Christian Essentials and non - Grace Community Church EFCA

Christian Essentials

• The divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture, as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

• The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead.

• The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the (all, rendering man subject to God's wrath and condemnation.

• The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth of the virgin Mary.

• Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death (as our Representative and Substitute) of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.

• The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

• The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the death of Christ effective to the individual sinner, granting him repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

• The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

• The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian Non-Essentials

At Grace Community Church we recognize that great Christian men and women throughout the Church Age have had differing positions on No-Essential issues of doctrine. Issues not included in the Christian Essentials are still important, but should not be a source of division in Christ's Church. These non-essential issues are rather an opportunity (or God's people to humbly search God's Word for understanding. The Elders of Grace Community Church seek to establish Grace Community as a "safe place" to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and in his Word. Non-Essential Doctrines (i.e. Spiritual gifts, Millennial Views, Worship Styles, etc... ) provide Christ's Church with opportunities to humbly seek to better understand God's Word, while accepting one another (Romans 14:1-7) from a foundation grounded in the unity of the Christian Essentials - the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our pastors and elders welcome questions and discussion on any point of doctrine at anytime, whether part of Christian Essentials or Non-Essentials.

' Grace Community Church is committed to its relationship with the Evangelical Free Church of America. Please visit their website at www.efca.org or call (800) 745-2202 for details or questions.

Finishing Strong - Steve Farr

 If you're not teachable, you don't have a chance in the world of finishing strong. Not a chance."

FINISHING STRONG:  Finding the Power to Go the Distance Steve Farrar Multnomah Books, 1995, ISBN 1‑57673‑023‑9 FarFini

Modern Marriage Ceremony

 

A Non‑Theistic Jueo‑Christian Ceremony

A Zen‑Unitarian‑Catholic‑American‑transcendentalist ceremony

The Tao of Marriage

The deepest intimacy with the beloved becomes possible when we have experienced intimacy with the self. Intimacy the the self means awakening to our true nature. Y The willingness to go deeper than love is itself a kind of love, a desire to meet the beloved beyond desire, in the darkness where there is not self, no other. For this meeting, a man and a woman must be whole enough in themselves to step out of themselves, into a place of mutual transformation. They are able to surrender everything they know, everything they love, with the abandon that a Master has at the hour of death. Transformation is a death. It is also a birth, and can be as painful as any physical birth. Painful or ecstatic, it requires a fundamental trust. "into your hand I commit my spirit."

A man and a woman who enter this depth of intimacy find themselves standing in the garden where Adam and Eve stood. All things are possible for them. The ancient Chinese sage Tzu‑ssu said, "for the mature person, infinite vastness of the universe." they have traced their love for each other back to the root of love, the radiant non‑self, the bodhisattva's serene compassion. Like the wedding ring, it has no beginning, no end.

Hass, Robert

Into the garden: a wedding anthology: Poetry and prose on love and marriage

edited by Robert Hass and Stephen Mitchell 1994

Imagination - Beverly Cleary

 Romona had dipped her brush into blue paint and had painted a blue stripe across the top of her paper. "that's the sky," she said happily. 

"But that the way the sky is." Beezus was trying to be helpful. She felt better, because Ramona had not plunged in and painted a picture full of imagination. "skies should come farther down on the paper."

Beesus and Romona  Beverly Cleary

James O. Fraser on Praying for Missionaries

 James O. Fraser on Praying for Missionaries

Beyond The Range- by Mrs. Howard Taylor pg 57 & 58 as copied Arlene Eppley

It seems to be a big responsibility to be the only preacher of the Gospel within a radius of about 150 miles. I feel my weakness very much, yet the Lord seems to delight in making His power perfect in weakness, May I ask you then to remember me specially in prayer, asking God to use me to the salvation of many precious souls.

I am feeling more and more that it is, after all, just the prayers of Gods people that call down blessing upon the work, whether they are directly engaged in it or not. 

Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase; and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer, whether offered in China or in the homeland. We are, as it were, God’s agents – used by Him to do His work not ours. We do our part and then can only look to Him, with others, for His blessing.

If this is so, Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. Now, I believe it will be only on the last day we know how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home. And this, surely, is the heart of the problem. Such work does not consist in curio tables, showing of slides, and the giving of reports. Good as this may be, they are only the fringe and not the root of the matter, solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees. What I count more than anything else is earnest, believing prayer, and I write to ask you to continue to put up much prayer for me and work here in Tengyueh.

Beyond The Range- by Mrs. Howard Taylor pg 57 & 58 as copied

seeking unity

One of the interesting things I find is, when you sit down and talk to people," Mapps says, "there's more room for consensus."  

Mingus Mapps

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2020/10/07/mingus-mapps-is-running-an-old-fashioned-campaign-in-his-challenge-to-commissioner-chloe-eudaly/

About Nigel Jaquiss

News reporter Nigel Jaquiss joined Willamette Week in 1998. He covers politics.

Theology and the meaning of Life from Calvin and Hobbs

 its Hard to know whats important in Life

We don't notice the small stuff and were never prepaired for the Big Stuff

Lets hope bumbling along without a clue is important

According to the ads, fress breath and dry armpits are crucial

What about the stuff in between

That stuff's Boring 

Help out the economy

 - economics, Economy,

Find Something you WOuld Die For And Live For it!

 

It Does Good Things? - Oregon Lottery

Are Good Things that they actually say are they good. Can a lottery which is promising so many things capable of doing good things. Lotteries always are about getting low and middle wage earniers to give money and often this ends up benefiting the wealthy
 

No Solicitors ~ We are Happy Just the way we are

 Really

George Mueller on the Will of God

[On his first wife's death] When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst, as to the issue, on account of what I had found out about the action of my dear wife's heart, when I felt her pulse; but though my heart was nigh to be broken, on account of the depth of my affection, I said to myself, “The Lord is good, and doeth good,” all will be according to His own blessed character. Nothing but that, which is good, like Himself, can proceed from Him. If he pleases to take my dearest wife, it will be good, like Himself. What I have to do, as His child, is to be satisfied with what my Father does, that I may glorify Him. After this my soul not only aimed, but this, my soul, by God's grace, attained to. I was satisfied with God.” (Vol. 2, pp. 398-399) Pastor George Mueller

- Obedience, Submission, Hope,

Mueller Thoughts on ...

 

[When he almost lost his daughter] My dear wife and I were at peace. Why? Because we did not love her? We loved her intensely. But we were satisfied with God, whatever he might do. (Vol. 2. p. 746) Pastor George Mueller

The Lord never lays more on us, in the way of chastisement, than our state of heart makes needful; so that whilst He smites with the one hand, He supports with the other. (Vol. 1, p. 61) Pastor George Mueller

For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more. (Vol. 2, p. 834) Pastor George Mueller

According to my judgement the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. (Vol. 2, p. 731). Pastor George Mueller

In what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer, This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ. (Vol. 2, p. 731) Pastor George Mueller