Gospel Grace Church Sermon Audio

- Speaker: Isaac Gagarinas - The rise of the internet changed the trajectory of society in countless ways. One of the greatest was the creation of a new medium of engagement which is the digital world. Now, people have the ability to engage with ideas, videos, music, and content. Friends can both connect with old friends and make new friends they never would have otherwise. But what exactly is the digital world? How should Christians engage it? In this class we start with a biblical anthropology, recognizing that God has created us as embodied beings. As embodied beings, we are made for embodied reality and embodied relationships. Therefore, the goal of this is to rightly value the digital world so that we as embodied beings can rightly engage the digital world.

Acts 4:32-5:2 - Speaker: Lukus Counterman - At the end of Acts 4, the believers experienced sweet community. People were caring for one another and pursuing the good of the church. That is until a deceitful couple named Ananias and Sapphira put God to the test. They thought their fake spirituality would sneak under the radar. Surely, they could be selfish inside and put on a spiritual show outside. Nope. God judged them and displayed the importance of holiness and integrity in the church. The community responded in the fear of the Lord and more and more believers were added to the assembly. This church growth irked the religious leaders of the day, and they turned up the heat of persecution in Acts 5. They arrested, beat, and threatened the apostles. But these Christians were resolved to obey God rather than man. They went on preaching Jesus in Jerusalem and beyond. May the Lord give us hearts of integrity in worship and courage in witness.

- Speaker: Isaac Gagarinas - Today, we take the principles we have discussed so far and apply them to the smartphone. Utilizing Tony Reinke's book, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, we focus on the topic of distraction. The smartphone is a modern technology that provides many benefits to society but also comes with dangers. Few dangers are clearer than distraction. This class seeks to consider why our smartphones are uniquely designed to contribute to our distraction and why we ourselves have an appetite for distraction. By understanding our phones and getting at the heart of distraction, we then consider several biblical principles to move away from distraction and move our hearts toward the eternal things of Scripture. It is from these principles and heart postures that we can then form healthy phone habits.

Acts 17:16-34 - Speaker: Christopher Hile - A framework for engagement equips us to take steps toward cultural literacy in order to love our neighbors and reach them with the gospel. In today's lesson, we describe how to enter, explore, and expose the culture around you in an effort to extend the hope of the gospel to your neighbors. This framework is grounded in Paul's speech in Acts 17:16–34.

Matthew 5:1-12 - Speaker: Jared Jenkins - In Matthew 5, Jesus begins his well-known Sermon on the Mount, which serves as the “code of conduct” for citizens of his kingdoms. In verses 1-12, Jesus shows us who these citizens, these kingdom-dwellers, really are. He starts by describing them as “blessed” or "happy". In this chapter, we see Jesus gives a countercultural perspective on happiness and being blessed by God. According to him, true happiness isn’t found by those who pursue riches or achievements. No, according to Jesus, happiness is for those who are lowly and destitute. This Sunday, we will explore the reason for why the lowly and destitute can be called “blessed.”

Romans 15:5-7 - Speaker: Jon Kopp - “Community is not a spiritual luxury or an optional addition to the exercises of private devotion. Such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow-Christians, and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment.” J. I. Packer, God’s Words.

Jeremiah 29:1 - Speaker: Christopher Hile - This week, we are exploring the biblical theme of God’s people in exile. As we locate ourselves in the world of the Bible, we gain a right understanding of who we are, and this shapes how we live. I’m doing so, we see that Christians are dual citizens who await our heavenly home while seeking the good of the city we are in.

- Speaker: Isaac Gagarinas - In our second class, we move our discussion from the nature of technology to building a framework for using technology. By surveying several biblical texts, this class first draws out several important biblical principles. Through these principles, the class then formulates a four-question framework for using technology. These are questions to help Christians establish wise technological habits for themselves. All the while, the goal is to both form wise habits and discern heart postures that our technology reveals within us.

Acts 4:1-31 - Speaker: Lukus Counterman - In Acts 4, the church faced its first wave of opposition. What began as a movement that engendered people’s favor, turned into something that threatened the religious establishment. The more people believed in Jesus the more religious leaders felt unsettled. They arrested Peter and John, called them before the Sanhedrin, and commanded them to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Well, in the face of opposition, the apostles continued to proclaim the gospel in the power of the Spirit. And subsequently, thousands more in Jerusalem were saved. May the Lord teach us how to respond in the face of opposition. May he embolden us to share the good news through the power of the Spirit.