Simply By Grace Podcast

In Charlie's Bible study, we see that a church hardly deteriorates suddenly. Usually it is a slow erosion from within starting with toleration of sin. And quite often, as in the church in Thyatira, it is sexual sin. The message to this 1st century church is that the sexual immorality of someone named Jezebel cannot be tolerated. Do we see the same toleration of sexual immorality in our churches today? It seems so. Learn what toleration means and doesn't mean. What does a church need to do to please the Lord? What do Christians need to do to acquire the rewards Jesus promises to those who overcome this sin with their faithfulness?

Never underestimate the prayers of a godly grandmother. They may lead you to a godly pastor who will show you the way to salvation. Jeff Welch was determined to figure something out before he took the Christian faith seriously. But grandma's prayers caught up with him and he believed in Christ as his Savior.  His burning desire to share the good news with others led him to Word of Life Bible School and other ministries that allowed him to preach the gospel on the streets of the US and Europe. God has used Jeff to lead many people to Christ and train many to share Him. He now works with Fellowship International Mission. If you have questions about evangelism or if you want to help support his outreach ministry, you can contact him at http://www.fim.org/give/welch or http://www.welchfamilyministry.com  Jeff is married to Phoebe and have a young daughter, 

In part 2 of this 2-part series from Jonah, we see more than the usual Sunday school story of a fish that swallows a man. We see a picture of Israel and their neglect to use their blessings and privileges to reach the Gentiles with God's love and grace. God emerges as the main Actor in the story from beginning to end. Jonah pictures a self-serving callousness to the needs of other people not his own. Could his experience in the fish and at the bottom of the sea remind us of what it is like to be hopelessly separated from the love of God? But Jonah finds the grace of God even there and realizes salvation is God's prerogative, not ours. Can we identify with a calloused uncaring heart? Are we living in disobedience as a church or a believer? Do we care about people as much as God does?

In this podcast, Charlie is interviewed about his popular Living in the Family of Grace workbook on The Book Podcast on Youtube. He explains why and how it was developed to help ground people in a grace perspective. After 2 chapters from the book of John on Salvation, there are 7 Chapters on Romans about grace and our sin, salvation, sanctification, security, selection, and service. The last 7 chapters examine 7 conditions for discipleship that Jesus taught. Charlie explains why he used an expositional approach rather than topical, and how he integrated the motivation of grace into each lesson. This book is available at the GraceLife.org web site. The Book Podcast can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@hearthebookpod/about.

Growing up in New Jersey in a Catholic family, Gary McNally, never really understood the gospel, but was inquisitive. He loved his ocean diving charter business, and he loved beer with his friends. One day he picked up a Decision magazine by Billy Graham and some lights came on. He finally understood that salvation is a free gift. This put him on a path to ministry training at Dallas Theological Seminary and Western Seminary. Then he planted and pastored a church in New Jersey and later, pastored a church in Pennsylvania. Today, Gary is semi-retired, because he helps his wife, Janine, in her children's resource ministry, Grace4Kidz.org. (Some of her material is also available on the Gracelife App!) Be sure to get Janines new book on Generation Alpha, When You See Fireflies. Listen to Gary's liberating story and share it to liberate someone else.

In part 1 of this 2 part series from Jonah, we see more than the usual Sunday school story of a fish that swallows a man. We see a picture of Israel and their neglect to use their blessings and privileges to reach the Gentiles with God's love and grace. God emerges as the main Actor in the story from beginning to end. Jonah pictures a self-serving callousness to the needs of other people not his own. Could his experience in the fish and at the bottom of the sea remind us of what it is like to be hopelessly separated from the love of God? But Jonah finds the grace of God even there and realizes salvation is God's prerogative, not ours. Can we identify with a calloused uncaring heart? Are we living in disobedience as a church or a believer? Do we care about people as much as God does?

Charlie teaches about the church at Pergamos in this informal Bible study. This church lived in an atmosphere of evil. Whatever is meant by "Satan's throne" it doesn't sound healthy. This prominent city was also known as a center for cultic worship and emperor worship. They were commended by Jesus except for one thing: they tolerated those who followed the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. In other words, they compromised with evil by allowing it to exist among them. They did not hate what God hated. Still, they were faithful in Satan's backyard. Yes, Satan is alive and well still, but as with this church, Jesus will swiftly judge those who follow him and not the true Lord. We must learn to hate what God hates and give no room for evil in the church or in our lives. Rewards of intimacy with Christ await the faithful.

We start this conversation with L. E. (Bud) Brown talking about some of his exploits on his sailboat with his wife, Lea. But the real story begins when as a young man, he was able to break through his religious traditions and finally realize how to have eternal life. He was saved by grace, but found that he needed grace more than ever because even though the eternal battle was won, his internal battle with pride, competitiveness, and a negative self image kept him sailing against the wind on rough waters. Bud came to realize the love and acceptance that grace brings and found peace. After graduating from Western Seminary and Dallas Theological Seminary and pastoring two churches, he helped start a ministry called Turnaround Churches. He also has an excellent book on the importance of prayer in the church, Lifelessness to New Life: Biblical prayers to resurrect the lifeless church. Bud has other books and ministry projects in mind that we hope to hear about later. You can contact him at Bud@BudBrown.net and find his books on Amazon under L. E. Brown and at TurnAroundPastors.com.

In this informal Bible study, we see how the Church in Smyrna shows us that a poor and persecuted church can still be faithful to the Lord. The Lord has no complaint against this group of Christians despite Satan's work behind the scenes to harm them. Jesus promises them rewards for their faithfulness. One assurance is that they will not be harmed by the second death. Does this mean that they could be, or is there a better way to understand this difficult passage? The fact of persecution of Christians is more relevant today than ever. Some modern day statistics and facts will open your eyes to how Satan is still harming believers. But there is no need to fear the future, because we are safe eternally in the Lord. He knows our suffering and rewards our faithfulness.