Grace Church San Diego

Hello Grace Church. Praise the Lord it feels like June Gloom is over and we’re getting some sunshine to usher in the summer. Our weather is amazing, so I shouldn’t be discouraged, but all those overcast days had me bummed out. We’ve been following the story of Daniel as it covers 68 years in exile. This week we’re coming to the end of the book, the end of the series, and the end of the exile. I’ve...

Hello Grace Church. Praise the Lord it feels like June Gloom is over and we’re getting some sunshine to usher in the summer. Our weather is amazing, so I shouldn’t be discouraged, but all those overcast days had me bummed out.  We’ve been following the story of Daniel as it covers 68 years in exile. This week we’re coming to the end of the book, the end of the series, and the end of the exile. I’v...

Hello Grace Church, Happy Fathers Day last Sunday! For the last 7 weeks we’ve been following the story of Daniel and his friends refusing to assimilate to Babylon. We’ve seen them interpret dreams, face the fiery furnace, sleep in the lions den, and defy 4 different kings. But in chapter 7, the language changes. The text goes from Aramaic to Hebrew and the literature changes from narrative to Apoc...

Hello Grace Church. Congrats to any of you who ran the marathon last week. Hopefully you’re recovering well. We are back in the book of Daniel this week covering the most famous part of the story: The Lions Den. You may have first heard this story as a kid but I hope we can feel it in the broader context. The book of Daniel is showing us a pattern on purpose. For the second time now, God is showin...

Hello Grace Church. Can you believe we're in June?! I look forward to starting the month strong as we continue in the book of Daniel. This week (and next) we have a new king but sadly, the same issues endure. King Nebuchadnezzar has been gone for 20 years, his grandson is in charge, and nothing has changed. Pride and self reliance still reign in Babylon and God has had enough. In one night God...

Hi Grace! This Sunday was very special as we welcomed home the Jacobs family, our long-term missionaries serving with Hope of Life in Guatemala. They will be visiting to share with us how God has been moving in their lives and the lives they are serving in Guatemala. We will be looking at Luke 15 and the parable of the lost sheep in order to see what it means to value all lives with dignity and wo...

Hi Grace Church! Last week in Daniel 3, we saw three young men stand firm in the fire and come out untouched—because God met them there. This Sunday, the fire isn’t literal—it’s personal. In Daniel 4, the most powerful man in the world is brought to his knees—not by an army, but by his own pride. Nebuchadnezzar had everything: success, influence, power… and yet he lost it all in a moment. Why? Bec...

Hi Grace! This Sunday we continue in the book of Daniel, taking on one of (in my opinion) the top 5 stories in all the Old Testament. At this point, Judah has been in exile for a 15-20 years. It looks like Babylon is succeeding in assimilating people to their worldview. By way of celebration the King builds a massive statue to celebrate and force everyone to worship. The stage is set for a first c...

Hello Grace Church. Welcome to the month of May!  We’re moving into Daniel Chapter 2 this week where Daniel and his friends are faced with another life threatening situation. The king has a nightmare and is going to execute everyone who can’t tell him what the dream is and what it means. This story gives us further insight on how to live as exiles in Babylon. Daniel seeks the Lord and God gives hi...

Hi Grace Church! Last Sunday was an amazing day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and baptizing over 40 people! God is so good to us! This week we're starting a new series and beginning the story of Daniel - a young man taken from his home, planted in a culture that didn't know God, and yet remained unshakably faithful. Like Daniel, we are living in a kind of a "Babylon&q...

Hi church! We conclude the I AM series on Easter looking at John 8 where Jesus tells the Pharisee’s before Abraham was, I AM. This statement comes after nearly 50 verses of debating with the religious leaders. Jesus has made many claims throughout the Gospel of John but none compare to this one. There’s no hiding the fact that in this claim, Jesus is claiming to be God. The glory of Easter is that...

Hi Grace! This week we’re continuing what is known as the “Farewell Discourse” where Jesus gives his parting words to his closest followers, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” This is the 7th “I Am” statement, spoken just a few hours before his death. Jesus' words in this final statement simultaneously comfort and convict. He is the vine and we are the branches. This implies, we need pruning,...

Hey Grace Church Family! This Sunday we are exploring one of the most famously quoted "I Am" statements that Jesus made about himself: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” It’s the sixth “I Am” statement in our series, and it feels more relevant than ever in the world we live in today. Jesus is the Way for those who feel lost. He is the T...

Hello Grace Church, this Sunday we will continue looking at the 7 “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. So far it’s 3 down, 4 to go. In John 10, Jesus tells us, “I Am the Good Shepherd.” This is one of the most well known claims of Christ and it shows us not just what he thinks of us, or does for us, but what he feels about us. Jesus is unique in history because He’s not a leader that...

Hello Grace Church, this Sunday we will continue looking at the 7 “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Two weeks ago, Jesus fed the crowd bread then said I am the bread of life, the only place to find satisfaction. Last week, Jesus healed a man born blind then said I am the light of the world, the place for visibility in the darkness. As we move through John’s Gospel, the claims of Ch...

Hi Grace Church! We are excited to invite you to the second week of our "I Am" sermon series as we dive into one of Jesus' powerful statements: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12 ). This week, we'll explore what it means for Jesus to be the light that guides us through the darkness of life, and the danger of living apart from His light. As we reflect on His words,...

Hello Grace Church, can you believe we already finished the book of Jonah? It was short in length but rich in meaning. We're excited to start a new series this week looking at the 7 “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. There are so many thoughts, opinions and hot takes in the world on who Jesus is and who He isn’t, but people rarely let Jesus speak for himself. That’s why this ser...

Hello Grace Church,In the first two chapters, God said “go”, Jonah said “no”, then in the last chapter God said “go” and Jonah said “fine.” The end of chapter 3 is where the story should end, but sadly it doesn’t. There’s more to the story. This week we are going to see Jonah’s heart revealed and God’s heart revealed. The moral of the story is that Jonah is not concerned with the same thing God is...

Hello Grace Church! This week, we’re continuing our study of the book of Jonah! Last Sunday, we saw Jonah get swallowed by a great fish and spend three days in its belly before he cried out to God for help. In His mercy, God rescued Jonah and gave him a second chance. Have you ever felt like you’ve messed up so bad that God could never use you? Jonah felt the same way. He ran from God, yet God sti...

Hello Grace Church, welcome to Jonah week 2. I’m excited to keep the story going. Last week we saw Jonah running from God and this week we will see him returning to God. Sort of. After three days in the big fish Jonah cries out God and is spat out onto dry land. Jonah is repentant but still reluctant. He obeys, but does so begrudgingly not broken heartedly. No matter how we come to God, He is merc...

Hello Grace Church, welcome to February! We're excited to start a new book of the Bible with you this week as we dive into the book of Jonah. (Pun intended) At first blush it can feel like this is a story about a man being swallowed by a big fish, but I think we will see over the next month that this story is about a merciful God pursuing people who are running from him. We all run. We all have he...

Hi Grace! This week we are going to talk about a sensitive, yet important topic: Forgiveness. One theologian I read said this is the heart of the Lord’s prayer because it’s the heart of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus tells his disciples to pray like this: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, he’s teaching us that God’s forgiveness of us is tied to our forgiveness of others....

Hi Grace Church! This Sunday marks the third week of our Pray Like This series! If we’re honest, many of us spend much of our prayer life asking God for things—whether it’s a new job, financial stability, a relationship, or a change in our circumstances. Realizing this can sometimes leave us feeling guilty. But is it wrong to ask God for what we need? This week, we’ll explore how Jesus teaches His...

Hello Grace Church, I’m excited to keep the Pray Like This series going this Sunday! Last week we looked at “where” to pray, this week we will look at “how” to pray. In the model prayer Jesus tells us to start by addressing our Heavenly Father who is Holy in all his ways. The reminds us of our collective identity as children of God, who have access to the Father through Jesus. Then the prayer move...

Hello Grace Church, Happy New Year! Every January people dream and clean and purge and promise. They create gym plans, meal plans, financial plans, all the plans. It’s hard not to get swept up in the opportunity to start fresh. This year as a church, I believe God is inviting us into a simple practice that will ground us in all our efforts. Nothing wrong with plans, but if they aren’t centered on...