Grace Point Baptist Church's Podcast

 Sunday May 11, 2025 Matthew 15:21-28 Travis Hamm  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

 Sunday May 4, 2025  Luke 16:1-9  Pastor Athol Barnes  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

He is Risen! In 2019 we were all struck by the spectacle of the fire that destroyed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The world seemed to be in anguish over the destruction of an 860-year-old building. Why were we so caught up in the destruction of a building most of us have never even seen in person?  One reason is that we, as God’s created beings, desire transcendence; we have a desire for some...

Palm Sunday  It's not what they expected - April 13 2025 Pastor Eric Spady - Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem to begin the final week of his ministry life.  What the crowd wanted and what Jesus did want not what they expected!  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

Do you know who Jesus is? In Matthew 21, the religious leaders of the day didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and they questioned his authority, challenging, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? ” ( Matthew 21:23). Jesus took control of the conversation by returning their question with one of his own, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From...

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful concepts in the Bible. In Matthew 18, the apostle Peter asks Jesus for some guidance with regards to forgiving a brother who seems to have offended him frequently. Within the church family, there will always be people who offend or hurt one another, hence there will be opportunities for forgiveness to be practiced. While it is hard, forgiveness is powerful b...

“When I get to Heaven I shall see three wonders there. The first will be to see many people there whom I did not expect to see, the second wonder will be to miss many people whom I did expect to see, and the third and greatest wonder of all, will be to find myself there ” John Newton. The great hymn writer understood that it is all about grace, the unmerited favor of God shown to those who believe...

The Unexpected Kingdom. Part of the "Stories Jesus Told' Series. March 16 2025  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

The Parable of the Talents is one in a set of parables focused on the return of Jesus. Jesus was preparing his followers for his departure and the formation of the Church.   This parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven. What does the king expect of his people? Or more directly, what does Jesus expect from us? The Talent The Greek word translated as “talent” is the word “ talanton ”, which was an an...

From time to time, Jesus would address a small group of people when he was teaching. This parable in Luke 18 was one of those occasions. We read in verse 9, “ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.” It would seem that this group had two primary character flaws: 1: They trusted in their own righteousness . They thought...

We live in an age when people avoid the inevitability of death. We don’t like to talk about death. When someone dies, often their body is quickly cremated, and those who are grieving try to move on as quickly as possible, avoiding pondering on the destination that we all face:, heaven or hell. Jesus spoke a lot about heaven and hell, in particular the parable of the rich man and Lazarus found in L...

If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that there are people that we would not be concerned about being outside of the grace of God. We all have a line. This is part of our fallen human nature. During the time that Jesus walked the earth, the nation of Israel had people that they hated so much they declared them to be beyond the hope of redemption. A Question for a Question Jesus...

 Sunday February 9 2025 Matthew 13:1-9 The Parable of the Sower Pastor Athol Barnes  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

Once upon a time… We all love a good story, don’t we? Jesus was the greatest storyteller when he walked with his disciples. He taught many things in what we call parables, which are simple stories that reveal a deeper meaning. Jesus spoke in parables not simply to teach moral lessons in a way people would remember but to reveal the kingdom of heaven. There are multiple layers to every parable that...

September 11, 2001. A horrific attack shook the world, affecting countless lives. It was traumatic for the survivors and those who lost loved ones. It was a doorway that everyone had to go through. Only the Lord knows the doorways of grief and trauma that potentially await us this year. From Successful to Suffering The biblical figure Job had to endure terrible and painful doorways. He was blamele...

As we stand on the brink of a new year, I want to spend the next two weeks focusing on the prospect of changes that we all will be facing in the coming year. Changes can be likened to doorways. Sometimes doors open to us, and we have the choice to step through them into a life change. It may be a new relationship or a job, or even a new home. Some people will graduate or receive a promotion. Other...

Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

Imagine you were tasked with the greatest announcement in all of History. Imagine that God put you in charge of making the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the promised Messiah. How would you go about it? Today you might launch a mass media campaign, or a viral video series, maybe spend a lot of money on TV commercials. Obviously, none of these methods were available in the first century, but G...

What is God inviting you to believe? Last week we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus for salvation. To illustrate my point, I professed that I believed the chair could hold me, but if I didn’t act on that belief by stepping on the chair, no one would believe that I actually believed that (see Romans 10:9). Believing always requires a response, an action or a step of faith that follows...

What does the word “believe” mean? The dictionary answers, “To consider to be true or honest, to accept the word or evidence of someone or something.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe) No Work Needed By definition, a Christian is someone who believes on Jesus for righteousness. Romans 10:6-7 says, “But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will a...

 No one is immune to suffering, but Christians have the hope of glory to look forward to in and through their suffering. If you are experiencing extended periods of hardship, you might struggle to hope in that future glory, but the promises of God’s Word do not fail.    The apostle Peter knew that the early church was going to experience trials of persecution, and he wanted them to be prepared. As...

By God’s design, the local church is to be led by elders. Other names for that role are pastor, shepherd, or overseer (see Acts 20:28). In 1 Peter 5:1-5, Peter provides instructions and exhortation to the elders of the church; we can all learn from these leadership lessons. The Role of the Elder Jesus bought the church with his own blood. Although we like to identify our community as “ my church ”...

In the year 304, Emperor Diocletian declared that he had destroyed the Christian church. Today over two billion people identify as Christians, and few people remember the emperor. Over 200 years before Diocletian’s Great Persecution, Peter wrote to the early church to prepare them for extraordinary persecution. He warned them that even though persecution was coming, they would benefit from it. Ove...