In our 21 Day journey in prayer, we looked at several important principles—essential for experiencing the life God intends for you. In the prayer of Nehemiah, we discovered the critical principle of repentance —turning from our sin and trusting in God alone. Last week we identified three essential principles…

Intro Growing up, how many of you heard the warning, “Don’t talk to strangers!”? Some have argued that this is bad advice if a child is lost or injured. They have said that such advice should be qualified with, “If you get lost or are injured, find a mommy to help you.” That’s good advice too, but I…

Can we live in grace upon grace? This is my New Year resolution. As Christians, we all are the recipients of grace, but can we be the extenders of grace? I know it's not easy, but there are five things we can do to grow our ability to give grace. Let's take a look ...

What kind of God do we serve? Just what is God like? According to Nehemiah God is forgiving, compassionate, and gracious. All traits that are true of Jesus Christ. But also traits of His disciples in increasing measure each day.

Relationships can be extremely difficult especially when you are treated poorly and unfairly. Some people go from one bad relationship to another trying to find that one relationship that will be perfect. Perfect relationships don't exist, so when the struggles continue, we are often left with bitterness; never wanting to have meaningful relationships again. So instead of getting bitter and angry, we need to apply the salve of grace and allow God to work in and through us.

After summarizing Israel’s sin and God’s grace in v. 16-17; he recounts the story of God’s patience and mercy. He describes three examples in Israel’s history that demonstrates how in mercy God did not forsake Israel. It is meant to be a praise to God and a reminder to the people.

Grace is the key to open the Bible. We must stop asking what is lawful according to Jesus and what is unlawful. Instead, we must ask what is gracious and what is not gracious. We are saved by grace alone. We must live by grace alone. As recipients of grace, let us grace it forward.

For God loves a cheerful giver

Introduction: 1. Unity (Is one) (a) Deut.6:4-16 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. "You shall teach them diligently…

When life gets hard and our expectations of God go unmet, we can begin to lose confidence in the reliability and justice of God. This was true in Malachi’s day and our text delivers a clear answer to the skepticism of his audience. His answer ought to buttress our hope as well. In the heart of our text is the principle upon which we ground our hope that God will keep every promise he has made—“I the LORD do not change” (3:6).

I have to be honest I did not know that crashing a wedding was a real thing until I saw the 2005 film “Wedding Crashers”. In this movie two divorce attorneys find weddings from the announcements section of the newspaper and then show up and pretend they know who the people are in order to achieve two…

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before me on the mountaintop. 3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one should…

Introduction Illustration: The Day General Andrew Jackson came to church In his excellent biography of Andrew Jackson, Marquis James tells of a Sunday morning in 1818 when the General traveled from his home, the Hermitage, into downtown Nashville to attend a Methodist conference. The famous circuit-riding…

Jonah is not a kid’s story- rescuing it from Veggie Tales 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord .…

Job is restored to service through the graciousness of God

Identifying our addiction to power and replacing that addiction with God's graciousness and humility.

Through His magnificent gifts God equips us to seve Him gladly, boldy, and confidently.

Once when famous preacher D. L. Moody was in New York, he was done a major favor by R. K. Remington. As he was leaving on the train, he took Remington's hand and said, "If you ever come to Chicago, call on me; I will try to return your kindness." Mr. Remington replied, "Don't wait for me; do it to the…

May 30, 2010 Trinity Sunday What is our God Like? Introduction It has been said that what you know about a person usually affects the way that you feel about a person, and in most cases that seems to be true. Take, for example, Abraham Lincoln. He was the 16th president of the United States. He was the…

Introduction Please turn with me in your Bible to the letter to the Hebrews chapter 12. While we’ll be focusing on verses 24-25, let’s read verses 18-29 to remind ourselves of the context. Let’s now turn to and read verses 1-16. Illustration | Susan: In C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle he writes Susan’s…

A church united in Christ to share God's grace and show God's glory.

Part 1 of a three part message on Colossians 3:12-17. This part of the message focuses on verses 12-13a. At the end we sing "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" by Peter Scholtes (© 1966 by F.E.L. Publications ; CCLI Song#: 26997 - used by permission - CCLI streaming license: 20654530) (Arr. & Bridge.: Rich DeRuiter)

10 For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable.” 1 Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. Gentleness:…

Part 3 of a three part message on Colossians 3:12-17. This part of the message focuses on verses 15-17. At the end we sing "Jesus, All for Jesus" by Robin Mark, Jennifer Atkinson (© 1991 Authentic Publishing (Maranatha!); CCLI#: 879168 - used by permission - CCLI streaming license: 20654530)

Part 2 of a three part message on Colossians 3:12-17. This part of the message focuses on verses 13b-14. At the end we sing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" by Ludwig van Beethoven and Henry J. van Dyke (in the public domain).