On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering and triumph of Christ, all sin purged and its wretched effects forever banished. You will find attached both our Confessional Statement and our Theological Vision for Ministrya vision rooted in the Scriptures and centered on the gospel. . Secularism tends to make people selfish and individualistic. Do you see what he is doing? If youre in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist. We cannot look at the poor and the oppressed and callously call them to pull themselves out of their own difficulty. If you have need of our services, please call us, day or night, at: Steps in Planning a Funeral or Memorial Service, Writing Down a Life: Crafting the Obituary, Social Expectations: a Primer on Funeral Etiquette, Notifying Creditors and Government Agencies, Funeral Home Websites Powered by FrontRunner Professional. How this reading of the Bible shapes us. The gospel replaces superiority toward the poor with mercy and compassion. If we think we can just ignore God and live a sinful lifestyle, well, we cannot do it. If you would like to continue with your current candle choice please click "Continue" otherwise please click "Select Another". If we undercontextualize, it suggests that we want the trappings of our own subculture too much. What could lead to a growing movement of gospelcentered churches? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Regarding power, it is visibly committed to powersharing and relationshipbuilding among races, classes, and generations that are alienated outside of the Body of Christ. We want to generate a unified effort among all peoplesan effort that is zealous to honor Christ and multiply his disciples, joining in a true coalition for Jesus. 6:00 PM to TBD Please click the register tab and sign up for a new account. The gospel moves people to holiness and service out of grateful joy for grace, and out of love of the glory of God for who he is in himself. Baxters wife also recently tested positive for the virus. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the social structures of ordinary people, and cultural engagement with art, business, scholarship, and government. We are ashamed of our sins and failures, grateful beyond measure for forgiveness, and eager to see afresh the glory of God and embody conformity to his Son. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in his love and in his holiness. We must be a counterculture for the common good. To read along the whole Bible is to discern the single basic plotline of the Bible as Gods story of redemption (e.g., Luke 24:44) as well as the themes of the Bible (e.g., covenant, kingship, temple) that run through every stage of history and every part of the canon, climaxing in Jesus Christ. There is great hope if we can unite on the nature of truth, how best to read the Bible, on our relationship to culture, on the content of the gospel, and on the nature of gospelcentered ministry. It happened in the 4th century, when Roman Emperor Constantine, arguably the first Pope, created the Roman religion of Christianity, based on the worship of pagan gods. Grand Saline, Texas And while, in Gods grace, there is an encouraging number of bright spots in the church, we see no broad movement yet of this gospelcentered ministry. Verse By Verse Fellowship, a Northeast Side church, announced Pastor Steve Armstrong died after his battle with the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 1,800 others in San Antonio. See CS(2). Utter folly to the world, even though it is the power of God to those who are being saved, this good news is christological, centering on the cross and resurrection: the gospel is not proclaimed if Christ is not proclaimed, and the authentic Christ has not been proclaimed if his death and resurrection are not central (the message is: Christ died for our sins . Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. If you would like to have it removed, please I pray that you grant the visitors of this website eye salve, to see the truth, that they would repent and be your witnesses! The good news of the Bible is not only individual forgiveness but the renewal of the whole creation. The statements of Scripture are true, precisely because they are Gods statements, and they correspond to reality even though our knowledge of those truths (and even our ability to verify them to others) is always necessarily incomplete. We confess that both our finitude and our sinfulness preclude the possibility of knowing Gods truth exhaustively, but we affirm that, enlightened by the Spirit of God, we can know Gods revealed truth truly. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we receive the words of the gospel in full assurance and conviction (1 Thess 1:5). To read across the whole Bible is to collect its declarations, summons, promises, and truthclaims into categories of thought (e.g., theology, Christology, eschatology) and arrive at a coherent understanding of what it teaches summarily (e.g., Luke 24:4647). We affirm that truth is correspondence of life to God. Stephen passed away in January 2021 leaving behind a library of insightful Bible teaching and a ministry team committed to advancing the Gospel worldwide. The seven years ended after the Jewish leaders stoned Stephen to death, marking their final rejection of their promised Messiah. You have already begun a candle purchase session. We have a vision for a church that sees conversions of rich and poor, highly educated and less educated, men and women, old and young, married and single, and all races. Even our 9 and 11 . How shall we respond to this cultural crisis of truth? Therefore God is concerned not only for the salvation of souls but also for the relief of poverty, hunger, and injustice. Religions operate on the principle: I obey, therefore I am accepted, but the gospel principle is: I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey. So the gospel differs from both irreligion and religion. There is a fastgrowing charismatic movement with emphasis on glorious, passionate, corporate worship. We desire to advance along the Kings highway, always aiming to provide gospel advocacy, encouragement, and education so that current- and next-generation church leaders are better equipped to fuel their ministries with principles and practices that glorify the Savior and do good to those for whom he shed his lifes blood. It will do little to make them comfortable but will do much to make its message understandable. Thus the gospel creates a human community radically different from any society around it. In Gods wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. Stephen passed away in January 2021 leaving behind a library of insightful Bible teaching and a ministry team committed to advancing the Gospel worldwide. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? It brings out the means of salvation, namely the substitutionary work of Christ and our responsibility to embrace it by faith. We want to be a church that not only gives support to individual Christians in their personal walks with God, but one that also shapes them into the alternative human society God creates by his Word and Spirit. Teaching from the 2016 VBVMI Bible Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, on October 14-15, 2016. Teaching from the 2016 VBVMI Bible Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, on October 14-15, 2016. UNITED STATES 3. We believe that such commitments will drive us afresh toward Scripture, toward the Christ of Scripture, toward the gospel of Christ, and we will begin to grow in our ability, by Gods grace, as churches, to act in line with the truth of the gospel (Gal 2:14). As you can see, all of Pastor Steven Andersons prophecy fulfillment explanations are futuristic, which deflects blame away from the Pope and Jesuit General of Rome. The gospel opens our eyes to the fact that all our wealth (even wealth for which we worked hard) is ultimately an unmerited gift from God. We believe that on the contrary the two, at their best, are integral for grasping the meaning of the biblical gospel. Listen to recorded teaching, read the accompanying full-length notes, print lessons for use in small groups or for teaching . Presented at the 2014 VBVMI Conference, held on October 9-10. The ministry we have outlined is relatively rare. Evangelistic effectiveness. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. Held in San Antonio, Texas, on October 9-10, 2014. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Headwaters Health Care Centre - Oncology Department in memory of Steve. The core dynamic of gospelcentered ministry is therefore worship and fervent prayer. Presented at the 2017 VBVMI Bible Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, on October 13-14, 2017. If your area does not have a regional chapter and you are interested in starting one, please contact us at [emailprotected]. Read the Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible prophecy study series. The concept of a futuristic 70th week of Daniel is a deception from the Jesuits of Rome, who created it to deflect blame away from the Popes, as the Protestant Reformers had rightly identified them as the Son of Perdition and the antichrist beast. But to speak of truth only as propositions weakens our appreciation of the incarnate Son as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the communicative power of narrative and story, and the importance of truth as living truly in correspondence to God. Verse by Verse Fellowship. Funeral Home Services for Steven are being provided by Golden Gate Funeral Home. CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT I believe that he is controlled opposition, just like Westboro Baptist, who are being used to protests against gays. If we overcontextualize, it suggests that we want too much the approval of the receiving culture. 2. Since then the Popes have pretended to be a part of the true church (they have sat in the temple) and they have proclaimed to be God, to be Jesus Christ in the flesh, to forgive sins, and to provide salvation; all of which is blasphemy. . #ArmysArmy But we never want to be so affected by our culture that we compromise gospel truths. Pastor Armstrong brings the bible to life in a way that can only come from a gift to teach, given by God Himself. III. We must work for the eternal and common good and show our neighbors we love them sacrificially whether they believe as we do or not. It teaches its members to conform their bodily being to the shape of the gospelabstinence outside of heterosexual marriage and fidelity and joy within. You know, I believe in what youre saying, that God may be using this as a wake-up call, Baxter added. We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. 2. 633421 Hwy 10 We are called to love the world, love the sinner. The biblical gospel differs markedly from traditional religions as well as from secularism. Stephen Armstrong's passing on Friday, July 8, 2022 has been publicly announced by Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Dallas, TX.Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of S This betrays a lack of confidence in the gospel. These movements have led to the easy abandonment of both biblical truth and the transformed living mandated by our historic faith. Stephen passed away August 22, 2014 in Grand Saline. Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love. We are here to help you. You can search using the name of your loved one, or any family name for current or past services entrusted to our firm. (The contextualization issue), 1. Beloved son of Norman (2007) and Anne Armstrong; cherished father of Brandon and Riley Armstrong; loved brother of Jill Armstrong (Glenn 2017) and Lisa Patton (Vern); loving partner of Paula Berthelot .He will also be sadly be missed by Lynn Armstrong, beloved mom of their two sons. This good news is biblical (his death and resurrection are according to the Scriptures), theological and salvific (Christ died for our sins, to reconcile us to God), historical (if the saving events did not happen, our faith is worthless, we are still in our sins, and we are to be pitied more than all others), apostolic (the message was entrusted to and transmitted by the apostles, who were witnesses of these saving events), and intensely personal (where it is received, believed, and held firmly, individual persons are saved). Those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost. We adopt a chastened correspondencetheory of truth that is less triumphalistic than that of some in the older evangelicalism. VISION We do not believe that in best practice these two ways of reading the Bible are at all contradictory, even though today, many pit them against each other. Pastor Armstrong teaches on the coming apostasy of the church described in the New Testament letters and in the book of Revelation. This gospel fills Christians with humility and hope, meekness and boldness, in a unique way. Please use the comment box on the bottom of the page, to let us know what topics you would like us to cover. But if we seek direct power and social control, we will, ironically, be assimilated into the very idolatries of wealth, status, and power we seek to change. The Plan of God We believe that from all eternity God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from every tribe and language and people and nation, and to this end foreknew them and chose them. In 2001, Stephen received God's call to move to San Antonio, Texas, where he soon found opportunities to teach and preach verse-by-verse in churches throughout the area. The biblical revelation is not just to be known, but to be lived (Deut 29:29). They will emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. That means 15 million people that are living together are unmarried. We believe that Scripture is pervasively propositional and that all statements of Scripture are completely true and authoritative. He was born March 16, 1992 in Dallas. Because God chose the lowly things of this world, the despised things, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, no human being can ever boast before himChrist Jesus has become for us wisdom from Godthat is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. We have committed ourselves to invigorating churches with new hope and compelling joy based on the promises received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Inasmuch as Christ was given by the Father for us, and his obedience and punishment were accepted in place of our own, freely and not for anything in us, this justification is solely of free grace, in order that both the exact justice and the rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners. 70th week of Daniel Bible prophecy study series, Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible prophecy study series, The Olivet Discourse Deception Bible prophecy study series, The Falling Away Of 2 Thessalonians 2 Bible prophecy study series, The False Doctrine of the Flat Earth book by David Nikao, Protestant Reformer Martin Luthers Perspective On The Jews, Tony Ognibenes Testimony Against Paul Sides And Ed Moore, A List Of People Who Oppose The False Teachings Of Paul Sides, Unbiblical Secret Rapture And 7 Year Tribulation By Doug Batchelor, Rome and Jerusalem at War The destruction of the Jewish Temple. 15 million people that are living together are unmarried a growing movement of ministry... 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