Pataskala Grace Church Sermons

As Christians, we must be prepared to endure all sorts of things for the sake of Christ. Whether mild or sever, persecution comes in all forms. Proving faithful amid such trials is the true test of our devotion and faith in Jesus. May we all be as faithful as those in Smyrna.

While our efforts to be faithful to God and to maintain purity in church are praiseworthy, they are meaningless unless rooted in the love of Jesus Christ. This must be our first and foremost priority as a church. We need to continually remember, repent, and return to the works of loving Jesus that we did when we first fell in love with Him. When we do, we can look forward to our reward: Eating fro...

After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, He promises His presence to the church.

The Incarnation is literally the presence of God with us, here on earth. By being born to a humble family in humble accommodations, Jesus reveals God's concern for normal people. He came to be with us by becoming one of us.

God's plan to bring salvation to the world also involved a young virgin, named Mary, whom God had chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Before she even knew what God was asking of her, the Angel Gabriel tells her that the Lord was with her. I'm sure she had to remind herself of this as she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would need God's presence as she endured the potential hardships t...

God wants to give good things to those who ask, but we need to be careful what we ask for. We should always pray for God's will to be done and we should always seek first His kingdom. Jesus just finished telling the crowd that they should lay up treasure in heaven and that God will provide for our needs. God does not promise to answer every prayer, but He desires to give us good things. Sometimes,...

Jesus calls His followers to avoid a judgmental spirit. While we're certainly expected to decide if actions are morally good or evil, we're not to be condemning. After all, all of us have fallen short of God's glory. Rather, we seek to demonstrate grace to those who are lost in sinful behavior.

Jesus wants the crowd to consider what they treasure in life. Are they living for God and the treasure of heaven that awaits those who have been saved by His grace through faith? Or are they trying to build heaven on earth, which will ultimately pass away?

Jesus explains that we should not pray in a manner that draws attention to ourselves, nor in an effort to persuade God to get what we want. We pray to ask for God's help, not to control Him. Jesus teaches those in the crowd to pray in a manner that demonstrates both our intimacy with God and our reverence. We're to pray for God's will to be done, our needs to be met, and for strength as we face th...

Jesus calls us to practice our righteousness or our spiritual disciplines in a private, not public way. If we're not careful, we might end up using our piety to glorify ourselves rather than our God. These practices are meant to honor and draw us closer to Him, not draw attention to ourselves. If we do these things to be recognized by others, then they have no other purpose in God's eyes.

Jesus calls His followers to not just love those who love them, but to love even their enemies. This is an uncommon love. It's not instinctive. But this supernatural love is what makes God so good and holy, and it's a quality that He desires from His children. He loves everyone, even those who reject Him and rebel against Him, and we're meant to do the same.

Disciples of Jesus should be prepared to endure the evil actions of individuals with a positive attitude, not with retaliation. We should be more concerned with the person than with our honor, our materials, or our time and energy. We should willingly give help to those who ask us for it.

God created marriage to be a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, but in our falleness we have failed to honor His design. We need to take marriage seriously and recognize that it is a prosperous partnership. Most importantly, we need to recognize how a marital relationship reveals Jesus' relationship with the church.

Jesus explains that the root cause of outward sexual sin is the inward desires of our hearts. If we look at someone with lust, we have already committed adultery with them in our hearts. If we want to avoid sinful behavior, we must first address the root. Jesus calls us to pursue sexual purity by cutting off anything that causes us to sin. In that way, we can better worship our Creator and not tha...