Colossians: A Study Guide for Women
We're excited to make available a new Bible study resource for women!...
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Learning From a Syrian Brother Part 2: Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend
Let’s pray, then, that the Lord would make us bold, that he would cause us to count stability and plenty as relatively unimportant, and that he would move us to sacrifice our reputations, our comforts, our personal preferences, and even our safety in order to make disciples of Christ and build up his Church....
Learning From a Syrian Brother Part 1: A Focus on Training Men and Blessing Other Churches
Mouner not only understands but exemplifies a spirit that sees a local church and its pastors as not merely existing for themselves, but for the benefit of other churches for the sake of the Gospel....
Calvary Grace: 12 Years On
On November 26, it will be our 12th anniversary as a church. This is no small thing, and we ought to give thanks to God for his great kindness to us....
Reflections on The Gospel Coalition Canada National Conference, Part 2
Unity, whether in a local church or across a whole nation, is fragile. It cannot be taken for granted and it must constantly be guarded and cultivated. In the plenary sessions, we were repeatedly exhorted and convicted of the need not to despair, not to look away from Christ, and to be guarding our holiness and our doctrine, the foundations of our unity and fellowship....
Reflections on The Gospel Coalition Canada National Conference, Part 1
This staggering fact shows the desperate hunger of Gospel-minded Canadian evangelicals for fellowship with like-minded Canadians, and the way God is using TGC Canada to begin addressing that need....
Every-Member Ministry: More of What It Isn’t
Church unity is a key concern in the New Testament and in all church ministry today, and so it is vital to highlight the oneness of Christians in Christ, sharing in the same faith and baptism and Lord. This oneness underlines a related Christian teaching, that every believer is equal in God’s sight: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28)....
Every-Member Ministry: What It Isn’t
Every-member ministry is not a pretext for “lone ranger ministry.” The Bible does, indeed, speak very highly of the sufficiency of Scripture and of the power of the Holy Spirit in each believer. That sufficiency and power does not remove the need for church accountability. ...
Every-Member Ministry: Benefits For Members and Churches
Like an athlete’s muscles will only grow if they are stretched, tearing at a microscopic level only to heal with greater capacity, believers are “grown” through the challenges of ministry. You will grow in humility as you learn that you cannot do it by yourself or in your own strength. You will grow in prayerful dependence on God as you are driven to the Throne of Grace by your own lack and need. You will grow in your love for and apprehension of God's Word as you are driven to its riches for supply. You will grow in love for and cooperation with others as you all realize you cannot do the work by yourselves. And you will grow in skill and experience as you tackle new problems and are brought, by God’s grace, through trials....
Every-Member Ministry: A Closer Look At Three Key Ministries
Christian ministry begins with, but never leaves, the Gospel. The Gospel is Christian ministry. Study it. Preach it to yourself. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Rehearse the Gospel in the car when you’re driving, alone or with someone else. Collect tracts and always have one handy, and be ready to explain the Gospel....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 10
David talks in First Chronicles 29 about uprightness of heart, but why does he do that? Why does the heart matter when looking at good deeds like a Temple offering? ...
To Believe and To Suffer in Seedtime and Harvest
The Christian life might not be romantic or nostalgic but its real. Our organic connection to Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection is better than all of the hoped for clean eating and living that hopeless shoppers pursue. ...
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 9
Human beings have an innate longing for meaning and significance. As we continue to pray after David's example in First Chronicles 29 we wrestle with the need for us to confess our mortality and shortness of days to God, and live in light of them....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 8
Even our willingness and ability to do things for God are gifts from his hand. In this article we look at and pray in light of this truth as David presents it in his prayer, found in First Chronicles 29....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 7
God provides all that we have. As we continue to pray through First Chronicles 29 in celebration of a year in our own building, we look at how David acknowledged God's provision of all things as an example for our own prayers....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 5
As we remember God's provision in the life of our own church one year ago, when we took possession of a building of our own for the first time, we look at the example of David's model prayer in First Chronicles 29. In this article we consider how David opened his prayer--with blessing and praise....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 6
Gratitude is a crucial attitude of the Christian life. As we continue to mark our first anniversary in a building of our own, we seek to imitate David's example of thanksgiving in prayer found in First Chronicles 29....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 4
As we continue to celebrate our first year owning our own church building, we are meditating on and praying through First Chronicles 29. How does the Christian look at a text like First Chronicles 29, or indeed any Old Testament story or promise or command? The answer is the classic Sunday School answer: “Jesus!”...
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 3
As we at Calvary Grace continue to mark our first anniversary as "homeowners" in a building of our own, we consider the miracle of Israel's offering for the Temple in First Chronicles 29:1-9, and mark its meaning....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 1
Sometimes God provides spectacularly in the life of an individual or a church. On Calvary Grace's first anniversary as "homeowners" in a building of its own, we pause to consider the example of King David's Israel after God ordains a staggering offering by his people for his Temple, seeking wisdom on how to pray after God pours out blessings....
When God Pours Out Blessings, Part 2
We can’t understand the amazing prayer offered in First Chronicles 29 unless we first understand the man who offered it. In this article, we’re going to look at King David, a "man on a mission." We’ll review what brought him to that moment, in order to help us grasp why he prayed the way he did....
Resources for Gathering One2One
We’ll wrap up this newsletter series by introducing three new e-book Ministry Guides you can download to help you with this ministry, along with providing (all in one place) the links to the Study Outlines introduced over the past month...
Gathering One-2-One For Bible Reading
To get you started reading the Bible one-to-one, what follows is a simple method of Bible study called the COMA method. COMA studies a Bible passage in four steps: Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application....
Gathering One-2-One For Prayer
ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. When gathering one-to-one for prayer, you simply take turns, each praying a prayer of adoration, then each praying a prayer of confession, and so on....
Gathering One2One For Sermon Application - Be An Expositional Listener!
Sermon listening is a central part of the Christian life, and so why not learn more about it? Christopher Ash has written a very short but very useful booklet called Listen Up! A practical guide to listening to sermons, filled with useful tips and challenging questions that will help you “take care…how you hear” (Luke 8:18). After getting started with Gathering One2One, we strongly urge you to find and use this book....
How Do I Get Started Gathering One-2-One?
Here’s some steps to follow, both before the first meeting, and at that first meeting together....
Who Should I Find to Gather One-To-One With?
Try to build up one another, and build up the church, by building fellowship across the whole congregation one-to-one around God’s Word!...
Resources to Enhance your Biblical Study - Part 3: Online Resources
Continuing our series on free resources to enhance biblical and theological study, I’m turning this week to look at a number of websites that are very helpful. This is really a sampling and certainly not an exhaustive list, but as long as you have a computer and an internet connection, you will have more solid stuff available to read than you will even find time for…...
Keep ReadingResources to Enhance your Biblical Study - Part 2: Electronic Bible Study and Library Software
Last time, I reviewed a couple of free e-book resources. This week’s focus is on Bible study library software (I know I said I’d look at web-based resources, but I thought this would be useful covered first!)...
Keep ReadingFour Ways to Know Your Bible Better
Since we believe Paul when he said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3.16), then we all want to know our bibles better. Obviously, the starting point for this is to read the bible. But there are some things that can help us to do that. Here are four ways to know you...
Keep ReadingThe Booth of David
In the sermon I gave on Sunday, July 29 I highlighted the temporariness of the Booth of David and also stated that the Booth of David is Christ. This may have led some to think of Christ as being temporary. Those who know me know that I would never say such a thing. Let me explain one more time....
Keep ReadingFoundations for a Good Library: Some Recommended Books
We are commanded to love the Lord with all our mind (Matthew 22:37), and so the cultivation of our knowledge and understanding is a critical part of our discipleship. Now, it certainly can’t constitute all or even most of our walk with God; after all, we are warned in the Scriptures that “knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). But while the pursuit of knowledge by ...
Keep ReadingCalling Down Fire
Is it a bad thing to pray for God’s fire to fall, or to use the image of fire in our worship? ...
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