Grace Church Indiana Sermons

As we continue in the passage, Jesus begins to get practical about what this others-focused love looks like by turning the mirror back towards ourselves. If we want to love our enemies with non-judgmental compassion like the Father, we must first recognize our own shortcomings and brokenness and how deeply we have been transformed by his grace. The humility that comes from an acknowledgment of our...

In the next few verses of this passage, we discover the core motivation for loving our enemies: the compassion of God. It is his kindness, grace, and compassion towards us which has set us free from the sinful patterns of our old life. If we have been so graciously loved despite our sin, it makes perfect sense for us to begin offering that same compassion to others. We are children of the one who...

The theologian Dallas Willard has been quoted as saying that loving one’s enemies is the true test of Christlike character. It seems that Jesus would agree. As we continue into the next verses of this radical passage, we see that the inverse of Jesus’s teaching – loving only those who love us, doing good only to those who do good to us in return, etc. – makes us no different from the rest of the w...

In his ministry on earth, Jesus presented a radical vision of an “upside-down” kingdom taking root in human society: a community in which the last were first, in which the poor were blessed, and in which true leaders were servants of all. Yet of all his teachings, one stands out as probably the most shocking and seemingly impossible: that we should love our enemies and do good to those who hate us...

In the final week of our series, we are going to turn our attention to a demographic quite often overlooked when speaking of families in our suburban context: those who are single or single again. In a culture focused heavily on dating and one in which weddings are a $70 billion industry, it can feel extraordinarily isolating if you are not in a romantic relationship. In his letter to the church i...

With God’s provocative call to the husbands in our minds, we now consider what the Spirit may want the wives within our spiritual family to hear. To that end, we turn to Colossians 3, in which the Apostle Paul speaks directly to the families of the church in Colossae. Yet again, Paul is speaking into a highly patriarchal culture, but his encouragement goes far beyond the customs of the day: inviti...

Continuing with the theme of generational respect (or lack thereof), we turn to the children of Grace Church. Raised in a culture that idolizes youth and disrespects the elderly, “kids these days” – even well-meaning Christ-following ones – have a lot of bad habits and worldviews to unlearn. If the younger generations of Grace want to experience the best that life has to offer, they must learn how...

Every generation in human history has had its own version of elders bemoaning “kids these days” and discounting their passion and new ideas as nothing more than youthful exuberance. Never before, however, has such a deep and profound level of disrespect for older generations become so accepted among the young. Into this context we seek the wisdom of God about how the older generations of Grace can...

It is a very difficult time to be a parent. From the deeply powerful technologies monopolizing our kids’ attention to the vile and horrific content they are being exposed to at earlier and earlier ages to the growing isolation brought on by the breakdown of healthy community, the role of a parent has never been harder. Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard a parent works, they are always fall...

For much of human history, marriages were guided by strict cultural norms rooted in patriarchal expectations of gender roles. Common beliefs, such as the inherent inferiority of women, led to deep inequalities (and often abuse) within marriages. Thus, when the Apostle Paul suggested in Ephesians 5 that husbands should practice self-sacrificing love for their wives, it was a shocking and provocativ...

The final disciple of Jesus we will explore is one who may have never met him in person: Saul, later known as the Apostle Paul. Beginning his journey as a hater and persecutor of Christ-followers, Paul would go on to be a leading voice in the Church bringing the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles and establishing Churches across the Roman world. What could have changed such a zealous Pharisee into an...

After the crucifixion of Jesus, many of Jesus’ disciples were plunged into despair. However, upon his resurrection, Christ began to meet with these beleaguered followers to help them understand what had actually transpired. He appeared to two of these disciples on the road to Emmaus, explaining to them how his death and resurrection fulfilled what had been written in the Old Testament. In this mes...

Of all the disciples of Jesus, Mary Magdalene had one of the most troubled pasts. The gospels of Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her when he called her to follow him. It is little wonder she become one of the most devoted of his disciples. Upon the death of Jesus, it is Mary Magdalene, weeping at the tomb, who first encounters the risen Lord. It is Mary who is first s...

A week before his crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare, riding on a donkey just as the prophet Zechariah had predicted (Zechariah 9:9). Was it possible that the coming of this Messiah was exactly what everyone had been waiting for? Was Jesus going to lead Israel to military victory over the Roman occupiers? These questions must have been ringing in the disciples’ ears as they wrest...

In the days leading up to his crucifixion, Jesus accomplishes one of his most spectacular miracles: the raising of his friend Lazarus from the dead. Although we often talk about the moment of the miracle itself, in this message we will focus on the words and reactions of Jesus’ disciples throughout the experience. What they see and say gives us fresh insight into the person of Christ and what it m...

Although it was clear to Jesus that his path would lead him to a lonely cross in Jerusalem, his disciples struggled to understand. Peter, the “rock upon which the Church of Christ would be built,” struggled most of all. In a rather shocking moment with Jesus, Peter rebukes him for saying that his destiny lay in crucifixion. Peter is rebuked by Jesus in return, whose famous words, “Get behind me, S...

Long before the “Great Commission,” Jesus sends out his disciples to participate in his kingdom mission. His call to them and instructions for what to expect when they go is a fascinating glimpse into what it means to be his messengers of hope and healing in this broken world. Not only is being Christ’s agent a step of tremendous trust and faith; it is also an opportunity to see, as the disciples...

Although lauded in much of the Church for her character, wisdom, and holiness, Mary is not as often recognized for the tremendous burden she carried in being the mother of Jesus. Faced with confounding experiences of a son whose relationship with God went beyond her comprehension and bearing the grief of knowing her little boy was destined to suffer, Mary’s experience of the person of Jesus was wh...

Although not often thought of as a “disciple” of Jesus, John the Baptist was one of the first to confess his faith that Jesus was the Messiah. In this message we will explore the unique vantage point John had as “the prophet” who would “prepare the way for the Lord.” Specifically, we will explore his deathbed request to have confirmation that his faith in Jesus was not misplaced. Jesus’ response t...

When Jesus first calls his disciples, his invitation to each of them is unique. He calls Simon “The Rock” (Peter), inviting this uneducated fisherman to a life of greater purpose than he could have ever imagined. He shares intimate knowledge of the private life of Nathaniel, who had expressed doubt that anything good could ever come from Nazareth. And he calls Matthew, a hated tax-collector, demon...

Despite the fact that we are more “connected” than ever, we are facing chronic loneliness and isolation like never before. Perhaps this is because the “community” we have online is not real community! We are seeing one another’s curated, sanitized selves. Even those who are “authentic” online are more often than not curating and crafting even that so-called authenticity. If we want to experience h...

So much of our reputation and self-image comes from other people’s affirmation (or lack thereof) on our social media profiles. We crave likes, retweets, attention, etc. The pursuit of it all leads us to present an untrue image of ourselves online, and to lose sight of who we really are. As Christ-followers, we will only find health by making our core identity who we are in Christ, not who we are i...

If we want to stay in Christ while moving into our technology-saturated world, we must become far more cognizant of who or what is dictating the use of our time. So many games, apps, social media sites, etc. are geared around keeping you coming back as frequently as possible. The best way to break their hold over us is to have routine “sabbaths” in which we create sacred time to be free from the d...

Garbage in, garbage out. As much as we might convince ourselves that the stuff we pour into our consciousness daily is harmless, it shapes us in ways we may not even recognize. By exposing ourselves to ceaseless immorality, sexuality, violence, rage, and hatred through the things we watch/read/listen to online, we are losing our moral foundations and living lives which do not reflect Christ’s infl...

Technology and social media are powerful tools which make our lives so much better in so many ways but come with a significant dark side. Left unchecked, they can draw us into addiction, feed our insecurities, and foster the brokenness of our world. However, despite their danger, withdrawing from technology and social media is not an option. They are a part of our world whether we like them or not...