gracelife sermons

Ever been in an argument, someone asks a hypothetical, accusatory question you’re supposed to be unable to answer? Laura asked me yesterday: “Did you change the air filter like you promised?” “Actually, yes” (Man that was so fun) That’s what Ch 7 is, an answer to a hypothetical question, “Well, actually this is the group that escapes judgement.” What are some of the most important things the Holy Spirit does for us as followers of Jesus? The Holy Spirit certainly at times prompts us to specific actions, words, or choices we otherwise wouldn’t engage in. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit provides intangible, experiential, spiritual moments prayer, prophesying, tongues, etc. Many different perspectives on frequency, purpose, and specifics, but certainly the Holy Spirit is active. These experiences can be powerful emotionally, spiritually, sometimes they are life changing. But there is something else the Holy Spirit does for each follower of Jesus, the first, most critical act for our survival. The Holy Spirit places a seal on us, marks us, so that we are preserved protected, given the ability to escape judgement.

Have you ever been frustrated with God? Why does God allow His children suffer at the hands of evil in this world? I’m not talking about suffering because of our own choices, that’s not suffering, that’s consequences. I am talking about paying a price for identifying with Jesus, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of Heaven. Globally, there are over 90,000 people killed each year because of their faith. Mostly in Africa, Asia, & the middle east. Paul says we should be joyful when we suffer because of Jesus or the Gospel (though Americans can’t really relate). This is one of those truths in scripture we all nod w/a serious face & say “Amen”, but secretly hope we are spared. Why can’t the prosperity Gospel be a real thing? Why can’t we just expect blessings to flow when we follow Jesus? And what is a proper response to real persecution? Just smile, remain stoic, strong, brave, act unphased? Why is this kind of suffering even necessary? Why doesn’t Jesus just come back and take care of evil already?

One of my favorite moments each Sunday is Megan’s prayer right before I come up to preach. Why do we do that? Is it just some sort of mystical activity we hope sprinkles good fortune into our service? Or is it something more? Why do we do things the way we do? Where does GraceLife get its liturgy, its order of service? It would be a lot less work & stress if it was just Megan on the keyboard, then me just preaching. But for some reason, music is a huge part of what we do on Sunday mornings, and not just here, almost every church. What we do on Sunday morning is the biggest portion of our budget and requires much time & effort every week. Why do we believe its so important to have skilled musicians, high quality sound, lights, projection? Why did we spend so much money and time getting this worship space right before our grand re-opening? From an earthly perspective, it sure seems like a waste of money… if you don’t understand the scriptures. There’s a deep, biblical reason we put so much effort & money into each Sunday, way beyond we just like good music.

What does the phrase “End of times” mean to you? Does it invoke anxiety? Feelings of reticence? Is it something you associate w/headlines some associate with the possible coming of the “anti-christ? Does it cause a mindset of Christians needing to hunker down for an onslaught of darkness? If are at all up to speed on our study, you know Revelation is about the already, right now, and not yet. What if I told you the “End of Times” is glorious, joyful… and the “right now” part of Revelation? The book of Revelation primarily is Not about warnings, but comfort. This is how it should be approached. Revelation is not about preparation for some sort of tribulation end times scenario, we know evil is here already. It’s the fulfillment of the plan of God for redemption and the relentless expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven! It explains the troubling mystery of our conflict between good & evil nobody understood until it was written!

Have you ever had a worship experience where you sensed something? a greater awareness of God’s presence? What are the things that make those moments happen? How can we experience these moments more often? Worshipping together always been an important characteristic of church community, from the 1st century until today. Throughout church history, the church has put great effort, thought, & resources into corporate worship. When we first started at McCurdy’s we built stage pieces, bought good equipment, recruited talented musicians. Members of our team arrived every Sunday 4 hours early to prepare, because worshipping in community is a priority. As we renovated this facility, getting this space ready for community was a major focus, much time & resources. We do all these things because know worshipping in community is the most distinguishing act for a church. We learned last week, when we gather together, Jesus promises to open a door to Heaven we can enter with Him. Today’s passage gives the perspective of what that looks like, what it sounds like, right now, in the throne room.

Today at GraceLife we celebrate the official opening of our doors on Lockwood Ridge to the community. It’s a special day in the history of our young, little church, and we are so glad for everyone here to celebrate with us. What does the phrase “Grand Opening” mean to you? What exactly we are celebrating as a church? Yes, we celebrate the accomplishment, we’re excited, but it must be more than that, It is just a building after all. We don’t celebrate brick and mortar, We are celebrating a new door of ministry Jesus has opened for GraceLife. Future opportunities to be a lampstand, to preach the Gospel, which we know is power of God for salvation. That’s the grand opening we celebrate, & what’s on other side of the door Jesus has opened for us, His mercy, grace, majesty & glory. That’s the topic we are studying in our series on Revelation the next few weeks, starting with today’s passage. It should be read as an epilogue to the letters to the 7 churches, something EVERY church should read in community.

There was a time not too long ago GraceLife was growing a little complacent, it was right before COVID. Attendance was up, cash flow was the strongest ever. We were comfortable @ McCurdy’s, 1900, & Swift Road. I had just started preaching through Mark, and our core ministries: GL Food Pantry & GLR were booming. We had it all handled with not many uncertainties. But GraceLife was growing complacent becoming a little self-reliant & didn’t even realize it. Then COVID hit; money got tight, we couldn’t meet & some left because of it. Then grief hit us, more than once. You know what these last 2.5 years taught us? GraceLife cannot be self-reliant. We need to cling to Jesus each day.

Does God have a special place in His heart for the American church? Can the Bible be read as Americans? We tend to interpret scripture from an American perspective, I understand its easy to do because…we’re Americans. Sometimes that’s ok, but reading scripture as Americans doesn’t serve us well. The American experience is so atypical. We easily slip into flawed interpretations, missing out on something much bigger than the mere 246 years of America. Today’s passage requires us to put aside our American citizenship, in exchange for our Kingdom of Heaven citizenship. It’s a prime example of how we must read Revelation over the next several months to learn all we can from it. First, with our American experience put aside, and with the O.T. in one hand, and John’s letter in another.

Every follower of Jesus has wondered if they would have what it takes to stand up to real persecution. We imagine scenarios of being forced to choose between our faith or our life, or family & friends lives. It’s a hypothetical situation Americans can’t really answer since we don’t face that kind of persecution & likely won’t. That’s what makes today’s passage so difficult to preach, it’s a situation none of us are ever likely to face. Its much easier to preach about sin in the church, we relate to that! But Jesus doesn’t do that in His letter to Smyrna.

For nearly 6 years GraceLife has lived in a comedy club, an office building, & a strip mall. We were forced love people before a building or the organization, to be Mobile, Organic, Biblical, & Generous. In this way our humble beginnings have been a blessing. They helped us find, and maintain our first love. That first love has been to relentlessly serve hurting people in our community thru love, generosity, & truth. Now with all the exciting things happening, there’s a challenge for GraceLife, as we discuss carpet, paint, chairs, cameras, lights, GLK for our families, parking lots, & everything else… could we be tempted to lose our first love? Let’s go further, If GraceLife closed its doors, would our community even feel the impact? Would anyone even notice? This week starts a section in Revelation containing personalized letters for each of the representative 7 churches. Each letter lists things a church did well, and things that church failed in, all of which are relevant for every church.

Traditionally the picture of Resurrected Jesus in our minds goes back to a 1st century image of Jesus. The stone rolled away, the empty tomb, the women informing the other disciples about the angle & Jesus is missing. We imagine Peter running to confirm it for Himself, we see Jesus, not yet full glorified appearing to His disciples. It’s a glorious image held dear in our hearts, but what if it isn’t the last image of Himself Jesus gave us to remember? This week, Revelation helped me realize I need to upgrade the image of Resurrected Jesus in my heart & mind. A new revelation of who Resurrected Jesus is, what He looks like, what He’s doing right now, & what He will do. This picture of Resurrected Jesus unveiled for us is meant to change how we see Him, even on Easter Sunday.

Historically, Revelation has been not only the most intriguing book in the Bible, but also the most intimidating. Yet somehow, even though its talked about a lot, in many ways it’s also the most neglected by individual believers. My experience is most Christians aren’t nearly as familiar with Revelation as they are other books in the Bible. Most have probably, for example red Genesis or the letters of Paul more often than Revelation. As a result, what most people know about Revelation, they have relied on what others say about it. Many have been taught Revelation is about codes, riddles, clues, puzzles, like a Christian version of Nostradamus. I suspect most Christians consult google about Revelation more than reading it for ourselves, or in community. As a result, there’s perhaps more innocent misunderstanding of Revelation than any other book in the Bible. Many Christians can’t resist the urge to collate its images alongside of current events, world news headlines. Each generation of the church has tried to infuse contemporary news & world events into the pages of Revelation. People have inserted everything from presidents, to popes, to governments, to wars, to pandemics, to famines. People try to interpret the images in Revelation literally, others approach it as if it were a sudoku math puzzle, some use it as inspiration for doomsday preparation, a manual for surviving an inevitable future global catastrophe. Many have used Revelation to elevate themselves, claiming special prophetic insight to unlock its “hidden” secrets. Revelation has been unrightfully used to divide and splinter the church based on erroneous end times interpretations. None of these was the purpose or intention of John when he wrote Revelation, so what is the purpose? It’s to reveal Jesus in ways we’ve never seen Him before! Shouldn’t that be more compelling than this other stuff?

“…SINCE YOU ARE WAITING FOR THESE, BE DILIGENT TO BE FOUND BY HIM WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH, AND AT PEACE.” What are “these” we are waiting for? When Jesus returns, He will gather His church, then expose & remove evil. Obviously, followers of Jesus are supposed to be “waiting for these”, but what should our waiting look like? What does Peter mean when He says we should be found without spot or blemish, and at peace? What’s harder, believing in Jesus’ return, or being diligent to be found by Jesus w/out spot or blemish and at peace? What does without spot or blemish and at peace even mean? Is living like that even possible? How far does that go? How many of us right now can say, “I am waiting without spot or blemish and at peace? I call it “Perfect waiting” How should “perfect waiting” impact priorities, choices, our relationships with one another & the world around us? How do we know if we’re perfectly “waiting for these”, ready to be found without spot or blemish, at peace? Would a checklist be helpful? Or an example of perfect waiting to follow so we’re found w/out spot, blemish at peace?