Grace Church In Noblesville & Fishers, In

Overview: Praise is the focus of the last 5 songs in the whole compilation. They have been called the Hallelujah Psalms. This one kicks them off. Probably started as a song written for himself that later became a song for the whole assembly of the people of God. The use of the body in worship is all through the bible. It is biblical! The songwriter is so concerned that he praises God fully he also adds how LONG he wants to praise God. Psalm 146 1Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. 2I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. 3Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. 4When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. 5But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6He made heaven and e

Psalm 22:1-10 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced. But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, "Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!" Yet you brought me safely from my mothe's womb and led me to trust you at my mother's breast. I was thrust into your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born.

The Psalms teach us how to bring our true emotions to God in prayer. Because they cover such a vast range of emotional landscapes, the Psalms help to awaken our faith and deepen our pursuit of God. Psalm 116 1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. 2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! 3 Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave[a] overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Please, Lord, save me!" 5 How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! 6 The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me. 7 Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me. 8 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 And so I walk in the Lord' presence as I live here on earth! 10 I believed in you, so I

Psalm 18 For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: 1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. 3 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. 4 The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. 5 The grave[a] wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. 6 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. 8 Smoke poured from his nost

The Psalms teach us how to bring our true emotions to God in prayer. Because they cover such a vast range of emotional landscapes, the Psalms help to awaken our faith and deepen our pursuit of God. Psalm 73 1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. 5 They don't have troubles like other people; they're not plagued with problems like everyone else. 6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. 7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! 8 They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.

We're going to be exploring the book of Psalms and what it can teach us about engaging with the raw, honest emotions of our faith. The book of Psalms is a collection of songs and poems written over hundreds of years of Israel's history. Each one played a role in Israelite religion. The Psalms can: Invite us to lament the brokenness of our world if we're usually happy being blissfully ignorant. Encourage us to find joy and comfort when we're wallowing in sorrow. Teach us to marvel at mystery when we're usually just logical and rational. Show us how to acknowledge our shame when we're used to just covering it over. The Psalms are Jewish meditation literature. First of all, they're Jewish. The Psalms are rooted in the worldview of ancient Judaism, and they are chock-full of references to ideas and imagery from the rest of the Old Testament. Second, the Psalms are meditation literature. Me

Lead Pastor, London Church Plant

Using Philippians 2 as our foundation, we've explored what it means for us as a church to have the same attitude as Christ, lowering ourselves for the sake of those around us - for the sake of those who are different than us - and in so doing, creating a community which unlocks the full diversity of our gifts. We've talked about choosing between two paths: The Path of Hate: Superiority --> Discrimination --> Dehumanization The Path of Self-Giving Love: Humility --> Compassion --> Elevation During this sermon, we are talking about one more topic which has come to the forefront in our modern, globalized world: how we as the Church should respond when we encounter people of other nationalities and cultures. Isaiah 60:1-18 1 "Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. 2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. 3 All nations

The American Dream: Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The facts and the feelings, the myths and the aspirations have crashed together in America today to create an intense class suspicion and sometimes class hatred. 1 My dear brothers and sisters,[a] how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? 2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting[b] dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor" - well, 4 doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Are

As the church, We are called to live as citizens of heaven to bring healing to this broken place. So what does that healing look like? How do you walk the Path of Self-Giving Love when the "other" you encounter is from a different ethnicity than you? Ephesians 4:1-16 4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. 7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the

The broken place of hatred is one of the major crises of our times. In this divided time, Grace Church can truly be different. We can be a community where hatred has no place. And, if we search Scripture, we are going to discover a way of living that will bring healing to this broken world. There is hope. Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Philippians 1:27 Where we go, what we do, what we say - is as a representative of God's kingdom. We don't have the privilege of acting like Christ-followers every now and then. Everything we do - whether Christ-like or not - represents our king to the world. The Path of Hate: Superiority => Discrimination => Dehumanization Is th

I have the answer to every question. All of them. Your personal agonizing questions about life and health and anxiety and depression and fear and pain and faith. Our national freak out questions over politics and tribalism. Our universal troubling questions about injustice, isolation, poverty, care of creation, and racism. The answer is Jesus. 1Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. 4Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. 5But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the trib

When you juxtapose Jesus' triumphal entry with his brutal execution one week later, you end up with a pretty shocking contradiction to wrestle with, and I believe how you resolve this conflict in your mind can come to define what it means for you to follow Jesus. History God calls a man named Abraham and chooses his family to bring healing to the world. God tells Abraham, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3 Judah is told that his descendants would be the kings of Israel, and that one of them would ultimately be a global king. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. Genesis 49:10 David is a flawed man who makes some serious mistakes during his reign. God makes it clear to him that it isn&r

Once a year we stop and consider his murder. No death in history has received as much attention as his. And, once a year we stop and consider how he awoke from the dead and walked out of the grave. But there are way more reasons for us to stop and talk about Jesus for a few weeks. Let me give some reasons why we need to fixate on Him from time to time: Jesus existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Colossians 1:17 In the beginning, Jesus already existed. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. John 1:1 For in Jesus Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. Colossians 2:9 For there is only one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through him. John 14:6 J

Follow along as Dave takes Cassie Anderson through her Calling Quilt. This is a holistic process uncovering the past, diving into the Enneagram, and discovering where God is leading you in your calling!

Humanity was created out of the overflow of God's self-giving love. The Father, Son, and Spirit loved one another so much God longed for someone to share in that love. God's love spilled over into the creative abundance of our world. God created humanity so that we could join His community of love. And why did he create so many of us? Because God wanted us to experience his community of self-giving love among ourselves. When we look around at our world, one thing is pretty obvious: we are alone. Those two relationships are broken. Humans are separated from God. Through our sin and rebellion, we've cut ourselves off from God's community of self-giving love. Making matters worse, humans are isolated from one another. We live shattered, lonely existences, missing out on the beauty of loving community. God is healing those broken relationships. Through Jesus, He is bringing humans back into communion w

Stewards: Stewards feel joy and wonder in God's creation. Stewards feel sadness and frustration at the decay of the creation. Stewards believe that God himself shares their frustration and sadness. Stewards are passionate about their calling. Stewards believe that God owns it all. Stewards believe that the physical creation points to God...but it is not God. Stewards believe that God has commissioned them to steward the creation. Stewards urge followers of Jesus to resist the allure of wastefulness and overconsumption by making personal lifestyle choices that express humility, forbearance, self-restraint, and frugality. God calls Stewards to confess and repent of attitudes which devalue creation, and which twist or ignore biblical revelation to support our misuse of it. Stewards urge individual Christians an

The first New Testament book written was the Book of James, written by Jesus' brother. After the resurrection of Jesus, James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor - well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? James 2:1-4 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but the

Truth #1: The world is broken. Romans 8:22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 6 Broken Places: Separation, Isolation, Pain, Hatred, Decay, and Injustice. Truth #2: Every human has a calling. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Every human being is created with God-ordained good works for us to do. A calling that arises out of our gifts and abilities, personality, life experiences, and passions. When you step into your destiny and begin to heal the world you will experience a deep satisfaction, a new level of joy and a breathtaking sense of purpose. 6 Evidences of the Kingdom of God: Reconciliation with God. Where the Kingdom of God is evident, you'll find human

We are called to clothe ourselves with love. All month in this series, Won't You Be My Neighbor, we've been exploring what the Bible has to say about spiritual family - the kind of welcoming, compassionate, and encouraging community we are called to become as the Church. We've dreamt together about what Grace Church could be in the midst of a broken world. Today, as we bring this series to a close, we are going to look at the role you and I can play to help make that happen. Colossians 3:9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. The Church, from the very beginning, was meant to be a community which stood out fro