Sermon: God’s Shepherding Care for His People

God’s Shepherding Care for His People 1 Peter 5:1-4 January 19, 2020 My grandfather was a farmer. He emigrated to Canada from Russia in the early 1920s and was a very successful farmer. As a young boy, I remember going out to the fields with him on his tractor and picking up rocks and other […]

Sermon: A Prayer for One Another

A Prayer for One Another Philippians 1:9-11 January 5, 2020 One of the questions that the elders have been wrestling with (that you will hear more about in our state of the church meeting) is “how do we continue to shepherd well a growing church in a way that honors the Lord?” There are things […]

Sermon: Loyalty to God and His Word

Loyalty to God and His Word Psalm 119:113-120 December 29, 2019 Pastor Matt Woodley tells the story of a softball game he played in a number of years ago: …the umpire made a call that incensed our coach. My coach didn’t agree with the ump’s interpretation of a specific league rule. The game stopped, and […]

Mary treasured these things in her heart

Below is the manuscript from my message at our Christmas Eve communion service this evening. What do you think about when you hear the word “Christmas?” What are your thoughts about Christmas? What memories shape your thinking about Christmas and what do you think about those memories? When I think about Christmas, I think about […]

Sermon: The Birth Announcement

The Birth Announcement Luke 2:1-20 December 22, 2019 Earlier this year, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle had a baby. While babies are born every second of every day, this birth captured the attention of royal followers around the world. Like many other parents, the birth was first announced by Harry and Meghan on social […]

God’s shocking grace

In Romans 10:20, as Paul recounts the revelation of the gospel to the Israelites, he notes that Isaiah is “very bold” when he writes what he does in Isaiah 65:1ff. The word “very bold” has the sense of words that are daring, astounding, and even shocking. What God says through Isaiah is unanticipated and unexpected. […]

The Help of God’s Eternal Nature

As far as life callings go, this one came late. He already had a significant career in public service when he went through his mid-life crisis at age 40. Some might have said that his experience at 40 was not a crisis, but a total breakdown. He was influential and well-known until his fortieth year, […]

Sermon: Saved for Good Works

Saved for Good Works Ephesians 2:10 October 27, 2019 Five hundred and two years ago this week, a lone monk posted 95 topics of debate for the church of that day (what we now know as the Roman Catholic church). He didn’t want to bring down that church; he simply wanted to reform it. His […]

Sermon: “It’s Not Fair!” A Question of God’s Righteousness (Pt 3)

“It’s Not Fair!” — A Question of God’s Righteousness (Part 3) Romans 9:27-29 September 15, 2019 The question of the day is whether God is fair and whether He is faithful to His promises. Know therefore that the Lord, your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to […]

Sermon: How Shall We Pray?

How Shall We Pray? — A Prayer for the Future Colossians 1:9-12 August 18, 2019 We have remembered our church’s past. And we have remembered God’s faithfulness in our past. We have given thanks to God for His care for us over the past 40 years. Now what? As we said last Sunday, by the […]

Sermon: The Light of God’s Word in the Darkness of the World

The Light of God’s Word in the Darkness of the World Psalm 119:105-112 August 4, 2019 We live in a dark world. We live in a world where people are blind to the reality of God, the devastation of sin, the truth of Christ and His righteousness. We live in a world where blind people […]

Sermon: The Grace of God Has Appeared

The Grace of God Has Appeared Titus 2:11-15 July 28, 2019 Forty years ago this summer, Grace Bible Church held its first worship service. For forty years, GBC has been worshipping God, discipling believers, evangelizing unbelievers, and sending the gospel through missions to foreign lands. For forty years we have seen and experienced God’s faithfulness […]

When Scripture speaks

The Apostle Paul is fond of quoting from the Old Testament — particularly in the book of Romans. In that theological treatise, the apostle quotes the Old Testament directly over 60 times. And over half those quotations appear in three chapters — Romans 9-11. As Paul lays the foundation for God’s sovereignty in salvation in […]

How God chooses men for salvation

Romans 9 is the beginning of an extended section in Romans about the sovereignty of God in salvation — how does God bring about salvation in those who were hated by Him and who hated Him? That God is not only the author of salvation in that He accomplishes it, but He is also the […]

Sermon: God’s Sovereign Mercy, Pt 3

God’s Sovereign Mercy, Pt. 3 Romans 9:6-13 June 30, 2019 Starting at the end of July, we are going to spend a few weeks reflecting on God’s glory and grace to us as a church body, as we think about 40 years of ministry at GBC. We will think about a variety of ways that […]