Ed Newton serves as lead pastor of Group Bible Church (CBC) in San Antonio and lives out his personal “radical salvation experience.” Throughout a current sermon, Newton interrupted the service to handle a churchgoer shouting profanity.
Newton defined that at CBC, “We’re going to be a church that embraces the tension of grace and truth.” Little did he know that a possibility to do exactly that was about to happen.
Pastor Ed Newton Tossed His Sermon Notes Apart When a Man Started Shouting Profanity
With greater than 25,000 attendees throughout three areas, workers and volunteers at CBC are well-trained to deal with ministry each week. In a sermon titled, “We Celebrate Life Change,” Newton reiterated the church’s mission—to “champion every person to be the good news of Jesus in every place.”
Newton was sharing how Jesus taught utilizing parables, tales to which his followers may relate. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, spiritual leaders who centered an excessive amount of on the regulation, and unbelievers, who had little understanding of the gospel message.
With out grace, the reality is jarring, unattractive, and hopeless. And with out reality, grace is enabling unhealthy relationships and residing. Jesus makes use of grace and reality collectively to create actual life change, Newton preached.
When Newton was sharing from the attitude of the Pharisees, he stated, “Religious leaders are going, ‘We ain’t lost!’” And a person attending the church service shouted out, “Bulls**t!”
“Absolutely, love it,” stated Newton with a smile on his face, albeit shocked by the outburst.
Realizing that individuals of all ages, together with kids, had been within the service that day, the preacher responded, “Anthony, I love you. Anthony, look at me. I’m going to need you to stop cussing, all right? Can you stop shouting out cuss words?” Newton then requested these round Anthony to assist maintain him accountable.
“This man saved my life today,” Anthony continued to shout. “He picked me up off the side of the street and saved my life. I was going to kill myself.”
Newton continued a dialog with Anthony from the platform and came upon that Anthony was unhoused and was delivered to church for the primary time by Michael, the person sitting subsequent to him.
“This is the tension,” Newton stated as he tossed his sermon notes apart and sat down on the sting of the platform. “In this moment, when somebody hears your story that you were on the street and got picked up by Michael…grace.”
“Michael preached the message,” Newton concluded.
“Well bless their hearts.”
