You might think a reflection upon God’s name is irrelevant to the current state of our nation. We are living in strange times. Fears of the coronavirus are still among us, but they have been largely displaced by the riots in response to the murder of George Floyd. In fact, more than a thousand medical professionals, infectious disease specialists, and community stakeholders wrote an open letter that got a lot of press. Essentially, they argued that the systemic threat of […] The post The Third Commandment: Don’t Dishonor God’s Name! appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

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The Third Commandment: Don’t Dishonor God’s Name!

I was soundly converted in Jr. High. I went to Hume Lake Christian Camp and distinctly remember recognizing the heinousness of my sin against God. I had heard the gospel several times, but something clicked on that occasion and I knew that I needed to repent and confess my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior.  One of the first obvious changes that occurred in my life was a strong desire to clean up my language and that of those […] The post The Third Commandment: Honor God’s Name! appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The Third Commandment: Honor God’s Name!

At the end of 2011, my wife and I went to church planting assessment. Then, for the next two years, I attended several cohort meetings and training where I learned the model that other churches successfully followed. Some of the information was truly invaluable, but some of it was disconcerting. Certain topics provided direction, while others were misleading. Unfortunately, many church planting strategies are market-driven techniques that any business might follow. They are oftentimes not adequately grounded in Scripture. Church […] The post The Second Commandment: Pure Worship Required appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The Second Commandment: Pure Worship Required

The first commandment is about true worship. Most people think of worship as something we do in various parts of the day. We think of participating in corporate, family, or private worship. When we aren’t engaged in one of those activities, then we are not involved in worship. But that is not true. Your circumstances may change daily or hourly, but the object of your worship must remain the same! Worship is not optional, it’s instinctive. We were made for […] The post The First Commandment: God Above All appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The First Commandment: God Above All

One of the most important lessons we learn in life is the difference between personal beings and impersonal objects. All too often, we get into trouble when we think of other people as objects to be used much like we use our other possessions. There are some things that we value more than others. But people must always be given a higher priority than our stuff. We heard this debate carry out recently, during the early days of this coronavirus […] The post The Grace of the Ten Commandments appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The Grace of the Ten Commandments

If you were to poll society regarding rules for life, you would get many different answers. Some of them might even contain a few examples from the Ten Commandments. But you would probably gather a large consensus around a few secular core doctrines. One popular sentiment would be that there is not one “right way” to live. Another might be that people should be allowed to do whatever makes them happy provided it does not harm someone else. Many would […] The post What is the Use of the Ten Commandments? appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

What is the Use of the Ten Commandments?

The mission of Grace Clovis states: “We exist to transform the people of Clovis by finding, equipping, and multiplying followers of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.” This mission really comes from a combination of the Great Commission to make disciples and Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 4: 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… A lot of […] The post The Great Commission to Make Disciples appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The Great Commission to Make Disciples

Well, if you are anything like me, yesterday was difficult. We celebrated one of the strangest Easter Sundays of our lifetime. It was quite possibly the strangest Easter Sunday since that first Resurrection Sunday. Celebrating Easter from our homes was far from ideal, but it was nice to see everyone making the most of it. I want to encourage you to keep the benefits of Christ’s resurrection on your mind. I trust you were blessed by the many reminders you […] The post The Benefits of Christ’s Resurrection for Believers appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

The Benefits of Christ’s Resurrection for Believers

The resurrection is crucial to Christianity. Calling people to embrace Jesus, the risen King is the central topic of Apostolic preaching and writing. Last week, Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey to shouts of “Hosanna!” He was treated like a king. But by Thursday night he was being arrested, mocked, and beaten. By Friday morning the Romans were scourging and crucifying him. Easter or Resurrection Sunday transitions from Christ’s humiliation to exaltation. No longer the crucified King, […] The post Worship Christ, the Risen King appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

Worship Christ, the Risen King

Typically we have reserved this feed for sermon and devotional audio, but I thought it would be helpful for us to think about COVID-19 today. The post What Should We Think About COVID-19? appeared first on Grace Clovis Presbyterian Church (PCA).

What Should We Think About COVID-19?

Have you ever felt alone? I don’t mean socially distant. I mean isolated from everyone. Maybe that sounds like a good thing to some of you. Maybe you are the kind of person who enjoys going to movie theaters alone. I can understand the value of getting away from the noise of this world, but we really were not created for isolation.

The Triumph of the Cross (Matthew 27:45-51)

I simply want to recommend four resources to help you to pray. One is essential, and the other three are very helpful. 1. The Word of God 2. Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney 3. A Way to Pray by Matthew Henry, O. Palmer Robertson 4. Echo Prayer App

How to Pray to God

The Shame of the Cross (Mt. 27:26-44) One of the most embarrassing moments of my childhood was when I went clothes shopping with my mom and older brother. I didn’t care much for shopping or picking out my own clothes. I pretty much was just there to try things on that my mom picked out for me. My brother, on the other hand, enjoyed taking his time. He wanted to look at every item in his size and try them […]

The Shame of the Cross

Who wants to hear someone telling them to “Calm down!” at a time like this? It sounds naive and trite. But, Paul wrote that from prison! He faced incredible challenges throughout his ministry. So we can assume that Paul was familiar with anxiety. He’s not rebuking people to “Chill out!” He’s calling upon everyone to join him in seeking peace from the only source of true and lasting peace. Phil. 4:4-5a, “4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, […]

Do Not Be Anxious! (but when you are…)

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper – Part 3 Well, I’m about to preach God’s Word as I’ve never preached it before! Literally… Let’s just get over the fact that this is awkward. It feels very different speaking to you through a camera. I can’t see your faces when I say something confusing. On the plus side, I also can’t see you nodding off to sleep. This just feels awkward. And it should because Church is not supposed to be […]