Grace City Denver

This Psalm is unique amongst the psalter because it not only laments the painful and humiliating things God is doing to his covenant people, it also accuses him of unfairness. God has seemingly disciplined his people even though they've done nothing wrong. How do you respond when you sense God's injustice like that in your life?

In this message we explore some of the history and challenges of downtown Denver, provide a brief biblical theology of City and Mission, and share practical ways of living on mission in a neighborhood that needs the hope, love, and shalom of Jesus Christ.

This text addresses the question, "Where is God when life hurts?" The writer assumes the presence of pain means the absence of God. Yet he instructs his soul to continue to hope and trust in the God of his salvation.

This psalm reminds us that God is especially near to those who show mercy to the vulnerable—because He Himself is a God of mercy. David, suffering physically and emotionally, is betrayed by a close friend—pointing us forward to the ultimate betrayal Christ would endure. Yet even in pain, David clings to the steadfast love of God, trusting that God will raise him up. The psalm closes in worship, an...

We are not only saved from something, we are also saved to something. The response of the rescued is to testify to the goodness and greatness of Jesus Christ.

Amidst the trials and uncertainties of life, in both your silence and your speaking, hope in the Lord.

In Psalm 38, David is tormented physically, emotionally, psychologically, relationally, and spiritually because of his sin. But instead of concealing it, minimizing it, rationalizing it, or blaming someone else, David owns it. He confesses his sin and cries out to God to discipline him in mercy and to rescue him.

It's natural to envy or even despise the wicked when you see them enjoying a level of success and prosperity that is unfair. But this Psalm guides you to redirect your focus and perspective so that you can find your delight in that which truly matters for eternity.

Jesus provided the simplest explanation of discipleship when he called fisherman to leave their nets and follow him so that he could make them become fishers of men. Discipleship means following Jesus and being transformed by Jesus in order to live on Jesus' mission.

In John 17, Jesus prayed that his followers be characterized by seven character traits: faith, joy, holiness, truth, mission, unity, and ultimately love. He prayed that the Church would be filled with these traits simply by living in union with him. This message explores the centrality of love to the effective functioning of the other character qualities.

Just before Jesus went to a cross to lay down his life for our sins, he prayed. What we observe in this prayer is a passion for the glory of God, a commitment to saving and sanctifying his own, and a love for countercultural unity. To the end, Jesus prayed and worked for the Father to be known by the world, so that more people would be saved by faith in him.

Jesus told his disciples he was going away for a little while, and they would experience sorrow. But his resurrection would conquer sin and sorrow, so that believers could experience both immediate and eternal joy – joy that transcends circumstances. To experience this joy now, we must simply trust him and live as if what Jesus said is true.

The disciples struggled to accept that it was to their advantage that Jesus would go away and send his Spirit. So Jesus taught them more about the ministry of the coming Spirit – first, toward the world, and then, toward those who believed in him. Interestingly, the Spirit would point both audiences to Jesus as the standard and the central focus.

50 days after Passover, and the crucifixion of Jesus, was Pentecost. At this feast, the disciple Peter stood before a hostile crowd and delivered the very first sermon on the resurrection. He boldly declares that there is true life to be found in Jesus because Jesus is truly alive.

Shortly before Jesus is taken away to be beaten and crucified, he warns his disciples that the world would hate them just as it had hated him. If you follow the ways of Jesus instead of the ways of the world, your life will convict the world of sin, and the world will oppose you. But Jesus urges a faithful witness empowered by the presence of the Spirit.

In contrast to old covenant Israel, which failed in its calling to be God's fruitful vineyard, Jesus is the true Vine. By abiding in him, and allowing his word to abide in us, believers flourish spiritually. His life nourishes our lives and we bear the fruit of his character. The Father works actively in our lives to prune away anything that would hinder our fruitfulness.

Knowing that he’s going away and his disciples are facing significant confusion, doubt, and anxiety, Jesus urges them to pursue lives of obedience and to look for the Helper. The Helper is nothing less than the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who will come live in believers to teach, comfort, and empower.

On the eve of his death, Jesus reassures his disciples that they already know the Father because they know him – and he claims ontological unity and equality with the Father (and the Spirit) as part of the Trinity. Because he’s going away, and will send the Spirit, the Church can continue to live and pray with power. The Gospel of the Kingdom will expand, not shrink. And prayers that align with hi...

Peter wants to follow Jesus wherever he goes. And he’s confident he has what it takes to lay down his life for Jesus. (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t.) Thomas speaks for all the disciples, admitting he doesn’t know where Jesus is going or how to get there. Religion tries to answer this question and bridge this gap by telling you the way to God is through your performance. Jesus claims he is the way – a...

Why does Jesus say the hour for him to be glorified has come if he’s headed to a gruesome death on a cross? Why does he say the disciples can’t come with him? What does he mean when he says the command to love one another is “new”? How can we love each other as Jesus has first loved us?

At the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus prophesied that one of them who ate his bread would be a traitor. Judas is subsequently identified, though most of the disciple seemed unaware of his intention to betray Jesus. This message goes back chronologically in the story of Judas to uncover the roots of his treacherous heart and to serve as a cautionary tale for others.

During the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus rose from the table, poured a basin of water, and began to wash their feet. This prompts an awkward exchange with Peter, where he first denies the Lord the opportunity to wash his feet, then asks him to wash all of him. Jesus concludes by commanding the disciples to do for one another what he had done to them. This sermon unpacks the meaning of both...

In Jesus’ last public address to the crowds, he claims to have an intimate, one-of-a-kind relationship with the Father and he invites people to believe in the light and walk in the light. Most of the people continue on the same path and are actually hardened in their unbelief, while others wrestle with just how closely they want to be associated with Jesus.

“The hour” that Jesus has been waiting for has finally come: it’s nearly time for him to present himself as the full and final Passover sacrifice. He must die in order to bear much fruit for eternity. He must be lifted up on a cross before he can be lifted up to his glorious, exalted status as King of the nations. And every true disciple must follow him on the path of self-denial and service.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what’s now known as “Palm Sunday,” he was greeted by crowds that were filled with nationalistic fervor. They ignored Jesus’ true mission to lay down his life and they tried to make him king on their own terms. But Jesus wouldn’t stoop to their demands. He wouldn’t save the Jews from the Gentiles; he would give his life to save both Jews and Gentiles.