Tanners Grove Community Church Sermon Podcast

The hope we have in Christ, is not just for a future day, though it definitely is, it is also hope that we can lean on today.

Luke 23 details one of the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion and is the only gospel account to talk about the thief on the cross beside of Jesus. Jesus' response to the thief who repents tells us a lot about who Jesus is, and what the kingdom of God is like.

We cannot control most things in this world, but we believe in the one who can. Through the hard times, God is revealing the love and care that he has for us. We are encouraged to trust and not to be afraid. Though the world may fall apart, our relationship with God is not shaken. 

In Luke 20 Jesus is confronted by Sadducees. They didn't believe in Heaven, so they were Sad, You See :). Jesus reminds them, and us, that God is the God of the Living. All of us are precious children of God.

This Sunday we took some time to remember the saints who have passed in our community this past year and we were reminded who they were because of their relationship to Christ and who we are now because of it. All of those who have placed their faith in Christ are saints, not because of anything we have done but because of the supreme love that Christ has for us.

Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collectors gives us a couple of do's and don'ts when it comes to prayer. The ultimate lesson is that prayer leads to repentance and changes us for the better. It's best use is when it leads us to not only repent to God but to our neighbor as well as we see in the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.

In our sermon this week, we look at the story of Jacob wrestling with God and are encouraged to keep holding on in the face of great uncertainty.

This week in 2 Timothy 2:8-13 we are reminded of the surety of Christ and how he never fails, even when we do.

Sometimes we don't understand what God is up to but he is always working.

In another parable about wealth and possessions, we see a story of two very different lives that further exemplify the upside-down kingdom of God. What we do with all of our resources matters. Not that we can earn our salvation through wealth management but we show our salvation through how we use what we have to care for others.

Luke 16:1-13 contains a parable that may kind of sound like Jesus is telling us to be dishonest to get rich...is he?

In Luke 15:1-10 Jesus tells two parables about people who have lost items, one a sheep, the other a coin. The stories remind us that God gives everything to find those who are lost. We are called to help in the search and join in the celebration.

Jesus says to follow him we must hate our family and friends in Luke 14. That seems at odds with his command to love God and love our neighbor. What does he mean and what do we do with it? How does it change our lives?

Jesus gives some social and spiritual advise in Luke 14 to the Pharisees. Seek the betterment of others, not your own status, and invite everyone to the table because it's big enough for every image bearer of God.

Sermon recording from August 24, 2025 on Hebrews 12:18-24.

Hebrews 11 talks about some influential people of faith intended to encourage the original audience, and us today, to continue on our faith journey even when things are difficult. But what is that race? Is it believing in Jesus and being a good person, or is there more to it? How should we try to run it?

The expressions of our faith (how we gather, what we sing, traditions we follow) vary widely across different churches, but the heart of the Gospel has not changed.

You have probably heard the story of Jonah, how he was swallowed by a great fish and spat out back on dry land, but there is a lot more to the story than just that. God is calling us to use this book as a mirror to determine whether we are like Jonah. If we find ourselves identifying with Jonah, maybe we need to make some changes.

What is our responsibility towards our enemies?

What does Amos have to tell us today about righteousness and justice?

What is the Day of the Lord and how do we respond? Joel's message is a message of inward repentance and not just outward performance. We are called to embody the love of God and share that love out into the world around us.

This week we began a short summer series on the minor prophets and we learned that although they are shorter than the other prophetic books of the bible, they still have an important message about God's love.

The Trinity is a classically difficult concept to fully explain and comprehend and it's easy to just think of it as a purely academic concept and not worry about it too much in our everyday lives. BUT, it's actually a great reminder of God's love for us and we can lean into it in our everyday spiritual journey.

The church has been a diverse place since its early days. In Acts 2 today, we see how the Holy Spirit highlights the beauty of that diversity. Everyone should be able to hear and understand the gospel without barriers. Diversity is a strength and one day we will worship with the most diverse group of people we've ever experienced.

When Paul and Silas find themselves in prison for spreading the Gospel, they turn to praise and prayer rather than pity and anger. We should do the same more often in our lives.