Fresh Bread from the Pastor's Pen

A little less than three decades later, on January 22, 1973, America experienced what I believe is her lowest point. On that fateful day, the Supreme Court handed down the decision that changed the way we think of unborn babies in giving women the fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution to murder their children while in the safety of the womb.

You might ask, “What makes GBC different?” That’s a good question. We have a passion to systematically preach and teach the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27), and instill a passion in our members for the word of God. We want to share a passion for the word of God through verse by verse expository preaching which does not lose sight of the broader context of Scripture. Put simply, we want to study the bible to understand it as it was written, then explain it, and encourage one another to apply it in our lives.

We want you to know that GBC is brand-new church plant here in Gainesville. We rejoice in what the Lord will do through this new work and would love for you to join us. We do understand that church planting is difficult and is not for everyone, so if you cannot physically join us, we still want to get to know you and ask that you join us in prayer that Christ might be exalted in our community through this new church.

We must realize that our ministry resources are precious; therefore, we need to focus on our Lord’s prerogatives, not ours. Said another way, when we align our priorities with the Lord’s, we can expect the church to accomplish its mission. As such, we assure the church is functioning as God intends. This assurance underscores the importance of developing and following a biblical POM which provides a summary of the biblical prerogatives, which will cause the people of God – the church – to flourish.

When we set the agenda, we become just like the world. Our churches lose their transcendence. Our Sunday meetings become no different than a Lion’s or Rotary Club meeting. Our acts of kindness become empty attempts to please some far away deity. However, when we look to the One who bought the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28), then our churches become a statement to the angelic realm that Christ has defeated His enemies through His death and resurrection—now that is powerful!

I think Solomon understood these things when he penned these wise words, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Parents, above all, teach your kids to fear God and keep His commandments.

So, as you are suffering instead of focusing on the pain, fix your eyes upon Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith and look for ways to help your brothers and sisters who are also in distress. In doing so, your pain and suffering will fade away, your love for Christ will increase, and your relationships with others will become closer and stronger! This is a promise you can count on!

Therefore, we must learn to react to one another in gentleness treating the other person with Christlike love especially when they hurt us. We must also bear with them in patience especially when they have wronged us. Loving and bearing with others is easy when they love us back, but very difficult when we experience trouble with them. In doing these things, we must be humble and understand that we too sin and fall short of the glory of God.

If equipping and fellowship are the vehicles by which we grow, then serving the body is proof that we are putting what we have learned to good use. Service is proof of love’s growth in our hearts! The outcome is not only our growth as individual saints but more importantly, the building up of the church. The result of this is that we attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. In other words, we grow in the knowledge of Christ which unifies us with our brethren.

With other religions, our destination is determined by our works here on earth, but it is not that way with Christianity. Jesus Christ has done all the work in conquering sin and the grave. All we must do is believe. Beloved, it is because Christ has conquered death that we will reign with Him forever in a new heaven and new earth where God dwells among men.