GSLCVA Podcast

This Midweek Recharge offers a musical respite: Schubert’s “Holy Is the Lord” sung by the Virtual Choir, and “The Blessing,” sung by the Praise Band. For those who have encountered Hurricane Delta or a recent wildfire, we encourage you to listen to the September 30 Midweek Recharge, which contains prayers and blessings during the season of hurricanes, wildfires, and other storms. (“The Blessing,” by Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe, Steven Furtick. Used with permission. CCLI License # 85835

Everybody’s searching for something: love, meaning, fulfillment. God invites us to find what we’re looking for through the marvelous gift of life in Jesus. And because it’s an invitation – not a summons – we have the right to refuse it, and thus also to reject what makes life exciting, challenging, and wonderful: fellowship with Jesus and fulfillment in every sense. Pastor Johann shares these insights and more in this week’s message, “The Search and the Invitation.”

Who is served in worship? When does worship happen? How should worship happen? In this Midweek Recharge, Pastor Johann tackles these questions and points out the connection between worship and forgiveness. In forgiveness, we worship Jesus and serve Him, and the Lord has served us with forgiveness, bought by His blood, sweat, tears, suffering, and the outpouring of His love. Knowing that we are forgiven, we are encouraged to live a life of worship, devotion, and service to our neighbors and to our Lord.

Today’s message looks at four truths about God’s character shown in the Parable of the Tenants: God is the Creator and owns everything He created; God is patient; through Jesus, God opens the way for us to have a loving relationship with Him; God is just. When Jesus told the parable, the Pharisees became angry because it pointed out where they had gone wrong. But we know that the parable is about us, too. We should remember that we are tending God’s vineyard and are called to be faithful workers for H

In today’s Midweek Recharge, Pastor Johann offers prayers and blessings for a season of hurricanes, wildfires, and other storms. May these prayers help you find comfort, courage, and strength.

Repentance is more than saying you’re sorry, as Pastor James reminds us in this message. It means turning from our sinful ways, obeying God’s urgings and commands. Christ followers need to do more than talk a good game. We need to also act, sharing the good news of God’s saving grace, our hearts filled with a joyful response to God’s forgiveness and love. Faith leads to repentance, which allows us to walk obediently with God.

Today we offer a podcast version of our most recent “Virtual Visit” video. The video includes 3 parts: an in depth virtual tour, the signature sermon of our namesake, “The Good Shepherd” from our May 3 service, and a recording of our choir singing the Hymn, "The King Of Love My Shepherd Is “. Because the video tour is more of a visual piece, we invite you to view that on our youtube or vimeo channel, and here, we include Pastor Johann’s welcome, followed by the sermon, and then the Hymn.

When God told Jonah to deliver a message of forgiveness to the people in Nineveh, Jonah headed in the opposite direction—not because he was a coward but because he really didn’t want the Ninevites to hear this good news. He knew that if the Ninevites repented, God would indeed forgive them. In this sermon, “Love v. Justice,” Pastor Johann challenges us to consider whether we prefer justice to forgiveness. Praise God that he is merciful and forgives our disobedience.

A Christian’s attitude toward giving might be considered upside down by those who are not Christ followers. When we give, we trust that Jehovah Jireh, the God of provision, will provide what we need. This week, Pastor Johann reminds us that the main focus of the church is to serve those outside its walls. Right now, we need to be more generous to meet the needs of those in the field. God isn't hindered by financial difficulties. He will not only care for you, but bestow you gifts to care for others.

When our sins are forgiven, God does not ask, “What’s in it for me?” Instead, God’s amazing grace through Jesus is unconditional love. There are no strings attached to God’s forgiveness. Because of His mercy, no debts remain. In this message, “It’s All Good,” Pastor Johann challenges us to forgo revenge and “debt collection” and to forgive others as we have been forgiven – no strings attached.