Grace Church of Philly

Grace Church of Philly

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Grace Church of Philly episodes

  • A New Year’s Prayer
    Psalm 123 (ESV)
    Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
    A Song of Ascents.

    123 To you I lift up my eyes,

        O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
    2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
        look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a maidservant
        to the hand of her mistress,
    so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
        till he has mercy upon us.

    3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

        for we have had more than enough of contempt.
    4 Our soul has had more than enough
        of the scorn of those who are at ease,
        of the contempt of the proud.

    40 min
  • Jesus: God of Revelation
    Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV)
    The Supremacy of God’s Son

    1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

    38 min
  • God’s Plan for the World
    Isaiah 45:14-25 (ESV)
    The Lord, the Only Savior

    14 Thus says the Lord:

    “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
        and the Sabeans, men of stature,
    shall come over to you and be yours;
        they shall follow you;
        they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
    They will plead with you, saying:
        ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
        no god besides him.’”

    15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,

        O God of Israel, the Savior.
    16 All of them are put to shame and confounded;
        the makers of idols go in confusion together.
    17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
        with everlasting salvation;
    you shall not be put to shame or confounded
        to all eternity.

    18 For thus says the Lord,

    who created the heavens
        (he is God!),
    who formed the earth and made it
        (he established it;
    he did not create it empty,
        he formed it to be inhabited!):
    “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    19 I did not speak in secret,
        in a land of darkness;
    I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
        ‘Seek me in vain.’a]">[a]
    I the Lord speak the truth;
        I declare what is right.

    20 “Assemble yourselves and come;

        draw near together,
        you survivors of the nations!
    They have no knowledge
        who carry about their wooden idols,
    and keep on praying to a god
        that cannot save.
    21 Declare and present your case;
        let them take counsel together!
    Who told this long ago?
        Who declared it of old?
    Was it not I, the Lord?
        And there is no other god besides me,
    a righteous God and a Savior;
        there is none besides me.

    22 “Turn to me and be saved,

        all the ends of the earth!
        For I am God, and there is no other.
    23 By myself I have sworn;
        from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
        a word that shall not return:
    ‘To me every knee shall bow,
        every tongue shall swear allegiance.’b]">[b]

    24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

        are righteousness and strength;
    to him shall come and be ashamed
        all who were incensed against him.
    25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
        shall be justified and shall glory.”

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    Footnotes
    1. Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
    2. Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
    3. 46 min
    4. The Question and Answer for the Meaning of Life
      Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (ESV)
      All Is Vanity

      1 The words of the Preacher,a]">[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

      2 Vanityb]">[b] of vanities, says the Preacher,

      vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
      3 What does man gain by all the toil
      at which he toils under the sun?
      4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
      but the earth remains forever.
      5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
      and hastensc]">[c] to the place where it rises.
      6 The wind blows to the south
      and goes around to the north;
      around and around goes the wind,
      and on its circuits the wind returns.
      7 All streams run to the sea,
      but the sea is not full;
      to the place where the streams flow,
      there they flow again.
      8 All things are full of weariness;
      a man cannot utter it;
      the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
      nor the ear filled with hearing.
      9 What has been is what will be,
      and what has been done is what will be done,
      and there is nothing new under the sun.
      10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
      “See, this is new”?
      It has been already
      in the ages before us.
      11 There is no remembrance of former things,d]">[d]
      nor will there be any remembrance
      of later thingse]">[e] yet to be
      among those who come after.

      Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 (ESV)

      8 Vanitya]">[a] of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

      Fear God and Keep His Commandments

      9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

      11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

      13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.b]">[b] 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, withc]">[c] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

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      Footnotes
      1. Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
      2. Ecclesiastes 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind
      3. Ecclesiastes 12:14 Or into the judgment on
      4. 48 min
      5. Heaven – The Father’s Home
        John 14:1-6 (ESV)
        I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

        14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;a]">[a] believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?b]">[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”c]">[c] 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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        Footnotes
        1. John 14:1 Or You believe in God
        2. John 14:2 Or In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you
        3. John 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know
        4. 35 min
        5. Receiving the Word of God
          1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 (ESV)

          13 And we also thank God constantlya]">[a] for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of menb]">[b] but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,c]">[c] 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!d]">[d]

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          Footnotes
          1. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Or without ceasing
          2. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
          3. 1 Thessalonians 2:14 The Greek word Ioudaioi can refer to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time
          4. 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or completely, or forever
          5. 51 min
          6. God Has Spoken
            2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

            16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of Goda]">[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.

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            Footnotes
            1. 2 Timothy 3:17 That is, a messenger of God (the phrase echoes a common Old Testament expression)
            2. 35 min
            3. The Incomparable Love of God
              Romans 5:1-11 ESV
              Peace with God Through Faith

              5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, wea]">[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faithb]">[b] into this grace in which we stand, and wec]">[c] rejoiced]">[d] in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

              6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

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              Footnotes
              1. Romans 5:1 Some manuscripts let us
              2. Romans 5:2 Some manuscripts omit by faith
              3. Romans 5:2 Or let us; also verse 3
              4. Romans 5:2 Or boast; also verses 3, 11
              5. 45 min
              6. Ministry that Honors God
                1 Thessalonians 2 (ESV)
                Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians

                2 For you yourselves know, brothers,a]">[a] that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery,b]">[b] as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentlec]">[c] among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

                9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

                13 And we also thank God constantlyd]">[d] for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mene]">[e] but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,f]">[f] 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!g]">[g]

                Paul’s Longing to See Them Again

                17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

                Footnotes
                1. 1 Thessalonians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 9, 14, 17
                2. 1 Thessalonians 2:5 Or with a flattering speech
                3. 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Some manuscripts infants
                4. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Or without ceasing
                5. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
                6. 1 Thessalonians 2:14 The Greek word Ioudaioi can refer to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time
                7. 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or completely, or forever
                8. 48 min
                9. Give Thanks to the Lord
                  Psalm 100 (ESV)
                  His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
                  A Psalm for giving thanks.

                  100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

                  2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
                      Come into his presence with singing!

                  3 Know that the Lord, he is God!

                      It is he who made us, and we are his;a]">[a]
                      we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

                  4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

                      and his courts with praise!
                      Give thanks to him; bless his name!

                  5 For the Lord is good;

                      his steadfast love endures forever,
                      and his faithfulness to all generations.

                  Footnotes
                  1. Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
                  2. 39 min

                  About Grace Church of Philly

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                  Weekly sermon audio feed from Grace Church of Philly in Feltonville and University City.