Grace Blog
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 |
2010 Biblical Parenting Seminar
The 2010 Biblical Parenting Seminar hosted by Tom and Donna Ascol is now available for download. Both the Friday night and Saturday morning sessions are approximately 2 1/2 hours long. You can click on the following links for the MP3s.
* Friday Night Sessions
* Saturday Morning Sessions
Labels: Biblical Parenting, Cape Coral, Grace Baptist Church, Parenting, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 12:28 pm | Categories: Parenting/Family, Resources |
Welcome to Grace (Video)
Below is a 4 minute video welcome by Pastor Tom Ascol in which he shares about the core commitments of Grace Baptist Church. You can also find this video on the homepage of our website. Check it out.
Welcome to Grace from Grace Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Labels: Cape Coral, Core Commitments, Grace Baptist Church, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 10:59 pm | Categories: Administrative, Core Values/Practices, Videos |
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 |
Spiritual Warfare Series Airing on Pilgrim Radio Network
From November 2008 to May 2009, Pastor Tom Ascol preached a 16-sermon series on Spiritual Warfare from Ephesians 6:10-20. This sermon series is scheduled to air on “Extra Credit” on the Pilgrim Radio Network, weekdays from October 19 through November 9. A complete listing of message titles and airdates can be found at Pilgrimradio.com. According to their website, the sermons will air at 5AM, 5PM, and 10PM PST each weekday.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Pilgrim Radio Network, Spiritual Warfare, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 10:15 am | Categories: News and Announcements, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare |
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 |
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 |
Our Greatest Need: A Fresh View of Our All-Sufficient Savior
This past Sunday, Pastor Tom Ascol preached a year-end message entitled “A Fresh Vision of Our All-Sufficient Savior” from Revelation 1:9-20. In his message, Pastor Tom articulated from Scripture that our greatest need and deepest desire should be to have a fresh view of Jesus Christ for the new year. God has blessed us (already) with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, and we know that He will meet our needs according to His riches in glory. Yet, many are ignorant of what God has done for them in Christ. Finding Jesus as the Treasure God has made Him to be shows us biblically what God has given us in His Son.
To listen to Pastor Tom’s sermon, click here.
To download the sermon, click here (right click, “save as”).
To subscribe to GBC Podcast, click here.
Labels: Christ, Grace Baptist Church, Jesus, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 9:13 am | Categories: Reflection and Review, Sermons |
The Goal of Our Enemy
On Sunday, December 7, Pastor Tom Ascol continued in his series on Spiritual Warfare with a sermon entitled, “The Goal of Our Enemy.” This is the fourth sermon in the series taken from Ephesians 6:10-12, this time taking up the phrase, “the wiles of the devil.” Pastor Tom begins by asking two questions:
1. What is the goal or ultimate aim of Satan?
2. What are the strategies Satan uses to accomplish this goal?
Taking up the first question, Pastor Tom argued that “the goal of the devil is to destroy the work of God” (whenever or wherever it is found).
Satan’s identity is bound upon in his opposition to God. He is your “adversary” seeking to devour you. When Jesus explained the parable of the wheat and tares, it is explained that the devil had sown the tares among the wheat. His attack is first and foremost against God and secondly against God’s people.
There are two main arenas for the devil’s work: (1) the arena of creation and (2) the arena of redemption. In the arena of creation, we see the devil’s work from distinguishing Gen. 1-2 which as exceedingly good from Gen. 4-6 which was exceedingly evil such that God regretted that He had made man. The “x” factor is Gen. 3 where we see the devil attempting to destroy the work of God in His creation. In the arena of redemption, Satan attempts to overthrow the work of God first by attacking Jesus Christ, then individual Christians, and finally the church.
To listen or download this sermon, click here.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Spiritual Warfare, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 3:02 pm | Categories: Reflection and Review, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare |
Knowing Your Enemy, Part 2
On Sunday, November 30, Pastor Tom Ascol continued in his series on spiritual warfare with his third message from Ephesians 6:10-12 focusing on primarily on verse 12. Paul writes:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Pastor Tom’s outline addresses each description of the enemy’s army, namely (1) princes and principalities, (2) powers, (3) rules of he darkness of this age, and (4) spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Satan has a kingdom, and every human being is either under the rule of Christ or under the rule of the devil. There is no spiritual neutral zone. Jesus said, “He is not with me is against me.” Those who have not come to Jesus are under he deceptive power and domain of darkness of the devil.
Yet the conquest of the cross was the overthrow and defeat of the prince and power of the air. There is a real danger in thinking that God and Satan and dueling interlocutors who are fighting for supremacy. This dualism is nowhere found in Scripture. God is sovereign, and the devil is God’s devil. Although the world in which we live today embraces the ruler of darkness, his kingdom will come to an end, and those who belong to the kingdom of light in God’s beloved Son, take ground by the force of the gospel.
To listen or download this sermon, click here.
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Spiritual Warfare, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 9:35 am | Categories: Reflection and Review, Sermons |
Praising God When Life Gets Hard
This past Sunday, Pastor Tom Ascol preaching a timely Thanksgiving message entitled “Praising God When Life Gets Hard” from the book of Habakkuk. In his message, Pastor Tom shared that a heart rooted in the goodness, wisdom and sovereignty of God will have reason to rejoice and be thankful during difficult times. He gave six ways of living with faith and hope from the text which I have outlined below for your benefit:
1. Faith enables us to look honestly at life (1:2-4)
2. Faith enables us to look honestly at God (1:12-13)
3. Faith enables us to humbly listen to God (2:1)
4. Faith enables us to pray fervently to God (3:1-2)
5. Faith enables us to recognize that God’s sovereign purpose are, and will continue to be, revealed in history (3:3-16)
6. Faith enables us to enthusiastically rejoice in the work of the Lord (3:17-19)
Because there is hope in the risen Savior, we should hitch our joy in Him, not our circumstances. When our hearts are where God’s is, then we can rest in Him in the midst of pain, difficulty, and loss. God indeed will move heaven and earth to accomplish His purposes, so let us have a deep rooted joy in the God of our salvation!
To download Sunday’s sermon, click here.
To listen online, click here.
Labels: Habakkuk, Sermon, Thanksgiving, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 12:13 pm | Categories: Reflection and Review, Sermons |
Current Sermon Series: Spiritual Warfare
A couple of resources I want to make you aware of is the new podcast, MP3’s, and archived live-streaming video of our series.
To listen or download the current sermons in the series, click here.
If you would like to watch previous sermons via live-stream, click here.
In the future, we hope to make more resources available, including references Pastor Tom has made in his sermons as well as book recommendations on spiritual warfare. If you have a question or issue you would be interested in Pastor Tom addressing, please submit them in the comments section of this post. Thanks!
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Live-Stream, MP3s, Spiritual Warfare, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 4:30 pm | Categories: Resources, Spiritual Warfare |
Spiritual Warfare: A Fight You Can’t Avoid
This past Sunday, Pastor Tom Ascol started a series on spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6. The introductory message to this series, “A Fight You Can’t Avoid” (Eph. 6:10-12) was preached this past Sunday at the gathering of Grace Baptist Church. The pre-recorded video below contains a message for all Christians as well as non-Christians. You are in a fight for your very life!
Labels: Grace Baptist Church, Spiritual Warfare, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 8:21 am | Categories: Sermons, Spiritual Warfare |
Eternal Perspectives on the Presidential Election
This past Sunday, Pastor Tom Ascol preached a message entitled “Eternal Perspectives on the Presidential Election” from Psalm 2. In this very important time in the life of our country, it is crucial that believers in Jesus Christ have an eternal perspective on the current presidential election. The video below is the pre-recorded video of the message which we hope will be an encouragement for everyone, especially those who know Christ as their King.
Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
Labels: Jesus, Presidential Election, Psalm 2, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 7:12 pm | Categories: Jesus, Sermons |
Pastor Ascol Sightings in Mexico!
Mrs. Donna has been so kind to post some photos from their trip to Mexico, and I thought I’d post a couple of Pastor Ascol. Without further ado, Cowboy Tom and Flash Ascol.
Labels: Humor, Tom Ascol | posted by TimBrister at 4:53 pm | Categories: Humor |
