Grace Downtown

Cities are important parts of human life—they are centers of arts, culture, academics, science, industry and government, as well as the best places to see a country's gods and idols. What does it mean to care for a city? How do we know a city and feel for it well enough that we can pray over it in our lives and serve it in our work? Psalm 36; 1 Peter 2.1-5; 2 Peter 2; Nehemiah 1.1–11

When Jesus enters our lives, the way we understand the world around us begins to change—not just on a superficial level, but in a deep and wholistic way. Even the things that might have seemed repulsive to us before can become compelling and even beautiful.

Becoming like Christ is the primary calling of all Christians, but the idols of our hearts can not be uprooted--they can only be replaced.

Everyone puts their belief in some set of ideas, stories, practices and institutions to give shape and order to our lives. But what do we do when that belief fails us?

Everyone has an understanding of and approach to the idea of marriage that they likely take for granted. Most of us don't quite land on the Bible's idea of marriage.

Hospitality is an essential hallmark of the Christian faith—but the Bible lays out a vision for hospitality that welcomes in people beyond our comfort zone.

Sex, dating and romance take up a lot of mindshare for most people in our city, but one of the biggest changes the Christian faith asks us to make is a recontextualization of the role romance plays in our lives.

Grace Downtown welcomed in eight new Elders, Deacons and Deaconesses this weekend, and Rev. Glenn Hoburg's sermon offered a charge to both our new leaders and the rest of the congregation.

In a culture that rewards achievement, grace can be horrifying, disruptive--and wonderful.

Psalm 23 is one of the most famous psalms, if not one of the most famous passages from the Bible. The themes of shepherding and rest are prominent throughout the Old Testament--and they come together and reach their climax in Jesus.

For many people, reaching out for something transcendent when things are hard is easy. The harder challenge is recognizing your need for transcendence when things are going smoothly.

Contentment is a radical act in a city known for ambition and a society whose motto is "more is more." But it's also an enduring hallmark of the Christian faith. What is it? Where does it come from? What does it change?

Living "Life In The Spirit" means living our lives together with others--not just sharing our success and grieving our hurts, but also accepting challenges or corrections when other people recognize things we might miss about ourselves.

The highest command of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is found in the call to love one’s enemy. It is perhaps the defining mark of a follower of Jesus. We may be able to pull off being religious, moral, self-disciplined, and even kind to those like us. But the will and ability to love your enemy is evidence of something special – something which God’s enemy-love alone can produce.

Mr. Matt Miller kicks off our new series on Life in the Spirit.

One of the character types which Shakespeare developed is the “wise fool”—the person thought least likely to discover the truth, but does so in the end. In some sense, Paul sees himself and all followers of Jesus this way. The message of Christianity—Jesus and the cross—appears foolish to the culture; however, in the end, those who understand it will be seen as wise. It’s very tempting to abandon this identity as a wise fool for things like self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction. This is the temptation for the Corinthians and for us as well.

We close out our sermon series on the book of Romans with a look at Paul's lengthy list of greetings at the end of the letter. Who was he sending his salutations to? And what do these greetings teach us about the nature of Christian community?

As we reach the end of our study of the book of Romans, Paul turns our attention to what the faith that he has outlined means not for us, but for those around us.

Easter is more than just a flexing of God's muscles or the guarantee of a promise that would have been too lofty to believe—it is also a daily commission.

Grace Downtown pastoral fellow Andrew Russel kicks off our celebration of Holy Week with a sermon on the biblical account of Palm Sunday.