Grace Church Sermon Links

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Lots-O-Grace Stuff

1. Have a great Thanksgiving
2. No Grace Lunch Fellowship next Sunday, November 25
3. No Grace Groups next Sunday, November 25
4. Christ-centered Time Stewardship | 6:30p | Wednesday, November 28 | Marion, AR [RSVP here].
   
5. Men's Retreat | Fri-Sat, December 7-8 | New Albany, MS [To guarantee sleeping spot, RSVP by Sat., Dec. 1].
   
6. Mr. Richard Owen Roberts | Sunday, December 9* - Wednesday, December 12**

* Sunday morning, December 9, Mr. Roberts will be preaching at Grace Church.
** Sunday evening, December 9-12, Calvary Baptist Church of West Memphis has allowed Grace to use their facility to host sessions each evening with Mr. Roberts beginning at 6:30p (childcare provided).

(pictured: Richard Owen Roberts)

Worship Preparation

• Reading Job would be the very best heart prep.
  
• And, if there is any possible way that you can listen to John Piper read The Misery of God and the Mercy of Job (4 parts; total of about 50 min.) while you follow along in the text as he reads, I trust that your heart will be very ready for corporate Christ-exaltation on Sunday.

Worship Follow-Up...

Maybe a new feature on the GC blog? We'll see how it goes...

In Sunday's sermon, Nathan highlighted three requests which Moses brought before the LORD in Exodus 33 (which serve as a great template for praying for GC!):

1. LORD, let me see Your ways, that I may know You
2. LORD, let us have Your presence
3. LORD, show me Your glory

And, I was especially struck by this line in Sunday's sermon...

"The same Moses who went before Pharaoh, and crossed the Red Sea, also bows low and worships God without presuming on His grace. We too must beg God to come with us."

I invite you to interact with Sunday's sermon also by supplying a comment below.
JT

October, 21 - Worship Preparation

Meditate on Hebrews 12.

Bad news: "God is a consuming fire!"
Good news: "Our God is a consuming fire!"

John 17 - Effects Of Christ's Obedience On His Own

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Notice the effect (Highlighted in gold) that the obedience of Christ to the Father has on those who are His own.

Is Christ's obedience having this effect in your life?

John 17 - Christ's Obedience To The Father

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Throughout His prayer, Christ acknowledges that He has obediently accomplished "all that the Father has given Him to do."

The highlights in this image show specifically what Christ obediently accomplished.

"...even so through the obedience of One the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)

John 17 - The Father's Love for Christ, And For Those Whom He has given to Christ

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It is because of statements like the ones highlighted in this image that the Bible is an inexhaustible storehouse of God's rich blessing to us His Son.

Heaven itself will not suffice to unfold to us the depth of the blessings contained in these few highlighted statements!

Loved by the Father JUST AS He loves His only begotten Son--Jesus Christ!?!!!?

(Appropriate response = profound humility, and gospel-inspired, glad-hearted praise!)

John 17 - Christ's Emphasis on Knowing Him as The One "Sent" by the Father

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Multiple Choice:

Eternal life is...

A: Knowing the only true God

B: Knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ

C: Knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

John 17 - Gifts To Christ From The Father

This image shows the various blessings that Christ acknowledged in John 17 as being gifts to Him from the Father. Worship!

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John 17 - Christ's Ten Specific Requests

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* Note: I have updated this image. After looking at it again (and again), I see ten specific requests made by Christ. The former image showed only eight.

This image shows the ten specific requests for which Christ prayed in John 17. Staggering!

Repetitions In John 17 - Worship Preparation

This image shows some of the major repeated phrases in John 17 (ESV). I highlighted these repetitions about a year ago, and have been looking at them again this week in preparation for Sunday's sermon.

For Grace-goers, I commend this document to you as a means of preparing your heart for worship this weekend.

The petitions Christ makes in this chapter are utterly Amazing!

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MSBA - Monday, 15th @ 6p

Jordan will be part of a panel of Mid-South church planters during Monday evening's Mid-South Baptist Association annual meeting at Whitehaven Baptist Church.

Worship Preparation | Our Living GOD

Exodus 3, is our sermon text for Sunday, and as you know, is the "burning bush" or "calling of Moses" chapter. And, as you also know, it is about so much more than that--namely the God-initiated revealation of the Name and Character of God (as YHWH).

As you ready your heart for Sunday at Grace, consider the remainder of the Exodus account (all the way through Joshua!), and that the God who reveals Himself, and makes covenant promises to deliver His people from bondage, is the God who sovereignly accomplishes all that He said He would do! Consider most of all our Passover Lamb!

John Owen Prayed for Grace Church

Beginning this coming Sunday, the Grace Groups (small groups) of Grace Church will start going through John Owen's book, Communion With God. Staggeringly amazing in concept, completely soul-satisfying when practiced!

As we are preparing to embark on this study, I was encouraged to find that Rev. Owen prayed for us. Here is the transcript of his summary of the study, and of his petition of the Almighty on our behalf:

"It is with regard to this initial communion [with God] (on earth) that I intend to speak and to show that mutual giving and receiving between God and the saints as they walk together in holy and spiritual peace."

"First I pray that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has, by the riches of his grace, brought us from a state of enmity into this glorious fellowship with himself, may give you such a taste of his sweetness and excellence in this communion as to be stirred up to a greater longing for that eternal enjoyment of him in eternal glory" (p. 3).

Amen and Amen!

He Rests

So rest with Him...IN HIM!

Was He Tired? Worship Preparation

Take time this week to read and meditate through the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Focus specifically on the first three verses of chapter two.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Gen 2:1-3 ESV)

The "rest" of God will be one of our main questions this Sunday at Grace. More importantly, we will ask, "So, what was He doing while He rested?" And, "He was doing what? And He was doing it to whom?" Ultimately we want to worship Him because He has said to us, "I will give you rest."


See you Sunday, Lord willing...

Who is GOD?

We all have our ideas about Him...but what does GOD say about Himself?

Grace Church-ers, remember to pray over and pass out these flyers that we made available on Sunday! Go get 'em!

Our Great God

"For thus says the high and exalted one,
Who lives forever, Whose name is Holy.
'I dwell on a high and holy place,
and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit,
in order to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of contrite.'"
- Isaiah 57:15

Paaaaty Tyme

Remember, this Sunday evening (Sept 9) from 5:30-7p is our Grace Party at Bridges.

Grace Parties are designed to celebrate Christ and His work. Everyone is welcome.

As we are anticipating the start of a new cycle of Grace Groups (beginning Sept. 16), this Sunday's party will be dedicated to the work of God through our Spring cycle Grace Groups. A few testimonies will be shared too. See you Sunday morning, and again in the evening!

Light refreshments will be available at the party, and I'm sure several will hit dinner spots afterwards (maybe even The Happy?).