Graces Liturgy Recap Sunday Feb 10, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Grace Baptist Church of Paragould’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap. Here you will find a list of the songs we led, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy.

OPENING SONG

1. 10,000 Reasons
written by: Matt Redman

WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP:

Welcome and Good Morning! We sing to God for so many different reasons. We sing because God is our Savior. We sing because he is holy and worthy. We just sang a song called 10,000 reasons, and that doesn’t even come close to numbering how many reasons we should worship God. But today I want to invite you to worship God because of His great love for us. Before we continue let’s begin by hearing from His word.

– Psalm 63:2-5 NIV
“I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Let’s stand and sing together to our Great God

2. Your Love O Lord
written by: Third Day

“Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky”

CONFESSION:

As great as God’s love is for us, we must also remember that we received His love at a great cost.

-Ephesians 5:1–2,
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Let’s pray silently and confess to God that we are not a perfect imitators of Him.
Confess that we need him to make us more like Christ.
Now repent and believe that Christ gave himself up as a sacrifice to make us right before God.
Amen.

3. Man of Sorrows (What A Savior)
rewritten by: Sovereign Grace Music

“Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!”

4. The Love of God
written by: Frederick Lehman

“The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.”

SCRIPTURE READING

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.-”
-Titus 3:4-5.

Jesus was and is the very embodiment of the kindness, love, and mercy of God. As we sing In Christ Alone, remember that it is Jesus alone who saves us, not by our merit, but by his grace.

5. In Christ Alone
rewritten by: Keith Getty

“And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ”

SERMON:

Then Pastor Gerald shared from 1 John 4 on the God of Love.

REFLECTION & COMMUNION

6. Here Is Love
written by: Brian Johnson

“Here is love, vast as the ocean
Loving kindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood

Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heaven’s eternal days”

If you have any further questions regarding worship at Grace Baptist please feel free to contact me. I would also like to thank the worship pastors at Sojourn Church in, Louisville, KY for all the help and encouragement I receive from their website. My idea for this part of the blog is borrowed from them. Thank you guys. – Jared

Getting Ready for Sunday: Preparing our hearts 2-10-13

This Sunday, February 10, 2013 is an important day at Grace Baptist of Paragould. It is important because any time we gather together in the name of Christ, we should recognize it as a reverent, important time. After all, one of the great gifts we received in the death and resurrection of Christ was the ability to commune with God in worship. So let’s take a look at what’s ahead, and prepare our hearts for this Sunday’s gathering.

We will gather at our normal meeting times of 9:00am for Sunday school and 10:00am for worship and study of God’s word. Pastor Gerald will be teaching from 1 John 4 on the God of love.

1 John 4 (NIV)
On Denying the Incarnation
“1 Dear friends,(A) do not believe every spirit,(B) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.(C) 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh(D) is from God,(E) 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,(F) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.(G)

4 You, dear children,(H) are from God and have overcome them,(I) because the one who is in you(J) is greater than the one who is in the world.(K) 5 They are from the world(L) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.(M) This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth(N) and the spirit of falsehood.(O)

God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another,(P) for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God(Q) and knows God.(R) 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.(S) 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son(T) into the world that we might live through him.(U) 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us(V) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.(W) 11 Dear friends,(X) since God so loved us,(Y) we also ought to love one another.(Z) 12 No one has ever seen God;(AA) but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.(AB)

13 This is how we know(AC) that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.(AD) 14 And we have seen and testify(AE) that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.(AF) 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,(AG) God lives in them and they in God.(AH) 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.(AI) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.(AJ) 17 This is how love is made complete(AK) among us so that we will have confidence(AL) on the day of judgment:(AM) In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,(AN) because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us.(AO) 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister(AP) is a liar.(AQ) For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,(AR) cannot love God, whom they have not seen.(AS) 21 And he has given us this command:(AT) Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.(AU)

Here you’ll find some related scripture to help prepare you heart for this Sunday: Matt 7:15, 1John 2:18, John 1:14; 1John 2:23, 1John 2:18, Romans 8:31, Romans 5:8-10, 1John 2:5, Ephesians 3:12, 1John 2:7

Songs we will sing together include: Just click on the song for the lyrics.

• 10,000 Reasons – by Matt Redman
• Your Love O Lord – by Third Day
• Man of Sorrows – by Sovereign Grace Music
• In Loving Kindness Jesus Came– by Charles H. Gabriel
• In Christ Alone– by Keith Getty
• Love Came Down (communion) – by Brian Johnson

Something to think about : Jesus was and is the very embodiment of the kindness, love, and mercy of God.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.-“  Titus 3:4-5.

Hope to see you this Sunday.

– Jared

Graces Liturgy Recap Sunday Feb 3, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Grace Baptist Church of Paragould’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap. Here you will find a list of the songs we led, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy.

WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP:

Welcome, it is always a blessing to see you all when we gather. Let’s begin by hearing from the word of the Lord.

– Psalm 66:1-5,8-9
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!”
“Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.”

God is great in power! And He is faithful to keep us! We can trust God, and we can sing with hope in our hearts this morning because of His mighty works. So I invite you to please stand and let’s sing together about His great abilities!

1. Stronger
written by: Hillsong

“Faithfulness none can deny
Through the storm
And through the fire
There is truth that sets me free
Jesus Christ who lives in me”

2. Behold Our God
written by: Sovereign Grace Music

CONFESSION
During the intro to Rock of Ages one of our singers shared briefly from scripture, and encouraged the people at Grace to confess to God their great need for Him as we sang.

“Scripture tells us that when God saves us, we become a “new creation.” We are “born again”, or born from above. We become “children of God” and “participate in the divine nature” But even still, we know that we all struggle with sin while we’re here. So as we sing Rock of Ages, confess to God your weakness, and trust in His promises.”

ON KEYNOTE WHILE JULIE SPEAKS:

“new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17),
“born again” (John 3:3,5)
“children of God” “participate in the divine nature” (John 1:12; Romans 8:16; 1 John 3:10).

3. Rock of Ages
rewritten by: Sojourn

“Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.”

4. Blessed Assurance
written by: Fanny J. Crosby

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”

ASSURANCE AND PEACE

Let this be your assurance and peace today.

– Matthew 7:24-25
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

5. The Solid Rock
written by: Edward Mote

“His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.”

SERMON

Then our Pastor spoke on the faithfulness of God from Deuteronomy 7:6-11.

-Deuteronomy 7:6-11(ESV)
6 “For (A)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be(B)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but (C)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping (D)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, (E)the faithful God (F)who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and (G)repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. (H)He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 (I)You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”

6. All the Way My Savior Leads Me
written by: Chris Tomlin

“All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood “

If you have any further questions regarding worship at Grace Baptist please feel free to contact me. I would also like to thank the worship pastors at Sojourn Church in, Louisville, KY for all the help and encouragement I receive from their website. My idea for this part of the blog is borrowed from them. Thank you guys. – Jared

Getting Ready for Sunday: Preparing our hearts 2-3-13

This Sunday, February, 3, 2013 is an important day at Grace Baptist of Paragould. It is important because any time we gather together in the name of Christ, we should recognize it as a reverent, important time. After all, one of the great gifts we received in the death and resurrection of Christ was the ability to commune with God in worship. So let’s take a look at what’s ahead, and prepare our hearts for this Sunday’s gathering.

We will gather at our normal meeting times of 9:00am for Sunday school and 10:00am for worship and study of God’s word. Pastor Gerald will be teaching from Deuteronomy 7:6-11  on remembering the faithfulness of God.

-Deuteronomy 7:6-11(ESV)
⁶ “For ^(A)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be^(B)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷ It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but ^(C)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping ^(D)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, ^(E)the faithful God ^(F)who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰ and ^(G)repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. ^(H)He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. ^11 (I)You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Here you’ll find some cross reference scripture to help prepare you heart for this Sunday: Dig a little. Know God more. Click Here.

Songs we will sing together include: Just click on the song for the lyrics.

• Stronger– by HillSong
• Behold Our God – by Sovereign Grace Music
• Rock of Ages – by Augustus Toplady, Sojourn Music
• Blessed Assurance – by Fanny J. Crosby
• The Solid Rock– by Edward Mote
• All The Way My Savior Leads Me – by Christ Tomlin

We’ll be singing Stronger congregationally, so give it a listen. Great lyrics.

Hope to see you this Sunday.

– Jared

High Stakes

 

19 “And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.”  – 1 Samuel 12:19-22

“No matter what you’ve done, no matter how far gone you feel, God promises you can return to Him; In fact, He stakes His name on it, and the good news is… He never loses.”

If your just now jumping in on the story in 1 Samuel, you may be a little confused. What exactly did these people do to “add to all” their “sins this evil?” Well, just before this, the very same people that are now asking for prayer and forgiveness in the passage were begging for a king, but not just any king, a worldly king that they believed would fulfill their desires.

The problem here is not simply that the people of Israel wanted a king. The problem is a heart issue. They had a king. They had a righteous and Holy Judge, sovereign over all things, but still, they wanted someone they could see, feel, compare themselves to. And they got it. However, king Saul ended up being less of a “good” king and  more of a wake up call. The people of Israel were dealing with the consequences of their decisions and found themselves miserable, now asking for forgiveness.

Isn’t it crazy how even still today, we as God’s people, find ourselves in this same situation over and over again. I can’t help but see myself in this passage, how I constantly ask God for stuff I want, and not what I need. The old Rolling Stones chorus plays over and over in my head.

“No, you can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime,
you just might find
You get what you need”

I’ve heard it said before, “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Sometimes I get it, and most the time I reap the consequences of my actions too. But this isn’t God punishing us. These are teaching moments. When things like this happen in our life, God is teaching us that we get what we need in Him, not in the stuff we want, and sadly, we usually have to be taught in the same manner the Israelites were taught.

The people of Israel, by God’s grace, return and ask forgiveness, and Samuel gives us a great old testament picture of Jesus in this passage, a picture we all need to see as a reminder of how weak we are, and how amazing God is. Samuel basically says, “Even though you abandoned me, I’ve never stopped praying for you.” Even as we constantly mess up and turn to worldly idols over Jesus, He sits at the right hand of God praying for us every moment of every day.

We, like the Israelites, find ourselves in situations where it’s too late. We got the king we asked for, and now it’s time to deal with it. But, the promise we see spoken from God to the people of Israel in verse 22, gives us a reason to hope for the future. We can sum it up like this. No matter what we’ve done, no matter how far gone we feel, God promises we can return to Him; In fact, He stakes His name on it, and the good news is… He never loses.

– Jared

Getting Ready for Sunday: Preparing our hearts 1-27-13

This Sunday, January, 27, 2013 is an important day at Grace Baptist of Paragould. It is important because any time we gather together in the name of Christ, we should recognize it as a reverent, important time. After all, one of the great gifts we received in the death and resurrection of Christ was the ability to commune with God in worship. So let’s take a look at what’s ahead, and prepare our hearts for this Sunday’s gathering.

We will gather at our normal meeting times of 9:00am for Sunday school and 10:00am for worship and study of God’s word. Pastor Gerald will be teaching from Luke 18:1-8 on the need for persistence in prayer.

Here you’ll find some related scripture to help prepare you heart for this Sunday: Matthew 6:5-17, Luke 18:9-14, and Luke

Songs we will sing together include: Just click on the song for the lyrics.

• Hail The Day – by Sovereign Grace Music
• Revelation Song – by Kari Jobe
• Thy Holy Spirit, Lord Alone – by Jared Risner
• Now Why This Fear – by Sovereign Grace Music
• Speak, O Lord– by Keith Getty
• What A Friend We Have In Jesus – by Joseph Scriven

If you would like to hear a few of these songs, check out the videos below.

Now Why This Fear

Speak, O Lord

Hope to see you this Sunday.

– Jared

Getting Ready for Sunday: Preparing our hearts 1-20-13

This Sunday, January, 13, 2013 is an important day at Grace Baptist of Paragould. It is important because any time we gather together in the name of Christ, we should recognize it as a reverent, important time. After all, one of the great gifts we received in the death and resurrection of Christ was the ability to commune with God in worship. So let’s take a look at what’s ahead, and prepare our hearts for this Sunday’s gathering.

We will gather at our normal meeting times of 9:00am for Sunday school and 10:00am for worship and study of God’s word. Pastor Gerald will be teaching about the sanctity of life. We’ll be look at several passages.

Here you’ll find some related scripture to help prepare you heart for this Sunday: Gen 1:27, Ex 4:11, Ps 119:73 & Isaiah 49:5

Songs we will sing together include: Just click on the song for the lyrics.

• Praise to The Lord, The Almighty – by Christy Nockels
• All Creatures of Our God and King – by David Crowder
• God of Wonders – by Third day
• Great is Thy Faithfulness – by Thomas Chisholm
• How Great Thou Art– by Stuart Hine
• When I Survey The Wondrous Cross – by Issac Watts

If you would like to hear a few updated versions of these rich old hymns, check out the Page CXVI video below. If you like what you hear, click on the lion image below the video to go to their website for some free music, and info on how to support the modern hymn movement.

Hope to see you this Sunday.

– Jared

Plank-Eye Syndrome

You may have noticed from my previous post I tend to speak out about things I am passionate about, and I am deeply passionate about the truths of scripture. But, sometimes that passion, that zeal can cause problems. I find myself running around trying to fix everyone else when I’m sailing the same boat.

Matthew 7:1-5
“1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

When I read passages like this I am convicted, not for the same reasons people might assume though. I am convicted because Christ saw this struggle enough in us, He knew it was necessary to teach on.

Because of our flesh, it is a natural desire to find and point out the short comings of others. It is one of the greatest efforts extended by our self-righteousness. If we can make others look so sinful, so lost, so irredeemable, then maybe we will look acceptable. This “plank-eye syndrome”is the deep down desire to save ourselves.

I googled the verses just to see what the world had to say about this particular passage, and response after response was the same. It means, “don’t judge.” It means,”take a look in the mirror before pointing out someone’s sin.” These are true answers, but we are missing something. When we read passages like this, it is easy to miss the depth of its meaning because there is a surface level truth to it. It is even easier to miss the point because our sinful nature twists and bends scripture to our will. Now suddenly, a passage about not judging others becomes a defense mechanism for our sin, being turned on at the slightest hint of any biblical reproach.

But Jesus has done something much more here. Jesus has taken something we struggle with every day and turned it into something that points to God’s Glory. What Jesus was teaching in this passage was not just about judging one another, but about teaching us who the “real Judge is.” We try so hard to find acceptance, to be valued, and so we begin looking around. Who seems like they struggle more than I do? Who commits this or that sin that i don’t do? When on the inside, our hearts are disgusting. Here, Jesus teaches, “none among you have it together. This type of judgement is no good to man because you have all gone astray. I am your standard, no one else, and apart from Me, you don’t make the cut.” (Isaiah 53:6)

So how do I get this plank out of my eye? We need to first repent because plank-eye syndrome leads to death as our self-righteousness overlooks our need for a savior. We combat its symptoms by remembering Christ and His Gospel. By believing We are a lost cause without His work. When I begin preaching the Gospel to myself first, consuming His word, and seeking His guidance, my desire turns from self-righteous passion to a passion for a Savior who redeemed us by His blood.
This passion fuels us to a judgement that graciously and lovingly guides saints and non-believers to the holy life we are called to. (Leviticus 20:26, 1 Peter 1:16)

Jon Calvin has a wonderful amount to say on this topic here. Check it out. http://m.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom31.ix.lxi.html

– Jared

Christless Crosses

Photo from the cover of Michael Horton’s book, Christless Christianity.
You can support Dr. Horton by purchasing a book on his website. http://www.christlesschristianity.org/

I’m sure I am not the only one who has noticed a vast movement toward reaching non-believers among the American Evangelical circle. This is obviously not a bad thing. Biblically speaking, disciples should be making disciples. (Matt 28:19)  But this movement has also come along with much rebranding of the Christian message. We hear terms like “missional communities,” “expressions” and “Gospel living” that are all new to us. Rebranding in and of itself is all good and well as long as there is Christ exalting purpose behind it, but in some instances, what is happening is not just rebranding, but compromise.

A few weeks ago I received a card in the mail from one of the largest churches in our area. The card was high quality, artistically designed, and displayed on the front were the words, “stop going to church.” Now, I had heard this term before on several different occasions, but the “stop going to church,” was always followed by, “and start being the church.” This is a fairly new term, but when you read passages like Acts 20:28 and Romans 12:3-5, it is easy to see the truth in it. However, in this particular situation, the second half of the saying was missing, nowhere to be found on the front or back of the card. I couldn’t seem to get it out of my mind. I was troubled. I had full understanding of what the church was trying to do, and I believe they had good intentions, but as I began to think more about the card, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Had my fellow brothers and sisters compromised the truth of the Gospel for the sake of “sounding cool” to non-believers? And is there even a hint of Christ exalting purpose behind reaching out in this fashion? Sadly, there is compromise. What happened in this situation is something that we as American Christians do often. We share truth differently, or leave offensive truths out of our communication in order to make the Gospel more palatable to non-believers. We entice people to the Gospel, by offering something they can relate to. Sin.

For example, one of the more recent sayings I have heard among young evangelicals that falls in this category is, “I was so drunk in the spirit during worship.” What we see here is a believer, comparing the goodness of communion with the Holy Spirit to the worldly pleasure of drunkenness. Is God’s own greatness not good enough to describe Him? Absolutely it is, but the lost are not impressed by the greatness of God. They are in love with sin. So instead of bucking up, being bold for Christ, and sharing the Gospel, we attempt to turn Christianity into a trend, a bandwagon that you’ll want to be on or you may feel left out. This does not and will never produce true disciples. This ever growing problem comes about by our desire to be accepted. Though we are accepted in Christ, and he has “rebranded” us with His term, redeemed, we still fear man and long for man’s acceptance. We see this in the lack boldness in Christians, and the hidden theologies of pastors.

More recently, when I asked a friend of another church what theology they were teaching, he replied, “our pastor says the cross is offensive enough, we don’t need to talk about all that other stuff.” But the reality is that “all that other stuff,” is what makes the cross so offensive. The majority of the world believes Jesus was a real man. They believe he died on a cross. Even a buddhist or devout follower of allah will affirm these truths. The cross only becomes a stumbling block, and an offense when we say Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus was and is the Christ. Jesus atoned for the sin of man by dying on the cross. Jesus defeated sin and death, by raising Himself from the grave, and no one receives the gift of eternal life outside of a relationship with Him. These Gospel truths are the two edged sword of the cross. The Gospel is damning when we hear of our sin and the work of Christ but have no repentance. No one wants to share that truth. It doesn’t make people happy or feel good about themselves, but if we truly believe that within the Gospel is a key that opens the flood gates of God’s mercies and redeems His people, then maybe, we would stop compromising His truths. Maybe we would stop coming up with new words to make the Gospel more palatable, and we would just start teaching God’s good news. News, that yes, says you and I are sinners, but  news that also promises Jesus Christ came to seek and save sinners.

By living a life for the glory of God, empowered by the spirit, to teach and preach the good news of Jesus, we can be a part of a true movement of God. A movement as old as time, and as relevant as breathing. A movement with no need to rebrand and contextualize to the extreme because our acceptance is not found in men, but Christ. That is how we “stop going to church and start being the church,” by living a life without compromise because Jesus didn’t compromise. He bore the cross.

– Jared