Grace Blog
The Missional Church: A Simple Presentation
Have you ever wondered what people mean when they talk about “the missional church”? The word “missional” is being used and claimed by churches of all types with all kinds of methodology. It certainly could use some clarification in our day. In any case, below is a short, two minute video which explains in simple terms the missional church in general. I found it helpful. I hope you do too.
Labels: Cape Coral, Grace Baptist Church, The Missional Church | posted by TimBrister at 7:34 am | Categories: Missional, Resources |
2010: A Clear, Close, and Continual Looking to Jesus
I had the privilege of preaching on the first two Sunday’s of 2010, and during preparation the Lord led me to a familiar passage–Hebrews 12:1-3. Although familiar, this passage proved to be very fruitful and engaging to my own heart, and I pray that you were encouraged as well. It is my hope that this year we will have a clearer, closer, and more continual looking to Jesus. The kind of endurance we need this year is nourished in the gospel, and the danger we face each day is to allow weights to distract us or unbelief to blind us from beholding the author and finisher of our faith.
For your benefit, I am making my sermon manuscripts available here for you to download. If you would like to listen or download the audio, go here for the first sermon and go here for the second sermon.
To download my two manuscripts put into one (PDF), simply click here.
Labels: Gospel, Hebrews 12:1-3, Jesus, New Year | posted by TimBrister at 12:02 am | Categories: Jesus, Resources, Sermons |
J.I. Packer on Work and Vocation
In light of Sunday’s sermon on work by Pastor Tom, check out these short clips of J.I. Packer talking about the importance of work and vocation.
Work as a daily ministry . . .
On God and Vocation . . .
Offering your work to God . . .
Labels: Calling, Grace Baptist Church, J.I. Packer, Vocation, Work | posted by TimBrister at 2:15 pm | Categories: Resources, Work/Vocation |
Connect with and Pray for the Persecuted Church!
This past Sunday, we heard an important message from Pastor Tom about remembering those in chains and leveraging our influence for the helpless and needy around the world. In our evening gathering, we took time to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering and giving their lives because of their faith in Jesus. I want to give you some ways in which you can connect with the persecuted church both online and offline. Hope these resources and avenues will be useful to you as you take the call to remember them:
Voice of the Martyrs
* Website
* Blog
* YouTube
* Facebook
* Twitter and here
* Newsroom
* Prayer Updates
* Prisoner Alert
* Podcast
* FREE Newsletter 
* Bibles Unbound
For those on Facebook:
* Prisoner Alert Facebook App
Open Doors
* Website
* Newsroom
* Blog
* Twitter
* Facebook
* YouTube
* GET INVOLVED
* FREE Newsletter
Connect with these organizations. Link arms with fellow believers. Pray for them. Write to them. Give.
Labels: International Day of Prayer, Open Doors USA, Persecution, Voice of the Martyrs | posted by TimBrister at 1:35 pm | Categories: Persecution, Prayer, Resources |
Adding An Additional Service - Resources
Over the past couple of weeks, the pastors of Grace have sought to make available the thinking and planning as it relates to our proposal to add an additional morning worship service to our Grace Gathered schedule. Below are the articles, powerpoint presentations, and audio from messages related to this proposal (congregational meetings not available to the public).
* Practical Considerations (powerpoint in PDF)
* Practical Considerations (audio and MP3)
* Theological Considerations (powerpoint in PDF)
* Theological Considerations (audio and MP3)
* Dynamics of Church Leadership (audio and MP3)
* The Church Reformed, Always Reforming (audio and MP3)
* Summary Paper for Adding an Additional Service (PDF)
Labels: Adding Additional Service, Grace Baptist Church, Multiple Service | posted by TimBrister at 10:58 am | Categories: Administrative, Grace Gathered, Resources |
Adding An Additional Service - Pray and Participate
Over the past several months, the pastors have been meeting to assess the encroaching needs of our congregation in our gathered meetings on Sunday morning. While we grieve over the loss of several families in recent months due to the economy and relocation, God has continued to bless Grace with an increase of 35-40 more in attendance compared to last year. While the importance of this issue has not gone unnoticed, the urgency of it became acutely aware when extra chairs were necessary to seat guests during the month of August, a summer month with typically lower-than-average attendance.
Not only has seating capacity been an issue, we are also needing to address traffic flow, restroom availability, and parking availability. These practical reasons were addressed on Wednesday, October 7 by Pastor Tom. Here are the downloadable resources for your use:
* Practical Considerations (13-page PDF)
* Practical Considerations (audio/MP3)
On Wednesday, October 14, Pastor Tom (along with pastors Ken and Tim) will address the theological considerations and in particular how adding an additional service plays a part in facilitating what God is doing at Grace through the blessing of new attenders, believers, and members. A PDF and MP3 of that presentation will likely be made available as well.
The recommended Sunday morning schedule will change slightly with the addition of a new service. The pastors are recommending that beginning Sunday, November 1, 2009, the Sunday morning schedule change to the following:
8:00AM-9:15AM Early Worship
9:30AM-10:30AM Sunday School
10:45AM-12:15PM Late Worship
11:00AM-12:00PM Spanish Sunday School
12:15PM-1:45PM Spanish Worship Service
As you can imagine, there will be several opportunities to serve among the various ministry teams in both services including the nursery, greeting team, welcoming team, media team, ushers, and parking team. A survey will be made available to you on Wednesday, October 14th to discover the ways in which God may be leading you to serve in any of these areas. On the following Wednesday, October 21, we will hold our annual members’ meeting and vote on adding another Sunday morning service.
We ask that all members of Grace continue to pray and participate in this important process to discern God’s will as we seek to be faithful stewards of all His wonderful blessings, not the least of which are the people from our community who are coming to hear the gospel preached through the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is an exciting time in the life of our church, and the pastors look forward to carefully lead in a manner that faces the future in faith by addressing the present opportunities with a passion for God’s glory in the advance of His church.
Labels: Additional Service, Grace Baptist Church, Resources | posted by TimBrister at 8:27 pm | Categories: News and Announcements, Resources |
Proverbs 8 Study Guide & Discussion Questions
In our Grace Community Groups (GCGs), we have been seeking to apply God’s Word (text) to our lives (context) as preached from Pastor Tom Ascol and his series through the book of Proverbs. In our October GCG, we took up chapter eight of Proverbs, focusing on the nature, value, and accessibility of wisdom. I am making the study guide and discussion questions available online for download to anyone who might find it profitable for their small group or personal devotion.
To download the Proverbs 8 study guide and questions, click here (PDF).
Labels: Community Groups, Grace Baptist Church, Proverbs 8 | posted by TimBrister at 1:39 pm | Categories: Community, GCG Study Guides, Proverbs, Resources, Small Groups |
Taking Charge of the Television
Randy Alcorn tackles the question of how parents should handle the television when kids are out of school. Parents in many ways are gate-keepers to their children and exercise wisdom in skillfully navigating the treacherous waters of a toxic culture whose principle medium is that of the television. Alcorn offers the following 14 suggestions for “taking charge of the t.v.”:
Labels: Parenting, Shepherding Your Children's Hearts, Television | posted by TimBrister at 9:46 am | Categories: Parenting/Family, Resources |
The Sufficiency of the Gospel by Tim Keller
In his article, “The Centrality of the Gospel,” Tim Keller explains how the gospel is truly sufficient for all of life. Keller writes (emphasis mine):
We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced.” The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A-Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make progress in the kingdom.
We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience, but the gospel is the way we grow (Gal. 3:1-3) and are renewed (Col. 1:6). It is the solution to each problem, the key to each closed door, the power through every barrier (Rom. 1:16-17). It is very common in the church to think as follows. “The gospel is for non-Christians. One needs it to be saved. But once saved, you grow through hard work and obedience.” But Col. 1:6 shows that this is a mistake. Both confession and “hard work” that is not arising from and “in line” with the gospel will not sanctify you–it will strangle you. All our problems come from a failure to apply the gospel. Thus when Paul left the Ephesians he committed them “to the word of his grace, which can build you up” (Acts 20:32).
The main problem, then, in the Christian life is that we have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not “used” the gospel in and on all parts of our life. Richard Lovelace says that most people’s problems are just a failure to be oriented to the gospel–a failure to grasp and believe it through and through. Luther says, “The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine. . . . Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.” The gospel is not easily comprehended. Paul says that the gospel only does its renewing work in us as we understand it in all its truth. All of us, to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not “get” it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel. A stage of renewal is always the discovery of a new implication or application of the gospel–seing more of its truth. This is true for either an individual or a church.
Labels: Gospel, Gospel-Centered, Sufficiency of Gospel, Tim Keller | posted by TimBrister at 8:20 am | Categories: Gospel, Resources |
GBC Preaching Workshop - Week 2
This week’s preaching workshop focuses on presuppositions to faithful biblical preaching and the cultivation of a thesis statement during sermon development. For best viewing, click play and then pause the video to allow the video to buffer throughout so that you can view without hiccups. To view last week’s introduction, click here.
GBC Preaching Workshop 2 from Grace Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Preaching, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 6:56 am | Categories: Preaching, Resources, Theological Education, Videos |
Why One Group and One Place: Community Group Q&A (PDF)
This evening, I followed up with addressing two questions that have been asked: (1) Is it okay for me to attend various community groups? and (2) Can we have various host homes for the same community group? Regarding these questions, I sought to address with biblical considerations, current realities, and specific reasons why the pastors and elders recommend Grace Community Groups meet in the same place and members commit to one particular community group.
I have made the PowerPoint presentation available to download as a PDF document. To download it, click below:
“Why One Group and One Place? Grace Community Groups Q&A“
Labels: Community Groups, Grace Baptist Church, Incarnational Ministry, Theology of Place | posted by TimBrister at 8:00 pm | Categories: Community, Resources, Small Groups |
Preaching Workshop: Week 1
This past Monday night, Pastor Tom Ascol began an eight-week workshop on preaching for men of Grace. I happened to have my handy HD Kodak Zi6 with me, but I unfortunately ran out of memory! In any case, I was able to capture about one hour’s worth of his introductory lecture. In the future, I hope to be able to record the lectures in their entirety and post them here as well. If you have any problem viewing this video, let me know in the comments (hint: click play and then pause it, allowing the video to render/buffer long enough to outpace your viewing to prevent hiccups.
In this introduction, Pastor Tom addresses some basic hermeneutical principles that guide biblical preaching. Our hope is that making these videos available will prove to be a great resource for others who could not participate in our meetings on Monday night. Enjoy!
GBC Preaching Workshop Week 1 from Grace Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Preaching Workshop, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 7:04 pm | Categories: Preaching, Resources, Videos |
Resources on Union with Christ
In my last post, I mentioned a great little resource on union with Christ from the writings of John Flavel. There are a couple of other books worth checking out, though they are a little more academic in nature (and more costly!). In any case, the place where you can find nearly every resource related to the doctrine of union with Christ is on this blogpost by Phil Gons. There you will find everything from books, articles, essays, chapters, and even conference papers! Be sure to check it out.
A couple of other books that I recently picked up that might be of some interest to you are:
Mark A. Garcia, Life in Christ: Union with Christ and Twofold Grace in Calvin’s Theology (Carlisle, UK: Paternoster Press), 2008.
Maurice Roberts, Union and Communion with Christ (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books), 2008.
Labels: Resources, Theology, Union with Christ | posted by TimBrister at 1:59 pm | Categories: Jesus, Resources, Theology |
Book Recommendation: The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety
During the “Ask the Pastor” time of discussion during Bible Study, the question of union with Christ was raised, at which time I mentioned a helpful little book called The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety: John Flavel’s Doctrine of Mystical Union with Christ by J. Stephen Yuille. Dr. Yuille has mined the woks of John Flavel and presented a powerful summary of this fundamental doctrine from one of the most eminent Puritans of the 17th century, John Flavel.
Here’s the Table of Contents:
1. The Covenant of Redemption
2. The Basis of Union with Christ
3. The Nature of Union with Christ
4. The Act of Union with Christ
5. The Blessings of Union with Christ
6. The Fruit of Union with Christ
7. The Evidence of Union with Christ
8. The Suffering of Union with Christ
9. The Joy of Union with Christ
10. The Practice of Union with Christ
11. The Hope of Union with Christ
Union with Christ was a central theological motif for John Calvin and many who followed in his train, not the least was such men as John Flavel and James P. Boyce. In the introduction, Yuille provides a probing quote by Flavel in which he asks:
How transcendently glorious is the advancement of believers, by their union with the Lord of glory? This also is an admirable and astonishing mystery; it is the highest dignity of which our nature is capable, to be hypostatically united; and the greatest glory of which our persons are capable is to be mystically united to this Lord of glory; to be bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. O what is this! Christian, dost thou know and believe all this, and thy heart not burn within thee in love to Christ? (4, emphasis original)
In a follow-up post, I refer to the research compiling a comprehensive listing of books and articles related to “union with Christ.”
Labels: John Flavel, Stephen Yuille, The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety, Union with Christ | posted by TimBrister at 6:24 pm | Categories: Books, Jesus, Recommended Reading, Resources, Theology |
Why Weekly? Q&A About Grace Community Groups (PDF)
It is our goal to make as much of our materials and resources available to you, and in keeping with that goal, I am providing a downloadable PDF of this evening’s discussion on the question “Why Weekly?: A Q&A Discusion for Grace Community Groups.” This short presentation simply covers biblical considerations, current realities, and six practical reasons for transitioning to weekly community groups. If the presentation was recorded, I will also link to the MP3 from this evening.
To downlaod the document, click below:
* Why Weekly? - A Q&A Discussion for Grace Community Groups *
Labels: Community, Grace Baptist Church, Small Groups | posted by TimBrister at 8:52 pm | Categories: Church Planting, Community, Evangelism, Resources, Small Groups |
