Grace Sagola Church

Wisdom is quite undervalued in our world today.  There was a time when experience was a driving motivator for wisdom, but in today's world people seek new experiences simply for the thrills.  The book of Ecclesiastes is filled with wisdom, the question is, are we seeking after it?

It is a difficult thing to go through life by only relying on your own abilities.  Too often we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can make it on our own.  However, the very best thing we can do is learn to lean on Jesus and allow Him to measure-out our successes and accomplishments.  

What is it that you are leaving behind; what will be your legacy? For many, there is a vain striving with inheritances that ultimately leaves our children with just more stuff - and we can rarely transfer the work and effort that it took to amass such possessions.  What if there was something else we could invest in? 

The allure of riches to bring purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction is ultimately vacuous.  Earthly riches never deliver what they promise.  But why do we keep striving after them? 

The effort that man gives in pursuit of his own pleasures is a never-ending black hole of frustration that cannot ultimately satisfy.  The only source of true satisfaction is found by submitting your desires onto the Lord and allowing Him to reframe and remake your desires according to His will.  Ultimate satisfaction is found only in Jesus. 

A world without God, is a world without justice.  Every evil deed will have been left unpunished and for untold many, justice will never be served.

The world we live in is primed for human achievement and a never-ending barrage of opportunity for the glory of man.  For those who don't believe in God, they have had to redefine their purpose on earth, but yet can only live for today with no hope for tomorrow.  The endless need for success will leave them without rest and a denial the vain reality of human striving. For the Christian, our work o...

In the Word of God the book of Ecclesiastics evaluates all modern expressions of humanistic philosophy. It is impressive that there is truly nothing "new" under the sun. Of all human questions the greatest remains, “What happens after death?”

"Chasing after the wind" is an expression to describe the fruitless results of striving in vain and working towards that which ultimately never satisfies.  The story inside the book of Ecclesiastics is one which examines the question, "what would it be like to live and define ourselves without God?"

The kindness of an invitation is God's way of drawing us towards Himself.  We are offered the most gracious of invitations as we reach the very end of the Bible, with Jesus final words for the churches.  This final petition will serve as a model for how we too can best present the gospel by sharing what has first been offered to us as an invitation. 

The story of the Bible centers around the person of Jesus Christ as God's solution for the sins of mankind.  He is in every respect the one who has rescued us from the mess we've made. 

The task of foreign mission has at its goal the establishment of healthy local churches that are lead by members of that specific people-group and culture.  The bridge that spans these efforts are Spirit-led and empowered Christians who are willing to go and proclaim the good news: men and women who seek to become all things to all people that they may win some.

The role of a disciple is defined by Jesus in His final words to His followers. But He doesn’t overwhelm them with a responsibility that they must shoulder by themselves or in their own ability. The deficiencies that are present in all of us are solved by God’s gracious gift of His Spirit, to be the power and enabler of our witness.

The message of the gospel is one that we not only get to share, but we get to have a share in. What this means is that God has purpose His church on earth to keep spreading the message of reconciliation and preach the good news to all of creation. The necessary component to continue and complete this story is faith.

The resurrected Jesus calls his disciples to a mountain in Galilee to give them his final command. Jesus’ last words to his disciples give us the direction that God expects from us as the next generation of disciples.

The picture of a loving and Godly father is one that is hard to find on today’s flatscreens and cable boxes.  But the image we see in Jesus is that of a loving Heavenly Father who not only sends, but also equips for His mission. 

God's blessings to Abraham create defining markers towards our understanding of God's strategy of redemption for all nations.  His blessings follow the pattern previous determined in creation and with Noah's family after the flood. 

The Mission of God flows in perfect harmony with His design.  And in the beginning God designed the human creatures to be his representatives on earth: to display His glory and rule across the entire globe. 

The world's most motivating influence is love.  As we have been called to a modern-day task of representing the good news of the gospel to the world, we must make sure that our service and sacrifice come from a source of love for God and what God is doing. 

The evidence is clear, a growing subset of the next up-and-coming generation doesn't  care to know God.  One place where we can make major repairs is by making sure that our faith is found in unity with our lives.

The influence of the world's values has brought us individualism, entitlement, and an avoidance of commitment - especially confrontational commitment.  The church desperately needs to display a return to the foundations of community and relational investment that carries the hallmark characteristic of being committed to one another. 

The world's influence has never been more prevalent in our lives and in the lives of our children.  For all the good that our technology has given us, it has also inadvertently retrained the way we think, study, wait, and want.  It has never been more important that the child of God is equipped with wisdom to navigate the treacherous world of a digital Babylon. 

There are many reasons why individuals leave the church, but there are only a handful of values that tend to keep people plugged into regular cooperate worship and the ministry of God's people.  At the very top of the list is the personal conviction that a relationship with Jesus is the only way to find true fulfillment in this life. 

In Jesus' great commandment to his followers we are told to "Love one another; just as I have loved you."  There is no greater way to begin obedience to this commandment than to pursue it by attempting to place yourself in another's shoes.  This action of empathy is what the bible calls compassion, and it is the fuel for good works.  

The plan of God is humbling when you understand His grace.  God had determined that He is going to reach the nations through the church, through sinners-redeemed, through us!