Gracelife Sarasota

“STILL A MAN BELIEVES WHAT HE WANTS TO BELIEVE, AND DISREGARDS THE REST” – SIMON & GARFUNKEL, “THE BOXER” Have you disagreed with someone who refused to acknowledge important obvious points in your argument? We have all been on both sides of this equation though. Every human in history has been. Sometimes stubbornness starts with ignorance, in that situation there’s hope information & persuasion will help. But what about when someone knows the information but still refuses to acknowledge obvious truth? Can you relate? The problem there isn’t education, lack of knowledge, Its morality, human nature. Information can’t cure our depravity. This might be the saddest quality of human depravity when we willfully reject obvious truth. Why is that? Sometimes truth can be humiliating, troubling, requiring costly changes, courageous choices, humbling acceptance. Sometimes truth is so frightening we chose ignorance, even willing & ready to risk the inevitable conse

What is your first reaction to the phrase “the last days” or the return of Jesus? There is the churchy answer “Oh man what a glorious day that will be”, but all of us have a little anxiety right? Do you think biblical prophecy, signs that point to the possibility that the end is just around the corner? The topic is a little intimidating theologically, it makes you anxious. It should be the most comforting. Since the first century, one of the critical non-negotiables in Christian theology was that Jesus taught He will return. Apostles & early church fathers were all in agreement: We are in the last days & the return of Jesus was imminent. Early on, it was held as one of the most precious, comforting apostolic teachings. It was also the most attacked. It’s not surprising the enemy would target it. It’ll be his worst day, his worst moment, when evil is wiped out. We’ve seen an entire range of false teaching: Failed predictions, already happened, outright rejection

My wife Laura grew up in NY, she used to always tell me how bad chain restaurant pizza was, but I dismissed that. Then, we moved to NY just outside of Queens, a couple block away was Angeleto. It’s the best Sicilian pizza you’ll ever eat. The perfectly tangy sauce, fresh cheese, crunchy edges… transformational. In the city, on the corner of Spring & Mott was Lombardi’s (PIC) the best thin crust fired oven pizza ever. I could never settle for Pizza hut or Domino’s again. I can’t go back, I won’t. Why? Because I tasted the real thing. Have you ever experienced something made the old ways dissatisfying because you’ve experienced real version? If we have truly experienced the joy of His grace and His community, that’s how following Jesus should be, I don’t know how anyone could ever go back to life without Jesus, if they’ve really tasted Living water

Have you ever had someone you care about wounded, misled, or taken advantage of by someone or a group? How did that make you feel? What did you want to do? What did you want to say to those who did it? Did you play scenarios in your head what you would say, how it would go if you had a chance to unleash? When people we love are victimized, it’s fertile ground for outrage or anger, sometimes justified. Here’s another question. Have you ever wounded, misled, or taken advantage of someone else’s loved one? Were you confronted? Were you embarrassed? Did you lash back? Were you humbled, ask for forgiveness? If you think about it, all of us, intentionally or not, have wounded someone else’s loved one. Certainly, evil should be called out, it should be dealt with… but how do we do that without seeming to be hypocrites? It’s a hard balance, isn’t it? Managing our righteous anger toward those who hurt our loved ones. Then on the other hand, maintaining humility over th

Do you ever wonder why God sometimes seemingly lets evil have its way? Why doesn’t He judge it immediately? We know evil is caused by sin, perhaps even our own… but why does God even allow sin to be a thing in the first place? Wy must we even tolerate false teaching? Didn’t’ Christ suffer on the cross to defeat evil? Will evil ever get what it deserves? We grapple with these questions today, same as the 1st century church. We are even more exposed to false teaching than the 1st century church. Internet, locally, nationally. You can’t escape the reality that God’s people will always be plagued by evil of false teaching around us. it’s easy to lose heart, give up. Where do we turn? Where do we get the motivation, inspiration to wait patiently? How can we get the confidence & assurance we need, that God knows what He’s doing? And we can rest easy?

What is the problem with false teaching? Why is it so bad? Why is it so important? You may not realize it but without your church family & constant reminder you are very vulnerable to false teachers. Why are people so susceptible to false teachers? What makes false teaching so attractive, so alluring? It has Something for everyone… atheistic, deistic, philosophical, theological. It can be radical, subtle, or in between. False teaching is the fertilizer that causes overgrown depravity throughout human history. A framework for redefining morality (or rejecting it all together) and elevating it above God’s law & priorities.

Why do we follow Jesus? Why do we go through the trouble of living in accordance to His commands? - Why do we put our faith and trust for eternity in His promises to the degree it changes how we live on earth? The reason? You have been convinced the words of Jesus are true, reliable enough to devote your life to Him. That makes sense, right? We follow Jesus, trust in Jesus because we’re confident He is the Way, the Truth & the Life. If that is true for you, are you able to articulate the reasons? Could you pass those things on to others?

What if, I told you God says its ok to indulge the flesh with anything we want for the next 30 days? Eat or drink whatever, whenever, don’t worry about health repercussions, they aren’t important for this month. Don’t worry about sexual purity, integrity, or any biblical righteousness… for 30 days, none of that matters. Likely, if you are a follower of Jesus,, you know this is a bad idea. Even with a promise of no spiritual or earthly consequences, a follower or Jesus is repulsed by this idea, or should be. What would be the impact if we did the opposite? Intentionally pursued a list of things to make our faith stronger?

When your faith is challenged, by friends, family, or the world, how competently, confidently can you recall those things? Are you able to give a reasonable summary & defense of teachings of Jesus, & why they are reliable, trustworthy? Can you remember important things to enlighten those who don’t know truth, and encourage those who do? Of course, one person alone can’t know it all, but here are some things every follower of Jesus should remember. Things critical to our confidence, our ability to be Royal priests in a hostile world. That’s what 2 Peter is about.

Have you ever had the privilege of spending significant time with Christians in other parts of the world? Several years ago, I went on a missions trip to a mountain village in Peru, mostly native south American Indians. I spent 10 days with precious believers who loved the same Jesus I did, read the same scriptures, embraced the cross. My experience with this little mountain village church started a transformation of my understanding of the church. Those memories have helped me as we have worked through 1 Peter, I think you’ll understand why today.

A Christmas Eve message: - Did you ever receive the perfect gift? Can you remember your favorite Christmas gifts ever? For each person, the gift of faith from Heavenly Dad is unique, with exceptional circumstances, meaning, special revelation. -Sadly, over time we can forget how precious that perfect gift is, we begin to forget that very 1st day we opened it.

Imagine you’re in a burning building, & firefighters show up to rescue you, would you question their orders or direction as they tried to get you away from danger? Would you say, I don’t need trained firefighters to get out of this. All I need is God! He and I can handle anything! NO of course not, because as the heat and flames intensify, you’d be fully aware of the danger & do what they say. What about a different type of danger, what about evil? Most Christians seem oblivious to evil, ignoring or neglecting those responsible to shepherd their souls. How acute is your awareness of the forces of darkness? How can you determine if you’re living dangerously?

Have you ever heard the term “Sheeple”? What does that mean? Is it a compliment or an insult? Ever hear phrases like “dumb sheep”, or “led like sheep”? Nobody likes to be called a sheep. Sheep are very useful livestock, providing wool, protein (delish), keeping fields from being overgrown. But sheep are high maintenance, the get lost easily, and they can’t find their own way back home.- Why does Jesus call us sheep? Spiritually we’re just like sheep, easily distracted, lost, vulnerable, we need shepherds

How many sermons have you listened to in your life? Is there a way to measure how you are applying the things we learn from God’s Word into our lives? The only way to know how strong our faith is, is to play a game. We need to be tested. The problem is, too many of us are content with just practicing, rarely getting on the field to play.

Do you ever struggle with doubt about your faith in Jesus. Is heaven real? Is all this Jesus stuff legit? Is the promise of eternity w/God worthy of the sacrifices necessary for us to be a true disciple of Jesus? What if there was a way we could be reassured, even in moments of doubt, that our Jesus is reliable? What if that assurance is tied to real suffering, not suffering because of our sin, but suffering tied to Jesus? What if struggling with doubt is directly tied to how we handle suffering?

#16 in our series on 1 Peter: Preparing for future trouble is particularly important for many people. What about apocalyptic predictions or theories? Are you the person who takes them seriously? -What about biblical warnings like the “end of all things”? Should we take them seriously, or leave them for tomorrow? When it comes to preparation it’s important to know what the priorities are and make those your first focus. Related Sermons: https://tinyurl.com/MarkNo61-HopeOnAHillside https://tinyurl.com/MarkNo62-HopeInTribulation https://tinyurl.com/MarkNo63-HopeNow

Do you ever get discouraged about how often earthly passions get in the way of you Kingdom passions? How can we make sure our first priority is the Kingdom of God? Thats the question we seek to answer in week 15 of our series on 1 Peter

In this weeks sermon from 1 Peter 3:18-22, we learn about demons, the cross, Noah & the Ark, and how all of that together provides a beautiful picture of being immersed in the transformational promise God has made to redeem us. There's alot here this week, so grab a snack and settle in!

Have you ever been so passionate about something it drives you to fight for what you believe is right? Is that always the right thing to do? Are there times we should chose peace over conflict, even if we are 100% on the "right" side? We study that concept in this week's sermon from 1 Peter

Have you ever heard someone say, “I am blessed”? or “Life is good” What do they mean when they say that? Maybe it’s a job you love, financial security, a material goal like your dream car, dream house… That’s good stuff, right? In this week's sermon from 1 Peter we learn how Peter defined blessed, how to live a life "full of good days"