Encouragement Week Tees

Original design from Sola Gratia Co. made into durable vinyl stickers; scratch, water, and sun resistant.

Penned in 1772–“There is a Fountain Filled with Blood”:

“E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die:
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.”

What is the theme of your life? What is the overarching, all-encompassing, sum total purpose of your existence? For the believer, it’s “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). Your understanding of your life’s meaning and purpose is defined by the Gospel of grace.

“A Christian is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the great end for which He lives.”
—Charles Hodge

“…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
—Ephesians 2:12-13

Human beings have the tendency to look inward to find an identity or state of being of some sort—a theme for our lives. Something to cling onto to characterize ourselves. We see this exploding right now in the area of gender and sexuality but it is something we are all prone toward; be it identity in our career, marital status, parenthood (or lack thereof), financial standing, educational achievements—you name it, we are inclined in our flesh to “find ourselves” outside of God’s design for our affections—His glory and communion with Him.

As you interact with those outside of Christ, point to the redemption of your soul as the constant thread of joyful purpose for your life. Be an enthusiastic witness to His love, mercy, and grace that led and continues to lead you to repentance and the peace offered to you in Jesus. Share with them the hope of the Gospel, that their ever-changing pursuit of identity can eternally rest in the finished work of Christ as they trust in Him.

Original design from Sola Gratia Co. made into durable vinyl stickers; scratch, water, and sun resistant.

 A reminder of both the common grace of pancakes + the reality of hardship here on earth!

From Charles Spurgeon’s sermon, “The Sweet Uses of Adversity”:

“[God]…delights to see [his child] put through hard questions, because he knows that it will be able to answer them all. So God glories in his children. He loves to hear them tried, that the whole world may see that there is none like them on the face of the earth, and even Satan may be compelled before he can find an accusation against them, to resort to his inexhaustible fund of lies. Sometimes God on purpose puts his children in the midst of this world's trials. On the right, left, before, behind, they are surrounded. Within and without the battle rages. But there stands the child of God, calm amidst the bewildering cry, confident of victory. And then the Lord pointeth joyously to his saint, and he saith, ‘See, Satan, he is more than a match for thee. Weak though he is, yet through my power, he all things can perform.’”

…Perhaps, O tried soul! the Lord is doing this to develope thy graces. There are some of thy graces that would never be discovered if it were not for thy trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather, as it does in winter? …And dost thou not know that hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity? Dost thou not understand that afflictions are often the black foils in which God doth set the jewels of his children's graces, to make them shine the better.

…Beloved, ye remember that it is written, that we ‘must bear the image of the heavenly,’ namely, the image of Christ. As he was in this world even so must we be. We must have fellowship with him in his sufferings, that we may be conformable unto his death. Hast thou never thought that none can be like the Man of Sorrow unless they have sorrows too?”

Original design from Sola Gratia Co. made into durable vinyl stickers; scratch, water, and sun resistant. 

So…if you follow us on Instagram, you know the origin of this design (memes, of course). But no worries if not—it’s pretty self-evident that jello salad molds were proof of man’s fallenness. 🤢

Sometimes we think things are a good idea and they’re not, right?

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Proverbs 14:2

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

RC Sproul on Total Depravity:

“The doctrine of total depravity reflects the Reformed viewpoint of original sin…Some people assume that the term original sin must refer to the first sin—the original transgression that we’ve all copied in many different ways in our own lives, that is, the first sin of Adam and Eve. But that’s not what original sin has referred to historically in the church. Rather, the doctrine of original sin defines the consequences to the human race because of that first sin.

That is, as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, the entire human race fell, and our nature as human beings since the fall has been influenced by the power of evil…Therefore, original sin has to do with the fallen nature of mankind. The idea is that we are not sinners because we sin, but that we sin because we are sinners.

The idea of total in total depravity doesn’t mean that all human beings are as wicked as they can possibly be. It means that the fall was so serious that it affects the whole person…It affects our minds and our thinking; we still have the capacity to think, but the Bible says the mind has become darkened and weakened. The will of man is no longer in its pristine state of moral power. The will, according to the New Testament, is now in bondage. We are enslaved to the evil impulses and desires of our hearts. The body, the mind, the will, the spirit—indeed, the whole person—have been infected by the power of sin.

I like to replace the term total depravity with my favorite designation, which is radical corruption…The Reformed view is that the effects of the fall extend or penetrate to the core of our being. Even the English word core actually comes from the Latin word cor, which means ‘heart.’ That is, our sin is something that comes from our hearts. In biblical terms, that means it’s from the core or very center of our existence.”

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