by Dennis Rokser Warmest greetings in the Lord. A lot has transpired since the last GFJ. First, we had an outstanding 2021 Fall Bible Conference with excellent expository teaching & encouraging fellowship. Thank you, Lord! Secondly, last October Tom Stegall’s life was graciously spared by God from Covid after being in the ICU on a ventilator for 18 days, followed by several weeks of recovery. He is basically now at full strength & we are so glad that God didn’t [...]
by Dennis Rokser I believe that most pastors, like parents, feel deeply underappreciated by those whom they faithfully and sacrificially serve. And similar to parents who serve sacrificially their children for years with little thanks in return, you would have quit long ago if it depended upon the gratitude of others. Unfortunately, many are leaving the ministry each month due to discouragement, especially during the last two years, which I think personally have been the most difficult and challenging over [...]
by Dennis Rokser One Sunday morning a ten-year-old boy was admiring the pictures of past military personnel who served our country from his church which hung in the back foyer. Seeing the great interest on the boy’s face, the pastor approached him and said, “Do you know whose faces are in these pictures?” The boy promptly replied, “No, I don’t.” The pastor responded, “These men and women courageously died during the service.” By this time the young boy’s eyes were [...]
“I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether [...]
by Dennis Rokser I am very excited about the articles in this edition of the GFJ. There is an excellent variety of edifying articles that I believe will instruct your minds and encourage your hearts. In light of our present national distress, you might find especially relevant my article “The Importance of the Church” along with Dr. Christopher’s Cone’s article “The Inherent Limitation of Government.” We also have a very important announcement regarding the future of the Grace Family Journal. We’ve [...]
by Dennis Rokser We are living in turbulent and troubling days that have dramatically changed our culture and upset our way of living in untold ways. Due to the Coronavirus “pandemic,” numerous state governors, in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations to reduce the spread of COVID-19, have determined which establishments are deemed “essential” to remain open to meet people’s needs amidst mandated “lockdowns.” While medical facilities, grocery stores, big retail outlets, liquor stores, and even abortion clinics [...]
by Dennis Rokser These certainly have been abnormal and unprecedented days for our lives, our local church, our country, and our world. As a pastor, my life has not slowed down but has even gotten busier with such things as daily devotionals (you can see these on our Duluth Bible Church channel on YouTube), visiting people through Zoom (I should have bought stocks in the company a year ago), etc. while maintaining my normal Bible teaching schedule via live web [...]
by Dennis Rokser The story is told that an older woman visited a church one day. As she entered the auditorium, she told the head usher/deacon, “I want to sit in the front row so I can hear every word the preacher speaks.” The usher/deacon thoughtfully replied, “Mam, I would not recommend that you do that but instead that you would find a comfortable seat in the middle or towards the back.” The older lady then retorted, “Why don’t you [...]
by Dennis Rokser We continue to count it a great privilege to make available to you the Grace Family Journal. Since those responsible for this publication are all involved in full-time local church ministry, we are repeatedly challenged and struggle with seeking to make this publication available in a timely manner in light of our first priorities. Thank you for your patience with us as we hope to make strides in catching up once again. In addition, it costs us [...]
by Dennis Rokser Turkeys are only interested in one thing: eating. They can’t fly, though they do try, but they can’t really get off the ground. Whenever you see them, they are just waddling here and waddling there—eating, but not flying. Unfortunately, many believers who attend local churches are like those turkeys. They waddle to church on Sunday morning to get fed the Word of God (though they might not get much “meat” these days), and when the service is [...]