Grace Raleigh

Fear and anxiety are on the rise these days. However, fear and anxiety are nothing new. In the book of Philippians, Paul gives the people of Philippi some excellent advice on how to develop a mindset like Christ to use as a tool to ward off the fear they dealt with daily. 

We've all encountered some type of legalism in Christianity. In the book of Galatians, Paul addresses some legalistic views that began to spread throughout the region and reminds the churches in Galatia of their faith and how that impacts their life. 

As we dive back into our New Testament series, Twenty-Seven, you'll hear about lousy poker players, top-notch detectives, three great untruths, emotional reasoning, fickle feelings, competing realities, the power of the mind, a great migration having nothing to do with wildebeest, Monarch butterflies, or Canadian geese...all in service to Paul's overarching message to the Ephesians!

One of our faithful ministry partners, Sarah Prince, is our guest speaker today and is going to share a bit of her family's story of faith, struggle, and triumph in service to God and His kingdom in South Africa.

Most of us would probably not say at first glance that we struggle with idolizing comfort. But the reality is we are so culturally numb to this that we are far more susceptible to this idol than we realize. And the consequences are disastrous.

Self-discipline, diligence, and order are very good things. But when we allow our bent towards those things to go too far, we begin to idolize control. And when we do that, we are ultimately just getting in God's way.

To some extent, the approval of others is a fundamental need in today's society. We require approval to thrive in areas such as interviews, marriage, and friendships. However, when seeking the approval of others becomes an idol, we end up living a life we never intended and find it difficult to break free from it.

What happens when being in charge becomes our identity? Anger unravels our lives.

When we make something an idol, we put it in a place of worship. The problem is, idols cannot bear the weight of our worship.

This week we pause and appreciate the imagery of the two most important Christian traditions, baptism and communion.

God, amazingly, offers us perfect peace. What does this mean, and how might we attain it?

On this very special Mother's Day, we have the opportunity to dedicate some children to the Lord and explore what it means to be a spiritual family of faith.

We often fall into the trap of insisting that God should make sense to us. But Isaiah reminds us that we should actually be comforted by the mystery of God.

Isaiah 6 provides us with one of the most glorious experiences with God recorded in Scripture, as God calls Isaiah to serve Him as a prophet. Through Isaiah's witness and response to God's call to obey, we are encouraged to examine our own motivations for obedience.

A critical facet of Biblical prophecy are the prophecies about Jesus Himself. No book has more to say about the coming Messiah than the book of Isaiah. This week we look at the sweeping prophecies of Jesus found in Isaiah.

In the opening chapter of his book, Isaiah presents the gospel in 9 extremely powerful verses.

This week we cast a vision for Grace to walk in harmony with the unity prayer of Jesus found in John chapter 17.

In John 17 we get the gift of the High Priestly Prayer, in which Jesus prays for the church. His single petition to God on our behalf is unity. How can we pursue this unity, and what are the biggest threats to this goal?

John 13:34-35 are some of the most profound and compelling verses in all of scripture. This week we dive into this passage and all of its implications.

Last week we talked about the importance of abiding in Christ. This week we ask how we can practically do that amidst the chaos and confusion of life.

The invitation to abide is a gift of simplicity in a world of confusion and chaos.

How is it possible that Jesus going away was good news? This week we will take a closer look at a promise Jesus made to comfort His disciples.

In this opening sermon of the series, we discuss the import of the upper room discourse and the implications of the invitation of Jesus.

A very important update on the status of our building campaign, as well as a few thoughts on the spiritual discipline of giving.