Page 2

Bill Connolly’sLeah from Berea 19

InsideT h i s I ssue page 12

Also

Apr - Jun, Spring Edit ion, V o l u m e 61, I s s u e 1

PUBLISHER:Frosty Hansen

EDITOR:Philip Cereghino

COLUMNISTS:Dr. Sam Vinton, Jr.

Kenneth B. Kemper, Mark SooyScott Myers, Ed Jeude, Frosty Hansen

THEOLOGICAL CONSULTANT:Dr. Sam Vinton, Jr.

FEATURED CARTOONIST:Bill Connolly

The publishing of TRUTH,a quarterly magazine

emphasizing the doctrines of thedispensation of grace, is to provide

individuals and churcheswith Bible studies, articles of

Christian concern and devotion,and news about

Grace Gospel Fellowship (GGF),Grace Bible College,

Grace Ministries International,Grace Publications,

and other Grace organizationsand activities.

The views and opinions expressedin the ads and articles

are those of the authorsand organizations.

They do not necessarily reflect theview of GGF and/or the editorial

staff of TRUTH.

PUBLISHED byGrace Gospel Fellowship,

a nonprofit religious corporation,incorporated in the State of

Michigan.

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 9432,Grand Rapids,

MI 49509

phone: 616-245-0100email: info@ggfusa.org

web site: www.ggfusa.org

Loving and Serving Community 3by Mat Loverin

and Notes on Worship 9by Pastor Mark Sooy

Regional News 21

Endeavoring to set forth God's purpose andgrace according to 2 Timothy 1:8-11

In Their Own Words 7by GMI Missionary KidsKatie Vinton and Erin Benton

Off to Israel... again 4by Ken Kemper and Phil Long

Cover photo credit: Property of Design Pics Inc., reproduced here by license agreement with theGGF, for their end use only.

TRUTH Magazine is the quarterly membership periodical of the GGF. Gift subscriptions can bepurchased through the national office.

Feature Article:Feature Article:

plus

Lunch in the Savannah Room 10by Philip Cereghino

Pastor Craig Apel addresses

several questions asking,

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

Pastor Scott Myers’Rebel with a Cause 14

Page 3

F

The mission of the Grace In Action Committee of the

GGF National Council is to inspire local churches to serve

their surrounding communities by meeting the concrete, ev-

eryday needs of people, especially the poor and disadvan-

taged. In doing so, believers have opportunities to convey

the love of Jesus Christ to others. The following story is

from a local church that sought to meet such needs by

partnering with a local inner-city ministry. If you have a

similar story from your congregation that you would like to

share in Truth Magazine, please contact Mat Loverin, the

Grace In Action Committee chairman, at his email:

mhloverin@gbcol.edu. He wants your story to inspire others

to express the love of Christ through Christ-centered acts of

service to those who need to know the love God has for

them.

For several years now, Grace Bible Fellowship (GBF) has

been partnering with Servant’s Church (www.servantschurch.org),

which is a church and ministry active on the west side of

Grand Rapids, MI. Servant’s Church believes it is called to be

“a loving and serving community in a neighborhood so deeply

loved by God that we can’t help but love it ourselves…. We

come from many backgrounds, many situations, but in all

our diversity we find ourselves woven together by one

thread; Jesus, by all his words, by all his actions, by all the love

of the cross, by all his victory over death.”

One of its many ministries is offering a free meal (the

“Family Feast”) to the neighborhood once a week. In the

past, GBF has taken two weeks out of the year and provided

the meal plus the servers. The last few years Servant’sChurch added a summer ministry, essentially to offer the

same meal but to hold it in a local park. Our church has

taken on the month of August to provide this meal and the

servers. Our hope in doing this is: 1) help Servant’s Churchreach the west side neighborhood for Jesus Christ, and

2) highlight awareness among GBF attendees of the needs

in our own backyard.

By partnering with Servant’s Church, GBF opens the

door for hands-on, face-to-face service opportunities. The

relationship provides flexibility because some may be able to

cover the cost of the meal, but not physically be able to pre-

pare or serve the meal. In August, our congregation rallies

to the ministry of Servant’s Church with administrative help

in organizing, coordinating and planning menus. We also

become more closely involved with this local ministry as the

entire church body prays and is encouraged by the partner-

ship we share.

Pastors Pat McGillicuddy (Grace Bible Fellowship, Jenison,

MI) and Wally Dawson (Grace Bible Church, Newaygo, MI)

contributed to this article.

See Serving, continued on page 16

by Mat Loverin

Page 4

II

“...as a follower of Christ it is perfectly normalto serve and abnormal not to serve!”

If you are like me, you have always listened with interest

to the stories of others who traveled to Israel, explored bibli-

cal sites and told you how much they enjoyed it. They tell of

having a greater understanding of the Scriptures and a deeper

faith from experiencing firsthand “what it must have been

like!” I have enjoyed the excitement of others, even looked

at their pictures and said, “that is very nice,” but I never thought

it was something I might be able to experience someday.

Does that sound familiar to you? Have you “always

wanted to go to Israel?” My wife Kathy and I are excited to

cohost an exciting trip to Israel. Grace Bible College(GBC) is partnering with a fine organization, BlossomingRose, which has been in Israel for more than 25 years, in

order to provide you with an opportunity to join us in Israel.

Cohosting with us will be Coach Gary Bailey and his wife,

Danette. They have been to Israel numerous times with

Blossoming Rose, and we know this will be an enjoyable

time together. Our teacher and guide will be Phillip Long,

professor of “Bible and Biblical Languages” at GBC. Phil

has taught at GBC for thirteen years and is an excellent bibli-

cal scholar and seasoned tour guide, leading four groups to

Israel since 2005. Phil will engage our minds with his in-

sights and sense of humor during our travels. The trip will

take place from December 31, 2011 through January 10,

2012. As hosts, we will travel with you from Chicago to

Israel (not including an additional excursion to Petra). Kathy

and I would love to take this journey together with you and

see how God works in our hearts and minds as we enjoy the

trip of a lifetime together. I have asked Phil to give us an

idea of what a trip to Israel is all about, and the value of

going on this trip with Grace Bible College.

It is often said that a trip to Israel is worth a year of

Bible classes. By walking in the very places where the stories

of the Bible took place, a Christian gains a much clearer per-

spective on the land of the Bible. For example, I recently

taught on the story of David hiding in the caves from King

Saul at En-Gedi (1 Sam. 24). En-gedi is a freshwater spring

near the Dead Sea. When we visit the site, we hike up the

Page 5

Continued on page 6

canyon to the caves. After experiencing this, I can really un-

derstand why David and his men hid in this location. Com-

pared to the desert around the spring, En-gedi provided a

hiding place and water source for David’s small army. When

we visit the Sea of Galilee, we can envision how Jesus could

have gathered followers from surrounding villages to a

“lonely place” where He fed them fish and bread.

Our tour is a bit different than most others, because we

will try to experience the whole land, not the tourist traps

and traditional “holy places.” We will visit several archeo-

logical sites–which many tours skip–in order to give our tour

a historical flavor. We will visit the eighth century B.C. Jew-

ish city of Arad and see a temple which closed during the

time of Hezekiah or Josiah. We will look out over the Dead

Sea from Masada, Herod’s fortress palace. We will go to

places alive with the history of the Bible. You cannot go on

a tour like this and ever read the Bible in the same way again!

A highlight of any tour of Israel is visiting the locations

where Jesus taught and performed miracles. While some of

the traditions are dubious, the town of Capernaum has been

excavated to the first century, and the synagogue there is built

on the remains of the synagogue from the time of Jesus. We

will visit the traditional site of the “Sermon on the Mount”

and the “Feeding of the Five Thousand.” In Jerusalem, we

will walk down the Mount of Olives and visit the Garden of

Gethsemane. It is quite amazing to pause and read the

words of Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem while looking over

the Kidron Valley at the location of the Temple (Lk. 19:41-

44). When we visit the Old City of Jerusalem, we will walk

on the steps leading up to the Temple courts where Jesus

The Pool of Siloam.A quick dip in the spring fed pools of En-gedi onthe 2009 tour.

Photo left: Temple Mount tunnels.

Page 6

taught during his final week (Mat. 21:23-22:46), and we will

see the remains of the walls of the Temple after the AD 70

Roman destruction of Jerusalem. We are often able to visit

the Pool of Bethesda at the Sheep Gate, where Jesus healed a

lame man (Jn. 5:1-4), and the pool of Siloam where Jesus

healed a blind man (Jn. 9:1-7). Both sites are active archaeo-

logical excavations, shedding light on these two important

stories in John’s gospel.

What really makes this tour unique is our time spent at

the Tamar retreat center. The city of Tamar is mentioned as

early as Genesis 14:7 as a Canaanite city located strategically

along the southern edge of the tribe of Judah near the Wil-

derness of Zin (Jn. 15:1-4, Num. 35:3-5). Solomon later

fortified this city by building a defensive wall and gates

(1 Ki. 9:18). These gates have been excavated and parts of

the tenth century BC city have been restored. After the time

of Josiah, the city fell into the hands of Edom and the re-

mains of an Edomite temple stand just outside the

Solomonic walls. During the Roman era, the city likely ser-

viced caravans traveling the spice route from Petra to Gaza.

A bathhouse and several other Roman buildings have been

excavated. Just up the road from Tamar are Roman toll-

booths and the Akrabbim, or Ascent of the Scorpion. This

road winds up the steep hills into the central hill country and

was once an important stage of the spice route. Finally, in

the book of Ezekiel, Tamar is once again the southern end

of the renewed Land of Israel (Ezk. 47:19; 48:28). Tamar

may have been a small town during most of its history, but it

has been witness to a great deal of biblical history.

During our two days at this unique archaeological site,

we will have the opportunity to participate in a restoration

project led by an Israeli archaeologist. After some instruc-

tion on how archaeologists work at a site like Tamar, we will

work for a few hours in the Roman area of Tamar. We can

expect to find Roman pottery and learn how archaeologists

use this material to date a site. Most short tours to Israel do

not include this sort of archaeological experience. After our

time at Tamar, you will have a greater appreciation for the

wilderness stories in Numbers and Deuteronomy.

I believe that this tour will be a spiritual challenge as

well. It is important to have a solid understanding of the

history and geography of the Land, but it is more important

to allow the Word of God to speak to your heart. We will

have many opportunities to open the Bible and read the sto-

ries which happened in a particular place, and there will be

several times of worship together. Ken Kemper will share

devotions on several occasions and there will be opportuni-

ties for personal time to read and pray. I particularly enjoy

visiting the Garden Tomb, meditating on the story of the

crucifixion and resurrection, and sharing communion with

other believers.

When I talk to people about traveling to Israel, I am of-

ten asked about safety. If you are at all aware of recent

events in the Middle East, you may be concerned about the

safety of a trip to Israel at this time. My response is that

travel to Israel is no less safe than a trip anywhere else in the

world, and perhaps it is safer. Security in Israel is serious

business, and the precautions taken in airline security are far

beyond what we experience in America. We see security

people frequently and the tourist areas are monitored closely.

We do not travel to any place which could be considered a

dangerous “hotspot.” In fact, people feel very safe on the

road and in the hotel at night.

One of the students on our 2009 tour described his ex-

perience this way: “The trip literally made me feel more at

peace with what goes on in the world, knowing that Christ is

still in control of what is going on, and just being able to see

places that were mentioned in the Scriptures reiterated to me

that my faith is not in vain.” We hope you will consider tak-

ing advantage of this opportunity and join us for what prom-

ises to be “the trip of a lifetime!”

Excavation site at Tel Tamar.

Continued from page 5

Page 7

Graduating from Rift Valley Academy (Kenya) in 2009

and transitioning to Harvard University in Boston was a

journey full of opposites: from a conservative Christian

boarding school governed by a detailed rulebook to a secular

college with few guidelines; from a place small enough to

know every student’s name, to a university where I only rec-

ognize a small fraction of my own class; and from a place

where right and wrong seemed cut and dried to a world full

of questioning people. During senior year of high school, I

was hesitant to apply, and then scared to accept, and finally

nervous to attend Harvard, but it has been one of the best

decisions of my life.

Often it’s hard for people at college to understand where

I’ve come from. The other day, I was at lunch with a good

friend and her boyfriend who had only recently found out

that I grew up in Congo. Still processing this, he mentioned

that his last sociology lecture focused on a group of people

called “Third Culture Kids” who, in his words, “don’t know

how to relate to normal people because they are from so

many different places.” Continuing, he said, “So you’re a

TCK, right?” I was caught off guard, not having heard that

term since I left boarding school. It’s true; a lot of times, I

1011 Aldon St. SW, P.O. Box 9405, Grand Rapids, MI 49509; Phone: 616-241-5666, Fax: 616-538-0599; E-mail: gmi@gracem.org

“When God called your family to the mission field, He

didn’t just call your parents, He called you as their children as

well.” I do not even remember who told me this, but it has

accurately described the feelings I have had in my heart since

becoming a missionary kid, otherwise known as an MK.

Unlike many MKs, my family did not start the missionary

journey until I was about eleven, and only a few months

after my twelfth birthday, our plane was touching down in

Tanzania, East Africa–the place I now call home. Most

people might assume the greatest amount of culture shock

happened when I left the States and moved to Tanzania. The

opposite is true.

The first time we came back to the States I was fourteen,

and we came back for four months. We moved in with my

aunt and uncle and their five kids–thirteen people’s plans and

agendas constantly needing to be worked out. It was crazy.

In my mind, we were all just rushing around. It was over-

whelming. One day I remember just snatching my mom

away for a few minutes, crying on her shoulder and saying,

“Mom, I feel like all we do here is rush to get up, so we can

rush to get our day done, so we can rush to go to bed, so we

can rush to get up again.” Rushing, rushing, rushing! That

Reverse Culture ShockThe Transition

See Katie, continued on page 8 See Erin, continued on page 8

Page 8

do feel different from those around me, but at Harvard I’ve

also found a community of people with diverse backgrounds

and experiences. A few of my good friends are interna-

tional, others spent gap years travelling the world, and a few

only moved across town to attend Harvard, but everyone has

interesting, quirky aspects about themselves coupled with

questioning minds making it easier for me to feel accepted,

even while being different.

When meeting new people here, the hardest question for

me to answer has been the simplest, most common one:

“Where are you from?” Sometimes, I tell people I am from

Congo which leads to surprised, even shocked looks and a

barrage of questions. Part way through freshman year, I

often gave people an easier answer: “My family is from Cali-

fornia,” which I’d say to avoid the follow-up questions. But

inevitably, high school would come up and I would have to

say that actually, I went to boarding school in Kenya. While

the questions got old, I eventually realized that when I

opened up and took time to share my story, people were ac-

tually more accepting and genuinely curious than I ever gave

them credit for. And as a fringe benefit, saying “I’m Afri-

can” is always a good excuse for why I take off my shoes

and walk barefoot when it rains, or why, at my dorm’s annual

nineties dance, I know hardly any ’90s songs.

It’s been very different, going from a boarding school–

where Sunday morning church and three chapels a week were

required–to a place where religion had to be entirely my

choice. I’m involved with a Christian community here and

attend a local church, but only because I personally choose to

get up on Sunday mornings. It hasn’t been easy, and this

place has shaken and then strengthened my faith multiple

times, but I have also found greater acceptance from people

of different beliefs than I thought would be possible. I have

some great Christian friends, and an equal number of friends

who are atheists. College threw me into a big world with

more ideas and viewpoints than I had ever been exposed to

before, but at the same time it’s taught me to be open to

questions and new ideas, and that same concept is what has

allowed me to transition successfully to Harvard. There is a

lot I don’t know and a lot Harvard can’t teach me, but I’m

working my way through the transition... one question at a

time.

is what I remember. Rushing seemed to have top priority,

not relationships like back home.

Culture shock happened again when I was sixteen. Since

middle school, my shopping had been done in open air mar-

kets. I do remember the day a three-aisle grocery store went

up in the town I was living in at the time. I walked in and

sat in wonder and slid around on the fancy tiles with my

brother. But that was nothing compared to a few years later

when I walked into my first Walmart after coming back to

the U.S. All I wanted was a bottle of shampoo. I saw the

correctly labeled aisle ahead of me, I turned into it, and there

before me was an entire aisle of different shampoos. I didn’t

even know where to begin to make my choice. That phase

of culture shock was choices. Americans crave comfort so

very much and because comfort is different for everyone and

our culture tells us that it’s “all about me,” that there must be a

choice for everyone, and even then I hear people complain.

America is blessed with abundance, but when coming from a

country not as fortunate, it is completely overwhelming.

When I came back to the States at age eighteen, that time

culture shock was the shallowness of relationships that got

me. As an MK it is difficult to know when or how long rela-

tionships will last, so the importance of truly knowing some-

one is very real. But back here in the States, I felt as though

I had to be shallow with everyone I met. No one wanted to

truly be known until they had known me for a long time. It

has even now been an incredible learning process for me as I

build relationships with people, and as I attend Grace BibleCollege.

And, of course, there are the small things too, about cul-

ture shock–like church and songs in English; actually being

able to drink the water out of the sinks and hoses; snow,

popular music, people; and movies that mean nothing to me;

some jokes; the constant need of electricity and internet.

The list could truly go on for a long time.

Culture shock is inevitable. But I truly believe God uses

it and has used it in my life to teach me incredible lessons, to

grow me, and to stretch me in ways only those experiences

can. He is an incredible God, working in the most awesome

ways. I give Him the praise for giving me the opportunity to

experience what I have experienced, even the “reverse cul-

ture shock.”

Katie, continued from page 7 Erin, continued from page 7

Page 9

AAs I’ve considered this final “Notes on Worship” col-

umn, I’ve run through my mind a number of possibilities on

what to write about. I have enjoyed the opportunity to share

my thoughts with readers over these few years, and have ap-

preciated Phil Cereghino’s work as Editor, as well as the

GGF’s leaders in the National office. There have been many

topics covered in these articles, and for this final writing I

would like to look ahead to what lies around the bend; to

give you some of my thoughts on what the future might

hold for Worship and the Arts, based upon the view from

here.

Good Thinking

Overall, talking with pastors and musicians and teaching

on this subject regularly, I find that for Worship and the Arts

the primary critical need is for good thinking. “Worship

wars” in congregations and a lack-luster spirit of worship are

more often a matter of poor thinking (theologically and prac-

tically), than they are of the abilities of those planning and

leading the worship. Only after laying a foundation consist-

ing of solid biblical thinking can we expect our activity to be

worthwhile. The principle is clear: good thinking must

come before–and leads to–good action (see Rom. 12:1-2).

One of the best ways a pastor and a church can address

this issue is to simply ask, “Why?” Why do we order our

worship in this way? Why do we limit the use of instru-

ments? Why do we think we are, or need to be, contempo-

rary? Why do we think hymns are the best choice for wor-

ship? Why do we have announcements during the service, or

why have we eliminated them? The list of questions could

go on and on. My point is that once you raise the questions,

and find it difficult to articulate good answers, then what is

happening has become habitual rather than purposeful. Use

these questions to launch studies of particular topics, which

will help you to think more clearly about various aspects of

worship.

Trained Leaders

Another important aspect is in the area of Worship Lead-

ership. Our Western church made and acted upon an as-

sumption that worship equates to music. In so doing, we

have sought to fill the Worship Leader position primarily

with musicians. I have made the case before that biblically

the Worship Leader positions fall under the general category

of the pastoral role–and that individuals serving in these

positions should be trained as pastors, as well as be good

musicians.

Of course, many musicians serve in these roles effec-

tively, and for that we can be grateful. My main goal in

pointing this out is that much of the training done for Wor-

ship Leaders is musical–yet they often have as much time or

more than many pastors in front of their congregations each

Sunday. This means their understanding of how to craft

worship services that will teach and admonish (see Col. 3:16)

is vital to the corporate worship of the church. Beyond that

is their need to “shepherd” those under their leadership in an

effective way. Pastoral training must become much more

integral to their training to build a solid foundation for the

worship ministry of the church.

Pastors can be proactive about this by spending time

mentoring music leaders whether they are paid staff or a

volunteer. An effective way to do this is by reading books

together on matters of pastoral care or related topics, and

The View from Here

After twelve years offaithfully writing theWorship column forTruth, GGF bids a fondfarewell to Mark as heleaves our pages to begina new ministry. Thankyou Mark, for yourinsight and labor of love.

See View, continued on page 19

Page 10

DDby Pastor Scott Myers

Dr. Steve McVey has broad popular appeal. He’s the first

to tell you, however, that his message of God’s grace also

causes controversy and inspires a legion of critics who libel

and misrepresent his ministry. In spite of such opposition,

McVey’s seminars and conferences can attract audiences

ranging in number from a couple hundred all the way up to

twelve thousand, and those engagements have taken him to

six continents. In between trips abroad, he prepares sermons

for his successful, weekly, web-based “Sunday Preaching”

series, currently in Romans chapter five highlighting, “This

Grace.” He is also an active internet blogger, both webcast

and written, and an ardent Facebook poster. He is the presi-

dent of Grace Walk Ministries and a well-known author.

His latest release is 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday;

and Why the Truth Is So Much Better (Harvest House,

2011). The man is so busy these days it’s difficult even for

him to keep track of what country or city he’s off to, or what

church or group he’s addressing next weekend–nevermind a

month from now. Fortunately, to keep track of the details

McVey has highly dedicated administrative and logistic sup-

port from a small band of staff and volunteers.

Imagine my surprise and excitement upon learning that I

might get a shot at an interview with Dr. McVey. I caught

up with him in Atlanta, GA, a few weeks ago when he was

there for a two-day weekend conference at the Atlanta-

Buckhead Hilton Doubletree Hotel. The conference theme

was “Radical Joy,” based upon Paul’s epistle to the

Philippians. This was my first opportunity to see McVey in a

live conference setting, and so I may have had a sneak pre-

view of what we’ll be seeing at our very own GGF FamilyBible Conference, “Christ Our Life,” this July in Grand

Rapids (July 20-23, Rush Creek Bible Church, Byron Center,

MI). Saturday, over lunch in the hotel’s Savannah Room, we

talked about his ministry, as well as other things.

The implications from the title for the weekend’s confer-

ence had me guessing. “Radical Joy,” I remark and jokingly

suggest he must be turning militant. But then, terms need to

by Philip Cereghino

Page 11

See Lunch, continued on page 17

be defined. “Isn’t it a shame,” Dr. McVey begins, “that the

word radical, the connotation of the word today means to be

more bizarre, extreme, over the line, when really, the word

radical means to go back to the root, to the basic truth.

Radical points back to orthodoxy. It comes from the Latin

word, radix, and the root is r-a-d, rad, like radish. It means

root. So radical is not bizarre, radical is the historic ortho-

dox view.” The weekend conference’s emphasis then would

be on rediscovering the original intent of Paul’s message of

joy, which he wanted to convey to his Philippian fellow

workers in the gospel.

On the subject of words, we both shared how a single

word in Galatians 2:20 greatly alters our understanding of

the Christian life (we both learned it in the King James Ver-

sion and McVey says the translators got it right). Do we live

our lives today from the faith of Christ, or by faith in Christ?

“Until you see the importance of understanding that it is the

faith of Christ that we live from,” McVey draws out of for

emphasis, “it’s just semantics to you. People don’t see the

‘big deal,’ the faith in Christ or the faith of Christ. What’s the

‘big deal?’

“It’s only semantics,” McVey continues, “if you don’t

understand what I’m trying to say to you. Because it’s more

than semantics; words mean something. So it’s important to

choose our words wisely, because our words will either rein-

force faulty views that we already hold or they’ll introduce

false views.” It is appropriate to challenge the usage of oth-

erwise innocent appearing words or phrases. “Too much is

at stake,” he writes in 52 Lies, “to risk faulty communication

about the truth” (pg.8).

His entire ministry has a well-defined endgame. “The

ultimate goal?” quoting again from his new book, “My desire

is that all of us would embrace and express the pure grace

of God. Pure grace points to Him, not us. It declares that

whatever good may come to us is all because of His good-

ness, not because of anything we do or don’t do. It gives

Him all the credit, and us none” (ibid.).

McVey has a knack for coining phrases, by the way. Two

favorites, “It’s not a grace sit, it’s a grace walk” and, “We’re

not human doings, we’re human beings,” turn our conversa-

tion towards leadership styles or intentions. Is there a right

way to motivate? When a pastor or church leadership be-

comes overly concerned about results or programs or atten-

dance or participation, is there a blurring of the line between

legalism and grace, well intentioned or not? “Any time you

feel a need to impose on people a responsibility to do what

will come naturally, if they understand who they are in Christ

and who He is in them, you’re missing the main focus,”

McVey stresses. “Because our main focus ought not be to

get people to behave in any specific way. Our main focus

should be on pointing people toward Jesus so that they un-

derstand that He is their life, and when they understand that,

the behavior will then just…” he grins as he catches himself,

“I started to say naturally, but it’s actually supernaturally–

flow out of them, without having to try to manipulate or

needing to shame or scold them into doing something.

“Also,” McVey adds, referring to the Apostle Paul’s moti-

vation for service towards others, “the love of Christ, con-

strains [Paul]…. It’s not his love for Christ, [Paul] says.”

In the same way, McVey continues, “It’s not my love for

[Christ.] It’s the love of Christ in me that constrains and

motivates me” to perform service for others.

Completing the word picture of who we are as human

beings vs. human doings, Dr. McVey goes back to the gar-

den, where the first sin was an attempt to become more like

God. “It’s important to remember,” he says, “that when

Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil, they didn’t think they were doing a bad thing. They

thought they were doing a good thing, because eating from

that tree would make them more Godlike.

“But God had already created them in His image…. So

the first lie told then, is that there is something you can do to

be more like God. When the reality is, you and I have been

created in the image of God. The Bible says about us in

Ephesians 4 we’ve been created in righteousness and holi-

ness in Jesus Christ. And so, it is who we are. We don’t gain

our identity by what we do; our identity comes from our

union with Him. He’s who we are. It’s about being, not do-

ing.

“My desire is that all of us would embrace and express the pure grace of God.Pure grace points to Him, not us.”

Page 12

TTThe questions above are just some that people have asked

concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Maybe you’ve

wondered about some of these things as well or you have

friends who do. With Good Friday and Easter Sunday fast

approaching you can’t truly celebrate Jesus’ death, burial and

resurrection if you don’t know why he had to die.

Groundwork

To answer the questions posed at the beginning of this

article, we first need to understand Christ’s relationship with

God the Father. Jesus was and is the second person of the

Triune God. As God the Son, his identity is distinct from

that of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, yet at the

same time the three are essentially and inseparably one. This

mystery must be remembered in any discussion of God’s

plan and provision for our redemption from sin. That Jesus

should die in our place was not the will of any one person

of the Godhead, but the will of all.

The Scriptures are clear that, before coming into the

world, Jesus had a full understanding and agreement with

God his Father and with the Holy Spirit concerning what

was required for him to provide salvation. He knew:

· He would give his life in payment for man’s sin. It

was his will to do so (Isa. 53:4-9; Mat. 20:28; Acts

2:23; 1 Pet. 1:19-20; Rev. 13:8).

· His greatest suffering in death would take place at

his own Father’s hand. And it was his will to endure it

(Isa. 53:10-11; 2 Cor. 5:21).

· He would live and die with complete autonomy

(Jn. 5:26, 10:17-18; Mat. 26:53-54). However, he would

not permit himself to die until his suffering reached

its zenith. At which point, sin being fully paid for, he

would then release his spirit into his Father’s hands,

(Jn. 10:17-18, 19:28-30; Mat. 27:45-50; Lk. 23:44-46).

by Pastor Craig Apel, Berean Church, Muskegon, MI

Page 13

Let’s Begin

These things being true, there is no validity to the state-

ments made by some questioning God’s goodness, His love

for Jesus, or charging Him with “cosmic child abuse.” If God

had caused someone else to pay for our sins, that would have

been a gross injustice. But God took the payment for our

sins fully upon Himself, through the willing agency of His Son

who was and is also God (Jn. 10:30, 14:7-11; Col. 1:19-20).

And while the Scriptures describe only the sufferings of Jesus

forsaken upon the cross, we must believe the Father and Spirit

suffered as well and equally in forsaking him (Mat. 27:46).

But why did sin have to be paid for at all? Why couldn’t

God “just forgive” us? Isn’t that what the Bible tells us to

do when we’ve been wronged, to “just forgive” people? But

forgiveness is more demanding than that. When serious evil

has been done, of necessity someone always pays for it. If

someone steals and sells your watch and you know who it is,

you have essentially two choices as to how you will respond.

But either way, someone pays. You can rightly make the

thief pay for his crime by having him arrested for theft or by

him purchasing you a new watch or both... or, you can for-

give him. But if you choose to forgive him, then you must

pay for the loss yourself–either by replacing your watch at

your own expense or going without.

Forgiveness always costs something in terms of the

wounded party absorbing the wrong that’s been done. Most

often the price we pay to forgive isn’t monetary. Forgiving

someone may require us to absorb the loss of joy they’ve

caused us; the damage they’ve done to our reputation; a lost

friendship; or a vanished opportunity. But whenever and

whatever it is we forgive, we choose to suffer ourselves in-

stead of requiring it of the person responsible. Timothy

Keller writes:

Forgiveness means bearing the cost instead of making

the wrongdoer do it, so you can reach out in love to

seek your enemy’s renewal and change. Forgiveness

means absorbing the debt of the sin yourself. Every-

one who forgives great evil goes through a death into

resurrection, and experiences nails, blood, sweat and

tears.*

And so God could not “just forgive” our sins. To for-

give us he needed to take upon himself through Christ, our

sin’s full penalty of physical and spiritual death. So that,

when our sins had been atoned for, we might be offered “the

righteousness of God” and “eternal life” (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Jn.

5:11-12). As Christ hung upon the cross, compressed into

the three hours of darkness during which his Father forsook

him, he experienced the equivalent of an eternity in hell for

every man, woman and child. He successfully paid for all

the sins of all time, because–as the innocent Son of God–his

was an even greater sacrifice than such a weight of sin de-

manded (Rom. 5:15).

But why was such a great sacrifice required? Our sins

are crimes against God Himself, so could He not have set a

lesser penalty than hell for the unforgiven, and a lesser sacri-

fice than His own Son for our salvation? We might think so.

But justice is only served when, as the old saying goes, “the

punishment fits the crime.” As sinners we have an inability

to comprehend the enormity and severity of our sins. God

is infinitely holy and righteous (Rev. 4:8), and His laws and

commandments are a reflection of His character–“holy, righ-

teous and good” (Rom. 7:12). And so breaking a command-

ment of God is nothing less than a rejection of God Him-

self, something we’ve all done countless times. What worse

sin can possibly be imagined? When David sinned by com-

mitting adultery with Bathsheba, his confession to God was

“Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Psa. 51:4). Certainly

he had sinned also against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah,

and the entire nation of Israel. But by comparison to his

disobedience to the Word of God, those other sins didn’t

even exist, so severe was David’s guilt. If we could see

clearly how vile our sins against God really are, we would

not question why it was necessary that His own innocent Son

had to die, or why he had to suffer so severely for us to be

saved.

See Why, continued on page 16

“As Christ hung upon the cross, compressed into the three hours of darkness duringwhich his Father forsook him, he experienced the equivalent of an eternity in hell

for every man, woman and child.”

Page 14

OOOne of the more intriguing events in the life of our Lord

transpires very early in the gospel record. He is only thirty

years old, hasn’t called his disciples yet. He has been bap-

tized by John according to Mosaic tradition, and at the same

time God the Father acknowledges Jesus publicly to be His

beloved Son (Mat. 3:17), pronouncing His approval. Right

after Jesus steps onto dry ground the Spirit ushers him off to

a wilderness! There alone, he fasts forty days… then out of

the blue comes the tempter, the Devil himself !

And So It Begins

So here is Jesus of Nazareth, no experience in ministry,

fresh off his baptism, alone in the wilderness, hungry, and

the enemy hits him with not one, not two, but three unique

tests. The record in Matthew 4:1-11 groups these “tempta-

tions,” but let’s not overlook that each one tests Jesus in a

particular way.

The first test is personal: “If you are the Son of God

command these stones to become loaves of bread” (v. 3).

At the feet of both of them are small smooth stones. Here

is Jesus, hungry beyond imagining… the devil tempts him to

take things into his own hands. He doesn’t yield but re-

sponds curiously: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by

every word that comes from the mouth of God” (v.4). He

quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 to rebuke the enemy, and says es-

sentially there is something about life more fulfilling than

meeting physical needs... obedience to God. Our Lord, out

of sight from anybody, rejects the temptation to take things

into his own hands and satisfy his own needs.

The second test is public: “Since you are the Son of

God, throw yourself down, for it is written: ‘He will com-

mand His angels concerning you’, and ‘On their hands they

will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’”

(v. 6). Now do not misunderstand… Jesus will not die until

he gives himself up at the Cross. He’s not dying if he

jumps–that is the whole point–but what an opportunity to

make an impact (no pun intended). He would have had

people from all over following him because of the event’s

sensationalism. “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the

Lord your God to the test’” (v. 7). Jesus would have lived

through the leap… but the test was to see if he would rely

on sensationalism (the devil’s distraction) rather than the way

of the Cross!

The third test is all about power: “All these I will give

you, if you will fall down and worship me” (v. 9). God’s

plan is for all the nations of the world to worship His Son…

but it is not through a crown of power given by the enemy.

It is through the Cross of suffering! But he’s weak from

hunger; his trek to the Cross is only beginning. Oh, to come

to power the easy way… “Be gone, Satan! For it is written:

‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall

you serve’” (v. 10). Without hesitation, boldly and deliber-

ately, the Lord Jesus rejects the enemy’s third and final temp-

tation.

Here’s What It Means for Us

Now let’s think through this critically for a few moments.

Being tempted is not sinning! That is a truth we must em-

Page 15

brace, otherwise the enemy defeats us with his lies even be-

fore we might succumb. We know this because our Lord

was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and yet, the enemy tempted

him (Lk. 4:1). So first, we must realize that temptation is

part of each of our journeys, and–in and of itself–it is not

sinful. Our Lord’s half-brother gives us a brilliant explana-

tion of the process of temptation:

Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted

from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by

[what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. But

every person is tempted when he is drawn away, en-

ticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, pas-

sions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived,

gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured,

brings forth death. Do not be misled, my beloved

brethren.

James 1:13-16, Amplified

Now this text presents us with a few problems: 1) Could

Jesus have been tempted by what is evil? 2) Did Satan’s

temptation really entice and bait Jesus? 3) Could he have

given in to any of these temptations?

Within these three temptations, Satan is pushing Jesus to

think only about himself. But God the Son addressed that

potential snare long before his exposure to temptation. Paul

gives us insight into that:

Who, although being essentially one with God and in

the form of God [possessing the fullness of the at-

tributes which make God God], did not think this

equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or

retained, but stripped Himself [of all privileges and

rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a ser-

vant [slave], in that He became like men and was born

a human being.”

Philippians 2:6-7, Amplified

It seems that Satan made a similar error in calculation

that many make today–thinking of Jesus in only human

terms. While Jesus was fully human, he was without a sin

nature… that is why the virgin birth is so critical. Satan

tempts based on human needs apart from Jesus’ connection

with the Godhead, and that is a futile line of attack because

the Son of God never did anything independently from God

the Father. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing

of himself, unless it is something he sees the Father doing;

for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does

in like manner” (Jn. 5:19, NASB). “I can do nothing on my

own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just,

because I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who

sent me” (Jn. 5:30, NASB).

So the first temptation is rebuffed quickly and effectively

because Jesus willingly walks the agreed upon path that the

Godhead planned. The Spirit led him into the wilderness to

fast. And certainly it was God’s plan for Jesus to be hungry.

Likewise, it was in God’s plan that food would be provided

at the appropriate time, just as it had been for Israel in the

wilderness (the reason for quoting Dt. 8:3).

The second temptation is equally ineffective as Satan

requests Jesus to do something miraculous, something to

wow the crowds, to draw attention to himself. This fell flat

as well because of what we learn from another confession of

Jesus: “I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only

what the Father has instructed me to say. And He who sent

me is with me; He has not left me alone, because I always do

what pleases Him” (Jn. 8:28-29, TEV).

The third temptation falls on deaf ears as well because

Jesus is the God who is to be worshipped! While Jesus is

fully human, he is also fully God. God already threw Lucifer

out of heaven for attempting to hijack worship away from

Himself, why would God be tempted by this deception?

Certainly Lucifer deceived many of the angelic hosts… but

deceive the second member of the Trinity? Ludicrous! Jesus

thundered an immediate response: “Worship the Lord your

God and serve Him only” (Dt. 6:13).

Now back to the questions raised earlier. 1) Could Jesus

have been tempted by what is evil? No, “God cannot be

tempted by evil” (Ja. 1:13). 2) Did Satan’s temptation really

entice and bait Jesus? No, because he has no sin nature from

which to lure him to do evil. 3) Could he have fallen to any

See Victory, continued on page 18

“There is no sin in being tempted! That is a truth we must embrace, otherwise theenemy will defeat us with his lies even before we might succumb.”

Page 16

Serving, continued from page 3

Servant’s Church is located in an under-resourced area

of Grand Rapids, Pastor Wally Dawson observes, very dif-

ferent economically, ethnically and culturally than GBF’s

neighborhood. This ministry partnership has been and con-

tinues to be a great joy and great challenge for his church to

work through. Says Dawson, “Cross-cultural ministry and

integration within the church is essential for spiritual growth.

Rubbing shoulders with other people who are ‘different’

from you helps a person understand God on a higher level.

God is not just the God of middle class white people of a

certain denomination or doctrinal stance. Rather, He is the

God of ALL people and we can experience that by making

an effort to experience other cultures. Uncomfortable? Yes!

Spiritually enriching? You better believe it! And what better

country to do it in than the U.S.; the melting pot of the world

where most all cultures collide (typically in the cities).”

The partnership between Servant’s Church and GBF has

grown into a lasting relationship that continues to impact

many people for Christ, both the ones being served and the

ones serving. In most cases, the ones going to serve end up

being the ones receiving, which in turn helped them grow in

their walk with Christ through meaningful service to the lo-

cal community. In this way GBF provides a great example

of what a local, suburban church can do to reach out to those

beyond its walls. By partnering with a local inner-city minis-

try, GBF gives its own members opportunities to serve which

they might not otherwise have. The arrangement supports and

encourages believers in a local church to go beyond their own

circle, and gain a greater sense of God’s love for all people.

Grace Bible Fellowship wants to live out Paul’s words to

Titus: “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good

works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be un-

fruitful” (Titus 3:14, ESV). We hope this story is an encour-

agement to you and your local congregation to think about

what you can do to serve Christ beyond the walls of the lo-

cal church.

“God is not just the God of middle class white people of a certain denomination ordoctrinal stance. Rather, He is the God of ALL people and we can experience that

by making an effort to experience other cultures.”

* Timothy Keller, The Reason for God, Belief in an Age of

Skepticism, p. 192, Dutton, 2008.

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV.

Why, continued from page 13

In Romans chapter 3 verses 23-26, Paul writes, “All have

sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified

by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ

Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement

through faith in His blood.” And then he explains why this

sacrifice was necessary. “He did it to demonstrate his justice

because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed

beforehand unpunished–he did it to demonstrate his justice

at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies

the man who has faith in Jesus.”

We may not know, we cannot tell,

What pains He had to bear;

But we believe it was for us

He hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven

He died to make us good,

That we might go at last to heaven,

Saved by His precious blood.

There was no other good enough

To pay the price of sin;

He only could unlock the gate

Of heaven and let us in.

Cecil F. Alexander

Jesus died so God could be both “just,” i.e. the One who

fully punishes sin, and also “the One who justifies,” the One

who forgives and declares sinners to be righteous. Apart

from Calvary’s cross there was no other way He could be

both.

Page 17

“Now that doesn’t mean,” McVey is quick to interject,

“there’s not doing. But doing is the natural [supernatural]

by-product of being who we are in Christ. We think in the

modern church world that we have to do things to become

something. I’ll become a godly person if I’ll just do certain

things. I’ll be righteous if I’ll just do certain things. No, no,

no. That’s totally backwards from what the Bible says.

The Bible teaches we are righteous. Paul talks about the

gift of righteousness through the abundance of His grace,

in Romans 5:17. And it’s because of who we are that we

do, not the other way around, like we’re told most often in

church.”

This idea of motivating by way of a believer more fully

understanding his union with Christ is captured in the mis-

sion statement of Grace Walk Ministries, “To share the life

and love of Jesus Christ.” I sense Dr. McVey is accomplish-

ing his ministry by reaching out to teachable people who are

hungry for spiritual growth but haven’t experienced it in the

establishment church and they have become frustrated and

misdirected into joyless, unfruitful, spirit-dulling stuff. McVey’s

opinion is that, “There are two extremes out there. There are

those that are anti-institutional church, and they’ve written

off not only the structure but they pretty much have written

off everybody in there, and the only answer they have to

offer those who are still inside the institutional church is ‘get

out.’ And then the other extreme are those who think that

the church doesn’t exist unless it meets behind stained glass

windows under a steeple.

“I don’t think it’s either/or,” McVey says about the op-

tions for Christians seeking growth. “The Church of Jesus

Christ consists of believers in both of those places and

more. And so, I see myself as a missionary to the Christian

in the church, whether that means institutional or organic or

small groups or whatever. I see myself as a missionary to

the person who is still sincerely hungry for Christ and for

truth, but their head is in the wrong place. And the reason

that that’s important to me is because I spent most of my

Christian life with my heart in the right place but my head in

the wrong place–until the Lord began to show me these

truths... and I teach them–which was in 1990.”

And here is where it gets personal for him. Dr. McVey

writes about discovering the message of grace in his first

book, Grace Walk (Harvest House, 1995), which chronicles

the moment in his Christian life he calls his “Damascus road

experience,” when the Lord “knocked him off of his theo-

logical horse.” He began to realize that the perception he

had of the Christian walk was totally backwards. “And that

was the starting point,” McVey recalls, “and that’s been al-

most twenty-one years ago, and I’m still growing…” [in the

knowledge of grace]. “There’s a continuum in grace.” That

growing in grace is evident in his writings–in comparing his

earlier books with his newest–and in recent insight from the

Scriptures he now is comfortable teaching (the last five or six

years).

“We don’t ever arrive,” he adds, giving the journey its

endless aspect and quality. During a conference session he

stated that coming to an end of one’s personal growth in

truth and grace “would be a disappointment.” For McVey,

or any serious student of the Bible intent upon more fully

knowing their great God, the body of God’s truth concern-

ing grace is infinite and cannot be exhausted by mere mor-

tals, not in this earthly life nor in the fullness of times to

come. How often do we as grace believers think we have a

lock on the gospel of grace? There is an element of human

pride bundled up with any systematic approach to Bible

truth… even dispensationalism (the shortcoming of an ism).

Aren’t we going to be amazed for all of eternity by the wis-

dom, love, power... the grace, the immensity of our triune

God?

I’m fairly certain Dr. Steve McVey will inspire and moti-

vate our Family Bible Conference attendees to grow in their

own understanding of grace. For those that want to delve

more deeply into Dr. McVey’s understanding of grace, the

question and answer session should be an exciting venue…

be prepared to support positions from Scripture, as I know

that Dr. McVey enjoys a good roundtable discussion. This

Atlanta conference was my first “live” encounter and I have

to say that I found his candor and sense of humor enjoyable

and refreshing. By the way, Steve had the baked chicken and

I had the lasagna.

Lunch, continued from page 11

“I see myself as a missionary to the person who is still sincerely hungry for Christand for truth, but their head is in the wrong place.”

Page 18

of these temptations? NO! Although he was fully human,

Paul makes it very clear that he has no sin (2 Cor. 5:21) be-

cause he was fully divine (Col. 1:15-20).

Now I know this is different than most people will write,

but I am convinced that we struggle with testing and tempta-

tion far too much because we do not grasp the significance

of our being united with Christ Jesus, who is God! Was he

tested? Yes! Did Satan try to tempt him? Absolutely! Was

Jesus ever really tempted by what Satan offered? Absolutely

not! And that is where our victory lies! Sin has no power

over us because we are new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

If you’ve never realized that, read these verses slowly:

Since we have been united with him in his death, we

will also be raised as he was. Our old sinful selves

were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its

power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

For when we died with Christ we were set free from

the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we

know we will also share his new life. We are sure of

this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will

never die again. Death no longer has any power

over him. He died once to defeat sin, and now he

lives for the glory of God. So you should consider

yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory

of God through Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:5-11, NLT

As a result of being united with Christ Jesus, sharing his

new life, we now are able to live victoriously to the glory of

God! It is not simply that God will provide a way of escape

for you when you are tempted because He knows the sins

that you cannot stand; He has empowered you to live beyond

the enticement of sin as you continually submit your will to

His. You died with Christ; now you are to live as he lives!

You can do that because Christ lives within you!

A Strategy for Temptation

What should we do when temptation next crosses our

paths? Let me offer three practical suggestions:

First, don’t be alarmed… expect it! As long as you live

on this side of eternity you will be tempted! Only when you

pass into the presence of our Lord will you be forever freed

from the pull of temptation. We also need to realize that

temptation is internalized and fought on the battlefield of

the mind, in the deep recesses where your thought life takes

place. So prepare for it and expect attacks!

Second, don’t be blind… detect them! Call it what it is!

Our enemy has innumerable methods of attack, and because

they are seldom overt, but insidious and brilliant and clever,

and he knows exactly the place where he can get and win

your attention, be vigilant to detect them!

Ask the Lord to make you sensitive to His voice and to

the alluring deceptive voice of your enemy. Yes this might

be a little mysterious, but don’t turn a deaf spiritual ear to

the reality of the spiritual battle that is all around you.

Third, don’t be clever… reject them! Unfortunately

some Christians think they can stand toe-to-toe with Satan

and win! There’s a name for people like that… victim! You

will lose if you try to play clever games with the enemy in

your own strength. You can only deal with him in the power

of Christ Jesus, depending completely on the power and

presence of the Holy Spirit!

Be Victorious!

And by the way, just in case you were wondering… the

truth of God’s Word for you is simply this: “No temptation

has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faith-

ful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,

but with the temptation He will also provide the way of es-

cape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

There is nothing you will ever face in the form of a tempta-

tion that will overtake you! Period! End of story! If you

are in Christ Jesus, and you choose to submit your life to his

control, you have the promise that temptation will not rule

you! Jesus Christ will provide you with all the power needed

to endure victoriously, because he already did… and you are

in him… so live fearlessly not fearfully!

Victory, continued from page 15

“There is nothing you will ever face in the form of a temptation thatwill overtake you! Period!”

Page 19

discussing them informally once or twice a month. This can

also be done in a small group setting if there is a group of

leaders that participate in the worship and music ministry of

the church.

Balanced Song Selection

Beyond these things there remains the importance of

balance in song selection. Many churches have gone full

steam ahead into the “contemporary” worship that seems to

use primarily the latest-and-greatest songs the Christian Mu-

sic Industry is producing. In doing so, they leave behind the

legacy and heritage of great thinkers who were able to com-

municate the truth of the gospel and Christian doctrine

through song lyrics. I am not saying that modern worship

music completely lacks sound doctrine (although much of it

does). Nor am I suggesting that traditional hymns are always

on target theologically (because some are not). We are well

served to include the breadth of musical styles in our wor-

ship.

To be clear, there needs to be a balance. To jettison the

relevant historical expression of worship in favor of exclu-

sively modern conceptions is to disconnect the modern

church from its roots. Progress is inevitable, and necessary,

especially as we seek to communicate God’s truth to our gen-

eration, yet we must be careful to manage that change in a

redemptive manner. Our connection with the Church

throughout the centuries is something that crosses cultural

and national boundaries unlike anything else. The Church

(its doctrine and its worship) remains steadfast even while

nations come and go. Retaining that connection in our wor-

ship will remind us of those who have come before, as well

as the reality of the presence of Christ in the Church from

century to century.

The items I mentioned float to the top of my thinking as

matters of importance for our churches in the area of wor-

ship. I have appreciated sharing with TRUTH readers over

the years, as well as your comments from time to time.

Thank you. I will continue to write regularly on worship and

the arts for the Colson Center for Christian Worldview on

their site called “The Worldview Church.” Visit my blog

there at www.worldviewchurch.org.

View, continued from page 9

Page 20

PO Box 2300Port Orchard, WA 98366

Phone: 1-360-876-0918E-mail: pma@pmabcf.org

www.pmabcf.org

This report comes from Arnie and Sally Selfors

who direct the Spanish speaking ministry of Prison

Mission Association. They live in Largo, Florida,

and Arnie ministers weekly at the Pinellas County

Jail to around 50 inmates.

Each week as we retrieve the mail from

the post office, we not only receive many

lessons returned to correct, but we spend

hours reading and answering many letters

that come to us weekly. Let me give you

some examples:

“I just learned from a fellow prisoner

about your ministry, and I would love to be

included in the lessons you send out. Would

it be possible for you to send them to me? I

don’t have a Bible, how could I get one? I

am a Christian, but have failed my Lord, and

now I need to get back into the study of His

Word, and some of my fellow prisoners have

told me about your lessons.”

“I thank you

for the lesson you

sent me, which I

am now returning.

I am amazed that after my kind of behavior,

the Lord would still hear my prayers and

want me to be His child. I was thrilled with

this lesson, and have a deep desire to renew

my relationship with the Lord. Thank you

for sending these lessons to me.”

“Dear brothers in Christ. I am alone in

this country, I have no one here who will

even listen to me. Is there anyone there who

would write a letter to me? I have made

many foolish mistakes, and now am suffering

for it. I know you people have Bible lessons

that you send out. May I be put on your list?

I would really appreciate it, but most of all,

can someone write to me?” (Thankfully, we

were able to write to this man and

encourage him.)

“Dear friends at EBB...(Spanish

name for Bible Correspondence

Fellowship), I have a definite prayer request,

and know of no one to share it with. Will

you pray for my family in Mexico? I have 3

children, and a wonderful wife, and they are

now alone. I know they are suffering, for my

wife is unable to work, and I have no parents,

nor does she, to help in her physical needs.

Will you please pray for my family?”

These are continual requests, and by

God’s grace, we are not only able to pray for

these dear souls, but share God’s Word with

them, in addition to writing them a short

letter of encouragement. Will you not also

pray with us for these many needs?

Pictured left: Arnie Selfors

Page 21

Rob Warmouth & Chuck Williams

Region II: Southwest

Region III: West

Steve Blackwell

Pastor Les Takkinen of Grace BibleChurch in West Allis, WI, writes that the

smell of spring is in the air in Wisconsin.

We are looking for new and fresh ways to

share the gospel with others. As we are

ready to launch a new effort to reach our

community for Jesus Christ, Pastor Randy

Brown will be spearheading a group to go

into our community to seek out those who

are lost and in need of the Savior.

It is with much prayer and anticipation

that we want to reach out to West Allis and

New Berlin with the gospel this spring.

We want to have a small army of believers

who are willing to spend time many Satur-

days walking from house to house with

Bibles, tracts and door hangers to see if

None reported

Region I: Pacific Northwest

Scott Myers

None reported

None reported

Region VII: East

Cal Lowder

None reported

None reported

Region VIII: OhioTrent Boedicker

Region IV: Upper Midwest

Mark Matychuk & Les Takkinen

Region V: Lower Midwest

Ed Jeude

St Louis Bible Fellowship is pre-

paring to celebrate the cornerstone centen-

nial of their stone, brick and stained glass

church building this October. It is the

only Protestant voice in the area known as

“Dogtown,” adjacent to the 1904 World’s

Fair site.

Neil and Diana Schnaath recently pur-

chased a 54 acre Christian campground,

which is now their home, near Livonia in

northwestern Missouri. Founded 40 years

ago, the facility needs some serious updat-

any are willing to talk about Jesus Christ

and Him crucified.

Like most communities, people are

reluctant to interact about biblical things.

We shall be categorized by some with

other religions, but we expect it. Some will

shun us, some will ignore us and others

will avoid us, but we shall leave a door

knob hanger inviting them to Grace Bible

Church of West Allis. We are praying for

those few who may be thinking about a

church that preaches the Bible and believes

that it is true.

Pray for us as we launch this new out-

reach for Jesus Christ. Pray that God will

bring a good number of believers to touch

our world of unbelievers and non-church

goers and invite them to God’s House.

May many be touched with a gospel tract,

a short conversation about God and His

Word or come to check out our church

service on Sunday.

It is God who has an intense desire to

reach our world with the Lamb of God

and His sacrifice for our sins. May God

bear much fruit as the gospel goes out and

lives are touched by caring Christians.

Thank you for your prayers!

ing but is functional. The possibilities are

great and the first use this year is 2 weeks

starting June 19 with Cowboy Lee from

Bible Doctrines to Live By. The Schnaaths

and Cowboy Lee have a good working

relationship from previous Cowboy camps

and Family camps. Neil is an ordained

minister and is working to establish a

Grace church. The new name will include

the word “Victory.”

St Louis Theological Seminary is

graduating three more students this spring

at a cap and gown service, which will be

held in conjunction with a luncheon and

the annual congregational meeting of

St Louis Bible Fellowship.

Page 22

Region VI: Southeast

Phil Cereghino

Grace Bible Church, Fairhope, AL,began 2011 with several special servicesplanned. The Grace Singers from GraceBible College performed at the church inJanuary. In February, the VanHoutensjoined the congregation for a ladies semi-nar and a worship service. Thirty-fiveladies attended from several area churchesas Sharon (VanHouten) shared her study,“On Eagles’ Wings.” For Sunday’s wor-ship service the VanHoutens presented thegospel in their upbeat musical style.

The weekend of March 19-20, JoelFink, author of The Mystery, which thecongregation is studying on Sunday eve-nings, joined Grace Bible for a Bible con-ference. The sessions concluded with afellowship dinner and a concert by Joel’sfamily for the final service.

Pastor Dan Lippicott’s wife, Cindy,coordinator for OATH ministries, reportedthat OATH has helped families to adoptten children during the first three months

of this year. These children came fromChina, Korea, Ethiopia and Columbia.To date, the OATH ministries fund hasbeen able to play a significant part in theadoption of over 70 children since itsinception in 2003.

Page 23

Region IX: Western Michigan

Kathy Molenkamp

by Leslie BrookhouseRush Creek Bible Church is thank-

ful to God for many things. Most recently

we thank the Lord for some 70 students

from the Byron Center area who are part

of the after school ministry called “Drop

Zone.” On Tuesday and Thursday after-

noons the students are here on campus for

a safe place to be; a place where people

care for them; a place to play games, or do

homework; a place where they hear the

gospel and come to faith in Him. In re-

cent weeks we have seen 16 people come

to faith through Drop Zone and through

the Junior High and Senior High students

who are trained and energized for evange-

lism.

We are also thankful for a trio of

women who head up our Worship Arts

Department: Patti Wanrooy, Becky Ball,

and Andrea Ott are each now employed

part-time and do a super job together!

At Frontline Bible Church we are

getting ready to take the follow-up survey

for the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey

May 1-15. We took the survey the first

time in January of 2010 and it showed

some things we were doing well and things

we needed to change. After making nu-

merous changes over the last year, we are

very excited to see what impact they have

had on the health of the church.

We continue to be blessed by the

church-wide and community-wide Bible

reading endeavor we are doing entitled

One Book One Body

(www.onebookonebody.com). People who

have struggled for years to be consistent in

their Bible reading keep saying how doing

this as a whole church has been such a

help for them.

Region 10 looks forward to hosting the

GGF Family Bible Conference again this

year. Hope to see you all July 20-23!

Region X: Central Michigan

John Lowder

Robinson Grace Church in Grand

Haven, MI, will soon be wrapping up one

of their best years of WOW, their Wednes-

day Night version of Coached By Christ or

Awana–with almost 30 children registered

for the year. A highlight of the year was

when the kids put on a Christmas program

to a packed house of over 120 (which is more

than the church can really hold). It was a

“standing room only” crowd. VBS plans are

already well underway as this year the VBS

Team is leading the “PandaMania VBS,”

from Group Publishing.

The men’s ministry which meets monthly

on Saturday mornings for breakfast, Bible

study and prayer, also is doing really well.

Attendance and involvement have never

been higher in the five-plus years they have

been meeting. Robinson has also undertaken

several projects around the church. Last No-

vember they removed their 100-year old stain

glass window in the front of the church. It

was severely deteriorating and the cost of

restoring it was too great to justify. It is pres-

ently in storage, possibly looking for a good

home.

Blueprints are done for a new building,

and they are looking at ways to break the

project down into stages that will allow them

financially to begin to move forward raising

funds.

They recently added a new guitarist to

their praise team. One of their young peole

is becoming quite talented on the guitar and

that has been a nice addition. As always

Robinson continues to sing a new song to the

Lord! A couple of new songs they really

have embraced lately are, “What A Savior,”

by Laura Story and “Open My Eyes,” from

Hillsong.

What a tremendous winter it has been at

Parkside Bible Church, Holland, MI!

Over the last few months they have seen a lot

of new families establishing themselves into

the church community. In February, Parkside

hosted its annual Super Bowl Bash Youth

Outreach with nearly 100 in attendance. It

was such an encouragement to see so many

“new faces.” Cameron Myers, a student at

Grace Bible College, shared the gospel and chal-

lenged the students to live out their faith in

all aspects of life. In March they had the

privilege of hosting the 2011 Faith at Work

Mission Conference. They were so chal-

lenged by the “heart” that each of these mis-

sionaries has for Jesus Christ! Also in March,

Pioneer Clubs held a “coin war” between the

boys and girls to raise support for Beacon of

Hope, a local ministry. It is such a blessing to

watch the kids get excited to reach out in

the community. In April, Pastor Matt will

be leading a small group of young men to

Costa Rica as part of a leadership coopera-

tive with the churches in Belen and Alajuela.

In the adult ministries it has been en-

couraging to see people involved in small

groups. They have recently begun a second

season of small groups, which has fostered

a stronger sense of community within the

congregation.

Looking ahead to the summer, they

have made plans for VBS in June and the

Junior High youth will be ministering in

Niagara Falls, NY, in partnership with

Youthworks and 2 other churches, in Au-

gust.

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAIDGrand Rapids, MI

Permit No 139

PO Box 9432Grand Rapids, MI 49509

We’re on the net:http://www.ggfusa.org

. . . founded in 1943 by nine pastors to coordinate the ministries of their churches. The

Grace Gospel Fellowship is an association of churches and organizations united by a mutual

commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ, proclaim the Good News of salvation through

His grace to all, and faithfully proclaim the eternal Word of God. We are dedicated to

cooperate with one another in ministry and fellowship as we make clear to everyone the

unsearchable riches of Christ in this age of grace.

Frosty Hansen Cindy Carmichael