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Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events
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April:
9: Meet & Greet Potluck
23: Cookout Fundraiser & Silent Auction for the Youth Camps
June:
4: Last day of Sunday School
5-9: RYM Middle School Camp at Alasso Ranch in Hawkins, TX
11-17: RYM High School Camp at Estes Park, Colorado
July:
15-21: Reynosa Mission Trip
24-28: Vacation Bible School
September:
22-23: Ladies Retreat @ MD Resort
SMoG ROOTS: from 5-7pm at the church.
4/2 and 4/23 5/7 and 5/28
HOSPITALITY WEEKEND: April 7-9 and May 12-14
If you have a recipe that is great for a group, please email it to Sherrie at:
officegcpcfw@gmail.com
Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
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Look What Has Been Happening...
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The behind the scene workings of the pavilion have been underway and actual construction should begin soon. Drawings are being finalized; and once permits are granted we can break ground.
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Reaching Students for Christ
Equipping Students to Serve
by Matt Odum
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Megan Wilson (Junior art major) became a christian through RUF in Jan. ’17, was baptized, and is now a member of the local PCA church in Denton. Grace Presbyterian Church helped make this happen!!! GCPC was the first church in the NT presbytery to begin financial support of RUF @ UNT. You let the way!
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Josh Ford (freshmen) trying to discern if he wants to try & walk on UNT’s football team this summer.
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Jim Pocta (ruling elder in the NT presbytery), leading a discussion on gender identity and the christian life at our large group.
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Praying for seniors who just graduated at the end of fall semester 2016.
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One of the ways local churches are involved on the campus of UNT is through prayer. You all have prayed for conversions and for students to be connected to the local church. You also have generously given financially to allow me to be on campus daily to minister to the student body and faculty of UNT. Our main three avenues of ministry are through 1-1s, small groups, and large group.
www.untruf.org matt.odum@ruf.org
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LADIES OF GRACE (LoG)
by Joanna
McMahan & Anne Nelson
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The current Ladies of Grace studies, now meeting on alternate Wednesdays, will be ending in April. The Tuesday morning study is on-going. As we move forward with encouraging one another, LOG would like to offer several opportunities for prayer and Bible reading.
1. We will offer an opportunity once again for an email based prayer group. These groups will consist of 6 to 8 women who share scripture passages and regular prayer requests.
2. We will offer an opportunity for groups to meet together to pray using a Psalm. We will meet at the church.
Remaining Night Study dates: 4/5 & 4/19
Daytime Study dates: 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23
LADIES OF GRACE SPRING LUNCHEON
Many thanks to everyone who had a part in making our "Wise Ways for Wise Days"
a success! Those who attended were treated to thoughtful words of wisdom from our pastors' wives, Lizzie and Tiffany, a delicious lunch served by the Wise Guys (our wonderful Men of Grace), and then a unique style show featuring beautiful, thrifty fashions.
New to the LoG? Take a look at the Ladies of Grace page on our church website for more info and details about the larger goals for our church’s women’s ministry. Check out http://gcpcfw.org/resources/ladies-of-grace/ And join our very active Facebook page, where we communicate various everyday needs, ministry opportunities, prayer requests, and encouragement https://www.facebook.com/groups/gcpcladiesofgrace/
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**Photos taken at the Spring Luncheon**
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GUYS OF GRACE (GoG)
by Eric Sizemore
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Bible Study – In April & May we will be covering Chapters 11-12 in our study of the Book of Romans. For those interested in joining us, we meet 7pm at the church, every other Wednesday night. During each meeting, we discuss the selected passage as a group. In our discussion, we try to determine what the original author was saying to his audience, along with some of the applications for the original audience and ourselves. Afterwards we have a time of prayer. If you are new to the study, please join us. Don’t worry if you haven’t been with us from the beginning of the book. We try to summarize where we are in the book, and what has come in the chapters before. This meeting is open to any of the Guys in the church, young and old. Thank you to all the guys who have attended over the past several months as we have dug into the deep riches of Romans. It’s been a pleasure to study God’s Word with you.
- April 12th – Romans 11:1-24
- April 26th – Romans 11:25-36
- May 10th – Romans 12:1-24
- May 24th – Romans 13:1-14
Men’s Tuesday Morning Prayer – As followers of Christ, we are called to be men of prayer, both personally and together as a church body. Together as a church body, it is good to acknowledge our need and dependence on God. As you are able, please join us, each Tuesday morning at 6:15 am, as we gather together at the church to pray.
Men’s Breakfast – On the third Friday’s of the month, April 21st and May 19th, the men will get together for breakfast. At 9:30am, we’ll meet at “Our Café”, which located at the corner of Beach and Basswood. Come join us for some good food and good fellowship. Contact John Hamby with any questions.
Men’s Movie Night – Join the guys for a movie and some grub. We will have a movie night each of the next two months. Keep an eye out in your bulletin or the “Guys of Grace” Facebook page, for the dates and times. As usual, we will see the movie together and then meet afterwards somewhere to eat, fellowship, and discuss the movie. Contact Phil Bassett if you are interested.
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Student Ministries of Grace (SMoG)
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SMoG Roots:
Serious Play
by: Pastor Davis W. Morgan
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Our Middle and High School students teamed up with our deacons to serve our church body one
Saturday
in March. Over twenty students (and parents!) helped repair a fence, replace siding and a gutter, paint a shed, trim trees, and much more.
It was a tremendous blessing to all involved, please do not hesitate to let us know if you and your family need help with something!
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COLLEGE & YOUNG CAREER
by Robert Cardona
The College and Career Group just wrapped up our brief study on hymns that speak to the depths of human suffering and pain, and yet anchor those realities on the sovereignty and the amazing grace of our God. We have now transitioned, appropriately, to Reformed worship. Living in a cultural construct that craves immediate gratification and consumerism, and considering how this has tragically infiltrated some of the evangelical churches, we are asking questions such as, “Is that what worship is all about”? If not what is? To answer those questions we are again utilizing our Reformed tradition, via the WCF (which as I mentioned previously is a summation of what we believe the scriptures say regarding various doctrines, all the while being
subordinate to scripture).
Often times we hear of extraordinary theatrics in mainline evangelical churches, with its concert-like performances, in the worship services which may include massive stage lights, smoke machines, 20 member rock bands and rotating drum platforms (ok maybe not that extreme). Conversely, within our tradition, we tend to utilize ordinary elements in our worship services.
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Considering the obvious differences between the two, we are discussing, amongst other things, if using such words as ordinary and extraordinary in describing worship are dichotomous terms, or are they compatible within our tradition. We are also discussing the three spheres of worship those being; public, private, and family.
The overarching theme within our discussions on Reformed worship is John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in
spirit and truth.” I hope to see you there to join us as we think through the subject of worship within the Reformed tradition.
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Feature Member:
The Brooks Family
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Duane and Bethany Brooks have been members of GCPC since 2007 when they relocated from Lubbock. They are childhood sweethearts, dating from the age of 15 and 16 and getting married in 1999 when Bethany was 19 and Duane was 20. Their 18th
anniversary is this summer (and no, Bethany does not look old enough to have been married 18 years, thank you for noticing!). Both graduates of Texas Tech University, Duane is in his twelfth year of teaching Advanced Placement classes in the history department at Paschal High School in Fort Worth (near TCU) and Bethany is an attorney, practicing full-time with a mid-size law firm in downtown Fort Worth for the last 11 years. In 2010, the Brooks welcomed their talkative and energetic son, Henry (now 6 ½) and in 2013 followed their talkative and energetic daughter, Harriet (4 in May). Bethany doesn’t have any hobbies to speak of because….please review the prior two sentences. Duane’s downtime activities include yardwork, gardening, carpentry,
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tending to his chicken flock (current flock size: two), and binge-watching The Andy Griffith Show on Amazon. Although raised solidly in the church, neither Duane nor Bethany came from a reformed background. They are thankful the Lord lead them to the PCA in their early twenties and have not looked back since. Duane has served GCPC as a deacon since approximately 2009 and Bethany has been teaching Christian Education classes for several years
. They are incredibly thankful for GCPC and their church family. Bethany’s parents, Wendell and Karen Medlin, are also members of GCPC.
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Singing the Psalms
by Elizabeth Hames
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I am excited to begin our new sermon series on the Psalms, an entire book of the Bible made up of poetry that was intended to be sung. The Psalms deal with every possible human emotion from despair to utter joy, and music aids in conveying those emotions in a way that mere words cannot.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Psalm 100:1-2.
Notice that the Psalmist instructs us to “make a joyful noise” not “sing only if you have natural musical talents.” “All the earth” is instructed to worship the Lord with singing. Often times, people are reluctant to sing if they don’t think they sound very good or if they are not very familiar with the song, but the purpose of worship is not to make us feel comfortable. We are called to praise the Lord with whatever we have. One of my very favorite moments
in church is when I hear the young children singing out with all their hearts. Usually they are not singing the right notes or even the right words, but their sound is joyful and honoring to God.
As our pastors preach through the book, we will be singing many Psalms together as a congregation. We do not have the original music to which they were sung, but countless Psalm settings have been written since. Numerous hymns we already know are based on Psalms, and we will be singing other Psalms to familiar tunes. You can also look forward to learning some completely new settings.
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
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Critics Corner: Silence
(featured in the previous issue)
by Phil Bassett
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"For Men's Movie Night this month, the guys saw Martin Scorsese's new film,
Silence. The movie tells the story of two priests who are looking for their mentor in the faith. The setting in which he's gone missing is 17th century Japan, and its government intends to eradicate every last remnant of Christianity from the country by any means necessary. Suffering is pervasive in the film, and the burden we feel for persecuted Christians rivals the suffering depicted in
Schindler's List. Silence carries that kind of weight, and viewers feel every ounce. Where is God when we suffer? The main character asks this question throughout the story, and we debated the answer for an hour afterwards. But I'm not sure we came to any conclusions; I'm not sure the film does. But what I am sure of is that Scorsese takes the question of God's silence and the faith of these Japanese Christians very seriously. Their faith in the midst of such excruciating suffering is almost inexplicable. They cling to the things of God as if their lives depend on them. And in that death-grip, we encounter something complex and mysterious. A faith that endures. It's inspiring to see, even as the bodies that cling to it are being broken."
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LOOKING TO SERVE... HANDS & FEET
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* Find notices here from the Deacons on how you can come along side the church and those in need.
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Did you know that some ladies got together at the church and did a cook day? They prepped some freezer meals to keep up at the church for those in need. Are you interested in being a part of the next cook day?
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So where are the storing these meals??
Our deacons approved the purchase of a new HUGE freezer! With the team effort of Kelly Chambers and Erin Sizemore, they got us this for us!
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Do you have an idea of a way to serve but need someone to come along side you? Do you have a gift that you just don't know how to use to serve others? Write to Sherrie and let her know. officegcpcfw@gmail.com
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Did you know?
Every week we use our bulletins to follow along with the service. Have you ever thought about what all goes into getting those ready? Every week our pastors layout the service from picking the music, scriptures, quotes and whatever information that needs to be passed along. We, then, have a group of ladies that sift through the weekly bulletin with eagle eyes to catch any errors. These ladies are incredibly diligent to proof to the tiniest of details. And they do it every single week. If given an opportunity, please give a big THANK YOU to Karen Flowers, Elizabeth Hames, and Karen Medlin for the incredible job
that they do!!
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From the Pen of the Pastor:
Our Diet Plan
by Pastor Kyle Oliphint
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By the time you’re reading this you know (hopefully) that we have begun our sermon series in the book of Psalms. This inspired, ancient prayer/hymnbook, composed over the span of 1,000 years will be our Sunday morning diet through summer ending on Labor Day. We won’t be able to cover all 150 Psalms, obviously, but we will do more than sample a few of the Psalms.
Why the Psalms? Why now?
Back in 2013 your Session asked me (Kyle) for a proposed 10 year plan of what I will preach and when. I am happy to report we are on schedule and that is why we are in the Psalms in the spring/summer of 2017, five years later.
The reason your Session wants an idea of the preaching schedule is two-fold; First, we best be thoughtful and intentional about which books of the Bible we are going through together and why. You know our practice. We preach through books of Bible, alternating between the Old Testament and New Testament. Since we finished the Book of Romans in early March, we begin the Psalms next. Over the long-term this gives us the opportunity to hear from the whole counsel of God. But second, we do not want our preaching diet to be determined by the latest headlines, the perceived “needs” of the church or any cultural shift. Our diet plan is always going to be God’s Word, in a scheduled, systematic and thoughtful way.
Just for fun, here is where we’ve been and, if God allows, where we’re going:
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Where We've Been:
Brief series in Ephesians
Revelation Fall, 2013
Ruth First q 2014
Hebrews 2014-2015
15 Sermons in Prophets 2015
Limited Series on Why We Worship
1 & 2 Peter 2015
Ecclesiastes 2015-2016
Romans 2016-2017
Where We Are Going:
Psalms 2017
Luke/Acts 2017-2018
Ezra/ Nehemiah 2018-2019
Philemon/Jude 2019
Leviticus Pt 1 2020
James 2020-21
Leviticus Pt 2 2021-2022
1 & 2 Thessalonians 2023
Audio of sermons are available on our website, gcpcfw.org. Let’s feast together.
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