Grace Community Church Podcast

God promises to give us light in the midst of our darkness and freedom in the midst of our slavery. In this sermon, we see how we need God’s light and freedom, and how God brings them into our lives through Jesus.

As we celebrate Christmas, we are looking at the ancient promises about Jesus in the book of Isaiah. In this sermon, we discover the hope we have in the active presence of Immanuel and how that reshapes our thinking, attitudes, and heart. Isaiah shows us that true believers of the promised Messiah can wait expectantly with transcendent hope.

Over the first 5 chapters of Galatians, Paul has clearly shown that the gospel cannot be earned by any work or keeping of the law, contrary to what the false teachers were leading people to believe. In chapter 6, he wraps up his letter by sharing some practical implications of believing the true gospel. 

How do we really change? In this sermon, we see that real growth does not come from fear of being punished or pride from being good, but rather from something powerfully growing inside of us — the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul encourages his readers to remain centered on God’s great freedom and to avoid a return to their old way of living. In this sermon, we look at why we need to hear this encouragement still today, and how we can honor God’s gift of freedom through a new way of living.

Paul admonishes his readers to “become like him.” What does he mean? In this sermon, we see how connects his experience of freedom with two famous Old Testament stories, and how we can experience the same sense of freedom today.

We all have a family and for some those feelings we have toward our families are good, warm, happy, but for some they are heavy, difficult, and troubling. For all of us though our families are a mixture of both. Families are complicated. The family of God can feel complicated too, but Paul in Galatians 4:1-7 likens salvation to being part of the family of God through adoption, so how do go from being in God’s family to being part of His family?

If God promises to forgives us and love us, no matter what do, then what was the point of all of the rules — or the “law” — in the Old Testament? In this sermon, we look at why God gave his people the law, what it tells us about ourselves, and how it fits into God’s grace today.

Paul continues his relentless appeal for the Galatians to fully believe that God will do all He has promised. Paul clarifies the issues at stake for the Galatians as they attempt the unthinkable: attempting to finish the Christian journey by their flesh rather than by the Spirit. 

After confronting Peter about his hypocrisy, Paul explains — again — the power of God’s free gift of grace. In this sermon, we explore Paul’s experience with grace, his theology of grace, and his life through grace.

What does it mean to be inside of God’s saving love? In this sermon, we continue to explore this question with Paul. He shows us that God’s salvation both frees us and binds us to a new way   of living.

Do you ever feel like you are spending most of your time and energy just holding on for dear life? Hebrews 4:14-16 gives direct instructions to the followers of Jesus about what we are to hold on to and how we can persevere in it. This sermon looks at the hope that we have available to us as we live out the two separate (but related) challenges from this passage- let us hold fast our confession and let us draw near to the throne of grace. 

As the story of the Jews in the book of Esther continues, we see a spontaneous celebration of relief, commemorating a month of reversals. They begin to see their survival of life together during extraordinary circumstances worthy of being celebrated as a joyous gift. We also are challenged to live a life of celebration for what God has done in our lives. Letting moments of celebration bring us renewed focus and joy for the everyday parts of our lives. 

As we follow the story of Esther, we repeatedly see how God calls his followers to obedience. In this sermon, we explore why obedience matters and how it can lead to blessings in our lives.

In chapter 4 of Esther, we begin to see how Mordecai and Esther will respond to the impending genocide of the Jewish people. Their conversations and actions reveal a reliance upon the sovereignty of God that is drastically different from the self-reliance that the King and Haman have shown in the earlier chapters of the book.

Key Verses: Esther 4:4-14

Key Words: sovereignty, humility, prayer, hope, Mordecai, Esther

In chapter 3 of Esther, the main action begins to happen, as a sinister plot to destroy the entire nation of captive Jews becomes a reality. The beginnings of this planned genocide start in the angry heart of one who chooses authority and vanity over vulnerability and restraint. Our everyday anger is easily reflected in the brutal nature of Haman, our villain in the story of Esther.

Key Verses: Esther 3:1-6

Key Words: anger, intimacy, selfishness, restraint

The book of Esther provides us a glimpse of both God’s providential and sovereign hand over the Jews and the willingness of a heroic woman like Esther to participate in his grand plan. Looking at the beginning of this epic story, we see our own lives in the response of the King to his limits of power over his own family and kingdom. 

Key Verses: Esther 1:1-12

Key Words: power, pride, anger, revenge, humility

Jesus invites people to follow Him even when their imperfections and failures keep them from following perfectly. In this sermon, we look at two interactions between Jesus and Peter to gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’ motivation for inviting people to follow Him and what that means for us.

Key Verses: John 21:1-21

Before Jesus returns to heaven, he promises to send the Holy Spirit to help us continue in our faith. In this sermon, we look at how the Holy Spirit helps us believe in God’s work and promises, and how we can create space to experience this help in our everyday lives.

Key Verses: Romans 5:1-5

Key Words: the Holy Spirit, promises of God, belief,

When we step into life on God’s terms, he calls us to live differently — but not entirely. In this sermon, we explore how a Christian faith leaves us, in many ways, the same as everyone else, while at the same also leaving us profoundly different than those around us.

Key Verses: John 2:1-11

Key Words: difference, grace, mercy, spiritual identity, spiritual formation

Praising God fulfills the purpose for which we were put on this earth, and yet it can be really challenging at times. In this sermon, we look at the last chapter in the book of Psalms to gain a deeper understanding of what praising the Lord looks like and how it can enrich our lives. 

Key Verses: Psalm 150

Key Words: praise, hallelujah, God’s character, worship

Key Verses: Ezekiel 34:11-16

Key Words: weakness, spiritual growth, grace, compassion

There is nothing that poses more of a threat to the good life that Jesus offers us than pride. In this sermon, we look at a conversation between Jesus and two of his disciples and learn about humility from the One Who embodies it fully.

Key Verses: Mark 10:35-45

Key Words: humility, Jesus, serving others, greatness
   

Jesus tells us to “strive" to enter into life with him. In this sermon, we look at the role of effort in our spiritual growth — what it does, what it doesn’t do, and how we can know if we are on the right track when we do it.

Key Verses: Luke 13:22-30

Key Words: growth, effort, trying, spiritual formation, grace   

Compassion is the fruit of genuine empathy whereby we attempt to alleviate the suffering of those around us. We can only create this community of compassion because of the mercy and love shown to us in the person of Jesus. He is our great gift of compassion and, simultaneously, our most outstanding example.

Key Verses: Luke 7:11-17

Key Words: compassion, kingdom, empathy, judgmental, community   

Jesus makes us a remarkable promise: we can experience great joy in him. In this sermon, we look at the importance of joy and how it can come to us through our everyday lives.

Key Verses: John 15-1-11

Key Words: joy, hope, happiness, growth   

Jesus tells us that part of living a good life must include radical generosity. In this sermon, we see how living a generous life means more than just giving away our money, and how being generous opens us up to receive the Kingdom of God.

Key Verses: Mark 10:17-31

Key Words: giving, generosity, freedom, spiritual growth, wealth  

Jesus tells us that it’s literally impossible to live our lives with God unless we practice regular forgiveness. In this sermon, we look at why God calls us to forgive those who hurt us, and how it’s possible to actually do it.

Key Verses: Matthew 18:21-35

Key Words: forgiveness, mercy, grace, justice, relationships, freedom 

When Jesus invites us into a “good” life, he invites us into a life filled with faith. In this sermon we see what true faith in God is, and how it can grow in our lives today.

Key Verses: Mark 4:35-41

Key Words: faith, fear, Jesus, storms, peace

What does it mean to live a good life? In this sermon, we see how Jesus tells us that a good life begins with a surrender to his kingdom plans and ways.

Key Verses: Matthew 6:25-33

Key Words: good life, kingdom, anxiety, worry, freedom, surrender

In one of the most famous stories of the Bible, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In this sermon, we see how we can join Jesus and the power of his resurrection, too.

We see in exceptional vividness the slowly changing life of the man born blind and instantly healed by Jesus. Beginning with only a limited understanding of Jesus he is led through questions and controversy to eventually outright rejection by those who are supposed to help. Finally, he is found by the good shepherd and his life is forever changed into one of belief.

God’s power to change our lives comes at just the right time. In this sermon, we explore how an invalid who had suffered for thirty-eight years found healing grace when he met Jesus — and how we can do the same.

Conversion is the heart of the Christian faith. But it is often varied in how it happens. In this sermon, we look at a hurting woman’s surprising conversion at a well and how Jesus can do the same thing in us today.

How are we supposed to view the Old Testament and its commandments now, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? In this sermon, we will explore the role of the commandments in our lives today and how they ultimately point us to God’s great redemptive work in our lives.

The tenth commandment warns us against an unhealthy desire for the lives of others. This command to not covet is the other nine commandments' heart level culmination, beginning with inner obedience that should lead to our external actions. The only right solution to this internal discontent is to find contentment in Christ alone.

Every community requires a foundation of truth to flourish. In this sermon, we see how the absence of truth can threaten our relationships and, more importantly, how to become handle the truth with love.

God wants his people to live with other in holy and sustainable ways. In this sermon, we look at how murder, adultery, and stealing breaks down community and keeps us from living holy lives.

God values our family relationships. In this sermon, we explore the call to “honor your father and mother” as an invitation to both showing and experiencing God’s love.

In our modern world, we rarely rest like we should. In this sermon, we explore the Fourth Commandment and its call to holy rest as both a challenge and a comfort to our souls.

At first glance, the third commandment seems simple — “Don’t say God’s name unless you mean it.” In this sermon, we will take deeper look into this commandment and discover that it speaks to something of far greater importance — surrender to the true and living God.

The second commandment directs us towards Christ. It warns us of sin, tell us of the steadfast love of God, and drives us to the person of Jesus Christ. Instead of reducing God to the power of our own imaginations, we are being remade ourselves into God’s image.