some ask, what the point of church membership? Is it even Biblical? This post at the link below offers some clear and informative thoughts on the subject.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/03/28/is-church-membership-really-required/