News
P O O L P A R T Y !!!
Middle & high schoolers, plan to join us for an evening of swimming, games (planned by Riley & John!), food, & fellowship!
WHEN: Sunday, July 7, 6:00–8:00pm
WHERE: Mike & Vanessa Balls’ House
WHAT TO BRING: a side to share & a towel
RSVP: please email Jenn Larson (jenn2984[at]gmail[dot]com)
One of the questions we have been asking & pondering is: How can we make the challenges & problems of Athens our own?
Biblical mercy is not all talk. It always moves out & is active. Several weeks ago, we studied the Parable of the Good Samaritan & sought to unpack a vision for doing mercy as a church. (If you haven’t already, you can listen to that message here.)
That said, we have a wonderful, uncoming opportunity for us to do mercy together. We are going to host a BACKYARD BIBLE SCHOOL!
Here are the details:
DATES: July 14–17
TIMES: 6:30–8:00pm
WHERE: Cherokee Point mobile home community
NEEDS: Your help! We have all sorts of opportunities for families & individuals to serve.
WHAT DO DO: Sign up below & we will send you all the details.
And they have quickly become a staple of our times together!
So, this Sunday, we will have a Potluck Lunch immediately after the service. Bring something (good!) to share.
Mark your calendar for next week’s Family Hike!
SATURDAY, JUNE 22
“POCKET WILDERNESS” IN DAYTON, TN
We will rendezvous at Athens City Middle School at 9:30am & carpool over to “Pocket Wilderness” for the day.
The “Pocket Wilderness” is a hidden gem. You won’t want to leave after you enjoy its beauty.
The hike is be an easy 2-mile roundtrip hike to “Blue Hole,” where we will rest, eat lunch, & play in the river. The trail is wide & relatively flat, making it easy for families with small kids. The swimming hole is deep enough for older kids/adults to enjoy and shallow enough for the littles to play. Perhaps we can also find a cliff to jump off of!
Bring a lunch, plenty of water, swimming stuff (clothes, towels, goggles, etc) & anything else you need for a day in the woods!
Several weeks ago, we had a blast at the Lake Day. We want a re-do. Until next time, here are a few pictures to help us savor..
Good morning. I want to share with you and testify how God has miraculously changed my life. I was raised in a wonderful home, in which God provided for all my needs and gave me two hardworking parents who taught me how to live a good, moral life.
However, as I entered my freshman year of college at the University of Tennessee, I began to ask questions of my life and sought to find true happiness. I searched for it mainly in friends and dating. I lived for myself and my desires. However, the happiness I pursued never satisfied.
In God’s kindness, years before my brother became a Christian during his college years at UT. He plugged into a local church and his life was never the same. Several years after that, my sister plugged into the same church and began serving the Lord there. During that first semester, she continually pursued me to come to church and attend campus ministry events. I resisted and then resisted some more. Finally, after her continued prodding, I reluctantly agreed to attend a Christian conference over the winter break. God was at work somehow!
During that conference—in a message about the local church—God began to open my eyes and help me see that I was living a life that did not honor him. God softened my heart, gave me eyes to see and ears to hear the truth from His word. I came to see that I was a sinner in need of a Savior and that God himself sacrificed His one and only Son for ME and my sins. This understanding was freeing and such welcome news! I no longer needed to work to be good or to be accepted, but all through Christ in me! There was such a sweetness and freedom in being forgiven by God in Christ!
That was over 17 years ago. And I must say the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ is sweeter to me now than it was then. I’m still a sinner, but living in the light of the fact that my greatest problem has been taken care of is a game changer. Like many of you, these past 17 years have not gone completely as I had imagined. I am not in the career I thought I would be in. I have had several miscarriages. I have walked through the recent death of my mother. And I have had to take up my cross in ways I didn’t plan to and didn’t want to.
Life can be hard and difficult at times. I have not walked it out perfectly, but I am sure of this: God has never left me or forsaken me. He has been faithful again and again. His grace and mercy have followed me and I trust they always will, because of Jesus.
Among many others (!), this is one reason we love children & seek to partner with parents in instructing & discipling their children. It takes a community to raise a child & we need as much help as we can get—as any parent can attest!
This summer’s ADVANCE conference could be just the kind of help you need with your middle or high school age student.
Each year our friends at Cornerstone Church invite youth & parents to set aside 3 days for messages, worship, & games of all kinds (human foosball, water blob, gaga ball, etc). This year, they have invited Trinity Grace to join them!
Here are all the details:
WHEN: July 25-27
WHERE: Fort Bluf Camp in Dayton, TN
WHO: Middle & high school students
HOW MUCH: $85
If you would really like to go & money is preventing you from attending, please contact Walt.
This is a wonderful & important question.
Baptism is a wonderful moment in the life of a believer & in the life of the church. Simply put, baptism—as stated in greater length here—is one of the first steps of obedience a new believer should take. Jesus commanded his disciples to be baptized (Matt. 28:19). So in obedience to this command, a new believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. In so doing, we are saying, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe that I have died with him & have now been raised to new life with him.
So when should we be baptized?
We should be baptized when we believe in Jesus Christ & are ready to testify publicly that we have left everything to follow him. However, since this is such an important question, it is helpful to get the input from family, friends, your pastor, & others to know whether or not we are ready.
Later this summer—in June or July—we plan to have a baptism service for Trinity Grace.
Would you like be baptized? Would you like to learn more about baptism? Would you like to talk to Walt about being baptized?
If so, fill out the form below & Walt will get back to you.
We will swim, boat, grill some burgers, fish, & maybe play a few rounds of badminton.
We will get started at 10:00am & go until everyone’s worn out!
We will gather at Jonathan & Elisabeth’s lake house. The address is 299 Culvahouse Lane, 37880. Or you can follow these simple directions:
Follow Ingleside Ave out of town & continue on TN-305N for 12.7 miles
Turn Left onto TN-68N & follow for 4.6 miles
Turn Right onto TN-304N & follow for 6.4 miles
Turn Left onto Culvahouse Lane
Bear Right after a few hundred yards & the house is about .5 miles on your Left
Please RSVP & sign-up. If you haven’t received the invite yet, email Taylor Hollingsworth (taylor [dot] joel [dot] hollingsworth [at] gmail [dot] com).
Other stuff to bring (in addition for some food/other items to share):
Camping chairs or picnic blanket
Sunscreen, trunks, towels, etc.
Water
Water shoes
Any water sports equipment you’d like to bring (kayaks, canoes, etc)
Even though Riley & his young guns won, we had a blast at the 3-on-3 basketball tournament last Sunday afternoon.
I’m sure that won’t be our last competition, so young guns, be warned!
We’ll gather for a picnic at Athens Regional Park. This Sunday, May 29 at 1:00pm. So, bring a picnic lunch or some take-out and join us.
And…don’t forget your bathing suits to take advantage of the splash pad!
After the service this Sunday, everyone is invited to join us for a picnic at Athens Regional Park.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds us that the gospel is the message which we “received,” in which we “stand,” and by which we are “being saved.” The Scriptures push us to not only look back to when we were saved but to press forward knowing God is still at work in us.
Last Sunday, Sam (pictured above with his wife Rachel) shared his testimony of how he was saved and is still being saved by God’s continued work of grace. Read along below.
The Lord saved me when I was about 7 years old. My dad was a pastor and church planter, so I heard the good news of Jesus regularly. I remember riding in the car with my family on a rainy day, when the Lord opened my eyes to my need of a Savior. So, I prayed in my heart, and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and save me. Subsequent to that miracle, God began the long and slow process of heart transformation.
When I was a teenager, I loved sports. I was particularly drawn to basketball and strongly desired to play college ball. God had other plans for me, though. I injured my shoulder in a game, and missed out on the last 2 years of high school basketball. I really struggled with that situation, as I felt like God had taken my dream from me. Ultimately, He did, but for His bigger purposes. I remember my parents counseling me to trust God, even when I don’t understand. Later, I realized that my real problem was that basketball was too high a priority in my life. Like an idol.
When I entered college, my focus shifted from basketball to academics. I had to work a job to pay for college, so I was either studying or working all the time. It is a wonder that I ever got married. Rachel and I had the same major, and nearly all the same classes. So, God literally had to put her right in front of me, and I am so thankful for that. During my senior year of college, one of my friends asked me why I worked so hard. At that time, I honestly did not know. Looking back, I realize that I was looking for my identity in something other than Christ. That thing was Achievement. Another idol to me.
After we got married, I finished up my training. Then we ended up here in Athens by God’s leading. That was almost 14 years ago. At that time, I put all my energy into work. But it wasn’t as fulfilled as I had hoped it would be. I started to become depression and continued to feel this way for several months. I started hating my work. My parents advised me to pray that God would either change my circumstances or change my heart. I prayed that prayer daily for months. I believed God would change my circumstances and move us to another job. But thankfully, God did not change my circumstances. He opened my eyes to the opportunities of ministry and fruitful work all around me. Once I took my eyes off of myself, the fog of depression began to lift. I realize now that work has been another idol in my life.
The main point I am trying to make is that God has consistently and patiently removed distractions (or idols) in my life over the years and called me seek Him first. I wish I could say I am complete. I wish I could say the gospel is always the center of my life, but I still battle with sin and these distractions. Yet, God is so patient, kind, and gracious with me. He continues to transform my heart. He has given me a loving wife who gently points out my pride. He has given me several godly friends that keep me accountable. And we are so thankful for this church that consistently preaches the Word and the gospel. Praise the Lord for His transforming grace!
Yet, when the Bible talks about holiness, it isn’t boring, bland, or uninteresting at all. The Bible describes the holy as those who are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, & so on. It is anything but boring.
What’s more. The Bible describes the godly or holy as those who “flourish in the courts of our God” and who are “ever full of sap & green” (Ps. 92:13–14). Godly people aren’t irrelevant; they are always relevant, because they are living to the hilt for the only things that matter. They are those who found joy in God & “at his right hand pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11).
We want to be holy, more than anything else.
This summer, we are challenging the men to read sections of Faithfulness & Holiness by J.C. Ryle together as we strive after this goal.
1. We will gather 6 times from June–August on Tuesday nights to review what we’re reading. Below are the dates.
June 4
June 25
July 9
July 23
August 6
August 20
2. If you are interested & able to commit the dates above, sign up here.
Here are the details:
WHERE: El Jinette (2011 Congress Pkwy S, Athens, TN 37303)
WHEN: 6:30pm on Thursday, May 16
WHAT TO BRING?: Your favorite beauty product (for a conversation starter!)
ANYTHING ELSE?: A friend.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers of Trinity Grace. We love you. And we’d be totally sunk without you.
We need the Song of Solomon—that little, (slightly) odd book tucked away in the Old Testament.
in our day of self-focused love & marriage, the Song of Songs shines brightly & calls us to self-giving, joyful love that will last. A love that is romantic, tender, reciprocal, & deeply satisfying.
That’s what we want for our marriages more than anything else.
As Song of Songs holds out for us:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised (8:6–7).
Let us pursue this love & heed the words of Matt Chandler who has written: “Pay attention to the desires, the strengths, the growth of your spouse, the things that only you get to see. Mine for those. Look for those. Be dialed in. Pay attention.”
If you were unable attend or want to listen along, click below.
Liar, thief, manipulator, lawbreaker, murderous in my thoughts, filled with extreme fears. Caring too much about the opinion of others, selfish and self-indulgent, hateful, ungodly and filled with kinds of evil. This is a description of my heart without Christ, but it took a long time before I believed it.
I was raised in a Christian home. My father was a minister and I was born in the middle of vacation bible school. I prayed to receive Christ at age 5 in our home. I was baptized by my dad at 7 and shared the ABCs of Christianity for the first time in Kindergarten. However, the “A” admit that you’re a sinner part always seemed a little more for “them” and not for me.
I attended youth camps and was discipled by a college student while in junior high. God used His Word to inform my decisions in life and I was passionate about others hearing about God and His plans for their lives.
My freshman year of college, during a school-wide chapel service, a local pastor preached from Romans on the depravity of man. My heart broke over the fact that I had never really understood that truth. In reality I had never truly recognized MY need for a Savior. I began to read scripture like never before to study this truth. I began to see how sin deeply marked my life, even though on the outside I appeared to “have it all together.” I began to see how nothing I could do could ever remove the guilt and shame of my sin.
I began to see myself as the sinner I told you about in the beginning.
Yet, it hasn’t always been easy. When I first got married, I thought I knew how to be a perfect wife because I had read so many books on godly marriages. God humbled me to a pile on the floor of our apartment when I couldn’t even plan meals for two. I thought I had parenting figured after reading and consulting many godly resources after child number 1 but God quickly, in his kindness, gave us with child number 2 and 3 so that I would be reminded of my desperation for Him as I cared for 3 under 3. I thought I had life in a manageable place until God changed our life plan 3 years ago and took us on a journey proving Psalm 16:9, “a man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
In the end, I rejoice because even though I am still a sinner, my understanding of my sin has led me to understand my need for a Savior and to rejoice over the Savior God has provided in Jesus. Because of Jesus, no sin defines me. In fact, they are no longer mine; Jesus took them all away, too far away for me to ever reach. Jesus bore God’s righteous wrath reserved for me and now truly all I know is grace!
This Sunday, we are having a Potluck Lunch immediately after the service. Bring something to share!
In addition, we will have some special guests with us: Jake & Loren Simmons. Jake & Loren are dear friends of ours. Jake is a pastor at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. However, Jake is also from Athens & is excited to return this Sunday to preach & encourage Trinity Grace.
This Saturday, Moofest will take place from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Ingleside Avenue between the library and Mayfield Diary. There will be tons going on: music from Troy Underwood, Reliance BlueGrass Band, Kinslee Melhorn, & Steve Miller; a pet parade; mooing, ice-cream eating & milk chugging contests, and more.
In addition, our friends from Christ’s Legacy Academy will be gathered in the downtown pavilion & offering live music.
Come on out to support our community & our milk!
We love to hear stories of God’s saving grace. It helps us magnify the Lord and exalt his name together! Several weeks ago, Taylor (pictured above) shared his story & we wanted to share it with you. (Note: while Taylor & his family’s Wild West outfits are quite impressive, sadly it is not their usual attire!)
Why are you alive? This question exploded into my mind for the first time the summer between 10th and 11th grade. Our family had recently moved from South Florida to the town of Dayton, TN where my dad took a new job. During this season of transition, I began to feel lost and isolated and my vulnerability led to some deep introspection. And one summer evening, the question came, “Why are you alive?”
Having grown up in church my whole life, you would think I had all the answers ready. However, even with knowing much of the Bible, believing parents, attending Christian school and church, praying the sinner’s prayer, and getting baptized, this question—Why am I alive? —sent me down a 2-year road of seemingly endless dead-ends. I found myself facing many other questions, like “What do I really believe? Am I just a product of my environment? What is truth? If there is truth, how can I know what is true? If I was born in India, would I be a Hindu or if I was born in the Middle East, would I be a Muslim?” Although I maintained the façade of a “good church kid,” I began to inwardly despair.
By my senior year of high school, I was tired of chasing (what I thought were) unanswerable questions. I became spiritually numb and detached. I decided to base my life on two certainties: I was alive and I was going to die. Suicide crossed my mind, not as a way of escape, but as a way to finally get the answers about purpose and meaning that continually haunted me.
Then, the summer after graduating high school, God came for me. I wasn’t listening to a sermon. I wasn’t at a conference, or revival, or rally. In fact, it is difficult to explain exactly what happened, but I believe God gave me this picture to show what He was doing.
In the picture, I was standing in front of a large, double-door trying to open it up. I knew that on the other side of this door were the answers to all my questions about life, but it was locked. I tried to open it, but I couldn’t. I slammed into it with my shoulder and kicked it until I felt completely drained of energy. I began to weep, because I assumed I would never get to the answers.
At this point, a hand reached over and presented me with a key. I was so overjoyed to have the key that I never looked up to see whose hand it was. I instantly opened the door to find an infinite hallway lined with doors. I knew that each of these doors represented my questions. The answers I was seeking could be found on the other side. My excitement returned to despair as I realized that each of these doors was also locked.
As my inability to open a single door became increasingly clear, I realized what God was trying to show me. Up until this moment, I had been trying to understand and interpret life on my own. I never acknowledged the “key-giver.” I had been trying to figure out MY purpose in MY life according to MY own understanding. I had failed to look to the God of the Bible and listen to what he wanted to say about himself, life, and meaning.
Up until this moment, I viewed Jesus as someone there to serve me. Hell seemed really painful and miserable. I didn’t want to go there, so I believed in Jesus! I consulted the God of the Bible from time to time but failed to see him as the Creator and Master of all.
But God would not let me just be casual with him any longer. God graciously broke me and began to transform my life. I began to see my sin as an affront to this gracious, loving God and found forgiveness in Jesus. I realized I could never understand the purpose of my life until I submitted completely to him. I no longer wanted to go to heaven to get away from hell; I wanted to know the living God. I was a new creation. I began to see with new eyes. I hungered to read and know more of the Scriptures for the first time. With God at the center of the story, Christianity finally started to make sense.
I can’t say all my questions have been answered. I still have quite a few left, as my wife and friends can attest! Nevertheless, I have learned why I am alive. As Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
