Grace City Portland

Discipleship looks like being filled by the Holy Spirit continually..

Discipleship looks like a lifelong journey of becoming a student of the Bible.

Discipleship looks like making radical sacrifices for the sake of being on mission in a very messy world that God SO loves.

How do we suffer well? The journey of discipleship looks like enduring many tribulations as we enter into the coming kingdom of God.

So Saul stepped out of the limelight, and... the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the church was multiplying! (v.31) WHAT DOES THAT TELL US ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP??? What does that tell us about what it takes to follow Christ? To grow in our faith? To mature in our lives, our...

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and in Portland, and to the end of the earth. [...] So don’t just stand there gazing up into heaven. There’s a whole world out there that’s looking for hope and healing and a chance to start over, so let’s go! Go and tell your friends and family and co-workers and...

This is the beginning our Fall sermon series: TALES OF DISCIPLESHIP The purpose of the series: to help us get a clearer picture of what it might look like to go and make disciples in our lives – our respective relational spheres - by looking at the everyday, normal examples of discipleship that have been given to us throughout the book of Acts. Our hope is to inspire faith and action, as well as d...

JESUS SATISFIES.  He invites us to live lives that are full of rich, lasting, increasing contentment; lives that are abundant and overflowing with peace and joy and goodness and everything that would cause us to exclaim, I have more than enough! My life’s not problem-free.  It’s not always easy. It’s certainly not effortless. But my life is marked by long, lasting, rich seasons of deep satisfactio...

Pastor Casey Olsen, from Grace City Eugene, talks about the preeminence of Jesus, and the freedom that comes from a life centered around God.

It’s virtually the same story that gets told over and over again. It’s the narrative arc of the Bible. And it’s the story that was ultimately realized in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus -     the man who is God with us.  It’s the story of the priestly king, the Creator himself, who interceded for his own people… Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them! They don’t know what they’re doing! And...

Have you ever heard of the ‘upside-down kingdom’? Jesus would often describe to his disciples what the kingdom of heaven was like, what it would look like to live as citizens of that kingdom, and how they should always remain fully awake and alert, in eager anticipation of the king’s return.  This is the part of the story that foreshadows that… The return of the king, and his upside-down kingdom,...

In the wake of his sin, instead of David suffering the lawful penalty of judgement, the innocent son died for him. And… Another child was born - the boy named Peace and Beloved of God; the child through whom God’s great story of forgiveness and redemption would continue to be told.  And yes, the ramifications of David’s choices would still be felt for at least three or four generations. But those...

If God’s not served by human hands, then what are we doing when we serve God? God commands us to serve Him, but not because He needs our service. God doesn’t need you to serve Him. God doesn’t need you. But He does desire you. Because God loves you. And because it’s His nature to enjoy loving union with people – the way He’s always enjoyed loving union with the Son and the Spirit in Holy Trinity....

Have you ever been on a long journey in life, when one day you wake up and can’t quite remember why you started in the first place? SOUL DRIFT: When the truth of the gospel and your actual lived-out experience begin drift apart. Jesus will often interrupt a moment to address the soul drift that happens in our lives.

THIS IS A PORTRAIT OF A MAN WHO HAS NOTHING TO PROVE, NO FEAR OF REJECTION, NO FAÇADE TO UPHOLD, NO REPUTATION TO PROTECT, NO EGO TO SHIELD David is simply free – free from the opinion of others and bound by his great love for the God who has been so good, mighty and faithful towards him his entire life so far. And... The context of David's mighty worship is the 'fear of the Lord.' What does uninh...

I believe, in many ways, we as a society have forgotten how to grieve well.  Obviously, we are all very aware of the reality of pain and regret and disappointment. I think it’s fair to assume that everyone is familiar with feelings of loss and sorrow. But I think it’s also fair to say that many of us are lacking the ability and awareness to process these emotions in a way that’s actually healthy a...

The life of David – the man after God’s own heart – is the tale of the merciful king. And the tale of the merciful king is the story of God. It seems like no matter how you break it down, the life of David simply keeps leading us back to Jesus – the King without a crown, the Lamb of God, the Lord of the cross. ---------------- HOW CAN WE PRACTICE LIVING AS AMBASSADORS OF THE MERCIFUL KING? AS REPR...

Young King David... Leader of the misfits, captain of the rejects, commander of the distressed! This is origin story of David’s ‘mighty men.’ He didn’t recruit the elite, or the influential. Instead, he attracted the rejects and the rabble, the distressed and heavy laden, the bitter in soul. David drew the ones who the empire spat out...  The ones who were fed up doing it Saul’s way... Always stri...

Six chapters in, and this has become David’s life... On the run from his own people, being hunted down by his own leader and mentor, psycho king, Saul. Have you ever been there? When you begin to respond to God’s leading in your life, and it feels like all hell breaks loose! This is a poignant reminder of an important principle that appears frequently throughout Scripture... ANYTIME YOU MAKE A DEC...

In the kingdoms of this world, there’s always a struggle for a place at the table. If I give up my place in line, me and my tribe may be left out indefinitely. But life in God’s kingdom is virtually the opposite! When I give up my rights in obedience to (and love for) King Jesus,  what may initially feel like losing my life actually becomes the beginning of gaining true life - truly living in free...