Grace 4 All

Many years ago, a person asked me this question,

“Why did Jesus have to die?  Wasn’t it enough that He was the Son of God?”  He went on to say that death and resurrection seemed “over the top.”

Now, I LOVE that I belong to a church that welcomes questions.  It is one of the many reasons that I chose Grace in the first place.  I have to admit, however, that the man’s question was not something I had considered, and for a moment, it did have me stumped.

I have thought back over the question several times over the years, and I always come to the same conclusions in my mind:

-We serve an awesome God that knows us better than we know ourselves.
-It could be no other way.

This week, as we continue our Sermon Series “Jesus of Nazareth,” we will be focusing on “The Temptations of Jesus.”  After Jesus is Baptized by John, He was “…led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.   After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  Can you imagine?

This takes me back to the question - is it over the top?  Yet I have the same two conclusions:

-We serve an awesome God that knows us better than ourselves.
-It could be no other way.

We will go into greater detail regarding the three specific temptations, but suffice to say Jesus suffers and is tempted to better identify with us.  The temptations not only addressed His specific mission, but they hit at the heart of what matters most to us -

every.single.day.we.walk.on.this.earth.

Just as Jesus identified with mankind, mankind needs to identify with Jesus.

Relationship.

Join us this weekend as we deeper our relationship with the Risen Lord.

In His Love,

Pastor Tracy

Join us this week as we begin our new sermon series "Jesus of Nazareth."  Throughout Lent, and culminating with Easter, we will be exploring our real world relationship with our Risen Lord and Savior.

A warm story for a cold day to bring inner healing to your heart.  Join us as we conclude our sermon series "Moving Mountains."

his week, as we continue our sermon series “Moving Mountains,” our message is “Daily Prayers.”  It is a great follow-up to last week’s “These are the Days of Elijah.”

How or what do you pray?  Prayer cannot be over valued.  It is the BACKBONE of our relationship with God.  Without it - the relationship becomes very one-sided, with God pursuing us, but us never taking time for God.

So again, how or what do you pray?  If you would like to pray, but do not know how or what, a GREAT way is to recite the Lord’s Prayer each and every day.  Meditate on each phrase; take your time!  Pause after each line.

Our
Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And Forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever.
Amen

That prayer is a beautiful starting point.  So, if you do not know how or what to do, do that! 

Let’s add on to it.  When do you pray?  A good idea would be to bookend your day in prayer.  That is, morning and evening.  Tired at night?  Yes, I get it - and I go to bed early!  Try this simple prayer from The Book of Common Prayer: “May the Lord grant me and those I love a peaceful night and perfect end.”

Those are answers to the “how,” “what, and “when” questions of prayer.  Join us this weekend to hear the rest of the story - “who” and “why.”

Remember that we are in person this week.  Saturday at 5:00 and Sunday at 10:00.  COVID protocols apply (masks and social distancing).  If you are unable or reticent to join us, join our Lee’s Summit Campus online at 9:15 and 10:30.  We will also be putting a recording of the Oak Grove 10:00 a.m. service on FaceBook Sunday afternoon.  Our phone message remains in place as well.  There are plenty of places to reach us!

Please stay well, and remember - pray.

What is your focus?  Join us as we walk through the Old Testament to see how TODAY are the days of Elijah.

We try to measure most things.

Should we?

Sometimes, the most important things are immeasurable.

Thy will be done or my will be done?  How can we let go of control?

This week, we are beginning a sermon series, “Moving Mountains.”  It is an appropriate way to begin 2021, especially in light of events in Washington D.C. yesterday.

The world is such a complicated place, and lately it is hard to tell up from down.  One thing is certain however, WE HAVE MOUNTAINS TO MOVE - huge mountains that stand in our way and separate us from one another, and from God.  They are not physical mountains, but as unsurmountable as they seem, they might as well be.

The question is - how does one move a mountain?

2020 and now 2021 has seen us all trying to move mountains by throwing our weight into them.  It is an interesting conundrum that the more weight we throw, the less the mountains move.

This week, we will have several passages from Matthew, including Matthew 17:20.  To put this in context, Jesus has just been transfigured on the mountain (interesting parallel), in the presence of Peter, James, and John.  When they come down from the mountain, a crowd is waiting for them.

A man comes to kneel before Jesus, and asks Jesus to have mercy on his son - he is afflicted with seizures.  He brought the boy to the disciples, but they were unable to heal him.  Imagine for a moment what that looked like.  Jesus asks that the boy be brought to Him, ad He heals him.  Afterward, in a private moment, the disciples ask Jesus why they failed.

His answer may be seen as critical, but to me, it is just matter of fact.

They lack faith.  Specifically, faith the size of a mustard seed.  Ever see a mustard seed?  It’s pretty tiny.

We have anger larger than our physical bodies, and it changes nothing.  If you could only have faith the size of a seed that would fit on your index finger, it changes everything.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Just a little faith - just a little faith.

And one huge mountain - gone.

Pastor Tracy

This message is a reprise of a message I did a couple of years ago for Christmas.

It is about Satsumas - Christmas oranges.  I explain in the episode how this is relevant for the new year.  

God bless, and have a happy and healthy 2021.