The Power of God’s Grace in You

Just as Paul was changed from a persecutor of Christians to a called apostle of Jesus Christ, Ephesians 2 contrasts what we once were as sinners to the new creations we are in Christ by the power of God’s grace.

What All Christians Need to Know

The church declares the glory of God (Ephesians 3:20-21)!

God the Father has chosen and predestined us according to His sovereign plan. We are redeemed and claimed according to Christ and His sacrifice for us. Those in Christ are part of His bride. By the Spirit’s work, we are sealed until the day of redemption. All of this is to the praise of His glorious grace.

While in this age of distractions, busy, preoccupied, and often interrupted, Ephesians 1:15-23 teaches us how believers need to think. Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians to be thinking about what they should know.

Love for Christ is Usefulness.

We learn in John 21:15-19 that love for Christ is usefulness. Christ calls Peter to be useful and to give his life.

The Resurrection Appearance Teaches that Christ Is Our Provider.

John 21 records Jesus’s love and care for Peter. Believers often identify with Peter’s frailty of faith. In His appearance to Peter on the shores of Galilee, Jesus teaches Peter that He is the Provider even when a believer fails Him.

Lessons from the Master’s Vineyard.

In John 15:1-8, Jesus gives us an illustration of who we are in Christ. Jesus says, “I am the Vine and you are the branches.” There is a truth in today’s passages that Jesus teaches about the Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion. Today we will look at lessons from the Master’s Vineyard.

What It Means to Abide in Jesus.

Jesus gives us a beautiful illustration in John 15. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. If we abide in Him, we will have life and bear fruit.

A Faith Consistently Lived and Conscientiously Kept.

In John 14, all the disciples except Judas are in the upper room with Jesus. These men have been following Jesus for three years and have seen His power firsthand, evidencing that He is the Son of God. Jesus has told them that He is going away, and they cannot follow at this time. Understanding their emotions, Jesus tells them repeatedly to let not their hearts be troubled (John 14:1, 27; 16:6).

Keeping Faith and a Good Conscience.

1 and 2 Timothy have seventy-five commands for us to obey with intention and integrity. One of those commands is found in 1 Timothy 1:18-20. The word "faith" in verse 19 is synonymous with the word "command" in verse 18, so "keeping faith" could read "keeping the command."

The word "keeping" means to bear or wear the faith/command, allowing it to become part of our person. The faith is the body of doctrines written and preserved in the Word of God for us to obey.

Each of us is to keep this faith with a good conscience. A person’s conscience is well instructed and at peace when it knows and lives the commands of Scripture. Paul also mentions the conscience in 1 Timothy 1 and 3. Each mention is tied directly to the command of Scripture, the instruction of Scripture, and the mystery of faith pertaining to the Word of God and the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Principles of Prayer:

Jesus is going to depart, and the disciples cannot go with Him. Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled (John 14:1).” While the disciples had Jesus physically present, they did not need to pray to Him, making the instructions given by Him in John 14:12-15 to pray in Jesus’s name new information.

Prayer is a tool given to Christ’s disciples to encourage their belief in Him. We cannot grow in our faith without prayer. Believers must rightly understand and exercise prayer in agreement with the Word of God.

The Final Lesson to Love One Another Like Christ

Jesus is a rabbi, a teacher in the Jewish culture, teaching final, critical lessons to His disciples. The upper room discourse begins in John 13:31-38. Earlier in John 13, Jesus provided an object lesson for His disciples when He washed their feet. As He will soon be departing, Jesus desires for His disciples to thrive without His physical presence, as they will not yet be able to follow Him.

No matter their fear, uncertainty, failure, or doubt, Jesus has a final, powerful lesson for His disciples to learn: that loving one another like Christ is the way of perseverance.

Knowledge, Love, and Obedience.

John 7 is a chapter full of assessments as people try to figure out who Jesus is and Jesus continues to make statements of Himself and His divine authority. It occurs in the middle of the week-long festival of booths, just 6 months before He would be tortured and crucified for our sin.

Merciful Jesus

John 5 demonstrates the attribute of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ. Jesus remains merciful to all those in unbelief, offering His hand of spiritual help as long as each person lives. We also see the enemies of the gospel in this passage, who they are, what they say, and how they act. Religious people who remain in unbelief are reminded by Moses in Exodus 34:6-7 and Deuteronomy 7:9-10 that the Lord God is both compassionate and just, extending lovingkindness to all and punishment to the guilty who reject Him. We learn from David that God will show Himself merciful to the merciful (2 Sam. 22:26), and all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His commandments (Psalm 25:10). Paul teaches us more about the rich mercy of God in Ephesians 2:4-5. We are made alive by Christ because of the great love by which God loved us even when dead in our transgressions.

Obedience with Divine Purpose

Jesus modeled for us perfectly how to trust and obey the Father with divine purpose. Philippians 2 explains how Jesus was obedient even unto death on the cross. Even the beginning of His public obedience had as its aim His duty on the cross of Calvary. This model of obedience unto gospel purpose is for each believer to follow from the moment of conversion until the point of heavenly transformation.

New Year's Morning Worship: Preparing to Celebrate Our 75th Year as a Church.

It is worth celebrating the tenure of someone or something good. The long-lasting nature of something good means it was established on virtue which has been nurtured. All this year, Grace Church will be celebrating that which is virtuous in a spiritual sense and how we nurture it going forward. Those things which endure have been established on core principles and carefully maintained, and this is also true of the church. Jesus said that upon this rock (Him) He would build His church; and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). The church endures because Jesus ensures that it will.

The theme of John's gospel is that his readers would believe. The perspective of time and age lends wisdom to his writing as he conveys what's most important of his recollection of Jesus' ministry.

Jesus' First Miraculous Sign.

Palm Sunday.

In this text, Jesus enters Jerusalem again for last time. The Gospel writers record 55 events within the last week before Jesus’ crucifixion, and this Triumphal Entry kicks them all off. Today we will use terms from literature to look at the characters in this event, their attitudes and reactions, and the influence Jesus had in their lives.

Being a Disciple-Making Believer.

Church research has revealed that before the pandemic, only three percent of churches in our country were experiencing measurable numerical growth. This growth was in churches bent on making disciples and spiritually reproducing. Ninety-seven percent of churches were in some form of plateau, decline, or process of closure. When the pandemic hit, these churches struggled even more.

Ministry Integrity Requires Forgiveness.

The only way to minister with integrity is to have relationships continually maintained by God's Word. This must include forgiving those who have offended us.

A Shelter in Time of Storm.

Three Gospel writers record the narrative found in Mark 6:45-52. Mark writes with his theme in mind: Jesus as servant (Mark 10:45).