Life in the Church

We work hard at things that we think are important. Of course, some of those things simply aren't—at least, not in the larger sense. Fantasy football is underway for many of us, and beating our cousin or co-worker or neighbor feels great in the moment and seems to justify the hours of research we did before making our draft picks. But this probably won't be remembered on our tombstone...even if we win ESPN's bazillion-dollar prize. Sometimes, though, things that really are most important go uncared for.

A quote from The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

What do these have in common? All three will converge this Sunday morning at SGC. At least, that's our hope as we have been talking to Jermaine Powell about the possibility of creating some pieces of art that could embellish our auditorium but also capture some of the essence of what we are preaching.

"Not all of us are eloquent or engaging. Not everyone can think on their feet. Some people are simply not good at speaking to strangers and forming new friendships. One of the practical benefits of the three-strand model of evangelism [building relationships, sharing the gospel, introducing people to community] is that it gives a role to all of God's people. By making evangelism a community project, it also takes seriously the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in distributing a variety of gifts among his people. Everyone has a part to play--the new Christian, the introvert, the extrovert, the eloquent,…

Yesterday Jim preached on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. The primary burden of the text is for us not to walk in idleness--to be "busy at work" and not be "busybodies" (3:11). His opening sections on idleness were excellent, but something particularly helpful was a couple great questions on how to know whether you're being a "busybody" and imposing yourself in someone's life where it isn't right:

1. Is the other person inviting my help?
2. Is this about them, or is it really about me?

Sometimes I'm not invited in and I should stay out of someone's business, because it's…

This Sunday Mike Noel and John McLeod will be ordained as elders at Sovereign Grace Church. But what does it even mean to be “ordained”? Aren’t they basically elders now? What will change after Sunday? We want to take a minute here and think about these questions and a few others. 

My testimony isn't spectacular in that one life altering event happened that altered the course of my life. My testimony hinges on the fact that the God of the universe was faithful throughout my life to put me in just the right place at just the right time that I might be able to encounter him in just the right way.

Hi! This winter, I will be taking a course called Perspectives that is about the role each believer plays in God's plan to reach the nations. It is put together by the US Center for World Mission, the publishers of Mission Frontiers magazine.

by Cassie Sasser

A Resource for Advent

Marty Machowski and Sovereign Grace Music have given us two new resources to help us see the Christ Child and the risen Savior in the Prepare Him Room advent book and the Christmas CD of the same name.  I say “to help us”, because isn’t it the case with all thoughtful Christian material for children that we all (both the child and the adult who has the privilege of reading it to him) grow deeper in our understanding of the Savior?

As our own family life began, over 45 years ago, one of…