Grace Dover Messages

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Isaiah 63:7-9 & Hebrews 2:10-18

On this first Sunday after Christmas, we are examining what the incarnation of Christ means for our experience of salvation in him. From our texts, we see that God's great compassion moves him to become the Savior of his people. This Savior is made like us in the person of Jesus Christ whose birth, life, death and resurrection. Being made like us and facing temptation as do we, Jesus is able to help us when we are tempted. For whatever struggle we might be facing, for whatever suffering that we are enduring or is coming our way, for whatever sin, memory, or heartache we keep stumbling over, Jesus is our help!

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Isaiah 9:2-7 & Titus 2:11-14. On Christmas day, the birth of Jesus Christ is the display of the grace of God. However, the appearance of the grace of God is not the foremost thought of the day in everyone's mind. Yet it is the appearance of the grace of God that enables believers to rightly enjoy every good and perfect gift that God has given. This is true because the grace of God brings, trains and explains what God in Christ has done and is doing through his people. This sermon will show that every believer in Christ, regardless of their present circumstances, are enabled to rejoice in him. For all the promises of God are "Yes" and "Amen" in Christ, who is the grace of God. Therefore, as we come and celebrate the Table of our Lord we are assured that we have the nourishment for all the purposes of God to be accomplished.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Luke 2:1-14. Each year many offers of the true meaning of Christmas are rendered. It is about family, or friendships, or sharing with the ones you love. Meanwhile the message of Christmas is muddled in the familiar sentiments of the season. This sermon's focus is not on the sentimental aspects of Christmas. This message seeks to discover what happens when majesty is found in a manger, when majesty stoops. When we learn the answer to this question we turn from a life of self-righteousness to embrace the righteousness that is found in the good news of the angel's announcement about His majesty in a manger.

In this final week of advent, we grow in anticipation as the day of our Lord’s birth draws near. We are reminded of the miraculous birth of Christ; how it was prophesied for generations prior, how each prophecy came to pass, and what led God to send his Son to this earth. Let us once again be amazed and rejoice over the birth of Jesus the Christ, who came to save us from our sins!

This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent and we are encouraged to "see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth..."  Waiting for Christ's return calls for us to take a positive stance in our world while we wait, understanding the value of what it is that we are waiting for; the re-creation of all things. Jesus returns reminds us that everything is going to be all right. Since everything will be all right, those who are waiting will let the hope of Christ's return shape the way they are living now. This hope has tremendous implications for society, and through faith in Christ's return, those implications aren't just the things that God will do in the future, but they are to be realized as much as possible in our the church's obedience today.  Much like the germination process of a seed in the ground. When Jesus returns, the full fruit will appear and is harvested to the joy and delight of all. 

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Associate Pastor, from Isaiah 11:1-5 & Romans 15:5-13

In this advent season, we eagerly join in commemorating the first advent as well as await the return of Christ. Scripture teaches us that God sent Jesus Christ in humbleness to save us even in our sins and give us his own righteousness. Paul urges us to follow the example of Christ, who did not live to please himself, but became a servant for us. So then, we also are called to live in harmony with one another, so that we may glorify God with one voice.

This is the first Sunday of Advent and we are turning our attention to the Lord's return. What will it be like when Jesus returns? Will it be the end of the world? Does life on this earth continue? Who is it that gets left behind? Jesus says, "For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." Jesus' comparison alerts us to the  necessity of being  prepared for his return. What every believer needs to know is that Isaiah 2 and Matthew 24 follow a biblical pattern of an offer of grace in the midst of judgment. The gospel, as it is proclaimed, always announces Jesus as both the offer of grace and the coming judge. Christ's coming to the world and dying the first time, reminds all those whom he has redeemed that they are saved from the flood of the wrath that is to come at his second advent. Therefore, we don't want to be unaware as they were in the days of Noah.

As we continue our series on the Gospel and Human Sexuality, we will examine how our language effects the way we think of ourselves and our identity. God has given us the gift of language to express the world around us, our thoughts, and our emotions. It is with the Word that God spoke the world into existence and gave us life. We worship our Lord with words put into psalms, songs, and prayers. With our words we are able to bless and curse. Thus, as Christians we must allow the Gospel to shape the language we use in describing our sexuality in a way that honors and glorifies our Lord.

We are continuing our series of messages on the gospel and human sexuality; how the gospel is good news for the sexually broken.

This Sunday we are focusing on how the gospel is good news for sexually broken people since through the gospel we are sanctified. Sanctification is the work of God's grace wherein he has determined to make us holy by the work of the Holy Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ to us. God has promised that he will cleanse and deliver us from all of our uncleannesses. So it is good news for the sexually broken to know that there is help for the struggle against sin, and there is hope to be made like Christ, but not through our own power, but through the power of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. When we see Christ dying in our place and rising for our justification we are witnessing the untiring love of God at work to make us holy. C.S. Lewis reminds us, "Though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him."

This Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It is a time when we intentionally, through prayer, demonstrate our oneness with our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted. Our scripture readings reveal to us that behind persecution is a lack of love for the truth. Then for those who are under persecution, it is critical that we learn to process persecution in a way that enables us to progress in faith and godliness. Desiring a godly life in Christ Jesus makes us a target for persecution in this fallen world, but enduring persecution is the way to prepare for the maturation required for living in the next. Where does this preparation start? It begins with faith in the gospel of Christ. And an enduring faith grows as you stand in awe of Christ's words.