Grace Baptist Church - Wilmington, NC

The sermon draws a powerful contrast between the self-determined ending of Nobel laureate psychologist David Kahneman, who chose assisted suicide at age 90 despite good health, and the divine sovereignty over life and death demonstrated in John 11's account of Lazarus's resurrection. Centered on Jesus' declaration, 'I am the resurrection and the life,' the message affirms that life belongs to God,...

This sermon centers on the profound truth that Jesus Christ is the only trustworthy source of salvation and daily guidance, revealed through His 'I Am' statements in John 10 as the door and the good shepherd. Drawing from rich Old Testament imagery of shepherds and sheep, the message contrasts Jesus' authentic, sacrificial love with the self-serving hypocrisy of religious leaders who failed to car...

The sermon confronts the danger of fickle faith—superficial belief that is conditional and easily abandoned—using Jesus' encounter with the Jews in John 8 as a powerful illustration. It highlights how outward profession of faith, rooted in ethnic pride or convenience, can mask a deeper spiritual slavery to sin and the devil, as seen in the Jews' rejection of Jesus despite their claim to be childre...

Jesus declares Himself the light of the world during the Feast of Tabernacles, a festival rich in symbolism of divine guidance and anticipation of the Messiah, thereby positioning Himself as the fulfillment of Israel's hopes and the ultimate source of spiritual illumination. Through this claim, He contrasts the temporary, human-made light of the feast with His eternal, divine nature, asserting tha...

The sermon centers on the profound theological significance of Jesus' 'I am' statements in the Gospel of John, beginning with the declaration 'I am the bread of life' in John 6. It contrasts superficial knowledge of Jesus—such as cultural familiarity or miraculous experiences—with genuine, transformative acquaintance with His identity. Through the narrative of the feeding of the 5,000 and the crow...

When human corroboration is fueled by sinful desires and motives, very dangerous results happen. In this sermon we look at this text in two sections, the unified effort and the problem. This was a prideful pursuit of sinful ambition to define God on their terms.

Genesis 10, often overlooked, reveals God's sovereign design in the post-flood dispersion of humanity through the descendants of Noah's three sons—Japheth, Ham, and Shem—demonstrating that all people share a common ancestry and are united as one race created in God's image, despite ethnic, linguistic, and geographic diversity. Far from being mere genealogical filler, this chapter establishes the h...

This sermon centers on the often-misunderstood account of Noah's drunkenness and the subsequent curse on Canaan, using it to highlight two enduring biblical principles: the dangers of drunkenness and the profound importance of honoring parents. While the text acknowledges that wine was culturally and biblically recognized as a blessing, it emphatically condemns drunkenness as a moral failure that...

How are you at working with people? One of the interesting dynamics of our age is the church. It is incredible to see so many people from different backgrounds come together to minister. So what is your role in the ministry of the church? Have you invested personally in the institution that God has chosen to help spread the Gospel?

As Noah steps out of the ark questions about what is out there, what is left, , questions of what's next seem to linger. By God's grace the flood didn't eliminate all the hope from the world. God had a plan and instructions for Noah as he started fresh.

What does it mean to remember? In the Ark account remember means that God is acting on a promise that he had made with man. As we read through this account we learn about God and we learn about ourselves. The Ark account teaches us that God always remembers.

The sermon centers on the story of Job as a profound exploration of faith amid inexplicable suffering, emphasizing that true faith is not rooted in transactional blessings but in trust in God's infinite character. Through Job's trials—loss of wealth, family, and health—the preacher highlights how human understanding is limited, and how even well-intentioned friends misrepresent God by reducing His...

A special Christmas Eve message from Pastor Jay.

Why is it our culture is so desperate to disprove that there is a God. It is simply that they do not want to obey God and live by God's created order. This sermon uses the symbolism of Christmas lights as a powerful metaphor for Jesus as the light of the world, drawing from Isaiah 9 to reveal that humanity's deepest need is not merely festive cheer but spiritual deliverance from darkness. The pass...

If you could only choose one Christmas decoration what would it be? One that stands out in particular is the lights. The lights are not merely not meant to illuminate a tree they are meant to teach us that Jesus is the light of the world.

The account of Christmas is filled with layers of people and each one teaches us something. Even the most mysterious group we find in the account might be the group we call the Magi teaches us something immensely important.

Guest speaker Steve Pettit shares God's word with us. The sermon, drawn from James 1:1–5, presents a transformative perspective on trials as divinely orchestrated experiences designed to refine faith, cultivate steadfastness, and produce spiritual maturity. It emphasizes that trials are not random or merely burdensome but are diverse, inevitable, and uniquely tailored by God to expose and purify b...

With the 2024 election just a few days away we pause to remind ourselves of 5 important truths from God's word about how Christians are to respond to the culture around us.

Genealogies are an often overlooked part of the Bible, and yet they still there for a purpose. As we look at the genealogy of Enoch we are invited to pull back the curtain and see how God uses specific people at specific times for his specific purposes.

Is religion really bad for society? Genesis Chapter 4 shows us what a society looks like a part from God.

We are all worshipers, we are created to worship something, so the question is what are we going to worship? In this sermon Pastor Jay walks us through the familiar account of the first murder. A sin that came as result of wrong worship.

As we come to Genesis chapter 4 we are get a glimpse of parenthood for the first time. We can picture Adam and Eve holding their child for the first time with no Idea how it worked, the joy and the magnificence of it, but because we know how that first baby turned out we can often over look the importance of this moment in human history.

Because of the sin in the garden our world is left in a state of brokenness. The consequences were both immediate and perpetual. In this sermon Pastor Jay looks at 3 of those perpetual consequences.