Grace Bible Church Columbia, MO

It is worse than it has ever been! That may be true but it is not as bad as it could be – each generation sees it grow worse and worse. What about the early Church? Early Christians who lived under Roman rule would greet each other with the hopeful Aramaic word "Maranatha," meaning "the Lord is coming" or "come, O Lord." This encouraged others in a time of persecution and reminded the faithful tha...

Clearly, in these verses, Paul is presenting us with a choice: Do you want to be a gold or silver vessel, used for honor, or will you be a cheap clay pot, used for dishonor? While some may see this as a choice of usable and unusable – I see this more as ordinary and extraordinary.  The ordinary are not held in high regard and are often neglected and easily replaced – while the good stuff is specia...

Paul says a few things in this passage that we need to hear. The first is this: truth matters and disciples have a special role in upholding that truth. 2 Tim 2:14 – “Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.” This is Timothy’s ongoing task, week in and week out. Do it this week and do it again next week. Keep...

Faithful or Entangled? - 2 Timothy 2:1-13 Last Sunday, we were challenged to consider our calling and count the cost of walking with God and doing His will. Paul, in the opening of his second letter to Timothy, encouraged him to remain faithful to his calling. This Sunday, our message builds on what it means to be a faithful disciple, having considered our call, and counted the cost. As a Good Sol...

Grace family, What can I say in a few lines that would introduce you to a man I knew as a toddler! Drew was just 1 when I came to Grace and I had the joy of watching him grow into an excited child in VBS, a faithful serving teen in our Youth, and then on to Bible College at Cedarville to prepare for ministry as a shepherd. Drew was an intern here at Grace and was dedicated and committed to being a...

While in England D.L. Moody heard evangelist Henry Varley say, “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man who is totally yielded to Him.” Moody was captivated by these words and resolved, “By the Grace of God, I will be that man!” What a powerful text - the Apostle Paul tells Timothy of a time when he felt all alone. He shares with Timothy some of the lessons he learned while being in...

“If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; - then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worthy my acceptance.”  C.H. Spurgeon What advice would you give to someone if you knew that you were talking to them for the last time? Would you give them a verse – a quote – a life goal?  Would you ch...

The real danger in the World today for believers is not sympathy with the World but apathy in  the World.  Do you really want to know God’s will? Too many people really DON’T. Why? They have chosen to go along to get along – easy life!  But doing God’s will and doing God’s work will bring opposition and obstacles.  Ask Micaiah – a single story prophet contemporary with Elijah and Elisha.  We skipp...

“God, who foresaw your tribulations, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”  C.S.Lewis The 4 lepers were desperate!  They were caught between the enemies of Israel who would kill them without hesitation and the city under siege that would not let them in due to their contagious condition – leprosy!  The enemy soldiers were desperate to get in – the city was...

“Today's church wants to be raptured from responsibility.” Leonard Ravenhill When God calls on us to walk together – we must not assume that walking together is always easy – sometimes it is difficult or crowded or even accidents happen. Elisha asked for the ‘hard thing’ from Elijah – he got it! The ‘sons of the prophets’ are those gathered to study God’s Word with the preaching prophets – no main...

The prophet Elijah is named twenty-nine times in the New Testament while Elisha is named only once. “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27). Naaman was a Gentile and the commander of the Army of an enemy nation – the Syrians. He was an enemy officer who kidnapped little Jewish children and then became le...

In his book “The Problem of Pain” C.S. Lewis gives this great quote: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” God uses the difficult to get our attention and the impossible to gain our trust! Our needs are never unknown to the Lord. He watches and knows all! Though God is the Creator and Sustainer of all th...

"I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!" — Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand We need to seek the Lord for spiritual power in these desperate days! We don’t need to be concerned about numbers or programs. We don’t need to be concerned a...

God never calls the idle man or woman!  If they are not moving – they will likely not move even if called!  I have seen the title for this passage as ‘burn that plow and cook that cow!’ – even though it was an ox (preachers do love a rhyme).  This is the Old Testament account of God calling a successor to Elijah as Jesus called on men to become His disciples.  Later Paul counselled Timothy the sam...

Dear Grace Bible Church Family, This week, we’ll be looking at the story of Naboth’s Vineyard in 1 Kings 21. A classic story, it vividly portrays the wickedness of both King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. But in a surprising twist, it also reveals a humbled Ahab. We’ll look at each character in the story to see what we can learn about humility. At the end of the chapter, the LORD asks Elijah, “Have you s...

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”   Elijah is one of the great names in the Old Testament. He prayed that it would not rain, and it did not. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. James uses Elijah as an example of prayer in James 5:17-18. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear before Jesus,...

God sent Elijah into hiding to learn some lessons and be a blessing to the widow in Zarephath. Now God summons him to return to Ahab for a challenge – the showdown on Mt Carmel. Notice how Ahab is accusing Elijah of bringing about all of this trouble for Israel. This is typical of how some people react when things don’t work out the way they think that it should. We start to cast blame. It’s what...

“When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.” Charles Spurgeon Last week, Pastor Mike spoke regarding God’s daily provision for the widow and her son. This week we continue the same story with the same characters, where this gentile widow must rely on Elijah’s God not just for food but for the life of her son. As Baal is the god of fertility, she...

“To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust him in the dark, that is faith.” C.H. Spurgeon Elijah was a man faced with great need! But he was not the only one – he found another just as desperate – the widow of Zarephath. This is a common factor in much of the world – people have unmet needs. Some are simple and minor while others are dire and serious. There will be times in every one of o...

The two most prominent preaching prophets of the Old Testament are Elijah and Elisha. Their story is a model of courage and discipleship. Elijah answers God’s call with great boldness and faith – then calls on Elisha to follow him in the footsteps of Jehovah. I have said before that there is no success without a successor – Elijah pours into Elisha and God gives both men an extraordinary ministry!...

What we know for sure is that God is true and His Grace is real! Nothing fake or artificial - He is genuine! Warren Wiersbe wrote, "Like a child eating cotton-candy at the circus, many people who expect to bite into something real end up with a mouthful of nothing. They waste priceless years on empty substitutes for reality." No fluff in this passage - just real truth that come from real promises...

We had a special guest at Grace on Sunday- Joa Braga from Brazil!  Joa and his family have been missionaries in Brazil since 2017, serving at various counseling-related ministries.  After completing a bachelor's degree in Pastoral Studies and Biblical Counseling in 2001, Joa earned a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Studies at Calvary Theological Seminary. He also graduated from Dallas Theological S...

Special Guest speaker Joa Braga joined us on May 20th from Brazil to share with us on the theme of -"Connected: Finding Intimacy & Belonging in our Relationships". You will find this talk broken down into 4 parts for you to listen to. See the link to read more about Joa, his family, and his ministry.

Special Guest speaker Joa Braga joined us on May 20th from Brazil to share with us on the theme of -"Connected: Finding Intimacy & Belonging in our Relationships". You will find this talk broken down into 4 parts for you to listen to. See the link to read more about Joa, his family, and his ministry.

Special Guest speaker Joa Braga joined us on May 20th from Brazil to share with us on the theme of -"Connected: Finding Intimacy & Belonging in our Relationships". You will find this talk broken down into 4 parts for you to listen to. See the link to read more about Joa, his family, and his ministry.