Posts Tagged: evangelism
Trust 4|2
What is Trust 4|2?
At Sovereign Grace Church we exist to make disciples who delight in, declare, and display the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Easter is a perfect opportunity to declare the gospel by inviting friends and family who don’t know Jesus and/or are not part of a local church to join us at SGC.
As a church this Easter season, we’re challenging one another to step out with trust in the power of the gospel to save. This Sunday, we will ask every willing member and regular attendee of SGC to identify two unbelievers, to write them down on the Trust 4|2 pledge cards you’ll receive at church, and then to pray for and invite those folks to our Easter Celebration on March 31.
Jesus promised in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful…” We trust that as we step out in faith and declare the gospel, Jesus will use us to gather in his harvest of unbelieving souls!
How to invite:
- Call them and invite them.
- Send them a personal Facebook message.
- Hand them an invite card (available Sunday mornings at the information table).
How to pray:
- Father, no one can come to you unless you draw them. I pray you draw these people to you this Easter (John 6:44).
- Jesus, you came to seek and save the lost. I pray you seek after and save these people (John 19:10).
- Jesus, save them by your grace through faith. Let them have no trust in their own works to save themselves, but your grace alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- Holy Spirit, convict them of their sin and of the coming judgment (John 16:8). Give them faith to repent and turn to God, so that their sins may be wiped away and that times of refreshing may come (Acts 3:19).
Quick Links
Quick Links are recommended resources from the pastors of Sovereign Grace Church.
- In this fascinating and encouraging interview, Rosaria Butterfield tells how she, an unbelieving lesbian English Professor, became a Reformed pastor’s wife. The interview is full of gospel grace and instruction for pursuing the unbelievers God has put in our lives.
Christmas Outreach Sunday Choir
Sunday, December 16, will be our Christmas Outreach Service. As a way to declare and display the gospel we delight in, we hope to:
- proclaim the gospel in song together
- display the gospel by serving and singing together.
Here’s how we hope to do it: Greg Dirnberger will be coordinating, preparing, and leading an “all generations worship choir.” This choir will feature our children grades K-5. However, we believe that it may display our delight in the gospel even more if every generation were to sing together.
So parents, the children will have three rehearsals for this choir:
- Sunday, December 2 during the Sunday School hour in the Choir Room,
- Sunday, December 9 during the Sunday School hour in the Choir Room, and
- Saturday, December 15, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., in the Oak Grove Middle School auditorium.
Parents, please plan to have your children at all rehearsals if possible. If you have questions, contact Greg Dirnberger via the church office at 952-746-6127.
Now for the rest of you, in order for this to be an “all generations worship choir”, we need, at least, some from every generation. That means we hope to have singers from grades 6-12, college-aged, young adults, and all the way to the “really older youth” – both single and married. And all we ask of you is that you come to the Saturday, December 15 rehearsal from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
We will sing:
- Jesus Came to Earth (by Bob Kauflin, Dave and Solomon Campbell)
- That’s Why We Praise Him (by Tommy Walker)
- Joy To the World w/Unspeakable Joy (by Chris Tomlin)
- Here I Am to Worship (by Tim Hughes)
- Angels We Heard on High
The children will only need to know Jesus Came to Earth, That’s Why We Praise Him, and Joy to the World.
We trust that God will help us to serve our loved ones – family and friends – as declare His praise in song together.
Holiday Gatherings, Unbelieving Family Members and Gospel Hope
Thanksgiving and the holiday season is officially one week away. And if you’re like me, then you have great expectations for the holiday season. Norman Rockwell visions of perfectly trimmed meals, great conversations, and gospel sharing opportunities fill my head for every Thanksgiving and Christmas gathering.
The problem is, if your family is human (just like mine), then what you dream of is far from what you get. In fact, sometimes it seems like the only thing that holiday family gatherings deliver is conflict, hurt feelings, heartburn, and thankfulness that we won’t have to do this again for another year.
To prepare my heart for family gatherings and the holiday season, I it find extremely helpful to review good blog posts and good books in preparation for showing the love of Christ to those around me
- Russell Moore has a blog post on guarding your heart and imitating Christ through the family tensions that may arise at your next holiday gathering.
- Desiring God has also posted some helpful thoughts on seeking to share the gospel with unbelieving family members.
- Randy Newman wrote this fantastic book, Bring the Gospel Home, which I have found very helpful in thinking through how to share the gospel with family and long standing relationships.
Though family tensions and unbelieving family members may be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with us next week or next month for Christmas, we can find joy and hope in a Sovereign Savior who is with us through it all. He has all the grace we need to glorify his name this holiday season – all we have to do is ask for it.
May the Lord redeem our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations for his glory,
Pastor Jon
Cultivating Relationships with Neighbors – National Night Out
Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 ESV)
At Sovereign Grace Church it’s our strong desire to bear witness to Jesus Christ and share the gospel in the network of relationships he provides to each of us. These “fields of harvest” include our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates – anyone whom God has sovereignly placed in your life. Sometimes (many times?), however, we shrink back from sharing the gospel with these people out of a myriad of fears and unbelief we struggle with.
Quick Links
Quick Links are recommended resources from the pastors of Sovereign Grace Church.
- Kevin DeYoung points out that we are all “natural evangelists.”
- Paul David Tripp has a new blog that we are sure will have great things for you to read regularly!
Sermon Review (1/29/12)
Like a mirror the Word of God shows us where we need to make adjustments and like a lamp it shines forth the truth of how we can change.
The Mirror and the Lamp is a weekly post that, Lord willing, will help you to be more strategic in the application of the Sunday sermon to your life and the lives of those around you. For a brief summary of this past Sunday’s sermon (1/29/12), application questions for personal reflection, and resources for deeper study click HERE.
Preacher: Rick Gamache
Texts: 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, John 10:14-16
Series: Sovereign Grace Church: Mission Possible
Title: Declare!