Grace Sagola Church

Jesus is coming again!  This statement of fact will soon be proven undisputed, but what to do until then?  For the Christian, we look forward to the return of our King, but for those who reject Jesus, that day will bring about a cold reality of a failure to receive what has been offered. 

Christmas has been coopted and morphed by the world into a facade of manufactured "cheer" but never contentment. We have "more" than ever, but never enough. Jesus offers the seeker something that money cannot buy - "peace".

God's love is radical and ridiculous when viewed against the backdrop of human devotion.  The incredible message of the gospel displays a kind of love that give redefinition to what love actually is.

True joy is undeniable, it affects us and become infectious. However, the source of true joy isn't found haphazardly or indiscriminately. Rather, it is offered exclusively in the gospel. To discover the source of true joy, we must look to the gracious gift of God that He gave to His creatures which found only in the completed work of Jesus Christ. The perspective, if recognized properly, will fore...

It so easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the Christmas season, and Christians today are feeling the pressure of "political correctness" and marginalization of Christian values more and more.  Should we capitulate and admit defeat?  Or is there a virtue in embracing a suffering for the Lord?  

"Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars..."

"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do..."

"Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience..."

Idolatry can take many form, but the most dangerous is when it is unseen. The church in Laodicea has become spiritually blind because they've focused on cultural values rather than on Christ. They've replaced a dependency on the gospel for a self-sufficiency that has left Jesus outside of the church, and has jeopardized them towards an allotment of judgment with the world.

Without Christ, our world will try to substitute security in any and every way: security in our health, security in our retirement savings or "social-security", or security in what our own 2 hands can accomplish.

One of the easiest things to do in our walk with the Lord is get into a rut: a pattern of living and worshipping that feels routine and too familiar and too comfortable. The danger is, like any rut, we get stuck.

It is a dangerous thing for a church to set its sights for success on programs or events and not on the character of teaching that is embraced by the body. You can have the best ministries and a growing congregation, but if you sacrifice purity in the doctrines of the church you will have pollution in the lives of the people.

The task of the church to evaluate and confront the errors of ungodly behaviors and teachings is not a popular challenge today. Where sexual immorality has become accepted in our world, the church must be careful that it does not fail in discerning the difference between godly and ungodly actions. If we do fail to deal with it, God will deal with us for it.

For many of its first years, the church underwent significant persecution.  There were threats from within and from without.  It was when the government imposed emperor worship that the title of "Christian" was a heavy name to bear.  But Jesus gives the promise of hope to the believers in Smyrna, as one who has triumphed over the grave.

The book of Revelation contains 7 letters to 7 churches with a common thread inviting the reader to pay attention to what the Spirit has written. The first letter to the church in Ephesus highlights the high degree of discernment practiced by the believers in Ephesus, but Jesus also reveals the callousness of their hearts to have fallen from a life of love. We will seek to show that the solution i...

There are subtleties in our world that can seem benign but hold differences that can be drastic, especially when the topic at hand is a foundational topic.  The subject of the Trinity is one that has left many scratching their heads, but that the church has sought to clarify in the face of false teachings.  Many times it is much easier to say what something "is not" rather than what it actually "i...

When false teachings show up in church history, we sometimes forget that those same heresies are alive and well today, lived out under a different name.  For the early church, there was never a question of Jesus' divinity, only a firm confidence that it must be accurately articulated when faced with false teaching. 

In the creeds the church has preserved the truth of the gospel and identity of Jesus in the face of false teachers and false teaching.  While many churches have incorporated the creeds into their worship services, there are still many who remain confused as to the creed's source, occasion, and purpose. 

There is a plan behind Jesus' prayer.  It is nothing short than the purpose behind our salvation.  For many in our world today, becoming a Christian is a private and individualistic decision that never requires expression in the world. But Jesus has different plans for us. 

The Lord's prayer is often mis-titled as the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray from Luke 11.  However, Jesus' personal prayer is found in John 17, and it contains a treasure of spiritual truths; none more greater than the identification of the source of eternal life. 

The true follower of Jesus has a grounding in joy that the world rejects.  As Jesus is leaving His disciples He brings them a message of hope to aid them through the upcoming moments and days.  The crucifixion will be a devastating blow to their hopes, but Jesus' promise to see them again is coupled with the great hope that their joy will never be taken away.

The Holy Spirit is given to Jesus' disciples to continue the same work that Jesus started in their lives while He was with them.  The Spirit's influence in our lives will help to identify what true discipleship looks like. 

The fear that prevents evangelism is a virus throughout American Christians. I believe much of it stems from an under-emphasized and often overlooked truth of discipleship: true disciples will be persecuted. 

What a danger it is in our world to be deceived into religion.  Praying a prayer doesn't save you, getting baptized doesn't save you, paying a tithe doesn't save you. 

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?  As Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples for the cross and then ultimately through the resurrection and ascension, he leaves them with the great task of obedience to the Father's will... but he does not leave them to this task by their own strength.