Grace Blog
The Bible Is Not About You
For the past seven weeks, I have been leading a group of men through Tim Keller and Ed Clowney’s class on Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World. The 35 MP3’s are available for free on RTS iTunesU, and a PDF of the class notes are available as well. It has really be a lot of fun to learn together how to expound Christ, apply Christ, and adore Christ in our preaching. Below is a video which is a good summary of what Tim Keller means by Christ-centered preaching, followed by a summary transcript of the audio excerpt. Check it out.
Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.
Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”
Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.
Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.
The Bible’s really not about you—it’s about him.
HT :: Collin Hansen
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Jesus, Praeching, Tim Keller | posted by TimBrister at 9:31 am | Categories: Gospel, Preaching |
The Beauty of Sacrifice and Service
Below is a post written by Stephen Altrogge at The Blazing Center. Grace has experienced significant growth over the past year, providing opportunities for us to stretch in our sacrifice and be strengthened in our service. I repost this article from Altrogge because he speaks well of the kind of perspective, attitude, and heart we need as a gospel-driven church. Check it out.
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Wanted: Perfect church. A small, tight-knit community of believers. Close friendships a must.
Sometimes we talk about the early New Testament church as if it were a small, quaint country church with about one hundred intimate relationships, and killer pot providence (not luck) dinners. And that’s exactly what it was. For about a month.
Then Pentecost happened (Acts 2) and everything went crazy. The Spirit fell. People talked in foreign languages. Tongues of fire danced over people’s heads. And 3,000 people were added to the church in one day. In one day the church went from intimate small group to giant mega church.
Suddenly things weren’t so intimate. Everybody couldn’t be friends with everybody. The leaders were less accessible. The worship service didn’t have the close, sing around the campfire, feel. Everyone was required to sacrifice and serve in new ways.
But that’s what happens when the gospel is being preached. Sinners are saved. The church grows. New friendships are formed, new small groups are formed, new services are added to accommodate all the people that God is saving. If the gospel is preached, people will be added to the church. For people to be added to the church, sacrifice is required.
It takes sacrifice to welcome people with messy lives into the church. It takes sacrifice to reach out to people you don’t know. It takes sacrifice to figure out who is going to be in what small group. It takes sacrifice to see a church grow from small to big. But it’s glorious sacrifice. Sinners are being saved. God’s kingdom is going forth. People are being pulled from darkness into the kingdom of God. Lives are being rearranged and transformed.
To be a part of this sacrifice is to be a part of something beautiful.
If the gospel is going to spread, and the church is going to grow, sacrifice and serving must happen. Sacrifice and serving are hard, but the result is beautiful.
Labels: Cape Coral, Church Growth, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Stephen Altrogge | posted by TimBrister at 2:13 pm | Categories: Church Growth, Community |
The Gospel, Posessions, and Prosperity
David Platt, lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills and author of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, encourages us to think biblically about our possessions and prosperity. Platt leads an event called “Secret Church” which is their “house church” where they meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study–lasting 4-6 hours–and prayer for persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. Each Secret Church meeting has a theme, the most recent being on “The Gospel, Possessions, and Prosperity.”
The Greater Things Initiative is an opportunity, as Pastor Tom explained, to leverage our resources to impact eternity. Focusing on facilitating growth, fueling plant, and fostering mission, we are seeking to make greater impact both here and abroad. In for this to happen, such greater things will require greater sacrifice–the kind of sacrifice that is joyfully and freely offered up because the King made the greatest offering to bring us into His kingdom.
I am providing the video and notes below in hopes that these would challenge our thinking and more importantly or living in light of God’s Word. Check them out! To download the notes of “The Gospel, Possessions, and Prosperity,” click here.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Labels: Cape Coral, David Platt, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Greater Things, Possessions, Prosperity, Radical, Secret Church | posted by TimBrister at 1:59 pm | Categories: Gospel, Greater Things |
SBC Resolution on the Centrality of the Gospel
A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Tom got the call to help draft a resolution on the centrality of the gospel for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Orlando. The resolution was edited with other insertions, but the language provided by Tom was largely kept in tact. In particular, you will see from the outset of the resolution that the gospel is about “who Jesus is, what He has done, and what that matters” - language peculiar to Grace. In the years past where resolutions were much about the cultural ills that Southern Baptists were against, it is great to see resolutions being passed on what we are for. This new direction, under the leadership of resolutions committee chair Dr. Russell Moore, is something to be praised. Here is the resolution on the centrality of the gospel:
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Gospel-Centered, Grace Baptist Church, SBC, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 10:30 am | Categories: Gospel, News and Announcements |
Steve Timmis on the the Nature of Gospel Community
Below is a short but clear explanation of what gospel community looks like by Steve Timmis, author of Total Church. The Towers, the news service of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, interviewed Timmis which can be viewed here. Check it out.
Labels: Cape Coral, Community, Gospel, Gospel Community, Grace Baptist Church, Steve Timmis | posted by TimBrister at 10:28 pm | Categories: Community, Gospel, Small Groups |
The Relationship Between Evangelism and Social Action
Tony Payne, publishing director for Matthias Media (an excellent organization for gospel growth and leadership development), has laid out six propositions on the relationship between evangelism and social action. I thought these were well stated and would assist us in forwarding the study on the gospel and the poor. They are listed below along with a few excerpts.
1. Evangelism and social action are distinct activities
This is an obvious thing to say, but it needs to be said. Evangelism = telling weak, sinful people that they are lost and powerless, but for the amazing message of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Social action = empowering the weak, and working together with them to effect change in their temporary circumstances here and now. Evangelism and social action are both good and worthwhile things, but they are not the same thing. We should not try to justify social action by disguising it as evangelism, nor make our evangelism more acceptable to the world (and more amenable to our weak selves) by redefining it as social action.
2. Prayerful proclamation is central to the work of the Lord
Because of the human predicament (sinners facing God’s wrath), and because of the days we live in (open season on salvation as we wait for judgement day), God has given us a work to do. He has commissioned his people to an urgent task that addresses the need of the hour—that people hear the call to repent while there is time. Thus evangelism and social action are both good activities, but they are not equal in importance. There is an urgency and centrality to the gospel task.
3. Evangelism and social action are inseparable
All the same, the language of ‘priority’ is probably not so useful (as in ‘evangelism has priority’), because it might imply that we sit down and devise our evangelistic ‘To Do’ list, and then see if there is any time left to help people (agenda items 16 through 20). In reality, the two happen side by side as we love people, live among them and seek to bring them the gospel. Proclamation may be central, but its context will be a life of love that seeks to do good to those around us. The nature of this loving social action will be largely determined by our circumstances (i.e. preaching the gospel in the slums of Calcutta will require a different form of action than if we were preaching in a leafy, materialist suburb, where the pressing need may not be material deprivation but a breakdown in relationships, marriages and family life).
4. Social action is unconditional love, not a tactic
Godly living adorns the gospel, says Paul to Titus (2:10). But godly living is not an evangelistic tactic, and neither is social action. Good works are glorifying to God in and of themselves. They are the reason Christ gave himself for us, that he might “purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). Social action (like any form of godly action in Christ) may have the effect of impressing people deeply, and causing them to enquire after Christ. But then again, it might not. Those who campaign, for example, against the social evils of abortion or alcohol abuse are routinely despised and ridiculed in our society. In such cases, it will only be on the day of God’s visitation that their revilers will glorify God (1 Pet 2:12).
5. Social action is not a magic evangelistic bullet
Social action is not a key to unlock people’s hearts—as if all we need to do is engage in more effective and visible forms of social improvement in order for people to suddenly understand the gospel and come flooding into the kingdom. It’s not a means to an end, nor is it our gospel. We do not preach ourselves and our wonderful good deeds; we hold up a despised and pathetic-looking banner that says “Christ crucified”, and then pray for the Spirit to unstop the ears and open the eyes of the people we speak to (1 Cor 1:23).
6. The Great Commission is to make and to teach
We might summarize all this by saying that the Great Commission has two interrelated facets: to make disciples and to baptize them into the teaching of Jesus. We make disciples by proclaiming the gospel prayerfully, and then we teach disciples to love others as Jesus commanded (which means serving others and doing good to them as we have opportunity—Gal 6:10).
Labels: Cape Coral, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Poor, Social Action | posted by TimBrister at 8:25 am | Categories: Evangelism, Social Renewal |
Gospel-Empowered Parenting
Juan Sanchez has written some helpful thoughts on the difference between gospel-empowered parenting versus fear-based parenting. Consider these points of application based on gospel realities in the home:
We must confess that we are not perfect parents - we have failed often and miserably! First, as Farley reminds us, know that if we were perfect parents, then our children would not need Christ. Second, know that if we were perfect parents, then we would not need Christ. Embracing the good news of the gospel begins with uncovering my sin, my failures and looks to the perfect Father who sent the perfect Son to live the life that pleases the Father and who received the punishment that we deserved.
Therefore, confess your sins: to the Father, to your family, your children as/when appropriate. Let them see your need for Christ and point them to Christ in their sin and failures. Build relationships with your children on the unconditional love of the gospel of the Father so that our children will not think that our love for them is conditioned on their performance. Spend much time on positive instruction: catechizing, reading together, doing life together in light of the gospel.
Be your child’s/children’s encourager. At our house, we (mom and dad) continually tell our children that we are their number one fans. It’s corny; we laugh; they get embarrassed. But we want them to know that we are for them, not against them. Finally, regardless of what kind of father you may or may not have had, remember that God is the perfect Father, and that His love is unconditional. He loves us because He chooses to love us, not because of anything in us or because of our performance. He loves us in Christ, and nothing will ever sever that love He has for us in Christ (Romans 8:29ff).
Be sure to read the whole thing.
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Parenting | posted by TimBrister at 12:01 pm | Categories: Gospel, Parenting/Family |
Explaining Community Life
Here is an excellent clip from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA (Francis Chan is lead pastor) about community life shaped by the gospel.
Community from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.
Labels: Cape Coral, Community, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church | posted by TimBrister at 11:23 am | Categories: Community, Gospel, Small Groups |
Gospel and Poor: Implications from the Resurrection of Christ
To date, I have addressed the gospel implications related to the poor from the life and death of Jesus Christ. The third reality of the gospel that I want to bring to our attention is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The seven implications I have touched on are intended to show how the vertical realities of the gospel bring forth horizontal implications as it relates specifically to the poor.
Gospel and Poor: Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the vindication of God’s character and fulfillment of all God’s promises through the life and death of His Son. A quick glance at the early church and you will find that the fundamental doctrine and reality that irritated crowds and caused others to retaliate was the faithful preaching of Jesus Christ risen from the dead (e.g. Acts 4:2, 33; 17:18, 32; 23:6; 24:21). In his powerful argumentation in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains that without the resurrection of Jesus, all preaching is in vain and all faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Furthermore, everyone who has testified about Jesus Christ is a liar and has misrepresented God (1 Cor. 15:15). The outcome of a Christ crucified but not risen is a world remaining in their sins, without hope or rescue (1 Cor. 15:17).
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Jesus, Poor, Resurrection | posted by TimBrister at 12:20 am | Categories: Gospel, Jesus, Poor |
Gospel and Poor: Implications from the Death of Christ
Picking up where I left off on the horizontal gospel implications regarding the poor, I want pick up on the death of Jesus Christ. I mentioned that the gospel realities from the life of Jesus should horizontally cause us to work out His righteousness in us through dwelling with the poor (presence), intentionally pursuing relationships with the poor (community), and demonstrating personal hospitality towards the poor (welcoming).
Gospel and Poor: Death of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ lived the life we could never live (righteousness) and died the death we all deserve to die (substitute). Jesus was motivated to give Himself on the cross “for the joy that was set before Him” (Heb. 12:1)–a joy to please the Father by completing His earthly mission. At the very heart of the gospel message is the reality of substitution (e.g., 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18): His death that we might experience everlasting life; His righteousness for our sinfulness; His condemnation for our acceptance: His taking the wrath of God that we might know the love of God; His bearing God’s judgment for sin that we might know God’s infinite mercies; His becoming cursed that we might experience God’s blessing, etc.
Labels: Cape Coral, Cross, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Jesus, Poor | posted by TimBrister at 10:04 pm | Categories: Gospel, Jesus, Poor |
What the Gospel Is Saying
Of First Importance is a blog that is dedicated to giving you daily gospel gold. If you have not bookmarked or subscribed to their feed, I encourage you to do so. Here is an entry from last week:
“The gospel is saying that, what man cannot do in order to be accepted with God, this God Himself has done for us in the person of Jesus Christ. To be acceptable to God we must present to God a life of perfect and unceasing obedience to his will. The gospel declares that Jesus has done this for us. For God to be righteous he must deal with our sin. This also he has done for us in Jesus. The holy law of God was lived out perfectly for us by Christ, and its penalty was paid perfectly for us by Christ. The living and dying of Christ for us, and this alone is the basis of our acceptance with God.”
- Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, p. 86
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Graeme Goldsworthy, Of First Importance | posted by TimBrister at 10:58 am | Categories: Gospel, Jesus |
Grace in 60 Seconds: The Gospel
A couple of weeks ago, I shared on our blog that I was starting a series called “Grace in 60 Seconds.” This is a series that seeks to distill the very essence of Grace Baptist Church in six words in order to answer the question, “In sixty seconds or less, what distinctly defines Grace Baptist Church?”
This evening, I addressed the first word - gospel. It is the first word because it is “of first importance.” Looking at 1 Cor. 15:1-3 alone, we see just how crucial it is. It is preached, believed, held fast, stood upon, delivered, and received. If we want to get at the heart of God and the Christian faith, we need to look nowhere else than His gospel. I want to elaborate on the gospel through five aspects: fluency, centrality, intentionality, sufficiency, intensity.
Gospel Fluency (Definition)
The first element of the gospel is fluency–that is, how well one understands the gospel. We never want to assume the gospel in any context nor do we want to find ourselves in a context where a clear understanding of the gospel is not necessary. Our familiarity with the gospel should not breed contempt but contemplation and competency in grasping the most important news in the whole world. Every member should be able to explain who Jesus is, what He has done, and what that matters to every single person on the face of the planet. They ought to be able to speak of the gospel as it relates to God, man and sin, Jesus Christ, and the response it invokes. Christians ought to be able to tell the gospel story as the overarching theme of all of Scripture beginning with creation to the Fall to redemption and ending in consummation. For there to be fluency in the gospel, there must be a commitment to meditate, rehearse and pray the gospel into our lives on a daily basis. Those who are most fluent in the gospel are most prepared to speak much of Jesus, and because we are prone to forget the gospel, we like Martin Luther ought to “beat it continually in our heads.”
(more…)
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church | posted by TimBrister at 5:15 am | Categories: Core Values/Practices, Gospel |
The Biblical Gospel and It’s Social Implications
Here’s a short video clip from James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel in which he rejects the substitution of the social gospel for the biblical gospel and yet affirms the social implications which result from a right understanding of the gospel.
Social Gospel vs. Proclamation Gospel from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, James MacDonald, Social Responsibility | posted by TimBrister at 7:29 pm | Categories: Gospel, Social Renewal |
Gospel and Poor: Implications from the Life of Christ
Continuing the commentary on what the Scriptures say about the poor, I want to turn to the heart of biblical revelation–the gospel of Jesus Christ–and see what implications we can draw as it relates to the poor. In other words, when we understand what God has given us in His Son from a vertical perspective, what kind of implications does that have from a horizontal perspective as it relates to the poor? What difference does being recipients of the gospel mean for us? Do the vertical (spiritual) realities bear any consequence on the horizontal (physical) application of such realities in the way in which we treat the poor and needy? I want to begin first with the life of Jesus Christ.
Gospel and Poor: Life of Jesus Christ
Why is the life of Jesus so important to us? God sent His Son into the world that we might behold Him and believe in Him. We behold Him because he dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we have come to see Him who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The life of Jesus is essential to the gospel because He accomplished for us what we could never do for ourselves–live a perfectly righteous, sinless life before a holy God. Every Christian is saved by good works–the works of Jesus Christ.
Labels: Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Poor, Social Responsibility | posted by TimBrister at 10:48 pm | Categories: Gospel, Jesus, Poor, Social Renewal |
Clarifying the Gospel and Its Implications
Matt Chandler is a dear brother whom we have been praying for in recent months, joining with him in his fight against brain cancer. I was able to attend the 20/20 Collegiate Conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where Matt was scheduled to speak. Due to his chemo and radiation treatments, he was unable to attend. However, he was able to pre-record his session in which he deals with clarifying the gospel and its implications. Check it out.
Matt Chandler - 20/20 2010 Session 1 from Southeastern Seminary on Vimeo.
Labels: 20/20 Collegiate Conference, Cape Coral, Gospel, Grace Baptist Church, Matt Chandler | posted by TimBrister at 1:05 pm | Categories: Gospel, Poor |
