Grace Point Sermons

As John concludes his Gospel, his focus is on the purposeful, powerful, personal grace of Jesus because this grace is the only thing that can truly satisfy our souls and set us free to live in humble hope.

When we encounter Jesus, He turns our lives upside-down and we are never the same again. Once that happens, the Gospel always leads to: (1) Proclamation; (2) Invitation; & (3) Expectation.

It's only natural to be afraid when we feel alone in a battle we can't win. But Jesus offers us His peace, rooted in the promise that He's always with us, fighting our battles. As He does, we don't just get to share His victory, but also His joy, His mission & His Spirit.

When we're limited by what we assume Jesus can do, we often miss what He is doing. Thankfully, He's patient with us as we grow to know, love & follow Him by His grace. In the process, He's not only working in us, but also working through us, to take His gospel to the world.

At the cross, Jesus finished the work. Now He invites us to join Him in His rest. When we do: (1) doubt gives way to confidence; (2) shame gives way to boldness; & (3) despair gives way to anticipation.

Jesus never said: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you tasks." Jesus did say: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." True gospel rest is available to all who believe and live like it really is finished and we are free in Jesus.

The sufferings of Jesus show us both: (1) what our sins deserve; & (2) what God's love demands. As John holds up the dark mirror of human nature, he shows us that the gospel doesn't just require honesty, but also gives us hope.

No matter how long or how hard we try to build our own kingdoms, Jesus is the one, true King who will not share His glory with another. What He offers instead is a Redemption that meets us at the intersection of the failure of Rebellion & the failure of Religion.

Nobody sees themselves accurately, but pressure always reveals who we really are. Thankfully, this is just as true of Jesus Himself as it is for His enemies & friends. What this should lead us to ask ourselves is: (1) What does pressure reveal about me? & (2) What do I do when I'm exposed?

When we're tempted to let our feelings define reality, Jesus reminds us that He is the great "I AM." The more we know Him as He truly is, the more we'll love all, fear none & live free.

Unity is a shared love with a shared purpose. And as Jesus prays for His people, He doesn't just show us what gospel unity is and why it matters, He also tells us how to pursue it in a way that brings Him the most glory and gives us the most joy.

The world can be a dangerous place. But as Jesus prays for His people, He wants us to know that we're always safe in Him because: (1) He guards us in God's will; (2) He gives us God's word; & (3) He sends us into God's world.

There is no such thing as an independent Christian. That's why the only way for us to experience eternal life with Jesus is for us to die to our independence and embrace God's grace as a gift we could never deserve, through good works we could never accomplish, so that we can share in a glory we could never have imagined.

When God does something we don't understand, we all tend to focus more on what we don't understand than we do on God Himself. When that happens, Jesus invites us to find our peace in Him (instead of our circumstances), trusting Him to give us joy that lasts forever, access to the Father & freedom to not be defined by our failures.

As followers of Jesus, we are outsiders in a world that hates Him. However, He's given us His Spirit so that we can still live with joy as He leads us home through hardship.

While we all want to make ourselves the standard of what's true and good, only Jesus has the right to actually do it. When He does, He's clear that the world isn't going to like it. In fact, they're going to hate Him...and everybody who loves Him...because they: (1) Reject His word; (2) Deny His works; & (3) Ignore His witnesses.

Would you pray more if you knew God would give you everything you asked for? If so, it's going to require a change in: (1) What you pray for; (2) Why you pray; & (3) How you pray. Still interested?

No matter how long we've been children of God, it seems we never outgrow the temptation to live like we're still orphans. In those moments, we need to hold onto the promise and power of the Holy Spirit, trusting that He lives in us & will always give us grace to love Jesus as He loves us.

We all battle anxiety (whether from sin, distractions or self-centeredness). When we do, Jesus calls us to declare war on worry. He never sends us into battle, though, without giving us the weapons we need to win!

Words without action are nothing but self-deception. Since we tend to make commitments we don't keep, we need to be constantly reminded that the love of Jesus isn't based on our faithfulness, but His.

We always resist what we don't understand. When that happens with Jesus, the best way forward is to act on what we already know: trusting His wisdom, following His ways & believing His word. In the process, we learn that true joy can only be found in obedience to the Lord.

When we're confronted with the hard truth that our hearts are divided, what we need to be told (and shown) is that God's jealous love never fails...even when we do!

Jesus is and speaks the Word of God, which means that we must listen. Thankfully, as Jesus wraps up His public ministry (before making final preparations for the cross), He tells us exactly what that should look like. As He does, He again invites us to come to Him for the light & life that only He can give.

Jesus is and shares the glory of God. Until God gives us a new heart, we can never see and delight in this reality. But once He does, our souls will be satisfied forever as we stand in awe of our Redeemer and rest in His amazing love.

Pain in the body always brings trouble in the soul. It's true for us. It was true for Jesus. Thankfully, He embraced the purposeful pain of the cross (for God's glory and our joy), which is what makes it possible for us to follow Him out of darkness and into the light as we embrace God's purpose in our lives (even when it hurts the most).