Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

There is great mystery in understanding how life can have real meaning when there is nothing new under the sun and everything comes back around again. But God is making all things new and the rhythms of this world are profound means of grace. Let us enter into the rhythms of God’s design as the means of grace they are.

There are three main themes that we need to get our heads around in order to grasp the main message of the book: The vanity of this life, the sovereignty of God over all things, and the meaning of the phrase, “under the sun.”

At Grace Church, we would be unified on specific truths of God for our faith from His word to reach maturity in Christ.

We're spending the next two sermons laying out a some of what defines us as a church—both doctrinally and practically. Our main aim in doing so is to more firmly establish ourselves in the truths of God so that we might live out our faith with greater confidence, clarity, joy, and unity.

This Gospel, John’s aims, John’s structure, Jesus’ glory, Jesus’ signs, are all graciously given to us that we may graciously believe in Jesus and graciously follow Him to the cross and from there all the way to eternal life in heaven.

Just as God equipped Moses despite his reluctance and excuses, calling him to fulfill his duty, we too are called to embrace our God-given responsibilities without excuses, trusting that He will equip and empower us to obey His commands.

Following Jesus is the primary call on all of our lives. Let's learn what it means to follow Jesus and to do so in faith.

Following Jesus is the primary call on all of our lives. Follow Jesus!

This passage shows us Jesus’ loving and gracious restoration and recommissioning of Peter. Let us receive Jesus’ love, love Jesus above all, and follow Jesus in loving ministry to His people.

Jesus cares for His people as a true friend and King, with compassion, grace, and fellowship.

John explicitly states the reason he wrote his Gospel: To describe Jesus’ signs, in order to convince his readers of Jesus’ nature, in order that we might receive life by believing in Jesus. Let us consider Jesus’ signs, believe in Him and have life, and share all of that with others that they too might believe and have life.

The risen Lord is patient with His people and faith is His gift to us. Let us identify the promises of God and fight in the Spirit’s power to believe them because Jesus has risen from the dead.

Our charge from Jesus is great and costly, but our help and reward are greater still. Boldly share the good news of Jesus with the world in the power of the Holy Spirit.

First, because God's ways are higher than our ways, what we expect from God and what we get are not always connected. Second, the ability to see things (especially spiritual things) as they truly are is always a gift from God. Finally, Jesus is risen from the dead! Let us pray and trust - pray for spiritual eyes and trust God's invisible promises.

In spite of all the OT promises and all of Jesus’ teaching, none of Jesus’ followers imagined Jesus’ resurrection as the explanation for the empty tomb. Let us study the Word of God carefully and be humble.

In times of distress and moments of death, God’s servants and saints cry out to him in prayer, find rest in his benefits, trust in his words, and praise him for his salvation.

Faithfulness to Jesus in times of suffering and mystery is often a matter of simple devotion. Let us consistently make use of the ordinary means of grace so that when times of suffering and mystery come, simple devotion flows freely out of us.

Meditating and proclaiming the greatness of God and His works increases our love, awe, and worship of Him for our good and His glory in this life and the life to come.

Jesus was knowingly, willingly, lovingly, and graciously crucified for the sins of the world so that by believing in Him we will be saved. Believe in Jesus, and live in light of the full measure of the salvation He brings.

Jesus died to accomplish the centerpiece of God’s eternal plan of redemption. Let us be amazed by the magnitude of the sovereign grace of God, such that obedience and worship flow with increasing freeness.

The Son of God was crucified. Within that, we see the incongruity of the crucifixion, several different responses to the truth of the crucifixion, and the sovereign plan of God in the crucifixion. Let us live lives of consistency and trust; or, better still, consistency in trust.

Look to Jesus’ example, as did the parents of the kids dedicated today, and ask the Lord to send us out in His power to pour forth dozens more bursts of light this week as we all give ourselves to living, no matter the cost, for God’s glory and the good of the world.

Although there were no credible accusations against Jesus, the sinfulness of man, the righteousness of Jesus, and the loving, gracious plan of God all came together to bring about Jesus’ condemnation. Therefore, let us praise Jesus for gladly giving Himself to the will of God even though it led to His mistreatment at the hands sinful men, and let us follow Jesus’ example in that.

Jesus' love and grace in the face of the growing treachery of those He came to save is staggering. Let us cultivate humility, gratitude, trust, and love in the power of the Spirit.

The time had come for Jesus to “drink the cup that the Father” had given Him—He knew exactly what was coming, because it was the loving, eternal plan of God, to save the world. Let us humbly trust Jesus’ promises even when conventional reason suggests otherwise—especially His promise to save those who would trust in Him.