Grace Sagola Church

Download Small Group Study Guide HERE The story of Mary and Joseph forgetting Jesus in Jerusalem highlights for us some of the uniqueness surrounding their child, and Jesus’ perspective in terms of application of the question “What is the most important thing in life?” Observations & Conclusions 1 – “Life” can draw you away from Jesus 2 – If you’ve lost Jesu...

Today we look at the story of two of the Lord's faithful servants, who exemplify what it looks like to wait on the Lord.

Its amazing to see the contrast in some people's response to Jesus.  Sometimes he is met with acceptance and transformation, and other times refusal and rejection.  

The journey to Bethlehem wasn't an easy one. It was filled with faith filled steps as Joseph walked in obedience to the instruction of the angel of the Lord.

There are a lot of things the can cause difficulty and pressure in our world.  But it is imperative that we as Christians learn to rely on God to direct and provide within our circumstances. Our passage for today is a story between two moms, who have been chosen by God, and their response to God's purposes and His faithfulness in their lives. 

The reality for mankind is that we are all under a common curse of sin. It pervades our every fiber and thought, and skews our intentions to the very deception of our own hearts. The sad truth of the curse of sin is death. Paul writes, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."

Perhaps the most crucial foundation in our understanding of God is found in His character to keep-His-promises. The difficulty for a church that is struggling with persecution is identifying the correct response to trusting God's promises. Sometimes its easy, but most of the time it is hard.

This past week marked the 500th anniversary to the Protestant Reformation.  Even though we have good reasons to adhere to this particular expression of Christianity, it needs to be said at the outset that even though we are not Roman Catholic, we cannot claim to be perfect in all we do. 

One of the most abused components of Christianity today is the way in which people have come to misunderstand Christian “faith.” As we stand the threshold of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, we examine today the evangelical confession of faith as the scriptures indicated it, as opposed to how many churches today have twisted it.

We have been shaped by the world we live in, whether we are aware of it or not.  One way that many Christians have been conformed is in their expectations and expressions on the subject of worship. 

Prayer has had many forms throughout the years of the Christian church, and even today our culture has many expressions for calling out to the Lord. The problem is many of us have subconsciously inherited one of these forms without recognizing the potentials for its deficiencies when it comes to expressing and understanding prayer.

Jesus knew that the world has a way of squeezing us into its mold. Without intentional re-formation of our values and attitudes our minds will be conformed to think like the world thinks.

As is the case in real life, Nehemiah’s success does not last. The spiritual high that culminated in chapters 10-12 with the sounds of celebration and rejoicing have now been replaced with the very acute failures of God’s people.

Have you ever gotten off track in your Christian walk? One of the basic principles of following Jesus Christ is the gradual and progressive turning our affections from the things of this world to the things of Christ. But sometimes we need a reality check, an evaluation of our priorities, a recentering of our life with Christ.

God’s Word must play a central role in the life of each Christian. For years the church has not enjoyed the privilege of having the Scriptures in such abundance as it does today. Perhaps it is this profusion which has led many to take God’s Word for granted and leave it undisturbed and dusty.

There is a tendency in our world to easily give up when we are frustrated, and one of the most rare traits is ability to persevere. As Nehemiah nears completion of the walls in Jerusalem the opposition becomes more fierce and we will see how he handles the difficulty of enduring the intimidation of his foes by relying on God’s calling, strength and word.

Many times in our lives we get unintentionally distracted.  It can be our kids programs, doctor’s appointments, or anything on the calendar that eats up every minute of the day.  In a world where there is no slowing down for our busy schedules, we need to be careful not to overlook the essential ministries the Lord has called us to: our family, our church, and our communi

Jesus said that “in this world you will have trouble;” Nehemiah faced this trouble head on. Today we will look at his response to the opposition of those whose desire it was to stir up trouble. Going beyond insults, Nehemiah faced actual threats on his life - how would you respond? We will see through chapter 4 how he handles supporting the community the middle of the greatest struggle that the re...

Have you heard the saying that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link?”  Well, what if each link that chain was able to assist the others - you’d then have a cord assisted by the entirety of its common ability. 

We begin a new series looking at the book of Nehemiah.  Today we will examine chapter 1-2 and see 3 acts of drama as Nehemiah learns about the state of his ancestral home and follows a conviction to rebuild it with God’s help.

In our world today its all too easy to embrace the temptation to work more to earn more. The nature of greed and abundance has pushed the American worker beyond the limits of healthy sleep habits, and rest becomes a luxury too costly to afford. What does God think of this?

Many have been brainwashed and desensitized to the proliferation of sexuality in our world today.  Even those who lived 2 generations ago were shocked to see the lax nature of the culture’s response the degradation of family morals and increase of the pursuit of sexual pleasures in their day; imagine what they would say today in looking at our entertainment and sex-saturated commercialism .  The c...

Have you ever tried to really knuckle down on eating healthy and exercising? Many of us have and have undoubtedly discovered its as a temporary solution to an ongoing struggle. The primary reason we fail to find success is that many of us have not put Godliness at the forefront of our endeavors. A proper diet and regular exercise are an important factor in the life of the believer, but only insofa...

There is a movement in our culture to capitalize upon the temptations of the flesh, whether that be with food, sex, or sloth. How is it that the church can emphasize the surrender of our hearts to God, but not the surrender of our bodies? Let us look at what the Apostle Paul writes as he address how the church in Rome is understand their new calling as believers: those who are now “alive” in Chris...

In a world filled with people who have different outlooks, different opinion, and different philosophies, it is little wonder why we don’t experience more division that we do?!  The Family of God is not left without aid in this need for unity, because God has sent His Spirit to indwell the hearts of his children, to draw us into a family larger than our own preferences.