GCR Sermons: Recent Episodes
Golf Course Road Church of Christ
Welcome to the weekly podcast of sermons shared at Golf Course Road Church of Christ. To learn more about GCR you can visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download the GCR app.
September 10, 2023 - Missional Imagination
Imagination is a powerful tool that everyone has the capacity for. As a child, you might have had an imaginary friend or the ability to build beautiful words and adventures from a cardboard box. Jesus uses imagination in his ministry by telling stories to his disciples about the kingdom of God. He asks us to use our imagination to see the world differently and imagine how we can be transformed. What would happen if we harnessed our imagination to be missional in this world? What if we spent time imagining how the mission of God could break in at any moment and how we could be a part of that?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 27, 2023 - “Triumph of Faith: Part Three”
Habakkuk concludes with perhaps the strongest statement of faith found anywhere in Scripture. After wrestling with God over the questions of injustice in the world and after listening to God tell him to wait for divine deliverance, the prophet declares his great trust in his Lord.
Habakkuk faces the frightening fact that his nation is about to be invaded by a ruthless and merciless enemy. The capital city of Jerusalem and the holy temple are going to be destroyed. The land will be ruined. Many of the Israelites will be killed. The rest will be forced away from their homes in exile. Habakkuk faces the very real prospect of starvation as he looks ahead to a time without figs or grapes or olives; no sheep or cattle or goats; nothing being produced in the fields.
And he proclaims,
“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (3:18)
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 13, 2023 - “Triumph of Faith: Part Two”
God’s words in response to Habakkuk’s second round of questioning and complaining are timeless and universal. They are powerful words, inspiring words, that compel us to more radically tie what we believe to how we behave.
“The righteous will live by faith.”
~Habakkuk 2:4
Paul quotes this passage in Romans 1 to proclaim that salvation from God is for everyone who believes -- it’s for the whole world! He quotes it again in Galatians 3 to remind us that we are not saved by the Law but, rather, saved by faith in our God. Hebrews 10 borrows the line to encourage Christians who are being pulled apart by the struggles of living in a fallen world.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 6, 2023 - The Triumph of Faith
The book of Habakkuk deals with two primary questions, two sets of issues that shape the focus of the book and become the subject around which the book revolves. They are:
1) Why do the righteous suffer?
2) Is God truly reigning in goodness and power?
The answers found in Habakkuk are:
1) We don’t know.
2) Yes.
The key for the prophet is found in the middle of his book, “The righteous will live by his faith” (2:4). The apostle Paul quotes this verse in Romans and Galatians to sum up the whole Gospel.
Righteous people are the ones who remain faithful to God precisely during the times when faith doesn’t make sense. When it doesn’t seem reasonable or rational to believe in a good God, when God’s justice and mercy are not readily evident, when good people are persecuted and evil people are rewarded, when everything seems to rest on the powers of this world -- that is when the righteous prove their righteousness by remaining faithful.
July 30, 2023 - Beween Two Trees
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 23, 2023 - The Beginning of the Gospel…
“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” ~Mark 16:8
The final scene in Mark’s Gospel, set at the empty tomb of our Lord, is incomplete. It’s confusing. It’s filled with tension and doubt. An empty tomb, a mysterious young man declaring that Jesus has been raised, and women too scared to say anything.
By cutting off the story at this point, Mark is drawing his readers into the narrative. It forces us to enter the story. What will we do now that we have received the Good News? Will we flee in fear and become silent? Will the story die with us?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 16, 2023 - God at Work | Youth Ministry
Our Youth Ministry team shares how God has been at work among them this summer.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 9, 2023 - Get Behind Me!
The very first recorded words of Jesus, the earliest words of our Lord we have preserved today, are found in the opening chapter of the Gospel of Mark. A bold declaration and then a short series of commands.
The time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent! Believe! Follow me!
Repent: leave one way of life and start out on another. Believe: enter a personal, trusting, relational involvement in the realities of the Kingdom of God and of the King. Follow me: live your new life obediently in a way that matches up with the Lord and his reign.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 2, 2023 - “A Few Good Women”
The Gospel of Mark is loaded with wonderful women. It begins with Peter’s mother-in-law in chapter one, the only person the writer says served Jesus, and ends with the faithful women at the empty tomb in chapter 16, the only followers of Jesus who did not desert him in the end. Mark uses women in his story to paint a picture of true discipleship to the Christ.
In Mark, women seem to be the only ones who understand. They’re the only ones with open minds and receptive hearts. Mark uses almost a dozen women in contrast to the hard-hearted religious leaders and the faithless apostles to present unmistakable illustrations of humility, trust, and devotion our Lord is seeking in his followers.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 25, 2023 - Don’t Be Afraid
Mark wrote his Gospel for communities facing intense stress and a raging storm of persecution. As it sometimes does for us, it looked like to those Christians their foes were winning and the Church was losing. Mark wrote his gospel in such a way as to lift the courage of those early Christians. The stories in Mark were intended to give us the confidence to lift our eyes above the storms to the One who rules all things and promises to deliver.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 18, 2023 - Do You See Anything?
The people in Mark’s gospel could have used a good eye doctor. If we’re to believe the writer, nobody could see anything.
Jesus rebukes his disciples after the miraculous feeding of the four thousand, “Do you still not see?” he asks. “Do you have eyes but fail to see?” (8:17-18). Our Lord asks the man at Bethsaida, “Do you see anything?” And the poor guy doesn’t know if he’s looking at people or trees (8:23-24).
Throughout the whole Gospel of Mark, people are trying to figure out who Jesus is. And nobody knows. Nobody gets it. The people seem perplexed. “What is this? (1:27) and “Who is this? (2:7) and “Isn’t this the carpenter?” (6:3). Even as he hangs on the cross, those watching don’t get it. “Come down now from the cross,” they shout, “that we may see!” (15:32).
When you look at Jesus, what do you see? Do you see anything?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 11, 2023 - I Want to Know Christ
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 4, 2023 - “So Their Work Will Be a Joy”
"Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." ~Hebrews 13:17
What a strange relationship between a congregation and its shepherds. What weird dynamics are involved when everyone in the equation wants one thing but acts in ways that make that one thing nearly impossible to achieve.
We all claim to want a group of spiritual shepherds, not a board of directors. But then we bog them down with questions and complaints about air conditioners and classroom space, parking lots and Coke machines. And our elders, feeling those expectations from the church to know everything and fix every problem, allow themselves to be weighed down by those unnecessary burdens.
May our Father bless our shepherds and their families with his gracious mercy, strength, and peace. And may his will be done in us and through us here at GCR, just as it is in heaven.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 28, 2023 - Hearing God in His Silence
"I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." ~Psalm 5:3
This week we close out our series on Hearing God by attempting to answer a troubling question that may be bothering you on a couple of levels. This question may be particularly disturbing as those around you discuss and celebrate the various ways they are hearing the voice of God.
"What if God's not talking to me?"
We must acknowledge that not everybody hears God in the same ways and, yes, sometimes we can go through prolonged periods of not hearing God at all. If you're in that situation today, it's okay. Not hearing from God puts you in fairly decent company. Some of our greatest biblical heroes experienced the same thing in their faith journeys.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 21, 2023 - Hearing God in the Truth of Jesus
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." ~1 John 4:1
Sometimes we call it "The Ultimate Trump Card." You're visiting with a friend about a very important matter in your home or in your church and she says it: "God has placed it on my heart..." Or maybe an acquaintance approaches you with his unsolicited advice regarding your job or your marriage and says, "God told me..."
How do you counter that? How would you disagree with someone who claims to have heard the voice of God, especially when what they believe they heard is intended for you?
As a result of the occasional abuse of these powerful phrases, many Christian traditions have eliminated the gift of prophesy. They don't say the word "prophesy" and they certainly don't allow for its practice. But prophesy is a gracious gift from our Father, intended for the "strengthening, encouragement, and comfort" of the Church (1 Corinthians 14:3).
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 14, 2023 - Hearing God Instead of the Enemy
"The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." ~Luke 8:15
Paramount to hearing God is recognizing the difference between God's voice and the voice of others. We know there is more than one voice out there. Our Trinitarian God and his heavenly angels are not the only ones with talking tongues. And they're not the only ones vying for our attention.
So how do we know?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 30, 2023 - Hearing God with Clear Reception
The Bible never assumes that just because you have to ears to hear you're automatically tuned in and listening to God. Our Lord says several times that his people hear, but don't understand. More than a dozen times he encourages: "The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!" The truth is you might not be in a position to hear God's voice. You might not be able to receive God's signals. You might have ears to hear but, unless something changes, you're getting nothing.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 23, 2023 - Hearing God in Holy Relationship
"He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." ~John 8:47
God created us to live in holy relationship with him. He made Adam and Eve to hear his voice in the garden. He spoke to Moses as his friend. He caused the Israelites to hear his voice and, during the exile, promised to lead them out to the desert again where he would "speak tenderly to them." He makes and renews over and over again the same covenant promise to live with his people. "I will dwell with you," God says, “and you will be my people and I will be your God."
We were created for that kind of intimate communion with the Father. We were made to hear his voice. And, as we might expect, hearing God and living in fellowship with God go hand-in-hand.
"People do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
~Deuteronomy 8:3
Other religions practice an impersonal and distant relationship with their deity. Not so with the Christian God. Our Lord is personal. He is up close. He actually lives inside us by his Spirit. His relationship with his children is always a two-way dialogue, never a one-way monologue. It's one of the main things that separates Christianity from all other religions.
"Love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." ~Deuteronomy 30:19-20
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 16, 2023 - Hearing God When He Speaks
Jesus says it more than a dozen times in Scripture: if a person has ears to hear, let him hear.
Hear what?
Hear God's voice.
Our God is a talker. One of the main things that sets our God apart from all other gods is that he speaks. It's what differentiates Christianity from all other religions. He has a voice and he is still speaking to his children today. But, are we listening? Do we even know how to listen?
This Sunday we begin a brand new series together designed to improve our hearing. Over these six weeks, we'll consider the talkative nature of our God, we'll identify the barriers in our lives that keep us from hearing his voice, and we'll evaluate what is God's voice and what is not.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 9, 2023 - “He is not Here! He has Risen!”
The resurrection of our Lord Jesus is a big deal in the Bible. And it ought to be a big deal in our lives and in our church. It ought to be at the center. In fact, it ought to be everything.
If we embrace the resurrection, it will radically impact the way we view ourselves, the way we see each other, and the way we interact with the world around us. It will change us into a resurrection people who live to give life to others. And that will bring glory and praise to our God.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 2, 2023 - What is the Gospel?
N.T. Wright famously posed the question: Why is the Gospel news, and what makes it so good? Well, the Bible calls it “the Gospel that saves.” The really good news is that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus saves us from sin and death, the two universal problems about which we can do nothing.
Please read 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. Then join us at 10:15 this Sunday morning April 2 as Scott Meyers, the Lead Minister at Western Hills Church of Christ in Temple, brings us this life-giving lesson from God’s Word.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 26, 2023 - Above Reproach
"The overseer must be above reproach..." ~1 Timothy 3:2
Our shepherds only have authority in our church to the extent that we, the church, submit to them. And we, the church, will only submit when we see in our elders the character and life of Christ. That's what the two lists are all about in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These lists are characteristics of Christian maturity. They are the distinguishing traits of a person who has grown in Christ and experienced the life-changing power of the Lord.
Their character, their consistency, is "above reproach."
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 19, 2023 - Good Shepherds
Jesus oversees his Church through shepherds or, maybe stated more correctly, under-shepherds who serve under Christ and in the manner of Christ. Their God-given task is to imitate the servant leadership of Jesus, to emulate Jesus as they lead his people. As such, they are our examples. They are models of holy living and holy leading. We copy them as they copy Christ.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 12, 2023 - Choose From Among You
One of the tasks of our congregation at GCR is to choose our leaders and it has come time to add a few more to the group. The spiritual development of a congregation is directly related to the style and manner of leadership among its shepherds, so it’s paramount that we take this responsibility prayerfully and with all seriousness.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 5, 2023 - What in the World is God Doing?
Things around us seem to be spinning faster and out of control. The world’s governments and cultures are in rapid transformation and the Lord’s Church appears to be in decline. We don’t know who to trust or how to adjust. We can be forgiven if we want to ask God, “What in the world are you doing?”
Dan Bouchelle, the executive director of Missions Resource Network, will show us that God’s Church is not in decline, it is experiencing a thrilling global transformation. And God’s people in Midland still have an exciting role to play.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 26, 2023 - Leaving a Lasting Legacy
Bradley Hooley brings us a message from Matthew 22. Bradley and his wife, Melissa, planted the Mountain View Christian Church in Kalispell, Montana last year and we have adopted their congregation in partnership with Nexus. We plan to bless the Hooleys and their four children, pray over them, and show them our love as their supporting church in West Texas.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 19, 2023 - I Am Coming Soon!
Three times in the Bible’s closing paragraphs, our Lord Jesus promises he is coming soon. “Yes,” he says in Revelation 22:20, the last recorded words of the Christ, “I am coming soon.”
That was almost two-thousand years ago. That’s not soon; that’s a long time.
The Church prays, “Lord, come quickly,” and in the Bible his reply is, “In a little while.” There’s great tension, yes. But that tension is not a problem. Not at all. It’s actually very good news for God’s Church.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 12, 2023 - He Still Loves You
We can all see ourselves in the story of the apostle Peter. Some people believe the Gospel writers gave us so much material on Peter because all Christians can personally connect to his story. Peter is up one minute and down the next. He’s bravely pledging his undying allegiance to Christ and a couple of hours later he’s straight-up publicly denying he’s ever met Jesus. Peter confesses Jesus as Lord, but then in the same breath orders Jesus to do things Peter’s way. He’s at once mule-headed and impulsive and sacrificial and sensitive. He’s a loyal disciple and a lying traitor. He’s a brilliant preacher and a betrayer of Christ.
Can you relate?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 5, 2023 - The Outsiders
Our Lord Jesus is for the outsiders. He calls the unworthy worthy; he calls the unrighteous righteous. That’s good news for us because we are all outsiders. Only if we can hold the truth in our hearts that we are unworthy can we fully appreciate what Christ has done and is doing for us.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 29, 2023 -Formation Thing No. 5
By now you have a firm grasp on the spiritual formation zones, the places where God’s Spirit does his work of changing you more into the image of Christ: Knowledge, Community, Christian Practices, and Mission. No doubt, your own faith story contains a significant chapter or two relating to at least a couple of these zones.
But we can’t really foster a culture at GCR that pays special attention to formation without seriously considering a fifth thing. We’re not calling it a formation zone - honestly, we’re not sure what to call it. Let’s just say it’s a “formation thing,” a fifth factor that figures critically in our transformation.
Transition times. Crisis moments. Life change. It’s hard to define. But you recognize it when you tell your story.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 22, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Community
The Spirit of God creates a brand new community of all people, all nations, and all languages - all brought to perfect unity under the lordship of Jesus. When God pours out his Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel and proclaims that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
The Holy Spirit breaks down barriers between people, he destroys the walls between all people, and brings us together in Christ.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 15, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Lives
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:25
If the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is “Jesus is Lord” and “God is fixing everything,” that proclamation will spring from the experience of a changed life. Transformed lives just explode with testimony. And lives can only be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our faithful proclamation is not a logical appeal to accept our theology. It’s not a rational argument for a systematic set of beliefs and practices. Our proclamation of the Kingdom of God is a personal testimony to the truth that springs from an ongoing transformational relationship with the King.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 8, 2023 - The Church on Stage: Holy Spirit Power
This Sunday we go back to the Story of God for a short three-weeks series about Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom. This is the part of God’s Story in which we are important characters. Our role is to proclaim the truth about what God has done and is doing in Christ. We proclaim the lordship of Jesus and call people to order their lives according to the new realities. And it’s all driven by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given to us to empower and compel our proclamation.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 1, 2023 - Being Shaped by the Journey
“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands.” ~Acts 7:48
We are all on a journey. This church is starting a journey of Breakthrough in 2023. This new year we will see how God works in and through us to help us be changed to love like Jesus. Likewise, each of us individually is on a journey. We experience joys and sorrows while navigating the challenges of life. We are all on a journey.
This journey is meant to change us into the community and person God is shaping us to be. On this journey, there is an opportunity for change and growth if we allow God to do his good work within us.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 18, 2022 - Act Six – New Creation: The Perfected Kingdom
“Now the dwelling of God is with the people, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ~Revelation 21:3-4
Act Six is the perfectly happy ending to the Story of God. The New Creation promised by God and described by John at the end of Revelation is all that the patriarchs sought, that the prophets foretold, and that Jesus revealed. And more. So much more.
“I am making everything new!” ~Revelation 21:5
Act Six is about the fullness of God coming here to earth to transform all of Creation. The throne of God is actually coming here to this world. There will be no more sea which, traditionally, separated earth from heaven. The whole earth is now a glorious Holy of Holies. God dwells with his people in personal face-to-face closeness.
“They will see his face!” ~Revelation 22:4
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 11, 2022 -Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~Acts 1:8
Jesus is the one who fulfills all of God’s promises made in Act Three of the Story of God. Now, following his resurrection from the grave in Act Four, he ascends to the right hand of the Father in heaven and tells his followers the role they will play in moving the Story to the end. And he assures them he will provide the power they need to get it done.
We’re in Act Five. We know everything that comes before and we know all about Act Six, which is coming later. But we’re called now to play our part in this unfinished fifth act. How do we learn our lines? How do we play the role?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 4, 2022 - Act Four – Jesus: The Present Kingdom
“The Kingdom of God has come to you!” ~Luke 11:20
In Act Four of the Story, God comes to the humans in the flesh-and-blood of Jesus to live with them and to fulfill the promises he made in Act Three. God in Christ begins to reverse the curse of Act Two and takes on humanity’s sin and shame in order to reconcile the relationship back to the way it was in the beginning.
Jesus preached one sermon and made one stunning announcement over and over: “The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe the Good News!” What all the ages had longed to experience is now present, it’s here, in Jesus.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~John 1:14
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 27, 2022 - Act Three – Covenant: The Promised Kingdom
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ~Genesis 12:1-3
In Act Three of the Story of God, the Lord comes to one of the humans and articulates a solemn promise to make things right between the Creator and his created. He guarantees to repair the relationship and to once again live with his people. His love for all men and women and his loyalty to the earth he created compels God to make this covenant.
This is God’s answer to sin. The universality of the Bible’s mission to all nations of the world is not a New Testament thing, it’s been an integral part of God’s Story since this very first promise. And the whole rest of the Story hangs on this divine promise.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 20, 2022 - Act Two - The Crash: The Perished Kingdom
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” ~Genesis 3:6
Act Two of the Story of God presents the major conflict, the thing in the drama that goes horribly wrong and needs to be fixed. Sin happens. Rebellion against God. And it wrecks everything. The image of God in men and women is destroyed. The righteous relationship in the face to face presence of God is severed. All of Creation order is now threatened. The very good beginning in Act One has taken a terrible hit.
And we’re all guilty. We’ve all lived this part of the story - personally and corporately. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We’ve all taken huge bites out of that apple.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 13, 2022 - Act One: Creation
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” ~Genesis 1:1
The Church is in danger of dismissing God’s Creation as a simple memory exercise for the kids or a complicated disagreement between theologians and scientists. Are we relegating Creation to just children’s books and academic journals? It seems that Creation is talked about everywhere but in the Church. We leave it alone as either too elementary or too controversial.
No! Creation is everything!
Act One of the Story of God is the Almighty’s way of providing the foundation for our relationship with him and the reason for his salvation plan. Genesis 1-2 give us the building blocks for the whole rest of the story: God alone is Creator and initiator; men and women are made in his holy image; God wants to be in perfect communion with us. Once we get a handle on the power and beauty of creation, sin becomes really ugly and redemption and new creation make perfect biblical sense.
Please read both accounts of the Creation in Genesis 1-2. Read both chapters. Out loud. Then join us at 10:15 Sunday morning November 13 as we dive into the “very good” beginning of the Story of God.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 6, 2022 - The Story of God
God could have given us a systematic theology if he wanted to. He easily could have prepared the checklist and the bullet points and the logical, rational, outlines of what he’s doing and what he expects of his people. But he didn’t reveal his “truth” to us this way. Instead, he chose to give us a story. His story.
Our church is making a shift from viewing the Bible primarily as a book of commands and laws to seeing the Scriptures first and foremost as a story. We believe this is the best way to read, interpret, and apply the Bible. That’s not to say there are no commands or laws in the Bible - of course there are! But we think those laws and commands should be understood in terms of how they fit in the story.
By telling and living the story together, we’re reminded that God is the author and he writes the final word. He created something beautiful in the beginning and he’s recreating something beautiful forever. The story is about redemption for all of creation, including us. And it’s happening even now through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 23, 2022 - By His Presence and Power
When God calls his people to bold action, his people are generally quick to make excuses as to why they cannot answer the call or point to reasons they think God’s plan might fail. Our Lord is just as quick in his response: “I will do this,” he says. “I will accomplish it.”
We are called by God to join him in his worldwide salvation mission. But the whole thing is God’s to achieve.
The Golf Course Road Church enjoys a rich heritage of big decisions and daring moves that have impacted Midland, the Permian Basin, and the world for the Kingdom of God. “Breakthrough” is merely the latest in a storied string of bold ventures to proclaim and live out the Gospel in new contexts and exciting ways.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 16, 2022 - Serving in Love: Mission
The fastest way to get out of a spiritual rut is to dive head-first into a mission.
New experiences challenge our beliefs and assumptions. Ministry when you’re in over your head forces you to face your fears and surprises you with resources and strength from God you didn’t know you had. Hearing the stories first-hand, seeing the places and meeting the people, makes the needs and opportunities more real. The Scriptures become more alive when you connect them to real ministry. Being on mission pushes us out of the comfort of theory and rhetoric and into the places where God is really changing the world.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 9, 2022 - Growing with God: Christian Practices
“Be still and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46:10
We believe a better understanding and more faithful practice of the spiritual disciplines will shape us individually and congregationally into the image of our Christ who, from time to time, went off alone to be with his Father and pray. Paying careful attention to these timeless disciplines – praying Scripture, confession, giving, fasting, silence, memorizing and reciting the Bible - will put us more in tune with our Father and to his leading in our lives.
As part of our commitment to spiritual formation, we want to place more value on these kinds of exercises. It’s time for us to move from more classes on prayer to more time spent in prayer, from studying about fasting to actually abstaining from food or other pleasures to focus our minds on Christ, from studying the Word to really dwelling in the Word. It’s time to make ourselves completely available to God to do with us what he will.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 2, 2022 - “Belonging Together: Community”
“In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” ~Romans 12:5
The older couple who paid attention to you during your early years of marriage. Your small group that’s been together through thick and thin for fifteen years. Your greatest friends in the youth group. The Tuesday morning prayer group. We can all look back and see where God placed the perfectly right people in our lives at the perfectly right time. These are the people who love us, who encourage us, who challenge us, and support us. Through them, our God has worked to deepen our faith and enrich our relationships to him and to one another.
As part of our vision and direction at GCR, we want to do community well. We believe God gathers his people together so he can work through those community dynamics to transform us more into the image of Christ. And we’re committed to paying closer attention to it here.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
September 25, 2022 - Learning to Live: Knowledge
“…asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will.” ~Colossians 1:9
We’ve all experienced spiritual growth through knowledge: a Bible study that opened our eyes to the truth of God, a preacher who inspired us to deeper faith and commitment, or an author who explained things in ways that really made it click. But the Scriptures never uphold knowledge only for the sake of knowledge. It’s not just gaining more information. The knowledge of God is intended to change the way we think and behave. More knowledge should transform every facet of our lives.
“…in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord.” ~Colossians 1:10
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
September 18, 2022 - BREAKTHROUGH
The Golf Course Road Church of Christ enjoys a rich heritage of big decisions and daring moves that have impacted Midland, the Permian Basin, and the whole world for the Kingdom of God. This Sunday, September 18, we’re rolling out the next big thing in a storied string of bold ventures to proclaim and live out the Gospel in new contexts and exciting ways.
These next steps are the result of more than a year of listening to your faith stories, gathering information from your faith experiences, careful study, and prayerful discernment. And they represent a foundation of Christian transformation and mission that will serve our Lord, the GCR Church, and Christ’s Kingdom in Midland and beyond for the next couple of generations.
GCR gratefully stands on the shoulders of the courageous saints who’ve gone before. We honor their great faith and celebrate their sacrifice and service. Inspired by their resolute dedication to GCR’s God-ordained purposes, beginning this Sunday, each of us now commits to doing whatever is necessary to continue this legacy of bold faith
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
September 11, 2022 - Reflecting God’s Holiness
“He does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” ~Exodus 34:7
We tend to think about how our God ought to be instead of how our God has actually revealed himself to us. Our God is certainly compassionate and gracious, patient and loving, faithful and forgiving. But what about God’s less-than-marketable qualities? There are facets to God’s eternal nature that are clearly revealed in the Bible that rarely make it into our church systems and sermons.
God inspired the writing of our Scriptures to teach us what he is like. What he says about himself - all of it - must be taken into serious account.
Our God is high, exalted, and mighty. He is holy. He will not tolerate sin.
Our God is near, approachable, and personal. He is loving. He will erase our sin.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
September 4, 2022 - Prayer and Peace
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” ~Philippians 4:13
We’re wrapping up our “More Than a Motto” series this Sunday with a look at perhaps the most familiar of all the popular slogans found in Philippians.
Please know these words are not about making the sales numbers, passing that semester exam, winning the golf tournament, or losing those twenty pounds. When Paul proclaims that he can do everything through God in Christ, he’s talking about serving others with humility and sacrifice, regardless of his own current circumstance.
Can you imagine? Patiently listening to the grumbling neighbor when I’m not sure how I’m going to pay this month’s bills? Serving that sick lady from Bible class when I’ve got reports past due at work? Forgiving my cousin when what she said about me has wounded me deeply? Is that even possible? Does anybody really live like that? If so, how?
Well, certainly not with their own strength. That’s impossible.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 28, 2022 - Prayer and Peace
Shalom. Peace. It’s the perfect state of harmony and communion between God and his people, between God’s people and one another, and throughout all creation. It was promised to the patriarchs. The psalmists wrote about it. The prophets foretold the deliverance of this ultimate peace. For centuries, every generation of God’s people longed for that peace. They sang about it. They preached about it. They looked for it. They waited for it.
And now we have it! That peace of God, that perfect shalom, has come to God’s people in Christ Jesus!
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 21, 2022 - Reconcile and Rejoice
Surprising things happen when people are “in the Lord.” Every time Paul tells the disciples in Philippi to do something “in the Lord” it’s something that goes totally opposite of what most people would do. It’s a surprising action that goes against human nature and most society norms.
To be “in the Lord” is to be different. It’s to be motivated by different things, pushed to act in different ways. It means to reconcile, to bridge gaps, to mend fences in astonishing ways.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 14, 2022 - Reflecting God’s Forgiveness
In the aftermath of the Golden Calf incident, you think it was good for the children of Israel to hear that God forgives? Faced with the reality of their rebellion, you think it was good for them to hear God say that his very name is forgiveness? When God reveals his name, his glory, to his people, when he declares that he “forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin,” that was and is very good news. For God’s children in the wilderness back then. And for God’s children in the wilderness today.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
August 7, 2022 - Kingdom Civics
“Our citizenship is in heaven.” ~Philippians 3:20
The apostle Paul intentionally uses political language, the very Greek words from which we get our English words “politics” and “politicians,” to drive home a very important point.
Our citizenship is in heaven. Our allegiance is to the Kingdom of God. We’re not from around here. We have different laws and customs, different priorities and values, different ways to take care of people. We are subject to a different King. Heaven is our homeland. And while we’re here on earth, we are a colony, a commonwealth, of heavenly citizens.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 31, 2022 - One Thing
“One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me.” ~Philippians 3:13-14
This familiar passage in Philippians is not about passing your exams or winning district or losing weight or finishing a half-marathon or hitting those sales numbers. This is about giving everything you’ve got to become more and more like Jesus every day in humility, sacrifice, and service. This is more than a motto that motivates exercise or a strong work ethic. This is our salvation!
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 24, 2022 - Big Fat Zero!
“Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…I want to know Christ!” ~Philippians 3:7-10
The apostle Paul was a good man. Paul hailed from the royal tribe of Benjamin. His father named him after Israel’s first king. He spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic. He had memorized most of the Holy Scriptures. Paul’s diploma carried the name of the leading school of religious thought. He belonged to the religious sect that upheld God’s laws more than any other. He was unmatched in religious zeal. He had no tolerance for commandment-breakers. In short, Paul was perfect --- as perfect as any God-fearing Jew could possibly be.
But when Paul opened up his book to read the ledger of his life, surprisingly, he found he was completely bankrupt! He had nothing! A big fat zero!
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 17, 2022 -“God at Work”
“Loving thoughts never revealed are not loving thoughts at all. It is essential to the being of love that it manifest itself. Love unrevealed is love unreal.” ~ Dr. A. B. Bruce
The steadfast love of the Lord is never expressed to his people by mere lip service. God’s loyal love is shown - his faithful love is proven - by his actions toward his people. God is love. And that love is a powerfully active love.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 10, 2022 -“God at Work”
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” ~Philippians 2:12-13
How can we work out our own salvation if God is the one who is at work in us? Salvation work is not us, right? It’s all God!
Scripture’s expectation seems to be that disciples of Jesus are always working diligently to maintain unity, to live holy lives, and to sacrificially serve others in love and humility. But then, when all is said and done, those same disciples are to recognize that any success they might have at doing what God commands comes from God himself.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
July 3, 2022 - Invitation to Imitation
When we sign up to imitate the Son of God, we know it’s going to cost us. His grace is free. His love and forgiveness are gifts mercifully given to all of humanity. But in order to accept those gifts, we must humbly submit to his Lordship and follow in his steps of sacrifice and service.
That’s not easy. In fact, it’s costly.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” is more than a motto. It’s an invitation to imitation of the One who gave up everything to save us. It’s an invitation to a powerful and ongoing transformation of yourself, of your family, of our church, and of our city and the whole world.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 26, 2022 - To Live is Christ…
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
~Philippians 1:21
Ask me how I’m doing, and I may talk to you about my family, my job, or my own health. I may talk to you about my schedule, what I’ve done, or what I’m planning to do. Ask the apostle Paul how he’s doing, and he talks to you about Christ.
He only speaks about himself and his own affairs as they relate to our Lord and to the advance of God’s Kingdom.
What would our speech sound like, what would our lives look like, if we cultivated this perspective? If the ways we looked at life and the decisions we made, as it relates to our families, jobs, recreation, where we live, and the things we buy, were considered from this radical Christ-centered perspective, what would we be as a people? What would we become?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
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Learn more June 19 - Every Time I Remember
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” ~Philippians 1:3-4
A quick glance at Acts 16 reminds us that Paul’s time in Philippi wasn’t all that great. Instead of preaching in a nice synagogue, he had to speak on the banks of a river. His good deeds in that city were rewarded by an angry mob who beat him and locked him up in chains and stocks in the basement of the prison. When he’s finally released, Paul is escorted out of town by the city leaders and asked never to return.
Ten years later, Paul is writing to the Christians there about the great joy brought to him by his memories of that place.
Why is he able to do that? How is it possible?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 12 - Reflecting God’s Patience
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger…”
~Exodus 34:6
Our God reveals his glory - his character, his eternal qualities - to us as “slow to anger.” The original language in the passage communicates the idea of possessing great restraint or controlling one’s anger. Patience. It really means patience.
Our God doesn’t mind waiting. He doesn’t experience time in the same ways we do. He has a much different perspective on clocks and calendars. What seems like ages to us is just a blink to our God.
If your computer doesn’t complete the Google search in two seconds, you get impatient. You get upset in the line at H-E-B. Your automatic garage door goes up too slowly. But God is patient. God is willing to let entire centuries go by; he lets whole millennia pass as he carefully works out his eternal purposes.
The Bible says the Lord’s patience is our salvation.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
June 5, 2022 - Transformed Purpose
Landon Collard is the preacher and church planter at Journey Christian Community Church in Waco. He and his wife Kristen have been in congregational ministry since two weeks after their wedding 25 years ago, leading youth ministries and serving in other capacities with churches in Stamford, Ennis, and Amarillo. The Collards moved to Waco in 2009 when Landon became the Community Pastor for Journey Christian before becoming the Lead Pastor there in 2011. Journey is 17 years old and is known in Waco as a community of faith that walks with disconnected people. The Collards and Journey have been directly involved in planting six churches with Nexus: five in Texas and one in Colorado.
Landon and Kristen have three children: Brady (22) and his wife Myah, Reagan (20), and Brycen 13).
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 29, 2022 - Who’s Sitting at Your Table?
The Lord has set a table with all of your favorite foods at it. He’s continually inviting you to this table to enjoy time with him, to focus on him, and to rest in his presence. It’s a meal with your creator that is meant to fill you and bless you. However, there’s others that want a place at this table. Others that want to co-opt a seat at the table to pull your attention and your gaze away from the savior. These enemies want a seat at your table with the Lord.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 22, 2022 - Upon This Rock!
“Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it!”
~Matthew 16:18
When Jesus said, “this rock,” what did he mean? Catholic tradition holds that Jesus is talking about Peter. Protestants say, no, the rock is Christ Jesus himself. Church reformers – and most of us in the Churches of Christ - believe the rock is Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah and the faith it takes to make that confession.
Jesus is the One sent by God to destroy “all dominion, authority, and power… for he has put everything under his feet” (1 Cor. 15:24-27). He tells us this with his words; he demonstrates this with his life; he embodies this in his death, burial, and resurrection. And he establishes his Church – us!- as his holy partner to testify to and participate in his eternal victory.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 15, 2022 - Pouring Out or Storing Up
Patrick Lightfoot is the preacher and church planter at Traverse Christian Church in Windsor, Colorado. He and his wife Hannah moved to Windsor in 2002 during their careers in sales and were called to full-time ministry there twelve years later. As part of GCR's partnership with Nexus Church Planting, the Lightfoots planted Traverse Christian Church just over six years ago and have been directly involved in five additional church plants since: two in India, two in Colorado, and one in Texas.
Patrick and Hannah are celebrating 25 years of marriage in August and have 2 children: Nolan, 18 and Libby, 16.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
May 1, 2022 - Love, Period.
God is love. The greatest command is to love God and the second greatest is to love each other. Love is in the list of words God uses to describe himself. It’s the first word that characterizes the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Scripture says that God so loved, that if we live in love we live in him, and that love will last forever.
As a child of God and a follower of his Son, it’s not “Love, but…” It’s never “Love, maybe…” or “Love, under certain conditions.” It’s “Love, Period.”
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 17, 2022 - “Following Jesus Out of the Grave”
The Resurrection of Jesus is everything for us. It’s what turned Mary’s sorrow into joy. It changed the disciples’ fear into courage. It moved Thomas from doubt to assurance. It transforms the Church from an attitude of somber reflection to rejoicing celebration. It’s our hope. It’s our trumpet call. It’s the imperative force behind our Christian mission.
When we embrace the Resurrection, it will radically impact the way we live.
The resurrection of Jesus gives us our confidence. It causes us to say “yes” instead of “no.” It’s what obliterates our timidity in living life to the full the way our Lord intends. We’re hoping to see you here this Sunday as we pledge to not just gaze in wonder and gratitude at the empty tomb but resolve to following Jesus out of the grave.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 10 - “Following Jesus to the Cross”
If we follow Jesus as his disciples - and we do - we must follow him where he goes. We walk behind him as he goes with determination and purpose to the city of his execution. And we walk with him as he goes to the cross to die for the sake of the world.
We follow our Lord Jesus to the cross to see what it looks like for me to die. What does it look like to die with Christ? How do I do it? And what does it really mean?
If we’re going to follow Jesus, we’re going to have to follow him into the pain and darkness of Calvary where he faithfully and fully submitted to our Father’s will and gave his very life for the sake of the world.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
April 3, 2022 - “Following Jesus to Jerusalem”
If we follow Jesus as his disciples - and we do - we must follow him where he goes. We walk behind him as he goes with determination and purpose to the city of his execution. We walk with him as he goes to the garden to vow his allegiance to God. As he goes to the cross to die for the sake of the world. As he is raised from the dead to reign with the Father forever.
There is no Easter Sunday without the Holy Week that precedes it. As his disciples, we do follow Jesus out of the grave and enjoy resurrection lives. May we just as eagerly follow our Messiah everywhere he leads, recognizing that the empty tomb doesn’t negate the suffering and death; it validates it as an eternal glory to God.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 27, 2022 - Remembering My Homeland
The apostle Paul intentionally uses political language, the very Greek words from which we get our English words “politics” and “politicians,” to drive home a very important point to the little church in Philippi.
Our home is in heaven. While we’re here on earth, we are a colony – literally a commonwealth, the Bible says – of heavenly citizens. And that reality has dramatic implications for us as we work and play, worship and serve, live and die in this foreign land.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 20, 2022 - Impress Them On Your Children
At GCR Church, we’re raising kids. Not immaculate buildings or polished programs – we’re raising kids. Not perfect worship services or effective events – we’re raising kids. We’re passing on the faith to the children our Lord has entrusted to us. We’re teaching them from a context of grace and love, support and encouragement.
It’s a serious commitment at GCR, not a casual obligation or afterthought. May our Father bless us as we pass on the Christian faith to our children. And may we experience the thrill of the apostle John who rejoiced in the knowledge that “his children are walking in the truth.”
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 13, 2022 - Reflecting God’s Compassion
Why do people think God is grumpy and always on the hunt to judge and punish? Do they see that in us? Have they seen that in you? Why do they think our God is distant, out of reach, untouchable, and unable to meet their needs? What would make them think that? Have they experienced that in you? Why do some people believe God can’t forgive them, that he remembers their past sins? Have they noticed that in me or in my church?
Read the words of our God as he describes himself in Exodus 34:5-7. Then read Colossians 3:1-14 in which Paul instructs all Christians to reflect this same character of God. To live it. Reveal it. Embody it.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
March 6, 2022 - Come and See Jesus Delegate
If there’s one thing we’ve learned together during this “Come and See Jesus” series, it’s this: Whatever Jesus was called by our Father to do, he was not interested in doing it by himself. Our Lord chooses people, he calls people, to join him and do his Kingdom work with him. And even for him. We are “ambassadors for Christ,” we are “co-workers with God.”
Yes, we are in way over our heads. Of course, Jesus probably should have called somebody else. But we have faith that Jesus knows what he is doing. We may not know what we’re doing, but our Lord certainly does. He didn’t choose us because we are so great or powerful or righteous. He chose us to do his Kingdom work because he is so great and powerful and righteous.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 27, 2022 - “Come and See Jesus Rule”
Jesus is Lord. That’s our Christian confession, yes? Jesus is King. He rules right now and forever. But…
With all the evil and suffering in this world, all the injustice and disappointment, how can we claim that Jesus is really ruling?
The truth is that not everybody can see it.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 20, 2022 - “Come and See Jesus Save”
We can’t possibly relate to the motivation and the action that God takes in saving us through Christ. There’s no way we can adequately understand the love, the patience, the grace God demonstrates in securing our salvation. It’s too reckless, too lavish, too over-the-top. We can’t truly comprehend the lengths our God goes to in order to save us.
But we get a glimpse of it when we see Jesus save. When we watch Jesus save, we understand it a little more. It’s bigger than we think it is and much better than we ever imagined. And it moves us to our core.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 13, 2022 - “Come and See Jesus Amaze”
What amazes you? Is anything amazing to you? Or is everything amazing to you? Has everything been so amazing for so long that nothing is really amazing anymore?
Through Jesus, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised back to life – amazing! Through Jesus, water turns to wine, a little boy’s sack lunch becomes a feast for thousands, and tax collectors give money away – amazing! Through Jesus, the lost are found, the lonely are placed in community, and the sinful are forgiven and restored – truly amazing!
Maybe you’re looking for a miracle. Maybe this Sunday at GCR with our Lord Jesus and his people is the right place.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
February 6, 2022 -“Come and See Jesus Party”
Our Jesus is a people person. He loves a good crowd.
Yes, there were times when our Lord went alone into the desert or climbed a mountain to pray. But it’s much more typical in the Gospels for Jesus to be interacting with people - sometimes on the lake, sometimes at church, sometimes at the marketplace or on the streets. But, mainly Jesus hung out with people at dinner parties. The eyewitnesses paint a portrait of our Lord as seamlessly moving from dinner party to dinner party, eating and drinking with gusto at tables full of sinners and saints, prostitutes and Pharisees, men and women, Gentiles and Jews.
Jesus is a people person and the Kingdom of God is an eternal community of people people. We need the Lord, yes. But we also desperately need each other.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 30, 2022 -“Come and See Jesus Preach”
When Jesus preached his sermons, he never pulled any punches. He spoke the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth even when, sometimes, it drove the listening congregation to want to throw him off a cliff. Jesus doesn’t talk about his feelings in his sermons. He doesn’t just share religious ideas or his opinions about the culture. Jesus powerfully preaches the coming of the Kingdom of God!
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 23, 2022 -“Come and See Tell Stories”
Jesus told some weird stories. Yes, the ones about searching for the lost in Luke 15 are wonderful and warm and we really like the one about the good Samaritan. But, admit it, most of Jesus’ parables are strange. A dishonest businessman is praised for cheating his boss. God is compared to a thief who breaks into your house in the middle of the night and robs you blind. We’re told to pray like the old lady pounding on the door of the mean judge who has no regard for her. The Kingdom of God is compared to a dishonest land deal.
What?
Jesus is moving us - story by story - from the safe and secure world of church and Scripture, doctrines and programs, where we think we’ve got it all figured out. Jesus moves us from this world we know so well into a place where things are strange and don’t always turn out as expected. And he does it for a reason. The stories force us to re-evaluate the way we see the world and the people in it.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 16, 2022 -“Come and See”
“Come and See”
Three little words. Three little syllables that contain divine power to eternally change broken lives. Three words that could lead directly to your friend or your neighbor or your family member finding forgiveness, salvation, and peace in our Lord.
“Come and See”
These were the words spoken by the angel to the women at the mouth of the empty tomb. Philip used these same three words when he told Nathanael he had found the Messiah. Jesus himself spoke these words to Andrew the first time they met.
“Come and See”
Come and see what?
See the healing, the cleansing, the joy, the forgiveness, and the compassion of the Holy One of Israel. See the love and power of God at work on this earth. And experience the eternal impact he has on our lives.
“Come and See!!!”
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 9, 2022 -“Church with Attitude”
If we’re going to be a Christ-centered church as our vision statement says, we’ll need to have the attitude of Christ. Not platitudes, but attitude. Not talking, but acting. Not who we are on Sundays, but who we are deep inside every day of the week.
Please read John 4:1-42 this week. Then join us at 10:00 this Sunday morning January 9 as we consider together the attitude that drove our Lord Jesus and guided him on his salvation mission.
People need to meet Jesus when they are at GCR with us. People need to belong. So our church must be a community of faith in which everybody is welcome, nobody is perfect, and anything is possible. That’s a church with attitude. That’s a Christ-centered church where lives will be changed and God’s name will be praised.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
January 2, 2022 - “Reflecting God’s Glory”
This next year is going to be a transition year in the life of the GCR Church. 2022 will be a time of growth for us – letting go of some things, zeroing in with greater focus on other things. Our shepherds and ministers believe we are called to something much, much bigger than GCR, something bigger than our own ideas and hopes. We are called to reflect our God, to bring him glory.
So, we start right there.
Who is this God we serve? Who is this God who has called us together at GCR? What’s he like? And what does he intend for us?
Exodus 34:5-7 is the single most important statement about our God in the whole Bible. These are God’s own words, this is God’s very voice, telling us exactly who he is and what he’s all about. Everything we talk about and attempt as a community of faith in 2022 and beyond will be based on God’s character and will.
So, we’re starting here.
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2022. There’s so much we want to do. All of us have dreams and visions for GCR and the impact God wants us to have on Midland and the rest of the world. There is an obvious energy and a tremendous potential that we all can feel.
But, we’re starting here.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 26, 2021 - “What Did You Get for Christmas?”
For almost two thousand years now, the Church has set aside the month of December to remember the gift our God has given to all of us in Christ Jesus. But December is almost done and the New Year starts next week. In just a few days, there won’t be anything to remind us of Christmas.
What does Christmas mean from January through November? What does it really matter that our Lord lived and died on this earth just like you? What did you really get when God gave you his Son?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 19, 2021 - “God With Us”
As children of God, we are called to imitate God and join him in doing the same kind of work he’s doing. We “reflect the Lord’s glory” and “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).
So what was he doing at the stable in Bethlehem? What does the Incarnation show us about God’s activity on earth? And how do we partner with him in doing that work?
Please read Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55. Then join us at 10:00 this Sunday morning December 19 as we apply the beautiful truth of the birth of Jesus and make real the practical implications for our lives.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 5, 2021 - “The Light has Dawned!”
The Messianic prophesy in Isaiah 9 begins with the people walking in darkness. The people are living in the land of the shadow of death. They’re living under a heavy burden, under the weight of a horrible yoke. Isaiah was describing their world.
And ours.
The wreckage and carnage, the twisted bodies and warped minds, the moral and institutional vileness --- it surrounds us. Greed, violence, lust, slavery, war, disease, divorce, death. Yes, we live in a dark world.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
~Isaiah 9:2
Please read Isaiah 9:2-7 a couple of times this week. Then join us at 10:00 this Sunday morning December 12 as we celebrate together the birth of our promised Messiah, the coming of God’s great light.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
December 5, 2021 - Good News of Great Joy!
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, God himself coming to earth and putting on our flesh and blood in order to live and die for our salvation, is certainly good news of great joy for all people. And we are celebrating it together this whole month at GCR.
This month we want to see what the shepherds and the wise men saw, to hear what Joseph and Mary heard, to be moved by what moved them. We can look at the Incarnation as a complex and confusing theological abstraction, or we can embrace it as an exciting way of engaging our lives that changes everything.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 28, 2021 - A Thanksgiving Prayer
“I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” ~Matthew 11:25
Thanksgiving. Yes, thanksgiving. Not just for the day and the weather and the beauty of nature. Not just for family and friends, turkey and cranberries and pumpkin pie. Not only for food and clothes and shelter. Not just for health and wealth, provision and protection. Not just for good things in good circumstances. That kind of thanksgiving is good. It’s expected.
But how about giving thanks to God when situations are less than ideal? How about thanking our Father when things aren’t going so well? How about a genuine and continual expression of thanksgiving to God in full faith that he is alive and active and working in mighty ways that we don’t always see?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 21, 2021 - The Cup of Blessing
Our lives are almost cumbersome with blessing. We can’t get out of bed without stumbling over a dozen blessings. Every good and perfect gift we have – and they are many – comes from the gracious hand of our God who lavishes us with his limitless blessings. Why does he do it? Because he loves us so much, of course. But what’s the point of all the blessings you and I can sometimes casually take for granted?
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 14 - Suppose One of You…
Jesus attracted sinners while the Pharisees repelled them. Lost sinners came to Jesus, not because he catered to them or compromised his message, but because he cared for them. He understood their needs and tried to help them, while the Pharisees criticized them and kept their distance.
To hear the Luke 15 parables today is to be unavoidably challenged by them. It’s a radical call from our Savior to his Church as he says, “Suppose one of you…”
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
November 7, 2021 - One Thing I Know
The Bible tells us the reason Jesus did miracles was to reveal his identity and his mission, to show us who he is, and demonstrate what he has come to do. In his own words, Jesus and the Father are one and the same. He came to this earth to seek and save the lost. Elsewhere the Bible says God is bringing all things and all people together in Christ. That is tightly consistent with what we experience in the miracles.
Jesus is the light of the world. May our eyes be opened to that life-changing truth. And, by God’s grace, may we know.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 31, 2021 - Exorcism at the Gerasenes Graveyard
The Bible says Jesus did miracles to prove to us that he really is the Son of God. The miracles confirm for us that Jesus truly is who he says he is and he’s really doing everything God promised to do. No Gospel story better serves as an example than the healing of the man in the Gerasenes. And there’s no better story to tell on Halloween Day than this tale of a man who lives among the dead in a cemetery – lonely, naked, banished, and possessed by 6,000 demons.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 24, 2021 - Lord of Life
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” That means wherever Jesus is, there is resurrection and life. Today.
Our confidence and hope is not anchored merely in the far future resurrection at the Last Day, but to a present experience with Jesus Christ right now. There is something in Christ that exceeds for us the promises we have at Judgment Day. Jesus brings a present reality to victory over death.
And we ought to live like it.
We don’t have to wait until the end of human time and history in order to claim the power of Christ and realize the fullness of everything God has planned for us today.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.
October 17, 2021 - Just Say The Word
The miracles of Jesus identify him as the promised Messiah and demonstrate that he came here to fix everything that’s broken and to make right everything that’s gone wrong. These miraculous signs prove to us that we can trust Jesus. He is worthy of our faith.
Jesus calls us to deep water. He calls us to follow him into a place, a life, where we can’t always see the land, where the winds and the waves threaten, and where faith is all we have. It’s there, in the deep, where the Lord always provides beyond our imaginations.
For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.