GCCWS Weekend Messages

Did you know that you have 31,536,000 seconds of time for your personal use every year? That's a lot of time. How are you using it? Better yet, How WELL are you using your time? Ecclesiastes 3 is arguably the best known portion of the entire book of Ecclesiastes because of the way it opens - "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." This weekend, we will attempt to unlock the Holy Spirit inspired riches of Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 15 by first remembering that Jesus christ is the Lord of our time. He has a great interest in both how we use it and how well we use it which is why, in his search for life's meaning, Solomon reflects on time. I look forward to a good time of worship and study with you this weekend at GCC.

What do you think about government?  Is it good, bad, or ugly?  And what is our responsibility as Christians who are also Americans?  As we dig into Ecclesiastes 8 to discover the heart of Solomon’s teaching on matters relating to government, you should know that Solomon’s insights are repeated in the New Testament as the apostle Paul grapples with government in Romans 13.  As we study, we’ll weave these two texts together to answer the question, why should I obey the government?  I assure you this sermon will be free of politics and full of truth – God’s truth about the government and you!

This weekend, my goal is to show you how to please God without being religious!  I’ve found Solomon’s insights about religion to be spot on.  After having searched for life’s purpose and meaning in everything from humanism to hedonism including work, wisdom and money, Solomon takes a look at religion.  Surely, religion will make life worth living, but he quickly discovers that it does not!  In fact, it too is meaningless.  Join me and your GCC family as we explore the powerful truths of Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

“It’s a mad, mad world!”  That’s what Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, discovered as he tried to find meaning and purpose in life without God.  Last week, we followed Solomon as he tested life using a humanist worldview – man is the center of the universe!  This week, Solomon tests the idea that the ultimate good in life is my pleasure.  He wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:10 – “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.”  We will learn that this is HEDONISM and Solomon embraced it with unbridled passion.  In the words of Bible scholar Douglas O’Donnell, “Within the house of hedonism, there are many rooms and Solomon tried to sleep in all of them” only to find that life lived for pleasure is meaningless.  Please join me this week as we take up a fascinating study in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.  I look forward to sharing this good word with you.

For the next six weeks, we will begin a study in the book of Ecclesiastes called Life in a Mad, Mad, Mad World.  This series is not intended to be a chapter-by-chapter examination; instead, we will explore various passages and topics.  We hope you will want to continue studying this book for yourself and that this series will serve as a catalyst.

The book of Ecclesiastes records King Solomon's intense search to find meaning and fulfillment in life. In Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Solomon will search the cycles of life that we all observe, the wind, the water, the generations that come, and the generations that go; he will observe science, history and, in the end, will come to one conclusion, that life under the sun is meaningless.  So, how do we find meaning in life? 

Join us this weekend as we open a new book, Ecclesiastes, and discover that life without God is meaningless.

As we wrap up this week of celebration and thanksgiving for all that God has done for us as a church since our founding in1995, this weeekend we will be hearing a message from our founding pastor, Wil Martin, as he recounts God’s faithfulness to us as a church and how he has found God to be faithful and good in the days since his stroke in mid-June as the Lord has guided him through these days of struggle and rehabilitation.   The services will focus on our corporate gratitude as we return thanks to God for all He has done for us as a church since our humble beginnings in August of 1995.  We invite you to offer your prayers of thanksgiving to God and to join us in person or online for the services this weekend.

This weekend, we come to the end of our summer long study in the book of James.  We have found James to be an excellent instructor on the subject of MAKING FAITH WORK.  With 14 references to faith and 59 references to commands to obey, this book has taught us the relationship between what we believe and how we live it out – from how to handle trials, temptations and conflict to how to avoid favoritism, gossip and hoarding.  We’ve learned how to obey God’s Word, seek God’s wisdom, submit to God’s will, and patiently wait for the second coming of God’s Son.  And now, as James concludes his letter, he turns our attention to prayer and he teaches us about its place and power in our individual lives and the life of our church.  Simply stated, James tells us in James 5:13-20 that come what may in life, we should handle it with prayer!  I look forward to teaching these truths as we gather this weekend.

“We’re living in the last days.”  As a pastor, people have been saying  that to me for nearly 40 years.  Whenever there is a significant moral  or political shift in culture, and whenever the present seems more evil  than the past, the subject of “the last days” surfaces and interest in  “the last days” increases among Christians. To that statement, I  respond, “I know we are!”  especially when you consider what the Bible  teaches about the last days.  Join me and your GCC family this weekend  as we learn how to live in “the last days” from James 5:7-12.

Did you ever take time to really think about the powerful meaning of 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”  Did you notice that money isn’t the problem.  Our relationship with money is the problem!   How we view it, how we handle it and how we love it is the real issue.  That’s the next subject that James tackles as we turn the page to James 5:1-6.  As we read and study this passage this weekend, keep in mind that James is not condemning money, or even wealth for that matter.  He is condemning the selfish use of money or wealth.  Join us at GCC on Saturday or Sunday as we explore these truths and learn how to develop a healthy relationship with our money – a relationship that both pleases God and others including ourselves!  I look forward to seeing you this weekend.

What hinders a growing Christian? What causes the faithful to falter? What stops a growing Church? What wrecks an effective pastor? What delays ministry - derails movements – destroys lives? Age? No! Lack of Vision, not always! Resources? No! Preaching? No! It is simply this, PRIDE! Say that with me, PRIDE! Pride delays – derails, and can destroy our lives! Like, comment, & subscribe to stay updated with the latest content!