Paul’s Focus
Most people know who Paul was in the Bible. By going on his missionary journeys, he helped to spread the Gospel far and wide across the known world. Paul wrote numerous letters to various churches and to individuals as well. Did Paul talk about himself and how great he was? Hardly. Paul was sure to take the focus off of himself and turn it to Christ.
Take a look at this picture - click it for the full-sized version. So, what does that image show? All of Paul’s writings were analyzed and what you see represented here is the top 150 words from said writings - the bigger the word, the more times it was used.
There really isn’t any doubt as to what was on Paul’s mind when he wrote. If we could strive to have those “big” words on our minds all the time, just think how much better off we would be as Christians.
Upcoming Teen Adventure Week
While Grace is already gearing up for vacation Bible school this summer, there is another event that will run that same week: Teen Adventure Week. Have a look at the nifty flyer in .PDF form. The full information is also on the Grace Calendar.
Now that week in August has something to offer the young kids and those who are older. We look forward to seeing you this summer!
Pre-Trib, Post-Trib, Amillennial, Oh-My.
Most people are familiar with the saying: you can’t see the forest for the trees. In other words, we can get too focused on the little details (the trees) that we lose perspective of the big picture (the forest). Christians are guilty of that as it relates to the end times. Last week, Pastor Greg spoke about being prepared and not worrying about the exact time of Christ’s return. This week, in The Ends Times: Part II, Pastor Greg went over quite a bit of Scripture on the end times and what it might “look” like.
A lot of big terms were thrown out about the tribulation and the millennium. Some people, and churches, base their entire belief system around what they believe are the “correct” interpretations regarding the end times. Sadly, these people are seeing the trees very close up and ignoring the forest. At Grace, we believe in the bodily return of Christ and the judgement of all of humanity. We can debate the specifics until Jesus’ return, but in the end, does it really matter to the steadfast believer when the millennium is? or the Tribulation? Watch out for those trees - they can blind you to the forest.
Poof - And We’re Gone
How can people, Christian and non-Christian, get so caught up with the end of the world? Part of that answer is just fundamental to how human beings are wired: we’re a curious bunch. Another reason is to make sure that we’re ready for it when it happens. If we know when it will occur, then we can be ready and get our affairs in order.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Jesus made that very clear to his disciples - only the Father knows the time, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to figure it out. Rather than spend all that time and energy in attempting to discern the time of Jesus’ return, we need to concentrate on being prepared for His return as if it could be any day. In Sunday’s message, Pastor Greg put it very succinctly: endure, be ready and be prepared - that is what Jesus said.
Evangelism from Underneath
This week’s message takes a break from the book of Luke and detours in the Gospel of John. Pastor Greg said the passage was one of his favorite - Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. This passage was a great example on how we are to evangelize those who don’t know Christ.
It should be noted (as Pastor did) that Jesus, who was alone, should not have been talking to a Samaritan woman of ill repute. Jesus, however, had no such misgivings as he knew her heart and what she needed. Rather than brow beat her about how much of a sinner she was and how she had messed up her life, Jesus started simply by asking questions. How does this relate to us?
If we are to truly reach out to other people, we need to inquire about them and learn their life situation. Rather than tell them how badly they need to repent and turn to God, we should tell them about what God is doing right now in our lives and in the world. As Pastor Greg said, nobody cares what happened to you 20 years ago unless it was you. How very true.
