Cross Of Grace

It’s been said that mercy is withholding the bad that I deserve, and grace is giving the good I don’t deserve. In 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Paul is contradicting those who would look to the law for salvation by reminding us all of the extravagant, abundant, overflowing mercy and grace we find only in Jesus...

Join us on the journey as we begin a brand new sermon series, “I Timothy: Preserving the Gospel-Centered Church”.

When Paul is teaching about spiritual gifts, why did he suddenly go off about women being silent in the church? Here's what that does (and does not) mean...

Q: "If we start letting people prophesy and speak in tongues in church, won't things get out of hand?" A: Not if we follow the Bible's instructions. The right use of prophecy and and interpreted tongues will result in the building up and encouragement of the church. Here's how...

"I believe spiritual gifts are for today. But I'm just not comfortable with gifts like prophecy or speaking in tongues." Many Christians hold to this opinion. Thankfully, abuse and neglect of these gifts are not the only two options. The Bible has a lot to say about how these gifts should function in the Church in a Christ-honoring way...

If we are moved by the love Christ has shown us, we will show it to others. And with spiritual gifts, that means we won't abuse them, neither will we neglect them, but we will serve one another in love...

Guest pastor Shawn Powers uses John 2:19-24 to show us what it means to be "Sent by God".

Pick any one local congregation, and you should see many different people with different gifts, different personalities, and different backgrounds. That's what God intended - not that we would be cookie-cutter duplicates of each other, but gloriously diverse, yet one in Christ...

God gives the church spiritual gifts, not to divide over differences, but to be unified in the purpose and power of the Holy Spirit.

We are completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit to live gospel-centered lives and to do the work Christ has given us to do.

Jesus has lifted our eyes to cause us to see the gospel and be saved. While that starts with our hearts, it must not end there. Jesus is also lifting our eyes to the harvest, reminding us that we are disciples called to make other disciples.

God uses sinful people to accomplish his purposes for good.

When we are in the middle of a trial, the time between our prayers and the answer to those prayers can seem like forever. But in the waiting, God has a purpose. He is teaching us that His Word is enough to sustain us through every trial, through every heartache, through every doubt and fear. His word is that powerful, because our God is that faithful.

When you deal with real hardship, raw optimism and positive thinking don’t help. Smiles and denials won’t change anything. When you’re going through the storm, you need something bigger than you to hold onto. You need some deep roots anchored in truth to withstand the wind and the storm. Through proclamations and prayers, the psalmist continues to celebrate God’s word, and in these verses in Psalm 119, he points to the hope we have in God, rooted in the truth of Scripture.

God truly is good. And since He is perfect and never changes, He will be good and do good forever. That’s the heart of Psalm 119:65-72. The psalmist is celebrating the goodness of God and how God expresses that goodness through His word.

The psalmist proclaims, “The Lord is my portion” which means God is enough. Not just what God gives, but God Himself. And when we value the Lord above all else and trust in His word, life-changing truths await…

When you and I look in the mirror, and we ask, “Am I a good person?” the only way that question can be answered truthfully is to ask a second question, “Compared to what?” To define good, according to the Bible, we can’t do it without God, and we can’t measure “good” by comparing ourselves with another person. We have to place our trust in the only One good enough - Jesus Christ.

As followers of Christ, you and I are sojourners in this world, on a journey to a better home. But on that journey, we are going to face difficulty. So we need a source of joy that is bigger than our fears. We need to keep a song in our hearts that reminds us of God’s care and God’s love for us. God’s word does that for us. He provides the lyrics for the sojourner’s song.

To trust in God is to trust in God’s word. When our hearts are anchored there, we will find our words, our ways and our worship will be transformed.

Because of His amazing mercy and by His sovereign power, God not only makes dead hearts alive by saving the lost, but He also takes the hearts of His children, those who love Him, but are weak or tired or distracted, and draws us to Him again.