Grace Dover Messages

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 66:8-20 & I Peter 3: 13-22.

It is a commonly held thought that being good should have a payoff in this life. But suffering for doing good seems incongruous with that cultural thought. Why be good if your are going to suffer for it? Do you know why? Are you looking for a payoff? The text speaks audaciously that it is better to suffer for doing good. Where does this kind of thinking come from? How do you process the gift of Gods grace so that you see it is better to suffer for doing good? This sermon will show that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and its benefits enables the Christian's suffering to produce a far better person than what suffering for doing evil produces.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 31:1-5 & Acts 7:55-60.

This Sunday as we continue to celebrate our Lord's resurrection we are confronted with the story of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. His death is a turning point in the history of the Church. They've gone from enjoying favor with God and men, to being killed at the hands of those who refuse to believe the way that God has opened the heavens through Jesus Christ. Stephen preached a deadly message that was full of life! When we see the heavens opened we find the beauty our souls long for, the refuge our sinful self needs, and the place where your spirit can be committed.  This sermon is a call for Christians to see how Jesus, risen from the dead, has opened heaven, given us grace, aiding us in our witness, even though the violent would bear us away.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 23 & Acts 2:42-47.

This week's sermon is a lesson from the well known Psalm 23. This psalm presents many comforting thoughts about the Lord's tender treatment of his people, whom he affectionately calls his sheep. But the verse about the table prepared in the presence of my enemies should cause us to pause. What could be the purpose of a table prepared in the presence of one's enemies? Is it to taunt our enemies? Or, is it an invitation to peace? When we understand the Lord's Supper we find that there is much more than a memorial happening. We should think of God preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies as the power to transform our lives, the community, the nation, even the whole world.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 & Luke 24:13-35.

As the Easter season continues, this week's scripture readings brings us to the account of the disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Luke is a good writer, laying out the whole drama of meeting the once dead, but now risen Christ. They didn't recognize the resurrected Jesus. What they knew when he was alive is all they had as a reference point for knowing Christ. They didn't know him from the Scripture, either. But they knew him in the breaking of the bread. This story amazes us with the excitement of restricted recognition, revealing scripture, and realizing the Savior in Communion. How do you recognize the risen Lord? Do you think of the Lord's Supper as crucial to knowing the Lord? The sermon will remind us that we don't know Jesus through our own efforts or understanding, but we know him through the revelation of himself through both his Word and his work, a work that is dramatized for us in the Communion.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 16 & I Peter 1:3-9.

What causes your heart to be glad and makes your whole being rejoice? Satisfaction in this life is inexorably tied to the next life. In other words, there is no lasting happiness in this life if you are not certain about the life that is to come. The Christian is the one who can be completely satisfied, i.e. whole being type joy, because he or she is resting in the living hope provided through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This sermon will show us the preservation of the good amid a plurality of pretend saviors, with the Lord as your portion, leading to the path of pleasure forevermore. You will be glad to know that the reason for joy isn't an inanimate object. What causes the whole being to rejoice isn't some thing, but it is Someone who has risen from the dead and promises to all whose faith is in him that they will live even thought they die.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Psalm 118:1-2,14-24 & N.T. Colossians 3:1-4.

This Sunday we celebrate our Lord's resurrection. We shout "He is risen!" the reply is given, "He is risen indeed!" But the question is asked, "So what?" With so many resurrection stories and myths abounding in a plurality of nations and their gods, what makes Christianity's resurrection story different? This Easter Sunday's message presents the what, where and when of the message of Christ's resurrection. Because Christ has been raised from the dead, all who are in Christ are risen with him. Since this is true, every Christian and unbeliever should know these three things. What happens because you are raised with Christ. Where your head should be since you are raised with Christ. And When Christ appears, you will appear with him since your life is hid with Christ in God.

When a follower of Christ understands these three things about Christ's resurrection, they are equipped to follow him through any and every circumstance. Whenever an unbeliever hears these three truths concerning Christ's resurrection, they are hearing the offer of freedom, forgiveness, justice, righteousness and glory. Both groups hear the same resurrection message, but with which one will you identify?

Sermon by Joshua Suh, Associate Pastor, from Isaiah 50:4-9a & Matthew 21:6-11.

Palm Sunday is the day that marks Jesus’ “triumphal entry" into Jerusalem, and is also the start of Holy Week. Though Jesus would ride into Jerusalem triumphantly, he would be slain on a cross merely days later because he was not the king that the people were hoping for. However, we know that he is a greater King, who suffered so that we would receive salvation. He is reconciling all things to himself, especially in our broken world, and so we await with the hope he has given us in the present for the future Second Coming of our King.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Ezekiel 37:1-14 & Romans 8:6-11.

During the season of Lent, we are following Christ to the cross. However the cross is not the end. Christ died on the cross, but before he died he promised that he would come and be with us by placing his Spirit within us. (John 14:18) Paul in Romans 8:6-11 sees Christ and the Spirit as one in the same. The Spirit is Christ's and Christ is the Spirit. And if Christ is in you then you also have the Spirit living in you. And the freedom and joy of the Christian life is directly related to the degree that you take in the truth that Christ lives in you through the Holy Spirit. This sermon answers the question of Ezekiel 37:3 "Son of man, can these bones live?" (You will notice Ezekiel defers to the Lord for the answer!) Through Jesus Christ the dry bones of the people of God come to life through the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is life and peace. The Spirit makes the dead come to life. The Spirit of Christ says, you belong to him.

Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 & John 9:1-41.

During the season of Lent, as we are following Jesus to the cross, we are confronted with the effects of sin in the lives of people. This story of the man born blind shows us that we don't often know how to make sense of the brokenness that we see. Questions come like, "what happened in the life of a family that they are homeless?” Or, “what did that man do that he ended up where he is?” “What did I do that this tragedy came upon me?” When these thoughts come, we are looking to make sense of these saddening events. We want a nice tidy explanation that fits our view of the world. But the works of God have to be displayed! And they don't always make sense, and they are upsetting to some and yet they bring about a God glorifying and worshipful end. The question the gospel of Jesus Christ presents to us is, "Will you be satisfied with the works of God being displayed?"