Tim Challies writes:

Of all the casualties the church has suffered in recent decades, I wonder if many will have longer-lasting consequences than the loss of the evening service. There was a time, not so long ago, when most churches gathered both in the morning and in the evening. But today the evening service is increasingly relegated to the past.

At Grace Fellowship Church we hold on to the evening service and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is a commitment, to be sure—a commitment for the pastors to plan a second service and to prepare a second sermon, and a commitment for the members to give the church not only the morning but also the evening. But these are small costs compared to the great benefits. Here are a few things I love about an evening service.

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John S. Shaw (coordinator of OPC church planting) writes:

Orthodox Presbyterian congregations, presbyteries, and assemblies regularly sing a hymn that closes with these words:

.     We long to see your churches full,
.     that all the chosen race
.     may, with one voice and heart and soul,
.     sing your redeeming grace.

We love to sing this hymn because the desire reflects the stated plan of God. The Lord seeks true worshippers who “will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). The Lord pursues true worshippers through the ministry of his Word and Spirit. And the Lord sends the church to gather true worshippers by the means of evangelism.

God gives the ministry of evangelism to the church as a primary responsibility. This article considers that responsibility, especially as it applies to local congregations. We will consider evangelism through the local congregation in three parts: first, the agent of evangelism; second, the theology of evangelism; and third, the practice of evangelism.

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11 May 2014 — 10 AM Worship

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11 May 2014 — 3 PM Worship

Stephen Altrogge writes:

We tend to get dressed up for church. Depending on your denomination, getting dressed up might look like wearing a suit and tie or a dress. Or, getting dressed up might look like wearing your best pair of jeans and a collared shirt. We clean up before going to church. We shower and we brush our hair. We want to, at the least, look like we have it together. For the most part, we don’t go to church wearing yoga pants or sweatpants. We don’t roll out of bed and go straight to church.

I distinctly remember one Sunday when a man said to me something like, “When I look around, I see all these people who have their lives together. Meanwhile, my life is a mess.”

Church should be a place where messy people feel comfortable. When I say “messy people”, I don’t mean people who are willfully engaging in unrepentant sin. I mean people who are seeking to follow Jesus, but who often find themselves struggling, and falling, and failing. I’m talking about the weak, weary, and worn out.

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Mike Reeves, author of Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith, delivers a brief but very helpful talk on the necessary relationship between the gospel and the Trinity:

A Trinitarian Gospel