At this point in my life, I’ve heard more than 2,500 Sunday sermons. It’s humbling when I compare how much I’ve forgotten from those messages to what I remember (it’s not even close). And I imagine I’m not the only one who feels that way.

But some sermons, by God’s grace, keep preaching long after they were preached the first time. I heard one of those sermons on February 14, 2010. My pastor and friend, C.J. Mahaney, was expositing the first two verses of Jude:

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1–2)

Jude is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament, so when I heard C.J. was preaching from that book, I assumed it would be a one-and-done sermon, or maybe two. I mean, how much can you say about a letter that is slightly longer than one page in my Bible?

I was about to find out.

This article by Bob Kauflin first appeared on Desiring God on June 11, 2025. Click the above link to continue reading on the Desiring God website.

The 2026 Relay Conference for young adults is scheduled for January 5-7, 2026 in Glen Mills, PA and is officially open for registration.

The RELAY Conference exists to inspire young adults to live for the glory of Christ. Our desire is to inspire this generation to personalize and carry forward our shared doctrine, values, and mission that we cherish as Sovereign Grace churches. As we gather together from many churches to hear God’s word, sing God’s praises, build relationships across churches, and invest in future leaders, we are asking God to use this conference for his glory and the strengthening of our churches for decades to come.  

While the conference is aimed at college students and young adults (18-25 years old), as well as their leaders, we welcome high school students ages 16-17 and young adults in their late 20s or 30s. We don’t have strict age limits. And, while the conference aims at serving Sovereign Grace churches, we welcome those in other churches to attend.

For more information about the conference, speakers, sessions, and schedule, click the link below.

The following transcript was originally shared on the Mark Prater Podcast and was published on June 9, 2025 . To learn watch, listen or read the full podcast, click the button linked below.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joel Shorey: You just can't have enough prayer. You can't have enough attendance. You can't have enough humility before the Lord. And so, if we can just have set times in our schedules and in our calendar where we as leaders and as partners in the gospel are just going before the Lord.

The list of prayer bullets Mark sends out, they're big prayer bullets. These are significant things to be asking the Lord for his help on. Let's not just see them and then move quickly beyond them. Let's pause, let's stop. Let's go before the throne of grace. Ask for grace and mercy to help in time of need, and let's do it together. Let's help each other.

And one of the effects, Mark, I hope and pray - because this is the effect that hanging out with men like Tim Kerr, Philip Estrada, and Joshua Earls has that on me - is it has increased my prayerfulness the rest of the time as well. I find that to be the result of intentional prayer time is more prayerfulness the rest of my life as well.

And so I would love very much if the Lord used these times to deepen our fellowship with him, increase our communion with him, and if Sovereign Grace would become even a prayerful denomination, it would be a wonderful fruit from these times.”

A Word for the Second and Third Generations of Sovereign Grace

In the year 2082, my youngest son will turn 67 years old. If the Lord does not return by then (Come soon, Lord Jesus!), and if he is gracious to preserve us, Sovereign Grace Churches will turn 100 years old that year. Current children will see our 100th anniversary. I’ve been pondering that future celebration for some time now. 

There are obviously denominations that have been around much longer and have had a much more significant impact in the world. I thank God for the churches and generations of believers in the broader body of Christ that have gone before us and have proven faithful. Motivated by their example, I’m pondering our future in Sovereign Grace. What will we be when our centennial comes? What should we be? And what can we do about it?  

THE GENERATIONAL TRANSFER  

We are currently experiencing the first broad generational transition in our denomination’s brief life. Sovereign Grace affirms doctrines that have been confessed throughout church history, but our little family of churches is very young. Born in revival, nurtured in grace, matured through trial, united in faith and practice, we now face this crucial generational test.

We can look to the future of our churches with confidence, not because of human gifting or wisdom, but because God is faithful. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Ps. 20:7).

And yet, we have a crucial part to play. To be a second or third generation member or pastor in Sovereign Grace is to have received a challenging and honorable assignment from the Lord. It is a slightly different calling from the founding generation and yet it is a pioneer calling in its own way. We are called to pioneer a faithful gospel transition from those who came before to those who will come after. We must ensure that our gospel heritage is our legacy—not because we care about our renown, but because we care about the renown of Christ through us. How do we go about this? Let me share four pitfalls we should avoid as we embark on this transferring adventure.  

THE PITFALL OF IDOLIZING NEWNESS  

First, we must avoid the danger of idolizing newness.  A faithful first generation is “first” because they have rediscovered orthodox doctrines that have been neglected in some area or age of the church. In Sovereign  Grace, it was exciting to hear “gospel-centered,” “the doctrines of grace,” and “New Testament church life” for the first time—and not just because they are biblical and true, but because they were also new to us. But a second and third generation in Sovereign Grace is not called to discover a “new” foundation or “new” first priorities, but to find fresh joy in preaching the same things. To keep the main thing the main thing for future generations, we must keep the same thing the main thing right now. This requires perseverance, creativity,  courage, and the humility to embrace our place in God’s timeline. Like Timothy and Titus before us, we are called to guard the foundation and build upon it. We should develop doctrinally, we should keep growing, but without demoting the cornerstone we’ve received.

This generational calling has its own challenge. As D. A. Carson warns about another denominational transition, “One generation of Mennonites believed the gospel and held as well that there were certain social, economic, and political entailments. The next generation assumed the gospel, but identified with the entailments. The following generation denied the gospel: the ‘entailments’ became everything. Assuming this sort of scheme for evangelicalism, one suspects that large swaths of the movement are lodged in the second step, with some drifting toward the third.” We must resist the drift and keep the same thing the main thing.  

THE PITFALL OF ASSUMING AFFECTION  

Second, we must avoid the assumption that affirmation equals affection. As we’ve heard from Carson, “If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I  emphasize again and again and again and again. That had  better be the gospel.” 

The second and third generations of Sovereign Grace cannot, must not, assume that since our churches still affirm the same doctrines confessionally, we are still prioritizing those doctrines functionally and emotionally.  Our centennial celebration must not find us affirming Christ and him crucified as a technical doctrine that no one shouts and weeps over. But if we are to shout and weep then, we must be shouting and weeping now at the person and work of Christ and the shocking mystery of grace. 

This requires personal heart work and not assumptions,  pressing for affections and not just accepting affirmations. We were not inspired by mere affirmation a generation ago, and our spiritual children will not be either. A hundred years of gospel zeal for Christ will require modeling affirmation and affection. 

THE PITFALL OF PASTORAL APATHY  

Third, we must discern and confront current doctrinal threats to our centennial legacy. Pastoral coasting leads to denominational shipwreck. Some threats will remain or be amplified from the past (for example, the unrelenting attack on Biblical sexuality), and some rejuvenated threats to Biblical authority, church faithfulness, and gospel centrality will arise (the idol of cultural power comes to mind).

Second and third generation pastors do not have to build from the ground up, but they cannot relax and presume upon their inheritance of churches and doctrines,  lest they squander them in pastoral apathy. Doctrinal and pastoral vigilance, genuine partnership, prayer,  and earnest preaching are our watchwords—lest our stewardship is squandered and apathy becomes our legacy. Lord, help us. 

THE PITFALL OF SELF-TRUST  

Finally, we must renounce self-trust for our future. All of the pitfalls above should be avoided, but none compare to the danger of self-trust. We were born by the power of the Spirit, and we will only continue by his power as well. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1).  

The future of the church rests in the hands of the Lord. As John Owen said on his deathbed, “I am leaving the ship of the church in a storm. But while the great Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be inconsiderable. Live, and pray, and hope, and wait patiently, and do not despond. The promise stands invincible, that He will  never leave us, nor forsake us.”

We must commit the second and third (and fourth and fifth!) generations to the Lord. We are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love, and any Biblical and gospel heritage is due to him. So we say now, “Lord, here’s our heart and our future, take and seal it for your courts above. ‘Tis grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.”  

HIS GLORY ALONE  

Should the Lord be pleased to preserve us for our 100th birthday, and should our gospel heritage become our legacy, it will be to his glory alone. Saints above and below will say, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1)!  

So—to my brothers and sisters in the second and third generations—let us build on Christ, our cornerstone,  and watch over our gospel heritage. Let us pray that the favor of the Lord would continue to be upon us and that he would establish the work of our hands. And let us be confident and full of faith for the future, knowing that God is able to do far more than all that we ask or think. Lord willing, our 100th birthday will find our spiritual children and grandchildren weeping, shouting, and singing of  Christ and him crucified.

This article is dedicated with affection and gratefulness to our fathers in the faith, the first generation of Sovereign Grace. Thank you for making Christ our foundation. 

This article was originally published on our SGC Pastors website. Click here to read the original article or to visit our SGC Pastors site for articles, podcasts, sermons, and more.

An update from Juan, a dear brother SG ordained & commissioned to Lebanon…

In 2011, the Lord gave me the privilege of meeting Lau; she is the greatest gift that God has given me in life, after the benefits of redemption, and she was the one who exposed me to the reality that our God is not being worshiped in many places around this world. God blessed me with the opportunity to marry her in 2015, both of us having the conviction to plant churches in the Middle East. Our church, Iglesia La Gracia, located in San José, Costa Rica, shared the conviction to send missionaries to unreached places and supported us from the very moment we shared our willingness to be sent. A few years ago, we had the opportunity to be in a closed country to the gospel in this region, that we cannot name for the safety of the people with whom we still have a relationship, but the Lord, through different means, prevented us from moving there permanently.

The conviction of our family and the church did not change and we continued to pray for God to guide us to a place that would please Him. And without a doubt, that waiting time was the best thing that could have happened to us because the Lord was doing two things simultaneously.

The first was to strengthen a friendship with a Lebanese pastor I had met in an expository preaching course at the Dallas Theological Seminary in 2015. This pastor encouraged me to consider being sent by our church to his country since there are less than one percent of Protestants, and possibly no reformed theology churches. After a prudent amount of evaluation, fasting, and prayer, our church made the decision to send us to this place.

The second was to establish a relationship of friendship and companionship with Joselo Mercado, through whom the Lord brought us as a church closer to Gracia Soberana. A desire began to grow in the three pastors of our church to be part of this beautiful family of Sovereign Grace Churches. By God's grace, after passing all the evaluations, the three pastors were able to be ordained in March of this year. Being part of Gracia Soberana has reaffirmed our conviction that missiology goes hand in hand with ecclesiology and has strengthened our desire to plant churches in the Middle East.

Just a month after our ordination, the church sent us to Lebanon. We have been here for a few weeks, and by God's grace, we already have residency for a year. For some, it is interesting that a family from Costa Rica, which is considered a paradise country and has no army, has the determination to travel to a country that has experienced decades of armed conflict. The reality is that if we looked with human eyes, there would not be a single reason to be in this place. But when we look with spiritual eyes, we have all the reasons to be here and to yield our lives so that our God receives the glory He deserves in this country and that His children come to faith through the preaching of the gospel. Amy Carmichael once said: 'When I consider the cross of Christ, how could anything I do be considered a sacrifice?’ Our conviction is that His glory has an infinitely greater value than our own lives, such that being here is not a sacrifice but an unmerited privilege.

Please pray that we can learn the language easily, for the adaptation of our children, and that the Lord opens doors for us to preach the gospel and articulate it with faithfulness, clarity and precision. Also, to establish Sovereign Grace Churches in this country and in this region, with indigenous pastors who will continue the work for generations. Moreover, for a future Pastors College of Sovereign Grace in Arabic. Some of these things may seem like a dream, but as my dear Joselo says: 'I believe the Bible.'

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20-21)

This post was originally shared on our Misisons blog on May 30, 2025. To read original post or visit our Missions website, click here.

An update from Andy Farmer, Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, USA.……

Our US Church Planting Cohort met in late March for a couples retreat in Glen Mills, PA. For our five domestic church planters, this is about the time that things are getting real. They are deep in the regional approval process, forming their teams and looking for locations to meet. It is a time of profound transition for planters and their families. The couples retreat allows planters and their wives to step back out of the process to consider and plan for how a church plant will play out in their homes and families. For the wives it is a chance to connect with other women walking through the same experiences, to receive ministry and talk about what planting may be like for them.

This was the first time the wives had a chance to be together for any length of time. It was amazing how quickly fellowship and relational connection occurred among the women and the couples. To hear their stories about how God has met them in these life-changing times was encouraging for all of us. One of our hopes in having this couples retreat is to help the wives, who will be such an integral part of the mission of the plant, grow in faith and vision for how God can meet them and use them as they participate in the birth of a new church. God certainly seemed to meet us in that regard.

Our sessions focused on building healthy, resilient marriages that can stand the tests that planting a new work will throw at them. And we get some memory making time as well. Jill and I had the privilege of leading this retreat with the help of Nick and Happy Kidwell, who just walked through the church planting experience a couple of years ago. The Kidwells provided an honest and faith-filled window into the experience of planting for a whole family. On Friday night we were joined by Joel and Ashley Shorey. As Director of Church Planting, Joel was able to share his heart and his vision for what these families are doing for the mission of the Gospel in Sovereign Grace. We had a chance to pray and worship together, enjoying a wonderful time of ministry and intercession. 

On these retreats we’ve developed a tradition over the years where we give each couple an extended time to share their ‘love story’. It is so meaningful (and often hilarious) to hear how God has brought redemption in the lives of sinners and has brought them together in the covenant of marriage. No story is alike and each story is amazing in its own way. These love stories allow planting couples to embed the church planting experience in the bigger story of God’s gracious purposes in saving their lost souls and sending them into the world for his Glory.

Please keep these couples in your prayers for the adventures ahead:

• Howard and Dawn Varnedoe - planting in Spring Hill, Tennessee

• Mario and Diana Figueroa - planting in Tampa, Florida

• Adam and Claire Penird - planting in Manchester, Indiana

• Eric and Jennifer Huber - planting in Galloway, New Jersey

• Nathan and Clare Smith - planting in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

This post was originally shared on our Misisons blog on April 30, 2025. To read original post or visit our Missions website, click here.