Grace Community Church Sunday Morning Messages

For the early church, a lot of attention is given related to whether a believer in Christ needed to follow the laws given by Moses, including the law of circumcision. Acts 15, 1 Corinthians 7, Galatians 3, 5-6, Ephesians 2, Philippians 3, and Colossians 2 all address this subject.  While we may not find ourselves tempted to follow the laws of Moses, legalism can be a real struggle in the church today, causing harm to whole families and individual believers. Additionally, our current celebrity culture fuels temptation to combine sharing the gospel with dishonest gain, corrupting the message and harming the body of Christ. In our study of Titus, it is vital that we grasp the solid truth that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. While Paul’s letter will speak into Christlike character, sound doctrine, and righteous living – we must be careful we don’t find ourselves falling into the trap of thinking right standing with God is based on the things we do or the popularity we have. Let us seek to be discerning people, willing to receive correction if our own ways of thinking have gone astray. During our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. For this week work on memorizing Titus 2:12“ It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 1:10-16

The point Paul makes is that to be a leader and shepherd over the church of God, one’s character and lifestyle must reflect Christ. This goes beyond a leader’s skillset, ability to teach, preach, serve or give. Paul talks about demonstrating Christlike character related to finances, family, physical health and spiritual maturity. These godly leaders are to build their lives on the solid foundation of the Word of God and the Grace found in Jesus. They are to encourage those who are keeping step with the Holy Spirit to persevere and those who are heading the wrong way to turn back to Jesus and live. During our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. For this week continue to work on memorizing Titus 2:11:"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people." Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 1:5-9

Titus was a Greek who had become a Christian through Paul’s teaching. He was left on the island of Crete to tend to the ministry there and establish the church with sound doctrine leading to transformed lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Crete at that time, on the one hand they have false teachers deceiving the new Christians, on the other hand a cultural tendency toward moral laxity regarding sin – making this new church susceptible to the danger of both belief and behavior that is contrary to the teachings of Jesus.  This letter from Paul is meant to strengthen and exhort Titus to exercise his authority as a representative of the Apostles. Paul stresses that proper belief is the basis for proper behavior, and weaves in the reality of our salvation being by faith alone, through grace alone, resulting in lives that change. Prepare for this week's teaching by reading Titus 1:1-4Additionally, as we embark on our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. We have found that memorizing one verse at a time and then stacking a new verse onto the old one to be a helpful way to memorize a larger portion of Scripture. For this week focus on memorizing Titus 2:11:" For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."

Practically speaking, how is the Holy Spirit at work in the world? What is He seeking to accomplish? There is both a diversity and unity to the working and gifting of the Holy Spirit. He gives God's people different skills and abilities, different ministries, and different activities to accomplish His will, but it is the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God who is doing the work within that diversity. And everything is soley by His grace and for His glory! Prepare for this week's teaching by reading 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Ephesians 4:1-16

What does it mean to "keep in step" with the Holy Spirit? How do we do it? How do we tell the difference between the Spirit and our flesh? What does it mean to have the mind of Christ?These are tough questions to answer. Thankfull we are not left to guess or figure it out on our own. God's word gives us help and contrasts for us acts that come from our flesh with acts that come from the Holy Spirit living within us. ------Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading **John 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; 3:1-3, Galatians 5:16-26, and Ephesians 5:15-20 **

As He prepared His disciples for His upcoming death, Jesus said it was to their advantage that He was leaving - so that the Holy Spirit could be sent to them. There is specific work that the Holy Spirit does in the world and in the life of a believer. What is that work? How can we tell the difference between the Holy Spirit's work and a counterfeit? Join us on Sunday as we seek to better understand the works of the Holy Spirit.------Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading **Acts 1:3-8; 2:1-41, John 16:7-14; 3:3-6, Titus 3:4-7, Ephesians 1:13-14, Philippians 1:6, John 14:16-17, John 14:26; 16:12-15, Romans 8:26-27, and John 14:15-18**

Grace's statement of faith says this about the Holy Spirit;>>> We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is to apply the saving work of Christ. He does this by bringing conviction of a person’s need for the forgiveness of Christ. He regenerates their heart and then permanently indwells them when they believe. His ongoing work is to guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service. www.gracecomm.org/what-we-believeWho is the person of the Holy Spirit? What is He like and what does He do? Join us Sunday as we begin a new series to help us better understand the Holy Spirit as He is revealed to us in scripture. ------Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Mark 8:34-38 with 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, Ephesians 4:30, Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, John 14:16,26;15:26

Jesus summons the multitude with His disciples and explains what it means to be His disciple. As with everything we devote ourselves to, there is a cost - there are things that must go to make room for our devotion. Let us start off the fall season pondering what it means for each of us to lose our lives for Jesus and the gospel, so that we gain that which is better - namely Christ!Prepare for this week's teaching by reading Mark 8:34-38

Paul tells us; “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.” ---Romans 4:4-6Paul is referring to psalm 32 where David recounts the joy - the relief – the true delight he found in having the weight of his sin lifted by the Lord’s forgiveness.This is a psalm to think deeply on. A Psalm to pause at each section and ponder the meaning and implications held there. The instructions given in the title; *“A Psalm of David, a Maskil"* is thought to label this psalm as a song or poem of contemplation and instruction. As our understanding of God’s forgiveness deepens, so too our understanding of His unfailing love deepens. This creates in us a deeper trust in and greater praise of God, the Forgiving One who is our Savior and King.

When teaching on Psalm 8, Spurgeon tells us; “The first and last verses are a sweet song of admiration, in which the excellence of the name of God is extolled. The intermediate verses are made up of holy wonder at the Lord's greatness in creation, and at his condescension towards man.”In Matthew 21, Jesus quotes this psalm to the Pharisees, declaring to them once again His identity as God;...when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.  “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.  “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants                   you, Lord, have called forth your praise]?” When we take time to read these words slowly and consider the depths of their meaning, we are left in awe of the grandeur of God, His work among us, and His attention towards us.  How majestic indeed is our Lord’s character magnified throughout all the earth!Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 8.

This Psalm highlights God’s character understood through His Creation (vs. 1- 6) and through His Word (vs. 7-11). It then moves into understanding our great need for our Lord to help us (vs. 12-14), culminating with the hopeful reality we have with the Lord as our firm and steadfast Rock and Redeemer.    There is a grandeur in nature that leaves us awe-struck, it shows us how big and powerful and creative God is. While God’s glory appears much in the works of creation, it is shown even more through the words of scripture. The scriptures give us a more complete and intimate knowledge of the character of God. As we come to understand God more deeply, we realize how small, ignorant and powerless we truly are. The beautiful thing is we are not left hopeless and discouraged, because while our God is big and majestic, He is also a kind and merciful Savior. He has invited us to know Him and be known by Him. He does not leave us to fend for ourselves but helps us. May this be our daily plea; that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts bring glory to our worthy God.Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 19

The context for Psalm 51 is David’s sin of adultery, murder, covering over his sin, and a hardness of heart towards repentance. It took a visit from the prophet Nathan with storied words to prick David’s heart - and break it - over all that he had done. It might be easy to look upon David and think; how could he be so dull to the evil in his heart? It seems so obvious to us. So true, often, are the sins we have normalized within our culture. Would that we could have a friend who loves us enough to point it out, and hearts humble enough to receive the correction!This psalm illuminates the grandeur of God’s mercy, His love that does not fail, and His compassion towards us in our wretched state. May the words of this psalm restore to us the joy of His salvation! May we be open to recognizing our sin, knowing that it is safe to do so because our Father God welcomes our broken and contrite hearts as an offering of faith.Prepare for this week’s teaching by meditating on the words of Psalm 51 with 2 Samuel 11-12

There are countless sources of distress in our lives. External tragedies and brokenness that threaten our sense of well-being along with our inner sins that take away our peace. But we are not ones who face these things alone or without hope. We have a God we can turn to in our distress, a God who hears us and who comforts us as nothing and no one else can. In this psalm, David cries out to God in his distress. “His holy trust, his many conflicts, his great transgressions, his bitter repentance, and his deep distresses are all here;” comments Charles Spurgeon. In addition to being another acrostic psalm (with each line representing a letter from the Hebrew alphabet) this psalm contains a rhythm of movement between prayer and meditation on God’s character.  - Prayer – Psalm 25:1-7 - Meditation – Psalm 25:8-10 - Prayer – Psalm 25:11 - Meditation – Psalm 25:12-15 - Prayer Psalm 25:16-22This is a pattern we can copy to bring comfort and restored hope in the midst of our crying out to God in our distress. Prepare for this weeks teaching by reading Psalm 25. 

According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Psalms 113-118 are part of the Hallelujah Psalms. These were sung during Passover, with Psalms 115-118 sung after drinking the last cup of the feast.   Passover was a celebration of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God had shown Himself mighty and demonstrated His power over the pagan gods of Egypt. At the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples would have sung these psalms. To think of these words being sung by our Lord before He went to the Mount of Olives to pray gives added depth of meaning to the words. (Mark 14:12-26)  As you read through this psalm, do so in light of God’s previous acts of deliverance culminating with Jesus’ work on the cross ultimately delivering us from sin and death, working for us the blessing of salvation and life eternal. Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 115 

Our lives are full of shakable things - many good and wonderful things, yet temporary all the same. It's comforting to know that there are some things and some One we can count on that cannot, ever, no matter what, be shaken: Jesus and His kingdom, Jesus' forgiveness, Jesus' covenantal love, Jesus victory, and Jesus' ability to hold all things together - including us!Prepare for this week's message by reading through Psalm 16, praising God that "because the Lord is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

Psalm 13 opens with the heart cry of the oppressed; How Long?This is an ache you may know well, either from personal suffering or from your love of another who is suffering. This world is not as it is supposed to be.  The cry of lament is a faithful practice of taking our pain, our complaints, and our sorrows to the Lord, trusting that He will not turn away from us. If we struggle to find words, there are at least 50 Psalms we can turn to. As we do, we will find that the psalmist pours out his anguish to the Lord, but does not stay there. Often the psalms of Lament end with reminders of God’s character, His faithfulness, salvation, and unfailing love. This pattern is instructive – showing us the way through our grief, not by pretending and stuffing it down, nor by sitting in it as though it is the only true thing. Rather, by pouring out our raw and honest emotions to the One who comforts as no one else can and then reminding ourselves of His love that knows no bounds—we are helped.Prepare for this week’s message by reading Psalm 13.

Praise comes not just from emotion, but from intentional thought. In Psalm 145, David says he will meditate on the Lord’s wonderful works, implying a choice rather than a feeling. To give thought to the amazing things the Lord does is always a good practice, but especially so when our hearts are downcast and struggling for hope. As we give careful and intentional thought to the Lord’s character, His past work, and His present nearness, we are then moved to praise Him and tell other’s about the hope we have in Him.  The best news is that we don’t have to muster up the words on our own, the psalmists help us by reminding us of our Lord’s charactor; ·        He satisfies the desires of every living thing.·        He is righteous in all His ways·        He is loving towards all He has made.·        He is near to all who call on Him, He hears their cry and saves them.Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 145

The psalmist begins by inviting us as a community to sing to our God in humble worship. For He is the rock of our salvation, the One who has formed this earth, the One who made us and takes care of us. And then the psalmist reminds us of the choice before us – to enter God’s rest or harden our hearts towards Him. Those referenced in this psalm saw God’s work, they were given reason to trust Him, and yet because of their unbelief they did not enter the rest of the Promised land. The author of Hebrews gives us additional understanding of the connection between a heart’s worship, entering the Lord’s rest, and the warning against unbelief. (See Hebrews 3-4) If we are thinking people, we have to ask, what does it mean to enter the Lord’s rest with a heart of worship in the midst of our grief and heartache? We know that things are not as they should be with the brokenness of this world, the sins in our own hearts, and the temptations towards unbelief. The answer is found in the gospel – in Jesus who has overcome, and who carries us through. We can rest in the hope of His promise and the truth of His nearness. He will not leave us or forsake us. Let us worship Him as the source of our comfort and our joy, and find rest in His sufficiency. Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 95 with Hebrews 3-4

"Praise the Lord, my soul;    all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,    and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins    and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit    and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."So begins our next Psalm in our summer series. The Psalmist reminds us of so many ways our God is good to us. Let us honor and praise Him as we meditate on the words of Psalm 103. 

At our Vacation Bible Week we learned that Jesus is our true North! When we wonder, feel alone or powerless, when we need hope or help, we can trust Jesus! Join us in celebrating all the ways Jesus has shown Himself trustworthy and deepen your understanding of these foundational truths through our review of select stories found in the book of Matthew!Prepare for this week's teaching by reading Matthew 6:25-33; 8:5-13; 18:12-14; and 28:16-20