BridgeWay242 Blog

This Sunday, March 29, BridgeWay242 welcomes Ed Elliott into its pulpit.  Ed has worked in the computer field as a contractor for 20 plus years, mostly in the role of a trainer and communicator to the users of custom-made software in Federal Government agencies.  He has taught Elementary-age Sunday school and adult Sunday school at his small Baptist church, and he serves as the back-up preacher – getting to preach 4-6 times a year.  Since 2002, Ed has taught workshops on biblical topics in prisons and jails, having preached weekly for four years at the Alexandria, VA jail.  He has recently incorporated a non-profit company called Seventy times Seven Ministries to partner with churches to help former Christian inmates transition back into Society and into churches that are teaching sound doctrine.  In February Ed led one of the sessions for the BridgeWay men’s discipleship group, and this Sunday he has the privilege of preaching to us about the glory of our Lord Jesus.  Come and hear!

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Listen to the words of Michael Horton as he reminds us that the Gospel is the most relevant truth in the universe:

“Where the gospel is not taken for granted, it is often a means to an end, like personal or social transformation, love and service to our neighbors, and other things that in themselves are marvelous effects of the gospel.  However, the Good News concerning Christ is not a stepping-stone to something greater and more relevant.  Whether we realize it or not, there is nothing in the universe more relevant to us as guilty image-bearers of God than the news that he has found a way to be “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).  It is “the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16), not only for the beginning, but for the middle and end as well – the only thing that creates the kind of new world to which our new obedience corresponds as a reasonable response.”  

Source: Michael Horton, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, p. 22.

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What is the relationship between the Gospel of grace and ministry to the needs of others?  Consider the words of Tim Keller:

“Think it out!  The only way for Jesus to get us out of our spiritual poverty and into spiritual riches was to get out of his spiritual riches into spiritual poverty.  This should now be the pattern of your life.  Give your resources away and enter into need so that those in need will be resourced.”

Source: Tim Keller, “The Gospel and the Poor.”

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Consider these penetrating questions from author Michael Horton:

“Does Christ come merely to improve our existence in Adam or to end it, sweeping us into his new creation?  Is Christianity all about spiritual and moral makeovers or about death and resurrection–radical judgment and radical grace?  Is the Word of God a resource for what we have already decided we want and need, or is it God’s living and active criticism of our religion, morality, and pious experience?  In other words, is the Bible God’s story, centering on Christ’s redeeming work, that rewrites our stories, or is it something we use to make our stories a little more exciting and interesting?”

Source: Michael Horton, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, p. 24.

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This Sunday, March 8, BridgeWay242 welcomes Rev. Eric Redmond into its pulpit.  Rev. Redmond is Senior Pastor of the newly formed Reformation Alive Baptist Church. He is also Assistant Professor of Bible and Theology, returning to the classroom after serving another church for seven years. He is a graduate of Washington Bible College, Dallas Theological Seminary, and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.  He is the author of the book Where Are All the Brothers?: Straight Answers to Men’s Questions about the Church, and a contributor to the upcoming book Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Christianity.  Rev. Redmond will contribute to the series on biblical eldership by preaching Acts 20:17-38.  Come and hear!

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Here is a quote from yesterday’s sermon.  In it Alexander Strauch makes the point that elders are pastors.  It is worth taking to heart.  Here it is:

“When Paul and Peter directly exhorted the elders to do their duty, they both employed shepherding imagery.  It should be observed that these two giant apostles assign the task of shepherding the local church to no other group or single person but the elders.  Paul reminds the Asian elders that God the Holy Spirit placed them in the flock as overseers for the purpose of shepherding the church of God (Acts 20:28).  Peter exhorts the elders to be all that shepherds should be to the flock (1 Peter 5:2).  We, then, must also view apostolic, Christianized elders to be primarily pastors of a flock, not corporate executives, CEOs, or advisers to the pastor.”  

Source: Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, pp. 16-17).

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Sermon Series: Biblical Eldership

March 1: Prologue – An Overview of Biblical Eldership

March 8: Purpose – The Work of the Elders: An Exposition of Acts 20:17-38

March 15: Parameters – Biblical Qualifications for Elders: An Exposition of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9

March 22: Process – Identifying, Training, and Selecting Elders

March 29: Praise – In Praise of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd

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