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.

CS Lewis felt that sexual immorality, anger, greed, drunkenness..were just fleabites in comparison to pride. He taught that the sin of pride precedes every other sin and called pride “a complete anti-God state of mind.”

Proverbs 8:13 says that God hates pride…

Proverbs 16:5 says if you have pride you are an abomination to God.

PRIDE is the chief vice of humanity, gospel-centered humility is the great virtue. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, NOT glorify self and enjoy self forever.

The more pride we have, the more we dislike it in others. The prideful person hates the person at the party who gets all the attention, because THEY want all the attention.

Pride is unquenchable thirst, because it doesn’t just want something, it wants to have more of something than everyone else has. Pride doesn’t just want possessions it wants more possessions than everyone else. It doesn’t want power, it wants more power than everyone else. Pride drives us, not to make a comfortable living, but to make such an extravagant living that it makes others feel uncomfortable.

Pride thwarts real generosity because the only reason a prideful person gives is to make them feel superior, not to truly help anyone. Pride will isolate you from having any real friends bc people represent competition. Pride causes us to use people to promote us. Pride is the great community killer.

Pride will not only hurt you personally and socially, the worst part about pride or the absence of humility are the implications on how we relate to God. The proud person won’t submit to God.

Bc the ONLY way to relate to God is in humility.

The world praises pride is disdains humility. If you don’t believe me watch what happens when someone witnesses you responding to criticism with humility, what do they usually say??? Something like, “I wouldn’t let them talk to me like that…are you going ot let them talk to you like that???” now you have a new bout with pride, right?

I’m still praying a prayer that I shared with our church ac couple of weeks ago. God has been faithful to answer this prayer. It’s based on Psalm 139:23-24:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! 

The prayer goes like this:

Search me, God, know my heart and thoughts. Reveal to me any grievous way of PRIDE in me…and to lead me in the way of humility, the way of faith in Christ, the way of life everlasting??

I’ve got a lot of glorious work to, rather God has a lot of glorious work to do, in my prideful heart. You?

We celebrated baptism Sunday!

…buried..with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4