I was recently reading a pastor’s testimony about his “call to full-time ministry.” He painted an all-too-familiar scene of being at a summer camp and responding to a call for those there to commit their life to “full-time ministry.” The pastor whose story I was reading had his…
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“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’S purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21) As we turned into this new year at midnight last night, we entered the final year of the first quarter of the 21st century. For those of us who once…
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What is necessary for the Gospel to go into the world and bear fruit (e.g. Col. 1:6, 23)? Bibles printed in every language? Gospel tracts distributed in mass quantity? Gospel radio transmissions into every country around the world? Although the things on this list could be good, none…
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“It takes disciples to make disciples, and Jesus had spent three years teaching his disciples what it meant to be one…. In short, you had to live under the reign of God if you wanted to go preach about the reign of God.” Christopher Wright. The Mission of…
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Text: Matthew 5—8. The Demands of Christ’s Righteousness The demands of the Sermon on the Mount (SM) are great. I have presented elsewhere that the style and structure of the Beatitudes call disciples to a sacrificial way of life.[1] Most shudder at the prospect of the commands of…
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Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20 I like food. Good food. I like ice cream and baked goods (no, not casseroles, pastries!), in particular.…
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18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to…
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I frequently hear (or read) a teacher or preacher say something to the effect that while imitating Christ is good, it is not a significant motivation for the Christian life. However, Paul seemed to think the imitation of God in Christ is an important factor in our Christian…
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At Gulf Coast Community Church, our mission is to be a faithful Gospel witness for this generation and the next. Our witness for Christ is the sine qua non of our existence, that without which our existence would be meaningless. Our missional priorities are those things essential to…
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At Gulf Coast Community Church, our mission is to be a faithful Gospel witness for this generation and the next. Our witness for Christ is the sine qua non of our existence, that without which our existence would be meaningless. Our missional priorities are those things essential to…
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At Gulf Coast Community Church, our mission is to be a faithful Gospel witness for this generation and the next. Our witness for Christ is the sine qua non of our existence, that without which our existence would be meaningless. Our missional priorities are those things essential to…
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I propose that a Gospel culture describes a people who value humility as power, love as progress, and who hope for a peace attainable only through Christ’s reign. That this people values humility… love… and hope for peace… is seen in how they live. It is seen in…
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The life of faith is not only about what we do but also about what story we think we are a part of. The story about Simon Peter getting Jesus’ tax money from the fish’s mouth (Matt. 17:24-27) came to mind this morning in prayer (feel free to…
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Our five missional priorities as a church—those things which comprise our faithful Gospel witness as a church—are Gospel formation, Gospel culture, Gospel mercy, Gospel outreach, and Gospel unity. Gospel culture is the product of something. It is the result of Gospel formation. We can measure the effectiveness of…
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“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut…
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