Grace Bible Church Columbia, MO

“The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.” John 4:53   In this beautiful story presented by the apostle John, we see how a nobleman found healing not just for his ill son but also for his own heart and household. When he approached Jesus, he was a desperate man trying to save his son from death. But after hi...

What does it take for you to doubt? The experiences of others or the criticism of a friend? How about any circumstances that go against your expectations? Following the death and burial of Jesus things had gone about as bad as the could have gone – healer of sickness and the one raising the dead was now dead Himself! Had He misled them? Did they misunderstand? Was Rome right? Were the Sanhedrin ri...

“When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground” John 18:6. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Jesus' journey towards the crucifixion and resurrection. It starts with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where He was received as the king of the Jews, the Messiah who would rescue them politically and nationally. However, Jesus came to bring...

“It should come as no surprise of the God who supernaturally created the universe should choose at times to supernaturally intervene in it.” John MacArthur   John 20:30,31 “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believ...

The New Testament Gospels are filled with miracles and wonders done by Jesus in the first century – I sometimes wish I had been there!  However, we must consider the reasons for such a flurry of divine activity – God was not merely showing off!  Some might say Jesus was demonstrating His authority and abilities before men – others say Jesus was doing all this to authenticate His mission from the F...

Jesus has used several illustrations of agriculture and common everyday things to demonstrate how uncommon He is – for our understanding.  The seventh of the I AMs is just as rich – Jesus steps into the vineyard and draws some heavenly analogies – He is the Vine and we are the branches.  Sunday I will try to unpack these life lessons and emphasize how important it is to ‘abide’ in Christ. Jesus is...

“We fear men so much because we fear God so little.” William Gurnall John records the fear of the Disciples when Jesus announces in John 13 that He is ‘only with them a little while longer’ (John 13:31). As we might expect Peter asks ‘where are you going?’ – and Jesus replies with a short answer and then the longer promises of John 14 – the text for Sunday.    The conversation in chapter 14 follow...

“Don’t fear death – fear a life of no consequence!”   If only you had been here – so many storylines in John 11.  Sunday I will take a few of them focusing on Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.  Why did Jesus delay?  Why did Martha go out to meet Jesus?  Nothing was to be required of Martha or Mary – Lazarus was dead and buried.  Why is Jesus showing up now and speaking of life when they had...

“The only safe place for sheep is by the side of the shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the shepherd.” A.W. Tozer, A Man of God Jesus is truly the good shepherd. We use the word “good” in so many different ways describing food, appearance, music or even our well-being. Sometimes we speak of something or someone being good in a moral sense, but other times we speak about...

Jesus’ claim in 10:7 starts with the setting back in 10:1 about the sheepfold. We need to understand the fold if we are to have any idea what he means by the door.  From this introduction, we see that Jesus is calling out to sheep from the heart of a Shepherd.  By verse 7 He is inviting us inside for salvation and taking us out for feeding.  This sounds so much like the 23rd Psalm and will be a pa...

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12   This is the second I AM statement that Jesus makes in the Gospel of John. These statements reveal to us who He is and what He came to do. The meaning of John 8:12 is powerful and can change our life and our faith if we let it sink in and become our way of life.    Sunday I wil...

Good day, Grace Family! Sunday I begin our series on the I AMs of John – each one adding to the testimony of Jesus – as we heard last week “so that you may believe!”. I will begin with some basic background on the name I AM and then quickly into the claims of Jesus as the Bread of Life. We will wander through the annuals of Exodus recalling the name of Jehovah and the manna provided in the Wildern...

Why did John write this Gospel? And why do we need to hear it so badly? Because John needs to feed our faith and build our vision of Christ! That is the unique contribution of this Gospel. In one book, it presents Christ to us in a way that is far fuller, far richer, and far more divine than any other book, chapter, or verse in the entire New Testament.   Like the closing years of the 1st Century...

Happy New Year!    How do we focus forward? Since only God knows the future it seems right to focus on the way He is looking – grace by faith in Christ alone. Sunday I will do two things: 1) give a brief update on the state and vision of Grace in leadership. 2) share with Grace the vision of Paul as he was looking back and around and forward. We too must be doing some of that – looking back at wha...

“For man proposes, but God disposes!” Thomas a Kempis “Homo proponit, sed Deus disponit” (if you wanted it in Latin)   Reflection is what God intended though most often we call it meditation (the world reaches for medication). Reflecting is the base of these proverbs – making plans and seeking God’s will. Sunday I will just look at the first 6 verses to get us ready for the New Year and the end of...

The story of the long-time favorite Carol - O Little Town of Bethlehem - is a great reminder that the best-loved things are often also the simplest of things. Phillips Brooks spent Christmas of 1865 in Bethlehem just soaking up the atmosphere of the village. Unchanged in many ways for centuries, Brooks reflected on the history and heritage of this insignificant town that welcomed the greatest gift...

I read an article a few years back – Angels we ignore on high! They are truly sharing but are we listening? Angels are a big part of the Christmas story – first with Zechariah and the birth of John then to Mary to assure her that all that was going on is according to God’s plans. Three times to Joseph! Once to tell him to proceed with Mary as planned – then to take a trip to Egypt and then when it...

Joy to the World is by far the number one, most popular Christmas hymn of all time ( hymnary.org ). This is no shock, because the birth of baby Jesus has brought Joy to the World!   BUT… did you know Joy to the World was not originally written to be a song - it was a poem! Further, did you know Joy to the World was not even about the birth of Jesus!?? And, one of the most powerful verses of the so...

“We are surprised by God only when we did not believe!” Christmas can be a time of great joy but it is also too often a season of disappointments – we ask too much! Christmas lists are too long, patience with family is too short – engagements are too many and time is too short!  Days have more tasks and less hours and frustrations seem to be the only thing we have in surplus – where does this come...

This is the first of our 5 Carols of Christmas that have deep Biblical backgrounds from which they were written. The danger in any celebration is that we might repeat the common songs without knowing the origins or savoring the words as they were intended. This carol is maybe the oldest of all – late Latin around 800AD. The verses reflect deep roots in both Old and New Testaments – I will go to bo...

“Our disappointments become discontents only if we disbelieve!”   Sometimes there is one thing that is so distracting we don’t see the many other things from the hand of God in our life. This was the situation with Hamman, Mordecai, and Esther. Everything seemed right in the world… then all of a sudden, out of the corner of his eye, Hamman caught a glimpse of Mordechai! And unlike all the other pe...

"But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth." 2 Timothy 4:17 (ESV) ​ On Sunday, we will gather to study Paul’s final words in the Bible. The last seven verses from 2 Timothy have so much to teach us, and I believe the Holy Spirit will speak into our hearts.  We wil...

Years ago, I was taught a method of decision making that was pretty simple – what things are important and what things are urgent?  Some are both and some are neither while some are one or the other.  We find Paul going over the events of Rome from his jail cell – some things are urgent and some things are important – some are both!  Paul encourages Timothy by these several examples to continue in...

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." - 2 Timothy 4:2   Have you thought that God calls us all to preach the Word? This week, we will see in 2 Timothy 4:1-8 Paul charging Timothy to a public heralding of the gospel message. And that is a calling to each one of us. As believers, we are called to share God's message...

“The way of sin is down-hill; for such proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”  Matthew Henry How do we protect ourselves from Biblical errors and misunderstanding in the World? There seem to be so many ideas floating about – yet we can be sure there is a godly truth at the core! Sunday Pastor Kevin Browne will tackle this important defense for disciples – the Word of God! Paul b...