Monthly Archives: February 2010

Tomorrow Morning at SGC

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Good evening!  I trust you are having a great day.  We are very much looking forward to meeting tomorrow morning.  There is actually a lot going on before our 10:00 start time.  Our Bible for Life classes continue tomorrow morning and you are welcome to join either if you would like.  Also, our New Members class continues as well. Finally, our Sunday morning prayer team will meet at 9:00 to pray for our service.

I have the joy of leading us in worship tomorrow and look forward to worshipping our Savior in song!  After worship, we will spend some time dedicating a group of children to the Lord.  Our sermon will be from Galatians 5:16-25.  We will conclude our service with an opportunity to pray for anyone in need and will dismiss to the lobby for a cup of coffee.

If you are a guest planning to attend – thank you!  We look forward meeting you!

Have a great night and we’ll see you tomorrow morning, Lord willing.

Eric

Our Okayness, The Gospel and Love

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I recently read the following paragraphs on Ray Ortland’s blog.  It is both encouraging and challenging to me.  What does it really mean to be a gospel-centered church? Here’s what Mr. Ortland says:

“A gospel-centered church holds together two things.  One, a gospel-centered church preaches a bold message of grace — so bold that it becomes the end of the law for all who believe.  Not our performance but Christ’s performance for us.  Not our sacrifices but his sacrifice for us.  Not our superiority but only his worth and prestige.  The good news of substitution.  The good news that our okayness is not in us but exterior to us in Christ alone.  Climbing down from the high moral ground, because only Christ belongs up there.  That message, that awareness, that clarity.  Every Sunday.

Two, a gospel-centered church translates that theology into its sociology.  The good news of God’s grace beautifies how we treat one another.  In fact, the horizontal reveals the vertical.  How we treat one another reveals what we really believe as opposed to what we think we believe.  It is possible to say, “We are a gospel-centered church,” and sincerely mean it, while we make our church into a law-centered social environment.  We see God above lowering his gun, and we breathe a sigh of relief.  But if we are trigger-happy toward one another, we don’t really get it yet.”

How we treat one another reveals what we really believe!  This phrase reminds me of our text from last week – that we are set free to love one another and serve one another.  I pray that God continues to transform us as a church by His word and that we will indeed preach the free grace of God in the gospel and see the power of the Spirit continue to work in us to love one another just as God the Father loves us!

Grace to you today,

Eric

Apply: Galatians 5:13-15

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What a wonderful time we had yesterday at church!  God was gracious to meet us with His presence once again!  We studied Galatians 5:13-15 with a sermon called Free to Serve Others.  You can listen to or download the sermon here.  The main point of the message was how God wants to confront our misguided search for wrong definitions of Christian freedom and provide us with a definition from His word.  We learned that true freedom is found in serving others, not indulging ourselves.  We hope these questions will help you apply God’s word to your life and more that we would continue to be transformed by God’s word.

1)  Prior to the sermon, how would you have defined Christian freedom?

2)  Why is it that our natural tendency is to start with questions about what we can and can’t do; what is permissible, what is allowed?

3)  How does Galatians 5:13-14 define Christian freedom?

4)  How would you evaluate your heart and life according to this text?  Is your life marked by this kind of love and servant-hood?  In what ways do you believe the Lord is calling you, by His grace, to repent and change?

5)  How does God specifically want to work love into your heart in increasing ways by His Spirit?  Are you in faith that this will happen by the power of His Spirit at work in you to make you more like Christ!?!

On behalf of the pastors, I want to thank you for being a church that is given to loving each other so well and serving each other so well.  God’s Spirit is at work in our church growing us in love for one another and allowing us the many opportunities to lay down our lives for one another!  You are an example of this kind of care for one another and I hope you are encouraged.  It is a joy to be a part of this church.

Grace to you today,

Eric

All I Have is Christ

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Last Sunday we sang All I Have is Christ together in response to the sermon.  There are three things that you might not know about that song and more particularly – about the author.

1)  My friend Jordan Kauflin wrote that song.  Jordan is Bob Kauflin’s son and I’ve known Jordan for many years through our friendship with the Kauflins.  Jordan is a fine drummer and we have had the chance to serve on different worship teams together.  Jordan is also now a fine songwriter and many have been encouraged by this song to trust fully and only in Christ.

2)  My friend Jordan and his wife Tali found out just last week that their son Jack has leukemia.  I think we all can imagine that the shock of this hit hard. While all reports are that Jordan and Tali are trusting in God (you can read an update from Tali on her blog here) at this time, they can use our prayers.  Please pray for complete healing for Jack.  Please pray for wisdom and direction.  Please pray for God’s comfort for their little boy and the Kauflin family.  Also, please pray that God would be glorified through it all.

3)  Finally, Jordan is currently a student at the Pastors College and a classmate of Albert’s.  Please pray that God will use Alb and Jen and those around Jordan and Tali to minister to them.  Last year, while we attended the PC, we had a family go through a significant medical trial and how wonderful it was to see God’s grace poured out on them in the context of loving and supporting friends.

We know that the Kauflin’s will experiencing the deep love and grace of God and pray toward this end.

Grace,

Eric

PS:  Bob Kauflin also posted about this over at Worship Matters.

Apply: Galatians 5:1-12

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Yesterday was great!  What an amazing God we serve, so caring, so loving and so near.  From start to finish, He was with us to do a work in us.  Kirk preached a wonderful sermon from Galatians 5:1-12 where Paul instructs us that we must stand firm in the freedom secured for us through Christ.  The main point was: In Christ, believers have been freely liberated, but we must diligently protect our freedom.  Kirk then explained three ways we can protect our freedom, 1) by rejecting legalism, 2) by embracing the gospel of grace, 3) by rejecting false teachers/preachers.  You can download or listen to the full sermon here.  We hope these questions will help you apply this message to your life.

1)  What does it mean that “for freedom Christ set us free”?  How would you define our freedom in Christ?

2)  What is legalism?  Why is legalism so dangerous to the gospel?

3)  In what areas of your life are you tempted to add to what Christ has done for you?  Where in your life do you sing, “Jesus and I paid it all, most to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, we washed it white as snow?”

4)  What is the true gospel?  In what ways do you seek to remind yourself of and continue to embrace the gospel of grace?

5)  What is a true Christian according to 5:5-6?

6)  How can you grow, how can we as a church grow at evaluating our walk with the Lord through the lens of “faith working through love” as opposed to “obedience working through law or lists”?

As Kirk wrapped up his final point about rejecting false preachers and teachers, I was so grateful to see a faithful pastor preaching the true gospel to us as a church!  We have been wonderfully instructed from God’s word to protect our freedom!  May God’s grace through His Spirit help us all to do just that!

Grace to you,

Eric

Tomorrow Morning at SGC

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Good evening to all!  We are getting ready to start our Access meeting with the singles!  Pray for us tonight if you think of it.

We are excited to gather tomorrow morning to worship God, hear from His word and fellowship with one another.  Our day begins with our New Members Class which starts at 8:30 in the Spurgeon Room.  If you have not taking our New Members Class, you can start tomorrow.  Our registration is revolving, which means you can finish the remainder of the classes this term and loop back around to take the classes you’ve missed next term.

We also want to invite you to join in prayer for our service in the other half of the Spurgeon Room at 9:00.  This is always a sweet time asking the Lord to meet us with His presence and bless us with His power.

Chris McCrea will be leading us in worship tomorrow morning and our sermon will come from Galatians 5:1-12.  We are heading into the final major section of Galatians.  Paul begins to lead us into application of all of the profound truths we’ve covered so far.  We are looking forward to allowing this section of Scripture to encourage and change us.  At the conclusion of our meeting, everyone is invited to share a cup of coffee in the lobby. If you are planning to join us as a guest – thank you for thinking to come!  We look forward to meeting you tomorrow.

Have a great night and we’ll see you in the morning!

Eric