The Grove Church / Dallas, Texas

Luke pens his gospel with the intent that it creates certainty about who Jesus is and what his life, death, and resurrection mean. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen emphasizes why it's important we answer the question of certainty for ourselves.

Learning to sit in stillness and silence is challenging at best, but at its most difficult, it can feel like a wrestling match with God. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares that our blessing and true identity are on the other side of our wrestling.

As children, when we're lost, we're told that we should stay put and ask for help. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shows that even as adults, this simple childhood lesson remains true.

Between the hurry, and hustle, muchness and busyness, and noise finding the space to be silent and alone with God can be challenging at best. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares how we can develop a rhythm to anchor us in the presence of God in our daily lives.

In a world where notifications, alerts, and pings interrupt us at every turn, we risk a distracted and scattered life. How do we silence the noise? As we enter a new year full of new choices, Pastor Allie teaches us how we can discern well amidst the noise. 

Tradition holds that the manger, where Christ is born, is sequestered, distant, and removed from the rest of the story. But in this sermon, Pastor Stephen challenges convention and shows how the location of the manger may not be where we think it is - and why this is such great news!

In a holiday season overloaded with so many expectations, a perfect gift, drama-free family gatherings, endless joy and warm feelings, we are set up to be severely disappointed. Disappointment - the feeling when things don't turn out how we hoped they would. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shows us how the antidote to disappointment is found in the presence of God.

You don't have to look very far to find something to be afraid of, worry about, or stoke the anxiety within us. Psychologists today report that teens have the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient from the 1950s. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares where this fear comes from and how we can replace fear with the peace of God - even when all isn't peaceful.

Loss is a natural part of life, and while it’s painful - we can have hope that God is with us in our loss, that he intimately understands our pain, and we can have hope that God is bringing us to a place where, in Christ’s return, loss is no more. Rev. Allie Shulman shares a message of hope for those who grieve this Christmas.

"God loves a cheerful giver." This verse elicits various responses in us - for some, it's cynicism or guilt, and for others, it's a convicting nudge or affirmation of an important truth. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares the important secret of cheerful giving that isn't supposed to be a secret at all.

We're all treasure hunters. We are likely not the kind with a map, compass, or metal detector - but we spend our lives seeking and guarding treasure. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen teaches us that what we treasure matters because when we treasure the wrong things - we spend our lives wracked with anxiety, worry, and despair.

If you believe the "good life" comes from having more than others, then it's better to be rich. Generosity makes little sense because it risks how much you have. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen looks at Jesus' life to teach us that the richest life is a generous life.

It's easy to believe that generosity is a destination - a place we get to once we have "enough." And so we wait. We wait for our careers to develop, to pay off our mortgage, or to get the kids through college. But in this sermon, Pastor Stephen shows us that generosity is never a destination but an orientation.

Over the last 25 years, 40 million Americans have stopped attending church. This dramatic shift in church attendance is the most significant in history. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares how we can counteract this shift and grow the church in a vibrant and lasting way.

As The Grove celebrates its 6th birthday, Pastor Stephen looks back on God's faithfulness over the last six years, and looking forward, he challenges us to do more than just grow older, but to grow in maturity.

Our world demands very little of us when it comes to commitment. We can change our mind quickly, flitting from one choice to another. In this midst of this, we have dissembled the virtue of commitment. Over the course of this series, St. Benedict has guided us to help us reclaim this virtue. In the final sermon of the series, Rev. Allie Shulman discusses the vow of conversatio moram-- the vow of a...

In our age of noise, busyness, and distraction - we have unlimited voices telling us who we should be and how we should live. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares the wisdom of St. Benedict, whose Rule opens with the words, "Listen carefully..." from there, we can chart a course to live a life of purpose and meaning God desires for us.

While we have limitless choices, the effect is an ever-increasing feeling of being detached and rootless. We often feel adrift, like we have no place, people, or home to ground us. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen introduces St. Benedict of Nurcia and the wisdom he has to share with us for finding and establishing roots that lead to life.

Making and keeping commitments is a lost skill. We ghost, flake out, and quietly quit. In a world filled with loosely-held options, how do we find anything that lasts? In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares how we can develop our "grip strength" to securely hold our most important commitment. 

In today's world, we have more options than ever, yet too much of a good thing usually turns bad. What if our infinite options are the cause of our indecision and chronic anxiety? In this sermon, Pastor Stephen introduces the virtue of commitment and the role it plays in anchoring our lives.

Sometimes, life gives us way more questions than answers. And yet, it seems like we are left to figure it out alone! This can lead to lots of searching and inadequate or incomplete answers. Whether you are raising kids asking their own questions or still wrestling to find answers of your own, it doesn't have to be so stressful. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares how we can find better answers t...

Picture this: a child on a playground, bravely reciting, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." We've all chanted it, clung to it, hoping to shield our hearts. Yet, with time, we've all learned that words can hurt - a lot. But what if we could change the narrative? What if our words could heal the wounds they often cause? Pastor Stephen invites us to discover the tra...

We speak, on average, 10,000 words a day. How many of our words are careless - spoken quickly or with little thought, unconcerned with their target or impact? We may not think this means much, but our words have much more to say. In this sermon, Pastor Stephen shares a teaching from Jesus that reveals a profound significance to our words. It's more than the question, "What did you say?" It's about...

To kick off a new sermon series, Rev. Allie Shulman takes us into the letter of James. Our tongue has the power to change our lives-- to build relationships, to ruin relationships, to build bridges, or tear others apart. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the power to control our speech for the better.