Grace Blog

Every year, I pick a one word theme for the year. This year I am repeating the same theme from last year—Revival. I know the idea of revival has a lot of baggage. It has often been misunderstood and even abused to manipulate people to follow a pastor’s personal dream, which can often be nothing more than self-glory. I pray that I will not be ...

Last weekend Kyle Kaurin, a pastor friend of mine in Binghamton, NY, asked me how God has been working on my heart. I diverted his question because I was tired from working two long days—doing works of compassion for members of his church who were devastated by the flooding in September. I diverted his question because I knew I had a confession t ...

God’s generous grace produces generous saints. One of the marks of Grace Bible Church is that you are generous. When we asked you to roll up your sleeves and go to work to help another church in need, you responded with the generous use of your time—giving up a holiday weekend to serve flood victims. You are rich in good works, generous and ready ...

Repent is a word that is quickly falling from use in our no-fault culture. I doubt if it is used in the media, movies or TV shows. Yet God asks and even demands for people to repent from their evil and wicked ways. God is even presented as repenting. However, it is unfortunate that our English Bibles portray God as “repenting”, for God does not ...

One of the things I have discovered about myself is that I am a very poor putter on the golf course. However, I have found out that I almost always do better when I hit a putt for the second time. Although it doesn’t count, I need to prove to myself that I can do better. Unfortunately, we do not always get a “do over” or a “second time” with man. ...

Here’s an update of what is going on at Grace... UPCOMING EVENTS AT A GLANCE: May 22 –Youth Ministry Small Groups, 7:30pmJune 21 – Women's Ministry Dinner, 6:30pmJuly 14 – Child Dedication Class, 10:30am in the large room upstairsJuly 21 – Child Dedication CeremonyJuly 21-25 – Vacation Bible School, 6-8:30pm THIS SUNDAY’S SERMON: Luke 16: ...

Brief Course on ServingSpring 2013 Purpose of Course The general purpose of this course is to strengthen and build up the church body. The more we collectively know about God's desire for the church, the stronger our church will become. We want to search out and understand what God has to say about biblical serving to all of us. In this sense, ...

Online giving is now available! Grace is funded by the generous financial giving of those who call it their local church home and other supporters who have partnered with us. Your gifts help further the work of the advance of gospel in the Lorton - Northern Virginia area and beyond. Safe, secure, and easy online giving is one of many ways th ...

Round up your family, grab your favorite dish and bring them to the ROUND UP, on Sunday May 19th, for our annual "All Church" Picnic at the church grounds at 11:30 am (note, there will only be one service this morning at 9:00am). Join us so join us for food, fellowship and fun! To help with the picnic or for more information, please contact the ...

What: A "Garage Sale" where everything is free! When: Saturday April 27, 2013, 8am to 11am. Where: Grace Bible Church, 9115 Lorton Station Blvd. Why: To bless our church family and the local community. How: We need YOU! Collect items around your house that you no longer need and donate them to the Free Market. Then tell your friends and nei ...

One of the most striking aspects of Luke’s account of the birth of Christ is who was first chosen to receive news of His birth. In our human wisdom it would be plausible for the King of Kings, God in the flesh, the second person of Trinity, and the Word of God in the flesh to arrive with much pomp and circumstance. World leaders at that time shou ...

We can find much encouragement in how God worked in Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest, a faithful man who served the congregation by taking care of the sacrificial responsibilities at the Temple. Zechariah was godly and mature. He knew the promise of Malachi 5:5-6; that God would send a prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah. And he believed ...

Many of us wonder what the future holds for us and often we may have questions about the future rolling through our minds. Will there be prosperity? Will there ever be peace in our extended family? Will I experience a significant trial or trouble? What is my bank account going to look like in 10 years? There are obviously many more questions that ...

In ancient times when a new king was elected or selected and crowned, often the neighboring nations would rebel against the authority of the new king. In Psalm 2 God reminds the nations that it is foolish to rebel against Israel’s newly selected king for to rebel against the king is to rebel against the LORD who treats Israel’s king as his own so ...

Some people are driven by the desire to be known. The advance of video technology, YouTube in particular, has caused some people to do and post some of the most ridiculous things—just for a little recognition. Those people who are born either into poverty or into the wrong social circle have little hope of having their name become renowned. Howe ...

This past Sunday, we had the great joy of witnessing two baptisms! Baptism is God's grace on display. Romans 6:3-5: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of ...

by R.W. Glenn, originally posted @ DesiringGod 2013 The New Testament is full of commands for us to obey. Full of them. The Sermon on the Mount is no exception. Something like sixty-six commands sound from Jesus's mouth as he calls us as his people to live a life in step with the gospel. The Beatitudes, Jesus's introduction to the Sermon o ...

by Matt Johnson @ Resurgence 2011 Ever have an amazing time of prayer in the morning and utterly fall on your face spiritually by noon? Cheer up. You're in good company. Just think of the Apostle Peter (Mark 14:26–72). DOING VS. WHAT'S DONE The Christian life isn't primarily about growth for the sake of personal improvement, but receiving ...

Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.  (Hebrews 7:25) DRAW NEAR TO GOD The great passion of the writer of Hebrews is that we "draw near" to God (Hebrews 4:16, 7:25, 10:22, 11:6). Draw near to his throne to find all the help ...

God, not us, has designed the blueprint for manhood. In this three-minute video from Desiring God, Lecrae explains what it looks like. ...

This past Sunday Pastor Merritt preached Luke 16:1-18. The majority of the text (vv.1-13) was dealing with the Parable of The Dishonest Manager, which ended with "You cannot serve God and money." In verses 14-18, Jesus begins to address the Pharisees (they were "lovers of money" as the text says) directly because they were ridiculing him after he ...

[HT: Justin Taylor] Sam Storms, lead pastor for preaching and vision at Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, writes regarding the recent events in Oklahoma. His thoughts are helpful, clear, and pastoral for such a time as this: I'm inclined to think the best way to respond to the tragedy that struck our community today is simply to say no ...

THE BIBLE'S ONE STORYLINE I love movies, especially the ones where the more you watch it, the more details you pick up. I can't tell you how many times I've watch the Godfather trilogy and each time I watch it, I pick up on new details. To me, those are the great movies. Maybe you like reading certain novels for the same reason. The great storie ...

THE PRIORITY OF THE GOSPEL The Christian faith is not a mere collection of doctrines — a bag of truths. Christianity is a comprehensive truth claim that encompasses every aspect of revealed doctrine, but is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, as the apostolic preaching makes clear, the gospel is the priority. The Apostle Paul affirms t ...

This post is an excerpt from Sinclair Ferguson's book In Christ Alone.   A COPY It is common to think of the Old Testament ritual as providing the model that Jesus' priesthood subsequently copied and fulfilled. But Hebrews sees things differently. The Old Testament ritual of the high priest moving through the tabernacle—with its vari ...