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Abundant Grace info

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Abundant Grace
Church!

Not your traditional church...

Experience the  transforming power 
of God's Truth
  and
Grace!

Spirit-Filled / Contemporary Worship with Creativity & Inspiration

Meeting at 1055 109th Ave.
in Blaine at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning

Church and Spiritual Counseling phone - 763-862-9299 

E Mail us to find out more: Pastor R. Thomas Brass at jerichoministry@q.com
 or click the link below...


  Special Article:

The End of an Age




cook 
Backyard Cookout




world

What we believe -

Christian Doctrine page




A SPECIAL PICTORIAL:

With actual deep space photos...

The Heavens pg 1

pg 3

pg 4

pg 5

pg 6


What is it like in Minnesota?

Minnesota North Shore





 





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WELCOME TO 
Abundant Grace Church
AND
JERICHO
  SPIRITUAL COUNSELING
  MINISTRY

 
Where lives are transformed by the power of God's grace!


Info about: Abundant Grace Church

 
Do you hunger and thirst for more?   
Abundant
Grace Church
-

Praise and Worship Center

birds

Sixty to ninety minutes of uninhibited praise and worship

every Sunday morning followed by a concise message

and open sharing by the congregation!




Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men,

for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

  Psalm 107: 8-9


 more info about: Abundant Grace Church

Map to Abundant Grace Church

Check out our 10AM Sunday morning worship.

 A place where you can truly express your freedom in Christ!
     



 

Christian musicians to join our Creative Worship Format!

 

We are looking for additional musicians/singers/dancers for our Creative Worship during Sunday morning services. We play contemporary music and frequently move into Spirit-led “improv” music. Our praise and worship time is regularly one hour long.


    This is a volunteer opportunity for Christian musicians in the Twin Cities area to share their unique musical giftings in a creative worship format.



Reflecting on worship- 

ok
          
                

   Abundant Grace is a place of opportunity for those who desire to worship our Lord over all other things that this world has to offer.

 

  In order to implement this vision, the Spirit has inspired us to reach out to musicians from all over the Twin Cities and offer them the opportunity to worship musically in the freedom of the Spirit through the exercise of their musical talents and giftings in order to create an environment within this church that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord and welcoming to His very presence.

 

   An environment where we, as a congregation might worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.




snuggle time
Carter
Our first grandchild with his daddy- born 2/12/2010


  Jericho Spiritual Counseling
 Ministry

Jericho Ministry was founded in 1995 with Pastor R. Thomas Brass serving as a spiritual counselor at Minnesota Teen Challenge, Love Lines Crisis Center and ministering to clients seen at the church office throughout the week.
                                                                          
   

   What are some of the common issues that Christians are experiencing today?


    Because of a striving to seek security and identity from this world, many Christians are mistakenly basing much of their personal identity in their material possessions, individual accomplishments, and the opinions of others rather than who they are in Christ Jesus. Christians who strive for security and positve personal identity in this way often struggle unsuccessfully to overcome fleshly strongholds such as: depression, anger, anxiety, perfectionism, pride, shame, lust, fear and many others. These strongholds take root when we have not truly understood the extent, the complexity, and the utter futility of our performance-oriented, self-reliant mentality.

   What do you mean by "self reliant mentality?"

     We, as created beings, quite naturally have needs and wants. But, it is crucial to understand that in almost everything we do, we have an inner motivation which fuels our actions and that this motivation frequently does not reflect God’s purposes. Our motivation is usually to fulfill our own self-directed desires. From moment to moment, we do what we do primarily because we believe, on some level, that our behavior will result in personal benefit. We follow our individual motives for behavior very early in life, almost from the moment of birth, because we are born as dependent creatures with sin-damaged souls.
God’s original plan, as initiated with Adam and Eve, is that we discover the fulfillment of every need and want through Him. God’s plan hasn’t changed! But man has changed in his relationship to God and his attitude toward God’s plan for his life. Sin has induced a misguided, self-centered striving to fulfill our own immediate wants and desires.

   What was the original design?

    Man and woman were originally designed to discover personal value and purpose through the unhindered realization of God's unconditional love for them. They would not feel that they needed to perform in order to feel acceptable. There would be no competition with one another, no problems with feelings of low self-esteem, low self-worth, jealousy, insecurity etc. But, tragically, the effect of sin on our thoughts, our feelings and our choices has hindered us from experiencing a close personal realization of God’s unconditional love for us.

  What dynamics have arisen as a result of our separation from the "close personal realization of God's unconditional love for us?"

    This separation from the security of experiencing God's unconditional love has encouraged a shifting away from reliance upon God and a deterioration of trust in His purpose for our lives.
Instead of trusting God, we find ourselves repeatedly enticed by sin to depend upon self-centered behavior as we attempt to reduce our personal insecurity and compensate for the loss of the realization of God’s unconditional love. We find ourselves feeling compelled again and again to rely on ourselves in an attempt to find compensatory fulfillment through the gratification of self. This has become our life-habit. We are, habitually, to borrow a phrase, "trying to find love in all the wrong places." We have become essentially self-determining, self-reliant creatures. We are unable to find spiritual rest, because we are almost continually striving to bolster our self-esteem by gaining affirmation from man by seeking his personal approval in the form of love, recognition, admiration, respect, etc.
    God's power has been made available to us to sanctify our souls, to bring us into the dynamic of real spiritual rest by transforming our character into the likeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet, the unfortunate truth is, because of these deeply rooted dynamics of self-sufficiency in our lives, we are virtually unable to consistently believe and depend on God's plan to use His power to free us from the repetitive strongholds of sin.


   How do we find freedom from this behavior?

     The solution to this dilemma can be accessed through our commitment to a deliberate process of Spirit-led discovery and prayer regarding the roots of our self-reliance. That process is what this ministry is about.
When we are truly willing to closely examine how and why we have come to trust self-effort more than we trust God, we begin to be able to access the necessary power of the Holy Spirit which can steadily bring us freedom from the strongholds of sin in our lives. Until we are willing to do this, we will continue to suffer from a lack of faith caused by unbelief.
Unbelief is trusting in ourselves and our own ways more than we trust God from moment to moment in our lives. This lack of faith in God's power and purpose for our daily lives keeps us from the peace, joy, and spiritual rest, which are meant to accompany our sonship in God's holy family.

   
    Where can I get more specific information on this?

        Our hope and our prayer is that these topics, derived from a combination of pastoral discipleship experience and, more importantly, illumination from the Holy Spirit, will help Christians to understand how hidden lies, beliefs from your past, and the deceptions of this world, may be hindering you from experiencing the fullness of the blessings of peace, joy, and spiritual rest in your daily Christian walk.Our hope is that, in reading these articles you will  discover the power of God's grace and the magnitude of His love for you!

 
 Please feel free to visit our "Contact Us" page. We would like to hear how
you have been blessed by these writings! 


        The following biblically-based writings are freely available to you from Jericho Ministry, a Spirit-led Pastoral counseling ministry, that served Minnesota Teen Challenge from 1995-2002 and is currently ministering to private clients in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metropolitan area.
  
         If you feel that God has blessed you through His ministry to you on these pages, please prayerfully consider becoming a Jericho Ministry supporter. Your contributions will help support our home based pastoral counseling ministry in Blaine, MN. ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE! 
  
  Your support is more than just appreciated by us. It will transform lives. Learn more about us on the "About Jericho Ministry" page.


      You may send contributions to: Jericho Ministry / 1055 109th Ave NE / Blaine, MN. 55434
   


Choose a title above to your left on the navigation bar OR read the descriptions below to help you make your choice of
subject material!

Here are some brief descriptions which illustrate the themes of these writings:



DYNAMICS OF FORGIVENESS:  FORGIVENESS AND REPENTANCE THROUGH THE AGENCY OF GRACE

We may sincerely try to forgive the people who have offended us, but our forgiveness will always be incomplete without our personal repentance for the sinful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that have developed in our lives in reaction to the original offenses against us. This article is designed to bring clarity to some of the common misunderstandings about the workings of repentance and sanctification so that the benefits of true forgiveness can begin to be realized in your life! 

go to >Forgiveness


THE CORRUPTION AND RENEWAL OF DESIRE

Desire was once a perfectly innocent and natural inclination of the soul toward the experiencing of pleasure. It was a gift from God that has now become a burden as a result of sin. This article helps to bring a balance to our understanding of desire and an awareness of the many deceptions arising from the corruption of desire.

go to >Renewal of Desire


ENTERING HIS REST

Many Christians have developed an ongoing striving for acceptance originating from a sin influenced, performance bound, works oriented mentality. Yet, as Christians, we could be experiencing daily peace, joy, and spiritual rest as a result of God's acceptance of us through our faith in Christ Jesus. This article reveals common misconceptions that prevent us from understanding and experiencing the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit and the daily peace of a faith-rest relationship with Jesus Christ!

 go to > Entering His Rest



PRIDE AND SHAME: STRONGHOLDS OF THE SELF-CENTERED SOUL

Foreword: Strongholds of pride and shame can keep us aimlessly wandering through a desert of unrest leading to confusion, anxiety, depression and despair. This article is a series of proverbial insights into these strongholds.

go to >Pride and Shame



OVERCOMING FOUNDATIONAL ROOT JUDGMENTS

A MUST FOR ALL CHRISTIANS!

"Overcoming Foundational Root Judgments" presents a practical working model to be used to identify lies from your past that are keeping you in behavioral bondage today. This article is a guide designed to lead you through a process of discovery and freedom from bondage by the power of the Holy Spirit! 

  go to > Root Judgments



FEAR: THE FALSE GUIDE

Ungodly fear can lead to confusion, error, misdirection, and defeat in our lives. This article takes a look at episodes of fear in the lives of biblical characters and identifies roots of fear common in the lives of many people today. 

 go to > Fear: The False Guide



TRANSFERENCE: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

Transference is one of the most commonly experienced and yet, also, one of the most commonly overlooked dysfunctional mechanisms of behavior today. This article combines biblical examples and personal insights while revealing the developmental roots and hidden workings of transference in our lives!

go to >Transference



THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE
The knowledge of God vs. the knowledge of man! This article details the propensity of humanity toward a daily dependence upon natural revelation and reveals the utter foolishness wrought from this misdirected faith.

 go to > Pursuit of Knowledge



LITTLE GODS

  We must put away the gods within us if God within us is to be revealed. 
go to >
Little gods



MINISTERING TO TEENS

This article offers insights into the obstacles teenagers face as they strive to develop their personal identity on the journey to adulthood. It also identifies parental responsibilities and takes a look at the error of "fairness theology!" 

go to > Ministering to Teens



Abundant Grace Church address and directions: 

    1055 109th Ave. NE
    Blaine MN. 55434

Church and Spiritual Counseling phone 763-862-9299

or contact us at: jerichoministry@q.com


Map to Abundant Grace Church



    Directions: 

   From the South/East/West - Take Hwy 694 to Central Ave (also called Hwy 65). Go North on Central to 109th Ave. 
Take a left (west) on 109th Ave and go about 3 blocks. We are on the right (north) side of the road in a retail shopping mall. 

OR,
 

    Take Hwy 35W north from the twin cities, past Hwy 694 to the new Hwy 10 West (Caution! Just past 694 you will see the old Hwy 10 which is now called "CO.10". Dont take this!). Take Hwy 10 West to Central Ave. Go North on Central to 109th Ave. 
    Take a left (west) on 109th Ave and go about 3 blocks. We are on the right (north) side of the road in a retail shopping mall.

   From the North -

Take Hwy 10 Southward to Main Street/242 Exit in Coon Rapids. Take a left (East) at top of exit. Continue on Main Street/242 to Central Ave/Hwy 65. Take a right on Central/Hwy 65(South) and go to 109th Ave. Take a right (west) and go about 3 blocks. We are on the right (north) side of the road in a retail shopping mall.

OR,

Go South on Central/Hwy 65 to 109th Ave. 
Take a right (west) on 109th Ave and go about 3 blocks. We are on the right (north) side of the road in a retail shopping mall.

Our sign is on the building at 1055 109th Avenue. We meet at 10:00 AM on Sunday mornings.



Map to Abundant Grace Church

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more info about: Abundant Grace Church


>Copyright © 2000 by R. Thomas Brass
All rights reserved