An Evangelical Free Church in Cary, NC

Posts from 2024 (Page 2)

A Personal Update…

Our belief needs to move towards complete trust in Jesus, which is sometimes painful. If someone had asked me a month ago, “Do you realize that you are simply a collection of cells: water, tissue, bones, skin, muscles & tendons, etc. totaling 180lbs?” I would have replied, “Yes, of course. I know that.” I knew it in a physical sense. But it…

Notes on Spiritual Gifts-

Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities given by God to Christians in order that they may serve the body of Christ (the church). Spiritual gifts are not the same as natural talents or abilities, but they may sometimes overlap (for example, someone who is a good communicator may also have the gift of teaching). Spiritual gifts are listed in different places in the…

We are all Stewards

This month we begin a series of messages on stewardship.  In short, God is the owner of everything. Because God is the owner, we are all stewards of what He has entrusted to us.  Some of you may read the word stewardship and automatically think the following: money, tithing, church buildings, financial campaigns, etc.  However, we are not going to begin with…

The Prodigal’s Return

John Newton wrote the hymn Amazing Grace, arguably the most well-known hymn in the English language. But he also wrote many other hymns, including this one entitled The Prodigal’s Return: Afflictions though they seem severe,In mercy oft are sent,They stopp’d the prodigal’s career,And caus’d him to repent. Chorus:I’ll die no more for bread, he cried,Nor…

Is Justification simply “Just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned?”

By Dr. Wayne Grudem in Systematic Theology (IVP & Zondervan, 1994. pg. 727) One sometimes hears the popular explanation that justified means “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.” The definition is a clever play on words and contains an element of truth (for the justified person, like the person who has never sinned, has no penalty to pay for sin). But the definition is misleading in two…

Worship Songs for this week- April 14th

This week we have a mix of older and newer songs. Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery is a song from Matt Boswell, a modern hymn writer. “As the Deer” is an older praise and worship standard from the 80’s, and I Surrender All goes back a few more years. Thanks to Daniel for putting these tracks together!

What is Repentance?

In the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, Jesus tells them to “repent” five times. What is repentance? Is it just feeling sorry for what we have done? Here are four elements of repentance, taken from the Dictionary for Biblical Imagery, pg. 704-705.