News
As I am sure you are aware, the Coronavirus is transmitting rapidly in our community right now. In fact, Athens City Schools cancelled school today & tomorrow in order to prevent more students from contracting the virus right now.
It is also spreading some in our church.
So, we believe it would be prudent to cancel Community Groups this week.
We plan to have them the week of September 12 & will let you know if plans changes.
While gathering together to worship on Sunday mornings is a unique blessing, it is impossible to experience all that God has for us in the church without close friendship.
Community Groups are where many of these friendships form & shape us in Trinity Grace. If you have not already, we hope you will find the right group for you.
Our groups are meeting this week at various times around Athens. If you haven’t yet visited a group, or would like to see what it’s all about, CLICK HERE to find out more.
Pritchett & Alexander—Wednesday at 6pm
Luster—Friday at 6pm
Finch—Sunday at 1pm
Olsen—Sunday at 4pm
We hope to see you this week!
“Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”
Psalm 116:2 (ESV)
Men, mark your calendars for the next Men’s Prayer Night!
WHEN: Wednesday, September 8 @ 7 pm
WHERE: The Event Space at White Street Market
Can you believe VBS 2021 was a MONTH ago?
What a blast! It was a joy-filled time as over 60 children joined us each evening at Athens Market Park!
This year’s VBS was all about WORSHIP! The kids met characters from the Bible, worshipped together, and learned about why God is worthy of our praise! The games, crafts, stories, and songs all worked in concert to underscore the importance of worship in a believer’s life.
Relive the fun with this gallery of VBS memories!
Dear Trinity Grace,
Like most of you, we are aware that COVID is again in the news & spreading in our community.
Our understanding is that:
Transmission of COVID is very high right now in Athens & East Tennessee.
Walk-in clinics are again packed. The hospital is at or near capacity & has canceled elective procedures.
There is a lot of strain on healthcare providers, especially nurses. Please pray for them, especially the ones that are a part of Trinity Grace.
If you are sick, please stay home. (We will
If you become sick or test positive after the service, please let us know. We would like an opportunity to care for you & to follow up with the congregation.
These continue to be difficult days.
But, we are not alone. The Lord is with us! And He invites us to humble ourselves before as the King of all & cast our fear & anxieties completely to him.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Pe 5:6–7
If there is anything specific we can do for you, please let us know.
Yours in Christ,
Walt
We know that church membership is about so much more than where you park your car on Sunday mornings.
That’s why we offer a Membership Class for folks interested in knowing more about who Trinity Grace is as a church.
This class is an opportunity for you to learn more about Trinity Grace—our beliefs, our mission, & so on—& to hopefully help you discern whether Trinity Grace is the right church home for you.
Attending the class doesn't mean you are signing up to become a member, but it’s a great place to start!
Below are the details for the class.
WHAT: Membership Class
WHEN: Friday evening, August 27 @ 6:00 pm & Saturday morning, August 28 @ 9:00 am
WHERE: Buddy and Judy Luster’s
2131 Breckenridge St
Athens, TN 37303
WHAT ELSE: Food, (lots of) coffee, & childcare provided!
We are way overdue for a Trinity Grace Church Family Night!
These nights are some of the most unique on our church calendar. The formula for these meetings goes something like this:
1 part “business” meeting (ministry & budget updates & all that fun stuff)
1 part good old family time
1 part getting to know folks in the pew next to you (through testimonies, interviews, & so on)
With some surprise snacks sprinkled on top!
We hope you can join us!
When: Sunday, August 29 - 6 PM
Where: Ramble Creek
“When you join a church, you make it visible. You give a living demonstration of the spiritual reality of the body of Christ. You show that even though you are an individual, you are a part of the body; you are joined together with others. You take the body of Christ out of the realm of the theoretical (1 Cor. 12:27) and give it a meaning that people can see.” Donald Whitney
This quote wonderfully captures a vital biblical truth about living together in Christian community.
Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
When someone staggers, we help steady the load. If someone is straining, we help bear the burden. And if someone stumbles, we help lift him up.
Jana shared with us on Sunday what it has meant for her to be a member of our local church. Here’s one glimpse she shared of how she experienced Galatians 6:2 in her story:
I just wanted to escape and not be reminded of God’s truths. I wanted to believe there wasn’t a plan and this was a mistake. But y’all wouldn’t let me.
Friends called and texted and visited. And we cried together. And laughed together. And you made me listen to what God’s word says and I saw it lived out in front of my very eyes. God’s grace, mercy, and love, right in front of my face!
It’s a wonderful story of God’s amazing grace being experienced in the context of a community of believers.
Below, you can read/watch Jana’s testimony from Sunday in its entirety.
Jana Thomas Grose here!
I’d like to share with you a little about our community.
I’ll try to make this really long story short. Most of you know parts of it, but for those who might not know me well, here are the highlights.
⁃ grew up right here in Athens
⁃ met and married Kelly Thomas in college
⁃ moved to AZ where we did graduate work, worked, had four kids, and got involved in a Sovereign Grace church
⁃ moved back to TN in 2014 to settle in on our family farm and for my hubby to begin a new chapter, after 14 years at University of AZ, at UTK as professor of Tuba in the School of Music.
⁃ jumped in to Cornerstone Church of Knoxville and began our dream come true—living on the family farm with four wonderful kids to raise and train. Life was GREAT!
⁃ Until June 7, 2015. Kelly was stung by a wasp, had an allergic reaction and died.
⁃ And within minutes, our community surrounded us. That evening, there were over 100 people who came to my house to bring food, necessities, offer words of support and just love on my family.
⁃ That first week, I cannot tell you how many people showed up, with meals, both our community of people who I grew up with, and people from Cornerstone-Athenians, who had been driving up to Knoxville to be a part of that community of believers
⁃ Then, two weeks after Kelly died, I discovered I was expecting Kelsa-Ana. Wait! What?!?!?
⁃ For THREE ENTIRE MONTHS - people from Cornerstone showed up at my home, with meals, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and most of all friendship and support. Many people dropped food off. Others came and played with my kids and prayed with me and loved on us.
There are truly no words to express how this impacted me. I grew up in a loving community where people supported each other, then moved to a place where people closed their garage doors when they arrived home from work and we had to MAKE friends. And it was hard work!
And now, during the most awful time of my life, with kids ages 12, 9, 6, 4, and pregnant and no dad, people loved us like only those who have the power of Christ in their hearts can do. People I had never seen. People I didn’t know. People I loved dearly and wanted to know more. All loved Jesus and therefore loved us.
And we made it. By God’s grace and through the help of the community of believers that showered us with practical things, financial support, emotional support, and continual pointing me to the Lord and not letting me sink into despair.
And Kelsa was born- and the love started all over again. Amazing grace!!
We continued to grow and love this group. So, we jumped in at the chance to be a part of planting Trinity Grace. And my friends’ kids became my children’s friends and they literally held us up.
There were days when I wanted to sit at home and feel sorry for myself and would have—except y’all loved my kiddos so well that my kids would not let me and they drug me to church, sometimes kicking and screaming the whole way. True story.
I just wanted to escape and not be reminded of God’s truths. I wanted to believe there wasn’t a plan and this was a mistake. But y’all wouldn’t let me.
Friends called and texted and visited. And we cried together. And laughed together. And you made me listen to what God’s word says and I saw it lived out in front of my very eyes. God’s grace, mercy, and love, right in front of my face!
Fast forward to 2021:
God had put it on the heart of a colleague of my Kelly to pray for our family. This friend had lost his wife 4 years prior to Kelly’s death and knew the pain. So he prayed, and checked on me and the kids every few months.
And this year his text, my birthday text which he had sent the past six years to acknowledge those days are hard and he was praying, his howdy do (which he would never actually say since he is from OR) hit a note with me.
And this really long story, well, here is where it gets really good.
Michael David Grose, well, he and I shared our hearts and we begin to seek wisdom from our community, people in this room right here, about whether a relationship could honor God.
And so, exactly 4 weeks ago today, Michael and I were married. And guess what! Y’all did it again!!! Y’all came alongside in a way that blew us away!
You loved us. You asked all the right questions and got to know him immediately. You planned our wedding. Then, you made the wedding happen. You made food. You altered my dress. You ordered things and ran errands and did all the things I’m really terrible at. You took pictures. You set up and tore down and cleaned. You encouraged Michael and myself and y’all got us married like only happens in dreams.
I don’t even know so many things that people did behind the scenes.
And I want to thank you. Thank you. That day wouldn’t have been as wonderful without you. And I don’t know if we would have made it without you.
All glory belongs to God alone!
Praise the Lord for how he has met this family through his people! And praise the Lord for how he has built us up in the process!
Trinity Grace:
By now, I’m sure you have seen images from Afghanistan.
After President Biden confirmed his plans to pull troops out, the Taliban swiftly claimed control of much of the country, including its capital city Kabul on Sunday. Many Afghans are fearful of what will happen under Taliban rule, especially those who confess Christ.
This is an important time for us to come together as the church of Christ throughout the world to pray for Christians in Afghanistan as they face the Taliban’s wicked rule.
Numerous folks more intimately connected with the work of the gospel in Afghanistan have written about ways to pray this week. However, below are several posts I recommend you read:
“Afghan Pastors Ask for Prayer,” by Josh Manley.
“How Afghan Pastors Reflect on God’s Sovereignty,” by Mark Morris.
Ask Pastor John Interview: Do Christians Have Permission to Pray Impreccatory Prayers.
Times like these remind us of the religious liberty we enjoy in America that we can often take for granted.
And times like these remind us that we are living for a King, who gives us unshakeable confidence in times of shaking, and a Kingdom, which reaches across all this world’s dividing lines and will advance to the end of the earth (Matt. 24:14).
Praying with you,
Walt
Often, we know the church is important—but do we know why the church is important?
Several times a year, we offer a Membership Class for folks interested in learning more about Trinity Grace.
Don’t worry. Attending the class doesn't mean you are signing up to become a member!
Rather, this class is an opportunity for you to learn more about Trinity Grace—our beliefs, our mission, & so on—& to hopefully help you discern whether Trinity Grace is the right church home for you.
Below are the details for the class.
WHAT: Membership Class
WHEN: Friday evening, August 27 & Saturday morning, August 28
WHAT ELSE: Food, (lots of) coffee, & childcare provided!
Hey, are you over 50? A recent empty nester? A dessert lover? Then, we have a deal for you!
Our 50+ crowd is gathering together next weekend. Below are all the details.
When: Saturday Night, August 21, 2021
Where: the Luster’s home (2131 Breckenridge St.)
What: An evening of desserts . . .
Well, I guess that you will have to come & see what follows!
Bring your favorite dessert & find out!
Contact Buddy at (4two3) 7six2-five44three for more information.
It’s been a long time, and we are way overdue for a Trinity Grace Church Family Night!
Come join in the fun and hear about all the things going on in the life of Trinity Grace!
When: Sunday, August 29 - 6 PM
Where: Ramble Creek
What: Come check it out and see!
While gathering together to worship on Sunday mornings is a unique blessing, it is impossible to experience all that God has for us in the church without close friendship.
Community Groups are where many of these friendships form & shape us in Trinity Grace. If you have not already, we hope you will find the right group for you.
Our groups are meeting this week at various times around Athens. If you haven’t yet visited a group, or would like to see what it’s all about, CLICK HERE to find out more.
Pritchett & Alexander—Wednesday at 6pm
Luster—Friday at 6pm
Finch—Sunday at 1pm
Olsen—Sunday at 4pm
We hope to see you next week!
It’s picnic time again!
At Trinity Grace, we look for any opportunity to linger together. So, this Sunday, we will be having a picnic out on the lawn of Ramble Creek after the service.
Frisbee, soccer, football, & time with our church family. What could be better?
All you need to do is bring your peanut butter & jelly! (And maybe a Personal Misting Fan to enjoy the heat!)
The details:
WHEN: THIS Sunday, August 15
WHERE: The lawn of Ramble Creek
WHY: Fellowship
WHAT TO BRING: Your lunch, a chair or blanket, & a football
Trinity Grace,
Several weeks ago, when preaching from Mark 7:1-13, I said the following statement:
When I look into the future, when I anticipate a future in which I am not present, the most significant problem for this church I see lurking in the shadows is not the culture. It is not socialism or critical race theory. It is not politics. It is not worldliness. The most significant problem I see lurking in the shadows is legalism.
After the message, my lovely wife said: Honey, is legalism really the most significant problem you see facing our church?
I said: Yes.
But her question made me pause & has pushed me to clarify why I think legalism is often the main problem frustrating the people of God.
Legalism, as defined by C.J. Mahaney, is “attempting to gain acceptance before God through obedience to God.”
It’s the lie insinuating that God loves me more and blesses me more when I do things for him. It shrinks the sovereign God to a slot machine, where we throw in coins to satisfy him. It reduces the generous God, as Sinclair Ferguson has said, to “He-whose-favor-has-to-be-earned.”
And it’s completely untrue.
God does not love you less because of what you fail to do for him. And God does not bless you more or less because of what you do for him.
Many of the apostle Paul’s letters focus on the wrong-headedness of legalism, especially Romans and Galatians. Acceptance before God is only through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Galatians 2:16 says, “For we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
But, legalism is not that simple.
Like a wealthy man may invest his money in a wide range of businesses, due to our sinfulness, legalism is diversified into all sorts of tendencies and temptations. It is not just doing good things to try to get God to accept us. It is a web, as Sinclair Ferguson describes, “woven intricately and invisibly to trap the unwary.” And this web is “always much stronger than we imagine” (The Whole Christ, 75).
In the message on Mark 7:1-13, I noted that legalism is present when we add our manmade rules to what God has said in his Word (e.g., often by prohibiting something Scripture does not). I also noted that legalism is present when we use one part of Scripture to excuse ourselves from obeying another part of Scripture, which we referred to as “loophole-ism.”
But even that doesn’t sum it up.
In perhaps its most pervasive form, legalism is when we assess ourselves and approve ourselves according to measures God does not use.
Last week, our family went to the beach. We saw lots of people as we swam in the ocean, ate in restaurants, and visited nearby landmarks (homeschool field trips!).
Every person we saw was unique and different. Some tall, others short. Some with heads full of hair, others bald. Some dark, others light. Some asparagus-shaped, others pear-shaped. Some clearly well-off, others living more simply.
The world is filled with wonderfully diverse people. People of different shapes, sizes, backgrounds, upbringings, talents, careers, and so on. This diversity is part of what makes this world so beautiful and interesting.
These differences are just that, differences. They are meant to be seen as a spectrum of differences. Much like the full spectrum of colors, all the differences in our looks, likes, & lives are meant to display the creativity and beauty of God in a way that sameness could not.
But, as I learned from David Powlison, far too often these horizontal differences are turned into vertical ladders by which we measure and compare ourselves with others.
Years ago, I attended a Community Group gathering I’ll never forget.
Before beginning a time of prayer, a woman in the group confessed that she felt that she was not a good helpmate to her husband like the other women she knew because she was overweight.
My Community Group Leader responded immediately, “That is a lie from the pit of hell!”
Somewhere along the way, she had begun to notice differences in the way she looked in comparison to other women. She began to measure herself and began living under the oppressive burden of trying to measure up. When she couldn’t, she assumed she was failing to obey God and Scripture.
But that measure—that a woman should be a certain shape—is not found anywhere for godly womanhood in Scripture!
Do you see how this measure became legalism? Do you see how she began to assess herself and approve herself according to a measure God does not use?
That is perhaps the most common form of legalism.
We may see someone who is more fit-and-trim than we are. We measure ourselves by them. We climb on the treadmill and count carbs, trying to climb the ladder to reach them. When we succeed, we rejoice. When we fail, we despair.
We may see someone who is more outwardly successful than we are. We have trouble thanking God for the blessing they are receiving. We prop up our successes alongside theirs. We redouble our efforts. We climb the ladder and chase success that could be measured, managed, and maintained up against theirs.
We see someone who is more talented in one area than we are. We have trouble rejoicing with the talent God has given them. So, we don’t. We chase after trying to find a way to measure up. Or, we give in to self-pity.
It really could be anything we see in others.
Someone who is a better parent or better runner or has better hair or takes better vacations or has a better house or prays “better” prayers.
Each time our tendency towards legalism becomes evident. We assess ourselves and approve ourselves according to measures God does not use. We take the diversity God has woven into the world and use it to measure ourselves before God and others.
In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul communicates the astounding freedom from legalism that only the gospel can bring. When discussing the final judgment, he says:
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any other human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. . . . It is the Lord who judges me. 1 Corinthians 4:3-4
Paul does not measure himself by others. Nor does he measure himself by himself. The only measure that matters is how he measures up before the Lord. And the Lord has accepted him freely and fully in Jesus.
So, he is completely free. And so too are you.
God accepts you freely and fully in Jesus.
As Paul warns the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery!” (Gal. 5:1).
But, don’t get me wrong.
I am concerned about the culture. I am concerned about critical race theory, something I hope to cover in a future letter. I am concerned about worldliness. But, yes, I am more concerned about heart’s tendency towards legalism.
May God help us to live in the freedom of the gospel,
Walt
The July break is over & we are excited to get back into the rhythm of Community Groups every other week!
Elisabeth did a great job reminding us of why we need community.
While gathering together to worship on Sunday mornings is a unique blessing, it is impossible to experience all that God has for us in the church without close friendship.
Community Groups are where many of these friendships form & shape us in Trinity Grace. If you have not already, we hope you will find the right group for you.
Our groups are meeting this week at various times around Athens. If you haven’t yet visited a group, or would like to see what it’s all about, CLICK HERE to find out more.
Pritchett & Alexander—Wednesday at 6pm
Luster—Friday at 6pm
Finch—Sunday at 1pm
Olsen—Sunday at 4pm
We hope to see you this week!
Baptisms are some of the most precious moments in the life of the church.
Baptism is one of the sacraments. The African theologian Augustine said, the sacraments are “visible words” of the gospel. In baptism, the visible word is wonderfully plain, as an individual is buried with Christ into the water & raised with Christ into newness of life!
We love to celebrate baptisms!
And in a few weeks, we are planning to do baptisms in a couple of weeks after the service.
If you would like to participate, contact Walt at walt [at] trinitygraceathens [dot] com!
Often, we know the church is important. We know we should be involved in a local church, & even feel guilty for not being more involved.
But, do we know why the church is important?
Each quarter of the year, we offer a Membership Class for anyone interested in learning more about what we believe & why we believe the church is vital for the Christian life.
Have you really wondered why the church is important? Have you wondered if Trinity Grace place for you? Have you wondered what Trinity Grace believe?
Below are the details for the class.
WHAT: Membership Class
WHEN: Friday evening, August 27 & Saturday morning, August 28
WHAT ELSE: Food, (lots of) coffee, & childcare provided!
We are thankful to have a place to meet this week & thankful our city’s Tennessee Wesleyan University have opened their doors to us!
Townsend Auditorium is located at the heart of TWU’s campus.
Follow directions to campus—204 E. College St.
Depending on how you come, you can park at one of two parking lots—the one on East College Street or the one on White Street (on your left after you pass the baseball field).
From either lot, walk towards the center quad of the campus & you will see Townsend Auditorium.
For several reasons, we have decided to extend the Crawlers Class for the entire service.
So, before the service begins, you can drop your children off.
On the righthand side of the building, enter through the first glass door & you can drop your child(ren) off for class in Room 118.
We can’t wait to see you tomorrow & to worship the Lord together with you!
Thank you to TWU for opening Townsend Auditorium to us this Sunday!
Mark your calendars & reset your Google Maps to Tennessee Wesley University this week!
![cck+life+together+church+slide[5][5].png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b51f3999d5abb910fff7fe1/1626534511691-CP4MN186G2XX4EGS6RA2/cck%2Blife%2Btogether%2Bchurch%2Bslide%5B5%5D%5B5%5D.png)
There is still time to sign up for the Life Together conference coming up!
After more than a year of trying to figure out if we can gather as a church, how we gather as a church, & where we gather as a church, we think it’s the perfect time to remember why we gather as a church.
That’s why we are excited to gather with our region of churches (from Knoxville, Franklin, Louisville, & Arkansas) & the folks at Sovereign Grace Music to consider why we gather.
It is for you.
We will be considering why our gatherings are to be:
God-initiated & God-exalting.
Scripture-governed & fueled.
Gospel-centered & driven.
Spirit-enabled & empowered.
Congregationally-aware & prioritized.
WHERE: Cornerstone Church (1250 Heritage Lake Blvd, Knoxville, TN, 37303)
WHEN: Thursday evening (July 29)—Saturday morning (July 31)
HOW MUCH: $15 per individual / $35 per family
Many of our middle & high-school students are leaving Thursday for several nights at the ADVANCE youth retreat!
It’ll be 3 days jam-packed with messages, meals, conversations, free time, games, prayer, & more!
Let’s pray for them while they are there—that God would do more than we could ask or imagine in these several days set aside.
Pray specifically for them to:
encounter God in specific ways through his Word & the messages
build stronger relationships with parents & friends
deepen their understanding of the gospel & who God says they are in Christ
have fun!
Please pray for them!
It was such a joy to hear all about the mission trip to Rancho 3M Orphanage in Mexico yesterday! And especially to hear from Rachel!
Taylor referenced several ways we can pray for the orphanage.
Please join us in praying for:
Salvation for the children, particularly for them to know God the Father’s love.
Good working relationship with Mexico’s children’s services (similar to DCS in the United States).
More short term mission trips to come to serve the orphanage & the children (COVID has unfortunately significantly reduced these trips).
Financial & other provision for the orphanage & staff.
The Sovereign Grace Pastors College class of 2021!
“So, what did you learn at the Pastors College?”
This is the question I (Taylor) get all the time now that our family’s back. And it’s a good question! After 10 months of living in Louisville, KY and concentrating on various aspects of pastoral ministry, I should have something to say! Right?!?
Well, I usually don’t have the luxury of doing the play-by-play while slurping coffee before the Sunday service or while corralling the children to TGCkids. But, I’d like to share some of the top takeaways in this blog post.
As I thought about it, I realized that my experience at the Pastors College is unlike any seminary or leadership training I’ve ever seen. Like a diamond in the rough or a star on a clear, black night, contrast often accentuates beauty. So, I thought it might be most helpful to highlight what I learned by way of contrast.
Gaining knowledge is a favorite pastime in our culture. We’ve all played trivia games before. Trivia is defined as pieces of information of little importance or value. There are many things we can learn, but to what end? While at Pastors College, the goal was to study scripture, not for the sake of accumulating trivia, but for something much different.
One of the most powerful refrains we heard in our classes with Jeff Purswell, dean of the Pastors College, is that God’s revelation is intended for fellowship. This means that God reveals himself so that he can be known! He reveals himself so that we can be in a relationship with him! Scripture points us to Jesus Christ as the access point to enter into God’s presence. This is why Jesus rebukes the Pharisees saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). We don’t read the Bible to know trivia, we read it to know the God who loves us. This is why we have Jesus’ wonderful prayer that accentuates the goal of our knowledge - “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). There’s still a LOT I don’t know about in the Bible. But I do know the most important thing - it’s intended to point us to Jesus who reconciles sinners to God.
William Jennings Bryan once contrasted the people's reactions to the Roman Cicero and to the Greek Demosthenes. In ancient times both were considered capable leaders, orators, and statesmen. But there was an important distinction between the two. Bryan said, "When Cicero spoke the people said, 'How well Cicero speaks.' When Demosthenes spoke his hearers cried, 'Let us go against Phillip.'" Both apparently won that which they wanted most. Cicero won applause and attracted men to his own brilliance, but Demosthenes inspired men to action—to start fighting for his cause.
In a similar way, the Pastors College focused our attention on the biblical goal of preaching. Preaching is not intended for soapboxes, hobby horses, trending social commentary, and political boxing matches. Faithful preaching aims to reveal God’s intended message from the text. It is intended to draw our attention to Jesus as the centerpiece of our hope, as Jesus makes clear in Luke 24:27 - “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Preaching is not a means to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw attention to our great God!
My dad left ministry when I was a little kid because of a false dichotomy. He was pushed to choose between “the ministry” or his wife and children. There was a “ministry first” mentality in the leadership that fixated on growing programs at all costs. This unbiblical mindset often left big buildings, dying marriages, and neglected kids. Thankfully, my family escaped before getting swallowed up. The ministry-first mentality is not what we learned at Pastors College.
In contrast, we were encouraged to pursue godly character - starting with our own souls (1 Timothy 4:16) and then moving to our marriages and children (1 Timothy 3:2-7). I can’t count the times I was told, “Don’t neglect the things that qualified you in the first place.” We were challenged to know, love, and lead our wives. We were charged to bring up our children in the love and discipline of the Lord. I am grateful for being directed toward these biblical values in marriage, family, and the church.
It’s popular to think of a local church as a non-profit business with ever-growing infrastructure and programs. So, it makes sense to draw the connection of pastors to CEOs, managers, and entrepreneurs. But the biblical vision for pastoral ministry is not derived from Fortune 500 companies and life coaches. Rather, the vision is drawn primarily from the agricultural world with shepherds taking care of sheep.
There are a few things that were striking to me about this correlation. One is that shepherds are committed to laying down their lives for the sheep. Sheep are living creatures, not lifeless business assets. So, shepherds spend time and energy helping, loving, and protecting the sheep. A good shepherd intimately knows the sheep. Likewise, a good pastor is immersed in the lives of the church members. He is not primarily a manager, but a compassionate source of comfort, protection, and help. Another striking aspect of the pastor as shepherd is the fact that the sheep do not belong to the shepherd. A pastor is entrusted with the responsibility for a portion of the flock of God. 1 Peter 5:4 shows that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd. So, a pastor has delegated authority and is responsible to care for those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood. Far from savvy business principles, Pastors College directed my attention to the glorious privilege of loving, living, and laboring for God’s flock.
There are many more I could add to this list...but this is a start.
I’m still amazed to have the privilege of going to the Pastors College. Now, I’m amazed to have the privilege of serving this church family. We’re looking forward to growing and learning together.
We are pumped about this week’s Clap Your Hands & Stomp Your Feet VBS!
WHO: All kids from Pre-K to 5th grade!
WHEN: Wednesday, July 15–Friday, July 17
WHAT TIME: 6:30pm-8:15pm
WHERE: Athens Market Pavilion (103 S. Jackson St.)
Isaiah 117 is a wonderful ministry. It exists to provide physical & emotional support in a safe & loving home for children awaiting foster care placement.
You can learn more about them here.
We would love to see a home built in our community to serve children in our over-loaded foster care system.
So, come on out & get a cup of refreshing lemonade on Sunday—in exchange for your generous donation!
This Sunday, in the evening after our service, Jana Thomas is getting married to Michael Grose.
We are thrilled for her & for her family!
There are so many fascinating aspects to how the Lord has brought Jana & Michael together—not least of which is that Michael & Jana’s late husband Kelly were tuba colleagues. For God to bring Jana a colleague of Kelly’s would be one thing. But for God to bring Jana a tuba colleague is the kind of thing that makes the people of God laugh!
Psalm 126 says, “those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.”
In this short life, we don’t always get to see the reaping with shouts of joy.
But, this weekend, we will.
The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad!
We pray that this weekend will be one, long “Yes & Amen” to the God’s goodness & faithfulness displayed to Jana, her family, & our church. May God be glorified!
Do you like planning events & seeing it all come together?
Do you become giddy with excitement at the sight of spreadsheets?
Do you love Trinity Grace & long to see the gifts of the members of Trinity Grace deployed with more fruitfulness?
You may be the perfect fit for an Administrative Assistant for Trinity Grace.
Yes, yes, we just hired Taylor—who started yesterday!
But we also believe it is time to hire someone to provide more administrative help for our church.
It will be a part-time job focused on providing administrative help to the pastors, as they seek to serve Trinity Grace & help us fulfill our mission as a church.
If you are interested, here is the full job description.
If you would like to apply, please email us at contact[at]trinitygraceathens[dot]com & we will get you an application.
We often call kids to clap their hands & sing & (sometimes!) stomp their feet in worship, but do we tell them why? Do we tell them about the astonishingly good Father we are responding to with worship? Do we regularly tell them about what our Savior has done for us?
Jesus had strong words for those whose worship was merely external.
We long to see our church—& the children of our church—to be saturated in the truths of gospel so that our response of worship is heartfelt & filled with awe!
That’s why we are excited about this year’s Clap Your Hands & Stomp Your Feet VBS!
WHO: All kids from Pre-K to 5th grade!
WHEN: Wednesday, July 15–Friday, July 17
WHAT TIME: 6:30pm-8:15pm
WHERE: Athens Market Pavilion (103 S. Jackson St.)
Is there someone you could invite to this year’s VBS? Maybe a neighbor that has recently moved in? Maybe the kids from a friend at work or the gym?
We’d love to have them.
Invite them & come along with them!
Our last Brinner was postponed & it has been rescheduled to this coming Sunday night!
So, high-schoolers—including rising 9th-graders!—prepare yourself to consume copious amounts of pancakes & bacon. We know you’ll be ready…
And, Jonathan the-trumpet-slayer Hill will be there to tell you his story & what he has learned about God’s steadfast care.
Here’s what you need to know:
WHEN: This Sunday, July 11 at 6pm
WHERE: The Alexanders’ Home
WHY: Breakfast…for dinner!
The weather could not have been more perfect last Sunday at The Barn at Faith Farms!
We sang. We prayed. We gave. And we listened to the Word of God.
This past Sunday, we studied a bit of odd passage—Mark 6:1-6a.
Jesus returned home—for the first time since beginning his ministry of teaching & healing—to Nazareth. He saw his friends & family. But instead of receiving him as a hero, they rejected him as a fraud?
Why is this passage in the Bible?
As we saw on Sunday, it is a warning for people like us—who know a lot about Jesus—to persevere & hold fast to Christ.
You can watch the entire service here.
You can listen to the sermon here or through on our podcast.
Introduction
“I have argued . . . that the warnings and admonitions in the Scriptures have a particular function. By them believers are warned against departing from Christ and the gospel. . . . It is by means of taking the warnings seriously that the promise of our salvation is secured.” Tom Schreiner
Main point: Watch out, do not despise the unbelievable salvation God has secured in Jesus.
1. The Danger of Familiarity
Demons:
1:24: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
1:34: He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
3:11: “You are the Son of God.”
5:7: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”
Humans:
1:27: “What is this? A new teaching with authority!”
2:7: “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming!”
4:41: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
6:3: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?”
2. The Cause of Offense
For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” 1 Peter 2:6-8
“Everyone must duck his head and come into the joy of forgiveness only through the low door of humility.” Martin Luther
3. The Reality of Unbelief
“We must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and is of no value to us.” John Calvin
“Unbelief says: Some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here; some other people, but not us. Faith says: Anything He did anywhere else He will do here; anything He did any other time He is willing to do now; anything He ever did for other people He is willing to do for us! With our feet on the ground, and our head cool, but with our heart ablaze with the love of God, we walk out in this fullness of the Spirit, if we will yield and obey. God wants to work through you!” A.W. Tozer
