This Christmas season has been different for our church as we press toward closing on our new property. Yet, the true meaning of Christmas has pressed upon me perhaps more than ever before.
God became flesh.
If that isn't true. religion is futile and we are fools. But if it is true, we are wise to pursue Him, no matter how difficult the journey. We are wise to present Him with our treasures, no matter how costly the sacrifice.
At sundown this evening, the "Festival of Lights" known as Hanukkah will begin. It celebrates a miracle which took place some 160 years before Christ was born. After brave Jews took back their Temple from the Seleucids, the Menorah burned for eight days on the oil meant for one day.
We too celebrate the Light of the World who has come to bring Life to everyone of us.
Merry Christmas, GraceWay! 'Tis the season to be jolly...and busy...and frazzled and...well, you've met them (or maybe have been a Grinch yourself at times!).
This is why I decided we must begin December with a throwback to Thanksgiving. If you want to have a truly merry Christmas, you must cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." Anyone can be grumbly hateful; but, because of the hope of our Messiah, Christians should always be humbly grateful. God is good! Why don't you say that to your neighbor right now?
Happy Thanks-Living from GraceWay Baptist Church! This message is from Psalm 100 and focuses on sacrifice and an attitude of gratitude. Why is it important to live with an attitude of gratitude? What happens when thanksgiving becomes a season rather than a way of living? Let’s join Pastor Brad as he opens the Word.
Happy Thanksgiving, GraceWay! God has brought us through another year of blessings. It has been such a privilege to take this journey together.
As we step into a new phase as a church, we will need to "be strong" in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Paul reminded Timothy that Christianity is not passive. In fact, he used a soldier preparing for war, an athlete training for victory, and a farmer laboring for a harvest to get his point across.
Today, let's focus on the race that is set before us.
Authentic Christianity calls us to more than just belief; it also calls us to labor. Scripture reminds us that, like a farmer, we must plant ourselves, persevere in the work, and patiently await the harvest God provides. Let us commit ourselves to be faithful farmers, committed to the work of the Lord of the harvest.
Thank you, Veterans! We are forever grateful for your sacrifice and service to secure our freedoms.
This day reminds us all Christians reminds us all Christians are called to be good soldiers. We are given armor, warned of enemies, and promised rewards for faithfulness.
Too many are disarming for peace at any cost. Let us not be weary in well doing; and having done all our King requires, stand!
My wife and I just returned from six days in Israel. The people speak of both breathing a sigh of relief that the conflict is over, and holding their breathe that tensions do not reignite.
Peace is evasive. So it will always be until the Prince of Peace reigns in Jerusalem! In the meantime, the kingdom of God is within us. May He rule in our hearts today.
Ret. Gen. John Teichert knows how to lead because he learned how to follow. But, the real question is captured in the title of his message today, "Who Are You Following?"
Many of us spend our lives looking back to see who's following us. It is not only difficult to walk while looking backwards, it's dangerous to the point of fatal!
God has something specific for us today. Let's listen with an open heart and an open Bible.
Psalm 22 describes the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. What cleansing!
Psalm 23 presents the Great Shepherd who gives His life to the sheep. What care!
Today we will answer the repeated question of Psalm 24, "Who is this King of glory?"
He is the Chief Shepherd who will return soon to live eternally with the sheep. What a Conqueror!
May I urge you to trust in God for now and eternity? For He alone is worthy!
In Psalms 22, the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. In more the thirty-three places, we clearly see Jesus fulfilled its Messianic prophecies in providing our eternal salvation.
Today we move to what many acclaim is the most beautiful piece of literature ever written, Psalms 23. It presents the Great Shepherd as giving His life to the sheep.
Sheep are helpless creatures! They are a perfect metaphor for us, wandering and defenseless without our Great Shepherd. Thank God, He is all we need.
Our theme for 2025 takes our national motto and makes it our personal declaration: In God I Trust.
The psalmist declares, "Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O, my God, I trust in Thee." Yet, why should we offer our mind, our will, and all we desire to one whom we've never seen?
David could do this because he had laid the foundation of his faith upon the Messiah. Specifically, in Psalm 22, he saw the coming Messiah who would give His life as a sacrifice for all of our sin.
Have you heard? God gave us some direction this past Friday. We were walking on, with no further light on our path, when the call came: OUR BID HAD BEEN ACCEPTED! It felt like a flash of lightening across our way.
What do we do first? What if we don't move fast enough? What if we do something wrong?
Then I opened the Bible to Isaiah 50. A calming warning came to remind me: even those who obey God will experience times when they can't see the way ahead. This is when we must declare, without hesitation, "In God I still trust."
The woven vine bridge swung above the jungle mountain river 20' below. With space for only one foot at a time, the key was to hang on and step confidently forward.
The Psalms of King David are full of instructions on how to walk this journey we call life. Many times he cried out for help to steady his step, but he always kept boldly putting one foot in front of the other.
It is through much tribulation that we will enter the kingdom of God. But let's step forward without a single doubt that God will deliver us to the other side!
In a moment, one single shot changed everything. It has been called a "watershed moment." I looked up that idiom. It means "a significant turning point." This is what Charlie Kirk prayed for, preached for, and ultimately died for.
GraceWay, may God turn our hearts back to His Word and Way! Apostle Peter said the time will come when "judgment must begin at the house of God." That time is now. Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.
For nearly six months we have been studying our way through the rich book of Leviticus. We have noted Moses began outside of the tabernacle. For twenty-five chapters, God has meticulously described how to get into His presence. In a word: HOLINESS.
Here we are at the end and God closes by giving an ultimatum: disobey His Word and face disaster, or dedicate everything to Him and be guaranteed success.
Well, what are we waiting for? Let the dedication begin!
What if every 50 years all debts were canceled and people were restored to the place of their birth? Sounds like an answer to a lot of problems...or does it? Just think of the implications for our economy!
Though it was commanded, like a lot of things God said, His people seemed to ignore it.
So what was the purpose of the Year of Jubilee? We'll never discover it all, but the Bible gives us some wonderful glimpses into its meaning for you and me.
The Seven Feasts of the LORD are a glimpse into the character and calendar of our Almighty, Eternal God. Four of the Feasts have already been fulfilled in the Person and Work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The next to be fulfilled is the Feast of Trumpets - picturing the rapture of the Bride of Christ, the Church. It falls on September 23 this year. Could this be the year? We can always hope!
The Law has been given, the Tabernacle built, the sacrifices instituted, the purification of the priests performed, and the sanctification of the people begun.
Now, there's one last area of life to cover: holy days. God wanted His people to remember and celebrate all He had done -- and would do -- for them. He called these special days the "Feasts of the Lord" and they are a roadmap of His prophetic plan to save, sanctify, and stay with His people forever.
General John Teichert reminds us we are called to live “behind enemy lines” with a mission from God, just as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in Babylon. Their oversized impact came from three traits: an excellent spirit, trusting obedience, and a pursuit of excellence—traits we must embrace to represent Christ well in our own Babylon today.