Grace Community Church Sunday Morning Messages

Jesus has told us; 

 "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me….apart from Me you can do nothing. ---John 15 

 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” ---John 6:60

After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit before doing anything else. We know that it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anything a chur...

Lydia was from Thyatira and was a dealer in purple cloths. She was converted in Philippi when she heard Paul speak (Acts 16:1-15) Paul accepted her invitation stay with her in her home and he and Silas returned to her home when they were released from prison. (Acts 19:16-40)  

Thyatira was a small and insignificant area famous for the dying of cloth.  The trade guilds were places of idolatry and sexual immorality yet essential ...

Pergamum sits north of Smyrna and about 16 miles inland from the Aegean Sea. Their massive library rivaled the library in Alexandria housing thousands of works. It was in Pergamum where the use of more expensive and longer lasting parchment was developed (1). In addition to three temples dedicated to the emperor, Pergamum also had a temple for Asclepius, god of healing; Dionysius, god of “wine and ecstasy";(2) Athena, goddess of wi...

Smyrna was a city of wealth, trade, and deep loyalty to Rome. In 195 BC Smyrna built a temple to Roma, the goddess of Rome. Theirs was a city for whom Emperor worship was central, in AD 12 a temple was built to honor the Emperor Tiberias and during Domitian’s time (A.D. 81-96) it was a requirement for every Roman citizen to give worship, allegiance, and loyalty to Rome’s emperors. For a Christian to give allegiance solely to God al...

What would it mean to you to have someone know you – to know your strengths and your weaknesses and to know this accurately? All of us carry a fear of being found out and rejected. The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus does Know us Completely *and* has not rejected us. No! On the contrary He loves us more deeply than we can even comprehend. Remember: *Jesus is who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made ...

**Through the Resurrection all who trust in Jesus can live Victoriously.** 

Seven churches in Asia minor were each given a letter with encouragements, corrections and promises to those who overcome. How do we overcome and live victoriously? It is by faith alone, through grace alone. Jesus' victory is ours through faith in His work on our behalf. All Praise, Honor, and Glory to Jesus, the Living One who was dead and is alive for ever...

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. All Praise, Honor, and Glory to our Victo...

We begin our last week of preparation walking with Jesus as he enters Jerusalem to the praise of an adoring crowd. Looking at all that transpires between this triumphal entry and Jesus' death we notice such Grace, patience, fortitude and forgiveness from our Victorious Christ. We also see people whose understanding is incomplete and who 'know not what they do' - be it shouts of "Hosanna!" or shouts of "Crucify!" Let us take time...

What a journey we have been on in this letter to the Colossian church! And what a final exhortation we are given to devote ourselves to prayer, to be wise, and to seek every opportunity to proclaim the glory of Jesus. It is all for Him. All our service, choices, gratitude, and love poured out into the world is for the praise honor and glory of Jesus. Take some time this week to read through the whole letter, noting the grandeur and...

We’ve looked at how the gospel impacts our behavior and what it means to live into the new nature we have been given. We studied how this impact makes its way into our homes and families. This week we will look at how the gospel applies to our working lives – both as employers and employees. Ultimately we all answer to Jesus and it is Him that we seek to honor in the way we conduct ourselves out in the world. It must be said again ...

All Christians are invited into a new way of relating to one another. This section focuses in on families. Just like the traits we are told to live into in the previous verses, marriage relationships and parent-child relationships are different for the child of God. The contrasting natures we have been studying in chapter three have the most bearing on our closest relationships within our homes. Living out God’s call to consider ot...

In contrast to the list of things Paul asks us shed, he provides us a list of things to wrap our hearts and our lives in. These characteristics are standards that can only be met by ones who understand that they are holy and dearly loved. This is fruit that the Holy Spirit must produce within us and are traits demonstrated within relationships. As you ponder the high calling to which God’s children are called, be sure to keep sight...

Our identity in Jesus is distinct and living into that identity means to live contrary to the values, principles, and practices of the world. Among the list of things we are to reject, there is no one who could say that these don’t apply to them. Paul is clear about the equality of these sins and their association with everyone who does not belong to Jesus. All of these are in the past for those who are in Christ. By the power of t...

Thus far Paul has explained who Jesus is and what Jesus has accomplished through His work on the cross. Now his letter transitions  into application of those truths. As a result of Christ’s supremacy and His completed work on the cross, we are set free from earning anything or paying back what is owed. This is great news! Anything we participate in along with anything we abstain from need only be motivated by gratitude for all we h...

Paul uses a number of metaphors in the same sentence that seem at first glance to be contradictory; live (or walk) in Christ, be rooted and built up. How can you walk and be rooted? It’s more of a both/and, we are to be firmly grounded in Christ’s work on our behalf and also to keep growing in our faith journey towards Christ-likeness. While on this earth we battle between our old nature and our new identity in Christ. Our battle c...

To Contend means to struggle for victory and also to earnestly dispute. Paul is laboring hard, at times to the point of exhaustion, for this church, many of whom he has never met. Why? And what is he contending for? To put it simply, Paul is committed to magnifying God and maturing His people. He understands that God’s people include Gentile believers and he is working for their encouragement and unity. He longs for the mystery of ...

To state that Jesus is Creator and over all Creation addresses a specific heresy of the Colossian church and heresies we encounter today. Jesus as Creator means that angels are created by Him and are subject to Him. People are created by Him and subject to Him. The earth itself is created by Jesus and subject to Him. This is a bold and profound statement and the implications into our lives is significant. If Jesus is holding all th...

Paul's prayer reflects a desire for the church to grow in knowledge of Who God is and in experience of the Holy Spirit's equipping as the means of understanding what His purpose and will for our lives is. Which Paul summarizes with a few key phrases:  

 - to bear fruit

 - to grow in knowing God

 - to be strengthened by God

 - to give thanks to God

This will of God resides over, under, and within the specific details of our day to da...

The letter from Paul to the Colossians reveals Christ as preeminent - first and foremost over everything - and encourages Christians toward a life that reflects that priority. The church in Colossae was a predominately Gentile church and the heresy threatening it combined elements from Greek speculation (2:8-10), Jewish legalism (2:11-17), and Eastern mysticism (2:18-23). To address these heresies, this letter is a very Christ-Cent...