Grantham Church Podcast

Sermon Focus: The prophet Habakkuk teaches us that prayer is more than talking to God—it begins with learning to be quiet enough to listen for his voice. Faced with confusion, injustice, and unanswered questions, Habakkuk boldly speaks up, bringing his doubts and concerns honestly before the Lord. As he listens and waits, he discovers that faith is not found in having all the answers but in trusti...

Sermon Focus: It doesn’t take long into childhood before we begin to desire independence and learn our society’s way of self-sufficiency. But Jesus says the Kingdom of God belongs to those who come to him as little children. What does that mean? And how can we cultivate a child-like dependence upon God and others? Join Pastor Melissa Lowther as she explores Jesus’ teaching and invites us into the...

PRINCIPALITIES & POWERS

Sermon Focus: Spiritual warfare is not about fear, panic, fascination with demons, or mastering spiritual techniques—it is about standing firm in the victory of Jesus Christ. In the final message of our series, Pastor David invites us to bring our knowledge of the unseen cosmic conflict into our reading of Ephesians 6:10-18 as he unpacks what Paul means by the “armor of God” and how we are to enga...

Sermon Focus: The Great Commission is more than a call to personal evangelism—it is Jesus’ declaration that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, and that the nations are being reclaimed for God’s Kingdom. Viewed through cosmic lenses, we see that proclaiming our faith is spiritual warfare. In the seventh message of our series, Pastor David explores how Pentecost is a reversal of Babel and...

Sermon Focus: Jesus did not come merely to forgive sins—he came to confront, disarm, and defeat the powers of darkness. He came to reverse the three cosmic rebellions! In the sixth message of our series, Pastor David explores how Jesus affirmed the cosmic spiritual warfare worldview through his temptations, exorcisms, teachings, transfiguration, death, and resurrection, and he explains how Jesus d...

Sermon Focus: Daniel 10 reveals that behind the geopolitical conflicts of the world are unseen spiritual powers influencing the nations. In the fifth message of our series, Pastor David explores how Daniel’s vision connects to Deuteronomy 32:8-9 and Psalm 82, what the biblical role of angels is in the cosmic war, and why “spiritual warfare” is not primarily about fear or fascination with spiritual...

Sermon Focus: The Tower of Babel is the biblical account of humanity’s organized rebellion against God and the scattering of the nations. After this scattering, the nations are allotted to spiritual rulers who ultimately became corrupt and led humanity into idolatry and injustice. In the fourth message of our series, Pastor David unpacks Genesis 11:1-9 and Deuteronomy 32:7-9 and shares how God for...

Sermon Focus: Genesis 6:1-4 is one of the strangest and most debated passages in the Bible, describing a supernatural rebellion in which the “sons of God” transgress God’s created order and produce the Nephilim, or giants. In the third message of our series, Pastor David explores how this cosmic rebellion intensified human wickedness, contributed to God’s judgment in the flood, and shaped the Jewi...

Sermon Focus: Genesis 3 is more than the story of humanity’s first sin—it is the beginning of a cosmic rebellion that fractures creation and introduces spiritual warfare into the human story. The serpent in Eden is not merely a talking snake, but a supernatural rebel who tempts humanity to distrust God. In the second message of our series, Pastor David explores the deeper meaning of the garden sce...

Sermon Focus: It’s one thing to give mental assent to angels, demons, and the unseen realm, but it’s another thing to fully embrace the cosmic dimensions of reality. The Bible says that God created “the heavens” above and the earth below. The material universe was created after God had made a spiritual world populated by angelic beings. In the first message of our series, Pastor David introduces u...

Sermon Focus: Issues of refugees and immigration are obviously political, economic and cultural issues — but sometimes we miss that they are also biblical issues, with profound ramifications for God's mission. What does the Bible say about these issues facing our nation and the church of Jesus Christ? In today's message, guest speaker Matthew Soerens of World Relief explores various biblical princ...

Sermon Focus: The risen Jesus comes to Peter to restore him, not condemn him. Jesus doesn’t ask Peter to prove himself, only to love him. And from that place of love, Jesus restores Peter and gives him a renewed calling. The one who failed the Lord is now the one commissioned to lead and care for the sheep. Because in the Kingdom of God, failure is never the end—it’s often where real faith begins....

Sermon Focus: Peter drew his sword and Jesus told him to stop. Shortly after that, when questioned, Peter denied Christ three times and ran. Therefore, Peter was not there when Jesus died—he was crying and hiding in shame. And yet, when the women reported that Jesus had risen, Peter ran to the tomb! Peter shows us that we can always begin again. We can add an “and” when we think our stories have c...

Sermon Focus: Palm Sunday is filled with both awe and confusion—the crowds rightly celebrate Jesus as the Son of David yet misunderstand the kind of king and Messiah he has come to be for us. The disciples stand in the tension, hearing the shouts of victory while remembering Jesus’ words about suffering, sacrifice, and the cross. In the sixth message of our series, Pastor David helps us to imagine...

Sermon Focus: As Peter learns how to be a student of Jesus he asks his master a question about forgiveness. Jesus’ response seems impossible, but invites his followers to live into the reality of God’s grace. In the fifth message of our Lenten series, Pastor Melissa shares about the transforming power of forgiveness and invites us to consider how we will respond to the mercy of Christ.

Sermon Focus: In the episode immediately after Simon’s great confession (“You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”), and Jesus gives him his new name, Peter (rock), the Lord strongly rebukes Peter for being a stumbling block to him. And then Jesus uses that moment to challenge the expectations of the disciples and clarify what it means to follow him. In the fourth message of our series, Pas...

Sermon Focus: After journeying with his disciples for a couple of years, Jesus asks them, “Who do you say I am?” In a life-defining moment, Simon Peter responds with clarity and conviction, and his declaration would shape his own identity and purpose. In the third message of our Lenten series, Pastor Melissa presents some of the ways the people of Jesus’ day understood him and invites us to respon...

Sermon Focus: The disciples are in a fishing boat on the lake when a storm hits. Jesus goes out to meet them—walking on the water! And when Jesus approaches, Simon Peter wants to prove that he has the faith necessary to follow him and lead others. It turns out to be a humbling lesson for Peter. In the second message of our Lenten series, Pastor David shares about faith and doubt in the middle of l...

Sermon Focus: In the first century, rabbis typically chose the best and the brightest to become an apprentice of the master. Shockingly, Jesus welcomed all who would come, and he chose those who were willing to “leave the nets” and follow him. In the first message of our Lenten series, Pastor David introduces us to a strong, rough-around-the-edges fisherman named Simon Peter, shares why Peter’s fi...

Sermon Focus: In his concluding words from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that we have a choice to make. We can build our lives on the solid rock of his teachings or build our lives on sinking sand. While many people hear his words, it’s only those who want to become more like Jesus and practice his way that survive the storm. In the final message of our series, Pastor David invites us to mov...

Sermon Focus: In the final section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns his followers to beware of false prophets and leaders who appear harmless but lead people off the narrow road that leads to life. He says they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. In today’s message, Pastor David shares how we can tell the difference in good and bad leaders and influencers, and how we can be sure that we ar...

Sermon Focus: In the next section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to trust God as a good Father who invites us to ask, seek, and knock—to be intentional in asking God for wisdom in prayer as we seek to be in right relationship with others. And the more we depend upon his Spirit and trust in his character, provision, and justice, we are freed up to treat others the way we want to be trea...

Sermon Focus: Jesus says: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged." Don't we have to judge sin? Actually, that is God's job. Church discipline is important but always for the betterment of the other and in recognition that we will be judged by God. We take care not to be hard on the sins of others and lax on our own sins and not to be more focused on condemning others than in helping them to...

Sermon Focus: We live in a world that is constantly telling us we need more—more money, more security, more possessions. This pressure easily produces anxiety, fear, and striving. But Jesus teaches us a Kingdom truth: in Him we already have enough! In today’s message, Julia Johnson (co-founder of One80 Ministries) reminds us that Jesus’ command not to worry is directly related to money, and then s...