Tanners Grove Community Church Sermon Podcast

We continue our journey of ascent by looking at Psalm 125.

God is the only true source of strength and help. We rally around one another and help as we can, but we fail each other as often as we help. It’s just the way it is. Try as we may, we are not able to fully help in the way that is needed. Only God can offer true help, the redemption of our souls through the grace and mercy shown through the death and resurrection of Christ.

God is our helper. As we walk along the difficult journey of life, we can trust in the great love we have found and help others along the way.

This summer we're looking at the Psalms of Ascent. These were songs that pilgrims would sing as they were ascending up the road to Jerusalem. They would help to prepare them to worship. We are looking at them to help us along our own spiritual journey. This week, we're looking at Psalm 120 which is a song asking God to save us from slander.

Jesus’ command to go and make disciples is a call to go out into the places we go and love people as God loves them and teach them to love others as God loves them. The call isn’t relegated to the “professional christians” but to all who profess faith in Christ Jesus. We are able to more effectively do this through the power of the holy spirit who goes before us and also with us. 

Pentecost is sort of the birthday of the modern church. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Holy Spirit that indwells believers, guiding us along our faith journey. But while we all have the same holy spirit, we have not all had the same experiences. What does it mean for those of us in the western church to be guided by the holy spirit? Does it call us to speak out against the marginali...

This week, guest preacher, Chassidy Miller encouraged us to not miss out on Jesus while we are actively serving him. It's easy to get distracted by doing good, but we shouldn't miss out on our time with Jesus personally.

The author of 1 Peter uses the metaphor of stones used to construct a house to explain to believers their relationship with Christ. Christ is the all-important cornerstone, but believers are an important part of the structure as well. They are living stones who have received God’s mercy and love. Their relationship is part of a royal priesthood of believers wherein they have access to God directly...

Because of the hope we have found, we are encouraged to love one another from the heart, without hyprocisy.

Suffering has long been a part of the experience of humanity and especially the Church. In the present day we may not see suffering in the same way as the audience of 1 Peter as far as persecutions against the church as a whole. All believers face suffering due to life events such as sickness and death. However, many believers face individual sufferings due to issues that not all of us face such a...

Throughout the palm and passion narratives we see reflections of ourselves. More often than not, they point us to our need for a messiah, the lamb of God who takes away our sins. 

Jesus is calling us to come out of the darkness and into the light. When we come out we can proclaim Jesus’ love like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Martha proclaimed Jesus as Messiah through her words, Mary through her posture, and Lazarus by listening and being unbound. 

This week, Rev. Chad Watkins spoke from Mark 1:9-13 and encourages us with some things we need for life.

God's love for us is so vast, that our own sin doesn't hold it back. We didn't have to clean ourselves up before coming to faith in Jesus. Jesus made a way for us while we were still sinners.

John 3:16 has become ingrained in our culture and can be easily overlooked or just acknowledged and we move on. But it’s an extremely radical idea - God really loves everyone. Period. We “know” this mentally, but do we really embrace it and put it into practice?

Lent is a season of dismantling the ego and reclaiming our "Belovedness."

Jesus was transfigured, or transformed, on the mountaintop in Matthew 12. In a similar way, those who believe in Christ are transformed internally. What are we transformed for? How should we be and act in our new spiritual state?

Worshipping God is more than just a prayer and a baptism, wearing a cross necklace or having a Jesus fish on your car. God is calling us to pay attention to the needs of the poor and the oppressed. That is the kind of fast God is asking us to take part in.

Life changes, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. What do we do when it changes, especially for the bad? How we prioritize God and our faith has a lot to do with how we handle the dry seasons. Seeking God’s direction is important, especially during these dry times.

We all have a story to tell about how God's love has impacted our lives. Tell your story.

Jesus came into the world, not just god in a human suit, but literally became like us in substance and His light shines into our darkness. When we receive the light, we receive grace and we become a further reflection of this light out into the world. 

As we wrap up 2025, we gave some time for folks to express some thoughts about the year and it was a wonderful time reminiscing about what God has done for our church. We then look at Matthew 2:13-23 at the events recorded right after the birth of Christ. Thank you for listening and we pray you have a wonderful new year!

God shows up in our lives right in the middle of our messes, whether they are messes we made, or ones that we've been given. God showed up in Joseph's mess where he had a pregnant fiancee that he had not known yet and he had to deal with the fallout of that.

Mary has been told that she will be the mother of the Messiah. This is big news for anyone, but for a young girl from a small town who may have never seen herself as anything more than a wife and mother, this is huge. Her submission to the will of God brings about joy in heart as she bursts forth into a prophetic song. This song is often referred to as the Magnificat due to the Latin translation o...

Christmas invites us to feel cozy and warm, but to get there, we have to go through the wilderness. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist encourages us to repent so that we can find peace.