Grace Community Church Podcast

Paul calls us to imitate Christ in all we do. This is a lifelong call that all Christians should regularly be living for, but one of the places we miss in how to accomplish this is in righteous play. Living for Christ and reflecting Him in our lives should involve the regular work of righteous play. In this sermon, we look at why God values play in His kingdom and how we can begin to imitate Christ through the work of righteous play.

Key Verses: Ephesians 5:1-16

In the final chapter of Nehemiah, we see that God’s people have again forgotten about God and returned to their selfish ways of living. In this sermon, we look at why we have so much trouble being good, what God does about it, and how we can respond to him today.

Key Verses: Nehemiah 13:23-27

In Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the wall is complete, the people have listened to the Law, and made oaths to stay faithful. At this stage they experience hearts that are overwhelmed with the goodness of God and they come together to celebrate and make a joyful noise. Celebration is essential to our lives as Christians as well, giving us opporutnity to slow down, be filled with Joy and recognize all the parts of our journey with gratitude.

Key Verses: Nehemiah 12:27-30, 40-43

Throughout history, one things is repeatedly proven: our hearts are a mess. It was the same for God’s people in Nehemiah, too. In this sermon, we look at what is wrong with the human heart, how God gives us his mercy, and why he calls us to obedience.

Key Verses: Nehemiah 10:28-29

After God’s people rebuild the wall, they spend a month listening to God’s commands. In this sermon, we look at what the law is, why it matters to his people, and how he wants us to use it today.

Key Verses: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 8-12

After all that Nehemiah and the Jewish people have overcome the work on rebuilding the wall comes to a halt. Why? Because money and greed have led to division amongst the Jewish people. The work can only be continued through Nehemiah’s actions of generous sacrificial living. Today we look at how we can begin to live a life fully invested in God through the work of generous sacrificial living in our daily lives.

Keywords: Nehemiah, sacrifice, giving, generosity, fear, love, desire

This week, we will continue our study in the book of Nehemiah by taking a closer look at the opposition that Nehemiah faced in chapter 4. God’s people were continuing to accomplish the task that He had given them to do, yet they were in growing danger and battling doubt. As a result, they wrestled with a potent question we still face today- what can we do when we face overwhelming discouragement? This sermon focuses on Nehemiah’s profound answer- we must remember the Lord and respond according to His great and glorious character. 

Key Verses: Nehemiah 4:1-14

As Nehemiah begins to carry out God's vision for rebuilding the wall, and more importantly the people's hearts, he must first inspect the walls that need repair. It is in taking these important steps of obedience that we begin to see the hidden plans of God revealed to Nehemiah and the people of Israel, and the ways God wants to reveal his plans for our lives. 

Key Verses: Nehemiah 2:11-17

In Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem serves as the main way God introduces redemption and renewal to his people. When things don’t turn out as we had hoped, we are called towards God through adoration and confession. We can appeal to God with the confidence that he will intercede and use our willingness to act for his purposes.

Key Verses: Nehemiah 1:1-11

In one of Jesus’ most powerful teachings, he tells us that everyday life can create in us a persistent sense of worry. But then he offers us a surprising command — to look at beautiful things like birds and flowers as a way to fight against the demands of everyday life. In this sermon, we look at the importance of beauty, why we need it in our lives, and how we can make more room for it in our lives today.

Key Verses: Matthew 6:25-34

 In the Incarnation, Jesus comes to be both fully human and fully God simultaneously. Looking closer at this central doctrine of our faith, we can discover that Jesus was coming to become like us so that he could better help us; believing this essential truth is to see his kingdom come to permeate every facet of our lives. 

Key Verses: Phillipians 2:6-11 

As children, we are willing to believe and be ready for the impossible. As we grow older though we lose our dependence and faith that God can and will do the impossible. In this sermon, we look at one of the impossible works of God through the true account of God rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea. As you look at this story remind yourself how to believe in the impossible from God again.

Key Verses: Exodus 14:29-31

We have never seen a lonelier society than we have today. What does Christianity say to loneliness, and what can it offer to lonely people? In this sermon, we look at the important of holy friendships and how we can pursue them in our lives today.

Key Verses: Romans 16:3-16

When are our hearts become anxious, worried, afraid, or even numb, Jesus tells us to put in our trust in God, and in him. But how? In this sermon, we look at some of Jesus’ final teachings about the reality of our future, the way to walk towards it, and the help we have along the journey.

Key Verses: John 14:1-7

Over the last couple of months, we have gone through Biblical stories of people who encountered God in life-changing ways. This week, we close out our series by looking at John, whose knowledge of Jesus’ love for him informed his view of himself, of God, and of the world around him. We can learn a lot from John’s teachings if we are willing to recognize our need for God’s love and the purpose it offers.

Key Verses: 1 John 4:15-21

Paul is one of the most accomplished people in the history of the world, and yet he never boasts of his successes. Instead, he boasts of his weaknesses and, more importantly, how he experienced God within them. In this sermon, we look at the importance of weaknesses, how God uses them in our lives, and how he uses them — for us and for the world.

Key Verses: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

How do you continue to experience God even when you have failed him? In this sermon, we look at Peter and his betrayal of Jesus, and then how Jesus heals him, restores him, and calls him from a place of love.

Key Verses: John 21:15-19

During a time of transition and upheaval, God comes to Isaiah in a vision, and calls him to be a prophet. But first Isaiah must pass through several revelations about God and himself. In this sermon, we look at what Isaiah saw and how it can show us what an experience with God can mean for us today.

Key Verses: Isaiah 6:1-8

Where do you go when you are at the edge of exhaustion and facing an impossible situation? Elijah goes to God and finds an unexpected experience of silence and stillness — which was exactly what he needed. In this sermon, we look at the importance of stillness and how it can shape our hearts in the midst of our daily lives.

Key Verses: 1 Kings 19:8-18

One of the most frustrating things we can experience in our lives is an unanswered prayer. In this sermon, we look at how Hannah faced her unanswered prayers, and how she ultimately experienced God through them in powerful ways.

Key Verses: 1 Samuel 1:9-18

Throughout this series, we are going through Biblical stories of people who experienced God in profound ways. This week, we look at Jacob, who wrestled with God and came away with a limp and a blessing. This unusual experience with God contains lessons for our lives today. 

Key Verses: Genesis 32:22-32

Jesus made the astounding promise that we can be friends with God. One of the ways by which we come into friendship with God is to experience him — not only as someone in ancient stories, but also as someone who is alive, in our hearts, today. But how? In this sermon, we look at the one of the most famous experiences of God, Moses and the Burning Bush.

Key Verses: Exodus 3:1-6

When Jesus dies rises from the grave, he is putting his love on full display — for us. In this sermon, we celebrate his resurrection by looking at his great love for us, what it means, and how it can change us in the deepest of ways.

Key Verses: Romans 5:6-11

The last words Jesus says before he dies show us, thousands of years later something incredibly powerful — the culmination of a life that was grounded in the reality of God, his calling, and most importantly his love. In this sermon, we look at these last words of Jesus and explore how they can help us face our lives, and our deaths, with this same reality.

Key Verses: Luke 23:44-46

As Jesus breathes his last, he shouts a cry of victory. His proclamation that “It is Finished!” is a joyful cry that will enable us to be made right with God. This victory is especially significant because it doesn’t need anything from us. We cannot add to it, earn it, or do anything additional. It is all grace; it is all finished.

Key Verses: John 19:28-30

When we look at Jesus on the Cross, John gives us a surprising detail — Jesus asks for a drink because he is thirsty. In this sermon, we see how Jesus’ thirst shows us what it means to be in need, and how to find real meaning and hope in the midst of our neediness.

Key Verses: John 19:28-29

As we continue to study the last words of Jesus on the cross, we look to words that Jesus utters as He is experiencing the greatest of His sufferings. Jesus’ cry towards God here is an expression of the internal suffering He is experiencing by taking on our sin, abandonment by God. We reflect today on this passage by looking at this suffering of Jesus and how it should impact our communion with God today.

Key Verses: Matthew 27:45-46

Throughout Jesus’ life, he consistently redefines the nature of relationships and calls into something that can address the deepest needs of our hearts . In this sermon, we see how he specifically cares for two of his closest followers — Mary, his mother, and John, his beloved disciple — as he hangs on the cross.

Key Verses: John 19:23-27

Throughout this series, we use the seven last words of Jesus to guide our hearts into reflection as we prepare to celebrate Easter. This week, we look at Jesus's conversation with the criminals crucified next to Him to understand better the promise and implications His words hold for our lives. 

Key Verses: Luke 23:39-43

We are looking at the seven last words of Jesus and how they can guide us into reflection as we prepare to celebrate Easter. This week, we look at the forgiveness that Jesus offers us, and how he calls us to forgive others, as well.

Key Verses: Luke 23:32-38

God calls us to live generously — but how? In this sermon we very practically explore what it means to set aside a portion of our resources to give away to God’s spiritual work in our earthly world.

Key Verses: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

When we think about a life that is transformed by God’s grace, we cannot forget to think about the importance of being generous. In this sermon we look at Paul’s words to a growing church about giving and the role our hearts play in this grace-filled practice.

Key Verses: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9

God has called his people to live in a way that reflects his sacrifice for us—putting aside an old nature that seeks to find what is most comfortable and convenient and instead putting on a new nature where his truth dominates our hearts. With Christ as our example, we want to be a church that demonstrates kindness with a tender heart through how we speak and live. 

Key Verses: Ephesians 4:17-32 

God has made us with hearts that will never truly find meaning and purpose outside of him. This means that we are designed to move in spiritual directions. In this sermon, we look at the famous story of Zacchaeus and see how God draws us towards himself, and how he calls us to move towards him in return.

Key Verses: Luke 19:1-10

As we begin a new year, we are taking several weeks to reflect look at some of the values that we strive for in our community of faith. In this sermon, we reflect on what it means to be a group of God’s people who worship together as a family.

Key Verses: 2 Chronicles 30:6-8