Grace Church Wooster

In the day we live in, you don't have to look very far before finding division--and a lot of it. The truth is, our world is divided on nearly every front. But God calls us to a higher standard. As Christians, we can display other worldly unity rather than this world's disunity. This is an important message, so WATCH as Pastor Nick encourages us toward the unity that Jesus Christ modeled for us, despite the world's best efforts to divide.

We are not meant to do life alone. You need other people. And the truth is, other people need you too. Ecclesiastes says that "two are better than one." Maybe you're thinking that life is easier alone, and while it may be easier at times, life is not better alone. You can be alive alone, but you cannot thrive alone. Watch this sermon as Pastor Billy teaches on how following Jesus is better together.

The next generation is always learning from us. Our kids and our youth are paying attention to how we act, how we speak, and how we treat one another. So in light of that, how can we play our part in seeing kids and youth become everyday disciples themselves? In today's message, hear from Pastor Billy as he shares how to be an everyday disciple in your family.

Have you ever looked at a situation–even from a distance–and thought, “That's hopeless. That's never going to happen.” Have you ever felt hopeless yourself? Hopelessness can be debilitating. It makes you want to give up, throw in the towel or hoist the white flag. If you've felt or are feeling that way, then this message is for you. Watch as Pastor Dave shares not only how we can have hope in our own lives, but how we can be everyday disciples that bring hope to others.

Have you ever thought about what it means to be or do something every single day? It's not always easy. We make New Year's resolutions but eventually fall of the wagon. We slip into bad habits or cut corners on the goals we set for ourselves. Daily commitments can be challenging. They take work, and a lot of times we don't get it right. So, what does it mean to live the Jesus way everyday? James lays it out in pretty simple terms for us. Here it is: Listen to the Word, do what it says, and stick with it. But we know it's not always that simple. Check out this message from Pastor Matt as he helps us discover how we can live the Jesus way everyday.

We live in a loud world. We go to a restaurant; it's loud and noisy. We go to a store and there's music playing in the background. We listen to music, podcasts, or audio books while doing other tasks like mowing or cleaning. We even turn on a noise machine for the kids to sleep just to drown out other noises. Our world is loud. So when does it become too loud for us to hear God's voice? God is speaking, but are we listening? In this message, Pastor Nick teaches us how we can begin listening to God's voice, even in the midst of the noise that's all around us. 

Are you ready to move past your past, to get unstuck, and look back and say, "that was the moment I decided it was time to go from here to there"? There is a full life Jesus has for you. Are you ready to take the first step to start living it? Watch this message to find out how to take that first step.

We all have a mission. Something in our lives that we are striving for, working towards, or chasing after. The question is, does my mission line up with God's mission? If we have received grace, it is our mission to join in with what God is doing, by declaring the good news and displaying the good works grace. Are you ready to join in on what God's doing? Watch this message to hear more from Pastor Nick as he wraps up this All About Grace series.

"If God is so good, then why..." You could probably fill in the blank after that phrase with countless examples. Why is there pain? Why is my loved one sick? Why can't we catch a break? Why do I have to endure this struggle? If God is good, then why? God's grace doesn't just save us, it sustains even in our weakest times. Watch as Pastor Nick teaches on how God can take what is not good and use it for good.

Is true change possible? Can I really grow past where I'm at? What if I'm sick of being stuck? Here's some good news. The same grace that saves is is the grace that changes us. Grace helps us grow. But we don't get to sit and be passive in this transformation. We have a part to play. Watch this message as Pastor Billy teaches on how grace can help us grow.

How good is good enough? Maybe you've felt unsure whether or not you're good enough to earn God's favor. And the truth is, none of us are good enough. But God, in His love for us, gives us this undeserved gift of grace which saves us. He offers us saving grace, but we have to be willing to trust Him with everything. So instead of asking "How good is good enough?" maybe our question should be, "Have I put my full trust in Him?" Watch this message to hear more!

God is good. It's His character. He's the he source of anything that is good, and His goodness never ends. And if we are created in the image of God then we have the capacity to do good. WATCH this message to hear more about this goodness.

When expectations don't meet reality, it can lead to anger pretty quickly. Especially in relationships. And unresolved anger can derail our lives if we let the gap grow. But what would happen if we did all that is within our ability to close that gap? What if we resisted the urge to retaliate, humbly admitted when we're wrong, and learned to apologize well? You might find that it actually changes the trajectory of your future with that person. Watch this message as Pastor nick teaches on how to stop letting your unresolved hate kill you.

What happens when we have forgiven someone, but we still don't trust them. Most relationships are not lost because of something that was said, but rather the things that were left unsaid. In this message, Pastor Billy teaches from Jesus' words in Matthew 18 about how to move towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and trust in your relationships.

When's the last time someone said or did something that offended you? Chances are, it wasn't all that long ago. What was your response? There's two ways to respond when someone offends us: the bitter path and the better path. When we choose to take the bitter path, we build fences between us and the other person, and it weakens--and could eventually kill--our relationship with that person. So what if instead of taking the bitter path, we took the better one? Watch this message to find out how to avoid building fences of offense and take the better path.

We have a tendency to remember the things other people have done wrong. We keep lists of the ways someone has hurt us or let us down. Sometimes we can even be right about those things. They hurt. But we will never have a healthy relationship with someone else while we're holding onto our lists of ways they've let us down. We can't love people and have a list of their wrongs at the same time. Watch this message to discover how to forgive, find freedom and lose count of those wrongs.

Jesus is alive! He called his shot--He predicted His death and resurrection--and then pulled it off. The fact that the tomb was empty, just as Jesus said it would be, has the power to transform your life! Are you ready to let it?

We often obsess over royalty because we are looking for a leader. The truth is, there's only room for one king in your life. So the question is, who or what is seated on that throne? In this message, Pastor Nick teaches about how Jesus fulfilled three predictions made by two prophets hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. Spoiler Alert...Jesus is king! And He's the only one who deserves the throne in your heart.

We all have heroes, someone we look up to, someone we believe will save us from danger, or someone that will perform the way we expect them to. The people in the prophet Isaiah's time were waiting for a hero, and in Isaiah 53, we see the prophet prepare the people for their hero—the Messiah. In this message, Pastor Nick teaches from this passage, written 700 years before Jesus was born. It's a passage that verifies that this wasn't just another baby. He is the suffering servant who came to save us. Spoiler alert…Jesus is the real hero. WATCH to learn more.

There is a battle going on. We are in a war. Well, here's your spoiler alert…Jesus wins. We have an enemy, that's satan, and he wants to destroy our lives. Sometimes the enemy wins the battle. But Jesus already won the war! In Genesis 3 God lays it out: Jesus is the Serpent Crusher! We can be confident that we are with the champ. Spoiler alert…we have the victory because we're with Jesus.

Do you ever miss what's right in front of you? Sometimes we just want a sign in life that's big and obvious, but even then we can still miss it. What Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:38-41 is the same thing He's saying to us today: the story of Jonah is a sign to show us our sin. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are just like Jonah. And while this story causes us to see our sin, it also causes us to see a Savior. That's our sign. Don't miss it! Jonah isn't just a story about a big fish. Even more than that, it's a story about a big God.

We've all been hurt before. Maybe it was something someone did, or the way somebody let you down and you are still hurt by it. Jonah felt this way. His hurt and his bitterness towards the Ninevites caused him to overreact and overlook God's mercy in his own life. What we see in chapter four of Jonah is the reality of how our bitterness keeps us stuck and it keeps us bruised. Are you ready to move on from your hurt, to stop letting it hold you hostage? Watch this message to see how to let go of the hurt that keeps you stuck and bruised.

We all love getting a second chance when we've messed up. In this series, we've learned that Jonah messed up when he ran from where God was calling him to. If you haven't watched the previous messages, we encourage you to check them out! But in today's message, Pastor Billy picks up in the story where Jonah has just been given a second chance. Covered in water, sand and fish vomit, Jonah is given a second chance by God. And this time, he chooses to obey. He uses the second chance he's been given. And here's the cool thin...we serve that same God--the God of second chances. But the choice is still yours: What are you going to do with your chance?

Have you ever felt like God is paying you back for something you've done? When life isn't going right, it's easy to feel that way. But what if what feels like God paying us back is actually him bringing us back? Watch this message to discover what happens when we surrender, repent, give God our attention and stop holding onto the things holding us back.

Maybe you grew up in church and know the story of Jonah. Maybe you think it's just a fun story for kids about a big fish. Is it possible that there's more to the story, that maybe there's more truth in this story than we realize? In this message, we're reminded that we're more like Jonah than we may realize. There will always be a ship sailing in the wrong direction, and our running will always affect other people. But the good news is that God will always provide a way back. Check out this message of hope for your life.

What would it take for you to go all in with your faith? We can't truly be all in while wanting to keep our options open. Life with Jesus is better than anyone or anything. Are you willing to give all that you have to experience the full life that Jesus has for you? Watch today's message to discover how to turn the beat around with your devotion.

Relationships can be wonderful but they can also be difficult. Why is that? While we may not want to admit it, it's often our own selfishness that causes our relationships to suffer. But there's good news! God has a different rhythm for relationships. This rhythm was lived out by Jesus, the perfect example of humility, and if we begin to embrace that humility in our own lives, our relationships will be transformed. Watch this message to see how we can live from a mindset of humility, rather than selfishness.

How's your New Year's resolution going? This year, instead of trying to do it all and ending up doing nothing, let's just try to fight the fade. Watch as Pastor Dan helps us simplify our health back to the most important thing, being fit to serve.

In our culture, busyness is almost seen as a badge of honor. While our culture's rhythm could be described as busy, distracted and rushed, God has a different rhythm for our lives, one that's intentional, present, and unhurried. Our time is our most valuable commodity. In this new year, let's turn the beat around with our time and change the rhythms in our lives to be more intentional, present, and unhurried.

It feels good to be invited, to be included in something, and the same is true for our faith. We want the best for the people in our lives, but they won't come if they're not invited. Our greatest influence is on those closest to us, so how are we going to leverage that influence to extend the invitation? 

A barrier is the opposite of a bridge. Where a bridge is meant to get us for “here” to “there,” a barrier STOPS someone from getting from “here” to “there.” The hypocrisy of Christians is a barrier for many that desperately need a bridge. In this message, Pastor Billy shares with us 3 simple practices we can implement in our lives to be a bridge instead of a barrier.

Sometimes we think being blessed means things are going our way. When something good happens to us or we get something we've been wanting, we say we're blessed. But did you know that being blessed goes beyond that? Being a part of God's family means that you have been blessed with God's PRESENCE, God's CARE, and God's FAVOR. But this blessing isn't just for ourselves. We are blessed to be a blessing to others, to share the benefits of the presence and care and favor of God to a hurting world that has lost its way.

Have you ever asked yourself if you really need the church? Getting to church can be hard, getting involved can be challenging, and the people there can test your patience. So is it really worth the effort? Well, if you want the full life it is! The community you build and growth you experience by being at church and being the church help you live the full life God designed for you to experience.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Chances are you've asked this question and maybe even wondered why a good God would allow pain. We get it. But God has a purpose for our pain, and more than that, He promises to be with us in our pain. In today's message, Pastor Billy answers this big question through what God promises in His word.

Sometimes rules can feel like restrictions that keep us from doing things our way. It's easy to think, "Why can't I just live life my way?" But what if God's rules aren't meant to restrict us, but rather to direct and protect us toward the full life that He wants for us?

When's the last time you were faced with a situation where you only had one option? And how'd it make you feel? The truth is, in life we love to have options. Yet, in John 14, Jesus says that he is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. It's true that he is the only way. So what does this mean for us in a world where we love to have options? WATCH today's message to find out how we can live as a result of this truth!

Being stuck is the worst. We've all been places physically and emotionally where we don't see a way out. In today's message, Pastor Nick talks about being stuck in our faith and how we can focus on training our faith, rather than just trying it out.

In a world that is full of voices telling the younger generations how to live, it is more important than ever to make our support of the next generation clear. At Grace Church, we want nothing more than to help our kids/students to develop an authentic faith and carries on past high school. In today's message, Pastor Billy speaks about how we can best support the next generation as well as pass the baton of faith off to them.

There's little that can as emotionally heavy as guilt. When we're holding onto something and keeping it hidden it can feel like, according to David in Psalms, like we are wasting away. What do we do when guilt has its hold on us? In today's message, Pastor Nick talks about how we can utilize guilt to draw us closer to Jesus with a spirit of repentance!

What do you do when greed gets a hold of your heart? We've all been there...meeting a greedy person or even seeing one in ourselves. In today's message, Pastor Nick talks about how we can counter greed with generosity and how we can see ourselves and our possessions as gifts from God. At the end of the day, giving plays a huge part in salvation. What steps can you take to get greed out of your heart?