August 26, 2022 Church Family: The question has been asked several times over the last few months, "Can you be a Christian without producing good works?" As we have been going through the book of Romans, it has been very clear that faith alone is the condition of salvation. But what about works? This Sunday, we will specifically answer this question.To understand where good works fit into the Chri...  Read More

August 19, 2022 Church Family: Your life on the outside can be an absolute disaster. Your bank account can be nearing zero. The future of your employment can be uncertain. The nation that you live in may seem to be imploding. Your physical health may be waning. Yet, despite all of these external characteristics you can experience calm, rest, and be consumed completely with peace that surpasses all...  Read More

August 12, 2022 Church Family: Did you know that you become an heir of the world through the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13)? Wait! Don’t get mad or upset. I know that being an heir of this world does not sound that great these days but this inheritance is far greater than you can possibly imagine. We are told in Scripture that the righteousness of faith that you have been given makes you Abr...  Read More

August 5, 2022 Church Family: As a believer who still struggles with sin, do you have a guarantee that you can absolutely bank on that proves that God has accomplished His miraculous work in you of making you a new creation in Christ Jesus, forgiven and declared righteous?The answer is absolutely, Yes! God gives us a money back, lifetime guarantee, a seal, to authenticate that you have been raised...  Read More

July 29, 2022 Church family: Do you have a sin that you are regretting right about now? Do you struggle with understanding God's perception of you as you struggle with that sin?As a child of God, who has been declared righteous through faith alone based on the merit of Christ alone (justification), how does God look at you today as you continue to struggle with sin?Does God look at you, His child,...  Read More

July 22, 2022 Church family: In the Old Testament, Zechariah has a life-changing vision. Joshua, the high priest, is standing in the presence of God wearing filthy, excrement-stained priestly garments (Zechariah 3:1-7). Joshua’s filthy garments were the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be wearing in the presence of a Holy God. He was supposed to be wearing a very specific holy linen coat ...  Read More

July 15, 2022 Church Family: Have you ever tried to have a relationship with another person who loves talking about themself? They love to glory in their own accomplishments, wisdom and abilities. They control the conversation with how they feel, what they think, what they want, and what they need. Their heart is full of boasting. What is the result of a one-sided boasting relationship? The relati...  Read More

July 8, 2022 Hello Church Family: What would you do, where would you start, what would you say, if you were told that today, that due to your sins this past week you needed to get busy working to satisfy an angry, wrathful god who is against you? What a hopeless thought. By the way, that is the thought of followers of every other religion in this world. Unfortunately, that still may be the practic...  Read More

July 1, 2022 Church family: Redemption always starts with something really bad, but then God makes that bad into something really good. To understand the majesty of the good in God's work of redemption we need to look at the bad. Every human being of all time has been at one point in their life enslaved to sin (John 8:34). You may be enslaved to sin as you read this. As a slave to sin we served th...  Read More

June 24, 2022 Do you have a “but now” moment in your life? Have you experienced God’s gift of the “but now?” Two of the greatest words in scripture – “but now” (Romans 3:21). “But now” means something has changed. There was a then and now there is a now. The “but now” has happened and has brought us a remedy for our total sinful corruption (Romans 3:10-18). The “but now” has put an end to the futi...  Read More

June 17, 2022 Church family: Have you committed sin with your mind by thinking evil? Have you committed sin with your heart/soul by desiring evil? Have you committed sin with your body by doing evil? So, the answer to all three of those questions for every human that has ever lived is “Yes – Yes – Yes.” You are not alone.There is no part of us that has escaped the devastation of sin, which is the ...  Read More

June 10, 2022 If you tell me that God is unfaithful does that make Him unfaithful? God chose Israel. He blessed them. He promised through an eternal covenant that they would have great privileges even before the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. God gave Israel His spoken Word, the living oracles, so that they would not live in darkness like every other nation. God called them in right...  Read More

June 3, 2022 Have you ever owned something that was not operating like it should? It was not fulfilling its intended purpose and function. That is the story of mankind. Since sin entered the world with Adam and Eve, we have failed at God’s intended purpose for us – Glorifying God through delightful obedience. In response to mankind’s brokenness, our redeeming God decided to choose one man, Abraham...  Read More

May 27, 2022 Hello Church Family: Do you struggle with moments of spiritual hypocrisy or are you a life-long-card-carrying spiritual hypocrite? Do you declare biblical moral truths with your mouth and yet live out your life morally opposite of that truth? I am sure that you have heard from others who may have been in church or around Christians, or you may have experienced for yourself, the intera...  Read More

May 20, 2022 Church family: Does the above statement look familiar to you? Do you know what it is and where you've seen it before?If you've been around GCT for any amount of time, you may have seen this statement posted up in our building, and I encourage you to look for it this Sunday! This statement constitutes the Vision and Mission God has given for us here at GCT.I come from a business backgr...  Read More

May 13, 2022 Church family: Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone's partial judgment? Someone else was shown favoritism other than you. Have you seen partiality or favoritism today? It is generally everywhere. Partiality is when a person judges somebody else based upon what they see on external appearances rather than what is true of the heart. We can be more partial to those who are ...  Read More

May 6, 2022 Church Family: Don’t you love it when someone else’s faith produces some good works and sends them your way? I love seeing and hearing people in our church actively working goodness in the lives of others and around our community. It makes me happy. But it makes God so much happier! In fact, God expects good works to be flowing from our faith.God created us for good works in Jesus Chri...  Read More

April 29, 2022 Hello Church Family: So, I was invited to attend a class at UNCW yesterday. During the class the topic of church came up and was discussed. Several of the college students gave their brief history of their church experience. Guess what the majority reason given by the students for not being part of a church today? Their words were consistently, “I was hurt by the church.” That is al...  Read More

April 22, 2022 Church Family: God is Kind. He is not just nice but Kind. His kindness never ends. In fact, God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Mat. 5:45). This means that God is so kind that He keeps pouring out blessings upon those who hate Him. God in His kindness provides for those who love Him and those who hate Him every day and yet th...  Read More

April 15, 2022 Church family: Why is the worst Friday in history the best Friday in History? Well, in order for there to be a resurrection Sunday there had to be a crucifixion Friday. Both had to occur for us to obtain the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:9). Jesus Christ, on crucifixion Friday, accomplished our salvation by these seven works.First, on the cross Jesus re...  Read More

April 8, 2022 Hello Church family: The cross, we wear them as jewelry, put them on bumper stickers and t-shirts, we make them out of chocolate and cakes, we tattoo them on us, we put them on windows and walls and steeples, but what does the cross mean?As a Christian, the cross is central to everything we believe. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus has fully absorbed the wrath of God that you ...  Read More

April 1, 2022 Hey Church Family: Here is some great news that comes with the gospel - God created joy and pleasure and He wants you to experience the inexpressible joy and pleasure within His commands, statutes, definitions and His presence. But beware, the world does everything it can to tell you the opposite. They say that God exists to make you miserable and to kill your joy. They say that God ...  Read More

March 25, 2022 Church Family: Have you ever tried to push down something that refuses to be pushed down? When I was a kid, and my older brother and I were out swimming, my brother always had this great brotherly, loving desire to hold me under the water until he would see submission bubbles. I did not want to be held down to the point of breathing water, I wanted oxygen, so I fought back. Much lik...  Read More

March 18, 2022 Church family: When we talk about the gospel we tend to think of a specific message that is aimed at convincing people to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. However, the gospel is so much more than what we have made it. The gospel is the POWER of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). We have most likely heard that the Greek word for power in the Bible is dynamis which is where...  Read More