Sermons

  • John 6:1-14

    The Great Compassion of Jesus.

    John writes more than thirty years after the other gospel writers with the purpose of revealing Jesus Christ as the Son of God so that all would believe in Him and have life through His name. The feeding of the 5000 is considered the last miracle of Jesus’s Galilean ministry. About a year has passed between John chapters 5 and 6, and Jesus is about a year from His death on the cross at the beginning of chapter 6. Jesus has already been rejected in Judea, while others plot to take His life. The religious unbelief of Jerusalem has formally rejected the very purpose for which Jesus has come. With great compassion, Jesus continues to perform miracles so that people will believe that He is God and have life through His name. By the end of chapter 6, He is fully rejected by Galilee.

  • John 5:39-47

    The Third Witness of Who Jesus Is.

    John 5 is a robust chapter recounting Jesus’ time spent in Jerusalem telling religious unbelievers that He is God. This is where threats upon Jesus’ life begin. For the next 3 years, He lives under these threats because of His works and His words, which proclaim that He is God.

  • John 5:36-47

    The Second Witness of Who Jesus Is.

    We are continuing the discussion of 3 witnesses or testimonies from God the Father that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.The first verified witness was John the Baptist. Some who heard his message saw the fruit, but the majority rejected the message of John the Baptist.

    John, the Gospel writer, details the next two witnesses beginning in John 5:36:“But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

  • John 5:30-47

    The First Witness to Seeing Jesus For Who He is.

  • John 5:16-30

    Satisfied: Is Seeing Really Believing?

    In today's world, with computer-generated images and photo editing applications, seeing is no longer believing. But in Jesus’ day there was no photoshopping. When we look back into the Old Testament, the children of Israel literally saw God take them out of Egypt through the use of 10 plagues, then they saw the parting of the Red Sea. They saw, witnessed, and participated in these events, and yet, there was unbelief. As we read the Gospel of John, remember that John was an eye-witness of what we are reading. The Jews also saw Jesus’ miraculous works, yet they didn’t believe it.

  • John 5

    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.

  • John 4:46-54

    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.

  • John 4:1-42

    The Atonement of Jesus, Accomplished and Applied.

    Old Testament and gospel narrative is the product of inspiration, revealing historic accounts inerrantly and infallibly. In these accounts, God is always the hero, and Jesus is the heroic representative of the Godhead in the Gospel of John. We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 10 that these accounts are given to us as examples. Jesus’s atonement, accomplished and applied, dramatically changes life for the coming new faith community, the church.

  • 2 Timothy 4

    Preparing to Celebrate Our 75th Year as a Church – Part 2.

    2 Timothy 4 gives reminders by way of command of how to nurture that which has been established at Grace Church of Mentor these past seventy-five years and how to maintain it for the next seventy-five years. Timothy is instructed by Paul to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2). Through the preaching of the Word, that which has been established for the gospel is nurtured, cared for, and maintained. The necessity of caring for each other is understood by Paul’s encouragement to Timothy to make every effort to come to him by winter (2 Tim. 4:9, 21). That which has been established is nurtured by the interdependent, mutual care of the flock. Galatians 6 teaches that we need to sow exceedingly in caring for one another so that we can reap what is eternal.

  • 2 Timothy 4

    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.

  • John 3:22-36

    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.

  • John 3, Part 2

    The Mission of God’s Love

    Written to people who need to know Christ, the gospel of John is clear about God’s initiating love towards each of us. John desires for us to understand God’s amazing love so we would surrender our hearts to Him as Lord and Savior.

  • John 3:1-15

    Jesus and Nicodemus: Situation, Discussion, and Recognition.

    John introduces the reader to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, in John 3:1-2. The name Nicodemus is a common, proper Greek name in history, and during the time of Jesus, it was also a common, popular Jewish name. The Pharisees were a sect of the Sanhedrin, the highest-ranking Jewish school of the time.

  • John 2:13-25

    John’s Good News: True Witnesses to Christ so You Will Believe.

    Text: John 2:13-25; John 20:30-31

  • John 2:1-11

    Jesus' First Miraculous Sign.

  • John 1:43-51

    Belief in Jesus requires a personal relationship with Him.

    One of the most fundamental questions a Christian must ask is "what constitutes true belief?" How do I know if my own or someone else's belief is genuine or sincere? Do I have enough faith?

  • John 1:35-42

    Following Jesus

    In John 1, Andrew and Simon Peter are introduced to Jesus, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Though both follow Jesus, they have not yet officially left their nets to follow him as seen in the other gospels. After spending time with Jesus, Andrew hurries to find his brother, Simon Peter.

  • John 1:19-34

    John the Baptist.

    John the Baptist was the first prophet to speak God's word for hundreds of years. This providential delay in revelation heightened anticipation among the Jews for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist broke the silence with a powerful, influential, successful voice, because God determined it to be so. He preached a message of repentance and led a simple life.

  • John 1:19-23

    Biographical Sketch of John the Baptist.

    John’s account of the life of John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist is mentioned in all 4 Gospels (Matt 5, Mark 1, Luke 3). Apostle John gives one more aspect as he reports on John the Baptist, fitting with his purpose to show that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

  • John 1:1-18

    Why Believe in Jesus' Words?

    John begins his Gospel giving a simple, profound answer to this question. John introduces Jesus differently than the 3 synoptic Gospel writers. He does not mention Jesus' name until John 1:17, instead calling him by the name "the Word" for most of John 1:1-18.