Built into the New Year’s resolution is the idea that something new needs to be done. Whether it’s a diet, an exercise plan, a budget, or some other lifestyle change that we resolve to begin, it is the newness of the resolution that gives us...
“And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” –Malachi 3:1 The structure of this passage, along with the New Testament writers’ use of...
We have begun our journey through the book of Malachi and down the road to renewal. This Sunday, we will continue with the second of six messages in this series. From Malachi 1:6-14, we will consider true worship and honor for the name of the...
The Old Testament prophet Malachi shows us that we can carry out religious rituals without having our hearts renewed in love for God. When Malachi rebukes the people of God for this sin, he points to the way of spiritual renewal. This Sunday at Grace, we...
Change is constant but the foundations remain. Grace Community Church is experiencing change, and will continue to do so. It is important that we remember the foundations given to us by God so we will continue to honor him in our congregational life together. The Guiding...
A recent conversation surfaced a common issue many Christians face. My friend said he struggled for years wondering if he should “go into the ministry” as a way to best live out his devotion to Christ. The interesting thing about my friend is that he does not...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote two books in which he discussed the call of Christ both to the individual and to the congregation (The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together). He said that Christ calls the individual alone, but that individual does not remain alone. Bonhoeffer gave us a...
A strange thing has happened since Jesus first told his disciples that he would always be with them. The promise of Jesus’ presence has been separated from his command to go make disciples of all nations. The Lord is with his people always and everywhere. But,...
A strange thing has happened since Jesus first called people to follow him. Faith in Jesus for salvation and following him as Lord have become two distinct Christian experiences. It’s as if there are two different ways of approaching Jesus and we are free to...
We all want the world to be right. We want goodness and peace. We long for things to be as they should be, where people are doing what they are meant to do and the world is functioning well. This is a good longing, and we...
