Articles

The Culture We Need

by Dr. Gerald Bilkes

        Increasingly, we hear the charge that the church has lost its way in terms of the missionary call of the Bible. Many think the church has curved in on itself, trying to maintain the status-quo. The mandate to reach the lost for Christ seems far removed from what churches are doing. Even churches that heavily support missions seem to divert their resources to other countries as opposed to areas close to home.

Rather than becoming defensive, let us take such a reproof in the spirit of meekness. It would be better for us to humble ourselves and look in the mirror of God’s Word. The church indeed has lost its way on many fronts, and only in returning to the Lord will things truly change for the better.

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It's Worse (and better) Than You Think

by Pastor James Savastio

        We’ve all heard a lot in recent years about the great obstacles that faces us in reaching our generation.  We are seeking to reach a generation raised in a post-modern setting, where the old values and ideas are no longer meaningful.  We simply can’t present things as we once did or assume certain common ground as before.  This new generation is suspicious of religion, has no appreciation for authority, has an evolutionary bias, and is biblically illiterate.   Different remedies are being suggested to reach this generation.  We must become post-modern in our approach, some say.  Others say that we must engage the culture by becoming more relevant and in touch.  We must watch the movies and the televisions programs; we must seek common ground through music, etc.  Others have said that we must transform the way that church is to be done.  Though I am exaggerating in what I say here, you could get the impression that the biggest stumbling block to the gospel is a tie, a piano, and hymnbook. 

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Look Who's Here

     We in the New Covenant participate in a great Exodus.  Christ, our Passover Lamb, has delivered us from Satan’s dominion.  We are now aliens, sojourners in this wilderness, en route to our Promised Rest in the consummated Kingdom.  In this wilderness we, as ancient Israel, are called to warfare.  In this wilderness, we are also called to uphold the worship of God.  If we are to be successful in waging war, and if we are to uphold God’s worship, it is absolutely essential that God Himself be with us.  Exodus 33:14-16 And [the Lord] said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

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Why I Go To a Reformed Baptist Church

by Justin Lonacre

I was asked to write to you about why I go to a Reformed Baptist church. The answer is simple: my church does what I need a church to do. Since you are probably told much about what your congregates need, I thought I might take the time to give you some inside information. Here are five things I as a lay congregate need church to do for me, and five things I can do without

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A Biblical Perspective on Youth

 by Dr. Robert J. Burrelli Jr.

Everyone who visits a new church has his or her share of misunderstanding about how that church is run, and those who visit Grace are no exception.   In fact, I believe the common testimony of those among them who have joined is that their new experience was “culture shock”, once they learned how much alike Grace and their previous church were not—in some situations not even close.  Unlike the model church of the church growth movement with which Christians in America are most familiar, Grace has firmly in place membership, church discipline, roughly 50 minutes of expository preaching from the pulpit, biblical counseling, and a dignified and God-honoring order of worship that’s God-centered, Christ-centered, and carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit, to name but a few of our distinctives. 

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The Christian and his Books

Article by Rob Ventura & Jack Buckley  November 2010
"...the books especially the parchments..." 2Tim 4:13

Surely, you have heard the expression, "You are what you eat."  The gist of this axiom is that our physical health generally reflects the nutritional value of the food we consume.  We would like to develop a similar maxim which we believe is equally true: "You are what you read!"

Christianity is, as one has rightly observed, "...a religion -- not only of one Book, the Bible --but of books."[1]  Standing infinitely above all others, the Bible is the only book that is God breathed and infallible. It is our only inerrant and final authority for what we must believe and how we must live.  Yet, while in no way diminishing this truth, we also believe that there are many other good books from which Christians can greatly benefit.  Both should have their proper places in the redeemed's reading regimen.

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