Grace Point Church - Topeka

How Do People Grow?: Part 5 - The Intersection

“Unapplied truth is like paint. It doesn’t do anybody any good until it is applied.” We can be the most learned of believers, but if our knowledge doesn’t move us toward application, then our faith will wither. The Bible challenges us to respond to God’s truth in many different ways: love your enemies, show forgiveness, and practice generosity. It’s one thing to believe and enjoy practical teaching. But gaining knowledge is not enough to grow our faith —applying it is.STUDY GUIDE

How Do People Grow?: Part 4 - Surprise!

Life is full of surprises - some good, some not so good. But each unexpected event that comes our way is actually a divine opportunity. Oftentimes, what shapes our response to these surprises is the support and community we have around us. It is “our tribe” that helps us frame what’s happening in a way for us to see that God is not doing something to us but is doing something in us and through us.STUDY GUIDE

How Do People Grow?: Part 3 - Jesus' Easy Yoke

The notion of a discipline being essential to an authentic, heartfelt relationship may seem strange. After all, discipline is about routine; a relationship is fluid. But if you think about it, every healthy relationship is held together partly by disciplined actions and routines. Our relationship with God shares a similar dynamic. Abandoning these practices leaves God at the periphery of our lives. Regularly practicing these disciplines, however, draw us into a closer, more intimate, more dependent relationship with him.STUDY GUIDE

How Do People Grow?: Part 2 - Walking WiselyIt’s nearly impossible to tell your life story without referencing people who played significant roles along the way. The same is true of your faith. We don’t live in a vacuum. The Bible makes it clear that certain relationships are pivotal in our spiritual development, while others can lead us in directions we never intended to go. In the second part of How Do People Grow?, we’ll explore the role relationships play in the growth of our faith.STUDY GUIDE

How Do People Grow?: Part 1 - It All Begins Here

Sermons come in all shapes and sizes. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear God saying the same thing in most sermons—trust me. That’s not to say that the message in the Bible is shallow and simplistic. Rather, in all the ways that you could respond to God, the most important thing that God is asking you to do is to trust him. When things are going well, it doesn’t require a lot of faith to trust God. But when life turns messy, is your faith leading you to depend on God, or do you put your trust in something else?STUDY GUIDE

Follow. Believe. Obey.: Part 3 - Obey

The church often mistakes obedience as the first step in the Christian life. As a result, for many people, Christianity becomes a rules-based religion. But Scripture reveals that obedience comes because a relationship has already been established. Jesus invites us to follow him until we begin believing He is indeed who he says he is, and that belief becomes the reason we obey.STUDY GUIDE

Follow. Believe. Obey.: Part 2 - BelieveJesus' initial invitation to his disciples was a simple one: follow me. He invited them to watch, listen, and learn from his interactions with the Father and other people. In time, those who followed him began to discover God's character through those interactions. In that discovery, they found themselves drawn to take a second step.STUDY GUIDE

Follow. Believe. Obey.: Part 1 - FollowThere is a common misconception that the church is a gathering place for saintly, perfect people. Moreover, some think that being a Christian means observing a set of rules or commandments. The reality is that the Christian life is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. At the beginning of that relationship is an invitation that Jesus extends to people from all experiences of life: "Follow me.STUDY GUIDE

77 Times: Part 3 - Moving Past Your Past

You’ve accepted the fact that Jesus has forgiven you. You’ve even made progress on forgiving other people. But what about forgiving yourself? If you’re unable to forgive yourself you need to take a fresh look at the cross where we learn that guilt and shame are not from God. In part three we’ll explore what it looks like to forgive ourselves.

77 Times: Part 2 - Even Is Never Even

Batman and Joker. The Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. Samson and the Philistines. The feud goes back and forth, trying to get even but ironically—even is never even. Pain begets pain, and not just for those directly involved, but the people surrounding the battle. What needs to happen? It has to do with surrendering our right to get even.