Grace Free Church Talks

Are we enough? The answer is a bit of a paradox. Plenty of days, we don’t feel like we are - we make mistakes with our families and at work. Our words and actions don’t always align with what we know is right. But God’s grace, power, and purpose are completely transforming. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

(Talk by Josh Daubert)

At the start of every year, it's tempting to pursue a new goal towards self-improvement. But the challenges we typically take on are really saying, “if I can change enough, my life will be better.” And while desiring improvement is a great frame of mind, more of ourselves won’t bring about the kind of change we need. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

(Talk by Joshua Ott)

(Talk by Joshua Ott)

We inadvertently categorize people and circumstances into "good" or "bad" categories when it’s not that simple. Life is complicated. But God takes our complex, uncertain spaces and can use them to bring incredible outcomes. He is faithful and present in the midst of our storms, and when we trust Him, we reap unimaginable blessings. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

It’s hard to see clearly when we’re operating in fear and confusion. Calm, logical thinking and functioning can go out the window when reality doesn’t match our expectations. The good news is those circumstances that make us feel lost, confused, or disappointed are exactly where we find Jesus. It’s just that type of place; we need to be interrupted by Him. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

Words are powerful. But our actions are just as important. Encouraging words and actions build up confidence, beliefs, attitude, and actions; they define us. Encouraging one another leads to sustainable, genuine change. The opposite, criticism, produces short term change at best, and builds resentment. Be an encourager who motivates and brings out the best in people. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

Grateful people are happier and healthier. Yet moments of gratitude quickly pass us by because we aren’t looking for what we have to be grateful for, or we miss the opportunity to show gratitude. So make it who you are, not just something you do. Be a grateful person. Look for what you have to be grateful for, don’t let the moment pass you by, and express that gratitude. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

Money and church. What an awkward conversation because there are so many bad at-best messages out there twisting what the Bible says about money. So many of you have been manipulated or made to feel guilty about giving money to churches, and it doesn’t sit well with us. Yet, God talks a lot about money in scripture. It makes sense since it can have such a huge grip on our lives. And we are gratefu...

The church needs every believer to use their gifts to change the world. We need the church as a place where we can use our gifts and so receive the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit. (Talk by Don Baker)

Trust grows with knowledge about the person or thing you place your trust in, and confidence grows with experience. It's a head and a heart thing. We have been talking so much in this series about how we think. When you engage both your mind and your heart in your journey with God, your faith really clicks, and you find yourself being more courageous, your strength grows, you are anchored, and you...

Sometimes we find or create our own trouble, but other times trouble just finds us. Even when we are doing everything right. And when it does, it doesn’t take much to send us spiraling. If you are struggling with your mental health right now, you aren’t alone. The Bible and this church are filled with people just like you. It may not seem like it, but there is still hope for you. (Talk by Joshua O...

Even when we really want it, we struggle to change our lives. That’s because real change comes from the inside out, and we often go about it from the outside in. What we need is to transform our thinking. It would be nice just to check out, but there is no such thing as the passive middle; you are either passively conforming to a broken system or transforming to new and good places God has for you...

The peace we experience guards our hearts and minds. Unfortunately experiencing peace these days is a difficult endeavor. Most of us experience more conflict, chaos, and stress than we we experience peace. Fortunately God lays out a path for us to experience more peace in our lives. It is directly connected to how we think, because what we think always plays out in what we do. So to experience mor...

What steals your peace is less about the external and more about the internal. It is connected to thoughts we stay on. And we get stuck on what we stay on. Letting go of those thoughts that trap us is way easier said than done. The key is to keep our minds stayed on something else. Big faith and big trust (the kind you need to get through what you need to get through or to let go of what you need...

We often don’t think about how we think, but how we think has a profound affect on our lives. Our thoughts drive our actions. To complicate things our enemy, the devil is constantly lying and trying to mess with our heads. What we need is to take a good look at our thoughts and start to take captive every though that has been keeping us captive. We need the truth. We can know the truth through Jes...

(Talk by Ryan Fasnacht)

We all have areas of our lives or hearts we would love to see restored. And there are practical things we can do to set us in the right space to experience restoration, but the bottom line is God does the restoring. If you have been feeling overwhelmed or like you can't handle one more thing on your mental list, this is tremendous news. God himself will restore you and make you stronger than you h...

This is all about how we fight our battles, because when you fight wrong everything hurts more. So we don’t fight with flesh and blood, we fight knowing this is bigger than just what we see. We fight knowing we aren’t alone. We fight different. We look for the greater good. We look for the bigger win. We open up, we don’t close off. We carry each other. We pray and we worship, because a perspectiv...

You have to keep your head on a swivel. Because the attacks can come from anywhere and when we aren’t ready for them they sting so much more. It may be part of the reality we like to ignore but you and I have an enemy who only wants to swallow us up in despair, hopelessness, bitterness and pain. God’s got a better plan. A plan that leads to restoration. Pay attention. Find your balance. Stay calm...

Anxiety can feel like drowning and the water and waves are everywhere. If you are sinking in anxiety, please know you are not alone. There is help for you. Social media is full of anxiety hacks that help, but this message pulls an anxiety hack out of scripture and helps us get on God’s plan for walking through it and finding a fresh and better way to deal with anxiety when it springs up on us. Jus...

Stay humble...it sounds trendy and there are motivational posts all over social media preaching the stay “humble message”, but humility isn’t really trending in our world today. In fact it seems like what we see more and more of is Pride. Humility isn’t putting yourself down it is seeing yourself in your proper place. Deeply valued but not the center of the universe. Restoration in your life or re...

Help’s coming. Jesus wraps up this section of his instruction to his followers with encouragement that while He is leaving, He is sending them The Advocate. A helper. A difference maker. If you have ever wondered if God is for you, if you have wondered if He is with you this encouragement is for you. Deep dive with us to see who this advocate is and what He does for us. (Talk by Joshua Ott)

(Talk by Josh Daubert)