Saint John Community Church

Pastor Tom Grieb continues our series, "Champions of the Church."

Stephen is one of the great heroes of the church.  He is best known as the first martyr of the church.  In this regard and in so many others Stephen is a real Champion of the Church.

He was one of seven tapped by the Apostles to oversee the distribution of food for widows in the church, but that wasn’t the limit of his contribution.  Stephen was, as the scripture reports, “a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”  Stephen was always ready to make a defense of the gospel when the opportunity presented itself.  Eventually, Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin on charges of blasphemy, which he did an eloquent job refuting.  The Sanhedrin didn’t take kindly to what he had to say and conspired to have him stoned.

Stephen was willing to give his all for the sake of Christ and paid the ultimate price by giving his life for the Kingdom.  He exhibited a Christ-like Spirit throughout.  I think of the countless people around the world who are presently being persecuted and, in some instances, being killed for the faith.  They too are willing to give their all for the sake of Christ.

We are left to consider what that means for us.  How are you giving your all for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom?

Pastor Tom Grieb continues our series, "Champions of the Church."

Gamaliel was a highly respected rabbi of his day.  He was an uncommon Pharisee.  While he was bent on keeping the law to the last detail, the most important thing for Gamaliel was making sure God’s will was done.  Gamaliel didn’t want to do anything that would stand in the way of God’s will.  Gamaliel was rightly convinced that all things were in the hands of God and there was nothing anyone could do to ultimately stop that.

Gamaliel was also an unexpected ally of the early Christian church.  He stood before the Sanhedrin, not so much to defend the Apostles, but the will of God.  Threatening to put the Apostles to death, Gamaliel called on the Sanhedrin to slow down and take a broader view that included the possibility of God working through those that were now preaching about salvation through Jesus Christ.

“Leave these men alone!” he said.  “Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”  Acts 5:38-39

The Apostles were freed that day, largely due to the courage, faith, and wisdom of one of the unexpected Champions of the Church, Gamaliel.

Pastor Tom Grieb begins our series, "Champions of the Church."

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday.  For the Christian Church it is the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit in a mighty way.  That account is vividly recorded in Acts 2.  Those told to wait for “power from on high” after Christ’s resurrection received the Holy Spirit in overwhelming fashion and the world has never been the same since.  Some have even said that the church was born that day.  Regardless, God acted in a powerful way.

The Holy Spirit rested on the entire body gathered that day.  Corporately, everyone was profoundly affected.  When God’s Spirit is recognized by a church, great things take place.  Individually, people were touched as demonstrated by “tongues of fire resting on each one of them.”  Those gathered were not just touched corporately, but individually.  God did a wonderful work in the life of every individual.  God’s work didn’t stop there, though.  His scope was as broad as the entire world for all time.  People “began to speak in other languages that were not their own” to make the broad statement that the gospel was intended for the entire world.

In a word, the power of the Holy Spirit made a profound difference that Pentecost following Christ’s death and resurrection, and still does today—individually, corporately, and globally.

Ravi Zacharias once said, "Starting well is a momentary thing; finishing well is a lifelong thing.” Whatever season of life you may find yourselves in, Christ calls us all to persevere and finish well.

Pastor Tom Grieb concludes our series, "Family Matters."

In a very real way, life is a matter of building a legacy.  We are keenly aware of that as we approach Memorial Day.  We can build our legacy for the good or the not so good.   It’s a matter of choice.  There is no legacy that is as far-reaching as a legacy of faithfulness to God.  It pays dividends not only for this life, but the next.

I had a friend one day say, “You never know where your influence will stop.”  While our influence might reach far and wide, we can certainly affirm its effect at home.  The way we live our lives has great influence upon those we love the most.

In that regard, I am mindful of the faithful influence of Timothy’s mother and grandmother as recorded in II Timothy 1:5.  The influence of Lois, his grandmother, and Eunice, his mothe,r helped to bring about a living faith in the life of young Timothy.  Their willingness to lean into Timothy helped to form and fashion him.  That legacy of love was not lost on Paul as he writes II Timothy.

Ours should be a legacy of love as well, particularly in family.  We do well to shine with the light of Christ every opportunity we have.

Pastor John Choi continues our series, "Family Matters."

God created the family to be the chief method of passing down His teachings and commands from generation to generation. It is not only our job as parents to ensure this, but for all of us who are coaches, educators and mentors as well. Let’s chase after God’s heart this Sunday as we seek to understand why the family matters to God!

Pastor Tom Grieb begins our series, "Family Matters."

For a long time now, I have been convinced that God has a way of working out his purposes in and through family. God puts us in family so that his love has a way of being made known. He puts us in family so we are able to be nurtured and supported. Family is the essential building block of God’s Kingdom and it behooves us all to do everything we can to make sure our families are as strong as they can possibly be. Family matters.

In this message, we consider one of the great stories of the Old Testament. It is a story of love and devotion. It is a story of hope and redemption. It is a story of God’s good purposes for our lives. In the end, it is a story about the unlimited things that are possible when we hang with family. The story of Ruth is one for the ages.

Pastor Tom Grieb concludes our series, "Famous Last Words."

The resurrection of Christ brings hope and healing to a world that so desperately needs it.  The resurrection of Jesus is good news indeed.

Before the news of Christ’s resurrection had time to take hold the disciples hid themselves away, fearing for their lives.  Thomas was not among them.  He had distanced himself from the rest of the disciples, if for no other reason than to deal with his grief by himself.  Everyone deals with grief in their own way.

Thomas has long been called “Doubting Thomas” and for good reason.  He was a “I’ll believe it when I see it” kind of guy.  He got his chance.  Jesus appeared and gave Thomas the opportunity to place his hands where the nails had been driven and where the spear had pierced his side.  “My Lord and My God” was Thomas’ response.  Instead of doubting, Thomas now believed.

In the mix of that Jesus also had a word for us who are so empirical.  He says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”  Ours is by faith and not by sight.  By faith, we are awakened to all sorts of things we wouldn’t otherwise experience, including the grand good news of Christ’s resurrection.

Pastor Tom Grieb continues our series, "Famous Last Words."

It has been voiced for centuries, “Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed!  It is the essential affirmation of our faith.  The whole of Christianity turns on the fact of Christ’s resurrection.  Without it, we are left searching for answers about this life and the next.  Because Christ is risen, everything he ever said and everything he ever did is stamped as true.  The resurrection seals it all.

The Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is futile.”  As we have come to experience, Christ’s resurrection brings strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.  We have every reason to be faithful.

Pastor Tom Grieb continues our series, "Famous Last Words."

The last “last word” of Christ from the cross is one of total surrender to God.  In life AND death, Jesus was fully given over to God and God’s purposes for his life.  In the end, Jesus did not let the anguish of the cross interrupt his relationship with his Heavenly Father.  Christ’s every desire was to place himself in the hands of God.   In that Jesus knew that God’s divine purposes for him would prevail.

You and I would do well to live with the same sort of surrender.  In the sometimes agonizing struggles of life, we do well to place ourselves in God’s hands.  Trusting God to see us through will not only help us make it through whatever we face but will help us emerge triumphant.  We will be talking about such things this Sunday as we gather for worship.