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Tag: mission

Taking the Gospel to the Neighborhoods Around Us

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Evangelism. No Comments on Taking the Gospel to the Neighborhoods Around Us

If you’ve been around Grace Life for any extended period of time, you know that one of the rhythms we try to maintain is to do prayer walks around the communities that we live in and are surrounded by.  But what is a prayer walk, why do we do them, and how can you participate?  Although there is no specific biblical precedent for the term “prayer walk”, we see throughout the Scriptures that the mentality of this continual conversation between us and God (as we learned this past Sunday) happens not only in the quiet corners of our lives but also in the active parts of our daily routines.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

From the onset of God’s chosen people, we see a clear command to be in constant conversation about God and what He reveals to us about Him from His word. The depiction of daily recognition of God in all aspects of our life is where a life filled with prayer leads us. We can and should pray individually (certainly Jesus was constantly getting away to pray!) but we also pray together with one another and for one another.  These prayer walks are intended to simply be a time of literally praying as we walk about.  Life is full of distractions, and so prayer walking is not some magical ritual, but instead an intentional opportunity to focus on praying for the lost in our communities, to remind ourselves of the mission set before us in Matthew 28:18-20, and potentially open up the opportunity to have Gospel conversations.

Why do we do these prayer walks? Because it is not only an opportunity to get to know our communities, but also an opportunity to rub shoulders with other brothers and sisters. In both Mark 6:7 and Luke 10:1, we see Jesus sending out his disciples in sets of two. Prayer walking is not an activity that we engage in alone, but we partner together and share in this activity, increasing our confidence and speaking with joy the love of Christ for all people. We also know that we are called to proclaim the Gospel to all people.

Colossians 4:3-4 “At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

Unlike Paul here in Colossians, we are not stuck in prison- we have the chance to actively seek open doors! And even when we are rejected, which the first disciples also experienced, we know that God hears our prayers and knows the needs of the people we interact with. None of our labor is in vain when we are doing it for the Lord.

So how can you be involved?  This Saturday, November 12th, at 9:45AM  we will gather together in the church building to get our hearts and minds focused, and then we will go on foot into a neighborhood nearby and simply walk, pass out cards with information about our church, and engage with anyone who is willing to talk or be prayed over.  For those who physically may not be able to walk, you can gather with us and pray, drive and give out water bottles, or even just take the time at home around 10 AM to stop and pray that gospel seeds will be planted and watered. We will do another walk in the morning on December 10th, so you can mark your calendars for that as well.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. This is a great opportunity to learn what it means to be in constant prayer through means of setting our minds on God as we take our hands and feet to task. Don’t miss the opportunity for this great blessing both for you and our community.

Love in Christ,


Pastor Ben

The Gospel for Everyday Life

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Gospel. No Comments on The Gospel for Everyday Life

We’ve all been there. We walk into a room to grab an item only to have that needed item escape your memory. “Why did I walk in here?” we say to ourselves as we bumble around aimlessly, trying to remember what we knew just moments prior. It’s a reminder of another reality we often forget about: we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who redeemed us.

The Bible teaches us that each and everyone of us have inherited sin from Adam (Romans 5:12). We are sinners, plain and simple. There is no one righteous; not a single one (Romans 3:9-12). The sin that dwells within us is, as Theologian R.C. Sproul states, is “Cosmic treason against God”. The sinfulness of man is the single greatest problem in the entire world.

Because of sin, we deserve death (Romans 6:23). We deserve hell. Yet, as we read in last week’s post, God is marvelously gracious. He shows us this marvelous grace, this eternal love through His Son Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus was condemned to die in our place in order that we would not face condemnation. His death canceled ours. His resurrection sealed our eternal victory. Christ, and Christ alone is our hope.

This is the message of the gospel. The Gospel is the good news that a holy God sent us His sinless Son Jesus Christ who, through His death and resurrection, has graciously saved us from our sin, delivered us from eternal hell, and has called us to live holy.

It is the gospel of Jesus that has saved us from our sin! But it is also the gospel of Jesus that sustains us in the here and now. This is why, beginning July 20th, we will be hosting a four week study called, “The Gospel for Everyday Life”. 

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1 reminds us of the gospel that saved us, the gospel we’re standing on, and the gospel that sustains us. Why do we need a gospel reminder? Because as stated earlier, we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who has redeemed us. Paul says it this way in his letter to the Galatians:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”. (Galatians 1:6–7)

We need to be reminded of the Gospel everyday. We need to be reminded of the hope of our salvation that is only found in Jesus. We need to be reminded of His redeeming love. We need the reminder because we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love.

Our goal in “The Gospel for Everyday Life” is to help you know the gospel deeper and how this good news sustains us every day. We’ll focus on four aspects of the gospel:

  1. What is the Gospel? (July 20th)
  2. The Gospel and our Personal Holiness (July 27th)
  3. The Gospel in our Relationships (August 3rd)
  4. The Gospel is our Mission (August 10th)

My prayer for you is that your affections for the Lord will grow as you grow in the grace of the Gospel. Each and every one of us needs a gospel reminder. As author and pastor Tim Keller said, “The Gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 

So come and join us as we remember how the power of the Gospel is for everyday life. Register Here.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt

Happy Birthday Grace Life!

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Monthly Newsletter. No Comments on Happy Birthday Grace Life!

February 7th is a big day. And not because there happens to be a Big Game. February 7th is a big day because it’s our church’s birthday. Six years ago this coming Sunday, we officially launched the Sunday morning gatherings of Grace Life Church. It is truly remarkable to look back and see how faithful God has been to us since the beginning.

When Julie and I finally said “yes” to God’s call to plant a church, we spent weeks wrestling with the name of this new church. We wrote names down, said them aloud, said them to others but none of the names described what we believed God wanted our church to be.

That changed one morning after I read Titus 2:11-15 in my morning devotions. Here’s what Paul says to Titus,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. 

I remember reading the passage and saying, “This! This is what God wants this new church to be! He is calling us to show God’s grace to every life and teach them how to live out that grace.”

And there in that passage of Scripture was the name of our church: Grace Life Church.

This is who we are and who we will continue to be. We will be a church committed to sharing the grace of God through Jesus Christ to every life. We will make disciples. The gospel connects us together, grows us, and calls for us to be an influence in the community around us. We cannot forget who we are in Jesus Christ and what He has called us to do.

Soon after we decided on the name, I wrote down a list describing who I believe God wanted us to be. And eight years later, I still believe this list is who He wants us to be.

  1. We are a church who ultimately desires to bring all glory to God.
  2. We are a church that focuses on the gospel and seeing the gospel change lives.
  3. We are a church that wants to see believers in Christ grow in their faith.
  4. We are a church that makes disciples that make disciples and plants churches that plant churches.
  5. We are a church that loves and shows grace to broken people.
  6. We are a church that thrives in community with each other as we grow together.
  7. We are a church that serves in the church, community, and globally.
  8. We are a church that makes much of Jesus and less of us.

By God’s grace, for the last six years, we have been living out our mission to make Jesus-centered disciples and by His grace, we will continue to live out our mission to make disciples for the years to come. And we will do it for the glory of God.

Happy Birthday Grace Life!

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt