Grace Church In Noblesville & Fishers, In

This sermon looks at the story of Peter and Jesus in Luke 5. We are each one of a kind people designed with a one of a kind purpose in mind. There is no one just like you on this planet, and your destiny is yours and yours alone. The life God has for you may very well include building a career and raising a family and having a house and a car. You may be on social media and upgrade your phone from time to time. But none of that is your destiny. That's not why you were born. This culture wants you to believe that you are a nobody. That you don't really matter. But, know that YOU WERE MADE FOR MORE and your destiny is to be used by God - in whatever circumstances you find yourself - to heal the broken places of this world.

Jesus was consumed with a passion to set people free...to help them breathe again...to make life bearable. He still is driven by that passion. Many of us are bound by strongholds. Areas in our life that keep us down. Some come from decisions/sin we've allowed to get out of control, some come from sin inflicted upon us, some are passed down from generation to generation and some are demonic in origin. No matter what, Jesus can Jesus loves you and wants you to know that...you were made for more than this...and He sets you free!

Yes, life is short but within that momentary existence, You were made for more! And yes, life can be arduous but within those tough times, You were made for more! Grace Church...this community does not just want to remind you that You Were Made of More, we want to help you find that "more kind of life" and introduce you to the one who will get you there, Jesus. This week, we look at John 3:1-16 and John 4:5-14 to learn that we can have eternal life. The eternal kind of life is one of deep, loving community. The eternal kind of life is one of freedom from strongholds. The eternal kind of life is one of destiny and purpose. The eternal kind of life is one walked in companionship with God.

Over the last 11 weeks we have looked at seven of the genres or different types of literature found in the Bible... genres such as the Bible's Historical writings, its prophetic writings, and the Gospels to name three. And today we come to our final genre of Biblical literature and I don't believe we could be ending our series with a more complicated, difficult, controversial or opinion-creating genre than what we are looking at today. Today's genre is called Apocalyptic Literature. This is a type of writing that is only found in 2 of the books of the Bible; the second half of the Old Testament prophetic book of Daniel is apocalyptic and then there is one, big apocalyptic book right at the end of the Bible... the Book of the Revelation, a book that probably causes more controversy and confusion than any other book in the Bible. This sermon looks at Revelations 21:1-7. It is here, in Revelation that all of God's desires for his world and all our desires for our lives are tied together. Yes, we are a people wh

Every culture through history has wisdom literature. The Proverbs in the Bible are not only thoughtful and helpful…they sit upon the foundation of surrender to the God of the universe. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job all clearly imply that to acquire wisdom in its fullest there is this prerequisite of personal faith in a personal God. In this sermon, Dave talks about the two approaches to reading Proverbs: Approach #1 - One at a time. Approach #2 - By Topic. Now it's your turn. Go to Proverbs. Start reading and think about the what God wants you to learn.

Psalm 51

A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Some truths are just hard to grasp. Parables make use of imagination and symbolism to explain things that are hard to understand. This sermon takes a look at the parables in Matthew 13 and Matthew 20. We learn that the first will be last! The last will be first! The meek will inherit it all! The despised will be chosen! The poor come out on top! The foolish shame the wise! The powerless possess the most power! This is inverted thinking. This is insurgent thinking. This is a social revolution. So...what does it mean to you?

The Epistles are "occasioned" texts meaning they were written to clear up confusion, deal with controversy, share encouragement and offer clarity. They were written by 5 men: Paul, James, Jude, Petter, John (and, fun fact, one unkown author) to individuals and churches. This sermon focuses on one in particular, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. When you read it, think of how it can apply to you! The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent." 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it

We want to help you discover or rediscover the joy and passion of reading the Bible. In this sermon, Barry talks about the Prophets in Isaiah 61:1-4. Prophecy is not about telling the future. It's about telling the truth. A prophet is someone who is so in tune with the heart of God that when they look out at the world, they see it the way God sees it. Isaiah spoke with power and vision about the coming of a day when God's kingdom would be here. And because of Christ it's a day we can start to live in right now. Whatever your circumstances, the Spirit is still speaking through this prophecy. And he wants you to know that God has not forgotten you. Restoration, rebuilding, and joy are coming soon.

The purpose of this series is to help you discover or re-discover the passion and the joy of reading the Bible. We looked at the world behind, of and in front of the text for 2 Kings 6:1-7. God is using this story to remind everyone... everyone... not just Kings and generals, but everyone... that He is paying close attention to the details of our lives... even the 'losing an axe head' sort of details. It is so easy to fall under the false impression that I am not worthy... I am not important enough... I am not making enough of a wake in the world to be worthy of God's intimate care. And this story tells us that this couldn't be further from the truth. This story says that in the midst of a world where huge forces are constantly pushing things back and forth, God still sees you, your struggles... your lost axe heads. And He not only sees you, He understands your situation and He cares and if we're paying close attention we'll soon see that He is doing unimaginable things to let us know He loves us. That is why

We want to help you discover or re-discover the passion and the joy of reading the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books are biographies...which are a form of narrative or story. They tell the story of Jesus and His Kingdom. This sermon unpacks the world behind the text, the world of the text and the world in front of the text of Mark.

The goals of this series are to: Remove your fears and frustrations about how complicated the Bible may seem. Give you creative new ways to approach Scripture. Get you reading the Bible individually & corporately throughout the summer.  We want to help you discover or re-discover the passion and the joy of reading the Bible.

This week, we're taking a deep dive into what the Bible is all about. We'll discuss: The World Behind the Text: This is the historical backdrop of the passage, the person (or people) who wrote the passage, the people it was first written for, cultural realities at the time, etc. In other words, what life was like when this passage first came into being. The World Of the Text: This is where we look at literary features like the use of imagery or style, how words are repeated or contrasted within the passage, etc. It's also where we look at the context of the passage: connections between this passage and others, between this book of the Bible and others. The World In Front Of the Text: This is your world. This is all the perspectives and worldviews and cultural realities you bring to the text. It's also where the passage can start to speak into your life. In other words, the world in front of the text is where you apply the passage.

This sermon we are going to do our best to shine some light on this 400-year period of Jewish slavery and in the process, see what these 400-years can tell us about our lives. While the Bible doesn't go to great lengths to describe these 400 years of Jewish suffering it doesn't take much imagination to know that these 400 years were filled with great brokenness... brokenness like prejudice, fear, hatred, and injustice... merciless and brutal centuries filled with weeping, distress, oppression and anguish... and it all sounds very familiar to me today... it sounds very similar to our still-broken world... oppression, hatred, anguish, even slavery. What we will see when we return to this story later this year is that there came a day when God said, 'Enough is enough!'

Cultural: #metoo movement continues to shape our national conversation. We are overdue on dealing with it from a scriptural point of view. Both the Christian and the American traditions have seen the value of stopping normal activities to observe a moment of silence - or to lower a flag to half-staff - or to issue a collective cry of lament - in the face of significant crisis, turmoil, or loss. We believe that the stories of the women that are now being told are deserving of this pause to LISTEN, REFLECT, and CHANGE. The abuse of women is an abuse of power and has been going on since the fall of humankind- and it was never what God intended.

Life in the near or distant future will be unkind. What will you do when it is? This week, we learned about the trials of Joseph. We saw how he maintained his integrity in the middle of his brokenness. He did this by paying attention and having an open heart to God even when all seemed lost. Joseph believed in God's providential care through his brokenness. So we ask you, "Life in the near or distant future will be unkind. What will you do when it is?" If you choose to approach your brokenness with open palms and an attitude of surrender you will experience the never ending, always amazing, wonderfully loving providence of God.

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on someone or something. It can impact our family, our friends and how we live out our calling in the world. To have influence, you must have strong character. And, often time, character gets built up through our brokenness. When you wrestle with God, what happens next will determine whether you stay in your pain and limping or have the virtues of character blossom within you. Until you are broken you will not achieve your destiny to influence and change the world.

This week we are looking at the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Now, my first reaction when I read this parable is to go all finger-pointy and think about all the people I've met over the years who were sanctimoniously confident of their own righteousness. But I don't believe that the reason God made sure that Luke recorded this parable was for me to do a lot of finger-pointing. I am confident that we have this parable to lead all of us into the much harder task of taking a deep look into our own hearts and being honest about what is really going on in here.

Following Jesus' resurrection, he made a bold claim"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth." Matthew 28:18 That phrase should get our attention. It should cause us to go back and put a filter over everything we have recorded that Jesus ever said. Every word out of his mouth is like a truth sledgehammer. Every sermon, every illustration, every story that Jesus told has more weight than we've probably ever given it. His stories are not folksy. His parables are not quaint. And they aren't just rhetorically brilliant. They are mammoth. And they are desperately crucial to right living. We better know them and live them. Our preaching team has chosen 4 of Jesus stories that we find intriguing and complicated and stunning. This sermon talks about Luke 15, the story of the lost son. The story of the lost son goes far deeper than the story of the lost sheep or the woman who finds a lost coin. What you will see is: There is a place for you in our father's house. And there is nothing you can do to change

Following Jesus' resurrection, he made a bold claim "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth." Matthew 28:18 That phrase should get our attention. It should cause us to go back and put a filter over everything we have recorded that Jesus ever said. Every word out of his mouth is like a truth sledgehammer. Every sermon, every illustration, every story that Jesus told has more weight than we've probably ever given it. His stories are not folksy. His parables are not quaint. And they aren't just rhetorically brilliant. They are mammoth. And they are desperately crucial to right living. We better know them and live them. Our preaching team has chosen 4 of Jesus stories that we find intriguing and complicated and stunning. This week, we looked at the story of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. What Jesus is saying is counter-cultural - it goes against what society tells us - if it's too hard then give up, throw in the towel, it's not worth the fight. Faith and faithfulness are con