GCCWS Weekend Messages

Join us this weekend for an amazing story about God’s amazing grace. That’s the next truth we learn about God. He is a God of grace, and His grace is powerfully revealed in John 8:1-11. We’ll explore the truths that God’s grace is free of condemnation and full of freedom. And we will return thanks for His grace as we celebrate together the Lord’s Supper.

The next topic in our study of God’s attributes is his mercy. In his classic book The Knowledge of the Holy, mid-20th century pastor and writer A.W. Tozer defines God’s mercy in this way – “Mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt.” Mercy is one of those Biblical words that is filled with meaning. Mercy is filled with kindness, compassion, sympathy, pity, and love. God is rich in mercy and He expects us to be rich in mercy, too. Join your GCC family this week as we are humbled by God’s mercy and challenged to extend our mercy even to those who we think least deserve it!

Our God is a just God.  In His justice, He will give people what they are due whether punishment, or protection and care.  Join your GCC family as we begin with Jesus in the temple in Matthew 21:12-13 to discover what God’s justice means and what it looks like in real time!  Our God is the Judge, but He is also the Restorer.  Judgment and restoration are two sides of His justice.  We will focus on the restoring justice of God and how He wants us to act justly in this world of broken, hurting people.  It’s all about helping people know and follow Jesus.

In church, we say, “God is good… all the time. And, all the time… God is good.”  At the dinner table, children pray, “God is great. God is good.  Let us thank Him for our food, Amen”. Yet, we often misuse the word “good” for everything that makes us feel good.  And take credit from the good God for the good things we enjoy.  That’s why the Scriptures call us to see all good things come from God.  Psalm 119:68 redirects declare, “You are good, and what you do is good.” James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above...”  Join us this weekend as we remind ourselves of the goodness of God.

What did your parents teach you about jealousy?  My parents told me that jealousy is “no way to be” followed up with “you should be happy with what you have and not want what others have.”  You can imagine my surprise when I first learned that our God is a jealous God.  The One true, living, holy and loving God is also a jealous God.  Certainly, God’s jealousy cannot possibly be the same attribute that my parents told me is “no way to be,” could it?  And the answer is, “No, the jealousy of God is, like every other attribute of God, HOLY!”  God’s jealousy is set apart from the jealousy of this world.  God’s jealousy is actually a supreme expression of God’s love.  I look forward to exploring this truth about God with you this weekend as we dig into Exodus 20:4-5 and several other Scripture passages.  We’ll not only learn what arouses God’s jealousy, but we’ll be challenged to be as zealous as God is jealous!

That’s one of the principal themes of 1 John 4:7-21. This passage can be studied from several different perspectives, each of them tagged to the necessity and centrality of God’s love for us and our love for others. Here’s the central truth for our weekend of worship and study together – GOD IS LOVE! 

Because He is love, He loves us. Because He loves us, we ought to love others.  When we love others, others learn to know God. They come to know and follow Jesus. The hinge point is LOVE.

This week, we continue in our series, GOD, by looking at God’s holiness as it is described throughout the Bible.  Yet, there is only one problem, how do we understand holiness?  A. W. Tozer, in his book The Knowledge of the Holy, says, “We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness… We may fear God's power and admire his wisdom, but we cannot even imagine his holiness.”  Holy is just a term we use to describe the utter uniqueness of God.  To say we really understand His holiness is like suggesting we could hold the sun in our hands and not get burned!  Yet, Hebrews 12:14 says, “without holiness, no one will see God.” So, if we can’t ever understand it, how do we at least become it?   Join us this week as we get a vision of God’s holiness throughout the Scriptures and God’s plan not to destroy us by His presence but transform us into His likeness.   

Of all attributes about God, what stands out the most is His unity.  Scripture clearly teaches that God is one.  Yet, Scripture also teaches that He is also three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  How can God be one and also three distinct persons?  We call this mystery the Trinity.  The belief that God is a Trinity is foundational to Christianity.  This means there is only One God in three persons.   Understanding the Trinity can be difficult, but what is essential is what the Trinity teaches us about how to live with others and God.  Join us this weekend as we launch a new series on God.  This weekend we will study the unity of God described in Mark 1:9-13.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH JONAH?!  Just when you think the prophet is back on track and in the good graces of a Great God, he makes another left hand turn down the path of arrogance and self-centeredness.  Read Jonah 4 and join your GCC family this week as we explore the surprising conclusion to the story of Jonah.  We’ll take a look into Jonah’s heart and we’ll learn even more about the heart of God.  It has been a rich study for me and I look forward to sharing it with you!  

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We are discovering that the story of Jonah is more than a story of a great fish.  It is the story of a GREAT GOD.  In his disobedience to God, Jonah learned that GOD HEARS US when we cry out to Him.  He discovered that GOD CARES ABOUT US when we get ourselves in tight spots in life.  He experienced GOD’S RESCUE in the most dramatic of ways - “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”  That’s where we left Jonah last week – on dry land after a harrowing experience in a raging storm and a whale’s belly.  What happens next is nothing short of miraculous.  Join your GCC family this week as we unpack Jonah 3.