The Grace City Church Podcast

Guest teacher Seth Brill reminds us of our calling and Christian identity by Father, our identity through Christ and our identity with the Spirit.  Ephesians 1:1-14

We pick up the story for our 3rd series in Acts beginning in Chapter 13. The Church in Antioch was a rapidly growing church in a large, multi-ethnic and bustling city at the crossroads of life in 1st century Roman Empire. From a collection of leaders, the Holy Spirit chose Saul (Paul) and Barnabas to be the first official missionaries of the Christian movement. We hope you're encouraged by th...

How do you feel about entering the year ahead? Like most, you probably have mixed feelings about the blend of things you are certain will come and the unforeseen, unknown events that will take place. What if you could decide now, at the beginning of the year, how the year will go and how you will finish? According to the Bible, that's possible. We hope you are encouraged and inspired by this...

The one woman in the history of mankind that God chose to carry and care for His own son? Yeah, she's incredible. And so are the things she teaches us and ways she points us to Jesus as she waits for her special child to be born. We hope you are encouraged by this final installment of the series. Text: Luke 1:26-56

In this message, Willie Brown continues our Advent series with a closer look at the story of Simeon from Luke 2. We hope you're encouraged by God's faithfulness and use of his faithful servant, Simeon.

Where do the things I'm going through, maybe praying about, register in the heart and mind of God? Are my trials and questions insignificant in light of eternity and everything else God has on His plate? The story of Zechariah, Elizabeth and the birth of their son John answers these questions with the simple truth that our lives and the things we go through are never insignificant. Because Go...

The birth of Jesus signified God's cosmic, divine response to centuries of prayerful waiting. Waiting is part of the human experience, and waiting on God is paramount to the abundant life of a Christian. But this doesn't make waiting easier. As we wait, sometimes we struggle to stay positive, sliding into anxiety, frustration and despair. Fortunately, the Bible teaches and faithful men a...

Are you a grateful person? How about a generous one? As we enter the holiday season, it's the right time to take a closer look at what the Bible teaches us about these two Christian attributes. As we see, the two should fuel and produce one another, like 2 sides of the same coin.  Stick around to the end for some questions you can ask yourself to be more intentional this holiday season (and t...

Ever read the last chapter of a book or the synopsis of a final episode before deciding to invest the time and emotional resources into a new book or TV series? The beauty of reading a book like Ezekiel now is that we can see where God was headed the entire time by looking at the final 9 chapters. In this final message of the series, we take a look at Ezekiel's final (and longest) vision - th...

Ezekiel 37:1-14 Maybe the most famous 14 verses in this Old Testament book, the "Valley of Dry Bones" passage held a significance for its original audience, and it holds a significant message of hope for those of us who read it today. When God decides to bring dead things back to life (as only He can!), He will use His word and His spirit to accomplish the resurrection. As we hold fast t...

Perhaps one of the most beautiful chapters in the entire Bible, Ezekiel 34 puts on display God's heart for his sheep -- people who've been misled, taken advantage of, neglected, overlooked and find themself scattered and lost. This chapter is all about God's heart for people like you, and his intention to personally intervene in your story, heal what's broken, care for you, and...

Today, we jump ahead to chapter 11 of this Old Testament book and take a closer look at God's response to a broken-hearted Ezekiel. We see the compassion and kindness of God in his brief message of hope. And we learn two things specifically about God: 1. God always has the full story and big picture in view. 2. God hears our cries, cares about us and looks to encourage, inspire and help us se...

This week, we talk about how the people of Israel lost their faith in the one true God, placing their affections in the wrong place. Then we talk through how can we avoid this same fate and keep our hearts focused on the God who gave everything for us.

This week, we pick up where we left off in Chapter 2 and continue reading and studying Chapter 3. We explore a key to living in exile, understanding the role of Ezekiel as a "watchman," and dig ever-so-slightly into the sign acts that God used to communicate His impending judgment to the people of Israel.  Bottom Line: God keeps His promises. He is the great communicator. Questions to co...

Today, we kick off a brand new series in one of the most confusing books of the Old Testament. Covering chapters 1 and 2, we take a look at the Spirit of God and His presence that pursues us and remains with us. We also nerd out with an OT timeline. We hope you enjoy and are encouraged by this message.

In the final installment of this series, we look at the problem created by a world that says "Follow your heart" and "Be true to yourself" and the invitation of Jesus to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. We hope you enjoy this deep, extended conversation about the meaning and implications of Luke 9:23-25. Jesus is still worth building your life on!

Politics in church? Just the idea makes most of us squirm. But the truth is that many modern Americans are leaving the church and faith they've grown up in because of the way they see Christians behaving in the political sphere. For far too long, we've allowed one another to compromise convictions and turned turn our faith into a political chess piece, picking and choosing Bible verses a...

If that person is a Christian... If that church is full of people who are claiming to follow Jesus, and HE or SHE or THEY are capable of hurting me or other people in such an awful way, why would I want to have anything to do with Jesus? This question has been posed by many who are leaving the Christian faith and church in the modern phenomenon known as DECONSTRUCTION. The truth is that all people...

In part 2 of our series addressing DECONSTRUCTION and the reasons people are leaving the church and Christian faith, we dive into perhaps the biggest and most difficult question posed of God. This question was first asked by Epicurus, a 3rd century (B.C.) philosopher, and it goes something like this: If God is good, then why does evil exist? If God is all-powerful, then why doesn't He do some...

Hundreds of thousands of Americans who once identified as Christian and attended church regularly have stopped doing both in the past several years. The term used to describe this process is DECONSTRUCTION, and the rate is increasing. Some think its a new phenomenon, but the Bible tells a different story. John 6 describes followers of Jesus who decided to stop following him. Paul's letters to...

Our College Pastor, Christopher Weeks, helps set vision for what it could mean for us as individuals and as a church to think about investing in the lives of those around us, and specially the next generation.

Ever so often, it is appropriate to remind one another of our mission and calling. At Grace City, we exist to help people discover (real, abundant) life in Christ by grace, in community, and with purpose. In addition to this mission, we live in a particular time and place that brings a set of unique opportunities and responsibilities. This morning's message is one pastor's prayers for th...

We wrap up this series with a closer look at what Jesus has to say about UNANSWERED prayers. The wrong understanding of John 14:13-14 leaves many frustrated and questioning God, but we see in both Matthew 7 and Luke 18 that persistent prayer is one of the ways God grows us and draws us closer to himself. We hope you've been encouraged through this series, and that you'll see prayer as an...

What does it mean to pray constantly? In this message, we take a closer week at 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Philippians 4:6-7. What we learn is this: Developing an ongoing dialogue with God allows us to connect with Him throughout the day, "keep in step" with the Holy Spirit, fight back against worry, and cultivate an attitude of gratitude. At the end, Nathan shares ten quick ways we can re...

This message takes a closer look at Matthew 6:5-8 and Jesus's prayer in the "deserted place" in Mark 1. The instructions of Jesus about praying in secret, eliminating distractions and having the right motives can help each of us as we look to experience the blessing of walking in relationship with the Creator of the world. What is your time and place to connect with God in honest co...