Grace Chicago Church

Philippians 2:1-13 is an iconic passage. Much of it is actually a hymn. Paul reminds the Philippians of what is more important and the most important things cannot be spoken, they must be sung. Paul's use of worship reminds us that our "being in one accord" (the word we get symphony from in the Greek) has to do with gathering around the person of Christ, who shapes and forms us at our core.

When God took on flesh, He talked about the Kingdom of Heaven. The community woven together in Christ has their citizenship in an upside down kingdom where the first are last and the last are first. Caleb explores a parable from Matthew 20 about God's priorities regarding profit, fairness, and people.

Pastor Bob explores Romans 13:8-14 and considers Paul's simple command to love one another. It is the final sermon in a series on how our worship as a church ought to form us.

In Romans 12, Paul lists a set of moral imperatives, which at first seem daunting and may even cause anxiety. Pastor Bob makes the argument that these commands are invitations that come from God and can be lived into only as gifts of God. They are Life Giving! In worship, God does the work of making us more Christ-like.

In Romans 12, Paul pivots from the dense theological material of the preceding chapters towards its application. Paul urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, and he suggests that our minds can be transformed. Pastor Bob points out that for Paul, it is our participation in right worship that shapes us. What and how we worship shapes us and we ought to pay close attention therefore to what we are worshipping.

What is the story of Joseph about? There is a lot going on, but what Joseph realizes in the end is that his life is ultimately a story about God thwarting the devastating effects of a famine. This is a tale about how the Jewish God saved Egyptians lives.

Joseph is an oft-idealized character. Some call him the most Christ-like character in the Old Testament. Yet, at the outset of the story, he is a haughty seventeen-year-old. It is not his piety that lands him in the pit, but rather, it is the pit that teaches him the value of true piety.

Pastor Bob looks at passages from Isaiah and Matthew as he explores how the generosity of God's people flows out of God's own heart. While we may see our resources or capacity as scarce, but God's heart is overflowing with love. There is more than enough love to go around!

In this sermon on Romans 8, Pastor Bob explores what kind of joy follows the reality of God's victory over the enemies of human flourishing. The defeat over sin is God's victory. It is out of our hands, and that is great news! Every time we enter into worship we are entering into a celebration that began before the foundation of the earth. The party began a long time ago, and we get to be participants in it!

On July 9th, Pastor Caleb preached on Romans 7 in which Paul talks about the war waging in our hearts between law and grace. Following our July 4th celebrations, what does it mean to be dependent upon Christ while living in a world divided by law and grace? This sermon reflects on the streets of Chicago and how we live as people of grace in the midst of sin and chaos.