In the contemporary Church, the success of the ministry is often measured by the wrong standards. We’re impressed by large congregations, celebrity pastors who preach clever sermons based on popular movies titles, and multimedia and stagecraft worthy of Hollywood. These pulpits provide just enough truth to placate the conscience, and an abundance of entertainment to amuse the mind. But this doesn’t make for relevant and vital ministry. We should look for churches that are yielding themselves to God’s commands, and who are living expressions of faith in Christ. God did not save us to wallow in immaturity. He desires that we fully grasp the greatness of His power as it is demonstrated in the love of Jesus Christ. He wants us to not only know this love with our minds, but to experience it in our lives. Refresh yourself in the humbling truth of the gospel, and commit yourself to obeying God, yielding to the sanctifying power of His love, and encouraging fellow believers to do the same.
A Prayer of Petition and Praise, Part 3
Passage: Ephesians 3:14–3:21
March 30, 2014 • Pastor Marc Wragg
The Mystery of God Revealed, Part 1
January 12, 2014 • Pastor Marc Wragg
What are the marks of someone who is prepared to pour out their life for Gospel ministry? We need look no further than the Apostle Paul to find our answer. The apostle had an obvious passion for teaching the truth, but that passion was rooted in a profound conviction that his life was not his own, and it was tempered by a knowledge that opposition to the Gospel message would cause him great suffering. Paul understood that God had entrusted a stewardship to him, and his love for God fueled his determination to see Christ exalted even if that meant his own death. What about you? Are you prepared to go wherever the Lord leads, or lose your wealth, reputation, friends, or even your very life if that's what faithfulness and love demand? Great usefulness for the Kingdom is often accompanied by great personal suffering and loss, but greater still is the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
The Mystery of God Revealed, Part 2
January 19, 2014 • Pastor Marc Wragg
We want a grace that makes our lives easier, but the grace that God gives radically transforms those who embrace it. It is a free gift that cannot be earned by any act of devotion or service, yet demands that we surrender everything earthly to pursue the treasures of eternal life with Christ. Sustained by this grace alone, we must learn to patiently bear every burden, and to humbly accept whatever honor God chooses to give. Confident in the message of this grace alone, we must resist the pressure to compromise the gospel for fear of man, or to dilute its power with fleshly and novel ideas. We preach the mystery of God revealed to the apostles and prophets, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only message that unites man with God and conforms the sinner into the image of the Son!
The Mystery of God Revealed, Part 3
January 26, 2014 • Pastor Marc Wragg
The inclusion of Gentiles in God's redemptive plan is glorious news, but the shock of it is lost on modern ears. The early Church struggled with the idea that the idolatrous Gentiles, historic enemies of Israel, could become fellow heirs of the blessings and promises of God. Some believed that Gentile converts must first become circumcised Jews before they could be saved in Christ. The controversy over this error caused great anxiety in the Church, but fear and uncertainty gave way to praise as God clearly revealed that He would magnify His name throughout all the earth by saving a people who had never sought Him, and uniting Jew and Gentile into one new man in Jesus Christ. Then as now, the gospel is both a wonderful and difficult truth. If we preach any other message, we may temporarily change a man's circumstances, but we can never change his heart.