Word of Grace Church

Jesus talks about one of the amazing and challenging realities of His Kingdom in this week's parable: Forgiveness.

Jesus' parables have a way of getting under our skin, and pushing our buttons just like they pushed the buttons of those in His day. In this episode we look at the fairness (or unfairness) of God, and one particular parable of the Master.

We're diving into the Parables of Jesus where He gives us a vision of His Kingdom.

Pastor Ryan unpacks a familiar passage with an often-overlooked focus that holds a lot of encouragement and promise for Moms, and everyone!

Pastor Ryan talks to us about Marking this Moment, and continuing to Carry God's Presence forward.

After the Resurrection, Jesus comes and goes, and has a special encounter with two disciples who are headed away from Jerusalem.

In the early hours of Resurrection Sunday, Mary couldn't see Jesus through the lens of her tears, but then He called her by name and everything changed... she carries the good news for the first time - "I have Seen the Lord!" We celebrate the moment on which all history hangs in this episode - the Resurrection of Jesus. Remember with us and hear what it means for us today.

Standing before that vast crowd... the ones who had turned on Him, Jesus was brought out for all to see. Pilate called to them, "Behold the Man! Behold your King!" and they replied "He's not our King, Crucify Him!" Never do we see a more perfect picture of Jesus' Passion and Purpose... If you want to See Jesus, behold the man.

As Jesus enters the city to kick off Holy Week, there are back-to-back episodes with Jesus in Luke 19, and we investigate how each of the characters in the story react to Jesus in both.

We open our Easter journey this year with the moment that leads into it, in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus has an interaction with a man who is "the wrong guy," but this wrong guy made a couple right moves, to see Jesus. That's when everything changed.

Dr. David Welle joined us to unpack Jesus' interaction with the rich young ruler, and how God invites all of us to put Him first.

Pastor CJ jumps in this Sunday morning to talk through three wrong ways we look at God, and three ways that Jesus shows us something different.

After the renewal, we're given a final brief insight and lesson from Josiah's life. It's a challenge to keep seeking God, even when we've been in a great season of blessing.

What comes next after making room for God by clearing away idols, and responding in repentance and obedience to His Word? Josiah shows us the completion of the pattern as he re-establishes true worship, declaring who God is and what He has done.

After clearing away all the idols and distractions, Josiah turned his attention to restoring the Temple, and in the process, they rediscover the Book of the Law. When Josiah hears God's Word, he is instantly repentant and everything changes.

Kicking off our Character Study in the life of the King who followed the Lord most closely, we look at the heart of Josiah before he ever had instruction from the Lord or even an example to follow.

The overarching thrust of our passage in Acts 2 is that the believers did everything together in unity as Family. Pastor Ryan explores the Rhythm of making Family a priority, as difficult as it can be in our individualistic world.

Pastor CJ walks us through the ways we're called to engage with God and our world as a daily Rhythm, just like breathing.

Join (the reverend) Bill Mullet as he leads us through an investigation of prayer as a primary rhythm of our lives as followers of Jesus.

Take a look with us into our Rhythms with the Word of God and it's power in our lives.

One thing that we surely need - Rest for our souls! That's what Jesus offers to us, and from the beginning we see God has a plan for us to engage with Him by resting.

As we enter a new season, we want to line up our lives with the ways of God. Pastor Ryan talks about the Rhythms we see in scripture, beginning with time.

As Jesus brings this Manifesto to a close, He calls us to make a choice - to follow Him and build our lives upon His ways, or to take the more popular way and build our lives upon foundations that shift beneath us.

Jesus continues to impart wisdom for approaching one another in relationships.

As Jesus enters into the final push of His manifesto, He teaches us about relating to one another in His way of flourishing. First, He addresses a constant temptation for us in how we see one another, and calls us to put our focus on what's happening in our hearts once more.

Jesus moves into a new set of thoughts, teaching us on how to live in right relationship with God and with one another, but first, He wants to point out a couple of things that hold us back from that life of rich relationship He desires for us. In this message, Jesus talks to us about our treasures.

Jesus shifts the focus in the middle of His Prayer, from praying toward Our Father, to asking of Him.

We dive into the Lord's Prayer in this look at the practices that followers of Jesus have embraced for two millennia.

We skip ahead to Jesus' instruction on fasting, but first, in our chaotic time, we remind ourselves WHY we keep our minds on things above.

Jesus changes gears and begins talking with his followers about the habits of our devotion, and why we do the things we do.

Jesus wraps up His look into a Greater Righteousness that fulfills the law with maybe the most challenging thing He ever called us to: Love Your Enemies.

Jesus is calling us to live not by the letter of some law, but by the character of God coming alive in us, causing us to see one another differently and do right by each other. As He continues to teach on what this "Greater Righteousness" looks like, He examines how we interact in making promises, and in moments of conflict. Buckle up, Jesus continues to speak to our hearts.

So Jesus wants to take us deeper than just our external actions... He wants us to consider our motivations and what's going on in our hearts. After addressing the issue of anger, He moves to address the patterns of lust we follow, and comments on a debate in His day about divorce.

After His shocking introduction, Jesus decides to go... even more shocking. He calls us to a righteousness even greater than the most righteous people around. Spoiler Alert... it's not about our own strength, willpower or general goodness.

For those who will belong to His Kingdom, Jesus says He is going to put us on display, that the world may be enriched and uplifted.

We wrap up Jesus' statements of who is blessed looking at the action and identity He calls us to step into - Peacemakers.

Pastor CJ jumps in to talk the second triad of the Beatitudes with us, where Jesus talks about the way God wants to shape our hearts, for Mercy, Righteousness and Purity of heart

Jesus' introduction to His most famous teaching in scripture begins in a way that is surprising to us...

Opening our series in the Sermon on the Mount, we lay the groundwork for this Manifesto of Jesus. It's far more than a sermon, because Jesus is no mere teacher!

In this episode we take a look at Jesus' group name for the disciples - You of Little Faith... and the invitation to trust Him in the storms of life.

On International Sunday, we were joined by an amazing group for worship and heard from Guest Speaker Victor Odunjo in a message called "A Tale of Two Families."

Maybe nothing was so awkward in His day as the company Jesus chose to keep, and that was not by accident. We take a look at the continual practice Jesus makes of hanging out with and eating with the "wrong people," culminating with His encounter with Zacchaeus, in this episode. We also have a testimony that you won't want to miss.

In this message, we looked at the somewhat touchy, but totally transformational act of forgiveness. Jesus' call is to become a people of radical forgiveness.

We're having some fun this summer and looking at some of the awkward moments that happen with and around Jesus in the Gospels. Each of them holds a lot for us to chew on if we will lean in and allow the Spirit to teach our hearts. We begin with a particularly pungent moment.

The Birth of the Church. The reversal of Babel. The Empowerment we need. Celebrate Pentecost with us!

We had the privilege of hearing from Sara Barravechia this Mother's Day with a special encouragement for moms, and all of us!

Following on from our amazing time with Gary Spicer, we take a deeper look at what it means to be real with our stories, with God and with others.

Welcome Gary Spicer back with us to share for Word of Grace's 27th Anniversary! Gary taught us about stepping into God's Favor.

Following up on a reality we looked at on Resurrection Sunday, Pastor Ryan takes a look at the "Perfect Love" that drives out fear.

Dale joins us to give an update on his and Becky's work in Shanghai, and to encourage us from the Book of Acts.

In the aftermath of the Resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days coming and going among his followers, and there are some amazing keys for us in the moments that took place, as we live now awaiting His Return.