Gracehouse

It's easy to get defensive when we feel attacked. It's easy to love those who love us. But Jesus calls us to love the way God loves... perfectly. Without discrimination looking to the good of everyone. Even those who hate us.

In this time of upheaval and shaking God's people need to remember the fear of the Lord and the goodness of his ways. Seek him today not for his blessings or benefits but because of him.

Even a brief study into church history would demonstrate that the church has had a complicated relationship with politics. In the Book of Revelation, John provides us with some valuable insight into whether the church should meddle in the affairs of the state, and if so, how.

This Father's Day we celebrate who fathers are and we meditate on what it is to be fathered by God. To have God discipline us, draw near to us, and shape us by his fatherly heart.

As Christians we are called to be sons and daughters of God. Often though the enemy will cause us to forget who we really are. It's at these times we need to remember who God has made us to be.

Ever since the beginning of time God has proven his faithfulness. Creation itself testifies to God’s faithfulness. Our own personal testimonies also testify to God’s faithfulness. And finally, God’s faithfulness to his creation has been shown in the provision of a Saviour. Great is God’s faithfulness!

What does healthy community look like in the church? How can we foster the type of unity that will truly impact the world? We were so blessed to have Pastor Colin Stoodley share on this all topic from his wealth of wisdom and experience. Be sure to check it out.

As Peter concludes his letter he gives his summarising thoughts. In light of all the suffering we might go through we should humble ourselves under God's mighty hand. Trusting that he is able to make all things right in the end.

At the end of Peter's letter he exhorts the leaders of the church to serve the church in the same manner as Jesus has. Willingly, not out for greedy gain, and not lording it over those who they have been entrusted with. The authority of an elder is real. But it looks like Jesus the great servant leader.

What do we do when the dream seems so far away or even unachievable?   Is it time to give up? Let's take a look at the life of Joseph and see how the faithfulness of God takes Joseph from a dream to reality.

This week, we looked at the story of Elisha, Naaman, and Ghazi, particularly in relation to idolatry. The story provides an insightful example of what idolatry is and how it can destructively play itself out in our lives. In the end, we come to learn that God truly is the only one who can provide us with a firm foundation to build our lives upon.

When you begin to walk in righteousness you will often find there is push back from the world around you. You might suffer loss of reputation, shame, persecution on account of following Jesus. But these things shouldn't be a surprise to us because we know what God is doing through it all.

This week we continue our series in 1 Peter looking at how we adopt the mind of Christ towards suffering. By living with the 'end of all things' in mind we are better able to live for righteousness now.

Many Christians struggle to pin the good news of the gospel down to one particular thing. Some claim that it’s about God’s work in us and for us in relation to judgment, and others claim that it’s about God’s work through us in relation to the present. But what if the gospel was made up of many parts which centered around one unified theme? What would that theme be? As we search the Scriptures, we...

The call goes out this morning for God's people to draw near to him in worship. To encourage one another to good works as we head through troubled times. We can do so confidently because Jesus is faithful to see us through.

This week in 1 Peter we look at some odd verses about Jesus preaching to spirits in prison and how that's good news for us.  A challenging passage that leads to the ultimate conclusion that God vindicates his righteous ones. Which means we can trust him to vindicate us if we live righteously in unrighteous times.

On this day every year Christians around the world celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church. In this act we see God bringing together all peoples, indwelling his people, and empowering them to bring his kingdom into the world with power.

What is the great blueprint for marriage and family? In a world where there is much confusion, the Bible has a ton of wisdom and guidelines to offer. Pastor Graham Sercombe blessed us this week with a very refreshing and insightful look into the topic.

Often people have a desire to hear or receive from the Lord and then get frustrated as to why they feel they can’t. We know that God’s desire is to give revelation of who he is, the salvation he offers, and the kingdom that has come into the world. So where is the disconnect? This week we ask the question… How well have you been listening?

Sometimes we take Jesus for granted. But did you know there was a time that God's people had no idea who the Messiah would be and longed for the day that they would see Him? We live in that time now. We have the blessing of knowing Jesus. We have the blessing of having His Holy Spirit with us. We have the blessing of seeing his kingdom break into the earth even in our day.

This week in our “The Practical Christian” series we take a look at delighting in God’s word. Pastor Tim Neale unpacks the book of Philemon while giving us very useful tools for engaging with scripture in a meaningful way. We trust that brand new Bible readers and long time students will alike be richly blessed.

The Apostle Peter had a lot of important wisdom for married couples. Unfortunately, much of his instruction has been misunderstood over the ages, and this has resulted in much harm. This week we take a look at Peter’s words within their context and in light of Christ’s beautiful kingdom ideal for marriage.

What does it mean when we say that the Lord is our portion? It’s one of those expressions that we often use but many don’t understand the full richness of its meaning. Check out this sermon as we discover that the Lord is all we need.

Why does Peter insist on submission and non-retaliation? In this difficult passage we see that Peter is not prescribing how society should be but describing how Christians should respond to unjust suffering. Just as Jesus suffering brought healing to us. So our suffering, if done rightly, can bring healing to others.

God asks us to honour our authorities for his name's sake. It's not a matter of whether we like them, support them, or will gain any personal benefit from them. In fact, it's when we choose to honour, in the face of great evil and injustice, that the power of the gospel is truly put on display and people will come to know Jesus as Lord.