About Us

Grace Chapel was born out of a need in East Tennessee for an uncompromising covenanted church that faithfully holds to God’s prescribed principles of worship found in Scripture, and to the historic Christian faith. We are a church that does not take any exceptions to Scriptural truth, the Westminster Standards or the Canons of Dordt. We look to honor God in life and worship, with a hearty resolve to uphold biblical preaching and teaching for the Christian’s growth in Christ. We desire to see Christ’s church grow and expand through our witness in our community, state, country and world, but we look to God for Scriptural growth without giving up any of the essentials of the historic Christian faith.

About Grace Chapel’s Pastor

Our pastor, Rev. C. Matthew McMahon, BABS, MATS, DAR, Ph.D., Th.D., is an American Calvinist Reformed theologian, Christian preacher, and founder of the largest circle of Reformed sites on the internet.

He was initially sent to prepare for ministry in 1988, and later ordained to the Gospel Ministry in 1995 by New Meadows Congregational Church (Reformed), Topsfield, MA.

His ordination has been recognized by congregationalist churches (reformed), founder’s baptist churches (SBC), reformed baptist churches, and Presbyterian churches (PCA, RPCNA, RPCGA).

He has studied with teachers such as Dr. Roger Nicole, Dr. RC Sproul, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Dr. John Gerstner, Dr. J.I. Packer, Dr. Richard Pratt, and Dr. Kenneth Talbot.

He has taught and pastored for almost 30 years, and is the Founder of A Puritan’s Mind (1997), (www.apuritansmind.com) and Puritan Publications (www.puritanpublications.com), and manages Reformed.org and CRTA.org.

He has written over 45+ books, including children’s books and Christian workbooks. He is also involved in transcribing original 17th century sermons and treatises, and has worked on over 65 individual authors from the Westminster Assembly, as well as dozens of other Reformed and Puritan works. (Visit Puritan Publications for more information).

His favorite Scripture passages are Psalm 119, John 3, Romans 5-9 and Ephesians 2.

His ministerial degrees include:

Southeastern Bible College, Lakeland, FL 1989-1992
Earned: B.A. (Bachelors: Bible and Pastoral Ministry; Minor in Greek)

Reformed Theological Seminary, Maitland, FL 1992-1994
Earned: M.A.T.S. (Masters of Theology: Reformed Theology; Minor in Philosophy)

Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, FL
Earned: Doctorate of Religion in Theology (Emphasis on Reformed Theology and History) Earned Jan., 2005
Earned: Ph.D. in Christian Intellectual Thought/Historical Theology, March 2006
Earned: Th.D. in Puritan Theology, May 2009

Many of his older sermons and teachings can be found on Sermon Audio.

All his personally written works can be found listed here.

Membership at Grace Chapel

Elders and deacons at Grace Chapel make vows. They cannot hold an office in the church without adhering to the entire 1647 Westminster Standards without exception, (and the Synod of Dordt in opposition to both Historic Arminianism, as well as current Arminian Evangelicalism).

Potential members of the church, in contrast, resolve make membership promises. They are able to participate in the Lord’s Supper and have the privileges of membership as covenanted believers (members after induction) which include pastoral oversight, as well as voting right in the constitution of the church. They are required to have read the 1647 Westminster Standards and the Canons of the Dordt as primers to membership.

Grace Chapel Membership Vows:

  1. Do you believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, in their original autographs, to be the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God, and vow to uphold the truth that its doctrine of salvation to be the only perfect true doctrine for faith and practice, and that you have a faithful copy of that Bible to read, study and meditate upon as a member of the church?
  2. Do you promise and confess that because of the imputation of original sin and your inward and outward actual sins, you abhor and humble yourself before God, and that you trust, not in yourself, but in the work and merit of the imputed righteousness graciously given by the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation?
  3. Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as the sovereign Lord and God, the Testator of the Covenant of Grace, and do you promise, in reliance on the grace of God, to serve Him with all that is in you, to forsake the world, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, and lead a godly life walking in the power of the Spirit of God and in his righteous fruit by faith and love, both for yourself and the continued exercise of your gifts among the members of the church?
  4. Do you promise in the Lord, to adhere to the government of Grace Chapel, in case you should be found delinquent in doctrine or practice, to submit, heed, and abide by the discipline of Christ through the ordained elders of the church?
  5. Do you promise to uphold and submit to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as explained by the 1647 Westminster Standards and the Canons of Dordt as far as they agree with the Word of God, and as they have been historically received, and submit yourself to the guidance of these as biblical confessions as directives for Christian faith and practice as members of Grace Chapel?

We ask that potential members listen to the following sermons as directives to Christian faithfulness to be members of the church:
The Five Marks of a Biblical Church,1 Timothy 3:14-16
Tithing – The Natural Response to God’s Mercy in Dying to the World, Genesis 14:20
The Necessity and Duty of Public Prayer, 1 Thess. 5:17 and 1 Tim 2:8ff
Spiritual Growth in the Pursuit of Holiness, 1 Peter 2:1-3
The Christian Obligation of Covenanted Church Membership, Acts 20:28

Other Sermons to consider:

The Christian’s Duty of Daily Bible Reading and Study for Spiritual Profit, Acts 17:11
The Christian’s Duty of Daily Divine Meditation, Psalm 1:1-3
The Christian’s Duty of Daily Prayer: Behold, He Prays, Acts 9:1-11
Fasting, Cultivating a Hunger for God, Matthew 6:16-18, Acts 9:1-11 with a PDF Study Guide
The Duty of Catechizing in the Church and at Home, Proverbs 22:6
A General Exhortation to Family Worship on the Family Altar, Genesis 18:16-22
The Marks of True Disciples 1: Gospel Love, John 13:31-35 and 1 Peter 4:8
The Marks of True Disciples 2: Gospel Interest, 2 Cor. 6:12-13
The Marks of True Disciples 3: Gospel Consolation, 2 Cor. 1:3-7; 7:6
The Marks of True Disciples 4: Gospel Encouragement, Hebrews 3:1-15
The Marks of True Disciples 5: Gospel Fellowship, 1 John 1:1-10 and Acts 2:42
Instituted Worship: The Worship of Redeemed Sinners to God’s Anointed Savior, Hebrews 1:6
The Praise of Corporate Worship is a Snapshot of Eternity, Psalm 96:1
Gospel Unity Founded on Christ the Living Stone, 1 Peter 2:4-7