When the Gospel Changed Everything

For the first nineteen years of my life, I wasn’t a believer. My parents told me early on that we do not believe in God, and that I should just try to be a “good” person. But being a “good” person felt impossible, and no matter how hard I tried, I failed. I lived a life that did not reflect Christ and I had selfish desires and wanted what was best for me. I was selfish, mean, and lost. Then one night in my dorm room a friend told me to read the Gospel of John, and I decided to read it, and that changed my life forever.

Once I became a follower of Jesus, I realized what I had been missing out on my entire life, and I was not living the life God called me to live. When I started my walk with Jesus, everything was new. I did not know how to pray, where to go to church, or the names of the books in the Bible. I knew nothing at all, and I found myself at a college that, like most of the world, was a dark place. Thankfully, I realized that the answers I needed were in Scripture and that Scripture was God's word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Paul let it be known that Scripture came from God himself, and it is beneficial in many ways, ultimately leading us to righteousness, maturity, and service. 

When I started following Jesus, I felt relief in my life. I no longer had to think about what happened when I died, or wonder what the purpose of life was. I learned in John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God, out of love, sent his Son to die for a believer like me who believes but still struggles with sin and temptation and lived many years away from my Lord and Savior. I now find my peace in Jesus and his love. My life has been changed because of Him, and I want to live out the mission He intends for us. To hear about what the mission is, tune in to my next staff journal.

- Kainan

BEST WEEK EVER

In just under four weeks, our student ministry will be heading to Fort Worth, Texas, for our summer camp trip with Fuge Camps. For us, this is one of the best weeks of the year—for so many reasons. It's partly the fun, partly the new experiences away from home, and partly the time spent building relationships. But more than anything, it’s because God shows up in a big way—every single time.

This year, we’ve been praying that it will be no different.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: camp is a big part of my story. God has used it in several different ways to both bring me to faith in Him and to grow me in spiritual maturity. Because of that, I will always champion this time and encourage every one of our students to attend. I’ve seen firsthand the incredible things God has done through this ministry.

This year, we’re taking over 20 students to camp, and we’re excited to see what God will do in and through them as we attend and serve the Fort Worth community.

Thank you, church, for supporting these students in their efforts to get to camp this year—especially by attending our spring fundraiser meal. If you were there, you should have gone home with a prayer card featuring a student’s name. If not, no worries—you can still pray for our students!

If you would, please use the prompts below to pray specifically for the students you know by name, and generally for our group as a whole.

1. Pray for open hearts.

Ask God to soften students’ hearts so they are ready to hear His voice, respond to His Word, and receive His love in a personal way.

2. Pray for salvation.

Pray specifically that students who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus would clearly understand the gospel and surrender their lives to Him.

3. Pray for spiritual growth.

Lift up students who already know Christ—that this week would deepen their walk, strengthen their faith, and help them take the next step in their relationship with Him.

4. Pray for unity.

Ask God to build a strong sense of community among the group, breaking down cliques, healing past hurts, and fostering meaningful friendships centered on Christ.

5. Pray for clarity and direction.

Ask God to provide guidance to students who are seeking answers—about their purpose, future, or calling—and to confirm His plans in their hearts.

6. Pray for lasting impact.

Ask God not only to work powerfully during the week but to allow the spiritual momentum from camp to carry over into students’ lives back home.

Your prayers are powerful and needed! Thank you for crying out to the Lord in obedience and advocacy for these students. Thank you Grace for helping reach the next generations! 

Peace and Blessings,

Bryant Hart

A "Dream" Come True

Dreams are funny things for us followers of Jesus to talk about. We want to be visionary and dream big dreams that only a big God can move forward, but we all know we need to hold our own “dreams” with an open hand. We must remember that not everything that excites us is part of God’s plan for our lives. Good dreams of good ministry are sometimes the hardest to hold loosely. But let me set the scene for you in a time and place where one of my dearest dreams was born.

The Place: Moody Bible Institute
The Event: Student Missions Fellowship
The People: A group of college kids, including Will Regier and Stephanie Mariani
The Year: 2003

Although those phrases do not set the scene for you as I would want them to, for me, they bring back vivid memories. Steph and I knew each other at that point, but we weren’t close yet. Spoiler alert, she changes her last name later… Like all college kids committed to changing the world, we were deep into brainstorming and planning with the whole Student Missions Fellowship team. We all loved missions. We were deep in the inner city. How could we maximize everything God had graciously laid at our feet?

Then and there, a beautiful idea with lots of cool for our age branding was born. We figured out how to give a great gift to some youth group kids in Chicago and further global missions. We would send inner-city youth, some of whom had never been less than a mile away from their homes, on mission trips to Africa and Mexico! What amazing title could possibly grace such a bold and beautiful endeavor? C4, which stood for Cross Cultural Missions Cross Culturally… Mic. Drop. LOL, we thought we had cracked the inner-city, global missions, and marketing codes simultaneously! We were working as cross-cultural workers with the inner city youth groups, and we were going to add the layer of doing that cross-culturally in other countries. As much as I like to poke fun at my former self for the sake of your amusement, it was a really sweet and well-done project. Many students experienced a life-changing trip and returned as ambassadors for global missions in their churches. They did VBS-style events where they shared the Gospel with hundreds of children in Ghana and Mexico. You might think this was the “dream” come true, but it isn’t. I helped with planning, but I was not able to go on either trip. Steph served in a youth ministry that involved many Hispanic youth, so she went on the Mexico trip and loved it. But both of us wanted to go on the Africa trip. It wasn't because we felt we could do great work there; we were just college kids, but we wanted to see the people and places where we knew God was already at work. 

Last year, I had the opportunity to be part of an FEC trip that was mostly members from Grace Community Fellowship in Hillsboro. Marc Compton, and FEC pastor in Ellsworth, KS, and I got to go along to teach a Pastors Conference to rural pastors, and I got to experience a lifelong “dream” to visit Africa and see God at work. And He was! In the Gaborone, Botswana area, churches are being planted, and Jesus is welcomed in their public schools and police stations. For me, it was a trip of a lifetime! When you give to the Lord at Grace, you give to trips like that! Steph was so excited for me to go because she knew it was very special to me.

But if I were to say there were any slight regrets about the trip, it was that I couldn’t share it with Steph. Many of you might have known us 10 years ago when we were at Grace, and Steph's chronic health issues were in full force. If you've experienced anything similar, please reach out to us. We would love to hear your story, cry with you, or pray with you. The thought of me even being able to leave her long enough to do a trip like that would not have entered our minds, and many of our dreams went dormant at that time. Vision is often a slave to survival, not that it should be, and I could probably write books on that at this point as well. 

Fast forward to 2024, and the Pastoral Care Coordinator from the FEC, Steve Adriansen, reached out to me to see if Steph and I would accompany him to Botswana to host a Soul Care event for the church-planting pastors near Francistown. We added an Exploratory trip to those church plants, which the FEC has not yet been able to do in that region. We both get to go and join in with the work God is doing in Botswana! “Dream” comes true. Going along with us are some of your fellow Gracers! Brian and Marilyn Bisbee, Seth and Sarah Hershberger, and Brett and Jess Warkentine will all be leaving with us on a jet plane this summer! They have each been a joy to work with, and it is clear that God has built this team. Please pray for us! If you'd like to hear about what God is doing in Botswana or what we're asking Him to do there through this trip, please find one of the team members.

Blessings,
Will

Speak Life

We have been lying to kids for years. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Since when? Last time I checked, words have definitely hurt my feelings more than any stick or stone has broken a bone (which is never). We don’t give words enough credit for the power they hold. From the very first page of the Bible, we see the significance of speech. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” (Genesis 1:3). All He had to do was say it. Words created light, existence, and order.

As I am currently working on getting a B.S. in Psychology, it is fascinating to me to watch science repeat truths we hear in the Bible. Take cognitive therapy, also known as talk therapy, for example. It has gained popularity because the way we say things to ourselves and others matters. The goal is to retrain your brain and uproot negative and harmful thought patterns.

Let’s run a quick scenario: Judy works in a commercial kitchen and is overseeing a meal. A few pieces of chicken came back undercooked. She could treat it as a learning opportunity, a chance to emphasize to her team the importance of checking meat temperatures. Or she could label the mistake-makers as incapable or incompetent.

But when we label others or ourselves, we create prisons. We begin to see through the lens of that label and behave accordingly. Calling someone a failure or a screw-up doesn't solve anything; it just makes everyone feel worse and hinders growth.

Paul says it plainly in one of my favorite books of the Bible. Ephesians 4, he writes:

"Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity… No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear." (verses 25–27, 29)

Our words reflect what’s in our hearts. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34-35, “For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” Hence the saying: “Hurt people hurt people.”

I’ve spent years in a quiet war in my mind, where thoughts become beliefs. As a recovering pessimist, I know how subtle and persistent the inner critic can be. The brain, after all, believes what it hears most often. And for a long time, I was feeding it words that tore down. Psychology calls it cognitive restructuring. It is reframing our internal dialogue to promote healing. But long before therapy had a name for it, scripture was already teaching us to speak truth, build up, and give grace.

So now, I choose differently. I choose to speak life, even when it feels unnatural. Words are not just sounds. They are tools, seeds, and sometimes weapons. They build neural pathways. They shape identity. They carry the power to heal or to harm. If God used words to create the world, imagine what your words are creating.

So, speak carefully. Speak intentionally. Speak life.

Jayden Smith

Investing in the Next Generation of Worship Leaders

As a worship ministry, we love to invest in the next generation of worshippers and worship leaders.  I love helping the youth learn to use their musical gifts for the Lord by serving on worship teams!  Starting as young as 5th and 6th grade, our Route 56 program gives the kids some opportunities to sing, and gives me an opportunity to identify kids with gifts and passions in worship through song.  From there, I recruit them to serve on our kids’ worship and student ministry worship teams.  Once they are in high school, they become eligible to serve in big church, and many high schoolers have been able to get some experience that way!

This past Sunday was a great opportunity for our youth to have some experience leading worship through song for our worship services.  They did a great job, even with the challenges we ran into during the 9 am service.  Eva did a great job staying calm and focused when the batteries in her microphone unexpectedly died.  I’m so proud of her, and I’m glad the 2nd service went much smoother!

It has been so rewarding to have students that we’ve poured into now serving at other churches.  Whether singing on a team, leading a worship team, or serving as a worship pastor, I love that we’ve been able to send out people to serve the church in other places!

This summer I’ve got another opportunity to invest in the next generation of worship leaders. We have two summer interns that will be working about 15 hours a week.  We will be taking a deeper dive into the ins and outs of worship ministry. We are going to read some of my favorite worship books together, we are going to examine the Scriptures together, we are going to talk about song selection, planning services, leading rehearsals, shepherding volunteers, all the behind-the-scenes tech stuff, and much more. 

I’m excited to pour into Kate Roseberry and Makenzie Jordan this summer as interns with our worship ministry.  Both of them have already been serving with our worship ministry, so they won’t be new faces.  I’m confident that these two young ladies will be serving in worship teams for decades to come, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have a couple more interns.  Would you consider praying for them and for our time together this summer?  I’m asking God to use our time to equip them, to encourage them, to challenge them, and to inspire them to keep using their talents for the Lord and keep growing in their abilities.

- Pastor Kyle

Growing Pain Greens

All my life, I have been living in a world where the green foods of this world are completely off-limits. Nope, won’t eat them. You can't convince me. This battle started very early on in my life, as I sat at the dinner table hungry because I refused to eat what was on my plate. So much so that, at times, I sat there for several hours under the orders: “You are not allowed to get up from this table until you eat your vegetables.” I took this challenge and raised them—sitting there some nights until it was literally time to go to bed. I do not like vegetables.

However, this year I have embarked on an agonizing and excruciating journey to change that fact in my life. New year, new me—so I have set out to try twelve new vegetables in twelve months, with the goal of incorporating them into my regular diet. Let me just say: I am being VERY brave.

As a recovering picky eater, I know that the better things for me are not the king-sized KitKat bars and 44-ounce Dr. Peppers that I want to consume on an hourly basis. I know I need a well-balanced diet full of nutritious foods. I also know how much better my body will respond to those foods than to the highly processed junk I typically consume. But there is, at times, a mental block that keeps me from making the wiser decision because it may be “harder” in my brain. It is much easier for me to indulge in comfort foods that are safe than it is for me to get out of my comfort zone and truly do what is better for me.

This is where I Jesus juke you and acknowledge that while this has physical implications, far more importantly, this principle has significant spiritual implications as well.

I have grown increasingly aware—to the point of being burdened—by the state of the American church and how often we pursue comfort over the Kingdom. It’s almost as if we put our faith and trust in Jesus because we know it’s right, but we are also secretly hoping He will make our lives easier and that things will go better for us—using our own definitions of “good” and “better,” rather than trusting His definition of those things in our lives.

Personally, I am pained by the fact that, in much of my Christian life, I have repeatedly shied away from moments to share the Gospel with an unbeliever because I was worried about how awkward or uncomfortable I might become in the midst of that conversation. How unbelievably selfish of me to think that my comfort is more important than another person's eternity. I have prioritized comfort over the Kingdom.

God does not promise comfort—actually, He promises the opposite. Growth happens in the stretching of comfort zones and in the pains of rebuilding. Sanctification happens in the trials of life and the squeezing of our souls on either side as we pass through on the straight and narrow road.

Christ is calling us out of our comfort zones and into the spiritual battlefield every single day. Don’t get caught in the comfort zone. Be reminded today that we do not focus on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen:“...Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16.

How are you pursuing discomfort for the sake of growth? Really, me eating my vegetables is a small battle in the grand scheme of things, but this physical discipline is helping build my spiritual disciplines. 

Christ wants us to pursue growth. How are you growing?

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

16 Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.
17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.
18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Peace and blessings,

Bryant

Why do Child Dedications?

Throughout the Scriptures, we read something surprising—God invites us to call Him Father. He views us (followers of Christ) as His children. That’s pretty amazing if you stop and think about it. 

He even says that children are a gift! (Psalm 127:3)

I don’t always feel like a gift. However, if you asked me about my own children, I would quickly tell you how much they mean to me. I love them even when it’s hard to (not badmouthing; ain’t nobody perfect). And yet, I can’t even imagine not loving them. I truly want what’s best for them, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that a reality.

Child dedication is an expression of this desire. It’s a public declaration of our love and commitment to our children. 

Notice how God (through Paul) outlines what our commitment should look like in the home:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:1–4, CSB)

The phrase “bring them up” is translated as “provides for” in Ephesians 5:29, describing how a man nourishes his own body (only used these 2 times in the NT). When parents dedicate their children, they are declaring that they will provide what’s needed for their children to receive the training and instruction of the Lord.

The word “training” means “the act of providing guidance for godly living.” Training can be tough; like a coach driving his players to stretch their limits. Parents who have dedicated their children to the LORD are willing to tell their children, “This is where we need to go. This is what you need to do.” 

Then Paul uses the word “instruction.” The technical definition is “counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct.” In basic terms, instruction is about wisdom and warning. God gives us parents so they will warn us from making mistakes...sometimes the same mistakes they have made. Parents don’t have the luxury of passivity. They are not “peers” and “buddies,” but they must respect the authority God has given them over their children.

God is clear that His first design for reaching a child is through his/her parents. When families dedicate their children at Grace, they are publicly declaring their commitment to raise children God’s way, and they’re inviting us to be their spiritual family of support and accountability.

Child dedication is really about dedicated parents. And it all started with God, the Father.

I'm excited that we have the honor of dedicating nine children this Sunday!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jack

Before Exclamation Points

It deserves a good Google when you get a chance, as to when punctuation marks were invented, but at the time that the Old Testament in our Bibles was written, there were no exclamation marks! Crazy, huh!?

One way writers could emphasize things was to repeat essential phrases. Psalm 130:5-6 is an excellent example of this.

Psalm 130:5-6

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

The writer repeats "waiting for the Lord” twice and “more than watchmen for the morning” to emphasize how important those phrases are. It is a way to show their importance without exclamation marks.

Immediately, I thought of two scenarios when I read those words. They shed light on our own hearts as we seek to wait on God. I will confess right off that waiting on anything is not my strong suit. Because of that, I meditate often on the Psalms and God’s clear call to trust Him and wait while trusting Him. When we are waiting on God, we are waiting for Him to speak, comfort, counsel, or just be present with us. Waiting on God in the Bible is a picture of us yearning to be close to Him. 

Scene 1: My kids are both excellent sleepers, and when they were small, they’d sleep through the night most nights. We have friends in Michigan who had a son who woke up early every day. He would then wake up his little brother, who needed his rest to have a good day. These parents were smart, though, and they found an alarm clock… not one to wake the boys, but it was set up like a traffic light. Red meant to stay in bed, yellow meant it was almost time to get out of bed, and green meant go! This boy would wait in bed with anticipation for the light to go green so that he could launch out of bed and start the day. This story highlights the joy with which we should wait for God. Remember that waiting on a loving, joyful, personal God is not like waiting for the principal to come into the room when you are in trouble. Waiting on God should be like us waiting for the best part of our day, and not being able to contain ourselves as we get ready to enjoy God’s presence in our lives. Our motivation for waiting is not passive, but it should be waiting with anticipation for the ultimate joy of our souls. 

Scene 2: Put yourselves in the shoes of ancient watchmen: no radar, no flashlights, no spotlights, and no electronic surveillance of any kind. Whether you were patrolling the edge of a camp or the walls of a city, you were watching for a reason. There was always the threat of attack. Wild animals could come after your livestock or enemy soldiers could be ready to raid your grain. An army could be preparing for an attack in the early morning, and you had little chance at all of seeing them with nothing more than some torches for light. For any of you who have camped outside, especially in unfamiliar territory, you know that sounds in the night are not always as identifiable as we would like them to be. Consider, too, that the watchmen are also always on the defensive. Any attacker coming has a plan or strategy, and even something as simple as knowing when and where to attack is a huge advantage. The watchmen just have to be ready at all times. There is an intensity to this picture of waiting that we need to let work on our souls. I have had to pull all-nighters in college and also to take care of my kids when they are sick. However, there were only two times I can remember staying up all night with anything close to this level of intensity. Once, when my wife and I were living in Wichita, we had a trifecta of bad circumstances. There was a shooting across town where the person was not arrested right away, a seemingly unrelated shooting that we heard in our neighborhood, and a late-night loud knock on our door. Needless to say, I stayed up that night out of concern for our safety. On a less serious note, we were once living in the country, and there was a tornado watch in our area. I remember staying up well into the night until the radio said we were in the clear. In both of those cases, though, I had news channels, outside lights on my house, street lights, a cell phone to call the police, and so many options to stay safe. Imagine that ancient watchmen who would feel this overwhelming relief as the sun came fully up, all the shadows were gone, and the field around their zone was empty except for some deer or cows eating grass.

There is not one picture that captures waiting on God, so following the Psalmist's lead, I gave you two. There is an intensity and an anticipation as we wait for God to show up in our lives. It is not a passive waiting, but active, and we should react with relief and joy when He shows up for us. God loves being near to each of us. If you don’t feel close to Him, invite Him to come near to you. It's often our hearts, whether crusty or distracted, that are in the way of our knowing how close God is to us. Often, our waiting on Him is waiting for us to know and confess our distance from Him. Isaiah 30:18 highlights that God is waiting on us just like we are waiting on Him.

Isaiah 30:18
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.

There is nothing worth pursuing more than nearness with God
There is nothing worth pursuing more than nearness with God

- Pastor Will

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Life is hard. As a kid, I remember hearing adults say that life would only get harder with time, but I didn’t believe them. Things felt simple and exciting. But what we take for granted as children, we often yearn for as adults.

As I grew into my teen years, the rose-tinted glasses began to come off. Life began to feel heavy, like I was carrying something I didn’t know how to name. Anxiety crept in. I started feeling different, like I didn’t quite belong. I believed I was broken. I wondered if God had checked out, because He was disappointed that I couldn’t be joyful and happy all the time.

But what I didn’t see back then: He never left. He was closer than ever.

The Bible is full of people who wrestled with hard emotions. Take Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He had just performed miraculous acts through God’s power, but Jezebel threatened his life in response. Elijah, drained and fearful, said, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” And how did God respond? Not with a reprimand, not with “be grateful.” Instead, He sent an angel to care for him, to be with him in the darkness. God met Elijah exactly where he was.

Or Jonah in chapter 4. He’s angry and overwhelmed, telling God, “Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And God shows up. He talks to Jonah and even provides a plant to shade him from the sun after he runs off in frustration. God doesn't abandon Jonah to his bitterness. He stays present.

Pain was something I thought I had to just get through or ignore. But as I’ve walked through seasons of suffering, I’ve learned that God doesn’t ask us to run from our pain, but He asks us to meet Him in it. Jesus Himself didn’t run from His suffering. In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed in anguish, asking God to take the cup of suffering away, but surrendered it to God. And on the cross, He cried out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Even the Son of God felt the weight of darkness.

Here’s the truth I’ve come to hold onto: God doesn’t leave us in that place. Elijah’s story doesn’t end in fear. Jonah’s story doesn’t end in bitterness. And Jesus' story certainly doesn’t end in death. God met each of them in their darkest moments and transformed and redeemed them. Pain didn’t get the final word.

In God’s hands, pain has purpose.

There’s no denying the darkness in our world: sickness, loss, poverty, injustice, and the list keeps going. It’s everywhere. But I encourage you, don’t rush past the pain; there is holy ground beneath your pain. Sit in it for a moment because that’s often where God shows up. He doesn’t avoid the broken places, instead, He meets us in them. And in His timing, He makes even the most shattered things beautiful.

Have the most amazing day!

Jayden Smith

Rise My Soul The Lord Is Risen

The resurrection impacts every area of our lives.  It is central to our Christian faith.  Our newest song, “Rise My Soul The Lord Is Risen” reflects on some of the ways the resurrection of Jesus impacts our lives.

Because of the resurrection, darkness is replaced with hope.  Do you need your hope renewed?  Look to the empty grave!  That’s where death was defeated and the promise of eternal life with our Creator was made sure!  Because of the resurrection, striving is replaced with rest.  We don’t have to work towards our salvation, rather we rest in the finished redeeming work of Love.  Because of the resurrection we have peace.  Though we were God’s enemies, our relationship with Him is now one of peace.  Though we face trials and we have tears, there is peace beyond understanding because of the resurrection.

“He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 4:6-7 CSB)  Because of the resurrection, we are courageous and hopeful, pressing on towards the prize of Jesus Himself!  “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:4b-5 CSB)

Let’s put our hope, and peace, and joy, and courage in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  Let’s rejoice in that and raise a joyful song together! I look forward to singing this song with you!

Pastor Kyle

Numero Uno

If you’re not up on your teenage slang, let me educate you. After all, I am GCC’s elected translator for this kind of thing (I jest). If you want to let everyone know that you are the coolest of the cool, the suavest of the suave, the best at your craft, or you just want to puff up your chest, you can now say, “I’m him” or “I’m her.” It’s usually accompanied by a banging on one's chest in the male variety or a hair flip to end all hair flips from the female side of things. This term was born out of the increasingly self-centered, self-glorifying culture our world seems to celebrate more and more.

Oddly enough, this behavior is not all that new when it comes to human history. Don’t believe me? Think we’re more self-centered than before? Well, let’s open up Scripture and see what it has to say on the matter.

Read Mark 10:35-45 and then come back here.

I want to point out a couple of things:

1. Look at how angry or “indignant” the other disciples became after they witnessed this self-centered behavior. Relatable, yeah? We know that feeling we get when someone else is selfish. But flip the script—do you feel the weight of the emotion someone feels toward you when you’re the one acting out of selfish desires? Do you need to apologize to someone for how you’ve been acting recently?

2. Jesus flips the whole world on its head in a couple of short verses. Our world boasts the “I’m him” or “I’m her” mentality and says you have to put yourself first if you want to get anywhere in life. On the contrary, Jesus explains that to be first, you must serve and be last. SERVE. Drop all your desires completely and do for others. Do what others need. The greatest thing you can do after giving your life to Christ is serve.

I’m not really pointing out anything you haven’t heard, and I don’t have any groundbreaking perspective to add either. I just wanted to place in front of you an opportunity to reflect on this biblical truth and how it’s so specifically practical to your life. Maybe I wanted to share because of just how helpful it has been in my life.

Peace and blessings,
Bryant Hart

God's Exception = God's Redemption

I had the joy of being asked to preach for a friend of mine last week at Harvest Bible Church in Ellsworth, KS. Marc Compton, who grew up at Grace and whose parents are still vital members here, is the pastor there. Harvest has a wonderful Bible reading plan that they use as a church family. To encourage the use of the plan, their Sunday morning preaching comes from a section of the reading plan that the church will read next week. So on Sunday, they are getting a preview of some of the reading they will do from Monday through Saturday.

So what was I stuck with… All of the Bible is beneficial (2 Tim. 3:16-17), but there are definitely denser parts where the benefit is harder to find. I found myself in the middle part of Deuteronomy, where there are many of the laws listed that God gave the Hebrew people to make it visibly obvious that they were separated from the other tribes around them. I didn’t get some of the fun parts at the beginning of Deuteronomy (like Deut 6), where Moses writes about loving God and teaching His ways to the next generation. I was stuck with things more like Deuteronomy 22:11-12 “Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen. Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.” It is sometimes hard to see how a law written in a faraway place, for a long-ago people, for reasons not 100% obvious at first glance, would provide a massive benefit to our relationships with God.

Further contributing to our ability to be apathetic about this portion of the Bible is the fact that many of these laws are those Jesus fulfilled- or better said, He cut through the red tape and gave us a direct relationship with God that no longer requires many of these laws. God is now focused on creating a kingdom of people from all nations rather than being in nation-building mode with a specific people group. However, if we trust that God is working to draw us closer to Himself and that He gave us His Word for our benefit, we must believe that there is a reason we are reading them. As I was reading from Deuteronomy 16 and onward, I knew I would have to look closely for something meaningful to spend 30 minutes discussing. 

I love history, as I have probably mentioned many times. So, when I came to Deuteronomy 23 and saw some laws about two nations that have an extensive past with the Hebrew people, I knew this might be the section I was looking for. In this chapter, God tells His people that they are to have nothing to do with the nations of Ammon and Moab. If you want to dive into that history and explore other relevant texts, I will include those at the bottom. The short version is this, and I will focus on Moab because it has a specific twist that teaches us something very important. Moab was a tribe of people whose beginnings occurred through incest. Throughout their history, sexual immorality was not just something they practiced but something they embraced as a way to hurt God’s people, the Hebrews. They were related to the Israelites, as Moab was started by Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham, the founder of the tribe of Israel. However, when the chance arose for Moab to offer hospitality (Abraham had once saved Lot’s life), they rejected kind gestures and threatened war. Moab was wicked and specifically sought the downfall of the Israelites. God did not take kindly to this; He commands His people to have nothing to do with them, not to marry them or even show kindness to them! God says that anyone who has any Moabite ancestor cannot enter into the religious assembly of their day. Anyone who had a Moabite in their family tree was not allowed to enter into the sacred place of worship and certainly they could not lead that as a leader of the religious assembly. This is not a strong suggestion either, but a firm command.

If you read the book of Ruth, any genealogy of King David, or either of the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1 or Luke 3, you will see that this command was broken. King David’s great-grandmother was from Moab. One of his more distant grandmothers was a Canaanite, and there was an equally strong restriction on that. Kind David should not have been able to worship God at the Tabernacle, which was the religious assembly of His day. David not only attended but was a leader in those worship events. Likewise, I think we all understand that Jesus, who was a descendant of David biologically (on His mother’s side, Luke 3) and legally (on Joseph Mary’s husband’s side, Matt 1) had those same people in His family tree. Jesus is not just the leader of our worship but the object of it.

Rather than belabor the point and explain the ins and outs of Biblical context and other cases where God provides exceptions for people to enter His worship who weren’t supposed to, the Bible leads us to this conclusion. God’s redemption, His saving of people from destruction, makes exceptions for His laws. God saves people and brings them into His family when they are forbidden to enter His presence. That is the lesson of this legal, historical saga. 

This lesson is absolutely for us today. Not only are we supposed to be actively pursuing people “outside” of our assembly to bring them in, but we ARE those people. This exception to the law is not an actual exception, it is something more significant: it is a redemption. We can all be eternally grateful for that! Our sin breaks God’s law and forbids us from ever entering a relationship with Him. Every time God makes an “exception,” it is because repentance and redemption take place. Just like Ruth, who was a Moabite, she repented, declaring that God would be her God and God’s people would be her people; she declared herself no longer a daughter of Moab but a child of God. She was then redeemed and brought into God’s people. We are just like her. The Gospel is God’s great exception, better said as a redemption. He saves us from being forbidden to enter His presence because He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us to wipe away the sin that keeps us out. He rose from the dead so that He could bring us into God’s presence forever. We should not lose our joy over the act that brought us into the worship of God, and we should not lose sight of the call God has on us to bring others in, too.

References: Gen. 19:30-38, Num. 20:14-21, Num. 22-23, Judges 3:12-31, Judges 11:14-17, Ruth, Isaiah 15-16, Jeremiah 48-49, Zeph. 2:8-11, Ezekiel 25:8-11, 2 Peter 2:15-16, Rev 2:14

Pastor Will

Who Is This Man

Repetition is a powerful tool for memorizing verses and information. It’s something we seek out to help us grow. But repetition when it’s not on our terms, can feel irritating. Like a song on loop, or someone bringing the same problem to you without seeking solutions. What once was helpful can quickly become annoying.

Over the past few years, something has been repeated and not by any one person. One day, someone laid it out clearly for me, “Jayden, God is trying to tell you something. Listen.”

It all started about five years ago when I attempted to follow The Bible Recap with a few of my youth group leaders. The Bible Recap is a chronological Bible reading plan, and by day four, I hit the book of Job, and I struggled. I hate to admit it, but I became Job’s number one hater that year. I told myself I would never read that book again, dismissing it as nothing more than useless back-and-forth between Job and his so-called friends. End of discussion. Book closed.

Two years later, I found myself at a Christian university, where my Old Testament professor dedicated an entire lecture to the uniqueness of Job. He explained how the book was primarily written as poetry rather than a classic narrative. This stirred grace within me, and I had a desire to reread the book. After all, if Job made it into the Bible, it probably had something to teach.

I went verse by verse, reading different commentaries over each section of the book of Job. After many months and a couple breaks, I finally finished. I admit, I was wrong about Job.

Job was “a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil” (1:8). Satan approached God, questioning Job’s faith, arguing that it was only strong because of His blessings. So, God allowed Satan to test him. One by one, Job lost everything—his servants, his wealth, even his children (1:14). His wife urged him to curse God and be done with it (2:9), but “throughout all of this Job did not sin in what he said” (2:10). Then, his three friends arrived, mourning with him before launching into 34 chapters of debate. Job wrestled with his pain, his confusion, and his questions, yet he held fast to God.

In those chapters, there is so much to unpack. Job 31 echoes the sermon on the mount. It covers the same ethical issues, like lust (31:1,9-12), loving your neighbor (31:13-15), social justice (31:16-23), and idolatry (31:24-28). Then, God finally answers Job in chapter 38.

I made a note in Job 38:2-3, that says, “We shouldn’t think that God expected them to know what they couldn’t know, He wanted them to appreciate that there were aspects to the matter known to God but hidden to man. Those things made sense of things that don’t make sense.” Then my favorite chapter comes last. Job comes humbly before God in contentment with not knowing the answers to questions he has had about his situation. God then restores Job. My favorite quote from one of the commentaries I read says this,

“If we find it exasperating that God never gives Job any reason for his long ordeal of suffering, then we have entirely missed the point of these final chapters. While it is true that the Lord’s answer was neither logical nor theological, this is not the same as saying that he gives no answer. The Lord does give an answer. His answer is Himself.”

Which leads to the question, who is this man who praised God when all was lost? Who is this man who fell in prayer saying, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord,” (1:21)?  Who is this man who says, “as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils, my lips will not speak unjustly,” (27:3-4)? Because in all honesty, I would doubt God’s love. I have had doubts over smaller things, let alone the loss of everything and everyone I love.

The book of Job doesn’t provide easy answers, but it does reveal truth: God is sovereign, and He is enough. Even in suffering, even in confusion, even when we don’t understand, He is still God, and He is still good. Job may not have received the answers he wanted, but he encountered God Himself, and that was more than enough. May we, too, find peace not in explanations, but in the presence of our Creator.

Have an amazing day!

Jayden Smith

His Glory is My Good

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 CSB)  

This is one of the most memorized verses in the Bible.  It’s a call to trust that God is working for our good.  For those that have a saving faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection, He is at work in our lives.  And as Philippians 1:6 says it, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  But this begs the question, what is our good?  Does our good equate to a lack of hardships and trials? Does our good mean riches and comforts in this life?  No, the Scriptures make a clear case that sanctification is our good.  Sanctification, or becoming more like Christ, is our good, and it results in God’s glory!   Sanctification is not a pleasant process, but it is for our good.

The first verse of our newest song, His Glory and My Good talks about God’s Glory revealed in Jesus, and how the more we see Him in His glory the more we are satisfied.  It reminds me of John Piper’s words in his book Desiring God, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.”

The second verse articulates our trust in the Lord through trials.  Even when we don’t understand and even when He doesn’t answer our prayers as we think He should, we follow Jesus in faith because He is always working for His glory and our good.

The third verse of the song articulates how Jesus’s death on the cross was for our good; it was for our salvation, which brings great glory to God!

The final verse is a call to die to ourselves so that Christ might be magnified.  I’m reminded of John the Baptist’s words in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.”  The song lyrics say, “Would I gladly be made nothing, that Christ would be made more?”.  I love that this line is stated as a question, because every time I sing it, it reminds me of my need to die to myself and carry the cross.

In the chorus of the song, we declare glory and praise to God, and we boast in Him, because we know His glory is our good!  You can learn the song at home here.

I look forward to singing this with you on Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Letter to God

What I am about to share is an unaltered, word-for-word letter that a broken man wrote to God in the midst of a difficult season:

“I want You. 

I want to stop hurting You.

My soul craves to be around You.

My stomach twists in knots when I think about my weaknesses and failures.

You’ve given me an abundance of wisdom and clear sight into Your truth. Yet, I turn away. I continue to switch my focus on worldly things and negative self-talk. 

I enjoy distracting myself with worldly entertainment and earthly glory. 

Save me. Pull me up out of the water. Remind me of Your love for me. Remind me of who I am in You. I need spiritual CPR. Breathe life into my lungs. Raise me up from the pit.

I don’t like my neediness. I am discouraged by my constant failure, and the need for you to rescue me over and over again. It makes me feel like a loser. I would rather give up. I would rather quit. Why live as a constant failure? The guilt and shame is overwhelming. 

However, I know quitting is not the way. It’s not what is best. It’s not what You want. You want me to endure. You want me to persevere. You want me to come to You again. You desire mercy and not sacrifice. 

How is it that Your mercy for me is better to You than me dying and just getting rid of me? Aren’t I a problem to You? Aren’t you sick of me? I’m sick of me. 

Help me to receive and sense Your love and mercy and compassion. You’ve done all that is necessary through Jesus. But I am blind at times. I am coming to you as a blind man, asking for healing. Asking You for what I don’t deserve. Asking You for what I seemingly cannot do. I come to you in faith, trusting in You because of who You are and what You are able to do. You came to set the captives free. I need deliverance. I need Your saving work.”

Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB) 28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Jack

Screaming Priorities

Have you ever found yourself yelling at an inanimate object, like a TV? I have a confession to make… I am a Kansas Jayhawks fan. I know, I know—some of you might now think I’m a heathen, but trust me, I cheer for all Kansas sports, and I will never be hostile toward another team or fan. Jesus has redeemed me in that area.

If you’re unaware, the Kansas men’s basketball team is one of my favorite teams to watch. And, by most loyal fans’ standards, they’re having an absolutely terrible season this year. There may have been a game not too long ago where my wife witnessed a new side of me—one that was emotionally and even physically affected—after the team blew a six-point lead with under 15 seconds left in the game.

The reason she hasn’t seen that side of me before is because the Lord, in His kindness, didn’t let her meet me until well into my twenties—years after He had been shaping me, growing me, maturing me, and giving me the fruits of the Spirit, including patience and self-control. Praise God she didn’t know me before that, because honestly, I don’t know if we would be married today! (I’m only slightly kidding.) But truly, I am grateful for how God has changed and molded me.

I think you’d agree that part of maturing and growing in the Lord is recognizing your desperate need for Him and the importance of keeping Him at the forefront of your life. But spiritual maturity isn’t just knowing that truth—it’s actually prioritizing Him above everything else.

Recently, I was talking with our high school guys’ small group about their priorities and the things that get in the way of spending time with the Lord. The list was exhaustingly long. But it’s true—so many things can distract us from making Jesus our number one priority. So, we came up with a simple but helpful tool to encourage them: writing out their top five priorities and numbering them in order. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but several of them have said that having a physical reminder of the spiritual reality of their lives has helped them move Jesus closer to number one.

When He is first in our lives, things change. We spend less time focused on ourselves and more time serving others. We stop making decisions on our own and start involving God more regularly. We spend less time yelling at sweaty men on a TV and more time lifting our hands in praise to the One who is undefeated.

Score: Death 0. Jesus 1. He’s never lost.

So, where are your priorities? Is Jesus truly #1? And if not, what do you need to do today to put Him there?

Pastor Bryant

Old Days vs Old People

I should write something about romance, with tomorrow being Valentine's Day, but I am not smart enough to make something work that I haven’t been thinking about. I should qualify that by saying that I have been thinking about Valentine’s Day enough to have a plan for making my wife and daughter feel special. However, I haven’t been thinking about it in any grand way regarding our faith or the church. 

I have been studying Esther, the Old Testament book about a Jewish girl who becomes queen and then saves her people from a plot against them. In effect, she saves them from genocide. One of the key statements in the book is something Esther’s uncle tells her. 

Esther 4:14 says, “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” I am sure Esther did not want to be born into a time when it would take extreme bravery and God's intervention to save her and the lives of all the Jewish people living in her country. This got me thinking about one of my favorite verses, which also discusses our times and how we need to see them.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, “ Don’t say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ since it is not wise of you to ask this.” Many of our conversations and jokes revolve around making fun of how people live today. Or we bemoan how life was better in the old days. As Ecclesiastes says, it’s not a wise thing to do. When we remember older times or even previous circumstances, we often forget everything we were going through. We also miss a very important truth that God taught Esther. God has us each in the time and place He wants us to be in. The old days may have been better for the people who lived in them, but they are not better for you. God has put you in this time, given you gifts (1 Corinthians 12), and has work for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).

The Bible does not want us to reminisce about and envy past days or the old ways, but it has a very different thing to say about older people. Preverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” Gray hair doesn’t always mean righteous and wise, but it often does. Our elders have walked through what we are walking through and have kept the faith. This is no small thing. Proverbs give us sayings to live by, but there is also a very explicit command. Leviticus 19:32 says, “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God; I am the Lord.” There is little confusion about how older people are to be honored. The reward for this cannot be understated. This next verse specifically talks about elders in the church. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” We plainly see that our humility in following those who go before us in faith brings the reward of God’s grace, and the rejection of that brings our downfall.

My conclusion is this… older days can lead you astray, but older folks can give you hope. When we get lost wishing for our idealized versions of past times, it is all too easy to miss what God has us to do right now. We cannot shrink back from the issues of our day simply because they are harder in our view than what the generations before us dealt with. But when things are hard, do not hesitate to go to an older person, especially someone you trust, to get some perspective on how to make it through. Life is best when we walk through it with others and look to those who have gone before us.  I am convinced that only then will we walk into the good works Jesus has prepared for us to do. 

Pastor Will

Living the Mission

One of the local ministries that Grace supports, and one I have the joy of being part of, is Young Life (YL). Though YL is still relatively new to the Newton community, its history here runs deeper than many might realize. In the early 1910s, Jim Rayburn, the founder of Young Life, lived in Newton for most of his childhood.

At its core, Young Life is about building relationships with middle and high school students and introducing them to the gospel. The goal is for leaders to step into students’ lives, meet them where they are, and consistently show up for them, earning the right to be heard through relational connection.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a Leader Weekend with YL. To be honest, I wasn’t eager to go. I only knew one other person attending, and the thought of traveling far and feeling “alone” didn’t appeal to me. But I swallowed my pride, showed up, and quickly realized it was exactly what my heart needed.

Throughout the weekend, Justin McRoberts shared powerful messages about living a life modeled after Jesus. One point has stuck with me ever since:

"Nothing you do [in leading and serving others] is as important to God as who you are while doing it."

Ephesians 2:8-10 echoes this truth:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Ministry and outreach are vital, but it’s easy to get caught up in the doing and forget the why. I’ve fallen into this trap time and time again, especially when ministry is part of my job.

McRoberts spoke about “living out the mission” through the story in Acts 8:26-38. In this passage, the Spirit tells Philip to take the road to Gaza, where he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah. Philip asks if he understands what he’s reading, to which the eunuch replies, “How can I unless someone guides me?” Philip takes the time to sit with him, explain the passage, and share the gospel. Moved by their conversation, the eunuch is baptized in a nearby body of water.

This story is powerful because Philip didn’t know where he was going, he simply obeyed when God said, “Get up and go south.” He followed when the Spirit said, “Go and join that chariot.” Often we are too quick to act when God is simply calling us to listen; first to Himself, then to those you want to love. As believers, we don’t grow the seeds, that’s God’s work. McRoberts’ final point resonated deeply: Philip was ‘on his way to…’ I know that if I focus too much on where I’m going, I risk seeing people as only a mission, and forget to love them as a person.

This is why I love Young Life. It’s a relational ministry where I get to be intentional about loving kids because God is so intentional about loving me. I invite you to add Newton Young Life to your prayer list and lift up the next generation of believers in prayer.

Blessings,

Jayden Smith

Part-Time to Full-Time to Director to Pastor

Since August 2022, I’ve had the privilege of overseeing Bryant Hart as one of our staff members at Grace.  I’ve watched as he started part-time in communications, thrived in his role, and switched to full time taking on more responsibilities.  After he went full-time, we started designating some of his hours towards youth ministry because of his passion and gifting with students.  Last June he transitioned to the role of student ministries director, and I’ve watched joyfully as he has bloomed in this role.  He pours his heart into the students and into his ministry.  He has quickly gained favor and respect with the students and is doing a great job leading our student ministry.  I’m excited to continue watching him grow in what he was born to do!

            As we’ve seen his heart for shepherding students grow, and his spiritual leadership increase, we’ve recognized the pastoral calling on his life.  With this in mind, the Elders have changed his title from Student Ministries Director to Student Ministries Pastor.  This is an affirmation of His leadership and calling.  He will continue leading the Student Ministry and serving our church as a Pastor.

            If you don’t have any students, I invite you to pray over the student ministry. Pray that our student ministry raises up students to be the church!  If you have students who are not involved with our student ministry, I encourage you to consider talking to them about getting involved.  I’m sure they will not regret it!  I believe that there are good things coming for our students, and I’m already seeing glimpses of those things!  Honestly, I can’t help but be thankful and smile as I think about Bryant’s influence and encouragement to my teenagers through their involvement in our student ministry.  I’m excited that Noah will get 3 more years of being shepherded under the pastoral leadership of Bryant Hart!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Under the Weather

I woke up Saturday feeling sore and lethargic and thought, “Well, I am getting older...they did warn me about this. Maybe I overdid it when removing the ice and snow from my front door and part of the driveway?”

It’s not like I’ve never been tired before.

However, once I checked my temperature at 102 degrees, I realized I wasn’t just sore. My heart sank. I was excited about preaching the next day, and it’s not easy getting someone else to step in to preach at the last minute.

On Monday I was still pretty sick and decided to visit the doctor (technically a Physician’s Assistant). I found out that my body was fighting Influenza A, my heart was fighting disappointment from being out of commission and unproductive, and my mind was fighting all the missed work and rearranging of the week.

Being unable to work or even help my family with normal chores has been discouraging to say the least. Being under the weather is like being trapped under a rock. I’m sick of it...

However, this has provided moments of clarity.

For one, I am blessed with an exceptional wife. Courtney took care of me and everybody else in the house for multiple days and was nice about it. Never complained.

Second, our church is blessed with a multitude of godly leaders. Our elders and pastors came together and nothing was missed (except for me, hopefully). Wasn’t Pastor Dave’s message exactly what we needed to hear? He did a great job preaching on the lost parables of Luke 15.

I also realized again that it’s not a sin for me to be “unproductive.” I’m a strong advocate for resting in the Lord, but it didn’t translate to when I am sick for some reason.

I still have a fever today (Tuesday), but I am definitely feeling better than I did previously. Lord willing, I plan to be with you this weekend. My “at home nurse” told me I must be fever free without the aid of meds for at least 24 hours before I can be around other humans again. So, if you could add that to your prayers,I would greatly appreciate i

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack