Twenty-five years ago today, I was installed as pastor of my first church — the church I continue to serve as pastor, Grace Bible Church. At (almost) 28 years of age, I could hardly imagine then what it would be like to preach 25 sermons, let alone preach sermons for 25 years — in one […]
Read More 25 years ago today“Caring for One Another: A Life of Service” (Part 2) Romans 1:11-15 August 2, 2015 A number of years ago, London resident Simon Thompson was trying to push his stalled BMW off a road in a London suburb when another driver called out, “Do you want a hand?” And then the car’s back doors flew […]
Read More Sermon: A Life of Service (Pt. 2)“Caring for One Another: A Life of Service” (Part 1) Romans 1:11-15 July 19, 2015 It’s hard to be a servant. To serve others is to do something that is contrary to our natural inclinations and to fight against the flesh. That’s why we just read the story of Epaphroditus. We don’t know much about […]
Read More Sermon: A Life of Service“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” (Pt. 2) Romans 1:8-10 June 28, 2015 Loneliness is an age-old problem, and in Japan one restaurant has come up with a novel solution. The owners of Tokyo’s Moomin House Café observed many customers who came alone and sat alone. So they set about to cultivate a […]
Read More Sermon: A Life of Prayer, Pt. 2Three times New Testament writers ask their readers to pray for them: Brethren, pray for us. (1 Thess. 5:25) Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you. (2 Thess. 3:1) Pray for us, for we are sure that we […]
Read More Pray for us“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” Romans 1:8-10 June 21, 2015 Speaker Robert Henry went to a large discount department store a number of years ago in search of a pair of binoculars. Charles Swindoll tells the story: As he walked up to the appropriate counter he noticed that he was the only […]
Read More Sermon: A Life of Prayer“It’s About People: the Priority of Relationships” Selected Scriptures May 31, 2015 Someone called this maze of relationships, “the theory of relativity:” …consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London recently wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother. That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn. […]
Read More Sermon: It’s About PeopleWith the discussion of transgender issues and gender reassignment surgeries increasing, we do well to be informed on those topics. So consider JBMW‘s article, “What is Gender Reassignment Surgery? A Medical Assessment.” Kevin DeYoung tells us why we ought to give, “Three Cheers for Bill and Hillary Clinton” — at least the Clintons from a […]
Read More Grab bagWhat Believers Do When Suffering 1 Peter 4:12-19 December 7, 2014 Over the past couple of months Keith and I have been preaching about some basics of church ministry — church membership, corrective discipleship (church discipline), the roles of elders, deacons, and members, and then last Sunday the nature of marriage and gender. There are […]
Read More Sermon: What Believers Do When SufferingIn an essay on the life of Dwight Eisenhower, historian Stephen Ambrose recounts the following story: In 1963, when he was filming with Walter Cronkite a television special entitled ‘D-Day Plus 20 Years,’ Cronkite asked [Eisenhower] what he thought about when he returned to Normandy. In reply, Eisenhower spoke not of the tanks, the guns, […]
Read More When you look at the church…What Members Do 1 Peter 4:7-11 November 23, 2014 One hundred and two years ago, the Titanic sank quickly and unexpectedly in the Atlantic Ocean. But it took about nine decades to determine the reason why the Titanic sank: Recent in-depth research into the sinking of the Titanic has discovered that faulty rivets may have […]
Read More Sermon: What Members DoAfter this morning’s sermon on church membership, someone shook my hand and quipped, “so I guess [church membership] is more than wearing a name tag.” Yes, it is indeed. My friend was obviously being facetious. Yet his point was obvious. Church membership is a priority for every believer, and being a church member has implications […]
Read More Church membership — it’s more than a nametagA Biblical Perspective on Church Membership Selected Scriptures October 19, 2014 A few days ago, I went though a file in one of my cabinets and I found an old copy of the “Grace Bible Church Membership Qualification Examination.” As I read it, I thought, “maybe this is why some people have delayed joining GBC…” […]
Read More Sermon: A Biblical Perspective on Church MembershipThis morning the sermon dealt with the theology that undergirds GBC’s philosophy of ministry. The statement, “Shepherding God’s people by God’s grace for God’s glory,” is shaped by 13 theological truths. Here is a diagram that illustrates what we mean by shepherding God’s people, and how those theological truths relate to our philosophy of ministry.
Read More A theology of ministry…picturedA Theology of Ministry — Thirteen Core Values that Undergird GBC’s Ministry Selected Scriptures October 12, 2014 Over the next six weeks, we want to think with you about what church ministry looks like. There are two motives behind this: It is good to regularly remind ourselves of the purpose and foundation of ministry — […]
Read More Sermon: A Theology of Ministry
Words of Grace 