Grace Blog
The Glory of Plodding Visionaries
Kevin DeYoung, in his TableTalk article, recently wrote:
It’s sexy among young people — my generation — to talk about ditching institutional religion and starting a revolution of real Christ-followers living in real community without the confines of church. Besides being unbiblical, such notions of churchless Christianity are unrealistic. It’s immaturity actually, like the newly engaged couple who think romance preserves the marriage, when the couple celebrating their golden anniversary know it’s the institution of marriage that preserves the romance. Without the God-given habit of corporate worship and the God-given mandate of corporate accountability, we will not prove faithful over the long haul.
What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. That’s my dream for the church — a multitude of faithful, risktaking plodders. The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.
This excellent article is worth your time. Be sure to read the whole thing. May God raise up an army of plodding visionaries here at Grace!
Labels: Cape Coral, Christianity, Grace Baptist Church, Kevin DeYoung | posted by TimBrister at 12:37 pm | Categories: Community, Encouragement, Holiness |
Preparing for Grace Gathered :: January 31, 2010
Over the past couple of months, God has continued to use the Sunday gatherings to minister to more and more people from our community. It is exciting to see how God is working in our community and with that comes a stewardship of and sensitivity to the needs that accompany these people. The elders continue to ask those of you in the Grace family that can the early service to please consider doing so to allow for more seating in our 10:45 service.
If you are new to the area or are looking to attend one of our services this Sunday, visit our “New to Grace” menu on our website where you will find information such as directions, what to expect, and other frequently asked questions. We look forward to meeting you and have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus and how He has changed our lives!
Bible Study: 1 Samuel
During our Sunday morning Bible Study (beginning at 9:30am), Rick Tarter will continue his teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. This class is provided for all adults, and the children and youth will continue their various studies through Desiring God Children’s curriculum and other book studies.
Grace Gathered (Worship Services)
In our gathered services, we will have the opportunity to witness the baptism of Adrian Wilkinson in the 10:45 service and participate in the Lord’s Supper in the 6:00pm service as well. Pastor Tom Ascol will be starting a new sermon series through the book of 1 Corinthians, and we encourage you to take the time to become more familiar with this letter written by Paul as well as the church in Corinth.
During our evening gathering, we will have the opportunity to hear from the Ascol’s regarding their trip to Central Asia as well as a report from the Providence church plant in East Lee County. As we gather together this weekend, dwell on the lyrics to “Every Promise” as we seek to be filled with faith in all that God has promised to be for His people, according to His Word!
From The Breaking Of The Dawn (Every Promise)
From the breaking of the dawn
To the setting of the sun
I will stand on every promise of Your Word
Words of power strong to save
That will never pass away
I will stand on every promise of Your Word
For Your covenant is sure
And on this I am secure
I can stand on every promise of Your Word
When I stumble and I sin
Condemnation pressing in
I will stand on every promise of Your Word
You are faithful to forgive
That in freedom I might live
So I stand on every promise of Your Word
Guilt to innocence restored;
You remember sins no more
So I’ll stand on every promise of Your Word
When I’m faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I’ll stand on every promise of Your Word
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
And You’ve promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I’ll stand on every promise of Your Word
Hope that lifts me from despair
Love that casts out every fear
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
Not forsaken not alone
For the Comforter has come
And I stand on every promise of Your Word
Grace sufficient grace for me
Grace for all who will believe
We will stand on every promise of Your Word
Reminders
1. Those who are look to visit with us or are coming down as Snowbirds, please note the schedule change for Sunday morning. We have two morning services (8:00 and 10:45) with Sunday School in the middle at 9:30am.
2. We have customized a Bible Reading Plan with bookmarks that you can pick up at the Welcome Center. If you have not considered reading through the Bible in a year or have never done so, be encouraged and give it a try! You can also access the bookmarks here on our website.
3. Next Sunday, we will be meeting in our Grace Community Groups beginning at 6:00pm. If you are not part of one of our groups and would like to be, please see Pastor Tim who will assist you in getting connected with a group in your area. For more information, click here.
4. Pastor Tim will be leading the “Intro to Grace” classes on Monday, February 15 and 22. These meetings are for regular attenders inquiring about membership and those in the membership process. We also welcome those in our community who are new to Grace and would like to know more about who we are, what we believe, and where we believe God is taking us in the future to join us as well. The meetings will be from 7:00-9:00pm. The meeting on the 15th will be in the home of Tom & Donna Ascol, and the 22nd in the home of Tim and Dusti Brister.
– Words and Music to “Every Promise” by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend. Copyright © 2005 Thank You Music
Labels: Cape Coral, Florida, Grace Baptist Church, Grace Gathered | posted by TimBrister at 9:22 am | Categories: Holiness |
The Life and Death Power of Words
Watch this powerful clip by Paul Tripp on the directional power of our words.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Life and Death, Paul Tripp, Words | posted by TimBrister at 2:24 pm | Categories: Holiness, Words |
The Words of Men and the Reign of Christ
In his book, War of Words, Paul Tripp explains the relationship between our attempt to rule others with our words and how that attempt is rivaling the rule and reign of Christ in our lives. Consider this thoughtful and powerful exhortation from Tripp about how our actions sometimes reflect or reject the rule of Christ in our lives.
“The final word that summarizes the resources we have been given in Christ is rule. Paul says that Christ is “head over everything for the church, which is his body” (Eph. 1:22-23). There is no situation we will ever encounter that is not ruled by Christ. Our lives are not out of control. Christ carefully administers them for our benefit and his glory.
“This idea of Christ’s headship and rule goes right to the place in our communication where we often get into the most trouble. Often our words reveal an attempt to control things for our own good. We are moved by a personal sense of what we want or what we think would be good, and so we speak in a way that guarantees we will get it. We defend, accuse, inflict guilt, manipulate, rationalize, argue, cajole, beg, plead, or threaten, all for the purpose of controlling a person or situation.
“Sometimes we do this out of fear. It really does feel as if our lives are spinning out of control. It does seem as if the people around us are standing in the way of what is best. It seems right to take control. If we don’t, then what will happen? But fear-driven talk forgets one of the most precious promises of the gospel: that Christ right now, at this moment, is ruling all things for our particular benefit as his children. I may not always see his hand and I won’t always recognize the good he is doing. but he is active and ruling all the same. Communication that attempts to find personal security by taking control forgets one of the sweetest provisions of the Word, God’s control over all things for his children.
“Another way to say this is that our words often reveal that we are not so much trusting in the Lord as we are trying to be him. We are attempting to do with our words what only he can do. When we do, we will fail, hurting ourselves and those around us.”
- Paul Tripp, War of Words, 46-48.
Labels: Christ the King, Paul Tripp, Rule of Christ, War of Words | posted by TimBrister at 10:02 am | Categories: Encouragement, Holiness |
Holiness by Humility - A Community Project
In his amazingly helpful book, Humility, C.J. Mahaney writes,
“The pursuit of humility cannot be a solitary endeavor. . . . On our own, you and I will never develop a competency for recognizing our own sin. We’ll always need help. Never forget that others see what you do not. Where you’re blind to sin, their vision is often twenty-twenty. And by God’s grace they can impart clarity to help protect you from the hardening effects of sin. Others can exhort you, encourage you, and correct you. They are a gift from God in your battle against sin. And you never grow out of this need. Never.”
Every Christian should have a passionate pursuit of holiness. And yet, if we would be honest with ourselves, it is easy to have that passion fizzle and fade. God has so purposed the church that the passion to be like Him is fanned into a flame through the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, their words of encourage, exhortation, and yes, rebuke. When we do not live in community with one another, we divorce ourselves from one of the greatest means of pursuing holiness by humbly inviting and accepting correction from others. Mahaney rightly asserts, “Without others’ help to see myself clearly, I’ll listen to my own arguments, believe my own lies, and buy into my own delusions.”
Holiness is pursued with humility because none of us recognize our spiritual blind spots–the places where indwelling sin has yet to be exposed by the light of God’s Word. The Apostle John plain explains this to us when he wrote,
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:6-8
We need the light of God’s Word and the light of a holy communion of the saints to continue to expose the darkness. Fellowship with one another–true biblical community–is dependent upon walking (daily, continual lifestyle) in the light. Wherever darkness is found in a humble believer, he embraces the light which exposes that sin of which he readily repents. As Paul Tripp argues, our own spiritual perception is as accurate as a carnival mirror. When we humbly submit ourselves to the mirror of God’s perfect Word and also to correction from God’s people, your heart and life becomes fertile ground to grow in grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Practically speaking, Mahaney offers these two suggestions:
1. Humbly recognize your need for others.
I’m convinced that left to myself, if I’m seeking to grow by myself, I’ll only be deficient in discerning sin within, and I’ll therefore experience only limited growth in godliness. . . . I need help, and so do you. You can’t effectively watch yourself by yourself; you need the discerning eyes of others.
2. Humbly and aggressively participate.
Don’t assume that by merely attending a group, by merely associating with those who are godly, you’re therefore satisfying God and growing in godliness. That is deception. We must pursue humble and aggressive participation, and that means consistently confessing our sin as well as inviting and welcoming correction from others, particularly when we’ve come together for that very purpose.
If you’re in a small group for fellowship and accountability, are you humbly and aggressively participating or merely observing? Are you actually hoping to avoid correction? Do you experience a certain perverse relief when your sin has gone undetected? Are you regularly informing others of your temptations and sins, or do you present to them a edified and flattering version of yourself?
Community groups do not exist for the sake of having community groups. They exist for the sake of biblical community–a community that requires active participation both in the giving and receiving of correction as we together pursue being a community of light in this world. As we passionately seek to become more like Christ, we will grow together and work together to reach a world in darkness for Christ!
Labels: C.J. Mahaney, Community, Holiness, Humility | posted by TimBrister at 8:10 am | Categories: Community, Holiness, Humility |
