God’s Grace Maintains Human Relationships in the Local Church.

Healthy relationships are vital for the progress of the Gospel. Christian relationships in the church are founded and grown by grace. 2 Corinthians 7 is a practical chapter about how we get along in the church. We don’t get along without the supernatural work of grace – a personal relationship with Christ and growing in Christ-likeness.

Luke 18:15-30

Paul’s Defense of the Church Requires a Plea for Its Continued Purity in the Content of the Gospel and Its Progress.

Happy Resurrection Day!

On Sunday evening, we commemorated our Savior's death through song, Scripture reading, and observing the Lord's Table.

Seeing Grace Grow and Change People Is the Measure of Ministry that Has Integrity.

Too many pastors have been measured by worldly standards of success in this past year in the midst of all the distractions life and culture have brought our way. The real measure of successful ministry is what the all-powerful grace of God is doing in people's lives. Only Jesus Christ can transform a life so completely.

Man’s Depravity and God’s Salvation.

Imagine a doctor who discovers a long-time patient has cancer. She knows the news would make her patient very upset, so she only tells him to keep eating healthy and exercising, and he should be fine. The patient feels relieved when he leaves the office, but how has the doctor served her patient?

There is a difference between hearing what we want to hear and hearing the truth that we need to hear. Psalm 53 is one place the Bible tells us the difficult truth we need to hear.

Continue to Trusting God When Oppressed.

When culture moves away from God’s truth, calling right wrong and wrong right, what happens to the Christian caught in that gap? Our Psalm today tells us that Christians must continue to trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Since our God is sovereign and good, all who trust in Him will be rewarded.

The Christian Prayer of Lament.

Did you know that one-third of the Psalms are laments? These honest struggles with difficult circumstances were sung by the congregation of Israel in corporate worship. We don't often pray like that today, especially in a corporate setting. What can we learn from these prayers that were inspired and preserved for us in God's Word?

Parables of Discipleship

Jesus' Gold Standard of Love

1 Corinthians is a letter to a church that found itself in the most influential and cosmopolitan city of its day. Yet this was a troubled church. The church received the gospel, but it was not governed by it. In many practical ways, the church was governed by culturally-derived mottos rather than mature reflection on the gospel and its implications for life.

A Fundamental Contrast between the Way of Religion and the Way of Love

Healthy Churches Encouraged by Eternal Promises Are Lighthouses for Gospel Mission.

This will be true until Christ comes. This purpose is reflected in our church's mission statement: "Grace Church of Mentor exists to glorify God by evangelizing the lost and equipping the saints with the goal of Christ-likeness." Every Bible-believing church has been given this Gospel mission. Our Savior intends us to live His life, and His disciples demonstrated this. Both men and women tremendously affected Gospel progress in their areas in the New Testament.

Living a New Life in Christ.

The healing process takes time. The Corinthian church was healing, and Paul urges them to return to their mission. The overall focus in this chapter is pleasing God and living for redemptive purposes.

What It Means to Please God.

2 Corinthians 5:11-13

The aspiration of the believer is to please God, whether here on earth or in His presence in Heaven. The Spirit compels us to become more like the Son every day.