Grantham Church Podcast

Sermon Series: Resilient Faith | Lent 2021Sermon Title: Know Who You AreScripture Reading: Mark 1:9-13; Romans 8:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17; Galatians 2:20 Before Jesus goes into the wilderness, he hears words of affirmation from God the Father: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” As we see with Jesus, knowing who you are enables us to overcome trials and opposition. Becaus...

Sermon Series: Resilient Faith | Lent 2021Sermon Title: The Necessity of LamentScripture Reading: Exodus 14:10-12; Psalm 13:1-6, 22:1; Matt 5:4; Phil 2:12-14 This life is full of trials and troubles. If we don’t acknowledge what is wrong and learn how to properly lament, we will grow to be spiritually malformed. We can see this most clearly in the story of the exodus when God’s people grumble and...

Sermon Series: Resilient Faith | Lent 2021Sermon Title: Resistance Builds ResilienceScripture Reading: Matt 4:1-11; James 1:13-15, 4:7-8; Eph 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8-10 Jesus shows us that you can’t build resilient faith unless you learn to resist temptation and evil. The New Testament reveals that we have three enemies that should be resisted: the world, our flesh, and the devil. But unfortunately,...

Sermon Series: Resilient Faith | Lent 2021Sermon Title: Trial Before TriumphScripture Reading: Mark 1:9-13; James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-8 If we want to have “resilient” faith, it only comes one way: through the experience of resistance, trials, and challenges. There are several biblical metaphors that describe how God wants to use our trials and times of testing to grow our faith and sh...

Sermon Series: Love | Your God & Your NeighborSermon Title: Love Your NeighborScripture Reading: Matt 22:36-40; John 13:34-35; 1 Cor 13:4-7; 1 John 4:7-12, 20-21 Jesus said that our love for God must include the love of our neighbor (and our enemies), or it isn’t true love. But what does this love look like? And why is it the distinguishing mark of a Christ-follower? While some may look for an...

Sermon Series: Love | Your God & Your NeighborSermon Title: Love Your GodScripture Reading: Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 22:36-40; John 1:38; 1 John 4:9-19 Jesus once told us that the greatest commandment of all is to love God and our neighbor. A command to love may seem ridiculous at first. But it’s really all about who or what gets your heart, and where you’ve aimed your loves. We can’t not love. S...

Sermon Series: Pursuing Racial JusticeSermon Title: Putting On Our Blue JeansScripture Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-15; Zechariah 9:9-10; Mark 11:1-24 How can we be a witness that the Kingdom of God is about peace, love, and justice? Consider the careful and strategic Messianic demonstration of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. Listen as Drew Hart (author and theologian) invites us to reimagine grassroot...

Sermon Series: Pursuing Racial JusticeSermon Title: Broken Systems & the People They HurtScripture Reading: Proverbs 31:8-9; Acts 16:16-40; Matthew 25:31-46; Hebrews 13:3 The Bible tells us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; to judge fairly and defend the rights of the poor and needy (Prov. 31:8-9). That is why we must take an honest look at America’s broken criminal justic...

Sermon Series: Pursuing Racial JusticeSermon Title: Taking on the Principalities & PowersScripture Reading: Ephesians 2:14-16; 6:10-12; Galatians 3:28; Philippians 2:1-11 You know you’re being played by spiritual powers when you identify flesh and blood as the enemy. So, if we’re going to pursue racial justice, we need to wake up to the systems that condition us and begin resisting the spiritu...

Pursuing Racial Justice: How the Gospel Confronts America’s Original SinAmerica has a long history of racism—beginning with the near extermination of one race and the enslavement of another. And unfortunately, America’s “original sin” isn’t a thing of the past, as we continue to see racist acts of violence, police brutality, the rise of white supremacy groups, mass incarceration, and broken system...

Sermon Title: Press On Toward the GoalScripture Reading: Philippians 3:12-16; John 15:5-8; Ephesians 3:20-21 Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, likely in Rome toward the end of his life. He writes to encourage Christians to press on in their pursuit of Christ like a runner does in a race. We need to hear this message as we enter a new year and begin to see light at the end of the pandemic...

A global pandemic, polarizing politics, civil unrest and more! 2020 has been a year full of challenges and vacillating emotions. How do we find hope and live confidently, even in the midst of trials? Listen as Heather Beaty helps us explore what it means to be anchored in hope as we step forward into 2021.

Sermon Series: Unexpected | Advent 2020Sermon Title: Nothing Is Impossible with GodScripture Reading: Matthew 1:19-25; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:26-38; Hebrews 10:36-39 They were betrothed, but not married. And then Mary was visited by an angel. Joseph had a dream. They were told they would be the parents to the Son of God, the Messiah. This news and the events that followed were unexpected. As we look a...

Sermon Series: Unexpected | Advent 2020Sermon Title: Trusting God When We Don’t Know WhyScripture Reading: Job 1:6-12, 20-22; 9:17, 22-24; 38:1-2; 42:3-6, 10-17; Romans 8:18-30 Job was a good guy. He had lots of friends, a great family, and money in the bank. Until one day he lost everything. His loss was so great that it would be hard for anyone not to see it as divine punishment. But little did...

Sermon Series: Unexpected | Advent 2020Sermon Title: The Way of Downward MobilityScripture Reading: Genesis 37:1-36; 39-40; 41:39-43; 45:1-11; 50:20; Romans 8:28-29 God may give us insight into the future, but how we get there is often not at all what we expected. Joseph experienced that firsthand. He had dreams, but his brothers sold him into slavery, he was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t c...

Unexpected | Advent 2020What do we do when the unexpected happens? How do we respond when our world is rocked? The Bible is full of stories where people experienced God through unexpected events—biblical characters whose ideas about God and their plans for the future were challenged and disrupted, yet they were surprised by God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love after a period of waiting. What can th...

For the past few years Grantham Church has held a Thanksgiving Service. In this service we sing, we pray, we give thanks, we recognize new members, and we create space for stories and testimonies from folks in our congregation. Each year we’ve selected a small group of folks who are willing to share how God has been at work in their lives through our church, and give them an opportunity to publicl...

Jesus’s teachings have political applications: “Love your enemies,” “Do not return evil for evil,” “Live at peace with everyone.” How do we follow the teachings of Jesus in our world? The apostle Paul addresses this question in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world.” Listen as John Yeatts shares how we’re called to follow the politics of Jesus rather than the partisan poli...

The 2020 presidential election has revealed that the US is more divided than ever. We have major problems that politics will not be able to resolve. Politics can not heal the soul of a nation, only Christ can through disciples who follow him. In the final sermon of our series, Pastor David shares what it means to confess “Jesus is Lord” and how we must come out of empire and unite together as the...

It’s time for Christians in America to acknowledge that we’re living in a modern-day empire. And while Christianity certainly influenced the founding of the US, America is not a Christian nation. So, as aliens and exiles, how should we conduct ourselves civically? How should we live as citizens of heaven? How should we vote? Listen as Pastor David challenges us to remember who we are and the One w...

If we want to see Jesus, we don’t look to the powerful, we look to the powerless. The first Christians were among the powerless. Who are the powerless today? It’s time to listen and learn from those in the margins of American Empire. Listen as guest speaker Dennis Edwards (North Park Theological Seminary) shares how marginalized people are the best teachers of what it means to be followers of Chri...

The early church did not see themselves as the moral guardians of society or try to impose their will on the world. They had no political power, yet they turned the Roman Empire upside down. How did they do it? They faithfully lived out the Messianic agenda of Jesus as citizens of the Kingdom. They trusted God to work in his time. Listen as Pastor David invites us to embrace the patience and empat...

Just as an incoming president reveals the things they intend to do when they come into power, Jesus does the same when he makes his royal announcement in Nazareth. But unfortunately, not everyone desires his Kingdom. Listen as Pastor David shares how the Messianic agenda of Jesus is good news for those wanting a new world, but it’s bad news for those who aren’t willing to repent and let go of the...

As the Messiah, Jesus resisted the temptation to use worldly kingdom power. He showed us that the Kingdom of God is about power-under, not power-over. And he called disciples with divergent political views to set aside their opinions in order to follow him and discover a “third” way to live within the empire. Listen as Pastor David challenges us to pledge allegiance to Christ and trust in his way...

Jesus said that his disciples are to be known by their love. Judging by our reputation, something is definitely amiss with the church’s witness. Instead of living in love and trusting in cross-power, many Christians are lusting for political power. How have we gone so far off the rails? And what does repentance look like? Listen as Pastor David calls us to remember who we are and tells us how to r...