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Grace Community Church of Topsail

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Welcome. Hi. How you doing?

March 10, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Romans 15

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Welcome... How are you doing... See you later. That can sometimes sum up our effort of a welcome to another. Is that the way God intended it to be? Actually, that is somewhat opposite of what God intended. Romans 15:7, commands us as followers of Christ "to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." Paul does not say, “say hi to one another.” The Greek word translated “welcome” is much heavier than just a greeting or a head nod. Welcome means “take another to yourself and treat them as a friend with loving kindness."

What does biblical welcoming look like? It is rich in mercy and lavish in grace toward others as Christ has been for us. Welcoming others withholds condemnation in the same way Christ’s welcoming of us was absent of condemnation. Welcoming others means being open-handed and generous with our time, energy and resources as Christ has generously given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Welcoming others is patient and resilient when we let each other down or discover that we have differences. Our welcoming of others is to be a picture of how Christ has welcomed us.

When to Divide for the Sake of Unity and Purity in the Church

April 28, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Romans 16:17–20

Doctrine is one of the most divisive things in the church. What we believe Scripture teaches determines our understanding of God, the gospel, salvation, ourselves, others, life, and much more. Have you ever heard the saying, "There is no doctrine a fundamentalist won't fight over and no doctrine a liberal will fight for." You may not consider yourself a fundamentalist or a liberal when it comes to doctrine but if you are honest, you still lean one way or the other when it comes to doctrinal differences. Are you one that leans towards sniffing out bad doctrine and fighting over it for the sake of purity or are you one that leans towards unity at all costs and so allows any doctrine and practice into the church? In Romans 16:17-20, Paul makes it clear that there are occasions when we as a church are to divide from someone based on doctrinal error, but how?

UNreached

April 21, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Romans 15

Paul’s mission as an Apostle was to the “unreached peoples” of the world. Paul’s mission is God’s mission. God’s mission is seeking and saving His people throughout all nations through the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus gave his last command through what we call the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations” (Mat. 28:19-20) the word used “nations” (ethne) refers to ethnic groups which are also called "peoples." This great mission of God was Paul's mission and also must be our mission.

What is a Miracle?

April 14, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Romans 15

Our culture today uses the word “miracle” to mean just about anything that is amazing or extremely unusual. Even within the Church the word “miracle” is loosely used for everything that amazes us or not easily explained. But what really is a biblical miracle? There is no universally agreed-on biblical definition of miracle but probably the most useful one is: A miracle is a supernatural event, that cannot reasonably be explained in terms of human abilities or other known forces in the world, that is a direct act of a supernatural God and understood as a sign pointing to God as redeemer, judge, and Savior. Don’t forget, If you are a Christian, it took a miracle for God to supernaturally change your nature from dead in sin to alive in Christ. It is called the new birth (John 3:3).