Grace Church of The Valley

We are undergoing an upgrading process. Please be patient with us. Grace Church is experiencing our Lord’s amazing blessings. We are only 17+ months old and are on the grow. Please feel free to call 951-283-3545 with any questions. We’d love to have you visit us. We meet at 10:30am on Sundays, renting the 7th Day Adventist Church at 2550 So. Main, Corona, CA.

1. God is not partial

2. Jesus made the way for peace between God and man

3. Jesus is Lord

4. Jesus became man

5. Jesus overcame sin and satan

6. Jesus was crucified

7. Jesus’ resurrection was widely attested

8. Jesus is judge of the living and the dead

9. Jesus offers forgiveness to all.

This is sobering and good news all wrapped up in one presentation. Let’s be accurate as we share the

Gospel with those who, like Cornelius, God will bring into our lives. Let’s be faithful to that which we have been called.

In thinking over yesterday’s study, prejudice is one of the great struggles of any society. So it figures that prejudice is going to follow many right into the church. I think of a youth who uninvited another youth out of our youth group. The result in that life has been tragic with that young person leaving the group and becoming attached to an ungodly influence.

The bottom line for prejudice begins with the attitude. For the believer, our attitude should flow from our relationship with our Living Lord Jesus. It is conforming to His image that changes an attitude of prejudice to an attitude of acceptance.

So, how can one test his/her level of acceptance of others as Jesus would accept them? Here’s a few thoughts:

“Majesty”, from the Master’s College will be here at Grace Church of the Valley on September 9th, 2007.  They will perform a 40 minute concert as part of our Worship Service beginning at 10:30 a.m.  Please tell friends and family so that no one misses this extraordinary opportunity to hear one of the best vocal ensembles in the Southern California area!!!

When: August 3 2007, from 6:30 pm til the boat returns at 11:30 pm.
Where: Newport Landing on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach.
Cost: $57.00 Includes boat, bait, equipment, tackle, and 1 day license!!!
Sign up quick because the first 40 are on the boat, everyone else missed it!!

To get on the boat see Tim E. or Gregg Varnes

The inaugural Women’s Tea at Grace Church of the Valley is scheduled for June 2, 2007, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  A wonderful speaker is scheduled, and the Men of Grace will baby sit for anyone attending.  Contact Jean Plew, Debbie Simmons, or Sherry Buster for more information.

            As there are churches who teach that water baptism is a part of gaining one’s salvation I would like to pull out part of my notes from last Sunday and post them for review. The following come from my notes:

(1)  Peter was calling for these Jewish converts to submit to baptism as a sign of their personal commitment of repentance. Similarly, our Lord called for the rich young ruler to be willing to surrender his riches as a sign of commitment to Christ.

(2)  An important Bible study method I introduced is that we must compare Scrip-ture with Scripture. No passage, when correctly interpreted, will teach some-thing contrary to the rest of Scripture.

(3)  Our Lord would not introduce ritualism into the church. He had spent a large part of His earthly ministry condemning the ritualistic religion of the scribes and Pharisees.

(4)  An interpretation linking water baptism as a part of becoming a believer in Christ Jesus is not true to the facts of Scripture. In none of the following Scrip-tures is there any mention of it being a part of becoming a believer: 1 Corinthi-ans 15:1-4; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Acts 4:12 and many, many others.

(5)  The preposition for in verse Acts 2:38 can be correctly interpreted because of or on account of. This would harmonize this verse with the rest of Scripture. It would read Because of being forgiven for your sins let each of you be baptized.

(6)  Baptism is an act of identification with Christ for the believer. It was command-ed by our Lord. As an act of obedience it is important and can be used in a powerful way as a testimony to those who do not know Christ.

May this be a reminder for us to continue faithful to the Word of God, rightly dividing it as Paul commanded Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15.

May our Lord abundantly bless each of you.

Acts 2 is an oft-forgotten passage when it comes to pointing people to our Lord Jesus. The following is a brief overview of verses to memorize or be able to go to in sharing parts of Peter’s powerful sermon: 

(1)  Start with 2:21. It shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Explain that it is God’s desire for everyone to be saved, not only eternally, but right now, from a life controlled by sin and Satan.

(2)  Move to 2:22. God, in a powerful way, demonstrated that Jesus was who He said He was through miracles (powerful, supernatural workings that cannot be explained away by natural cause and affect), wonders (the response of those who saw the miracle), and signs (the intended meaning God has behind every miracle). Here, in this passage, there was absolutely no ridicule or mocking from those who had earlier mocked those who had been earlier clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit and were demonstrating that power.

(3)  In 2:23 journey to the cross was through the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. Fore-knowledge is not reading tomorrow’s newspaper today. It is understood in God making a prognosis on behalf of sinful man and following through. Romans 5:8 lay this concept out beautifully. However, Peter points specifically to the fact that all mankind nailed Christ to the cross. This concept is seen in Isaiah 53:6.

(4)  Verses 24 & 32 speak of the resurrection. The grave (death) could not hold our Lord. God raised Him up without corruption. Notice Peter says that all of those who were clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit were witnesses to that. No one, including the previous mockers, contested that state-ment. It was widely known and accepted in that day. The skeptic of our day needs to see this. It is a powerful reality.

(5)  In verse 33 Peter tells that the coming of the Holy Spirit in power was evidence that Jesus’ work had been accepted by the Father. This sets the final stage of reasoning with the unbeliever, verses 34-35. The one who denies God access through Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord remains an enemy of God Who has promised that He will subject all of Christ’s enemies under His feet. The wrath of God will be visited on each individual who is outside of the family of God.

(6)  This brings you back full circle to v. 21. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Invite the individual you are sharing with to do this.

Read this passage and re-read this passage. Become familiar with it. This first sermon preached as the Church was birthed is a powerful document in proclaiming Jesus as the Christ and Lord. The Word of God is powerful as it penetrates a life. May God bless each one who uses it for the glory of God.

In the Scriptures we find that there are prophecies that actually have two parts in their fulfillment. We refer to this as Double Reference Fulfillment and Dual or Partial Fulfillment. In the first the Bible prophecy may have both a near and far fulfillment. In the second the passage of Scripture may look to a remote event for its fulfillment, with a part of the prophecy being fulfilled prior to the remainder of the prophecy.

The prophecy out of Joel two is an example of this. The phenomenon described on the Day of Pentecost was not the total fulfillment of the prophecy but rather a pre-fillment. The actual fulfillment will be seen when our Lord returns to earth to set up the throne of David and to rule over all mankind.

Another example is found in Isaiah 9:6a. The prophecy of the birth of the Messiah refers to the first advent (coming) of Christ. However, it was pre-filled in the birth of Isaiah’s son. However, the total fulfillment of verses 6b-7 go on to state that the government will rest on this individual’s shoulders. Like a valley that separates two mountains, these events are separated by hundreds of years including the church age.

There are several other passages of Scripture that have this same pattern. Again, a careful study of the actual prophecy and the circumstances surrounding later events in Scripture reveal whether the event is a pre-fillment or the actual fulfillment.

Forgive the long title. An interesting this is happening at Grace Church. A silent, but powerful indicator heightened my awareness of this last Sunday.

Someone had remarked early on Sunday morning that they wondered how many would be in attendance, as Californians tend to use rain as an excuse not to attend church (like Iowans do when it snows). Well, we had a great attendance in spite of the weather!

However, it wasn’t the attendance that was the powerful indicator. It was something else. We had a great Pot Lunch on Sunday following the service. There were three eight-foot long tables just packed with all kinds of good food. Way to go People of Grace!!!

Now that was an incredible start!

However, it wasn’t all the food that was the powerful indicator.

No, it happened when we had finished eating. Without anyone saying a word everyone in the body began to move together to do what some would think was beneath their dignity. They ALL began to get busy in cleaning up. Some took care of picking up the food table. Others cleaned table tops. Others cleaned up the kitchen. Others put away tables and chairs. Another vacuumed the entire room. The body was moving as one.

Let us endeavor to maintain this unity as we move out into our communities in ministry; as we serve together in many facets of body life; as we grow stronger spiritually and numerically; and as we have the initial crowning day of planting our first daughter church. This all we do in obedience and to the glory of God!

In Acts 1:14 two qualities of our true pioneering fathers and mothers in the church was that they were of one mind and committed to prayer. How essential for Christ’s church to be effective today it is for these same qualities to be just as present and operable. In sports, music, and other endeavors, it’s the basics that the athlete, the musician, the artist, etc., go back to again and again. It’s a practice of always visiting the maintaining the foundation that allows expansion into other areas of excellence. When one gets careless about practicing the basics whatever the accomplishment that is being pursued, the end result suffers.

Being of one mind, maintaining unity, is the arena that Satan loves to wreak havoc on the church. If the enemy of the soul can place wedges between members of Christ’s body, he can begin to weaken ministry and seek to gain an advantage. However, when those in Christ’s body are working to maintain unity there is no opening and he is, in effect, shut out.

It must be reiterated that the purpose of prayer is not so much to move the heart of God but to work on the heart of the believer. God uses prayer to rid us of disobedience, stubbornness and other hindrances to His work, which He designed for us to do before the foundation of the earth, being done in our lives. A life committed to prayer begins in small parcels of time and grows from there. If you do not have a daily pattern of prayer set aside just ten minutes a day to begin. AND, do not spend so much of this ten minutes in telling God what you think you need, but rather sitting quietly, allowing Him to bring to mind what He wants in your life. You’ll soon see this time expanding because being in the presence of our Father brings joy and growth in the believer’s life.

Unity and prayer – let these two qualities always be yours without wavering.