Grace Church Elk Grove

This week our sermon will take on the shape of C.S. Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters.” He wrote that book from the perspective of a demon named Screwtape giving instruction to his nephew about how to deceive and derail his “subject.” It is a fascinating read about the nature of the opposition we face, as is the passage before us this week - Ezra 4. When we consider the principles in play, we will see how some things never change...

This week we look at Ezra 3, where Israel “makes a beginning” in rebuilding the temple. This passage is filled with ancient details of Israel’s worship, and these same details are mapped across the eons to our present situation. God’s Word is evergreen in its application because its Author is timeless. There is vital wisdom here for the beginning we are making today.

Listen to this episode from Pastor Jed’s sermon on December 7th, 2...

Failure is something we all can understand. I can fail to play the right chord during a worship song on Sunday morning, and I can forget to stop my car at a red light. Both are failures, but the scope of the failure is vastly different. The failure I am referring to is a spiritual one. The failure I am referring to is a spiritual one. And it is that kind of failure that produces individuals who, according to the Apostle Paul, are “...

This week we consider the "ambition" of Paul. Ambition is a concept that has fallen on hard times in the church. That's because we are wary of it going wrong. But the Bible is very clear: ambition is a good thing. It only goes bad when it is aimed at the wrong things. Verbs are defined not by themselves but by their objects. If our greatest ambition is for self-glory, self-satisfaction and self-preservation, there'...

This week will be our final look at Christ in the Old Testament. We will finish on the most important passage, the famous Isaiah 53. I hope it is known to you. If not, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with it before Sunday. There are too many riches for us to consider all of them in one sitting. This is why many people consider this section of Isaiah the "New Testament in the Old Testament" - where God's work i...

This week our nation learned about two monumental deaths: the horrific, unprovoked murder of Iryna Zarutska and then just yesterday, the assassination of Christian apologist Charlie Kirk. As the president said, these are dark times. What we do in such times is dependent on *what story we think we are living in.* For instance, if we think we are living in a nihilistic J.G. Ballard story with no good ending, we will become fatalistic...

We will consider another way that Christ is in the Old Testament.It begins mysteriously, with the story of Melchizedek, and yet it ends with something very clear and solid: having "full assurance" in our faith. Full assurance! Whatever capacity we have to be assured that, when we meet our Maker, we will be with Him forever, that cup of assurance can be filled to the brim. This is really, really good news. Listen to this e...

This is the start of a new Christ in the Old Testament series. The Bible is a whole, one story, all of it pointing to one person: Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. So, it is no wonder that we see the Old Testament and the New point forward or backward to him. This series will look at specifically how the Bible looks forward to Jesus. We will begin this week with Jesus' own words, as he teaches Nicodemus precisely how this ...

Sometimes the Scriptures are to be studied, the way you study for a class. But there are other times when we are not to so much study but INHABIT a text. We are to let it swirl around us, capture our imaginations, and let it take us to the heavens or a foreign land that we’ve never known. 

Such is Psalm 29 - it’s not here for us to completely get our arms around it, but to let it take us to a place and a perspective we’ve never know...