Sermon: An Acceptable Debt

An Acceptable DebtRomans 13:8-10March 28, 2021 What makes a church a church? Biblical preaching and teaching. Corporate worship (including baptism and communion). Purity of the gospel. Evangelistic proclamation. Generous fellowship. Sacrificial service. Church membership and church discipline. What makes Grace Bible Church Grace Bible Church? What sets us apart and makes us unique? What identifies […]

Fellowship with God

This post was originally published June 3, 2013; it is being republished today because the theme fits this past Sunday’s sermon so well. The term “fellowship” is used regularly in the context of the church (do non-believers use the word?). Often the word is used synonymously for “food” or “feast,” as in, “be sure to […]

Sermon: Fellowship and the Cross

Fellowship and the Cross 1 John 1:1-4 November 29, 2020 Many years ago (while in seminary) I was an evangelism trainer on a team of people from our church who went out weekly to share the gospel. One of the people on my team was a good friend from seminary. As we were headed back […]

The church – God’s compelling community

One of the best books I read last year was The Compelling Community, co-authored by Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop. Last week I found an interview that Dever and Dunlop did for Nine Marks, discussing the book. Often books will make statements that suggest immovable principles. This interview “softens” some of the hard statements of […]

Sermon: Cultivating Community

“Cultivating Community” Ephesians 4:1-3 January 10, 2016 Tom Pennington tells the story recounted in the book Great Church Fights by Leslie Flynn. The tale recounts a feud in a Welsh church looking for a new pastor. The newspaper article read this way — Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit. Both […]

Sermon: Hospitality, truth, love, and missions, Pt. 2

Hospitality, Truth, Love, and Missions, Pt. 2 3 John 7-14 October 5, 2014 Years ago, when then-speaker of the house Sam Rayburn discovered he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced that he was going back to his small hometown of Bonham, Texas. He was often asked, “They have the finest facilities in […]

Sermon: Hospitality, truth, love, and missions

Hospitality, Truth, Love, and Missions, Pt. 1 3 John 1-6 September 21, 2014 One thing we speak of frequently at GBC is the shape of our church ministry: what will we do and how will we do it? There are so many competing ideas of what a church is and how it should function that […]

Sermon: Restrictions to Fellowship

Restrictions to Fellowship 2 John 7-13 September 14, 2014 The first time I remember a Mormon coming by our house when I was a child was when we were living in Minnesota. I think it was January. My Dad answered the door, saw who they were, stepped outside, closed the door, and shared the gospel […]

Sermon: The Basis of Fellowship

The Basis of Fellowship 2 John 1-6 September 7, 2014 Satan is the ruler of the world (1 Jn. 5:19). That makes the world a wicked and awful place. And despite our discouragement about what we find in the world, we’ve come to expect what we find in the world and from the world. But […]

Essentials Conference audio

Audio from the recent Essentials Conference on fellowship, hosted by Countryside Bible Church is now available. The messages included: Sunday, Feb. 9 “The Challenge and Limits of Biblical Koinonia” (Romans 15:5-7) — Mike Fabarez “The Kind of Body Life God Favors” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15) — Jerry Wragg “Body Life: Deformity or Symmetry” (Romans 12:3-8; 1 […]

Sunday Leftovers: Fellowship with God

The term “fellowship” is used regularly in the context of the church (do non-believers use the word?). Often the word is used synonymously for “food” or “feast,” as in, “be sure to bring enough food to the fellowship (feast)…” or “come Wednesday evening as we enjoy fellowship (a meal) together…” While fellowship can take place […]

When it’s wise to be inhospitable

I grew up in a home where we often had others into our home for the purpose of fellowship and hospitality. In serving as a pastor for more than 20 years now, my wife and I have always sought opportunities to spend time with people inside and outside our church body to cultivate relationships and […]

“Come on in”

“Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:19, 22; NASB) Normally my office door stays wide open […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/2/11) — Relationships

Fifty years ago, Sam Rayburn was in his 17th year as the Speaker of the House when he discovered that he had terminal pancreatic cancer. He then surprised everyone by announcing that he was leaving Washington D.C. to return to his hometown, Bonham, Texas. Why would someone leave Washington with its fine hospitals for a […]

God moves in a mysterious way

In his book, The Hidden Smile of God, John Piper recounts the story of hymn writer William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”). His is a sad tale including the death of his mother at age six, his abandonment by his father into boarding schools where it seems certain he was abused, and his constant battles with despair […]