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Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

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  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
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Our Daily Bread Is The Pattern of the Bible by Pastor Kevin

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  When the Israelites were journeying through the wilderness en route to the promised land there was clearly a journey and clearly a destination. God says there are dangers in both. Looking at Deuteronomy chapter 8 the overarching command is not to forget God:  v. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. v. 11-16 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the gr
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How Do Elders Minister The Word Of God? by Pastor Kevin Feder

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The Bible offers us the simplest and clearest role description of an elder in Acts 6:4 "...But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” It is so simple and so clear that it is almost foggy and somewhat hard to understand. Well, I suppose prayer is easy enough. As elders we pray because we truly believe we need to hear from God. Come 6:00 a.m. every Friday morning, that is what we are doing.  Ministry of the Word, by comparison is a little less straight forward. What does this mean? Should every elder preach? Teach? Counsel? How do we fulfill this?  Let me tell you what I take it to mean. I think it means that one of the key ways the elders serve the church by prayer and ministry of the word is to discern the will of God for the church.  Let me explain.  This past week the elders of GCF began a project to discern our next leadership move (what will we do and where do we invest our time building?). We listed off 25 legitimate areas that could potentially
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God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

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I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f
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Marks of A Healthy Church: A Biblical View of Evangelism By Pastor Kevin Feder

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 When I first saw this title I said to myself, "oh no." Probably because evangelism perhaps highlights one of the weakest weaknesses of Glory of Christ Fellowship. Perhaps you might disagree, in that case it's possible that you have been faithful to practice evangelism by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with unbelievers. Good for you. I for one can grow in this area and I long to see the day when many people will come to know Christ and convert to Him through the witness of GCF.  On the other hand, before I beat myself up too badly or set unrealistic expectations it is important to get a working view and understanding of how evangelism should mark the church. Let me say a few things about it. First of all, if you are looking to do some reading let me highlight a few good resources. Mark Dever wrote the book titled The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.  I have not read it but have only heard good things about it. If you are looking for a more theological treatise on the s
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Marks of a Healthy Church - A Biblical Understanding of Conversion by Pastor Kevin Feder

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 Maybe you are like me and find yourself surprised by learning that a biblical view of conversion is a key mark of a healthy church. Not that we should't prioritize a biblical view of anything, but we could say the church should have a biblical view of everything, right? Why single out conversion as a key indication of a healthy church? Furthermore, conversion seems like something that might be hard to detect. For instance, practicing communion and baptism are tangible and obvious, something you can clearly hang your hat upon. A church's view of conversion, this is less obvious.  If it didn't go through your head, it did go through mine. Let's start with an operational and clear view of what a biblical view of conversion is. Here is a definition from a strengthened version of the 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith.  We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseperable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby bei
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Should Women Bear The Sword? By Pastor Kevin Feder

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  Over the past two weeks at GCF we have and are devoting ourselves to the discussion on gender roles. We believe that gender roles are rooted in creation as a part of God's glorious design. It will inevitably sound archaic and sexist to modern sensibilities that men are primarily called to assume sacrificial responsibility characterized by leadership, protection and provision while women are primarily called to be helpers characterized by nurture, gentleness and caring. Yet, we believe this is what the Bible seems to clearly suggest. Scripture itself is clear in Genesis 2:18 that Adam needed a helper, so God created Eve who was fit to his specifications, and he to hers.  Creation itself self-evidently bears witness to the beauty and goodness of male and female complementarianism. The anatomy of males and females work together to create new life, for instance. And speaking of anatomy and physical attributes, simply by looking at the female form it is evident that she was constructe
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