Grace Baptist Church

When you haven't seen someone who you love for so long and you finally are able to meet again it's such a sweet experience! We all await a meeting with Someone Who has given everything for us. We will meet Him in person, face to face, when we die. But it may be that we will meet Him while living when He comes again to receive us to Himself. What an amazing experience that will be! What effect should this truth have on us? Jesus shares this truth in several parables. We'll look at one final parable this Sunday in our series on: Looking unto Jesus - - this parable is exactly that. What happens when look at Jesus. Are you ready? How can you be ready? Let us praise the Lord for His coming and dive into this parable through the Preaching of God's Word. See you there!

In Matthew 13:44–46, Jesus tells two short parables about the kindomg of heaven- a hidden treasure and a pearl of great value. One man discovers the treasure unexpectedly; the other spends his time searching for something valuable. Yet when each recognizes what he has found, both respond by giving up everything to possess it. Let us consider what the kingdom of heaven is, its value, and the response required from us.

Jesus tells the Parable of the Dinner Guests in during His final days in Jerusalem to warn Israel's religious leaders that although God's kingdom had been offered to them through the Messiah, their rejection of the Son would bring judgment, while God's gracious invitation would extend to the nations and that merely accepting the invitation outwardly is not enough; one must truly belong to Christ.

As our Lord gave His parable on the different soils, representing the conditions of the human heart, He explained how God's Word affects and even changes His hearers. This Sunday we will praise the Lord for His Word that gives Spiritual Life to hearers. We will also take some time to consider the four different reactions the Word of God produces in its hearers as we look at Jesus' Parable of the Soils. Let us ask the Lord for grace to have good soil in our hearts and the hearts of everyone who hears His Word.

As we move on from scenes from Jesus's life to stories Jesus told. One primary parable comes at the end of the lengthy Sermon on the Mount where Jesus portrays His teaching as the only solid foundation on which to build our lives. Our worship service will praise the Lord for His Words being our firm foundation. Let's come ready to hear His challenge and consider this truth carefully. Are you building your life on HIs solid foundation?

In our series so far, we've learned how Christ is all-knowing and is all-powerful, so He is able to step into any situation that is needed. But does He care enough to step in? Power and knowledge are no guarantee of help. But does He care? YES indeed! We'll look at another scene of Jesus's life and ministry. This one will show us that He does care. And that His care is extended to the least of these–those that others would reject or overlook; Jesus is there ready to help and bless. So let us come to Him with all our needs, all our desires and all our needs He will sustain and help us. Look unto Jesus today!

"Looking unto Jesus" -- As we consider the amazing scenes of Jesus's life, the most important is that of the cross and resurrection. In our mini-series on the life of Jesus, I thought this Sunday would be an appropriate time to look at the scene of the cross because it's the same Sunday we are celebrating the Lord's Table. As Jesus died on the cross, He was "bearing our shame." This is the aspect we will delve into as we consider Christ condemned to make us free. He bore shame and reproach before man so that we might never bear shame or reproach before the Father.

The apparent infiniteness of how immense, and yet microscopically intricate the universe is can heighten our sense of insignificance. "Who notices my existence anyway!?" And yet, God, Who made all that is in Christ sees us individually and knows all there is to know about us. This is a comforting truth! We'll dive into this truth from John 1 as we continue the series -- "Looking Unto Jesus."

Jesus has all power! The storms of life threaten to topple our existence. The storms may be external or they may be internal. But in all these circumstances, we can trust our Lord Jesus Who calms our storms. He is all-powerful, and His command puts them to rest. Let us praise the Lord for His power over the storms of life and His power over all things.

If God is for us, who can be against us? What a glorious truth! We can move through the stages of God's glorious salvation with great confidence because He is bringing us to glory. He Who saved us will glorify us and along the way, nothing formed against His purposes for us will stand.

Our greatest goal in life is to be more like Jesus. Asking that age-old question, "WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?" is the easier part. Knowing what He would do is different from doing it. The Lord must give us grace to live that out consistently. God's plan for you -- His promise to you is to make you more like His Son. He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ (Romans 8:28-30).

One important concept to keep in mind in a Christian's warfare is that God is for you. We are not in the battle alone. Through the Gospel of Jesus we have gained eternal blessings but that is also true of our daily struggles. God is for you and can enable you to live victoriously every day. Let's praise the Lord in scripture, prayer and song for God is for us! We've enjoyed a few sessions together with Pastor Jon Crocker. He will be sharing amessage from 1 Peter 5:8-11"Pilgrim Resistance." I know the Lord will use this challenge to encourage and help us forward in our Christian walk.

This Sunday we'll look at Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son which really teaches how God is our Father's of glorious merciful and love toward us. What a beautiful parable to consider this Sunday. Celebrate His great love toward us this Sunday as we gather for worship.

Last week, we enjoyed dwelling on the amazing truth that God makes all things work together for good! That is a joy and brings comfort knowing that all details of life are under His control and will work to our good. This is what He purposes by His great power and control. The "God causing all things to work together for good" truth is founded on the next verse—the fact that He has been doing this for us for a very long time. Even from eternity past! Let's praise the Lord for the first of the "five golden chains" of God's saving grace.

God is at work in your life today! In what way? In any and every way. He is causing all things in your life to work for good—even the most difficult parts of your life that you have a difficult time processing and making sense of—those things that you cannot fathom any good rising from the wreck. God works that. He works in such a way and is in control of circumstances in such a way that even these most difficult situations will turn out for good for those who love Him. We'll consider Romans 8:28 and affirm the glorious truth in song, scripture reading, and prayer. God is at work! HE is working all things for good today!

Every week we find situations where we need help. And, if we knew the reality of life, we probably would say every moment of every day we need help. Where do people go for help? I guess that depends on the type of health we need. But in every area of need for help there is a glorious Gospel provision through the Holy Spirit. As you come to God through the Gospel of Jesus, you are given the down payment of God's presence – the Holy Spirit. And He helps us in every way!

God is so good to us today! And that goodness leads us to think positively about our future. As one said: "Your future is as bright as the promises of God!" And so we take those promises and bank our life and our eternity on those. In this way, we are always hopeful. In Christ, we have true, steadfast hope!

What a joy to know that this life is not the end. Perhaps you have faced great difficulty this week, or this past year. Let me encourage you to look to the future for comfort for your current stress or distress. Part of that future is what we call an "adoption"… an eternal adoption. This adoption is defined as the redemption of our bodies. What a fascinating truth! God saved us – not just to enjoy heaven in spirit, but to re-unite with our spirit and enjoy heaven on earth once again. May the Lord give us grace to seek first His kingdom while here and promote His purposes in our lives.

One of the most consistent earthly examples of agape love on earth is the consistent love of a mother. The natural care and love of a mom is often such a beautiful example of unselfishly giving towards another's well-being. The greatest example of agape, of course, is our Lord. He unselfishly gave of His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life. In this message, we'll learn the example of a dear mom who came to Jesus for a great need for mercy. She is a great example as a mom and also teaches us much about prayer.

All things are sustained by our Lord… even in our broken condition as nature stumbles along. But it will all be renewed. One day in the future we will all receive glorified bodies and creation itself will be restored to pre-fallen conditions. This understanding changes our value system. It changes our view of pain. It changes our view of what the world's true problem is and the solution to that problem. Let's praise the Lord for His sustaining grace that sustaining us to the end!

the Lord reveals the answer to why so many bad things happen in the world. Why does evil touch all of our lives? Of course, one reason is that there are bad people who do bad things. But Romans 8 introduces another category of "evil" that helps us understand some of the pain and suffering all around us. It also shows how the Gospel relates to the suffering we see. Suffering is not the end of the story. The future will be glorious for those who are in Christ. The Good News of Jesus promises this. Romans 8 teaches us that the glory of that future time far outweighs the sorrow and difficulty of this present life. As we continue through Romans 8 we learn that this future glory is actually shared by the creation as well.

We are redeemed--bought back unto God with a great price... the blood of Christ! He paid the ultimate price so we might be free from sin and its penalty. This Sunday, we'll praise the Lord for redeeming us.

David wanted to build God's house, but was not allowed because of his violence. Instead, God said that He would build one for David — a lasting house, a dynasty that would be ruled by a King forever. Sunday, we'll consider how Jesus is the King and He is the foundation of the house that He is building. As we gather at Grace each week, we gather to worship the Lord and to build His house, to build up one another into Christ-likeness

Praising the Lord for the resurrection. We'll also finish out our survey of John's Gospel with the account of Jesus' resurrection from John 20.

Christ is King. That's comforting, because when we understand Who is ultimately in control, we gain great perspective and calm. If we think that we are the ones in charge then we stress out whenever something doesn't go exactly as planned. But if we acknowledge that the Lord ultimately handles all the steps, we are able to rest at all times. This is as simple as acknowledging Christ as King. He rules everything. And that is what Palm Sunday is all about. Come ready to praise the Lord for his rule in our lives and over all things. We'll examine Psalm 2 together, which acknowledges Christ's great rule written 100 years before His birth!

What a glorious spiritual inheritance we have as Christians! This future inheritance gives us perspective for the difficult circumstances we face here below. We have a far greater and eternal blessing to look forward to. May the Lord encourage us with this blessed thought through Romans 8

Our inheritance in Christ is unfathomable! Our spiritual riches in this inheritance really has no boundary. As we progress verse by verse through the glorious chapter of Romans 8, we continue to plumb deeper into the elements of this inheritance. The greatest truth is that God has provided us with this entire inheritance in His Son, Jesus. Let's praise the Lord tomorrow for our glorious Gospel inheritance.

God's grace is His everything in place of our nothing. All that we have and are, are entirely by God's amazing grace. He saves us, sanctifies us and will bring us to glory one day. Sunday we'll praise the Lord for His amazing grace in the worship service.

God's grace is His everything in place of our nothing. All that we have and are, are entirely by God's amazing grace. He saves us, sanctifies us and will bring us to glory one day. Sunday we'll praise the Lord for His amazing grace in the worship service.

As we continue on in Romans 8 and praise our heavenly Father for adopting us into His family.

Another amazing benefit to being a Christian is that we are led by a new goal and a new Guide. That is made possible by the Gospel. And it is defined as being led by the Spirit. How are we led by the Spirit? What does that look like on a weekly basis? Let's consider Romans 8:14 in the message.

We're walking through that important soul-stirring, soul-protecting verse of Romans 8:13. This week, we'll uncover some very practical ways to carry out the instruction we learned last week. How can we mortify the sins of the flesh? We'll also consider a few practical case studies in how to apply Scriptural principles to specific sins in our lives. These truths help us to praise the Lord for continuing the work He began in us.

"You will surely die." God gave this promise with the original command not to eat the fruit in the Garden. When Adam and Eve rebelled against the Lord's command, they paved a path that has been trodden by everyone since. Their first son, Cain, was a murderer. The Lord warned him, though. "Sin is crouching at your door, and you must master it." Although our sinful bent will never be totally eradicated in this life, we are given the responsibility and, through Christ, the power to conquer it. May we kill it so that it does not kill us.

Our worship service will focus on the victory we have in Christ. We will jump back into one of the most important chapters in your Bible - Romans 8. In this text, we find that as we live in the Spirit, we can put to death the practices of the flesh and truly live for now and eternity. Praise the Lord for His victory!

Doing well in 2026. Our final message that focuses our attention on the theme for 2026: "Living in the Light of the Lord," shares how we will do well. As we listen to God's Word … not just hearing it, but obeying it, we find that whatever condition we are in. We've been blessed in the Lord. Are you well? Let's consider the light of God's living Word from Peter's counsel in 2 Peter 1:19.

One of the most important verses in your Bible was shared from a dying man to a young disciple whom he led to Christ. This Sunday, we'll listen in to this challenge and it will be a help to challenge us forward in our Christian life as well.

Life is dangerous when walking in the dark, dangerous and fearful. The same is true spiritually. Walking in the light of God's Word brings safety, security and joy. May 2026 be a year of consistently walking in the light of the Lord for each of us!

How do we measure success? How do we achieve success? That's a great thought for us to consider as we embark on a New Year. Let's consider this together from God's perspective in Joshua 1:8 -- one of the most memorized verses in your Bible. Let's unpack this passage and let it motivate us toward God's ways in the New Year!

Merry Christmas! Every Sunday, we celebrate what God has done for us in Christ. This Sunday, we give special attention to our Lord's birth as we celebrate the Lord's birth together. May the Lord bless us with a heart of peace as He has come into our lives, as His peace brings us into the world.

In the Christian family, it is a relief to know that we are always able to have a joyful, pleasant time when we focus on the reason for the Christmas season. When we look back on the family visits of Jesus' birth, we find that same joy. This Sunday we'll look at one of those joyful visits and Mary's prayer that springs from that visit… joy in Jesus!

Advent comes from Latin, meaning arrival. What a blessing to know that Christ has come! And to praise Him for He is coming again! We'll look at our Lord's humbling Himself as a bondservant, bringing us peace by becoming a ransom for all.

As we continue to consider Gospel Centered Thanksgiving. When we are moved from the leper colony of sinful death into the healed human existence of community, forgiveness and grace, we are changed forever and thankful forever.

We always need a challenge in our hearts and minds to be more thankful, and so, this sermon will focus our attention on the way God enables this gratitude. In the Sermon, we'll see that this gratitude is part of a New Nature. This week, we'll enjoy that together from a passage that is so important in understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

When we die, we are absent from the body and present with the Lord. But life does not end that way. And, we are not destined to live eternally without bodies. There is a new future for us. We await a bodily resurrection. This will be life the way it was meant to be.

Independence is good to a certain extent. But we must all be careful to submit our own desires and wishes to the leading of our Lord. Thankfully, He humbles Himself to us and leads us along into His best ways.

God lives in us! What an amazing truth. The privilege of God's presence at all times, but not at a distance where we have to take a pilgrimage to Him. He is dwelling in us. Because of this, you and I are never alone, nor are you on your own during the struggles of life. God strengthens us and enables us from the inside out.

One of the repeated comforts of Scripture is the fact that God is faithful. Even in times when we are not as faithful as we would like to be to Him, He remains a steadfast Rock (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Sunday's worship service will revolve around this theme. Come praise God for His faithfulness! As we continue through Romans 8, we dig into what it means to walk in the Spirit and have a heavenly mindset.

Romans 8, which is one of the most comforting chapters in the Bible. The survey will give us eight great reasons to glorify God and rejoice in what He has done for us in the Gospel! We'll find that these eight blessings are applied to us through our relationship with the Holy Spirit