Text: Mark 8:34-37 | Listen to Message How well do you think you know yourself? Let’s do a little diagnostic test. What are some of the strongest sources of self-worth in your life? What makes you feel like you’re significant, you’re important, you’re doing okay? What gives you a sense of security or validation? What is it that tells you you’re unique, you’re special? To ask it another way, what would anger and frustrate you most if someone were to threaten it or take it away from you? If you’re like most people, you derive your sense of identity from some...
Text: 1 Peter 5:6-14 | Listen to Message Peter concludes his first letter by showing us how to live in light of the grace and peace of Christ that is already ours. He’s saying, “Because you are born again to a living hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus . . . ” “Because you are called, chosen, and cleansed by Christ . . . ” “Because the end of all things is at hand and you are about to share in the glory and reward of Christ forever . . . ” “Because the One who establishes your faith...
Text: 1 Peter 5:1-6 | Listen to Message Most of us don’t spend a whole lot of time around sheep and shepherds these days, so we may not readily grasp what Peter meant when he instructed elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). Shepherding was not a glamorous job. It involved long hours out in the elements defending sheep from predators (and from their own stupidity), leading them to find nourishment, rescuing them when they wandered off, and caring for their wellbeing. Shepherding was hard work with almost no breaks. And shepherds were some...
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19 | Listen to Message The Apostle Peter’s instructions on how to suffer well sound a little like a checklist: Don’t be surprised by suffering. Check. Rejoice in the opportunity to share in Christ’s sufferings. Check. Make sure you’re not suffering for wrongdoing. Check. Don’t be ashamed when you suffer as a Christian. Check. Glorify God in how you identify with Christ. Check. So that’s it? Don’t be caught off guard, don’t sin, and don’t be ashamed? Be happy and praise God somehow? And then what? The trial will go away? I’ll feel better? I’ll be better?...
Text: 1 Peter 4:7-11 | Listen to Message If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re a steward. You have the privilege and responsibility of managing the business and the numerous resources that God has entrusted to you. You don’t have to create your own job description, and you don’t have to come up with your own resources; you simply invest in and with what God has already given you. This is how you love others eagerly and consistently from the heart. This is how you cover a multitude of sins committed against you. This is how you show hospitality without grumbling....
In the Fall of 2019, Grace City Church is relocating to the corner of Broadway and Park Avenue in the heart of downtown Denver. Join us on Sunday mornings at the brand new Asterisk Denver events venue (1075 Park Avenue West), where we’ve partnered with the owners to create a welcoming, safe environment for all ages. Our vision is to be a centrally-located, inclusive church that intentionally pursues younger generations and takes the Gospel to the everyday street level where our neighbors live, work, gather, and create. Centrally located: Cities, like individual lives, are best changed from the...
Text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 | Listen to Message When Jesus was faced with a choice between his own will (to save his life) vs. the Father’s will (to suffer and die for the sins of the world), he articulated his desire but then concluded, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus armed himself with this truth: It is better to suffer in God’s will than to sin. Though this doesn’t sound like a very 21st Century thing to say, it’s a foundational principle for Christian living: “No matter what specific situation I find myself in, I’m deciding right now...
Text: Luke 6:43-45 | Listen to Message Your life is like a fruit-bearing tree – and the fruit that grows announces to the world exactly what kind of tree you are. If the root of your life is healthy, and it’s planted in healthy soil, your fruit will automatically be healthy. But the inverse is also true: if the root of your life is sickly, or it’s planted in poor soil, your fruit will automatically be unhealthy. The implications of what Jesus says here are both profound and immensely practical. If you want to change the observable part of your life,...
Text: 1 Peter 3:13-22 | Listen to Message We all have countless little “h” hopes. Maybe you hope to meet the right person and start a family. Possibly you hope to get a passing grade, a promotion, or a raise. Perhaps you hope to be healed of some physical distress like an injury or extended illness. Whatever your hopes, we need a big “H” Hope that keeps us grounded and joyful even when circumstances aren’t going our way. We need a confident expectation, not just a whole bunch of wishful thinking. The heart of our text explains that we have that...
Text: 1 Peter 3:8-12 | Listen to Message 1 Peter 3:8 lists five qualities that define Christian community in contrast to the self-promoting and vindictive culture of the world: unity, sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, and humility. Unity is literally “of the same mind.” The world is characterized by either dogmatic, close-minded, inflexible opinionating on the one hand or groupthink on the other. We love to surround ourselves with people who share our same thoughts, perspectives, and opinions, and we love to argue with those who don’t. In a culture of conflict, unity is a breath of fresh air. Unity doesn’t mean...
