Jesus told us that it is to "our advantage" that He goes away so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (John 16:7), and yet, for many Christians today He is a mystery, dismissed, or worse, ignored and grieved.

This Sunday, Pastor Tim begins his sermon series titled, "Life in the Spirit," where he is inviting each of us to learn (or re-learn)  who the Holy Spirit is, and experience (or re-experience) His presence in our lives.

In Acts chapter two we learn how the Holy Spirit was released in to the hearts of those who waited per the instructions of Jesus. This first release of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension, was proof that the words of the messiah were 100% true.

As we prepare for the next series on the Holy Spirit, Pastor Tim takes a Sunday to remind us of that incredible moment in Acts chapter 2 where the first church receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Being really excited about Jesus is just an everyday thing for Christians. But have you considered what it is specifically you are excited about?
This Sunday we welcomed back our Missions Pastor, Carey Higgins, as he shared with us about four different things he's excited about when you encounter the love of Jesus. Those four things are, holiness, healing, help, and hope.

In this final session, Pastor Tim reminds us of what the values of Grace Church are, and their importance. But, he goes on to explain that within our values there's an intersection where all three values meet. It's in that intersection where we learn about the anchor to wholeness, community, and discipleship.

Discipleship is central to why we are here. In Acts, chapter 9, Paul (then known as Saul) is physically healed, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and water baptized. And each of these were not boxes to be checked, they were part of Saul's transformation!

As he begins his ministry, he begins to invest in his the lives of those he's with, and has someone who is discipling him. He is being discipled and discipling constantly!

Each of us has been, or are being discipled, and in turn it's important for each of us to disciple! As a matter of fact, when we each heard about Jesus, it was from someone sharing their testimony and revealing to us who Jesus is!

Grace Church value number three is discipleship and it's a value that should be in each of our lives.

Last week Pastor Tim, introduced "Wholeness" as the first Grace Church value and highlighted the importance of being spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally whole.

This week he jumps into Acts, chapter 9, to highlight how Paul (then known as Saul) experienced "wholeness" through his initial interaction with Jesus. But, beyond this, when Paul interacted with Ananias and received healing, his salvation, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was welcomed into a "community" of Christ followers through Barnabas. A community in which he had persecuted, only to be humbled by the Lord Jesus and welcomed into.

"Community" is the second Grace Church value and the significance of Community for Grace Church has never been more important.

In this first installment, Pastor Tim defines introduces the idea of values and how they define each of us and the organizations / churches that we belong to.

Additionally, we take a look at the first value for Grace Church, wholeness, and what it means for each of us physically, spiritually, relationally, emotionally, and mentally to be whole not only individually, but whole as a body of believers.

When it comes to healing our wounds, we have to remember to anchor ourselves in the truth of God's Word. The Liar will try his best to convince us of doubt, fear, worry, or speak the fatal words that would cause us to pause, "Did God really say...?"

In this final session of "Healing Our Deepest Wounds," Pastor Tim reminds us that it's worth every opportunity to spend time in the word of God and to have a deep passion for the scriptures so that the culture of this world, or the lies of the enemy, don't pull us away.

The world today tries to convince each of us of our purpose. As a result many people look to that definition, provided by the world, to build their sense of identity.

But from the beginning, God had a divine purpose for men and women. Each of these purposes intended to bring us closer to God the Father as we look to Him to see our true identity and receive love and healing as we walk closer to Him.

The prodigal son searched for love out in the world and never found love, or acceptance. When he ran out of money, everyone and everything was gone! But as he returned home, he experienced love from his father that was always there, if not more than before!
This is God's love! His love is shown in his looking, in his pursuit, and in his extravagance. And this love isn't counterfeit, never disappoints, or has any conditions.