GraceLife Sarasota

Christians often become obsessed with the idea of “successful” spirituality, and Philippians 4:13 is one of the most quoted verses used to fuel that mindset. We treat it like a motivational slogan—just add determination and a little divine help, and you can achieve anything. The rich young ruler in last week’s passage would have loved that interpretation. Politicians quote it, athletes wear it, an...

This week’s message feels a bit like one of those old TV shows that suddenly dropped a double‑episode—you love the extra content, but you hate waiting a week for the second half. Today we begin a two‑part story centered on a rich young man who has a gut‑wrenching encounter with Jesus, one that exposes painful truth about himself. And the unsettling part is that many of us may need that same kind o...

Today’s passage may only be four verses about children, but it carries far more theological weight than most people realize. We often dismiss child likeness as immaturity—just like when someone tells us to “stop whining” or “don’t be a baby,” comments that feel belittling and offensive. After decades in youth ministry, I’ve always hated being called “a big kid,” as if responsibility, wisdom, and s...

This week’s passage doesn’t get any easier—after preaching on drowning, hell, and amputations, now we’re stepping into the topic of divorce. I almost miss last week. But before we dive in, think about this: have you ever tolerated something you absolutely hate, simply because you love someone? Something you’d never choose on your own, but you endure because you see the bigger picture? I remember e...

The title of today’s sermon is intentionally ironic, because when we follow Jesus “half way,” what we’re really doing is trying to manage the cost of discipleship. There’s something about Kingdom work that we quietly label as irrational, illogical, or simply not worth it, so we look for the path of least resistance—often blending the values of earth with the values of heaven. It shows up everywher...

Most of life on earth is driven by ambition, and it touches almost every part of who we are. But for most of us, that ambition doesn’t push us to serve—it pushes us to win, to climb, to establish a pecking order. We compete with siblings, friends, coworkers, and entire industries, feeding pride and arrogance while fighting against humility. And humility isn’t exactly celebrated in our culture; nat...

Many of us have had moments where we quietly admit, “I believe in Jesus… but I sure wish I believed better.” We want unwavering faith, yet in a world like ours—and with our own weaknesses—it can feel almost impossible. We notice when our faith starts to slip, it shows up in our choices, our priorities, and the heaviness in our hearts. Sometimes it looks like anxiety, depression, or putting our tru...

Eschatology is one of the most intriguing subjects in the Bible—we all want to know how it ends. If there were one book you could understand perfectly, many of you would probably say Revelation… maybe Daniel. We all carry some form of eschatology, and it shapes how we see the world. When I was young, I was obsessed with the rapture—a glorious moment when Jesus would take Christians out of the worl...

Mark Chapters 7 and 8 were rough—heavy, challenging topics that pushed us deep into the hard teachings of Jesus. This week, we get a brief feel good moment before things intensify again as we move closer to the cross. Have you ever had a surreal spiritual moment—a mountaintop experience or what some call a “God moment”? Something so existential, so uncanny, it couldn’t possibly be coincidence. May...

Letting go of your dreams? Come on, Pastor Joe—what kind of title is that? It sounds depressing, even un American. Dreams are a huge part of life; we all have them. We dream about what our lives could or should look like. We have national dreams shaped by political or moral beliefs, and personal dreams about financial security, physical health, relationships, family, and reputation. Some even prea...

Have you ever had a moment when you were confident about something, only to realize you were completely wrong—that sinking “oh no…” moment when you discover you didn’t understand things nearly as well as you thought? I’m not great at putting things together, mostly because I get impatient and skim instructions, and more than once I’ve built something only to realize at the end that I didn’t follow...

Have you ever had a moment when you thought you understood something—only to realize later that you were completely blinded? Maybe you had a partial grasp of reality, but then suddenly everything snapped into focus, and you saw the truth clearly for the first time. I remember watching an XFL football game on TV in early March 2020, right before any of us really understood what COVID‑19 was. The st...

We’re living in a deeply divided world, where everyone feels pressured to pick a side to today’s biggest issues. Where do you stand on racism, riots, policing, the rapture, marriage, economics, taxes, healthcare? How can anyone defend this politician’s character or that politician’s stance on abortion? These debates never go away; they just get louder. Emotions are at a fever pitch. People run eac...

Have you ever had a conversation about spiritual things and run into someone who says, “Oh, I’m a very spiritual person”? But they don’t mean Jesus—they mean a kind of broad, intuitive ability to process the spiritual world on their own terms. They believe their spirituality shows up in all kinds of ways… and we’ll explore some of those later. But if you’ve ever tried to talk about faith with “ver...

Ever been in a situation where you felt completely out of place? Like you had nothing in common with anyone around you? I love a good picnic, especially when it’s with people I know and love. Family, friends, baptisms at Lido… and of course, potato salad (with BBQ sauce), coleslaw, grilled chicken, sausages, burgers, baked beans—the whole spread. But about ten years ago, I was invited to a huge pi...

Ever have one of those dreams where you’re trying to speak—trying to scream—but nothing comes out? Or moments in real life when you wanted to say something but felt like you didn’t have a voice at all? I’ll never forget watching my grandmother recover from a stroke. The frustration on her face when she couldn’t communicate was heartbreaking. But the moment we finally understood her—when her words...

Can you think of a time in your life when you took an action or said words that turned out to be really wise? So full of wisdom you kind of shocked even yourself a little? What about a spiritual moment? A moment of eternal clarity where your words inspired someone in a pit of despair. What was it? Was it a political debate? A work, investment, or business decision? Maybe it was a relationship you...

How many of you have a past connection to Catholicism? I remember when I was a young boy in Catholic school, just coming to grips with how often I would sin. The nuns were good at pointing out what a sin was, and the more I learned, the more I realized I had a big problem. Of course, being good nuns, they also taught me how to deal with those sins so I could be cleansed. Hail Mary's, the rosary, c...

Ever since the pandemic became big news, hygiene has garnered more attention than ever. Don’t touch that box, don’t open that door, don’t shake hands! Everyone is an expert on hand washing… Use anti-bacterial soap, air dry is best. For those with OCD, it’s nothing new. I was way ahead of this for decades, with bottles of Purell in my truck, office, bag. There are things we used to do that we thoug...

How many of you hate rollercoaster? How many of you love rollercoasters? The people that love them, what would you say to those who hate it that would make them love it? Put your hands up, don’t hold onto the bar, quit screaming! Don’t fight it! Just go with it! I hate them, I get anxiety just getting in the line, realizing, soon I will not be in control. On the ride, my body naturally, involuntar...

I remember one of the most frightening experiences of my life as a little boy just joining cub scouts. I was 7 years old and had been a part of the troop for a couple months and we went on our first camping trip. There were 5 cubbies and 2 troop leaders, deep in the woods, far from city lights. They were so excited to take me on a mission I had never been on before, and I started to get excited as...

Today’s passage is one of the more well-known stories about Jesus feeding a mass of hungry people. Of course, there are many places in scripture where the church is commanded to feed the hungry. It’s all through the New Testament. As I wrote this week, my first thoughts went to how God uses our little church in the area of mercy & community care. Our mercy team and its humble leaders do amazing, c...

Easter is an annual reminder of the good news of how Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. It certainly is good news of course, our savior has died for our sins, then conquered death so we might have life! Have you ever thought about the other side of a resurrection That as good as it is, there are winners and losers? In some of the greatest movies or stories, the climactic point is when...

The good thing about crisis is how it transforms ordinary, giving us the opportunity for something extraordinary and new. Would you agree with me that life as we know it will never fully return to what it was a couple months ago? Didn’t most of us have predictable, ordinary lives with weekly structures to manage tasks & expectations? Would you agree we were more comfortable than we realized with o...

We have some special guests watching live from Incirlik Amy Base in Turkey, My cousin Ty Coufal & 39th Medical group. Thank you for your service, we’re truly humbled to have you watching. We hope to be a blessing to you today. Current events have revealed to many of us a world we knew existed but didn’t pay much attention to until recently. Over the last month most of us have learned more about mi...