Last week on September 11th, we had a preaching lab and we had pastors, preachers and lay leaders from a variety of church join us. The speaker is Pastor Greg Kilgore from First Baptist Church in Oakhurst. He is currently working on his PhD in this topic and brought a great introduction to this topic to us.
This coming Sunday we will be looking at Philippians 4:10-13 that includes one of the most famous verses in all of scripture for Americans. It is simultaneously one of the most misunderstood and abused. Kent Hughes comments:
“…Sadly, Philippians 4:13 has been widely misused as it has been removed from its context and employed as an inspirational snippet to say, “I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me” or “I can do everything (especially extraordinary things) through Christ who strengthens me.” It has been especially abused by those who view their Christianity through the lens of triumphalism, who think that through Christ they become superhuman.
As with every other line of Scripture, the assertion “I can do all things” is controlled by the context. Thus what Paul says is that in whatever circumstances I find myself, in whatever extremes—whether experiencing abundance with the wealthy or fellowshiping with the poor or struggling to proclaim the gospel to people who don’t want to hear or enduring the wrath of the establishment or bringing peace to the church or languishing in prison—I can be content and “can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul is confident that he will be divinely strengthened to do anything and everything that God calls him to do. Not only could Paul be content and confident in every circumstance, he could also be sure that he would be equipped with divine power to deal with it.”
Hughes, R. Kent. Philippians: The Fellowship of the Gospel. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007. Print. Preaching the Word.
Watch a video version of this announcement here
FGC Family,
Covid19 cases and hospitalizations increasing in our state, thankfully the number of deaths has not matched those increases in recent weeks. This week our governor announced that multiple counties including Fresno have returned to a modified version of lock down for 3 weeks. What is banned right now is indoor meetings, and this has also been applied broadly to restaurants and other places of meeting.
If you remember in our previous position paper we expressed our concern to honor 3 important principals: First, Obedience to God- which includes gathering for worship. Second, love for neighbor- which includes doing reasonable things to prevent the spread of the disease. But also includes the truth that not being able to gather for worship and fellowship is bad for us spiritually and physically. Thirdly, our desire to honor the government where possible. Our current decision is still rooted in those principals.
Our plan is to meet at our church building, outside. Mostly under our carports. There is a lot of room there. We met there for our men’s meeting this morning. We will meet at 9am to avoid the heat. The most recent forecast says it will be around 81 degrees. We think that is reasonable since most of us attend outdoor events at that temperature. We encourage you to dress for the heat. We will aim to have our service last about an hour.
We will be following many of the same precautions. So if you have any symptoms like a cough or fever or loss of smell or taste please stay home (and contact us if you need help, prayer or encouragement). Also here are a few more tips:
We will not have nursery or childcare during the service.
We will still be practicing social distancing and encourage you to wear a mask, though it is not required because we are outside.
Our service will still also be streamed to YouTube for those that cannot attend.
Based on previous attendance the majority of us should fit under the car port. But if a lot of people come we may need to have some folks sit in an area without shade, so if you are able and willing to help with that, please bring a hat and an umbrella for the sun. You can leave it in your car and we can use it if needed. Based on how things work out we will tentatively plan to do this for the coming weeks and will communicate any changes with you all.
We do want you to know that we are concerned about the potential for government over reach in these orders. As of now we believe it is possible for us to honor the order without disobeying God. But we are prayerfully watching what is going on and if and when we believe that our government is preventing us from obeying God we will choose to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Where is that line in our current situation? We don’t have a certain answer for future actions, but we are doing what we can to research and prayerfully think through all of this.
We know that no matter what decision we make there are probably going to be some of the folks in our congregation that are not entirely happy with it. So our first concern is to do what we believe is right before the Lord, and then to patiently and humbly communicate with you all and listen. Feel free to contact us if you have concerns or would like to talk.
In the Love of Christ, Pastors Matt and Andy
Church family we are going to be taking a special offering for Hope Community Church in Minneapolis , they just blocks from the epicenter of recent events where George Floyd was killed and the rioting destroyed so much of that community. Dave and Sharon Johnson and their family have lived their for many years and attended Hope Community Church. They are currently working with the church there and many other christians and organizations to provide material and spiritual help to the community following these events.
The pictures below show some of the spontaneous help that they have been able to engage in. Sharon recently wrote to me, “Hi! Things are much more quiet. Grace [their daughter] and a friend hit up their social media saying they are going to go pick up personal care items and groceries to deliver to distribution sites. Their friends and those thre friends passed the info on to ended up raising about $1000. We were also able to pick up a bunch of food delivered to a food shelter that had no way to get the food delivered. It is good to have something tangible to do!”
Please keep them in your prayers! You can make a special offering at worship tomorrow, or by mailing a check
Free Grace Church. 373 E. Shaw Ave. #354. Fresno, CA 93710
Dear Free Grace Church Family and Friends,
We want to write to share with you a few church updates related to the current situation with the Covid-19 virus for our church. As you know our government at all levels is taking some unprecedented steps to prevent the spread of the virus. The Governor of California and our city government have issued statements strongly encouraging groups larger than 250 cancel meetings, as well as the postponing of nonessential meetings. Sadly, while much of the public response in the news and social media has been characterized by irrational panic and fear, we want to be wise and take the advice of healthcare experts seriously. We are committed to avoiding the paralyzing fear that has upset the peace of so many, as well as avoiding a cavalier attitude. We want to rest in Christ but also be wise. We want you to know that we have arrived at the conclusion below through some research, consultation and prayer.
As of now we are planning on having our normal Sunday services this week (prayer meeting at 9am and worship at 10am). We are doing this for several reasons. First, because we believe that worship is necessary. And even more necessary in times of fear and crisis. Second, because our church is smaller than the 250 cut off number recommended by health officials. Finally, because Fresno County at present is not seriously affected by the outbreak like other locations. Since the situation began, there has only been one confirmed case in Fresno County and that was travel related. The Fresno County Healthy Department COVID-19 webpage states (today), “There is no immediate threat to the general public in Fresno County. The Fresno County Department of Public Health (FCDPH) has plans in place to inform and protect all residents, limit exposures to any new cases if identified, and address concerns as they arise.” You can read more at this page. We will update you if there are any changes in the coming weeks.
In order to show love to one another and our neighbors we are taking several precautions:
We will live stream our service on Sunday for those who are unable to be present with us. We will share the link once the exact information is available.
We ask all those with any cold/flu symptoms, (cough, sore throat, runny nose, fever, chills, body aches, etc), to stay at home for the sake of caution. If you need prayer or help please reach out to us so we can be aware.
We will be making a few changes to our normal practices in the way we have snacks, share communion, etc. to lessen unnecessary exposure.
We are also asking that you all spread out a during worship, avoid shaking hands, and wash your hands before and after the service. We will also have some hand sanitizer for use. Please DO consider other ways to encourage one another through fellowship, phone calls, and encouraging messages.
Finally, we encourage those who are elderly, and/or who have existing health challenges (heart problems, lung disease, cancer, immune compromise, etc) to consider staying home. We are NOT requiring that you stay away from corporate gatherings. We are just encouraging you to be more careful than the average healthy young person needs to be. If you feel shut in during this time or need help please let us know and we will be help you however we can.
And as of now we are planning to cancel our monthly potluck on March 29th.
We will certainly contact you if there are any changes.
Please contact us if you have any questions. You can email Pastor Matt at MattTroupe@freegracefresno.com
We also encourage you to reach out to those in need with love and service. Please make a phone call to or visit friends, neighbors and family that are elderly or have chronic illnesses to encourage them and offer to serve them (maybe you can bring them food or go grocery shopping for them). This is a chance for us to be different from the self-centered panic that has characterized so many.
I would like to leave you with this encouragement:
“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39
For His Glory,
Pastors Matt and Andy
Here is a helpful summary of DA Carson’s answer to the question, “what is the primacy of the gospel?”
What does “the primacy of the gospel” mean? I will answer that question from Don Carson’s keynote address delivered at The Gospel Coalition’s first conference in May 2007.2 Carson clarifies the gospel from 1 Cor 15:1–19 with eight summarizing words:
Christological: The gospel centers on the person and work (the life, death, and resurrection) of Jesus Christ.
theological: The gospel tells us that sin is first and foremost an offense against God and that salvation is first to last the action of God, not our own.
biblical: The gospel is essentially the message of the whole Bible.
apostolic: The gospel is passed on to us by Jesus’ disciples as authoritative eyewitnesses.
historical: The gospel is not philosophy or advice on how to find God, but rather news of what God has done in history to find and save us.
personal: The gospel must be personally believed and appropriated.
universal: The gospel is for every tongue, tribe, people, and individual.
eschatological: The gospel includes the good news of the final transformation, not just the blessings we enjoy in this age.
Here are the rough notes from the sermon on December 1, 2019 addressing the basics of biblical gratitude.
Dec 1, 2019- Pastor Matt Troupe
Psalm 92:1-4, Ps 9:1-2
Thanksgiving 101
1. What it is…
2. How we show it…
3. Why it’s good…
4. And How we grow it…
First, What is Biblical Thanksgiving?
· What it isn’t: The issue of experiencing the good life…
o American Playwright Thornton Wilder said, “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
o This perspective says that a truly satisfying life will come from thinking about and being aware of how good your life is- and about the truly good things you have.
o Many people think about gratitude the same way- that Gratitude is being conscious of our treasures…. That we are thankful when we feel good about life, or feel lucky or more fortunate than others…. When we stop taking things for granted…. And when we do this instead of focusing on what we do not have.
o And while those things may be true, they start in the wrong place and they don’t go far enough… It is true Biblical thanksgiving does involve being “conscious of our treasures,” it does want us to avoid complaining or comparing ourselves to others. But it goes further: Biblical thanksgiving involves being conscious of our treasures AND realizing they are a gift from God, AND realizing that we do NOT deserve them AND expressing that in worship!
o It is not just feeling fortunate because you have more than others, or you accomplished your goals… or feeling good about winning, or even seeing someone else go through suffering and being glad it didn’t happen to you….
o Why do I say this? - look at these texts.
§ Ps 9:1- it is recounting his deeds and thanking him for it. It is not even primarily about what we have accomplished, but acknowledging his works.
§ Ps. 92:2- It is about recognizing and confessing his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
§ Biblical thanksgiving is decidedly God centered. We ought to thank one another! This is true and very important…
It involves these 3 things: Awareness, interpretation, & the Response of faith to our circumstances… (AIR)
· 1-Awareness: Illustration: Imagine my wife does something very nice ad thoughtful for me while I am at work. But when I come home I don’t notice what she has done…. Then I can be thankful. I have to be aware of the gift to thank the giver.
o The same for all of us. We can be surrounded by God’s goodness and not see what is happening.
o Throughout the Bible the word “behold” is used, and it is often a call to look and pay attention. It literally means to “look or see.” And it is used to call attention to something. I John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God.”
o James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Everything all around us comes from the hand of God.
o But if we don’t take time to notice, we won’t be thankful.
o I keep a journal for gratitude and I can tell you that I often am so distracted that I don’t know what to write.
o Psalm 106:21 “They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt.”
o These are the three enemies of awareness of God’s goodness: busyness, distraction, and forgetfulness.
· 2-Interpretation: Once we see our circumstances, we are going to do something very unconscious- we are going to make an interpretation and a conclusion about those circumstances.
o And this conclusion will affect our emotions and our words, and the way we treat other people.
o We were made to be interpreting creatures. God is the first interpreter- he saw what he had made and said, “it is good” and we are called to do the same. That is basically the nature of the command to name things. To interpret them and put that interpretation into language.
o 10 different people can experience the exact same thing and come to very different conclusions.
o For example, We can look at the success in our lives, and conclude that we are better and work harder than others…. And we could even boast or look down on others. Or the opposite, we could see the success of others and become envious or despair.
o We could conclude that we are victims and deserve better, we could conclude that God owes us better …. And complain or become angry with God or others.
o Or we could act in faith- my circumstances are much better than I deserve! I have so many blessings! God has been so kind to me!
o The point is that all of these reactions, are based on interpretations of the details of our lives.
o Biblical gratitude involves making a specific interpretation… coming to a conclusion about what you have, vs. what you deserve.
o Ps 103:10 “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
o Ps. 92:2 “The psalmist is looking around and is able to see in the details of life around him that God is acting in faithfulness and love.”
o Illustration: sometimes artists put little tokens of themselves in their artwork. Alfred Hitchcock has all these cameos in his own films. Or The famous Arnolfini portrait by painter Jan Van Eck. He painted a picture of a married couple, standing together and holding hands. It is an amazing picture full of all kinds of unexpected details, some of them are so small that they were painted with a paint brush made from a single horse hair. And in the background, between the couple there is a mirror. And the artist painted the reflection of the couple and included a picture of himself as the artist, and above the mirror in beautiful script is written “Jon Van Eck was here 1434.” But it is so small that you might miss it unless you really looked. And what happens is that the more you look at this painting the more amazing details you see, including little signs of the painter himself.
o And this is what happens the more we are thankful, we not only notice God’s blessings, but we see his gracious hand
o We see him as the author of them.
· 3- Response: True thanksgiving then moves from our mind and heart to express gratitude.
Not just reflecting on good times and good gifts …. Gratitude involves giving God the glory, in worship and delight.
· Eph. 5:20 says we are to “give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
· What this means, is that when times are good we see it as the kindness of God, and when times are difficult- we still see God at work in the midst of trials.
o Both Psalm 9 and 92 are written in the middle of problems! For instance Ps. 9:9 “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
o James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
o This is the interpretation of faith- That in the middle of every Trial, there is still something to be thankful for. That even when God sends difficulty and pain, for the Christian it is laced with mercy! And so I should be thankful!
o This is very different than the response and interpretation of the flesh- which lives full of fear and discontentment.
o Many of you know of Ravi Zacharias, an teacher and defender of the Christian faith from India. He came to have hope in Christ after attempting suicide during a time of despair. He tells of how he learned that the first members of his family to be saved, were saved many years before he was born. He went to visit his great, great grand-mother’s grave. No one had visited it in 30 years, and as he cleaned off the tombstone he saw a verse of scripture written on it. He didn’t even know that she was a Christian. And so he began to research the story.
o Ravi writes “On both my mother’s and my father’s sides, five and six generations ago, the first believers came from the highest caste of the Hindu priesthood. The first to come to the Lord was a woman. She was intrigued by the message brought to her village by missionaries and continued to seek them out, in spite of her family’s terrible displeasure. But one day, as she was about to leave the missionary compound in order to be home before her family found out where she had been, the doors of the compound were shut because a cholera epidemic had broken out in the village. She had to remain with the missionaries for several weeks until the time of quarantine was past. By that time, she had committed her life to the Lord. The walls of a closed compound were the means of bringing her face to face with Jesus Christ.”[i]
o Notice that Ravi wrote this down, his response was to share this story and give glory to God. We are marveling at God’s goodness because he told the story.
o This is what real biblical gratitude does! This is the response of the believing heart… not just to blessings, but also to struggles and pain! It gives praise and honor to God.
Second, How do we show it?
· It is one thing to feel thankful… and to come to the right conclusion about our circumstances, but this is not enough…. It is important to actually do something with our gratitude.
· First, by Singing- Ps. 92:1-2, and Ps. 9:2
o Singing in gratitude- (strange thought at first… we have Christmas carols but no thanksgiving carols….) this is an indication of just how deeply we should feel about God’s goodness. We should be overwhelmed, and moved to sing.
o Look at v. 4- You have made me glad by your work! And 9:1 “with my whole heart.” No restraint.
§ Singing is the natural response of the thankful heart! Like the response of a sports fan.
§ This is a great encouragement for us. When we come to sing, we should try to come prepared, with reasons to be thankful!
o We also, see that when we sing, we should be expressing the truth of God’s Character- His love and faithfulness.
· Second, By repeating and recounting his works.
o 9:1 “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”
o In gratitude we should do more than say that we "feel” thankful.
o We should actually recount what he has done… We should explain why…
o This is one of the reasons I sometimes ask, “Where do you see God working in your life?” Not just to be cute, but to point us to see where God is at work and give thanks. And one of the reasons it is a shame when we cannot answer that!
o Col 2:7 says that we as believers are to be “abounding in thanksgiving.” What would that be like if our church was abounding with thanksgiving. That routinely when we gathered you know you will hear people pouring out words of gratitude!
o And we should do it with our whole hearts… not just the polite “thank you” that we give because we have good manners…. But hearts completely shocked by his grace.
Third, Why is Thanksgiving Good?
· 1- It is Good for me
o “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Tim 6:6) When you express gratitude you are nurturing your own contentment!
o Being grateful and expressing gratitude actually has the potential to grow our own happiness.
§ Why? This is because joy has very little to do with how much you have, or how successful your life seems to be going.
§ You have probably met people that seem to have everything but are very miserable, and people that have very little and are really happy. What makes us happy? It is not our circumstances but our heart’s response to our circumstances.
§ If we complain and focus on what we do not have, nothing will ever be enough to make us happy.
§ This is a major issue in our society. There are a lot of people who consider themselves poor because they don’t have as much as other people have.
· 2- it is Good for others
o Just as complaining is contagious, so is gratitude. Our words have the power to affect other people (Awareness, Interpretation, Response)- to help them grow in joy and even learn to handle joys and trials.
o Illustration of Joni Erickson Tada- a woman that became a quadriplegic in 1967 after diving into shallow water in the Chesapeake bay… she broke her neck. But came through the times of doubt and struggle to have a vibrant faith and even to praise God…. You know awkward it can be when you get in an elevator with strangers. How about when that person is severely disabled. She is known to shock people when she motors her wheelchair into an elevator- and everyone is there, looking away… feeling uncomfortable and she invites them to sing a hymn with her and she actually starts to sing! And you can imagine the effect that has on everyone! Not just a thankful person but of a joyful, thankful quadriplegic! (Note a great passage with part of her testimony for NOT being healed.[ii])
o BTW this is a great use of social media. Not showing off and disguising a brag as gratitude, but true humble gratitude
· 3- It Glorifies God
o Psalm 50:23 “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
o It is unique and can be one of the most pure forms of worship… because it is not asking for anything else from God.
o It is responding to what God has already done.
Fourth, How can I grow it?
· Reflecting and repeating with delight the defining moments in our lives.
o Remember the words- all his works! (9:1)
· First, reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus for you.
o This is the most important thing of all. We have to remember this pivotal act of our redemption. The work of Jesus is the guarantee of God’s grace to us.
o Rom 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
o If you cannot remember anything else, you can always remember this… and this is amazing!
o This is why we take the Lord’s supper often. And this is why the supper always includes giving thanks!
· Second, The story of our own salvation- our testimony. You should tell it often.
o This is important, because it is the moment where we see God stepping into our lives with his violent grace… pursuing us to rescue us and raise us from the dead… to forgive us and begin the process of renewal.
o When we reflect on our testimonies, we need to remember something important- the before and after picture… We need to think about what we would have become without his grace.
o Your testimony needs to have Jesus as the Hero- otherwise you don’t have it right!
o Jesus told the Demon possessed man in Mark 5 to go and tell his family and friends what great things the Lord has done for us. And we need to!
o Paul often told his testimony! It is a great part of our witness to others.
o Parents, your kids should know your testimony backwards and forwards.
· Third, Key moments of provision and deliverance in our lives.
o The song “come thou fount of every blessing….” Very famous hymn. There is a line that sounds strange to us. “here I raise my ebenzer…” what does that mean? It is a reference to I Samuel 7, when God gives the people victory. It means “stone of help.” It is a monument to permanently recall the help of God.
o And these are throughout the OT.… memorials to God’s works…. Holidays, like Passover, literal monuments, piles of stones, names of places, songs. All meant to promote the retelling of God’s faithfulness. IN fact, in several places these are set up so that our children will ask us, “what does this mean?” and then we will tell them. (Joshua 4:6, Ex. 12:26, etc.)
o Journals… I actually think that we should take time to record the great acts of God in your life.
§ How? Up to you… Journals, videos, photos, writing poems, writing songs, write a book…
§ You should make it a habit and a tradition to tell stories often of God’s grace in your life…especially the remarkable times, but also the simple ones where he works through blessings and trials.
§ Find ways to put yourself in memory of the ways God has delivered you.
§ Our unbelieving hearts tend to forget and we need this if we are going to make it with thankful hearts
[i] Zacharias, Ravi K. Jesus among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message. Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 2000. Kindle edition location 462
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