Why Church?
Fall 2022
We Serve Best Together In Ministry (11AM)
October 30, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 12:5–31
Each Sunday for the past two months we have been asking the question “Why? Why Church?” Do we really need the church to know about God, to worship God, to pray, to serve, to love? Aren’t there better, or at least equally effective, ways to do all of the above on our own terms, when, where, and how we want? Why Church? What has been stated repeatedly these seven weeks is that the Church was not founded by a bunch of eager, starry-eyed, religious fanatics. The origin of the Church is supernatural. The Church was established, chartered, initiated, by God Himself. When God set the Church in motion His priorities were not walls, windows, carpets, and lighting. His priority, then and now, has always been people, real people, including you and me. We are God’s priority, God’s Church. In our passage from the Bible this morning it is clear that each of us, without exception, has been blessed and gifted by God so that we can be a blessing and gift to others. Every Christian, every single Christian, has a God-given mission (a place to serve others) in their community, and a God-given ministry (a place to serve others) inside their church. We need the Church to discover and engage, in the right ways and for the right reasons, the passions and abilities given to us by God. If we reject the Church even our best intentions and efforts get messed up. This Sunday is also the first of four Stewardship Sundays. As we ask “Why?” we also ask “How?” How can we best steward (take care) of God’s Church here at Grace. These are Big Questions, beautiful questions, challenging questions, questions that lead us closer to God and to each other.
We Serve Best Together In Ministry (9AM)
October 30, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 12:5–31
Each Sunday for the past two months we have been asking the question “Why? Why Church?” Do we really need the church to know about God, to worship God, to pray, to serve, to love? Aren’t there better, or at least equally effective, ways to do all of the above on our own terms, when, where, and how we want? Why Church? What has been stated repeatedly these seven weeks is that the Church was not founded by a bunch of eager, starry-eyed, religious fanatics. The origin of the Church is supernatural. The Church was established, chartered, initiated, by God Himself. When God set the Church in motion His priorities were not walls, windows, carpets, and lighting. His priority, then and now, has always been people, real people, including you and me. We are God’s priority, God’s Church. In our passage from the Bible this morning it is clear that each of us, without exception, has been blessed and gifted by God so that we can be a blessing and gift to others. Every Christian, every single Christian, has a God-given mission (a place to serve others) in their community, and a God-given ministry (a place to serve others) inside their church. We need the Church to discover and engage, in the right ways and for the right reasons, the passions and abilities given to us by God. If we reject the Church even our best intentions and efforts get messed up. This Sunday is also the first of four Stewardship Sundays. As we ask “Why?” we also ask “How?” How can we best steward (take care) of God’s Church here at Grace. These are Big Questions, beautiful questions, challenging questions, questions that lead us closer to God and to each other.
We Serve Best Together In Mission (11AM)
October 23, 2022 • Alex Rule • 2 Corinthians 7:13, 2 Corinthians 8:15
Many of us have learned as children to love God, to be grateful, to ask for things before taking them, to say please and thank you, as well as to respect and serve people, and to have compassion and be generous with others in need. Paul is comforted that the Corinthians wanted to reform their lives and ways. He is please not only because of their good resolve but also because of their good actions by which they were correcting their former practice he even said that after he had boasted about the Corinthians to Titus, they had not let him down. Paul offered the Macedonians the highest praise, for even in the poverty they give generously of what they have. They wanted to offer even more than their strength allow by giving themselves wholly to God first, and then to their fellow believers with exceptional generosity of their own free will, with this the Macedonians demonstrated their sincere desire to receive a spirit gift. Paul sent Titus to the Corinthians to encourage them to imitate the Macedonians.
We Serve Best Together In Mission (9AM)
October 23, 2022 • Alex Rule • 2 Corinthians 7:13, 2 Corinthians 8:15
Many of us have learned as children to love God, to be grateful, to ask for things before taking them, to say please and thank you, as well as to respect and serve people, and to have compassion and be generous with others in need. Paul is comforted that the Corinthians wanted to reform their lives and ways. He is please not only because of their good resolve but also because of their good actions by which they were correcting their former practice he even said that after he had boasted about the Corinthians to Titus, they had not let him down. Paul offered the Macedonians the highest praise, for even in the poverty they give generously of what they have. They wanted to offer even more than their strength allow by giving themselves wholly to God first, and then to their fellow believers with exceptional generosity of their own free will, with this the Macedonians demonstrated their sincere desire to receive a spirit gift. Paul sent Titus to the Corinthians to encourage them to imitate the Macedonians.
We Pray Best Together (11AM)
October 16, 2022 • Dennis Whitcher • Acts 2:42–47
Believers should make time for corporate prayer especially when the church gathers. There is tremendous power in corporate prayer; God meets with us in a special way when we participate in it. Even the Lord's Prayer implies our need to pray corporately. It says, "Give 'us' our daily bread. Forgive 'us' our debts..." We are in the fifth week of our seven-week sermon series “Why Church?” taking seriously the question, why do I need to go to church to pray? It is common to hear from someone that they can "pray better" when they are enjoying nature or from the comfort of their easy chair rather than in church. This Sunday we will look at why Christians, from the early church to today, in every time and place, pray together? In part, because heartfelt prayer requires fresh glimpses of God, and we know how little we see by ourselves. We want to take in and experience more of Jesus than we would ever see on our own. We want to kindle our adoration before God through the eyes of others. Church is the place where believers can love one another, encourage one another, “spur” one another to love and good works, serve one another, instruct one another, honor one another, to be kind and compassionate to one another, and pray for one another and others
We Pray Best Together (9AM)
October 16, 2022 • Dennis Whitcher • Acts 2:42–47
Believers should make time for corporate prayer especially when the church gathers. There is tremendous power in corporate prayer; God meets with us in a special way when we participate in it. Even the Lord's Prayer implies our need to pray corporately. It says, "Give 'us' our daily bread. Forgive 'us' our debts..." We are in the fifth week of our seven-week sermon series “Why Church?” taking seriously the question, why do I need to go to church to pray? It is common to hear from someone that they can "pray better" when they are enjoying nature or from the comfort of their easy chair rather than in church. This Sunday we will look at why Christians, from the early church to today, in every time and place, pray together? In part, because heartfelt prayer requires fresh glimpses of God, and we know how little we see by ourselves. We want to take in and experience more of Jesus than we would ever see on our own. We want to kindle our adoration before God through the eyes of others. Church is the place where believers can love one another, encourage one another, “spur” one another to love and good works, serve one another, instruct one another, honor one another, to be kind and compassionate to one another, and pray for one another and others
We Grow Best Together (11AM)
October 9, 2022 • Garth Gustafson • 2 Corinthians 1:1–11
Following the custom of his time, Paul includes a thanksgiving after his opening greeting. This thanksgiving is focused not upon some praiseworthy characteristic of the readers, but rather upon the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who had comforted Paul in all his troubles. The comfort he received was sometimes deliverance from his afflictions or anxiety and at other times encouragement in the midst of them. Here Paul speaks of comfort as encouragement and strengthening grace in the midst of troubles. He says that we are comforted so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from our Father God. Paul encourages others by pointing out that while his ministry may have been attended by many troubles it made it possible for them to share in God’s comfort.
We Grow Best Together (9AM)
October 9, 2022 • Garth Gustafson • 2 Corinthians 1:1–11
Following the custom of his time, Paul includes a thanksgiving after his opening greeting. This thanksgiving is focused not upon some praiseworthy characteristic of the readers, but rather upon the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who had comforted Paul in all his troubles. The comfort he received was sometimes deliverance from his afflictions or anxiety and at other times encouragement in the midst of them. Here Paul speaks of comfort as encouragement and strengthening grace in the midst of troubles. He says that we are comforted so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from our Father God. Paul encourages others by pointing out that while his ministry may have been attended by many troubles it made it possible for them to share in God’s comfort.
We Love Best Together (11AM)
October 2, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 12:31, 1 Corinthians 13:13
We sing about it, write poems about it. I’ll go out on a limb and say that every song, book, movie, friendship, and poem is a testimony to our pursuit of this one thing … LOVE. Our desire to love, and be loved, is at the root of most everything we do. We are in the third of our seven-week sermon series “Why Church?” taking seriously the question, why do we need God’s Church to find true love? While they may not phrase it this way, many who reject the church believe they don’t need church to find true love, “I can find love on my own.” This morning we are looking for a good answer to this objection. Making a commitment to a Church is not for the timid, especially in our current day and age. Today, a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, but more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, a place to be avoided, a place against love. Those are conclusions easily reached when we misunderstand God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to introduce Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, real love, genuine compassion, and honest relationships. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, Bible-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The heart and soul of Christian faith, and the Church, is not dogmas, disciplines, and demands. The heart and soul is God’s undeserved, and unending, love. Once we believe that our whole life and world begins to change, and our love for others grows too.
We Love Best Together (9AM)
October 2, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 12:31, 1 Corinthians 13
We sing about it, write poems about it. I’ll go out on a limb and say that every song, book, movie, friendship, and poem is a testimony to our pursuit of this one thing … LOVE. Our desire to love, and be loved, is at the root of most everything we do. We are in the third of our seven-week sermon series “Why Church?” taking seriously the question, why do we need God’s Church to find true love? While they may not phrase it this way, many who reject the church believe they don’t need church to find true love, “I can find love on my own.” This morning we are looking for a good answer to this objection. Making a commitment to a Church is not for the timid, especially in our current day and age. Today, a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, but more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, a place to be avoided, a place against love. Those are conclusions easily reached when we misunderstand God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to introduce Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, real love, genuine compassion, and honest relationships. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, Bible-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The heart and soul of Christian faith, and the Church, is not dogmas, disciplines, and demands. The heart and soul is God’s undeserved, and unending, love. Once we believe that our whole life and world begins to change, and our love for others grows too.
We Worship Best Together (11AM)
September 25, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 16:13–23
What is your response when you crest a ridge and see before you a scattering of majestic peaks and towering pines? What is your response when you witness a magnificent sunset and soon after stars and planets at distances unimaginable? How do you respond to the miracle of birth, the miracle of love, the miracle of friendship? For many of us, our response moves us beyond ourselves. Even in the unspoken thoughts of our mind and soul, we acknowledge a power beyond human power. And we worship. This morning we are in the second of a seven-week sermon series taking seriously the question, “Why Church?” “I can worship God on my own hiking in the mountains, swinging a golf club, drinking a cup of hot coffee or downing a cold beer. Why do I need the church?” Are there good God-given reasons for the Church? Because making a commitment to a Church community is not for the timid, especially in our current day and age. Today, while a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, a place that is hate-filled, a place to be avoided. Those are conclusions reached by those who misunderstand the Church, and God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to bring the hope and love of Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, love, compassion, and relationships. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, scripture-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The entire story of God creating us, rescuing us, calling us into a relationship with Him, is about “we” not “I”. Christian life is contra-American individualism. Christian life is an invitation to community.
We Worship Best Together (9AM)
September 25, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 16:13–23
What is your response when you crest a ridge and see before you a scattering of majestic peaks and towering pines? What is your response when you witness a magnificent sunset and soon after stars and planets at distances unimaginable? How do you respond to the miracle of birth, the miracle of love, the miracle of friendship? For many of us, our response moves us beyond ourselves. Even in the unspoken thoughts of our mind and soul, we acknowledge a power beyond human power. And we worship. This morning we are in the second of a seven-week sermon series taking seriously the question, “Why Church?” “I can worship God on my own hiking in the mountains, swinging a golf club, drinking a cup of hot coffee or downing a cold beer. Why do I need the church?” Are there good God-given reasons for the Church? Because making a commitment to a Church community is not for the timid, especially in our current day and age. Today, while a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, a place that is hate-filled, a place to be avoided. Those are conclusions reached by those who misunderstand the Church, and God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to bring the hope and love of Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, love, compassion, and relationships. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, scripture-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The entire story of God creating us, rescuing us, calling us into a relationship with Him, is about “we” not “I”. Christian life is contra-American individualism. Christian life is an invitation to community.
We Learn Best Together (11AM)
September 18, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 2
This morning we begin a seven-week sermon series asking the question, “Why Church?” Each week we will take seriously the thought that is on many minds, “I connect with God by myself, why do I need church?” Making a commitment to a church community is not for the timid, especially in our current cultural climate. For generations church was an acceptable and respectable place to be seen. Even those who did not believe what the church stood for added their names to the membership roles because doing so increased social status and business success. Not anymore. Today, while a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, hate-filled, a place to be avoided. Those are conclusions reached by those who misunderstand the Church, and God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to bring the hope and love of Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, love, compassion, and community. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, scripture-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The entire story of God creating us, rescuing us, calling us, into a relationship with Him, is about “we” not “I”. Christian life is contra-American individualism. Christian life is an invitation to community.
We Learn Best Together (9AM)
September 18, 2022 • Curt McFarland • 1 Corinthians 2
This morning we begin a seven-week sermon series asking the question, “Why Church?” Each week we will take seriously the thought that is on many minds, “I connect with God by myself, why do I need church?” Making a commitment to a church community is not for the timid, especially in our current cultural climate. For generations church was an acceptable and respectable place to be seen. Even those who did not believe what the church stood for added their names to the membership roles because doing so increased social status and business success. Not anymore. Today, while a large percentage of Americans still self-identify as Christian, more and more believe the church is unnecessary. Some even see the Christian Church as a hinderance to social progress, hate-filled, a place to be avoided. Those are conclusions reached by those who misunderstand the Church, and God’s intentions for the Church. Is the Church, including Grace of Christ, imperfect? Yes! But the Church, Grace too, is still God’s chosen organism to bring the hope and love of Jesus to a world desperate for real truth, love, compassion, and community. This series is not an act of desperation. It is not an attempt to beg, badger, or argue, in order to convince people to come back to, or begin to attend, church. It is meant to be an intentional, scripture-based, communication of God’s desire for the church and our part in it. The entire story of God creating us, rescuing us, calling us, into a relationship with Him, is about “we” not “I”. Christian life is contra-American individualism. Christian life is an invitation to community.