Grace Blog
Preparing for Grace Gathered :: December 20, 2009
On the Sunday before Christmas, we will be celebrating the Incarnation of Jesus, the promised Messiah who has come to earth to bring peace with God by winning the battle against rebellious hearts, sinful lives, Satan, and hell. Peace on earth comes because through Jesus, we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1).
Bible Study: The Gospel-Centered Life
Tim Brister and Rick Tarter continue the final section of The Gospel-Centered Life which focuses on how the gospel works through us. We are on the last lesson which focuses on conflict. Because God has created us to live in community, our lives should express an intimacy and unity that is possible because the mess we leave as sinners is addressed by the gospel as we together grow in grace. Throughout Scripture, we see that the proper way to handle conflict between one another is by remembering and applying the gospel of Jesus Christ to our hearts first and to the situation we find ourselves in. Join us for another engaging and relevant study as we seek to drive the stakes of the gospel deeper into our church!
Grace Gathered (Worship Services)
During Grace Gathered, Pastor Tom will be preaching on the advent of the coming Messiah. Hymns like “O Come, O Come Immanuel” call us to rejoice in the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Consider these lyrics:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
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. Christmas Outreach this Saturday at the church from 10:00am-12:00pm. We will be distributing Bibles in the surrounding neighborhoods, seeking to invite them to join us for our Christmas Eve service. Come join us as we love our neighbors and share the good news of Chirstmas!
3. Our Christmas Eve service will take place on Thursday, December 24th beginning at 6:00PM. Hundreds of invitations have been hand delivered to families in our community, and we are looking forward to a wonderful evening of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!
4. On Sunday, December 27th at 5:00pm, the pastors will be hosting a one-hour informational meeting for anyone interested in participating in our short-term mission trips for the 2010 year. Attending this meeting does not commit you to go; we simply want to provide a context to answer your questions, share about the upcoming trips, and get a better picture of where we see God leading us in the future to take the gospel around the world.
5. On New Years’ Eve, we plan on bringing in the new year with a time of worship, fellowship, and prayer all beginning at 10PM on Thursday, December 31st. Come join us!
Labels: Advent, Gospel-Centered, Grace Baptist Church, Grace Gathered | posted by TimBrister at 4:01 pm | Categories: Grace Gathered |
Preparing for Grace Gathered :: December 13, 2009
Looking forward to this Lord’s Day, here are some ways you can prepare yourself for the gathered worship and Bible Study
Bible Study: The Gospel-Centered Life
Tim Brister and Rick Tarter continue the final section of The Gospel-Centered Life which focuses on how the gospel works through us. We are picking up where we left off last week on the subject of forgiveness, in particular what does it mean to forgive others as God has forgiven us (Col. 3:13; Eph. 4:32). We will also address how the gospel empowers us to fight against bitterness and unforgiveness and speak to justice and vindication.
Grace Gathered (Worship Services)
During Grace Gathered, Pastor Tom will be continuing his series through the book of Proverbs, this Sunday focusing on “Words of Wisdom.” What does Proverbs have to say about our words, the sins of the tongue? A whole lot, actually! Scripture tells us that no man can tame the tongue, and yet we will be accountable on the day of judgment for our every word. Such an important topic requires a thorough investigation from God’s Word and sincere hearts from serious minds followers to live a life of confession, repentance, and renewal that the overflow of our hearts in our words will evidence the transforming power of the gospel in our lives.
We will be singing some classic advent hymns, including “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “What Child Is This?” But as we come together, let our hearts experience and mouths express the lyrics below.
Speak, O Lord, as we come to You,
To receive the food of Your holy word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today,
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes,
For Your glory.
Teach us Lord full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes,
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise,
Cause our eyes to see,
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built,
And the earth is filled with Your glory.
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. Christmas Outreach has begun! If you have not picked up bags of Bibles to distribute to your neighbor and friends, be sure to pick some up at the Welcome Center.
3. Our Christmas Eve service will take place on Thursday, December 24th beginning at 6:00PM. Hundreds of invitations have been hand delivered to families in our community, and we are looking forward to a wonderful evening of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!
4. On New Years’ Eve, we plan on bringing in the new year with a time of worship, fellowship, and prayer all beginning at 10PM on Thursday, December 31st. Come join us!
* “Speak Oh Lord” Copyright ©2005 by Stuart Townend, Keith Getty (Kingsway Music)
Labels: Advent, Grace Baptist Church, Grace Gathered, Proverbs, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 8:51 am | Categories: Grace Gathered |
He’s Here - The Jesus Storybook Bible
The Jesus Storybook Bible has been a great gift to our family for our family worship. We are close to completing it for the second time, and our boys are increasingly loving their Bible with each time of learning about Jesus. Below is a video narration of the birth of Christ. I encourage you to share this with your children sometime during this advent season. You can pick up a copy at Westminster Bookstore for just $11 and change.
Labels: Advent, Jesus, Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible | posted by TimBrister at 12:17 pm | Categories: Advent, Jesus, Parenting/Family |
Family Worship for the Advent Season
Christ the King Presbyterian Church (Raleigh, NC) has provided a helpful resource for families during the advent season which you can download and use during family devotions or family worship. The PDF includes discussion outlines and songsheets for worship in a nice format. To download this 58-page resource, click here.
Labels: Advent, Family Worship | posted by TimBrister at 8:25 pm | Categories: Parenting/Family, Resources |
