Grace Chapel Knoxville Sermons

This week, Krystal brought us a message from James chapter 3 about the importance of our tongues. The tongue holds great power in our lives, but it is something that we often forget to control. Our tongues have the ability to keep our lives on course, steer us into the rocks, lift up our brothers and sister, or destroy someone’s self-esteem. The tongue is small but holds great influence, so let us seek to use our tongues to glorify God and lift up one another.

In this week’s study of James we discuss the central role that faith and works play as we grow in maturity. The scripture makes it clear that we do not work for our salvation, it is a precious gift from God. However, we are called to an active faith that co-operates with the work Jesus is doing in our lives and the lives of those around us. May we never settle for mere belief in God, instead let’s embrace an active faith that says yes to the work He wants to do in and through us.

As Christians, we are supposed to be welcoming and loving towards everyone we encounter, but it is in our human nature to show partiality or favoritism towards certain people. We make snap judgments based on appearance, but Jesus calls us to love everyone the way he loves them. How do we let go of the skewed lens through which we perceive strangers and gain his perspective on our fellow humans? This week, we discussed James 2 and how the law of love instead of the prison of partiality allows us to look like Jesus in our relationships as individuals as a church body.

James instructs believers to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. However, that is the opposite of how the Church looks in America today. We are quick to identify when we are wronged or believe that someone should be doing something differently, and we are slow to realize how we should be modifying our own behavior to look more like Jesus. This week we discussed the value of slowing down, looking into ourselves, and allowing Jesus to be in control of how we react to those around us.

Growing in faith and maturity is crucial to our walk as Christians, but the steps to get us there can be painful and scary sometimes. In the first week of our discussion of James, we discuss the need for struggles and trials in our lives to help foster and grow our faith. We also learned that there are sometimes obstacles that hinder growth if we divert our gaze and belief from the one true source of stability in Christ. Most importantly, we are reminded of the hope that we always have in Christ Jesus, and that throughout any hardships that come in life, we can always look to our firm foundation in Him.

On Sunday, we did our yearly church update and spent time looking back in gratitude and looking ahead in anticipation! Join us as we prayerfully commit this year to the Lord and humbly submit our plans to His will. May we all walk in awareness of His guiding presence and live in joyful obedience to Jesus this year.

This Sunday, we finished our year-long discipleship journey by reflecting on three key ways we can intentionally make disciples. Our prayer for the church is that we would embrace disciple-making as a way of life.

This week we had the privilege of hearing from Valerie Bellamy with Compassion First about the powerful work they are doing to care for precious people impacted by trafficking in Indonesia. This is the organization that our own Andrew and Dira Soreano will be serving with as they head out on the mission field in early 2023. Valerie encouraged us to follow our Good Shepherd Jesus in pursuing the one lost sheep; may we all be attentive and responsive to who Jesus is calling us to pursue with his love! For more information visit: www.gracechapelknoxville.net/sermons

Discipleship is something that Christians often compartmentalize into an optional or occasional thing. However, God’s heart for his people is to be in a constant state of being disciples and disciplining others. Through working with others in the body, and prayer we can begin our discipleship journey. While this will be messy and challenging at times, we need to remember that failure isn’t final, there will always be an opportunity to learn and grow.

The gifts from the Holy Spirit seem shrouded in mystery and can be very intimidating. They can also carry scars from people misusing them. However, they are not meant to be a burden, they are truly gifts from God. These gifts are meant to be used to help us as believers to love God and love others well, but it is vitally important that we search scripture to ensure that they are used properly and the way that the creator intended them.

This Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from Pastor Dave Buehring as he shared on how we can discover and use the gifts God has given us. We also had a great discussion as Pastor Dave created an opportunity for some Q&A related to walking in the gifts of the Spirit.

God wants to give us spiritual gifts out of His great love for us so that the church can be strengthened and His Kingdom can be advanced. In today’s sermon, we discuss how important it is to be grounded in love so that we can live with purpose and do the work God has uniquely called and gifted us to do. May we all be open to the gift of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, and use the gifts He has given, so that we can love other’s well and bring glory to God.

Follow your heart, chase your dreams, live your truth… these are all mantras that the world encourages us to live by, and they all sound very tempting, but what does the Bible tell us about finding purpose for our lives? God designed each of us with a unique purpose and gifting, and he desires for us to walk in that purpose. However, it is not found in adventure or within our hearts, that purpose is found in him. He created you with great intention and care, and his plans for you are greater than what you could ever plan for yourself.

Sharing your faith can feel intimidating. We often imagine scenarios where we are ill-prepared for hard questions or rejected outright, but Jesus taught the disciples how to spread the gospel. He encouraged them to first be people of prayer. He also advised them to be and approach people of peace building relationships while sharing his good news. Finally, he challenged them to be people of power and purpose, to go boldly, in his name, and proclaim the truth with all authority of heaven.

The great commission calls us to make disciples of ALL NATIONS, but as believers and as a part of the American Church, do we have the heart for the nations that God calls us to have? It is tempting to get overwhelmed by the vastness of the world and the staggering number of people groups that are still unreached by the gospel, but all that is required of us is to say “yes” to God and allow him to work great wonders in and through us. We cannot do it alone, but with Him and with a community of like-minded believers, the Lord can and will do great things.

This week Krystal Hawkins brings a message about what it means to share the kingdom with our neighbors. May we all purpose to be more intentional to recognize the opportunities to love people around us well. This powerful and practical message can have a real impact in our lives and community if we will be intentional to consistently apply this in our lives.

The Kingdom is of great value & importance; the unique solution to the brokenness of this world. Because of Jesus it is now present and available - will we repent & participate in Kingdom life now? Advancing the Kingdom is first about its Expansion in my life!

The kingdom of God feels like some magical place that is floating in the sky, but what Jesus preached to his disciples and others is that the kingdom of God is present and available for us on this side of heaven. He wants us to be a part of his kingdom by allowing Him to be the ruler of our lives. It means that we must give up control of our own tiny kingdoms where we think we have control and turn that power over to Him. The kingdom of God is all around us, but it is up to us if we want to participate in His kingdom and give him the authority in our lives that he deserves.

Today we heard from two beloved ministries: Donna Boone & Julio, from Josiah's House, shared an update from the Dominican Republic and Andrew & Dira Soreano shared their upcoming opportunity to serve in Indonesia with Compassion First.

In the Old Testament, the presence of God dwelled in places built by humans who were given very specific instructions by God. His temple was sacred and holy and could only be entered by a select few people who had to go through very particular and detailed instructions to bring sacrifices on behalf of the people. However, that was never the way we were created to know God. He always intended his people to be in intimate fellowship with Him. When Jesus came and died, the veil in the temple was torn allowing us to have access to God the Father through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus did the work of creating that sacred space so that we can enter His presence at any time or place. This amazing gift allows us to carry His presence with us, to bear his likeness, and to wield His power in ways that we cannot even ask or imagine.