GCR Sermons

January 21, 2024 - Everything Nee: Your New AddressWhen you are shopping for a new house, you must be able to picture yourself living in that house. Can you see yourself cooking in this kitchen? Can you imagine your furniture fitting into this space? Can you see your car in this garage, your TV in this corner, your bed against this wall? When you look at yourself, do you focus on your struggles and your sins or on your holiness and righteousness in Christ? God is moving you into a brand-new place. And once you see it, your life will never be the same. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 14, 2024 - Everything Nee: Your New Direction As we move into 2024, we don't just want to move into new diets and exercise routines, new reading plans and bedtimes, new spending habits and screen-time management. We want to move into the Lord's new everything! Things may not be great for you right now. Or for your family. Or your workplace. Or the country in which you live. Are you leaning in to your trust of the Lord or are you utilizing your own wisdom and moving away from him? God is at work right now to move you into a place of his blessing. But are you moveable?For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 7, 2024 - My Least Favorite Verse C. S. Lewis famously said he disliked the Sermon on the Mount. It's not that he found the content of Jesus' teachings in Matthew 5-7 terrible or boring, but that he found it extremely difficult to swallow. Elizabeth Achtemeier wrote about difficult biblical texts: “If we have some problem with a passage, it's not the Bible's problem—it is ours.” For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 31, 2023 - My Most Favorite Verse There is both promise and hope in the last words our Lord Jesus says to his disciples the night before he dies. Promise of tough times, promise of hardship and trials. Promise of victory. Hope in Christ Jesus, not in the world or in ourselves. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” ~John 16:33 Jesus has come to this place where we experience the ups and downs of life, and he has won. He's conquered. And we share in his victory. We don't have to worry about winning; Christ has already won! And his victory belongs to us! That sounds like a good message to hear on the last day of the year. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 17, 2023 - “The Deepest Love” The statistics suggest you're more likely to hand money to a person on the corner around Christmas time than you are in August. You'll write the check or donate to the cause in December when you wouldn't in the Spring. Why is that? Why do we feel so much more generous at Christmas? Why do we think more about the needy? Does the way God came to us in Christ Jesus have anything to do with this impulse? For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 10, 2023 - “The Brightest Light” The first sign that Christmas is near is not the holiday displays at Hobby Lobby -- those go up in August. And it's not the Black Friday sales at the department stores -- that's flagrant consumerism. No, the first sign that Christmas is coming are the Christmas lights. At Christmas time we hang lights on our houses and string them around our trees. We put them in our windows and connect them to our car batteries so we can light up our luggage racks. Christmas lights glow and glare, they twinkle and now they strobe with the precision of whatever computer program is running them. Christmas isn't really Christmas without lights. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 3, 2023 - “Old Age: Honeymoon to Hospice” All of us are heading down the same trail. The evidence is all around us and it's undeniable. We see it in the mirror, we feel it in our aches and pains, and we own it when we ask for the senior discount at Burger King. We are getting older. We are growing old. At some point we're all going to need some kind of assistance and we're going to need to have the right perspectives and attitudes about it. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

November 19, 2023 - “Parenting: So, You've Ruined Your Kids…” Nothing seems as innocent, as non-threatening, or as warm-hearted as the idea of children. At the same time, nothing can be scarier than the responsibilities we have with our kids. We're not as equipped or as confident as we'd like. We all believe we have, in ways big and small, ruined our kids. Well, there's grace for that. And forgiveness. Our God is the perfect Father and he knows how we feel. He's not distant from that. Our kids belong to the Lord, not to us. There's mercy in that for struggling parents. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

November 5, 2023 - Sex: It Takes Two to Tango “The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.” ~1 Corinthians 7:4 We know that our God is the inventor of sex. He created sex and gave it to husbands and wives in the very beginning. He gives sex to married couples to strengthen their “one-flesh” union and so they can participate in the mystery of the Gospel. In our Scriptures there is great love poetry that celebrates sexual passion and pleasure. If anyone says sex is bad or dirty, we have the entire Bible to contradict him. In fact, the Bible commands husbands and wives to enjoy sex with each other frequently. Regularly. Often. And it prohibits married couples from any kind of abstaining from sex. Not having sex is not allowed for Christian husbands and wives. We know all this. Yet, we also know it's not easy to talk about. Not in church. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 29, 2023 - Marriage: Mystery Beyond Reason Marriage in our culture is on the decline. Divorce is on the rise. Husbands and wives are expressing more dissatisfaction. Married couples are reporting increased levels of disappointment and regret. The problem with marriage is that we're not viewing it through the lens of the cross of Christ. To experience the truth of the profound mystery as designed by God, we need to crucify our marriages. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 22, 2023 - “Family: The Ties that Bind and Gag” Nothing opens you up to more potential for pain than belonging to a family. Parents can nurture you, but they can also reject you. A spouse can love you, but can also leave you. Children can bring you great joy, but they can also break your heart in a thousand different ways. Family is both terrific and terrible, it's both a blessing and a burden. Kind of like the cross. Family is important, but it's not ultimate. Family is created by God to reflect the truth of the Gospel—relationships, sacrifice and service, forgiveness, intimacy—but it's not the hoped-for end. The ultimate end of the Good News is the eternal family of God in Christ to which we all belong together. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 17, 2023 - Christ and Creation in Genesis “[Jesus Christ] is the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” ~Colossians 1:15-16 Jesus is more than just the force that keeps everything spinning and people upright on the ground. He is the very meaning of creation. He's the rationale, the rhyme, and the reason for creation. Creation exists in him. We and all of creation are entirely dependent on Christ. And God through Jesus is still creating today. He is still bringing order out of chaos, he is still shining light into darkness, he is forever breathing new life into what appears to be dead. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 10, 2023 - Missional ImaginationImagination is a powerful tool that everyone has the capacity for. As a child, you might have had an imaginary friend or the ability to build beautiful words and adventures from a cardboard box. Jesus uses imagination in his ministry by telling stories to his disciples about the kingdom of God. He asks us to use our imagination to see the world differently and imagine how we can be transformed. What would happen if we harnessed our imagination to be missional in this world? What if we spent time imagining how the mission of God could break in at any moment and how we could be a part of that? For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

August 27, 2023 - “Triumph of Faith: Part Three”Habakkuk concludes with perhaps the strongest statement of faith found anywhere in Scripture. After wrestling with God over the questions of injustice in the world and after listening to God tell him to wait for divine deliverance, the prophet declares his great trust in his Lord. Habakkuk faces the frightening fact that his nation is about to be invaded by a ruthless and merciless enemy. The capital city of Jerusalem and the holy temple are going to be destroyed. The land will be ruined. Many of the Israelites will be killed. The rest will be forced away from their homes in exile. Habakkuk faces the very real prospect of starvation as he looks ahead to a time without figs or grapes or olives; no sheep or cattle or goats; nothing being produced in the fields. And he proclaims, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (3:18) For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

August 13, 2023 - “Triumph of Faith: Part Two” God's words in response to Habakkuk's second round of questioning and complaining are timeless and universal. They are powerful words, inspiring words, that compel us to more radically tie what we believe to how we behave. “The righteous will live by faith.”~Habakkuk 2:4 Paul quotes this passage in Romans 1 to proclaim that salvation from God is for everyone who believes -- it's for the whole world! He quotes it again in Galatians 3 to remind us that we are not saved by the Law but, rather, saved by faith in our God. Hebrews 10 borrows the line to encourage Christians who are being pulled apart by the struggles of living in a fallen world. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

August 6, 2023 - The Triumph of Faith The book of Habakkuk deals with two primary questions, two sets of issues that shape the focus of the book and become the subject around which the book revolves. They are: 1) Why do the righteous suffer?2) Is God truly reigning in goodness and power? The answers found in Habakkuk are: 1) We don't know.2) Yes. The key for the prophet is found in the middle of his book, “The righteous will live by his faith” (2:4). The apostle Paul quotes this verse in Romans and Galatians to sum up the whole Gospel. Righteous people are the ones who remain faithful to God precisely during the times when faith doesn't make sense. When it doesn't seem reasonable or rational to believe in a good God, when God's justice and mercy are not readily evident, when good people are persecuted and evil people are rewarded, when everything seems to rest on the powers of this world -- that is when the righteous prove their righteousness by remaining faithful.

July 30, 2023 - Between Two Trees For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

July 23, 2023 - The Beginning of the Gospel… “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” ~Mark 16:8 The final scene in Mark's Gospel, set at the empty tomb of our Lord, is incomplete. It's confusing. It's filled with tension and doubt. An empty tomb, a mysterious young man declaring that Jesus has been raised, and women too scared to say anything. By cutting off the story at this point, Mark is drawing his readers into the narrative. It forces us to enter the story. What will we do now that we have received the Good News? Will we flee in fear and become silent? Will the story die with us? For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

July 16, 2023 - God at Work | Youth Ministry Our Youth Ministry team shares how God has been at work among them this summer. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

July 9, 2023 - Get Behind Me! The very first recorded words of Jesus, the earliest words of our Lord we have preserved today, are found in the opening chapter of the Gospel of Mark. A bold declaration and then a short series of commands. The time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent! Believe! Follow me! Repent: leave one way of life and start out on another. Believe: enter a personal, trusting, relational involvement in the realities of the Kingdom of God and of the King. Follow me: live your new life obediently in a way that matches up with the Lord and his reign. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

July 2, 2023 - “A Few Good Women” The Gospel of Mark is loaded with wonderful women. It begins with Peter's mother-in-law in chapter one, the only person the writer says served Jesus, and ends with the faithful women at the empty tomb in chapter 16, the only followers of Jesus who did not desert him in the end. Mark uses women in his story to paint a picture of true discipleship to the Christ. In Mark, women seem to be the only ones who understand. They're the only ones with open minds and receptive hearts. Mark uses almost a dozen women in contrast to the hard-hearted religious leaders and the faithless apostles to present unmistakable illustrations of humility, trust, and devotion our Lord is seeking in his followers. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

June 25, 2023 - Don't Be Afraid Mark wrote his Gospel for communities facing intense stress and a raging storm of persecution. As it sometimes does for us, it looked like to those Christians their foes were winning and the Church was losing. Mark wrote his gospel in such a way as to lift the courage of those early Christians. The stories in Mark were intended to give us the confidence to lift our eyes above the storms to the One who rules all things and promises to deliver. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

June 18, 2023 - Do You See Anything? The people in Mark's gospel could have used a good eye doctor. If we're to believe the writer, nobody could see anything. Jesus rebukes his disciples after the miraculous feeding of the four thousand, “Do you still not see?” he asks. “Do you have eyes but fail to see?” (8:17-18). Our Lord asks the man at Bethsaida, “Do you see anything?” And the poor guy doesn't know if he's looking at people or trees (8:23-24). Throughout the whole Gospel of Mark, people are trying to figure out who Jesus is. And nobody knows. Nobody gets it. The people seem perplexed. “What is this? (1:27) and “Who is this? (2:7) and “Isn't this the carpenter?” (6:3). Even as he hangs on the cross, those watching don't get it. “Come down now from the cross,” they shout, “that we may see!” (15:32). When you look at Jesus, what do you see? Do you see anything?For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

June 11, 2023 - I Want to Know ChristFor more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

June 4, 2023 - “So Their Work Will Be a Joy” "Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." ~Hebrews 13:17 What a strange relationship between a congregation and its shepherds. What weird dynamics are involved when everyone in the equation wants one thing but acts in ways that make that one thing nearly impossible to achieve. We all claim to want a group of spiritual shepherds, not a board of directors. But then we bog them down with questions and complaints about air conditioners and classroom space, parking lots and Coke machines. And our elders, feeling those expectations from the church to know everything and fix every problem, allow themselves to be weighed down by those unnecessary burdens. May our Father bless our shepherds and their families with his gracious mercy, strength, and peace. And may his will be done in us and through us here at GCR, just as it is in heaven. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

May 28, 2023 - Hearing God in His Silence "I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." ~Psalm 5:3 This week we close out our series on Hearing God by attempting to answer a troubling question that may be bothering you on a couple of levels. This question may be particularly disturbing as those around you discuss and celebrate the various ways they are hearing the voice of God. "What if God's not talking to me?" We must acknowledge that not everybody hears God in the same ways and, yes, sometimes we can go through prolonged periods of not hearing God at all. If you're in that situation today, it's okay. Not hearing from God puts you in fairly decent company. Some of our greatest biblical heroes experienced the same thing in their faith journeys. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

May 21, 2023 - Hearing God in the Truth of Jesus "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." ~1 John 4:1 Sometimes we call it "The Ultimate Trump Card." You're visiting with a friend about a very important matter in your home or in your church and she says it: "God has placed it on my heart..." Or maybe an acquaintance approaches you with his unsolicited advice regarding your job or your marriage and says, "God told me..." How do you counter that? How would you disagree with someone who claims to have heard the voice of God, especially when what they believe they heard is intended for you? As a result of the occasional abuse of these powerful phrases, many Christian traditions have eliminated the gift of prophesy. They don't say the word "prophesy" and they certainly don't allow for its practice. But prophesy is a gracious gift from our Father, intended for the "strengthening, encouragement, and comfort" of the Church (1 Corinthians 14:3). For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

May 14, 2023 - Hearing God Instead of the Enemy "The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." ~Luke 8:15 Paramount to hearing God is recognizing the difference between God's voice and the voice of others. We know there is more than one voice out there. Our Trinitarian God and his heavenly angels are not the only ones with talking tongues. And they're not the only ones vying for our attention. So how do we know?For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

April 30, 2023 - Hearing God with Clear Reception The Bible never assumes that just because you have to ears to hear you're automatically tuned in and listening to God. Our Lord says several times that his people hear, but don't understand. More than a dozen times he encourages: "The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!" The truth is you might not be in a position to hear God's voice. You might not be able to receive God's signals. You might have ears to hear but, unless something changes, you're getting nothing. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

April 23, 2023 - Hearing God in Holy Relationship "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." ~John 8:47 God created us to live in holy relationship with him. He made Adam and Eve to hear his voice in the garden. He spoke to Moses as his friend. He caused the Israelites to hear his voice and, during the exile, promised to lead them out to the desert again where he would "speak tenderly to them." He makes and renews over and over again the same covenant promise to live with his people. "I will dwell with you," God says, “and you will be my people and I will be your God." We were created for that kind of intimate communion with the Father. We were made to hear his voice. And, as we might expect, hearing God and living in fellowship with God go hand-in-hand. "People do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." ~Deuteronomy 8:3 Other religions practice an impersonal and distant relationship with their deity. Not so with the Christian God. Our Lord is personal. He is up close. He actually lives inside us by his Spirit. His relationship with his children is always a two-way dialogue, never a one-way monologue. It's one of the main things that separates Christianity from all other religions. "Love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." ~Deuteronomy 30:19-20 For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

April 16, 2023 - Hearing God When He Speaks Jesus says it more than a dozen times in Scripture: if a person has ears to hear, let him hear. Hear what? Hear God's voice. Our God is a talker. One of the main things that sets our God apart from all other gods is that he speaks. It's what differentiates Christianity from all other religions. He has a voice and he is still speaking to his children today. But, are we listening? Do we even know how to listen? This Sunday we begin a brand new series together designed to improve our hearing. Over these six weeks, we'll consider the talkative nature of our God, we'll identify the barriers in our lives that keep us from hearing his voice, and we'll evaluate what is God's voice and what is not. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

April 9, 2023 - “He is not Here! He has Risen!”The resurrection of our Lord Jesus is a big deal in the Bible. And it ought to be a big deal in our lives and in our church. It ought to be at the center. In fact, it ought to be everything. If we embrace the resurrection, it will radically impact the way we view ourselves, the way we see each other, and the way we interact with the world around us. It will change us into a resurrection people who live to give life to others. And that will bring glory and praise to our God. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

April 2, 2023 - What is the Gospel? N.T. Wright famously posed the question: Why is the Gospel news, and what makes it so good? Well, the Bible calls it “the Gospel that saves.” The really good news is that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus saves us from sin and death, the two universal problems about which we can do nothing. Please read 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. Then join us at 10:15 this Sunday morning April 2 as Scott Meyers, the Lead Minister at Western Hills Church of Christ in Temple, brings us this life-giving lesson from God's Word. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

March 26, 2023 - Above Reproach "The overseer must be above reproach..." ~1 Timothy 3:2Our shepherds only have authority in our church to the extent that we, the church, submit to them. And we, the church, will only submit when we see in our elders the character and life of Christ. That's what the two lists are all about in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These lists are characteristics of Christian maturity. They are the distinguishing traits of a person who has grown in Christ and experienced the life-changing power of the Lord. Their character, their consistency, is "above reproach."For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

March 19, 2023 - Good Shepherds Jesus oversees his Church through shepherds or, maybe stated more correctly, under-shepherds who serve under Christ and in the manner of Christ. Their God-given task is to imitate the servant leadership of Jesus, to emulate Jesus as they lead his people. As such, they are our examples. They are models of holy living and holy leading. We copy them as they copy Christ. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

March 12, 2023 - Choose From Among You One of the tasks of our congregation at GCR is to choose our leaders and it has come time to add a few more to the group. The spiritual development of a congregation is directly related to the style and manner of leadership among its shepherds, so it's paramount that we take this responsibility prayerfully and with all seriousness. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

March 5, 2023 - What in the World is God Doing? Things around us seem to be spinning faster and out of control. The world's governments and cultures are in rapid transformation and the Lord's Church appears to be in decline. We don't know who to trust or how to adjust. We can be forgiven if we want to ask God, “What in the world are you doing?” Dan Bouchelle, the executive director of Missions Resource Network, will show us that God's Church is not in decline, it is experiencing a thrilling global transformation. And God's people in Midland still have an exciting role to play. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

February 26, 2023 - Leaving a Lasting Legacy Bradley Hooley brings us a message from Matthew 22. Bradley and his wife, Melissa, planted the Mountain View Christian Church in Kalispell, Montana last year and we have adopted their congregation in partnership with Nexus. We plan to bless the Hooleys and their four children, pray over them, and show them our love as their supporting church in West Texas. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

February 19, 2023 - I Am Coming Soon! Three times in the Bible's closing paragraphs, our Lord Jesus promises he is coming soon. “Yes,” he says in Revelation 22:20, the last recorded words of the Christ, “I am coming soon.” That was almost two-thousand years ago. That's not soon; that's a long time. The Church prays, “Lord, come quickly,” and in the Bible his reply is, “In a little while.” There's great tension, yes. But that tension is not a problem. Not at all. It's actually very good news for God's Church. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

February 12, 2023 - He Still Loves You We can all see ourselves in the story of the apostle Peter. Some people believe the Gospel writers gave us so much material on Peter because all Christians can personally connect to his story. Peter is up one minute and down the next. He's bravely pledging his undying allegiance to Christ and a couple of hours later he's straight-up publicly denying he's ever met Jesus. Peter confesses Jesus as Lord, but then in the same breath orders Jesus to do things Peter's way. He's at once mule-headed and impulsive and sacrificial and sensitive. He's a loyal disciple and a lying traitor. He's a brilliant preacher and a betrayer of Christ. Can you relate? For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

February 5, 2023 - The Outsiders Our Lord Jesus is for the outsiders. He calls the unworthy worthy; he calls the unrighteous righteous. That's good news for us because we are all outsiders. Only if we can hold the truth in our hearts that we are unworthy can we fully appreciate what Christ has done and is doing for us. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 29, 2023 -Formation Thing No. 5 By now you have a firm grasp on the spiritual formation zones, the places where God's Spirit does his work of changing you more into the image of Christ: Knowledge, Community, Christian Practices, and Mission. No doubt, your own faith story contains a significant chapter or two relating to at least a couple of these zones. But we can't really foster a culture at GCR that pays special attention to formation without seriously considering a fifth thing. We're not calling it a formation zone - honestly, we're not sure what to call it. Let's just say it's a “formation thing,” a fifth factor that figures critically in our transformation. Transition times. Crisis moments. Life change. It's hard to define. But you recognize it when you tell your story. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 22, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Community The Spirit of God creates a brand new community of all people, all nations, and all languages - all brought to perfect unity under the lordship of Jesus. When God pours out his Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel and proclaims that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!” The Holy Spirit breaks down barriers between people, he destroys the walls between all people, and brings us together in Christ. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 15, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Lives “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:25 If the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is “Jesus is Lord” and “God is fixing everything,” that proclamation will spring from the experience of a changed life. Transformed lives just explode with testimony. And lives can only be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our faithful proclamation is not a logical appeal to accept our theology. It's not a rational argument for a systematic set of beliefs and practices. Our proclamation of the Kingdom of God is a personal testimony to the truth that springs from an ongoing transformational relationship with the King. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

January 8, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Power This Sunday we go back to the Story of God for a short three-weeks series about Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom. This is the part of God's Story in which we are important characters. Our role is to proclaim the truth about what God has done and is doing in Christ. We proclaim the lordship of Jesus and call people to order their lives according to the new realities. And it's all driven by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given to us to empower and compel our proclamation. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 25, 2022 - “For All the People” Our bedrock Christian belief is that God so loves the whole world he became a part of it. God Almighty put on our flesh and blood and came to this earth to bless all people. To redeem all people. To save all people. The Incarnation is a confirmation of people. The birth of Jesus says something about how God feels about people. Our Lord's coming on that starlit night in Bethlehem really was for all the people. And it still is. The truth of the Story, the beauty and glory of the Story, is still good news of great joy for everybody. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 11, 2022 -Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~Acts 1:8 Jesus is the one who fulfills all of God's promises made in Act Three of the Story of God. Now, following his resurrection from the grave in Act Four, he ascends to the right hand of the Father in heaven and tells his followers the role they will play in moving the Story to the end. And he assures them he will provide the power they need to get it done. We're in Act Five. We know everything that comes before and we know all about Act Six, which is coming later. But we're called now to play our part in this unfinished fifth act. How do we learn our lines? How do we play the role? For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

December 4, 2022 - Act Four – Jesus: The Present Kingdom “The Kingdom of God has come to you!” ~Luke 11:20 In Act Four of the Story, God comes to the humans in the flesh-and-blood of Jesus to live with them and to fulfill the promises he made in Act Three. God in Christ begins to reverse the curse of Act Two and takes on humanity's sin and shame in order to reconcile the relationship back to the way it was in the beginning. Jesus preached one sermon and made one stunning announcement over and over: “The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe the Good News!” What all the ages had longed to experience is now present, it's here, in Jesus. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~John 1:14For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

November 27, 2022 - Act Three – Covenant: The Promised Kingdom“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ~Genesis 12:1-3 In Act Three of the Story of God, the Lord comes to one of the humans and articulates a solemn promise to make things right between the Creator and his created. He guarantees to repair the relationship and to once again live with his people. His love for all men and women and his loyalty to the earth he created compels God to make this covenant. This is God's answer to sin. The universality of the Bible's mission to all nations of the world is not a New Testament thing, it's been an integral part of God's Story since this very first promise. And the whole rest of the Story hangs on this divine promise.For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

November 20, 2022 - Act Two - The Crash: The Perished Kingdom “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” ~Genesis 3:6Act Two of the Story of God presents the major conflict, the thing in the drama that goes horribly wrong and needs to be fixed. Sin happens. Rebellion against God. And it wrecks everything. The image of God in men and women is destroyed. The righteous relationship in the face to face presence of God is severed. All of Creation order is now threatened. The very good beginning in Act One has taken a terrible hit. And we're all guilty. We've all lived this part of the story - personally and corporately. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We've all taken huge bites out of that apple.For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

November 13, 2022 - Act One: Creation“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” ~Genesis 1:1 The Church is in danger of dismissing God's Creation as a simple memory exercise for the kids or a complicated disagreement between theologians and scientists. Are we relegating Creation to just children's books and academic journals? It seems that Creation is talked about everywhere but in the Church. We leave it alone as either too elementary or too controversial. No! Creation is everything! Act One of the Story of God is the Almighty's way of providing the foundation for our relationship with him and the reason for his salvation plan. Genesis 1-2 give us the building blocks for the whole rest of the story: God alone is Creator and initiator; men and women are made in his holy image; God wants to be in perfect communion with us. Once we get a handle on the power and beauty of creation, sin becomes really ugly and redemption and new creation make perfect biblical sense. Please read both accounts of the Creation in Genesis 1-2. Read both chapters. Out loud. Then join us at 10:15 Sunday morning November 13 as we dive into the “very good” beginning of the Story of God. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.