My parents encouraged me to memorize Ephesians 6:1 as soon as I could form the words, it seems. I would hear the gentle reminder, “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.” At the time,...

While it may be tempting to dismiss certain parts of Scripture as antiquated and not applicable in our twenty-first century world, if you've been in a church that teaches the entire message of the Bible, not cherry picking the passages that make us feel good,...

“At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more. Probably the Queen knew quite well what he was thinking; for she knew, though...

Words. I use a lot of them. Sometimes this works in my favor and, quite certainly, sometimes it does not. The crazy thing about words is that in just a few, you can honor Christ and build up a brother— but just a couple more and you...

As believers, there should be a huge contrast between how we lived before we knew Jesus, when we were living far from God and “hopelessly confused”, and how we live after we decide to follow Christ. When I zoom out and look back on the...

“Whatever fascinates us will guide us, so I pray that the only thing that will fascinate me is God and His marvelous glory.” – A.W. Tozer Before entering college, I had this skewed thinking that everyone was the same, in a general sense. I thought everyone...

Christian unity is of great importance to Paul, as it has been formed in the very body of Christ (Ephesians 2:14). He urges the Church towards pursuing it (4:3), and he revels in the fact of it (Ephesians 4:4-6). This is a unity that overcomes...

These days self-driving cars are all the talk, and despite the controversy, I like the idea. Cruising down the highway on autopilot, not having to deal with the hassle of turn signals, tapping brakes, or speeding tickets? Yes please. Checking out and not having to...

Throughout the passage of Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays that his readers will possess inner spiritual strength, the indwelling of Christ in their hearts, the aptitude to grasp all the magnitudes of spiritual truths, and the surpassing knowledge of the love of Christ. Each of these...

A couple of years ago a friend told me she was memorizing Ephesians 3:14-21, and I decided to join her. With lots of repetition and persistence, the passage began to settle in my memory. I have repeated it to myself probably hundreds of times since...

Mystery is a central theme in the book of Ephesians. However, our culture has minimized the value of mystery. In our present intellectual atmosphere, precise and accurate knowledge is readily available. Science produces increasingly spectacular results. The social sciences seek to quantify (often successfully) aspects...

“Truth is being killed in the streets in the name of harmony.” A few years ago, I read this quote on the state of the Church in America. At the time, it vividly expressed for me a trend that I had already begun to notice: the...

Many of us like to pretend that we have it all together, that all of our ducks are in a row. No one can know that we struggle, and we certainly hesitate to admit needing assistance of any kind. We are constantly chasing what we...

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul gives thanks for the Ephesian church and prays that they may be made conscious of the hope to which God has called them. Hope is a central theme in Paul’s letters, and it informs much of the theology of the New...

When Dan and Amy Johnson married and started attending Grace Church about five years ago, they knew that they wanted to become members and get connected. At that time, however, they had no idea the impact that community would have on their marriage and their...

In thinking about college, many words or concepts may come to mind. Freedom. Fun. Self-discovery. Independence. However, in light of our church’s recent teaching series, I, as a college senior, have come to associate much of my college experience with a word without these positive...

Our culture is obsessed with our bodies. We love to hate them. We love to pamper them. We hide them, abuse them, starve them, stuff them, and flaunt them. Whether you adore your body or loathe it, the core of the preoccupation is the same...

As I have reflected on the number of stories and changes I have witnessed in the last five years in Grace Church Kids, there is a theme of life change and growth that continues to come to mind. It is the growth and development of...

Many of our members are benefitting from participating in our Care Ministry groups. We asked Deb Fowler, from our Powdersville Campus, to share a little bit about her experience in this past fall’s GriefShare. Hear Deb’s experience in her own words. "Initially, I was hesitant to...

When Randy and I were asked to write about adventure, we thought, “what could we possibly say about it to be of any help?”  There was no grand plan in the beginning of our marriage to have “adventure” in our life. Like romance in our...

My husband and I met in student ministry when we were 12 years old and started dating when we were 16 and 17 years old. We had amazing marital counseling during our engagement and managed, by God’s grace and protection, to practice purity our entire...

God has been faithful and will continue to be faithful through every season of life.  I am currently single in all senses of the word (from a tax payer’s standpoint and a dating standpoint), and although I do have the desire to one day be...

I graduated from Clemson University just a few short years ago. Since then, I have attended upwards of thirty weddings—having the honor to stand with six of my best friends as bridesmaid. My life is not quite the story of 27 dresses just yet, but...

It had been one of those days. You know the one…the house is a wreck, the kids aren’t getting along, you haven’t showered or even finished the half bagel you started to eat at breakfast. And then you look at the time and realize it’s...

In December of this year, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  We were just 24 and 25 years old when we married.  After ten months of dating, six months of engagement, four premarital counseling sessions through our church, two books on...