Grace Dover Messages

Sermon by Daryl Wattley, RUF Campus Minister, from 2 Kings 2:1-14 and Romans 11:1-5.

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Senior Pastor, from Ezekiel 37:1-10 & Acts 2:1-13. This Sunday marks Pentecost Sunday where we are reminded of the fulfillment of Christ’s words to his disciples before his ascension that they would receive His Holy Spirit. As believers, it is through the power the Holy Spirit that we have been given new life. As God showed Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones, we have been given his breath that we might rise and live. God has given us the gift of His Spirit so that we may proclaim his salvation to every nation and tongue, and bring glory to His great name.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Associate Pastor, from Psalm 1 & John 17:6-19. Sanctification is something everyone who follows Christ is expected to pursue. But is it merely for individualistic fulfillment? Or, does it have a broader communal aim as well? And if so, then how does sanctification affect racial harmony? Jesus' prayer for his people in John 17 gives us a broad understanding of sanctification when Jesus prays, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." The Christian family is dependent on the sanctifying truth of God's word to empower us to maintain the unity we've been given for the glory of God. Christ prays for our sanctification so that we may be one as he and the Father are one. then he sanctifies himself so that we may be sanctified. What does this mean? Our unity is not incidental to our sanctification, it is at the heart of it.

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Senior Pastor, from Acts 4:5-12 & 1 John 3:16-24. As we celebrate our AAPI brothers and sisters, we also rejoice in the unity that we have through Jesus Christ. Although some might like to think that the unity we seek is simply a response from a “woke” generation and culture, this has been God’s message to all of his people through all ages. Let us rejoice that God has revealed his salvation clearly to all the nations and be amazed!

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Associate Pastor, from Psalm 22:25-31 & I John 4:7-2. There are a lot of apps and algorithms that seek to help people find love. But, part of the problem that people have with finding love is that they are not able to define what love is. Defining love these days is tough. Modern people use the word love to define their feelings about someone or something. I love my parents. I love pizza. I love my new drill set. But is the love for parents to be compared to pizza or power tools? Yet this is the modern dilemma of defining love. The word is used without a distinctive definition in each context. Is there a love that really matters? That is the question that this sermon is addressing. Because God is love we can define love only in relationship to him. The Bible shows us that because God is love, we know love's source, we know love's salvation, and we know how love serves. This tells us that to find love you have to know that love has found you and has revealed itself to you in the Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the Eucharist because God is love and he has made it manifest in Jesus Christ's giving himself to be the propitiation for our sins. What will happen to you if your definition of love begins with God and his love?

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Senior Pastor, from Acts 4:5-12 & 1 John 3:16-24. After Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon his disciples. This was the power from which they were to be his witnesses, and how they were to know that Jesus was still with them. We who have been saved by Jesus Christ can also know that he is with us and that we abide in him and the Father because His Spirit is in us.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Associate Pastor Psalm 4 & Luke 24:36-48. Most of us can relate to having our lives shaped by a single event, but none of us can relate to being the event that shapes all of human history. That is what the resurrection of Jesus Christ does. Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead brings together everything God has planned for his people and his glory. This means that Jesus' rising from the dead shapes our identity, gives source to our joy, and brings coherence to the story of our lives. This sermon will present Christ's resurrection as the reason to joyfully persevere through any potential hardship or suffering while simultaneously living in righteousness and peace.

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Senior Pastor, from Acts 4:32-35 & 1 John 1:1-2:2. Our big Easter celebration is over, so now what? Easter continues! The victory of Christ over sin through his resurrection has been given to us, his disciples. We are called to live in Christ’s victory by growing in His grace and encouraging one another through our testimonies. As we walk in our new lives, the light of God, "we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Associate Pastor Isaiah 25:6-9 & Acts 10:34-43. Christians everywhere celebrate Easter, because God raised Jesus from the dead. Why does Christ's resurrection matter more than other stories of resurrection? Because Christ's resurrection causes us to know God, understand the depth of our need, and what God has done to change the outcome of the great cosmic struggle that oppresses all humanity. What we learn from the resurrection of Christ is that with God there is no discrimination, but through Christ God relieves us from oppression, providing salvation, which enables participation in the proclamation of this justification. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, people from every nation are brought into the presence of God and together they testify to the glory of Jesus. And, since God raised Jesus, death now becomes the way in which all who believe in him are made better.

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 118:19-24 & John 12:12-16. Palm Sunday is the day that marks Jesus’ “triumphal entry" into Jerusalem on a colt. Yet, he did not enter the city on a horse or with an army, but on a colt. This reveals to us the heart of God; that he does not desire to conquer us, but to be our beloved, benevolent King. Jesus, the King of kings, suffered so that we would receive salvation and eternal life. And he continues to reconcile all things to himself, especially in our broken world. So, we await with the hope he has given us in the present for the future Second Coming of our King.