Grace Community Church Podcast

Key Verses: Matthew 2:1-11

In a world that hates waiting, Joseph’s story in Matthew shows the importance of patience. Patience isn’t passive; it creates space for God’s work, protects relationships, and aligns us with His greater story. Waiting faithfully can change everything.

Key Verses: Matthew 1:18-24

The author of Hebrews ends his letter by encouraging his intensely persecuted readers about the importance of faithful endurance. As we work, suffer, and live in this race set before us, we have the tools of spiritual discipline to help us find the endurance that comes from Christ. What we are all called to in the here and now is the work of spiritual discipline, the work of faithful endurance, that leads us towards our spiritual home.

The Bible repeatedly tells us to “live by faith,” but what does this actually mean? In this sermon we look at how faith intersects with everything we encounter in our lives, and ultimately leads us into something beyond our lives, as well.

Key Verses: Hebrews 11:32-40

Our lives are often uncertain — and yet God asks us to have “faith” in him and his plan. In this sermon we look at what it means to live with faith, and the hope that faith can bring to our hearts when we do.

Key Verses: Hebrews 11:1-3

Hebrews 10 reminds us that Jesus did more than forgive our sins. Through His sacrifice, He opened the way for us to live in God’s presence with confidence. We can approach Him boldly, not from a distance, and hold tightly to the hope He offers. This hope shapes the way we live, encouraging us to love others well and stay faithful in community. 

Key Verses: Hebrews 10:19-25

Our relationship with God should be deepening, growing, and maturing. To grow spiritually is to wrestle our will with God’s and for Him to come out victorious. This is hard work, but a necessary work to grow spiritually in our relationship with God. The question is: are you ready to grow and mature spiritually by wrestling with God?

Key Verses: Hebrews 6:1-3

In Hebrews 5, the author points us to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, we see the suffering Savior of the world crying out to the Father. Jesus felt abandoned, overwhelmed, and too weak to carry life’s burdens. In the middle of emotional and physical pain, He still chose to obey. His obedience gives us inspiration to choose obedience when we face our own suffering, and hope that it is not in vain. This passage is an excellent reminder that with Jesus as our perfect High Priest, our suffering will not have the last word. 

Key Verses: Hebrews 5:7-10

What do we really need in our lives? Apart from the basic essentials, we all need the same two things: to be forgiven and to be invited in. In this sermon, we look at how Jesus comes to meet these two needs for us through his life and his death.

Key Verses: Hebrews 4:14-16

When the Bible says that we have a heart, it is talking about the very center of our beings — the part of us that tells us how to live. In this sermon, we look at the importance of paying attention to our hearts, and the importance of keeping a soft heart that can trust in God, through everything.

Key Verses: Hebrews 3:12-19

Hebrews warns us not to drift from Jesus, urging us to listen carefully to the truth we’ve heard. It reveals again to us Christ’s supremacy, our tendency to wander, and our need to anchor ourselves in Him.

Key Verses: Hebrews 2:1-4

Why should we give our lives over to Jesus? As we begin our new series on the letter to the Hebrews, we see that Jesus is far greater than anyone or anything else that we could follow.

Key Verses: Hebrews 1:1-4

What does it mean to be a community of people, gathered as a church, and marked by God’s grace? Today we celebrate our twentieth anniversary by looking at our name — Grace Community Church — and what it still means for us as we look ahead.

Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Corinthians 16:23-24

In this standalone message, we will take a fresh look at a popular Bible story- the prodigal son. As we do, we will be challenged to evaluate our propensity to rebel against God and our predisposition of pride. We will remember that our hope, as always, is in Jesus. He pursues the undeserving and invites us to be free of unfulfillment and bitterness that would otherwise define our lives because of our sin.  

Key Verses: Luke 15:11-32

When we deal with God, we are dealing with someone who is eternally faithful — meaning he will never change who he is or how he relates to his creation. In this sermon, we look at what this truth means and how it can be an incredible resource for our lives today.

Key Verses: Psalm 138

In some ways, every other belief we have about God comes back to this one question: is God good? In this sermon, we look at what it means to believe that God is good, what it does not mean, and why it matters that we fight to believe that he is, no matter what is going on around us.

Key Verses: Psalm 13

This week, we continue our series about the character of God by taking a closer look at what it means that God is omnipotent. When the problems of this world threaten to overwhelm us, we need authority beyond our own to put our trust in. God’s complete power (omnipotence) gives us a reason to praise Him in all circumstances. This sermon will invite us to respond to God’s power on display in the past, present, and future. 

Key Verses: Psalm 66:1-7

As we continue to examine the character of God, we explore how He is fully present everywhere, with everyone, and in everything. Like most characteristics of God, we find it difficult to understand and even fully believe in His eternal presence. Today, we will explore God's everlasting presence in our lives and the world, how He expresses it, and how we can begin to live more fully in it.

Key Verses: Psalm 139:7-12

God’s knowledge is both complete and deeply personal. He knows all things past, present, and future, and He intimately understands every aspect of who we are. Psalm 139 shows that His omniscience is not distant or cold but filled with tenderness, attentiveness, and care. Knowing this should move us from feeling overwhelmed to being grateful for a God who fully knows us and still fully loves us.

Key Verses: Psalm 139:1-6

This week we will look at the holiness of God in Psalm 96. Holiness isn’t just about moral perfection, it’s about how completely different and set apart God is. We’ll talk about how our ideas about God often fall short, why that matters, and what it means to respond to His holiness in a world that’s anything but.

Key Verses: Psalm 96:1-13

As we grow older, our lives often become more confusing and less clear. In this sermon, we look at a very familiar story of Mary and an angel and see how we can better understand the lives we find ourselves within.

Key Verses: Luke 1:26-38

Ruth shows us the courage of faithful love. This is a love that chooses with purpose, brings change, and holds steady through difficulty. It reflects God’s love for us and the love we are called to give. This love is not limited to marriage. It appears in friendship, family, and community. It makes room for both joy and heartbreak and reminds us that God’s love remains even when ours struggles.

Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 13:3-7, Ruth 1:15-18

Despite our modern society’s best attempts, we cannot get rid of this common experience: waiting. In this sermon, we look at how to wait for what we want with wisdom.

Key Verses: Ecclesiastes 7:8-14

Before Jesus ascends to heaven, He appears to His disciples, specifically to Peter, and reminds him that he has work to do. He reminds him to serve, work, and care for His people. This is the same call He gives to us as well, but it comes at a cost. Serving is both a cost and a reward for our physical and spiritual lives. Today we will look at what it costs us to serve the Lord and what we gain from this cost.

Key Verses: John 21:1-17

This week, we wrap up the Apostles’ Creed series by taking a closer look at what it means to believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. These core tenets of Christianity give us hope: beyond our failures, beyond our bodies, and beyond our lives. This hope has the power to impact our actions now and for eternity. 

Key Verses: Ephesians 2:4-7

The Apostles' Creed emphasizes the belief in the holy, catholic (universal) Church. The Church is the holy, set-apart people of God who have been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus. The Church is meant to be the place where we, the people of God, worship, work, and witness to one another and the world; however, far too often it becomes just a building we occasionally visit out of obligation or guilt. The Church is meant to be far more than we allow it to be in our lives. What does it truly mean to believe in the church, and to walk in that belief every day?

Key Verses: 1 Peter 2:5,9

When we think about God, the Father and the Son are easily imagined. But what about the Holy Spirit? In this sermon we look at the important statement “I believe in the Holy Spirit” and explore what that can mean for our lives today.

Key Verses: Ephesians 4:17-24

We continue our journey through the Apostles’ Creed by turning our attention to one of its most defining lines: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” These words aren’t just theological—they’re personal. They point us to a real, historical person. Not a myth. Not just a good man. But Jesus: the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God, fully divine and fully human.

Key Verses: Acts 2:22-24, 36-39

What are the essential beliefs of Christianity? Hundreds of years ago, Christians developed a set of simple sayings to help people know what it truly means to be a Christian called the “Apostles’ Creed.” In this sermon, we start our new series as we look at these simple sayings, beginning with the importance of knowing God as our Father.

Key Verses: Luke 10:21-24

Because we have heard it so often, one of the great challenges we face is to hear the Easter story with open hearts. In this sermon, we look at the resurrection of Jesus through three important events — Pilate’s deception, Jesus’ death, and the disciples’ dinner with him after he rises from the grave.

Key Verses: Luke 24:35-49

As Jesus shares this last supper with his disciples, he begins to speak of the lives they are now called to live. A central necessity of this new life, he says, is to remain in Him. Jesus describes himself as the true vine, his Father as the gardener, and we as the branches. If we remain connected to him, rooted in his life and love, we will flourish and bear lasting fruit in this new way of living.

Key Verses: John 15:1-11 

As Jesus prepares his disciples for his eventual death, he senses they are anxious and have troubled hearts. He gives them these precious promises — that he is making a home for them, and that he is the way to get to this home. In this sermon, we look at what that means and how we can believe this truth today.

Key Verses:  John 14:1-7

In the depths of grief following the death of his friend Lazarus, Jesus declares, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” Yet, sorrow and anger do not have the final word. Jesus demonstrates his power, bringing hope to us even today. We can begin to trust him to ultimately make all things right. 

Key Verses: John 11:17-27 

Life is a series of complicated situations — but what if we could have a someone to lead us through them? In this sermon, we look at how Jesus leads us and cares for us as shepherd.

Key Verses: John 10:11-18

Jesus reminds us in His third I AM statement that He is our protection. He is the Gate for our souls to be free and safe with Him for all eternity. He also reminds us that some seek to remove us from the Gate of His protection. Why? What do we do to stay in the security and safety of the Lord? As we look at John 10:1-10, we see how Jesus directs us towards Him and away from the destruction of the enemy. 

Key Verses: John 10:1-10

Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world,” offering both the promise of new life and the call to follow Him. His light brings hope, renewal, and a life illuminated by His love, guiding all who believe toward the truth that sets us free.

Key Verses: John 8:12-30

What is going to sustain you as you face your life? This is one of the most important questions all of us must answer, because life often feels unsustainable. As we begin our new series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus, we see that Jesus says he is our “bread.” In this sermon, we look at the explanation, the offer, and the mystery of what this actually means for us today.

Key Verses: John 6:23-35

At the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, he offers his final instructions. With love and friendship, he encourages them to support one another, provides crucial warnings about future challenges, and speaks a heartfelt prayer of blessing. For us, this entire letter serves as a foundation, helping to strengthen and stabilize our faith.At the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, he offers his final instructions. With love and friendship, he encourages them to support one another, provides crucial warnings about future challenges, and speaks a heartfelt prayer of blessing. For us, this entire letter serves as a foundation, helping to strengthen and stabilize our faith.

Key Verses: Romans 16:17-20

Our culture tells us to base our decisions on our own happiness, but what if the way to true fulfillment is surrender? In this sermon, we will be challenged to live thoughtfully, help others do what is right, and remember Christ’s example. These are the markers of a community of believers who worship God with harmony and unity, giving Him all the glory. 
 
Key Verses: Romans 15:1-7

How do we live out the freedom that God gives to us through Jesus? In this sermon, we see that we are to be guided by God’s truth, our own consciences, and a growing concern for others.

Key Verses: Romans 14:1-8

Most people would say that to be a Christian is to be loving. But what does that mean? In this sermon, we look at how love is an unpaid debt, a fulfillment, and a foretaste of what is to come. 

Key Verses: Romans 13:8-14

Paul focuses on how salvation should shape every aspect of our lives, including our response to authority. We feel tension toward Paul’s words in Romans 13 because we ultimately all have an authority problem, specifically a problem with submitting to authority. Reflect today on why God places authority over us and how authority draws us toward Him and righteousness.

Key Verses: Romans 13:1-7

Loving others is an essential part of following Jesus. But how are we supposed to do it? In this sermon, we look at the need for love, the ways of love, and the cost of love.

Key Verses: Romans 12:9-21

In Romans, Paul begins to address the practicalities of living in community with other believers. Challenged to self-examination by thinking rightly about our own gifts and the gifts of those we are in close relationship with. He calls everyone to use their unique gifts in service to his greater purpose. 

Key Verses: Romans 12:3-8

At the beginning of a new year, most of us think about how we have lived and how we want to live in the future. Paul says real change is possible if we consider two things: our bodies and our minds. In this sermon, we look at what it means to offer our bodies and our minds to God and what he promises to do for us when we do.

Key Verses: Romans 12:1-2