Tag: GraceChurch

The Resurrection and The Gospel

On By MarkIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I love Resurrection Sunday, aka Easter! I used to be kinda hung up on only calling it Resurrection and not Easter. Then I realized once that both I and the church know. We already know. We know what it is and we know why we celebrate every Sunday and we know that it matters. Guess who doesn’t know? The people that call it Easter. That’s right. The general public. The neighbor who watches me get in my car every Sunday morning. He knows I know something. But he doesn’t really know. And because I know him, I know that. So, on the inside of the church family, Resurrection Sunday it is! But for our advertising and welcoming all, I think Easter is just fine.

I love that churches fill up a bit more than usual and that the opportunity to be clear on the Gospel is both anticipated and accomplished!

My message on Easter Sunday will be “Responding to Grace”.  I can’t wait.  

Two things I want to do before we welcome a few extra people in a couple of weeks at our church.

I want our church family to KNOW the Gospel.  Do you know it? Could you tell someone in just a few sentences what the Good News actually is?  I know many of you can. We preach, teach, speak it regularly at church. I want you to be confident in knowing what the Gospel actually is.  

I also want our church family to know how to SHARE the Gospel.  If you are given the opportunity, whether with a family member, neighbor, or coworker, could you share this amazing Good News?  I know some of you have, and I bet many feel a tad inadequate.  You basically know it, and believe it, but how to tell someone, well that’s different. You can easily learn both what the Gospel is and how to share it when given the chance.

A few years ago we started training people of Grace on the One Answer.  

Here are two opportunities for you to learn the Gospel and how to share it.  

One Answer: Know the Gospel | Share the Gospel

  • This Sunday, March 22nd from 4-5pm in the Community Room
  • Monday, March 30th from 6-7pm in the Community Room

I’m praying that one of those options will work for you to come and let me guide you through knowing and sharing the gospel. I promise, you won’t be disappointed and you’ll have fun learning together with the church family! 

There won’t be any child care, but there will be some refreshments.  Can’t wait to see you and share the Best News ever!

If you’re a reader of this long-silenced blog, I’ll be sure to post here after our training sessions the short answers. I’m kinda curious if blogs are still a thing, if this way of news and info is still helpful. It’s been 2 years and 4 months since I last wrote. Wowzers and oh well. Here we are.

Where you are and what church you call home, pray for your church, your pastor and prepare yourselves to be hospitable with the Gospel! The best thing we can do for others is be clear.

All for now.

For Such a Time as This

On By MarkIn God's Glory, Grace Community, Holy SpiritLeave a comment

Anyone familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures knows well this phrase. It certainly makes for a great sermon title. I recall early on in the pandemic we were doing outdoor services and I did a short series on “Now More than Ever”. As I prepared that series I soon realized it’s a topic and theme that are timeless and necessary. We all live only in the moments we have and want to be purposeful about getting the right things right. The same is said of Mordecai’s words from Esther 4:13-14.

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This evening, March 16th is the start of the one day celebration of Purim. This is the Jewish holiday remembering and celebrating God’s deliverance of His people through the prompting of Mordecai to encourage Esther to go before the King with the news of Haman’s wicked plot. Esther knew what it might cost her, which in turn prompted Mordecai’s famous challenge.

For those who are following the teaching at Grace, we are finishing up a study of Ezra and Nehemiah. Interestingly there is overlap in the stories with the timeline of Esther. It is not specifically stated in the scriptures, but tradition gives us cause to wonder if Nehemiah’s request of the Persian King was granted in part by the influence of Esther’s story just a few years prior. Same city. Same family dynasty. We won’t speculate too much on that, but there’s nothing wrong with wondering about the potential impact. What we do know is that the people (Jewish people still in exile) were spared and given a celebration in place of a mass memorial. Just a few years later, the people were encouraged to return from a place of exile to a home with expectation.

Is the Lord leading you to stand up, speak up, to sit up and lean in towards something that may in fact turn out bigger than you realize?

Today, the Lord dwells within His people. His work is our work. Our identity isn’t found in how well we do that work, but rather in the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit living and working within us. It is Christ in me that causes me to lean in and say, “Yes Lord, I’m all in. For such a time as this, You made me, loved me, and have empowered me to do Your will for Your great glory. Let’s celebrate God’s faithfulness to His people then and now as we remember the remarkable story of Esther.