We have curated 12 passages to memorize this year which are connected to our 2023 rallying cry, "We are humble before and joyful in Jesus!" Let's treasure God's word in our hearts each month.
January
James 4:10 – Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
We are here to make disciples and plant churches by proclaiming and displaying the grace of God to sinners and sufferers. After seeking the Lord we’ve discerned our rallying cry for 2023 is not a new project or hill to charge, but a focus on being:
We are humble before & joyful in Jesus!
The road to how we got here is a long one. When you walk into Grace Church and see us with our five teenage boys, with a happy marriage, and the Aledo life it is hard to see where we came from.
We are thrilled to be a part of Grace Church and serve the children and families of Aledo. Our hope and prayer is to see families discipled and formed into the image of Christ so that the next generation of saints may know, trust, and love our good and gracious God.
Last month, I found my 10-year-old in tears. Questions of transgender identity had come up in a project she was doing with a school friend. My daughter had explained that, as a Christian, she believed that God created each of us and made us male or female, so that even if we didn’t feel like we fit with our sex, we could know that God gave us the bodies we have on purpose.
My whole life, I was brought up in the church. I attended every weekend and served in ministries. I said the rehearsed prayer with selfish intentions, hoping that it was enough to keep me from going to hell. I thought this was what salvation was. I continued living in this mindset when me and my family started at a new church, and I heard the same Gospel I had heard all my life, but this time, God dug deeper in my heart. The seed had been planted, and it began to stir in me.
oday, I am thrilled to follow Christ and in obedience to him, be baptized as a believer. As Romans 6:3-4 states, “Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” I am excited to participate in this symbol of my faith before you all today, walking in the newness of life that Christ gives us.
If you have a baby in your home, you probably have a book like First 100 Animals, by Priddy Baby. These simple, naming picture books are great for children ages 0-18 months because they introduce new vocabulary and images of the created world to the littlest learners who are soaking up information like sponges.
God has created the most amazing world for us to enjoy! In Genesis we learn that just by speaking He filled the earth, sky and sea with creatures of all shapes and sizes. As we read books like these with our youngest children, we have the opportunity to teach them about our creative God saying things like, “Look! God made the BIG elephant and birds with red, blue and yellow feathers.” This is also a great time to introduce simple catechism questions that enforce the fundamental truths we believe as Christians. “Who made you? God.” “What else did God make? All things!” “Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory.”
The gospel is so rich and applicable to all parts of our life. Let’s pray that the Lord would open our eyes to creative ways to share the truth of His goodness throughout our day, even when we read simple board books to our babies.
-Andrea
Our rallying cry for 2021: we practice the spiritual disciplines and we practice the spiritual gifts!
Here, we’ll do a four part series to define and describe both. Here is Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. The last part today is a list of spiritual gifts and brief definitions.
Our rallying cry for 2021: we practice the spiritual disciplines and we practice the spiritual gifts!
Here, we’ll do a four part series to define and describe both. You can find Part One here and Part Two here. Today’s Part Three is The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament Age by Wayne Grudem.
