In the secular world, singleness is often celebrated and promoted. The opportunity to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want. It is the ultimate form of freedom. Or at least, that's what the media can often lead us to believe. In the church, being single can often be seen as the opposite. More like a problem to be fixed than something that is a chosen lifestyle or one that has just as many benefits and worth as the marriage folks in the congregation. But what does God say about singleness? Here, Keith Williams unpacks some very important truths about how singleness is a gift and how single Christians are to orient their hearts.

This week, our intern, Keith Williams, begins a two part series on marriage and singleness. With so many cultural voices chiming in on the definition, purpose and sanctity of marriage, it's pretty easy to get mixed up on what the bible has to say about it. As Christians, we can often stumble on certain tricky parts of the bible, especially when they seem to go against the cultural norm. For unbelievers or those who are curious about Christianity, the topic of marriage can certainly be a confusing and something you really have to wrestle with. It's important to remember one very key point in the book of Genesis - God owns the copyright to marriage (Gen 2:18). He invented it! That means we don't get to rewrite His design on it. Marriage is bigger than us. It's intended to be a gift and to show us the gospel and its a huge way that God shows us His love for us.

Tune in this week to find out why and how God does this, and what it means for our lives.

February 13th, 2022 | Applying Wisdom Principles To Decision Making by Grace Valley Church

The very first question you should ask yourself before making a decision is: which choice will best glorify God?

If you're like me (and I suspect, many of us), your prayers might sound something like this: "God, please bless me in my plan to..." Or "God, please be with me as I..."

We invite God along with our plans. But it's important to order our prayers and our desires with God being at the very top of the list, and ourselves following God in the way He wants us to. So you might say, "God, make it clear to me which choice would best glorify you in my life." or "God, my desire is to do (this thing), let me do it for your glory, and not my own."

If your desires and loves are ordered correctly, your habits and choices will flow from them. Love God first and you will do His will, instinctively.

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Our beliefs shape our answers to lifes questions, which shape our decisions. So what do you believe in? What sets the cadence of your life? As Christians, our belief system is outlined in the bible. If you are unsure of what God is calling you to do, first you need to make sure that your decisions remain in line with God's commandments. That should be your fundamental belief and your decisions should flow from obedience to how God tells us to behave in the bible.

Tune in this week as Pastor Paul continues to explore and unpack where and how we acquire Godly wisdom.

This is one of those sermons that you might want to listen to again, simply because the concept of God's sovereignty and our free-will is so complex. My brain still hurts a bit from listening to Pastor Paul explain the paradox of how we are fully responsible and autonomous when it comes to making decisions in our lives, and yet at the exact same time, God has predestined it all, and there's nothing we can do to thwart God's will. It's confusing, comforting and humbling at the very same time. God is at work using our own decisions and circumstances, we can be 100% sure of it.

This week, we start to explore the concept of the "will" of God. I think everyone, non-believers and believers alike, considers the will of God at some point in their lives. For example, when we see really awful tragedies, it's natural to wonder about the will of God, if He's even there or what His heart is truly like.

Pastor Paul Vanden Brink begins this teaching series by explaining a few aspects of the will of God. First, God's sovereign will cannot be frustrated or stopped. Ever. This is good news, because we can try our hardest to deviate from God's plan, but as His created beings, we simply cannot go off course. Even if we don't even believe in God in the first place, God has created every single human being on the planet and He is in charge of every single aspect of every single human being that He creates.

It's also comforting to know that we don't have to fret about making the wrong decisions or choosing the wrong paths because whatever we choose will be within the knowledge and plan of God. He's got us! And He only requires us to do one thing and one thing alone - obey Him. And all we need to know in order to do that is outlined in His Word, the Bible.

Tune in this week to hear more truths on the will of God.

This week, Mark takes us through 1 Samuel 7:1-15 and teaches us about the rich history and meaning behind the 'Ebenezer stone'. The fact of the matter is, God is just as faithful to us today as He was to the Israelites of the bible. If we turn and repent (which is, turn away from the sin that is entangling us and asking forgiveness of God and those whom we have hurt), God will always, always be faithful to us. And it serves us well when we have little reminders of His unfailing love. It could be a post-it note on your bathroom mirror with a favourite bible verse, it could be a daily gratitude journal. Anything that helps us stay connected to God's enduring love for us, so that when we sin, we know Who to turn towards.

It is so strange to me that my thoughts actually matter to God. You would think that he would have better things to do than to be intimately linked with the constant barrage of self-criticism, judgement of others, obsessions over to-do lists and the unending layers of anxiety that cycle through my mind all day. But God openly expresses His love and delight in us, His created beings. He has permanently linked Himself with us through the Holy Spirit. And I don't know about you, but that makes me feel comforted and fairly nervous at the same time.

This week, Phil Tadros joins us to unpack the beautiful and impactful verses contained in Psalm 139. And he reminds us that, if we truly believe that we are loved unconditionally by our heavenly Father, then we need not be ashamed that He sees from the inside out. We can find ourselves emboldened with humble confidence as we come to Him with our sins. With our hopes and dreams and with our really mundane daily chatter. Every time we do this, we strengthen our relationship with our loving, tender, heavenly Father and we can walk as loved and fully known children of God.

December 26th, 2021 | Grace & Truth by Grace Valley Church