Grace Community Church

Today we worshiped at Grace Community Church, 56 Prestley Road, Bridgeville, PA 15017, 412.221.9000, www.gracechurchpgh.org, Bryan Thiessen, Lead Pastor.

Scripture – Acts 4:1-14 (ESV)

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

Bob’s thoughts:

We had some early afternoon obligations so we opted for a 9:30 a.m. service. I was pleased when we got there early, but not so happy that they changed to an 8:30 start. With a little surfing on our phones we found a church nearby with a 9:30 service, but we had read it wrong and that was Sunday school time. We opted to wait for the service and I came to realize this church was one I had planned to visit.

We were engaged by almost everyone who walked by including a man who turned out to be the pastor.

I was pleased to find a large natural log cross on the chancel and others on the side walls of the sanctuary. The praise team sounded pleasing and the volume was right, although I did have trouble understanding the music leader when he spoke. There is a large projection screen above the chancel and impressive wood beams to the ceiling.

The pastor offered for those needing prayer to come forward, and again toward the end of the service for any who were accepting Christ to come forward.

I found no compromise in the sermon: there is one way to Heaven – Christ Jesus. I hate seeing this message distorted to avoid offense.

The pastor made an interesting point that those accepting Christ in Acts 4 were some of the same crowd that called to “crucify Him” and who a week earlier had called out “Hosanna!”

The congregation was encouraged to boldly speak Jesus Christ to all they meet.

I thought the sermon was longer than necessary, but maybe it was that he was preaching to the choir.

Jan’s thoughts:

This morning turned out very differently than I planned. The church we wanted to attend had moved their service one hour earlier than advertised on their website. This was treated with nonchalance by the members who told me, but after intending this visit for two weeks, I felt frustrated.

We were led not far away to Grace Community, which has been on our list to visit because of a newspaper article about the Bridgeville Community Outreach Center. I hope you will take a moment to check out this worthy effort at www.bridgevilleoutreach.org.

We were warmly greeted at the door and by numerous others before, during, and after worship. We were invited to help ourselves to coffee and join any of the Sunday school classes in session and to join the fellowship meal afterward. Unfortunately, my frustration kept me from being as appreciative as I should have been at these generous invitations. I apologized later and was shown grace immediately.

This morning was a lesson for me. Bob and I often mention how we were or were not greeted, and to us this is usually an indication of the friendliness (or lack thereof) of a congregation. Today, although the welcome was warm and genuine, it took some time for me to be receptive, and I suspect my lack of receptivity was apparent.

Today I learned that a welcoming attitude is a two-way street.

The message was entitled “The Exclusive Truth” and the pastor began by asking if there is more than one way to God and how we would know either way. He stated that Jesus and His resurrection were as radical, dangerous, and threatening then as it is now. The message of Jesus is offensive to many, but the truth is that God provided only one way for salvation, one way to be saved from everlasting separation from God, and Jesus is that one way. There are no exceptions and no alternatives.

Just for the record, some of the Scriptures used to back up this claim include John 14:6, Romans 3:21-25, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, we pray this church is filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly preaches Jesus everywhere You send them. Amen.