We believe the gifts of the Spirit have continued. Therefore, we are continuationists and this is significant! But we are affirming more than simply that they have continued. Our conviction is that the gifts have continued for the glory of Jesus Christ, the good of His church, and Gospel hope for the world. 

What exactly are we affirming?

Regarding “The Gifts of the Spirit,” our Statement of Faith says: 

“Christ loves the church, his body, and provides for its health and growth through the Holy Spirit. In addition to giving new life, the Spirit sovereignly bestows gifts on every believer. Spiritual gifts are those abilities and expressions of God’s power given by his grace for the glory of Christ and the building up of the church. …The gifts are not to be exercised with apprehension, pride, or disorder, but with faith, love, and order, and always in submission to the authority of Scripture as the final revelation of God.  With the exception of those among the apostles who were commissioned as eyewitnesses of Christ and made recipients of normative revelation, the full range of spiritual gifts remain at work in the church and are given for the good of the church and its witness to the world. We are therefore to earnestly desire and practice them until Christ returns." 

This is our conviction. 

Why do we affirm this? 

We believe the scriptures teach this. Some reading this are new to the topic of “the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Maybe your church background held another view doctrinally or you previously experienced a very limited expression of the gifts. Some have witnessed the misuse of the gifts. The Apostle Paul addresses this in the Corinthian church but instructs them regarding the orderly use of the gifts in their gathering, and, surprisingly, he urges them to pursue and “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” (1 Corinthians 12-14). Without minimizing our experience, our conviction must be objectively grounded in the scriptures. 

At times, we will have questions, yet at the same time, we earnestly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their practice in our church. This is why we teach on this, and this is why we are having our Gifts of the Holy Spirit Weekend with Mark Prater - Friday, October 18th, from 7-9pm, and Saturday, October 19th from 9am-2pm. PLEASE SIGN UP!

We are asking you to join us and pray that during this weekend we will be further equipped by the word of God and that we will experience the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit as we earnestly pursue the gifts of His Spirit.

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From our Statement of Faith, the following is a robust list of the foundational scriptures on this topic: 

John 16:4-15
Ephesians 4:7-8, 13-16
Ephesians 5:25-27
1 Corinthians 12:7, 11
1 Corinthians 14:26
Ephesians 4:12
Romans 12:6-8
1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-30
1 Peter 4:10-11
Ephesians 4:11-12
1 Corinthians 12:21-26
1 Corinthians 14:1; 13:1-3; 14:33
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
1 Corinthians 14:29
2 Timothy 3:16
Revelation 22:18-19
Acts 1:20-26
John 14:26; 15:27; 16:13-15
1 Corinthians 14:37
Galatians 1:11-20
Revelation 21:14
1 Corinthians 1:7; 12:31; 13:8-12; 14:1, 12

As we step into this new year, it is your pastors’ desire to pray for you. We know that some are suffering physically, are gripped by discouragement and sorrow, at times tempted toward sin, under attack from the enemy, battle condemnation, and need wisdom and hope for the future. In what follows, hear our heart for you.  

First, hear Paul’s prayer for the Church in Ephesus from Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV):

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Now, hear our heart and prayer for you:
Father, as we head into this new year, we are thankful to you for our precious Church. Even as the faces and names of these saints come to mind, we are overjoyed with the knowledge that you are already at work in each one of them. Lord, be merciful and heal the sick and encourage the discouraged. Lift up the souls of the faint and brokenhearted. Move sinners into repentance. Lead us into everlasting joy in you

Holy Spirit, may our church know that you are at work in their “inner being so that Christ may dwell in” their “hearts through faith”. Strengthen, purify, and grow our church by your presence and work in their lives. Strengthen their faith, reminding them of the everlasting love of Christ. Fortify them against the enemy. Keep them anchored in the truth of your word and its sound doctrine. Exalt the Son of God, Jesus, and empower the Church to heed his command, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2:40 ESV), and empower them to watch their lives and doctrine closely according to your word (1 Timothy 4:16 ESV). 

Jesus, thank you for your undeserved atoning sacrifice on the cross for your Church. May your church grow in our knowledge of, our need for, and our joy in you. Send us to this world with this good news and make disciples. When we gather, may our worship, singing, and encouragement of each other be our overwhelming happy response as we exalt your name. We ask all of these things in your name, Jesus.

Paul ends his prayer with these words in Verses 20 and 21: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. AMEN.”

— Tom Wilkins

Our Marriages Needed the Redeeming Power of God.

Thursday night was our Community Group. It so happens that our group right now has six married couples. Our topic for discussion last night was based on the role of the husband and this was strategic and will be followed by our next meeting that will discuss the role of the wife. These two meetings follow our church’s recent Sermon Series – The Final Word: Gender, Marriage, and Complementarian Roles According to Scripture (what a gift God’s word is to us regarding these issues has been and what a gift these sermons have been to our church).

So, the agenda for our meeting was set. The Bible text was Ephesians 5. Our guide for discussion was Chapter 2 from the book, “Love that Lasts – When Marriage Meets Grace”, by Gary and Betsy Ricucci. The title of the chapter is “Leading with Love – The Role of the Husband.” 

Yet my heart for our group was one of desperation, a desperation for the Holy Spirit to minister to these couples… to Lisa and me. I knew that this meeting was coming at a time that met the various couples right in the middle of life’s suffering, bewilderment, conflict, trouble, failure, sin and more. Our meeting was not filled with starry-eyed newlyweds. Together we needed instruction, help, encouragement, correction, conviction, repentance, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and most definitely real and lasting hope, hope we knew but have often forgotten could be found only in Jesus. Our marriages needed the redeeming power of God. 

Knowing this, I began the meeting by reading the final word’s in Chapter 2. Gary wrote:

“Men, I could have easily filled this chapter with the examples of my failures to love, lead, understand, and honor my wife. But that wouldn’t serve you.” He went on. “Instead, I want to draw your attention to the glorious gospel of the Son of God who cleanses us from our past and then moves us forward to grace-filled future.” 

Each husband (and their wives) so needed to be reminded about the redeeming power of God in the glorious gospel! The time flew by, and we seemingly barely scratched the surface, yet nearing the end of our time, one of the wives highjacked the last several minutes of the meeting and each of wives encouraged their husbands in specific ways that God was at work in them as they fulfilled their roles husbands. 

Our marriages so needed this Community Group! God has been at work redeeming husbands’ and wives’ roles, redeeming their marriages, and our marriages so needed to hear it. Instead of being left to the condemning nature of a litany of failures, each husband was encouraged forward by the truth of God’s redeeming power that is at work in their marriage. 

Let this simple retelling of a single Community Group’s story direct your gratitude, and your worship to your Savior, Jesus, who loved His bride so much that “He gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)

-Tom Wilkins

It is reported that Charles Spurgeon would give tours of his church building where the visitors would find saints gathered in the basement. It was there that Spurgeon would delight in calling these intercessors the “powerhouse” (“the furnace,” “the boiler room”). He said that “a prayerful church is a powerful church” and “If God be near a church, it must pray!”

I would love to give you a tour of our church building about 30 minutes before every Sunday service. In the auditorium, you will find one of the boiler rooms of our church. Gathered there are humble believers from all walks of life praying that the people at every gathering would experience the power of God in the Gospel to save and praying for the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work. 

I do want to draw attention to something that the scriptures are very clear about. There is a kind of prayer that has no power at all. Jesus, instructs His disciples on this kind of prayer in the Gospel of Matthew.

In Matthew 6:7-9, Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:...” (ESV)

Jesus teaches us that piles of “empty phrases” and “many words” are not “heard” by God. The implications of this are manifold, but then He explicitly (for our hope) says that our Father already knows what we need before we even ask Him, so “Pray then like this!” How kind of Jesus to actually teach us how to pray, and there is real power in THIS prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” 

Imagine with me the Powerhouse, that is in heaven, namely our Father! If HE, the Sovereign, All-Powerful, King of the Ages, hears THIS kind of prayer, then He becomes the very power of the church and her prayer rooms. When the church “prays then like this” we discover, HE is THE power to save as His kingdom comes and His will is done both here on earth and as it is heaven! HE is THE power to provide exactly what we need each day! HE has THE power to forgive us! HE is THE power we need to forgive others, remove us from temptation, and deliver us from evil! 

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the victory and the majesty…”
1 Chronicles 29:11

A church is powerful when it prays humbly to her All-Powerful Heavenly Father!

- Tom

In our Suburban, loaded with the kids, snacks, Nintendo, CDs, and camping gear, precious memories were made. But, before we even reached the freeway from our house, the snacks were gone, batteries were dead, and one of the kids would inevitably call out,

“Are we there yet?”

Suddenly, we had a new passenger. His name was Impatience, and he took turns befriending almost everyone in the vehicle over the next few hours. Sound familiar?

God’s word shows us that patience calls for us to wait, and we all too often find that we don’t want to wait. We ask, and we wait. We ask again and wait. In prayer, we struggle with waiting, and, if we are honest, sometimes our prayers can be more like demands, and this is revealed in our actual words. “Lord, I ask that you do this right now!” Yes, urgency in prayer is necessary at times, but should we ever come as creatures demanding of our Creator? We do wrestle with David as he writes in Psalm 13:1:

“How long, oh LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (ESV) 

We do need to pray honestly, but some will never be answered. Our sinful cravings make their way into our prayers, and these will not be granted. Charles Spurgeon includes this dilemma in a prayer following one of his sermons:

“The prayers of our lusts Thou has rejected,” but he follows with hope-filled certainty: “...but the prayers of our necessities Thou hast granted. Not one good thing hath failed of all that Thou has promised.”

Our lusts rejected but our necessities granted!

In waiting for answers to our prayers, we must remember that we are waiting for Him! Our trials are extremely difficult. Our sorrows and true needs are real. Yet, what we must realize is that we cannot wait for just that “thing.” We do wait for that, but our hope must be in HIM. He is not simply the means by which we get our answer. The LORD our greatest need. Consider again David’s cry to the LORD in Psalm 13, “How long, oh LORD?”, and keep reading through verses 5 and 6 “But I have trusted in your steadfast love… I will sing to the Lord!” David’s enemies are real and breathing down his neck,… but then he remembers the LORD’s steadfast love and his waiting turns into singing to the LORD. We wait, but we wait for Him! 

We may not understand now, but A.B. Simpson wrote:

“Some day, beloved, in His arms, you will understand. He does not always explain it now… He lets the weary years go by; but oh, someday we will understand.”

Spurgeon calls us to look back while we wait:

“Your prayers were innumerable; you asked for countless mercies, and they have all been given. Only look at yourself; are not you adorned and bejeweled with mercies as thick as the stars.”

“... they who wait for the Lord shall
renew their strength…”
Isaiah 40:31

Tom

Wayne Grudem defines prayer as “personal communication with God.” God is our Creator, we are His creation, and He has made this personal way for us to communicate with Him. But, let’s be honest. At times, it is hard for us to pray, and the reasons are numerous! Here, I will radically narrow our focus to two reasons that we find it difficult to pray: when we have no time to pray, and when we can not pray.

 When We Have No Time To Pray

This one is an easy target. It’s difficult to pray because life is crazy busy at times. We jolt awake in the morning and hit the ground running. Day after day after day, the alarm, the snooze, the alarm, this thing, that thing, and another thing - repeat - day in and day out. We don’t pray because there is no time to pray… or at least, we think there is no time to pray. 

So, how do we find the time to pray? Charles Spurgeon answers this. “If we have no time we must make time, for if God has given us time for secondary duties, He must have given us time for primary ones, and to draw near to Him is a primary duty, and we must not let nothing set it on one side.” That is the reason! I have set prayer off to the side for something else and making time for it requires that I shift it back into its primary place. 

When We CanNot Pray

Now, this one is more common than you may think. Yet, knowing how important it is, there will be times when we find that we do not feel like praying. Grief, discouragement, or spiritual dryness are winning the day, and we find ourselves unwilling to talk with God. Again, Spurgeon speaks to this: “I believe that when we cannot pray, it is time that we prayed more than ever. Pray for prayer. Pray for the spirit of supplication. Do not be content to say, ‘I would pray if I could.’ No, but if you cannot pray, pray till you can pray.” In Psalm 42:5-6 we find this at work: 

“Why are you cast down, O my soul…?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.”

Soul, hope in God that you will praise (pray to) Him! 

A few years ago, in a moment of deep desperation, a loved one looked at me through tear-stained eyes, and said, “This is too hard.” That day was too hard for us, and though at that moment we could not pray, the Spirit did… and then later we could.  

There is a precious promise in Romans 8:26: 

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know what to pray for as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…”

Soul, God is praying until you can pray.

“My soul thirsts for God!”
Psalm 42:2

- Tom

Philippians 4:6
“...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (ESV)

In Philippians 4:6, Paul speaks of a particular kind of prayer, namely, “requests.” He then speaks of the kind of heart from which we are to make these requests. There is a right way to make requests of our Sovereign Lord and this a matter of having a right heart. Yet, to be clear, it’s not a matter of trying to figure out the right wording or formula in making our request, but rather it is out of the right heart that we are to make our request known to God. Contrast this with the fact that a bad heart leads us to make the wrong kind of request. In James 4:3 we hear, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Cleary, an idolatrous, selfish, and greedy heart leads us to “ask wrongly.” God knows the heart. We can use all of the right words and follow the right formula and still find that we honor Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8).

The good news is that God continues to teach us about prayer and here in Philippians about how we make our requests known to Him. Yes, He invites us to ask Him. Study Matthew 7:7-11. Ask… Ask… Ask… It’s His invitation, yet, He instructs us on the kind of heart we are to have when we ask. 

Allow me to point to just one word in Verse 6 - “supplication.” This word denotes the heart posture of a humble beggar. Having a right heart in prayer is having a humble heart as we approach His presence. We come needy, lowly, and desperate. Charles Spurgeon writes: “Our addresses to the throne of grace must be solemn and humble, not flippant and loud, or formal and careless.” Also, “When you are engaged in prayer, plead your strength, and you will get nothing; then plead your weakness, and you will prevail. There is no better plea with Divine love than weakness and pain; nothing can so prevail with the heart of God as for your heart to faint and swoon. The man who rises in prayer to tears and agony, and feels all the while as if he could not pray, and yet must pray - he is the man who will see the desire of his soul.” What a gracious God and King! When we enter His presence, we should immediately hear Him demand, “Silence!,” but, we discover that His throne is a throne of grace inviting us to humbly come and petition Him. 

May we plead with God in weakness, finding that we will prevail, and see the “desire of our soul”! 

“But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.”
Isaiah 66:2

- Tom

Se·cret  /ˈsēkrət/

“not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others.” - Oxford

Matthew 6:5-6

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

The Scriptures reveal all kinds of prayers - songs of prayer, group prayer, public prayer, and the like. In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus provides very specific instructions regarding a particular place and a particular kind of prayer. 

There is a place where God is calling us to go and meet with Him. Out of the eye of public knowledge, this place is a “secret” place.

This secret place for prayer guards against the pride mentioned in Verse 5. There are “hypocrites” who pray in public “that they may be seen by others”. Pride is at work more often than we can admit when find ourselves praying to be seen or heard by others. I have never stood on a corner and belted out a prayer, but I have raised the volume while praying at a restaurant, just to be seen by others (boy, the kids loved that!). Jesus said “go into your room and shut the door” and pray in a humble secret place. 

What’s amazing about the text is that our Father is waiting there for that secret conversation (Vs 6) and He will reward that private time with Him. Author Steve Miller writes, “[Charles] Spurgeon’s public prayers stirred the hearts of his listeners as much or even more so than his preaching. But these prayers were only the tip of the iceberg, buoyed upward by the unseen depth and breadth of his private times alone with God.” Jesus said that the Father was waiting in that place to hear our prayers. Secret prayer moves us toward a deeper trust, dependency, and growth in our relationship with Him. We know Him more and more, and we are changed by Him in those secret times. Spurgeon’s public prayers were evidence of what God had done in him in that secret place. The same remains true for us. Go to that secret place and pray. God’s presence in that place will meet you, change you, and help you! 

Spurgeon wrote, “Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church.” The opposite is true as well. When the members of the church pray privately, the corporate strength of the church is immeasurable! Together, we grow in the knowledge of God, we are met by God and our faith in God together as Christ’s body is galvanized. 

A secret place waits for you. Go there often and pray.

“Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name…”

- Tom

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine, Todd, found out that he had cancer on the back of his eye. Over the following months, he made visits to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Todd, whose faith in Christ was sure, would prayerfully bring a hopeful Christ-like presence of life, joy, and eternal perspective into the waiting areas that were filled with cancer patients many of whom were desperate, dying, and suffering greatly! 

In Psalm 16:11 we find these three amazing things in God: the path of life, the fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. At different times in our lives, we find ourselves desperate for these things. Amazingly, God’s word reveals that there are more than these three. Prayer brings us before the One who has them all and then some! Charles Spurgeon says this about prayer, “To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to enrich oneself out of an inexhaustible storehouse.” Desperate for life when we are facing death, lost in misery, and gripped by sorrow, we can come to God in prayer and find life, joy, and pleasures forevermore, each being found in the treasure-house of God, knowing that He is ready to give. Ask Him for life. Ask Him for joy. Ask Him for pleasures that come from Him! In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus says that the Father is ready to “...give good things to those who ask him!” God desires that we pray and make requests of Him while standing ready to answer the requests with “good things.” When we pray, we make our request known and trust that He is good. 

In the same context, Spurgeon said “the very act of prayer is a blessing… apart from the answer”. This should encourage us all, but what about those, like myself, who struggle during the times when God answers “no,” or “not yet” to our prayers? Joni Eareckson Tada, after 50 years of being paralyzed from the neck down, while speaking on what she has learned from God, said, “A ‘no’ answer to my request for a miraculous physical healing has meant purged sin, a love for the lost, increased compassion, stretched hope, an appetite for grace, an increase of faith, a happy longing for heaven, a desire to serve, a delight in prayer, and a hunger for his Word.” She is able to say prayer itself has become a delight! In prayer, we pull down heaven into our souls in sense and behold the inexhaustible storehouse of God’s eternal faithfulness and goodness. While we wait for His answer, basking in His presence in prayer sets our hearts aflame in hope! 

“To pray is to grasp heaven in one’s arms, to embrace God.” - Spurgeon. 

- Tom

Psalm 91:14-16 
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

“Intimacy with God” is a loaded statement. Take just a moment and consider it. 
Intimacy…………… with God.

If we think about it for more than just a few seconds it may become a precious thought. It may lead us to smile. It may cause us to be uncomfortable. It may be uncomfortable due to a limited understanding of the word “intimacy”. I may have an intimate knowledge of computer networks [I’m tooting my horn here - but pride might be in a future blog, ha!], but I would never say that I experience intimacy in my relationship with a computer network. Words are important! Intimacy with God is the stuff of our relationship with Him. Depending on the nature of your relationship with God, this could bring us joy or immediately concern us.

For the follower of Christ, prayer is an intimate means of talking with God. In Psalm 91:14, the writer “holds fast to [God] in love.” He [knows God’s name]. This is an intimate knowledge of God in a deep affection for God. And in this intimate relationship with God, he “calls” on God. He speaks to God. He prays to God. It is clear that prayer is an intimate encounter with God. 

Charles Spurgeon knew of this intimate nature of prayer when he said, “Prayer links us with the Eternal, the Omnipotent, the Infinite, and hence it is our chief resort.” In prayer, he said that we should “Be sure that you are with God, and then you may be sure that God is with you.” This is amazing! We have true intimacy with God in prayer. We then are greatly comforted knowing that He is very near when we pray! 

It gets better! Psalm 91:15-16 reveals that God moves toward us in salvation when we call on Him for help. He truly is with us. Yet, now there is even greater a joy in discovering that He moves in closer when we pray for His help. In these times, we will intimately know that we are with Him and that He is with us! 

The possibility of the nearness of God is a surprising joy when we remember that He is holy and we are not. The surprising intimacy we have in prayer is made possible only by the Cross of Christ (Hebrews 10:19). He loved us first (1 John 4:19). 

Think about those words, “intimacy with God” again, and pray knowing that God is very near.

- Tom

Are you a leader? If you need help, the answer is yes. Everyone is a leader in some sense. As a husband, you lead your home. As a mother, you lead your children in their father’s absence. If you are single, you have to lead yourself. You may lead in your classroom or on the field of competition. You may lead in the workplace or in your church. Everyone is a leader in some sense. If you are a Christian, your leadership always has a spiritual aspect. 

Over the years, I have read plenty of books on leadership. Some good. Some bad. Ultimately, I have always benefited as I discern what to keep and throw out. It is always fascinating to see how many secular leadership principles flow from biblical principles. My favorite book on leadership is Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership by Steve Miller. As a pastor, Mr. Spurgeon explains, among other topics, how a commitment to holiness, a heart to serve, a willingness to suffer, and a resolve to endure are essential to fruitful, Christ-exalting leadership. Guess where he begins? That’s right, prayer. Chapter One is A Passion for Prayer. Listen to Spurgeon’s passion for prayer come through in his own words:

The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God.

For Spurgeon, leadership began on one’s knees. Why? Humility is vital to leadership. Prayer is the most significant expression of humility one can experience. As a leader, people look to you. They depend on you. They willingly follow you. In the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:16-17—Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not. No matter what place of leadership you are in, prayer is a personal and humble expression of your need for the power and grace of God to lead (2 Chronicles 7:14). Prayer transfers the focus from self to God, who is our wisdom, strength, and source of fruitfulness. Whether you are a pastor or not, prayer is a cry from the heart—I need you, Lord, for I am not sufficient, but you are! 

Whatever form your leadership takes, the home, workplace, or church, may prayer never be a secondary activity. By the grace of God, let our most extraordinary efforts in leading, whomever we lead, however we lead, wherever we lead, be on our knees in passionate prayer for the Lord to bear fruit through us for His glory (John 15:8)!

-Derek

We are caught up in a life-and-death battle! Paul tells us so in his letter to the Ephesians. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV)

So, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:13  (ESV)

And then Paul instructs us to take up what C.H. Spurgeon called “The Master-Weapon: All-Prayer.” Battle readiness requires us to take up weapons, namely, the Shield of Faith, the Sword of the Spirit - The Word of God, and here in Ephesians 6:18, we see that one of our primary weapons is All-Prayer. Paul writes that we are to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication….” 

We have this weapon, prayer, but we must take it up and use it in the fight! Spurgeon added that “we should be greatly wise if we used [this master weapon of All-Prayer] more, and did so with a more specific purpose.” Imagine the enemy’s war machines pouring over the hillside! The enemy’s strength is mighty, and the sound of war is deafening. If we then refused to pick up THE most powerful weapon in our possession, we’d be devastated! So it is in the spiritual battle that rages on right now! We desperately need to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might!” Take up All-Prayer and wield it! All-Prayer, used by the Christian, “has great power as it is working” (James 5:16, ESV) because this weapon is deployed in the power of the Spirit making the Christian all the more “strong in the Lord.” Prayer is powerful because the object of our prayer is All-Powerful!

Finally, we pray for each other and for the advance of our cause, the Good News of Jesus. The battle that is going on rages against our King, Jesus, and those that belong to Him, the saints. It rages against the advance of His Gospel. And all of this is going on while we, his saints, suffer loss, fight temptation, and sin, facing accusation by the enemy, weariness, distractions, desertions, fear, worry, and anxiety. “To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6:18-19

Wield this Master-Weapon, and pray “in the strength of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 

- Tom

Charles Spurgeon’s ministry was far-reaching. In his outstanding book, C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, Steve Miller comments:

From 1861 to 1891 he preached to some 6,000 people every Sunday morning….Spurgeon organized and ran several evangelistic, educational, and social ministries, including the Pastors’ College, the Stockwell Orphanage, the Old Ladies Home, the Colportage Ministry, the Pastors’ Aid Society, and the Poor Ministers’ Clothing Society.

Add to the legendary list above traveling to preach and the many books he authored, and a hearty WHEW! is in order. While some may rightly wonder at the gifts and capabilities of Mr. Spurgeon, he knew exactly where the credit belonged:

I stand here to confess frankly that from my inmost heart I attribute the large prosperity which God has given to this church vastly more to the prayers of the people than to anything that God may have given me.

Spurgeon viewed the fruitfulness of His ministry through the power of prayer. And so should we. We can do nothing apart from Jesus (John 15:1-7). Even our prayers depend on the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26). We are utterly dependent on God for all things. But praise be to Jesus, who makes it possible for us to receive the free-flowing grace of God abundantly. How? Through prayer.

God truly wants to bless His people. He desires that we bear fruit in life and ministry. But we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2-3). Prayer is the irreplaceable means by which God pours out His grace and power in our lives. And as Hebrews 4:14-16 says, God made prayer possible through Jesus, whose work as our high priest guarantees we can confidently draw near to the mercy seat of God in prayer.  

Do you long to be a more effective parent? Do you want to see greater fruitfulness in your ministry? Do you desire more closeness in your relationships? It’s not rocket science. Pray. Pray because prayer is God’s way of providing all you need for life and godliness.    

As I began considering how I would write this post, I prayed for God’s guidance. Sitting down to write this post, I prayed for God’s help. As I send out this post, I pray God will use it to produce fruit in your life. From beginning to end, I get the joy of praying; God gets all the glory in the prayers.   

-Derek

Today begins a weekly series titled “A Passion for Prayer.” May this be more than a memorable title, and by the grace of God, serve to reveal how beautiful, powerful, and gracious Christ is! May the result be that our passionate prayer life leads us toward passionate worship of our Savior. He has graciously made a way for us (Hebrews 4:16) and called us to commune with Him. Through this series, may God’s Word encourage your hearts and challenge you toward growth, and lasting change in your prayer life. In the end, may it grant you hope and joy in the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Keep On Praying

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV) “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

What does “pray without ceasing” mean in Verse 17? At first glance, this would seem too daunting and maybe even strange to us. But, Paul is instructing us on something much better and very attainable. C. H. Spurgeon unpacks Paul’s meaning somewhat when says that we “...ought to be always in the spirit of prayer, always ready to pray. Like the old knights, always in warfare, not always on their horses…, but always wearing their weapons where they could readily reach them, and always ready to encounter wounds or death for the sake of the cause which they champion.” 

Let’s look at three things: first, we are to be always in the spirit of prayer, second, always ready to pray, and finally, keep on praying.

First, always be in the spirit of prayer. Verse 18 reminds us that praying without ceasing is “...the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This is Gospel-fueled prayer! As we remind ourselves constantly of the Gospel, our passion for praying is always moved toward Him - praying in worship, and thankfulness, seeing our ongoing need for Him. We now have unhindered access to Him always in prayer because of the Cross. It is His will for us to pray, and we always can because of Christ.

Second, we are to be “always ready to pray.” Gospel-fueled passion for praying makes us ready to pray at any moment. The “old knights” were “always wearing their weapons where they could readily reach them, and always ready to encounter wounds or death for the sake of the cause which they champion.” In the Gospel, prayer has also been given to the believer as a primary means for their readiness for the “cause which they champion.” We are to be ready to pray at all times and for all things. Spurgeon told a friend, “I always feel it well, just to put a few words of prayer between everything I do.” What are you about to do? Pray. No matter what may come, be ready to pray. 

Third, keep on praying. Verse 17 is simple. It’s clear. Don’t stop praying! 

- Tom

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4

 Heaven is coming one day!

There is a day coming that, in the end, will be simply indescribable, but God’s word does begin to describe it. God himself will be with us! An earlier verse calls this “a new heaven and a new earth.” What a day! On that day, there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, and no more pain! What a day! And on that day, God will crush all suffering and sorrow and death! I recently lamented, “I do not want us to see one more gravesite!” Well, there is a day coming that we will not have to! On that day God’s new heaven and earth will be brought in on the wave of his glorious and permanent presence. Heaven will be brought to us by Him. Imagine what that day will be like when all sin and sorrow are truly removed and we are finally in the promised presence of God – in the twinkling of an eye!

 In our grief, hope remains!

We learned a few weeks ago that a dear brother in Christ and a member of our church, Marc Leap, had passed away in his home. Grief and sorrow once again are suddenly on the scene. We are reminded that we are not yet in the new heaven that is to come. Death still plagues us. Mourning, crying and pain remain but they are not all that remains. Hope remains! “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14) Jesus’ resurrection and His promise of our resurrection is the foundation of all of our hope in the face of our present sorrow. The Gospel transforms how we grieve. The Gospel infuses our grief with hope. The Gospel promise of the certain heaven to come bursts in on the darkness of sorrow with the blinding light of this hope – Jesus died and rose again! (Vs. 16)

It's still true, I do not want to visit another graveside but, when my soul remembers that God will be faithful to end all grief and usher in the new heaven where I finally will see the risen Jesus, I will know that hope be waiting for me at every single one.

 -Study the Resurrection and find Heaven’s Hope, Jesus-

This Sunday, we have the privilege of introducing new members to our church. We hope you will be able to join us on this special day! If you have ever wondered why membership is such a priority at Sovereign Grace Church, keep reading…

If you have been around Sovereign Grace Church for any length of time at all, you have probably heard the following statement: While you can’t find the phrase “church membership” in the Bible, church membership is thoroughly biblical. Or, in the words of Mark Dever*, “It is everywhere implied.”

It’s true. Whether it is theological, historical, or practical, personal identity with and commitment to a local church is clearly God’s design and desire for all He saves by His grace.  But don’t take my word for it. Grab your Bible this week and let the Scriptures below do the talking. You might be surprised at what you find!

A biblical argument for local church membership:  

1. Obvious pattern of the NT (Most Epistles were written to specific local churches)

2. Intimate metaphors for the church (Human body—1 Corinthians 12:27; Flock—Acts 20:28; Household—1 Timothy 3:15)

3. Clear practice of the early church (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-14)

4. Call to submit to leaders (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5)

5. Command of church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-12)

6. Charge for pastors to care for and govern the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 5:17)

7. Sobering reality of a pastor’s accountability to God (Hebrews 13:17)

* Mark Dever has served as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church since 1994 and as president of 9Marks (a ministry to churches and church leaders) since its founding in 1998. Mark has authored a number of books, including 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.

In his outstanding Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem explains three reasons God wants us to pray: 1) Prayer expresses our trust in God 2) Prayer is a way to fellowship with God 3) Prayer is a means to participate with God in His kingdom work. Regarding the latter, Grudem says:

In prayer, God allows us as creatures to be involved in activities that are eternally important. When we pray, the work of the kingdom is advanced. In this way, prayer gives us opportunity to be involved in a significant way in the work of the kingdom. 

This is the profound nature and privilege of prayer—an invitation from God to participate in His purposes that take us beyond the temporal. As you join God’s kingdom work in this unique way, please consider the requests below. Above all, may God meet you in your prayers, graciously granting you comprehension of the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ for you and all his saints according to Ephesians 3:18-19. May God mercifully answer our prayers for our good and His glory!

Sovereign Grace Church Local

• Pray that Scottie and Melody Wilkins will be anchored in the love and sovereignty of God, encouraged by the Word, strengthened by the Spirit, and filled with wisdom for practical decisions (medical, house, church) as they prepare for the birth of Everett. 

• Pray the Parenting Weekender (3/25-26) and upcoming Men’s Retreat (you heard it here first—May 5-7). Pray for God’s favor in the planning, His power through the teachings, and His grace in our relationships. 

• Pray for Heidi Aranda’s continued recovery from brain surgery. Pray for abiding trust in the Lord, an acute awareness of His daily mercies, and wisdom from the Spirit as they navigate the practical implications for their daily life.   

Sovereign Grace Churches National

• Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the numerous gospel opportunities He is giving us as a family of churches.

• Pray for Sovereign Grace Pastors College students as they enter the final three months and prepare to begin ministry in local churches here at home and abroad.

Sovereign Grace Churches Global

• Pray for Christians in Ukraine, asking God to protect them and use them to offer gospel hope as the war continues in that nation.

• Pray for the Belarusian pastors that Kyle Huber (Sr. Pastor of our church in Egg Harbor Township, NJ) is working with and caring for. Pray for God’s power as they minister the gospel and His protection to prevent their men from being forced to join Russia against Ukraine. 

• Pray for 4 Sovereign Grace church plants that we have planned in the Asia-Pacific part of the world over the next 24 months: Cavite—Philippines (2022/23), Bonbon—Philippines (2022/23), Negros Occidental—Philippines (2022/23), Kathmandu—Nepal (2022/23).

It’s here! A brand new year. As it begins, I pray your hearts are filled with gratitude for the abundant grace and goodness of the Lord in 2021. What the new year has for you, only God knows. But here’s what you do know as a Christian: Whatever role, season, or situation God has you in, nothing you do in 2022 will be more important than prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), preaching the gospel to yourself (Colossians 3:1-4), and reading the Bible (Psalm 1:1-3). 

For this reason, I encourage you to consider Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Bible reading plan. Mr. M’Cheyne was a nineteenth-century Scottish pastor. The Lord took him home just a few weeks before his 30th birthday. Though his life and ministry were short, his impact has lasted centuries, mainly through his annual bible reading plan. 

A foremost passion for himself and his church was reading the Bible with great intentionality and purpose. One gets a sense of this in his encouragement: 

You read your Bible regularly, of course; but do try and understand it, and still more to feel it. Read more parts than one at a time. For example, if you are reading Genesis, read a Psalm also; or if you are reading Matthew, read a small bit of an Epistle also. Turn the Bible into prayer. Thus, if you were reading the First Psalm, spread the Bible on the chair before you, and kneel and pray, “O Lord, give me the blessedness of the man”; “let me not stand in the counsel of the ungodly.” This is the best way of knowing the meaning of the Bible, and of learning to pray.

Wherever you are in your bible reading, right now is a great time to start reading or rereading the Bible. And let’s do it together. Let’s talk about it on Sunday mornings in the lobby. Let’s share our time in the Word in the home, on the double-date, or that one-on-one coffee. In the hands of the Spirit, God’s Word is active and alive, transforming our hearts and lives to live another year in the good of the gospel and for the glory of our King!

For your convenience, I have included three ways (taken from The Gospel Coalition) you can join us this year:

1. Bible Reading Plan. Read the entire Bible according to Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s plan, which takes you through the entire Bible in a year (including the New Testament and Psalms twice). Download the PDF reading plan

2. Daily Newsletter. This daily email contains Don Carson’s devotional reflection, along with related articles and links to go deeper in each day’s Bible readings. Subscribe here.

3. Podcast. This podcast contains audio reading of Don Carson’s For the Love of God,a daily devotional commentary that follows the M’Cheyne plan: podcast (Apple | Stitcher | Spotify).

Happy New Year and Happy Bible Reading all year!

Over the years, I have heard people much smarter than me encourage Christians to think about your sanctification in terms of formative activities and corrective actions.  Formative is the disciplines and habits built into your life – morning devotions, prayer, fellowship, Church attendance, etc. Corrective actions sometimes come directly from the Holy Spirit but a majority of the time they come from people God has placed in your life.  Both of these means of grace are fundamental activities in our Community Groups and become a huge tool in God’s Rescue Plan. 

Community Groups are a structure that helps us formatively build solid relationships, get into fellowship, apply God’s Word, have accountability, live out the one another’s, etc. 

The problem is that when it comes time for correction, when we need to pursue someone wandering from the truth, it’s crucial to have a history with that person, to know and be known and have a bridge of friendship strong enough to handle the truth and oftentimes the difficulty that can come when we embark on an effort “to bring back a sinner from his wandering.” 

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Here’s the beauty of Community Groups.  By God’s grace we give ourselves to living out our Christian lives and pursuing sanctification with a small group of likeminded, gospel centered believers in our Church.  That’s the majority of our experience in Community Group (1 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 3:12-13).  

If a member of my group (or me!) begins to wander, there is a built in guard rail to nip things in the bud (as we like to say).  Loving relationships, friends, people we have history and memories with, people we have lived life with ready (and hopefully willing) to pursue that member (or me!).  What a beautiful thing! 

Think about Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus’ teaching on Church discipline.  Just like we heard in James 5:19-20, this is God’s Rescue Plan!  Do you see yourself in V. 15?  “… go and tell him … you have gained a brother.” Community Groups provide that platform to be the guard rail in God’s Rescue Plan and live out Biblical truths like these.  

Why? Why would I want to get involved in God’s Rescue Plan?  Why pursue fellow Christians who are wandering?  Isn’t that just going to get messy?  You might be thinking “I have enough problems in my life!”

Here’s a view of Community Groups you might not have considered.  More than just a means of grace, more than just being a tool in God’s Rescue Plan, Community Groups function in a way that image God (Ephesians 5:1)  How’s that?  

Think about it.  The gospel is God’s ultimate rescue plan.  We learned last Sunday that to pursue God we pursue God’s people.   When we pursue a wandering brother we image Christ and His pursuit of you and I who wandered since day one and yet Jesus rescued us by going to the Cross. 

Bottom line … we pursue the wandering believer because Christ pursued us! 

If you have been around Sovereign Grace Church for any length of time at all, you have probably heard the following statement: While you can’t find the phrase “church membership” in the Bible, church membership is thoroughly biblical. Or, in the words of Mark Dever*, “It is everywhere implied.”

It’s true. Whether it is theological, historical, or practical, personal identity with and commitment to a local church is clearly God’s design and desire for all He saves by His grace.  But don’t take my word for it. Grab your Bible this week and let the Scriptures below do the talking. You might be surprised at what you find!

A biblical argument for local church membership:  

1. Obvious pattern of the NT (Most Epistles were written to specific local churches)

2. Intimate metaphors for the church (Human body—1 Corinthians 12:27; Flock—Acts 20:28; Household—1 Timothy 3:15)

3. Clear practice of the early church (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-14)

4. Call to submit to leaders (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5)

5. Command of church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-12)

6. Charge for pastors to care for and govern the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 5:17)

7. Sobering reality of a pastor’s accountability to God (Hebrews 13:17)

* Mark Dever has served as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church since 1994 and as president of 9Marks (a ministry to churches and church leaders) since its founding in 1998. Mark has authored a number of books, including 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.