GraceLife Sarasota

We’re living in a deeply divided world, where everyone feels pressured to pick a side to today’s biggest issues. Where do you stand on racism, riots, policing, the rapture, marriage, economics, taxes, healthcare? How can anyone defend this politician’s character or that politician’s stance on abortion? These debates never go away; they just get louder. Emotions are at a fever pitch. People run eac...

Have you ever had a conversation about spiritual things and run into someone who says, “Oh, I’m a very spiritual person”? But they don’t mean Jesus—they mean a kind of broad, intuitive ability to process the spiritual world on their own terms. They believe their spirituality shows up in all kinds of ways… and we’ll explore some of those later. But if you’ve ever tried to talk about faith with “ver...

Have you ever had a conversation about spiritual things and run into someone who says, “Oh, I’m a very spiritual person”? But they don’t mean Jesus—they mean a kind of broad, intuitive ability to process the spiritual world on their own terms. They believe their spirituality shows up in all kinds of ways… and we’ll explore some of those later. But if you’ve ever tried to talk about faith with “ver...

Ever been in a situation where you felt completely out of place? Like you had nothing in common with anyone around you? I love a good picnic, especially when it’s with people I know and love. Family, friends, baptisms at Lido… and of course, potato salad (with BBQ sauce), coleslaw, grilled chicken, sausages, burgers, baked beans—the whole spread. But about ten years ago, I was invited to a huge pi...

Ever been in a situation where you felt completely out of place? Like you had nothing in common with anyone around you? I love a good picnic, especially when it’s with people I know and love. Family, friends, baptisms at Lido… and of course, potato salad (with BBQ sauce), coleslaw, grilled chicken, sausages, burgers, baked beans—the whole spread. But about ten years ago, I was invited to a huge pi...

Ever have one of those dreams where you’re trying to speak—trying to scream—but nothing comes out? Or moments in real life when you wanted to say something but felt like you didn’t have a voice at all? I’ll never forget watching my grandmother recover from a stroke. The frustration on her face when she couldn’t communicate was heartbreaking. But the moment we finally understood her—when her words...

Ever have one of those dreams where you’re trying to speak—trying to scream—but nothing comes out? Or moments in real life when you wanted to say something but felt like you didn’t have a voice at all? I’ll never forget watching my grandmother recover from a stroke. The frustration on her face when she couldn’t communicate was heartbreaking. But the moment we finally understood her—when her words...

Can you think of a time in your life when you took an action or said words that turned out to be really wise? So full of wisdom you kind of shocked even yourself a little? What about a spiritual moment? A moment of eternal clarity where your words inspired someone in a pit of despair. What was it? Was it a political debate? A work, investment, or business decision? Maybe it was a relationship you...

Can you think of a time in your life when you took an action or said words that turned out to be really wise? So full of wisdom you kind of shocked even yourself a little? What about a spiritual moment? A moment of eternal clarity where your words inspired someone in a pit of despair. What was it? Was it a political debate? A work, investment, or business decision? Maybe it was a relationship you...

How many of you have a past connection to Catholicism? I remember when I was a young boy in Catholic school, just coming to grips with how often I would sin. The nuns were good at pointing out what a sin was, and the more I learned, the more I realized I had a big problem. Of course, being good nuns, they also taught me how to deal with those sins so I could be cleansed. Hail Mary's, the rosary, c...

How many of you have a past connection to Catholicism? I remember when I was a young boy in Catholic school, just coming to grips with how often I would sin. The nuns were good at pointing out what a sin was, and the more I learned, the more I realized I had a big problem. Of course, being good nuns, they also taught me how to deal with those sins so I could be cleansed. Hail Mary's, the rosary, c...

Ever since the pandemic became big news, hygiene has garnered more attention than ever. Don’t touch that box, don’t open that door, don’t shake hands! Everyone is an expert on hand washing… Use anti-bacterial soap, air dry is best. For those with OCD, it’s nothing new. I was way ahead of this for decades, with bottles of Purell in my truck, office, bag. There are things we used to do that we thoug...

Ever since the pandemic became big news, hygiene has garnered more attention than ever. Don’t touch that box, don’t open that door, don’t shake hands! Everyone is an expert on hand washing… Use anti-bacterial soap, air dry is best. For those with OCD, it’s nothing new. I was way ahead of this for decades, with bottles of Purell in my truck, office, bag. There are things we used to do that we thoug...

How many of you hate rollercoaster? How many of you love rollercoasters? The people that love them, what would you say to those who hate it that would make them love it? Put your hands up, don’t hold onto the bar, quit screaming! Don’t fight it! Just go with it! I hate them, I get anxiety just getting in the line, realizing, soon I will not be in control. On the ride, my body naturally, involuntar...

How many of you hate rollercoaster? How many of you love rollercoasters? The people that love them, what would you say to those who hate it that would make them love it? Put your hands up, don’t hold onto the bar, quit screaming! Don’t fight it! Just go with it! I hate them, I get anxiety just getting in the line, realizing, soon I will not be in control. On the ride, my body naturally, involuntar...

I remember one of the most frightening experiences of my life as a little boy just joining cub scouts. I was 7 years old and had been a part of the troop for a couple months and we went on our first camping trip. There were 5 cubbies and 2 troop leaders, deep in the woods, far from city lights. They were so excited to take me on a mission I had never been on before, and I started to get excited as...

I remember one of the most frightening experiences of my life as a little boy just joining cub scouts. I was 7 years old and had been a part of the troop for a couple months and we went on our first camping trip. There were 5 cubbies and 2 troop leaders, deep in the woods, far from city lights. They were so excited to take me on a mission I had never been on before, and I started to get excited as...

Today’s passage is one of the more well-known stories about Jesus feeding a mass of hungry people. Of course, there are many places in scripture where the church is commanded to feed the hungry. It’s all through the New Testament. As I wrote this week, my first thoughts went to how God uses our little church in the area of mercy & community care. Our mercy team and its humble leaders do amazing, c...

Today’s passage is one of the more well-known stories about Jesus feeding a mass of hungry people. Of course, there are many places in scripture where the church is commanded to feed the hungry. It’s all through the New Testament. As I wrote this week, my first thoughts went to how God uses our little church in the area of mercy & community care. Our mercy team and its humble leaders do amazing, c...

Easter is an annual reminder of the good news of how Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. It certainly is good news of course, our savior has died for our sins, then conquered death so we might have life! Have you ever thought about the other side of a resurrection That as good as it is, there are winners and losers? In some of the greatest movies or stories, the climactic point is when...

Easter is an annual reminder of the good news of how Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. It certainly is good news of course, our savior has died for our sins, then conquered death so we might have life! Have you ever thought about the other side of a resurrection That as good as it is, there are winners and losers? In some of the greatest movies or stories, the climactic point is when...

The good thing about crisis is how it transforms ordinary, giving us the opportunity for something extraordinary and new. Would you agree with me that life as we know it will never fully return to what it was a couple months ago? Didn’t most of us have predictable, ordinary lives with weekly structures to manage tasks & expectations? Would you agree we were more comfortable than we realized with o...

The good thing about crisis is how it transforms ordinary, giving us the opportunity for something extraordinary and new. Would you agree with me that life as we know it will never fully return to what it was a couple months ago? Didn’t most of us have predictable, ordinary lives with weekly structures to manage tasks & expectations? Would you agree we were more comfortable than we realized with o...

We have some special guests watching live from Incirlik Amy Base in Turkey, My cousin Ty Coufal & 39th Medical group. Thank you for your service, we’re truly humbled to have you watching. We hope to be a blessing to you today. Current events have revealed to many of us a world we knew existed but didn’t pay much attention to until recently. Over the last month most of us have learned more about mi...

We have some special guests watching live from Incirlik Amy Base in Turkey, My cousin Ty Coufal & 39th Medical group. Thank you for your service, we’re truly humbled to have you watching. We hope to be a blessing to you today. Current events have revealed to many of us a world we knew existed but didn’t pay much attention to until recently. Over the last month most of us have learned more about mi...