Grace Seminar - ONE BODY

Please take time to read below the invitation from Pastor Dave. 
If you are from Grace Church, please join us that weekend. Take a good look at the poster...if you are from Grace you will probably see yourself. 




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As I've grown as a Christ follower my recognition of my need for the people of God has dramatically increased.  Early on in my Christian life (naively and pridefully) I felt little need for the Church.  I suppose this individualism had its roots in two main sins: 1) a tiny view of God's kingdom and the work he means to accomplish in it; and 2) the faithless worldview that I grew up with before trusting in Jesus.

Today, because God has matured me as a Christian and because I've lived quite a bit more life, I'm all too aware of my need for God's people.  I lack gifts which I need and God promises to provide through his people.  I lack resources  which I need and God promises to provide through his people.  I lack knowledge  which I need and God promises to provide through his people.  I lack love and faith and obedience and examples  which I need and God promises to provide through his people.  God, in his Word, promises to meet certain needs of his people only through his people.  I now know this with my mind and have experienced it in my life.

In the past several years I've been through times of remarkable joy and difficulty in the context of the Church.  I've experienced God's people caring for my family and others in selfless and sacrificial ways.  It's been awesome to experience the presence of God through the people of God.  However, I'm convinced that God, in his Word, holds out even greater promises for the Church.  In this seminar we'll look at the doctrine of the Church (what the bible has to say about the church), scheme together how we might live out the reality that we are all a part of as members of the body of Christ, and hope and dream together about what God might do as we live collective lives of faith!

Please join us us as we look at the heart, mind, and practice of the body of Christ.

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."

- 1 Corinthians 12:12

Humbly,
Pastor Dave

Sunday's Sermon and Discipleship Groups at Grace Church

The following was put together to give a description and rationale for our sermon-based studies in the discipleship groups this fall:

Discipleship Groups and the Sermon-Based Study

Daniel Patz

September 2011

Beginning this fall all the Discipleship Groups will include a sermon-based study as part of its meeting time. Sermon-discussion guides will be posted online along with the sermon audio and sermon notes on the Sunday the sermon is preached.  Below are some definitions and purposes listed for this move to sermon-base study. I hope you will join me in prayer as we seek to better know and obey God’s Word together.

The Sermon-Based Study:

The sermon-based study is one of the major elements of the discipleship group meeting which uses the sermon, its subject or its Scripture text as the main focus of study and discussion. 

Sermon-Discussion Guide:

The sermon-discussion guide is a handout provided by the preacher on the Sunday the sermon is preached that is used to aid the sermon-based study and its preparation. The guide will include five sections: 1) Personal/experience, 2) Observation, 3) Interpretation, 4) Application, 5) Next week. 

Sermon-Based Study Goal:

The sermon-based study’s goal is to glorify God by taking His preached Word (sermon) and written Word (Scriptures) into our minds, hearts and actions together by the power of the Spirit.

Motivators for the Sermon-Based Studies:

It is our prayer that God would use sermon-based studies to:

1. Sharpen our focus in the Word by taking less subjects but going deeper
2. Pursue a greater unity in the body by studying the same passage together in all the DGs (every group will be studying the same subject and we will be hearing what God has to say together)
3. Train the members of the church to be what Thabiti Anyabwile calls "expositional listeners" - teaching people to take the Sunday preaching seriously and teaching them how to listen for the main point of the sermon and text (“Listening for the meaning of the passage of Scripture and accepting that meaning as the main idea to be grasped for our personal corporate lives as Christians.”)
4. Learn better how to study the bible - thinking in terms of observation/interpretation/application which will be reflected in the discussion guide
5. Focus on the much neglected responsibility of applying/obeying what we hear and study - being doers of the Word and not hearers only
6. Grow in the above things (expositional listening, Bible study, and application/obedience) in the context of community - God wants us to benefit from each others’ gifts as we look at and obey God's Word together
7. Encourage the preacher and to challenge Him to preach with precision and clarity

GOOD NEWS!

 In order to show His love, 

uphold His justice,

forgive sinners, 

and display His glory, 

God sent His Son, 

Jesus, 

to pay for sin 

with His death.

posted by Pastor Dave VanAcker in a church email today

Kids Sunday School Songs

Last Sunday I handed out a sheet for the songs we will be working on in the kid's Sunday School.

Here is the page that was handed out with links to where you can purchase an audio mp3 of the song.

Jeff Jensen with Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Our Patriotic Duty

I am a flag waving American. I love the national anthem, Independence Day, and the colors: red, white and blue. I am glad I was born in this country, I think this country is special and I hope (and believe) that the best is yet to come for this country.  Patriotism is noble and it is a godly virtue when it is an expression of grateful affection and measured loyalty to one's own country for the glory of God.

Tomorrow is "Patriot Day." It is the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001--the day terrorists attacked the World Trade towers and a portion of the Pentagon. Words like "evil" and "justice" were thrown around with great ease by Republicans, Democrats, atheists and religious believers. Surely, what was done was evil by evil men. This evil was graphically displayed before us on our TV screens on that day. Perfect justice is only accomplished by God, but He has ordained for earthly authorities to execute justice with careful and appropriate means. I think it can be argued that our country has sought (imperfectly) to do this.

But I want to ask, as a Christian, what is my patriotic duty as I celebrate/remember Patriot Day? I would suggest that the most patriotic thing we can do is REPENT. Repentance begins with humble confession of sin and it continues in daily surrender to God's will. It's not something we can accomplish in one day. But it starts somewhere.  First, it starts when we begin to confess the sins of our own heart: idolatry (manifested in greed, envy, anxiety, lust, lack of courage, disobedience to parents, etc.), immorality, pride, unbelief and rebellion. Secondly, we must confess to God the sins of our country and plead for His forgiveness and a fresh spiritual awakening in our own hearts, in the hearts and lives of our church, other churches and in our entire country. We need to take responsibility for our sins and then for our country's by confessing it to the Lord (see Daniel 9 as an example). What should we confess? Let me name one of many "inconvenient truths" about our country. More babies are killed in this country under the "permission" of law and by the hands of American citizens every day than the number of people that were killed on September 11, 2001 (for more read here).

I love America. I pray that God would prosper and protect America. But America's greatest need is the forgiveness of sins and a new heart. What America needs is something it cannot earn or produce on its own. It needs sovereign grace and divine mercy. Thankfully, the King of the nations is up to this task. We must get down (on our knees) to the business of asking Him to give us just that.

I'm Back

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted on this blog. I plan to start writing again.
I spent some time reformatting the look of the blog and I plan to start posting more often with the help of some friends here at Grace Church.

To get updates from this blog you can sign up to get emails (over to the right) or you can use my preferred method--subscribe to an rss feed (google reader rocks).

The Reality that Must Flavor Every Fiber of True Christmas Festivity

My Confession Exhortation from last Sunday (Dec 12):

Saints of God, what day is this? 

(Congregation) It is the Lord’s Day! 

Why is it the Lord’s Day? 

(Congregation) Because Christ rose from the dead on this day! 

What kind of day is it? 

(Congregation) It is a gift that is glorious and joyful! 

This is advent or Christmas season: a time which, as we will see in the kids’ play this morning, we focus on the birth of Jesus. However, we must remembering that beginnings mean very little if there is no proper ending. There needs to be a fitting finish. This day is the Lord’s Day because God always finishes what He begins. It is the Lord’s day because Jesus, the baby born in the maternity barn; the one who shared his newborn moments with cattle and goats and smelly shepherds, because Jesus lived, obeyed perfectly His father, died on the cross conquering the dragon-Satan, and rose from the dead in three days. He is King and He will never surrender His title…world without end. This reality must flavor every fiber of our Christmas festivity and manger remembrance! We know the end from the beginning because the Author has let us in on this one…baby Jesus is now King! That old Serpent, Satan, has been defanged! We the Church are a new creation by the Holy Spirit; we are a new people from the seed of the woman who were rescued by that great dragon-slayer (namely, Jesus) and the gates of hell will not prevail against us! This is glorious, this is joyful and the best is yet to come!

Do we believe this? Rather, do we live, think, sing, pray, hope, give, and talk as though this is a reality? This should remind us of our need to confess our sins and look to Christ.

God Wired Us to Party With a Vengeance

My confession exhortation from this past Sunday:

I think it’s fair to say, as far as our culture is concerned that we are now into the “Christmas season” in full force. Sadly this does not mean our nation’s attention is reverently and joyfully focused on the birth of the Christ, the King of the world. Stores are packed with consumers, and online shopping is ripe with sweet deals and free shipping. All around us we see lights and icicles; Santa and scented candles; reindeer and wise men; candy canes and silver bells; snow men and nativities; Bing Crosby and Shrek Christmas; blockbuster movie openings and constant jingle bell commercials; carols and endless cookies, Handel’s Messiah and It’s a Wonderful Life: as Johnny Matthis reminds us annually – “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

Now I am not here to pull a Grinch or Scrooge on you (or to use biblical terms – a “Pharisee” on you) because this season IS the birthday month of King Jesus. Festiveness is in order and I don’t mean the kind that constantly grumbles about silly decorations, materialism, traditions, gluttony and family get-togethers. God wired us to party and to party with a vengeance. Decorations, traditions, get-togethers, gifts, special songs, trees, lights, feasts, partying and much, much more can and probably should fit into a proper Christmas celebration--yet the question of WHY must always be at the forefront of our minds. When we’re asked “What’s this all about?” Do we clear our voices and sheepishly say—“mmmmm. Oh yah, Jesus, I guess” as though we had a brain freeze? Or does our celebrating find its beginning, middle and end with the radical and world-changing reality of Christ becoming man for our salvation and the worlds’?

We should sing till our voices are raw, because our hearts demand the release of joy in God! We should give in loving, wise and sacrificial ways to show off the one who gave His all for us! We should feast with full vigor while reminding our kids and others that all this is blood-bought by the one who was born in a Manger! By all means, put Chevy Chase to shame in your decorations—but for a much different reason. Embrace Christmas traditions, honor your family in get-togethers, be patient and kind to those who miss the point—but by all means – DON’T MISS THE POINT. I mean JESUS. We are His disciples, and as His disciples, we have more reason than anyone to enjoy the month that remembers His birth.

He is the Great Shakespeare of Our Play

Exhortation for November 7, 2010 at Grace Church

(Sermon Today – Joy Because of a Sovereign God – Ecc 3:1-15)

Are you catching on yet? Have you put up the white flag of surrender seeking for terms of peace with the biblical reality that trips us up on a daily basis? I am talking about the truth that God is absolutely sovereign and, well…we are not. God’s sovereignty means that He is in control; absolutely in control. You thought you were the final determining factor on what you wore today…think again.  He is the Great Shakespeare of our play called life (under the sun). We are the Hamlets, Romeo and Juliets who have little…well, there I did it again…no determining factor on how the play will go. This is not to say that we don’t make choices, experience consequences for our choices, and are held responsible for them—the Great Author made it that way when he spoke us into existence (by the way, we exist right now because He keeps speaking us into existence – isn’t that a humbling and mind-twisting thought?). There is a lot of mystery here, but the Bible is very clear on this – God is sovereign. Sometimes we think we have things planned out smoothly…but a smooth road will only be a reality if God declares it and if He doesn't, potholes are the least of our problems.

This means that as you come to this place on the Lord’s Day this morning you come to approach the one who holds your life (and every second of it) in His hands. You come to Him as dependant creatures to a God who amazingly has made a covenant with you. Shakespeare never did this with Hamlet. He does not control our lives because he gets a sadistic kick out of seeing us squirm and groan…He does so because He is God. He is a God who is Love and Wisdom and He is intent on pouring out maximum (We can’t fathom His maximum) joy on His creatures. He is love and the fact that we are here this morning is a sign of His love. We are here because He made it that way. We are here and He intends to serve us…the actors in His Drama. He plans to pour out His grace and love to this piece of artwork that He is sculpting; the poem that He is writing--called the Church. How will He do this? He does this weekly by declaring to us that our sins are forgiven because of Christ; by accepting our gifts and offerings, our prayers and our praise; by feeding us with His Word through means of reading, sermon, songs and communion. This is not a morning of shallow or meaningless ritual, this is one of God’s means of shaping us into the people He intends to shape us. And in shaping us He is shaping a new humanity in the likeness of Christ the new Adam. So let us repent of our unworthy expectations and our haughty unbelief and rejoice in His forgiveness and commitment to us. 

Call to Repentance - Eight Things of We Should Repent

From last Sunday:

As one pastor blogged this week, this is the time when we hear and see a lot of scary stuff. We see it and we hear it from people in all types of mediums and of course I am talking about the campaigns of the midterm elections. It is common for Christians to react to all this hype with pessimistic dismay, fearful panic or frustrated indifference. Truly, our nation is in a mess and it is never helpful to declare peace, when there is no peace. But God’s people are always called to respond to sin and sins’ consequences with repentance and faith. So we must begin by pointing the finger at the person we see every morning in the bathroom mirror (and I am not talking about your spouse). Yes, I think we should cast our votes this Tuesday and do so with informed minds, strong conviction, humble spirits, and thankful hearts. We surely can enter this weekend with a prayerful anticipation or hope that certain results will move more inline with biblical wisdom and common sense for the good of the nation. However, any true reformation of government will only come as a result of a biblical reformation of the people of that government which will only happen through the reformation of the church…The BODY who has been given the GOOD NEWS of the new KING of the World…the church is the preservative entity that is designed by Christ to be salt and light in a dark world.

The political and governmental mess we read about in the Star Tribune or watch on Foxnews is our mess…and not because we voted for them (which we all have to some degree). It is our mess because we as the people of God have lost our saltiness and our brightness is dimmer than my kid’s nightlight. We are guilty of worshipping the same idols as the rest of our country, we relate to our spouses and kids with similar abdication or unfaithfulness as the world does, we are reckless and lazy in our finances, we are cowards in declaring the Gospel, we grumble and complain because our blessings from God are not wrapped with glittery paper (we can’t afford a 42 in TV so we had to settle for 32 inches), we act with selfish “what’s best for me” motives, and we quickly run to government, politics or something else as our Savior or security.

So what do we do? We repent. We confess our sins to a gracious God and believe the Gospel. Jesus came to save sinners. He did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Let us begin by taking responsibility for our nations woes by confessing our own guilt as a church beginning as individuals and families. Let us confess our sin of abdication of salt and light and look to the One who gives us His Spirit and restores His people to be THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD in obedience to King Jesus. He is LORD. Let us not forget this. All authority has been given HIM and he has brought us together to disciple the nations…including our own. It begins by humble confession and repentance of our own sin…and hopeful joy in the One who declared forgiveness when rose from the dead!

Here are eight things to begin with:

1. Spiritual Adultery

Definition: The giving of one’s devotion to something or someone other than God. 

2. Marital Unfaithfulness

Definition: The lack of Christ-centered fidelity to your spouse in mind, words and actions.  

3. Child Sacrifice to False Gods

Definition: The surrendering up of our children to numerous dangers through a selfish abdication of our role as spiritual shepherds and disciplers. 

4. Scandalous Stewardship

Definition: The irresponsible, lazy and reckless use of our talents (money, skills, time, etc) leading to a burden of indebtedness rather than fruitfulness. 

5. Shameful Ingratitude

Definition: The inexcusable forgetfulness of God’s constant blessings manifested in pride or discontent rather thank thankful faith. 

6. Gospel Cowardice

Definition: The lack of joy and confidence in Biblical Truth (in general) and the Gospel (in particular) leading to fearful, embarrassed and lazy closet-Christians.

7. Self-centered Individualism

Definition: The “what is best for me” first mindset with little or no concern for who it affects others that you are really connected to – family, church, community, nation.  

8. Idolatrous Trust

Definition: The reliance on anything other than God to be your savior.

Communion, Picnic and More

Dear Grace Church,

I have three announcements for you in regards to this weekend or month (October 10^th):

1. COMMUNION TOMORROW

Tomorrow morning at Grace Church we will celebrate communion at the end of the Lord’s Day service. We welcome every believer to join us as we remember the covenant that He has made with us through the death of Christ and celebrate the reality that He has made us His children having forgiven and accepted us by grace.

2. HARVEST PICNIC AT THE MUELLERS TOMORROW

Come share a fun afternoon of food, fun and fellowship tomorrow (October 10^th).

If you weren’t planning on coming or if bringing food is too much, just come as you are!

There will be:

•           Adult games and prizes

•           Children’s games and prizes

•           Horse rides

•           Hayrides

•           Face painting

•           Rodeo entertainment

Starts at 1 PM (or after church) 

Please bring food to share (dessert and main dish are provided)

Bring chair or blanket to sit on and clothes that can get dirty

Where?   25599 Olinda Trail Lindstrom, MN 55045

3. WOMEN’S SPA NIGHT

When? Friday, October 29th from 6:00-8:30 PM

This is a night designed for women of the church to refresh, rejuvenate, and reflect so that they might serve God and their families more fully and to have some quality quiet time with the Lord. A spa package will include relaxation and stretching, personal private prayer, and the choice of a facial massage and spin cleansing, or a hot stone relaxation back massage.

This will be a time of introspection not a time of fellowship so there will be no talking. J  

You may bring your Bible and find a quiet corner to curl up into when you are done if you choose.

A freewill offering will be taken.

There will be a signup sheet in the back starting next Sunday.

It will be, first-come-first-serve, when the sign up is full the spa will be closed.

Licking the Label of a Can of Peaches

I mentioned this analogy in my sermon last Sunday. Here is the quote from Joy at the End of the Tether (Wilson):

So the message here is twofold. God is the One who gives things, and God is the one who gives the power to enjoy things. These are two distinct gifts...just as a can of peaches and a can opener are distinct gifts. Only the first is given to the unbeliever. The believer is given both, which is simply another way of saying that he is given the capacity for enjoyment. (17)

Wilson is referring to Ecclesiastes 2:24-26:

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 

Two Great Books on Ecclesiastes

I just started preaching through Ecclesiastes.
Here are two really good books on the subject.

Joy at the End of the Tether by Douglas Wilson
I use Wilson's outline in my introduction sermon as the structure of the book.
This book is worth reading over and over.

Ecclesiastes with New Eyes: A Table in the Mist by Jeffrey Meyers
Meyers' book is more in depth and yet very spiritually edifying (in contrast to dry commentary). Very helpful.

Come to Sunday School Tomorrow

Tomorrow we begin Sunday School for the fall.

Here are a few things to make a note of:

1. We begin at 9 AM. Try to be here on time.
2. Nursery is provided.
3. Classes start with 2 years old...that includes many families!
4. Teens and Adults will be in the Berea class.
5. Your presence is not just for your benefit but it serves and encourages others.

Watch the video:

God Over All Things Intro

Dear Grace Church,

Please take a few minutes (if you get this before Sunday) to watch this introduction to my sermon series starting tomorrow, July 25^th, at Grace Church. If you get this after the fact, please still watch it because it is the introduction for the next six weeks.

Please pray. Pray that God would open our eyes to behold wondrous things from His Word regarding Himself. May His Son be glorified and may His Spirit make us a people that are worthy of His name.

By His grace,

Pastor Daniel

Invite for the 2010 Parenting Seminar

Strong When Weak Sermon Setup

Grace Church Missions Trip to Peru

Withhold Not Correction Sermon Setup

Mothers Armed for Battle - Sermon Setup

I love and am thankful for my mom, mother-in-law, and the mother of my children. I love the mothers of Grace Church and recognize they have a massive task and calling in life. May they be encouraged and armed for battle in the strength of the Lord.