Myself and the other elders at Grace Bible went on our annual retreat this past weekend. Elder retreats are a time for us to be enriched in our calling, discuss the health and direction of our church family, and be sharpened for our calling and commission as leaders. This year we used a resource titled ‘Gospel Eldership, Equipping a Generation of Servant Leaders’ as study material for our time. The book is a great book for those who would like to know more about what it means to be an elder in Christ’s local church, or any Christian looking to faithfully serve. You can find it on Amazon here.  I know I can speak for our elder team when I say that we are excited about the work that God has entrusted to us at Grace Bible. We are deeply committed to the gospel, and the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. We covet your prayers, that we lead and love well. 

April was a month FULL of gospel opportunities, relationships and God-glorifying FUN at Grace Bible. Here are a few highlights, beginning with the most recent:

FROM GraceKids LAST SUNDAY…

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus isLord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 What an awesome group of kids!!! Thanks Alicia, and all of our GraceKids and IMPACT leaders. You are making a difference for Christ in the lives of the kids you teach!

BREAKAWAY WEEKEND (7-12th Grade)

RECENT SERMON

In our most recent sermon we continued our Redeemed series with our 2nd message on the topic of repentance. Our opening text of Scripture was 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation withoutregret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

We then looked at a story that Jesus told that illustrates true repentance, The Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-32.

You can listen to ‘Repentance and a Community of Grace’ (as well as all of our recent messages  here.

LADIES CALLED TO COUNSEL…

Last weekend 4/29 we had several ladies from our church attend the “Called To Counsel” conference to learn more about biblical counseling. We are so thankful for their willingness to serve and grow!

MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

Tuesday April 25th our Tuesday mens group began a challenging new study, Follow Me. Mark Hales is leading the study.  Join us if you’d like, men, Tuesdays, 6am!

OUR NEW FULL-TIME STUDENT MINISTER

Sunday, April 23rd we were thrilled to announce that Price Ferrell will be our full time Student Minister beginning mid-May.

EASTER SUNDAY!!!

We had a GREAT turnout for our Easter worship service held Gunter High School. Thank you so much to those who helped to make it happen!

…baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit…Matthew 28:19

Our a current sermon series “Redeemed” kicked off on Easter Sunday.  In him we have redemption  through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…Ephesians 1:7

PALM SUNDAY!!!!

Our annual Palm Sunday celebration was a blast, as always. We love our church family!

On the Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus was at the temple in Jerusalem. He is now just just days before his crucifixion. He has already made quite an entrance and cause quite a stir. He entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise from a crowd of people who wanted to crown him king. He entered the temple and flipped the tables of the money changers and those selling animals for temple sacrifices. This has some Jewish leaders asking “who does this Jesus think he is?” Which leads us to the following exchange in Mark 11…
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”

We are not always fond of having authority over us. But we expect there to be an authority over others, don’t we? Think about it, when something goes wrong with someone, we go to that persons authority. You might have said something like this before, “Could I talk to your manager??” or “could I please speak with your supervisor??”
Authority matters, a lot. So who is our ultimate authority? Who has the final say so in our life.

Before Jesus ever claimed to have any type of authority it was self evident:
Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
Jesus had displayed his authority by his teaching (Mk 1:22) and then backed it up with miracles signs and wonders (Mk 1:27). It seems like his authority had been established! But not in Jerusalem. Not in the temple–the place where you come for the presence of God, for the wisdom of God. To the rulers of the temple in Jerusalem, what Jesus did out in rural communities and remote synagogues was of small potatoes compared to the Jerusalem temple. Plus these weren’t just common people that were questioning Jesus’ authority these were the cheif priests, scribes, and elders, people recognized power and influence with legitimate title and position. They were men of authority, and if Jesus wasn’t running things by them, who is he running things by??? So they’re asking,what gives you the right to do these things Jesus? By what AUTHORITY do you act?
Jesus is going to answer, but not directly. 
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 

So Jesus question is simple, Who gave John the Baptist authority (remember John was the fore-runner for Jesus, but he has been imprisoned and beheaded by now.) Jesus points to the fact that John baptized people and proclaimed the forgiveness of sins apart from the temple. He had a rural ministry, by what authority did he do that? Also notable, Jesus is connected to John the Baptist. Jesus is in effect saying, John the Baptist gave me his full endorsement! John the Baptist had said that his whole purpose, was to make the way for Jesus.
They knew that John the Baptist authority came from God, and so the natural conclusion is that Jesus authority was God as well. So what now??
Back to the text:
31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”-they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The cheif priests, scribes, and elders knew the answer. But they were more interested in protecting themselves and their own rank and their own authority to answer honestly. They knew the truth, they just chose to suppress it.
I wonder if we are sometimes like these temple rulers who ask questions, not to get answers but to try and protect and maintain our own status???
 Our current culture thinks it’s cool to be seeking, but not so cool to have found anything. We have developed a phobia of being called closed minded about anything. We are low commitment, low conformity, loose principals but not much absolute truth. 

We wanted to be open minded, but to what end? The whole purpose of an open mind is to know when to close on something that is true and hold on to it!
One thing we can learn from this text is that Jesus is the Chuck Norris of debate!!! But there’s more to be learned. Jesus has ultimate authority. He has divine right to govern our lives. This means that we are to be people of God’s Word, seeking his will and way for our lives. How much time do we spend rationalizing what is clearly taught against in the Word of God? We go to great lengths dismiss things as cultural or use our personality, or circumstances to dismiss the voice of Jesus and listen to another. 
We sometimes ask, “did Jesus really say we shouldn’t….????” Does that phraseology sound familiar???? That’s what the serpent said in the Garden of Eden to Eve!!! Gen 3:1 “Did God actually say ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” Satan’s game is still the same, “Did God say that was a sin? How lame. That’s old school thinking.” He’ll do anything to get us to doubt God as our authority.

Another question, how much of our life is different because we are applying the wisdom of God to it? Why do our family do this or that? Why do we go where we go? Spend time with who we spend time with? Watch what we watch, read what we read? Has the authority of God reached our life and actions?

Who has authority in our life? Who’s wisdom are we taking instead of Jesus’? Can you trust that source? 
Having Jesus as your ultimate authority will look foolish to many people. 
Businessmen and women, your company may think some of your decisions are strange and don’t make sense because you have God in mind and not just the bottom line. Parents, if Jesus is the authority of your parenting, your approach is going to seem strange to people. To diligently teach your kids to love God and pursue Him is foreign to many. Young people who hold Jesus as their authority are setting themselves up for all kinds of criticism. It’s not easy to live set apart, but we can’t let people who don’t have your best interest at heart be our authority? 

Having Jesus as our authority isn’t bad news for us. We are going to pick an authority, some voice in our life will rise to the top priority, and we will work diligently to obey that voice to fulfill what that voice is requiring of us. Who will it be? There’s no one more powerful, wiser, no one more forgiving, no one merciful, more gracious, more loving, no one who has proven their love for us by laying down their life for us…no one but Jesus, the ultimate authority.

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:15-17

It’s Monday of Holy Week. Jesus is just days away from being crucified. He enters the temple, and in a display of calculated righteous anger, flips the tables of those exchanging currency and selling animals for temple sacrifice. Don’t be surprised at Jesus’ actions here. It’s well in keeping with who he is. As we said at Grace Bible yesterday, Jesus is a a rare combination of boldness and humility. Jesus doesn’t hesitate to wash the feet of his disciples(John 13), but he also refuses to silence those who worship him (Luke 19). He’s humble, not modest, bold, not arrogant. 
Jesus had good reason for what he did in the temple that Monday. What should have been a “house of prayer” – a place to approach God in reverence had become noisy and busy.  
Jesus said it was a place of prayer “for all nations.” The outer court of the temple, the area that Jesus was in, was suppose to be a place for even the Gentile people to come and approach God. But instead it had become a place for religious people, the Jews, to make things easier for themselves. It had become a self-seeking place instead of a life giving service to people.
The Nation of Israel was never meant to exist for themselves. They were as Gen 12:1-2 says, “blessed to be a blessing”. The temple was by design, a place for those who didn’t know God to have a place to approach Him, but now it’s purpose had been distorted. Jesus wants its to be restored to its original intent. He wants people who have access to God to desire others to have the same.
God has never been unclear about that for his people. Once we have God, and all that he affords to us (justification, forgiveness, love, hope, relationship with Him, His spirit within us, eternity, purpose for life, etc) we can stop asking what’s in it for me, and ask what do I have to offer others. We’re blessed to be a blessing. God changes people from selfish to selfless. 
Jesus, was once asked, what’s the greatest commandment? He said, in short, Love God, and love others….Hmm, Jesus? Really? What about more convenience and comfort for us? Nope. What about creating a subculture of moralistic rule keeping, where we talk bad about the world around us instead of lovingly sharing the gospel??? Nope.
How are we doing???? Ephesians 2:19 says that we are now the temple. If people who dont know God come to usi, will they find us ready to share the message of Christ or selflessly pursuing our own convenience.
Is there something in life keeping us from being about the love of God and a blessing to others? Would he flip the tables of our lives?… Of our church???

In Mark 11:18 we see that when the the chief priests and scribes heard what Jesus had said they plotted to kill him. This is a horrific response but you can see why they think that it is rational. Jesus had walked the temple and made it very evident to the people in charge that he felt like their approach to God, and thus their approach to life, was completely wrong. It would seem irrational for the cheif priests and scribes to think of Jesus has merely an interesting man or a good teacher. The men at the temple had to make a decision, would they protect their way of doing things or would they receive Jesus as their authority. It was man’s pursuit of self-righteousness that had the temple in the shape that Jesus found it in, and it would be protecting that pursuit of self-righteousness that would drive the Chief priests to plot and eventually crucify Jesus. A horrible response, but a rational one.
What decision will we make? Will we embrace Jesus and Lord as Savior and die to self and live for him? Or will we wholesale reject him and be Lord of our own life? One thing is for sure, Jesus is not content to be in the peripherals of our life. He did not come and buy us out of the bondage of sin to be a distant voice in our lives, but rather THE VOICE in our lives.   
The temple had become a place for selfish gain, it was suppose to be a place for worship of God and a blessing to others. 

Our life can become about selfish gain instead of about the worship of God and being a blessing to others. I pray this Holy Week will be  a time for us to regain our awe of Christ and what he did for us on the cross, and realign ourselves to worship Him! 

Sunday at Grace Bible we finished preaching through the book of John. Verse by verse, 77 sermons, that spanned from 2/21/15 to 4/2/17. We had a few stand alone sermons and a couple of mini-series along the way, but for the most part we have been in the book of John for over 2 years.

A couple reflections and a word of thanks upon completing the series:

I’ve learned a ton! What we did in John was called “expository preaching” — which, in short, is where you take time to carefully draw out the meaning of a text of Scripture, given it’s original context and intent. I can’t begin to explain how much my knowledge of my Lord and Savior has been furthered in this series. It seems the stories of peoples lives and encounters with Jesus have come especially alive. I’ve been able to see my relationship with Jesus through their experiences. Passages and verses that I have heard for years took on a whole new light. Multiple times I found myself saying “OHHH THAT’S WHAT THAT MEANS.” I’ve said before when preaching through books of the Bible, I get to the end and think, “WOW, now I AM REALLY ready to preach this thing!” I honestly think I could start over in John this week and do the whole thing again. (don’t worry church family, I won’t :-))

God is so faithful! God’s Word is such treasure and so pregnant with truth. He has truly blessed us by revealing himself to us in written form. Going through John has reminded me once again of the guess work that God has removed by the Bible. The Bible, including John shows us how to make sense of ourselves, the world around us, and eternity. The gospel of John is so much more than a book, it’s an evidence of God’s faithfulness! Thank you God for your Word and the privilege to share it with your people! 2Timothy 3:16!!

I hope I get to keep doing this till the Lord calls me home. Sadly, preaching the Bible has become somewhat of an anomaly. Many churches/pastors feel pressured to keep their church’s numbers climbing, and to do so they feel their preaching subjects need to come from hot topics found in current media and headlines. But our world is not short on cultural commentary, what we are short on God’s timeless truth found in the Word. The Bible was not given to us primarily as a tool to fight “culture wars” but rather as life-giving truth to engage the culture! Still others feel we should preach a specific brand of church in order to keep people “bought in” and “on board.” But we’re not tasked to grow the show, we are called to grow people in Christ! — The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

A word of thanks. The thing about preaching is, you need somebody to listen! Thank you church family. Thank you for being hungry for truth. The fact is, you could get a better preacher than me, and God’s Word is ALWAYS true with or without me as your pastor. Y’all don’t need me. God definitely doesn’t need me. But y’all let me be your pastor. And God has seen fit to use me (yes, even me). And Church family, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who loves you and appreciates you as much as I do. Thank you, Grace Bible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hey we ain’t done yet, right! We’ll be in Luke 19:28-40 for Palm Sunday, this week. Stay for pot luck and all kinds of fun after the service. Then, starting a new series “REDEEMED”, on the redemptive work of Christ in our lives on Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday service will be held at Gunter High School and include baptisms! Bring your friends, and bring your Bibles, we’re gonna need ’em!

Hebrews 11:7 reflects on the faithful life of Noah and says,

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard the story of Noah’s Ark, but it’s a lot. My 9 and 6 yr old daughters recently memorized Hebrews 11:7, and as they did I’m thinking, y’all need to get this! Turns out I needed to get it too. A recent study of Genesis has helped me see Noah in a new light. Noah has given me an urgency to live life and it’s entirety for God and His glory.

Do you know what an ark is? Not a boat, an ark—that’s what God commanded Noah to build. An ark is basically a box, or a chest. Noah basically built a huge wooden container, 1 1/2 football fields long. It wasn’t a boat. Boat’s have a rudder, or a sail to steer the vessel. Boats, especially big ones, are built near water. Noah was landlocked, no water around him. In the time of Noah it hadn’t even rained.  The ark didn’t make sense! Noah was building/acting in pure faith.

Can you imagine how foolish he must’ve looked? We hate that don’t we? –Looking like a fool. It’s why we hate to be lied to. When someone lies to us we typically aren’t filled with righteous anger because someone has broken God’s command not to lie, we are ticked off because we were disrespected, and made to look and feel like a fool. Noah would have had no respect from the people of his day, he was regarded as a fool. But a fool for God is no fool at all.

Do you know how long he spent building this gigantic wooden container? 100 yrs. This wasn’t a weekend project or a 6 month hobby, this was Noah’s life work.  Day after day, week after week, year after year, looking like a fool, building an ark. Why did he do all of this? Because he had a word from God. His reverent fear of God was bigger in his heart than the opinion of others. Noah’s present life was completely changed and governed by a future fact—that’s what it means to live by faith. 

But, can we REALLY learn anything about how to live from Noah? His circumstances were way different, right? We don’t need to build an ark to be saved. Regarding our salvation, our ark has already been built, by Jesus! Our right standing and relationship with God is made possible by the FINISHED work of Christ done FOR us. Noah’s Ark was just a picture of the perfect salvation that God would bring to us in Christ’s work on the cross, his death, burial and resurrection. (PRAISE GOD!) But still, there is much for us to learn from Noah’s life of faith. Like Noah, our lives ought to be changed, and governed by a future fact of eternal life with God. 

What is our version of building an ark? I believe it’s how we live, and what we build our lives around! God tells us to look at all that God has given us in Christ, and respond by giving up our lives to him by showing how much he is worth. He tells us not to be like the world, but rather to have our minds continually renewed so we can live God’s will (Romans 12:1-2). God’s Word talks about the “unseen” eternal realities we should look to, and tells us that things of this world are passing away (2 Cor 4:18).  Jesus said to live for, and invest in things, that have eternal value and to fix our hearts on treasures in heaven or not things that are wasting away (Matthew 6:19)? The apostle Paul said “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor 10:31).

It seems the Bible is clear, you and I will either live by faith for God’s glory and build an ark, or live like the world and build a sandcastle. I don’t think I’m overstating things when I say the real question is, will we waste our lives, or will they they mean something? I’d rather look like a fool in the eyes of the world, than to waste my life, in the eyes of God.

Years ago I read a book, Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper. It’s hard to explain the impact it had on my life at the time. As I have revisited Noah’s story in Genesis, I’ve been reminded of some of the life-changing Biblical truth brought to light for me in that book. He talks about living in a “wartime mind-set”– living for God and using everything we can to further His Kingdom, and enjoy him forever. Here’s a excerpt from the book:

“I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth “home.” Before you know it, I am calling luxeries “needs” and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don’t think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set.” He goes on to say “…whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.” 

John Piper is probably best known for saying “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Man, that is THE TRUTH! And we wont be satisfied in Him until our lives are built by Him, around Him, and for Him! Let’s build an ark!

Because I live, you also will live. -Jesus (Jn 14:19)

God sent his son
They called him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He bled and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives

Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know he holds the future
My life is worth the living just because he lives

And then one day
I’ll cross the river
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain
And then as death
Gives way to victory
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know he lives

Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know he holds the future
My life is worth the living just because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know he holds the future
My life is worth the living just because he lives

Recently, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks became one of six players in NBA history to score 30,000 regular season points, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. Congrats came pouring in, not only from fans, but players and coaches as well. To me these kinds of accomplishments are especially noteworthy–the kind that can only come from sticking with it and staying devoted for a long, long time. Dirk began his NBA career with the Mavs in 1998.  He’s seen a lot of players come and go and outlasted a lot of temporary flashes in the pan. I read recently that in practice Dirk playfully told Mavs guard Seth Curry “I shot over your daddy (Dell Curry). I’ve shot over your brother (Steph Curry). Now I’m shooting over you.”  Seth Curry was 8 yrs old when Dirk started playing NBA basketball. There’s a special satisfaction and reward that can only come through longterm faithfulness. I think theres a lesson in what Dirk has done in the NBA that we can apply to our lives as Christians.

We live in a world that is preoccupied with the immediate. We want things to happen overnight, or we are quick to lose interest. But much of the Christian life is not like that at all. Much of what we are called to is a long obedient faithfulness in a godward direction. Sure, there are a few game-changer moments along the way, but much of the Christian life is made up of small acts of faithfulness, lived out day after day, year after year.

A couple of times I’ve eaten dinner in the American Airlines Center restaurant that overlooks the Mavs practice gym. It’s where the players get in extra game-day shooting reps and work on improving their game before they go out to warm up with the team in front of the fans. Typically the practice gym is occupied by young players, guys recovering from injuries, and you guessed it–Dirk. He’s constantly doing those little things, over and over, that make him a great player. I’m told that even at age 38 he’s still a “gym rat” meaning he’s ALWAYS in the gym. A desire to be a longterm successful NBA player has required Dirk to commit to doing things he knows he needs to do even when he doesn’t feel like doing them, or when no one else is doing them, and even when no one else is looking. Does that sound familiar? The same is true for us in our spiritual disciplines. No one is going to hold our hand and make us read our Bible, pray, and worship regularly. There won’t ever be an Oscar award given for acting in integrity, but we pursue it anyway. Why? Because we know it’s worth it. We know GOD is worth it. God tells us in 1 Timothy 4:7 “discipline yourself for godliness.” It’s been said, and rightly so, that nobody stumbles into holiness.

Anything that God has commanded us to do is worth our longterm, diligent, commitment, and devotion. Let’s not trade the sweet satisfaction of longterm faithfulness, for something shallow and temporary. And as much as I love Dirk and the Mavs, faithfulness to God will get us far greater rewards than 30,000 career points! (See Matthew 6:19-21)

Here’s a great verse to read and think about on this subject:

…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith… Hebrews 12:1-2

Let’s run with ENDURANCE!

PS, I think Dirk is the greatest Dallas sports figure of all time. Who do you say is the greatest? I’d like to hear your opinions! Nolan? Aikman? Staubach? Jeff Kunkel (just kidding)…