Three Rivers Grace Community Church

Take a moment to click on the ESV link on our homepage. Then type in a chapter of the Bible (for example, "Mark 1"). Then click "Listen." You may find this to be a very worshipful experience, and it may give you a greater focus on the words of the text.

In the fight of faith, we need support from one another. God ordained it to be this way. If we could make it on our own, it would give us reason to boast in ourselves and in our autonomy and self-sufficiency. But we CAN'T make it on our own. There are no lone ranger Christians.

That's why we are emphasizing small groups in the life of our church. We want to live out the command of Hebrews 3:12, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

I encourage you to get involved in a small group, so that you can exhort and be exhorted to press on in the fight of faith that is the Christian life.

John Piper has a great sermon on this passage in Hebrews 3, and I especially like the title. It's called, "Eternal Security is a Community Project." You can find it on www.desiringgod.org

William Carey was the pioneer missionary of the modern missions movement. As a young man he found himself in a church where the leaders did not believe the Great Commission applied to them. They told young Carey, "When God chooses to win the heathen, He will do it without your help or ours." Of course, William Carey was appalled at this statement, and he did all he could to refute it. In response he wrote a small book entitled, "An Enquiry Into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens." How's that for a title? Here was his point: In order to reach non-Christians in other countries, we must cooperate, get ourselves organized and plan strategically for these ventures. In the years that followed Carey's book, many missions organizations were formed which sent missionaries all over the world.
We can learn much from William Carey's passionate desire to see the Gospel go to the ends of the earth. The motto of his life was this: "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." God has a great plan to save individuals from every people group in the world. In Matthew 24:14 Jesus says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
We can get involved in missions expecting great things from God. We can go with the confidence that He is going to save people from every people group of the world. Our boldness in attempting great things for God should be based on our knowledge that He is going to accomplish great things.
Remember Carey's motto. Begin with prayer, asking God to do great things in your own life and in the lives of others. Then act on those prayers, attempting great things for God as you expect great things from Him.