Grace Abounding

On the Fourth of July a gaggle of friends from Grace Church enjoyed a picnic before catching the D.C. fireworks. We love sharing life together at Grace Church of Alexandria!

Enjoy these photos from singer/songwriter Jeremy Casella’s recent concert at Grace Church of Alexandria on May 1, 2010:

Last Saturday, May 8, a contingent of Grace Church attenders went to the National Zoo. Enjoy these images from GCA’s photostream:

Jeremy Casella will be in concert this Saturday at 7 pm at Grace Church of Alexandria. He’ll be presenting an acoustic guitar and piano concert based on his album “RCVRY.” Then, at 9:20 am Sunday, he’ll teach on “Why We Need Hymns In A Postmodern Era” and join us at 10:30 am for corporate worship.

When: Concert is this Saturday, May 1, 7 pm
Tickets: By donation at the door (suggested $7).
Where: Samuel Tucker Elementary School in Alexandria where Grace Church meets on Sundays for worship.
RSVP: Let us know you’re coming via Facebook here. 

You’re invited to come early to Grace Church on Sunday, May 2nd, at 9:20 am to hear singer and songwriter Jeremy Casella share on “Why We Still Need Hymns In A Postmodern Era.” Jeremy will be in concert at Grace Church singing from his album “RCVRY” the evening before, Saturday, May 1 at 7 pm, then will be joining us the next day to teach this class and join in playing as we sing praise to God during Sunday morning worship.

Jeremy is part of Indelible Grace, a group of musicians that put old hymn texts to new, more singable music for the benefit of the body of Christ. We welcome you to join us for this special talk by Jeremy preceding morning worship at Grace Church of Alexandria. His talk will begin at 9:20am on Sunday May 2. Childcare is provided.

Seven thousands pastors and church leaders gathered this week at Together For the Gospel (T4G) to glory in God’s grace and discuss what faithful ministry of the gospel looks like. T4G is a diverse gathering of churches that all hold passionately to the core of Christian truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third Time’s the Charm

I’ve had the privilege of representing Grace Church of Alexandria there the three times T4G has been held; this certainly was the best of the three. I must admit I didn’t get much out of the second one, T4G ‘08. Must have been because I was utterly spent and exhausted the weekend before from my examination for ordination as a minister of the gospel, held the weekend before in South Carolina. Getting up at 4:30 am and driving to Louisville, KY, for the conference after my ordination just numbed my mind and that conference was a blur. Not so T4G ‘10!

A Theology of Sleep

Hearing from John MacArthur on a “Theology of Sleep” (Mark 4) re-kindled my sure confidence that faithful preaching and teaching of the Scriptures inevitably bears fruit, because the power of the gospel is not in me the messenger but in God who grants faith & repentance. MacArthur reminded me that, as a pastor, my utmost focus ought to be on understanding and proclaiming God’s truth accurately, so that I may gladly rest and entrust the congregation’s response to the Word to Him. This sermon serves every Christian who works to share the gospel with your co-worker or family members, and seeks to teach the Word to your children or disciple a Christian friend. God’s Word bears fruit because the sovereign God is the Lord of the harvest. We can rest easy and not fear when we have done our job and delivered the message accurately and faithfully.

T4G 2010 — Session 5 — John MacArthur from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Sing Praise To God

Each day was filled with the resounding echo of 7,000 voices of pastors and church leaders giving loud praise to God in singing gospel laden hymns and songs. Making a joyful noise to the Lord with Christians from across the globe committed to the same message, the same Savior, the same body of Christ, and the same glory of God filled my heart with fire to press on in gospel ministry here in our city of Alexandria. For what we believe is nothing new. In fact, it is the same message that countless people in all nations and throughout time have hung their hopes on, and have always found God faithful to deliver on his magnificent and gracious promises.

Watch & Listen For Free

Seven T4G sessions are available in audio and video for free here. Each is worth your time. I especially commend to you John MacArthur’s “Theology of Sleep,” John Piper’s sermon on the stunning clarity of the gospel in the Old Testament and in Jesus’s teaching, and C.J. Mahaney’s encouraging and transparent talk to “Ordinary Pastors.”

If you  would like to share your experience at T4G or have questions, go ahead and post in the “comments” section below this post.

When: Jeremy Casella in concert Saturday, May 1, at 7 pm – acoustic guitar and piano.

Cost: By donation at the door (suggested $7).

Where: Samuel Tucker Elementary School in Alexandria where Grace Church meets on Sundays for worship.

RSVP: Let us know you’re coming via Facebook here. 

Description: Come hear Jeremy Casella at Grace Church! He will be presenting an acoustic concert mostly from his album “RCVRY” and talking about the influences in his life that led to the album. This is an artist who is using his gifts as a Christian to great effect.

Jeremy has sung on various albums for Indelible Grace, a musical association that revives old hymn texts with new, improved music. Invite your neighbors and friends using this Facebook event ! Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the event and to support Jeremy.

Two weeks ago Grace Church’s leadership team had the privilege of sharing what we’ve learned about church planting at Church Planting Conference ‘10. We reporting back to our sponsoring church, Heritage Bible Church, all that God has been doing to grow our gospel community in the Washington D.C. Metro region. Quite frankly, we were stunned by the high level of interest in our church plant and grateful that many believers told us there they pray for our church family on a regular basis.

Pictures From the Church Planting Conference ‘10

Here our elders and deacons and their wives are show in a Q&A about church planting:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Sermons From the Church Planting Conference ‘10

Heritage invited the lead pastors of their five current church plants to present a vision & method for planting churches in a series of five sermons. Here they are:

Enjoy these glimpses of our church family taken during the historic snowfall that Alexandria experienced in January and February 2010.

One of the kids from GCA playing in the snow.

The entrance to Cameron Station, the community where our church meets in West End Alexandria.

Windshield wipers peeking out of the snow.

Several members met to build a snowman at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School where our church meets on Sundays for worship and fellowship.

A veritable mountain of snow, an unusual sight in Alexandria

p.s. Thanks to Amanda Lee, Peter Beninate, and Christy Matías for the photos.

This Sunday Grace Church is getting a front row seat to God’s radical rescue work through the Gospel. We’ll be hearing from a modern-day Paul named Tim Keesee via video journal as he recounts how Christ’s saving grace has broken out in hard-to-reach places and as he explores places where the Gospel has never arrived. Join us at 10:30 am this Sunday (2/28) for a moving experience as we hear from the Word of God’s heart for people and see where God’s transforming grace is breaking into the world, to the praise of his matchless grace.

A Bold Advance from Dispatches From The Front on Vimeo.