Be Strong In the Grace of God

Devotional

Day 1: From rut to revival: thanksgiving, praise, worship

You don’t have to carry yesterday into today. Step out of the rut by showing up with thanksgiving, move into praise, and then settle into true worship—heart, soul, mind, and strength. This isn’t a spectator sport; it’s your life with God, and He loves you right where you are. Lay down fear and shame; Jesus gives love, peace, and a sound mind. Lean into relationship—with God and with people—because that’s been the heartbeat from the beginning. Start the year by opening your mouth and your heart. [14:16]

Psalm 100:4–5 — Walk through His gates with a thankful spirit and into His courts with songs of praise; bless His name, because the Lord is good, His faithful love never runs dry, and His loyalty stretches from generation to generation.

Reflection: What simple practice could help you enter each day “with thanksgiving and praise”—for example, naming three specific thanks before you check your phone or singing a short praise on your commute?

Day 2: Go be salt and light beyond the walls

Church isn’t thirty minutes of music and a handshake; it’s a people who go. Wherever the soles of your feet land, you carry Christ’s light into real needs and real conversations. This is not a club; it’s a mission rooted in love, not image. You may not be called to be everyone’s friend, but you are called to love them and seek their good. Say “goodbye, yesterday,” and step into a go-first, love-first posture. Your city is waiting. [49:52]

Matthew 28:18–20 — Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Me. Because of that, go out and make learners of Me among every kind of people. Mark them with the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and train them to live out everything I’ve taught you. And remember, I’m staying with you every step until the end.”

Reflection: Where will you intentionally be “salt and light” outside the building this week (home, workplace, team, neighborhood), and what is one quiet, concrete step you’ll take there?

Day 3: Soldier, athlete, farmer—gritty grace and discipline

Grace makes you new, and grace makes you strong. Like a soldier, you will face hardship; don’t get tangled in distractions that pull you from the One who enlisted you. Like an athlete, run by God’s ways, not your own shortcuts. Like a farmer, work faithfully and expect to share in the harvest. This is spiritual war, but your armor and weapons are from God, mighty to pull down strongholds and to steady your mind. Stay in the fight with a steady heart and a clear focus. [01:03:10]

2 Timothy 2:1–7 — Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Pass along what you’ve learned to trustworthy people who will teach others too. Endure like a good soldier who refuses to be tangled in everyday distractions so he can please his Commander. Compete like an athlete who wins by keeping to the rules. Labor like a farmer who works first and then tastes the crop. Think this through, and the Lord will give you insight.

Reflection: What specific “entanglement” is blurring your focus on Jesus right now, and what boundary or habit change will you make to disentangle this week?

Day 4: Turn the volume down; study and listen

If you only watch from the stands, you’ll always say you’re not being fed. Open the Word and let God feed you—read until He speaks, whether that’s one verse or twenty-five, and then sit with it. Make it your aim to be approved before God, not applauded by people. Trade arguments over words for honest love and truth handled with grace. “More of Him, less of me” becomes real when Scripture trains your heart and your mouth. Let your Bible time become your apprenticeship in Jesus’ voice. [01:20:39]

2 Timothy 2:15 — Give yourself to steady learning so you can stand before God as a worker He’s proud of—someone who handles the message of truth accurately and without shame.

Reflection: When and where will you meet God in Scripture this week, and what one change (pace, place, plan, or phone settings) will help you actually hear and obey?

Day 5: Radical welcome: grace that invites real change

Real church is for real people in the real world, and every person bears God’s image. We don’t save anyone from their bondage—Jesus does—but we can open wide the door of grace and tell the truth with kindness. God did not send His Son to condemn the world but to rescue it; that shapes how we look, speak, and serve. Leave the heavy bags of last year at the cross and walk into this year free to love, teach, and invite. Pray big, get involved, and believe God for a harvest that overflows the room. Love people for who God is, not for what they can give. [01:23:26]

John 3:16–17 — God loved this world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who puts their trust in Him won’t be ruined but will share God’s unending life. God didn’t send His Son to slam a gavel over the world, but to bring the world home through Him.

Reflection: Who is one person you’ve quietly kept at arm’s length—how will you pray for them by name and take one small, grace-filled step toward them this week?

Sermon Summary

A bold New Year summons rings out: shake off dead religion, enter with thanksgiving, rise into praise, and step into true worship. This community is not a spectator crowd but a living body where every person participates. The heartbeat is relationships—first with God, then with one another—and that DNA drives a clear mission: in Jesus’ authority, therefore go. Church is not a club or an hour-long event; it is a people who carry salt and light into every place the sole of their feet tread. That means building teams, serving beyond the walls, and refusing the lie that attendance equals obedience.

The mandate runs deeper than activity. Teach all nations begins by letting God teach hearts first. Spectators starve; servants feast. This is a life of surrender—more of Him, less of self—and it requires study, not shortcuts. Approved workmen rightly divide the Word, grow sturdy in grace, and entrust truth to faithful people who will teach others. Grace, not a “gospel badge,” forms workers, not policemen.

Three images frame the path: soldier, athlete, farmer. The soldier endures hardship and avoids entanglement, remembering this is spiritual war, not fleshly fights. The athlete runs by the rules—joining God’s mission rather than asking Him to bless ours. The farmer works early and faithfully, confident that harvest follows labor. Along the way, petty strife, nitpicking, and preference battles must give way to the essentials: the gospel, the Scriptures, prayer, and love. A dying world is not repelled by God; it’s repelled by graceless gatekeeping. So the doors stay open wide: welcome all, preach Christ, and let Jesus free people from bondage.

Practically, this means leaving 2025 behind, taking a sober self-assessment, and reengaging Scripture until God speaks—whether one verse or twenty. It means committing in the countdown to Easter: serving, singing, inviting, training, and aiming for a harvest of souls. Resources are ready—Bibles, groups, studies—because this house believes people grow when they step through the doorway into relationships. In anxious times, this family points to the Comforter and offers real hope. The vision is simple: a real church for real people in a real world—loving without partiality, teaching with clarity, and going where Jesus sends.

Key Takeaways

1. Worship requires participation, not spectatorship True worship is not consumed from the stands; it is offered with the body, voice, and will. God invites His people into thanksgiving, praise, and then the reverent nearness of worship. Passive religion starves the soul, but engaged hearts encounter the living God together. [14:16]
2. The Great Commission shapes everyday life “Go” is not a trip; it’s a lifestyle of being salt and light wherever you step. Jesus’ authority frees believers from hesitation and sends them into all peoples, teaching and baptizing with confidence that He is with them. Mission begins on Monday as much as on Sunday. [49:52]
3. Study to become a faithful workman Approval before God is not gained by noise but by rightly handling His Word. Study forms discernment, protects from self-invented interpretations, and equips believers to teach others with accuracy and grace. Without study, zeal becomes a weapon; with study, it becomes wisdom. [55:02]
4. Endure as soldier, athlete, farmer Discipleship demands endurance, focus, and hard work: the soldier avoids entanglements, the athlete honors the rules, the farmer labors before harvest. Spiritual war is real; armor and disciplined thinking are essential. Fruitfulness follows faithful rhythms, not shortcuts. [60:35]
5. Return to essentials with gracious unity The path forward is the ABCs: gospel, Scripture, prayer, and love—welcoming all and letting Jesus do the freeing. Preferences and word-fights drain power; essentials channel it toward salvation and growth. Grace tells the truth without hatred and holds the door open wide. [81:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[13:21] - New year: awaken worshippers
[14:16] - Church is not a spectator sport
[16:46] - Prayer to begin 2026
[43:19] - Mobilizing teams for ministry
[44:03] - Go be salt and light
[48:42] - Great Commission read aloud
[51:34] - Teach yourself to teach others
[55:02] - Study to be an approved workman
[57:49] - Be strong in grace, not law
[60:35] - Soldier, athlete, farmer discipleship
[63:10] - Spiritual warfare: armor and thoughts captive
[69:22] - Back to essentials; authentic community
[85:36] - Countdown to Easter: commit to serve
[99:13] - Comfort the fearful; share the Comforter

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- The following passages will frame our discussion:

- 2 in number:

- 2 Timothy 2:1-7

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

- 2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

- Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:18-20, what reason does Jesus give before telling His followers to “go,” and how does that reason shape the way “go” is carried out?
In 2 Timothy 2:1-7, what three images are used to describe a disciple, and what key quality is tied to each image?
In 2 Timothy 2:15, what is connected to being “approved,” and what skill is required to avoid shame?
Name two concrete ways this church family plans to “go beyond the walls” in the run-up to Easter (teams, outreach, invites, serving). [44:03]

Interpretation questions

“Go means being the salt and the light wherever you step the sole of your foot.” What does that imply about ordinary places and moments in a week? [49:52]
“No soldier gets entangled” is the picture in 2 Timothy 2. What might “entanglement” look like in 2026 life—time, screens, side hustles, or people-pleasing—and how does someone please the One who enlisted them? [01:05:23]
Competing “according to the rules” was applied as joining God’s mission rather than asking Him to join ours. What is the practical difference, and how can someone tell when the order has been reversed? [01:11:21]
Why is a grace-filled environment necessary to form workers rather than “policemen,” even while guarding truth by rightly handling the Word (2 Timothy 2:15)? [58:25]

Application questions

This is not a spectator sport. What one new act of participation will you bring next Sunday—verbal thanksgiving, lifted hands, singing out, kneeling at the altar, serving on a team? Be specific. [14:16]
Identify three places your feet will step this week (home, work, store, gym, school). What “salt and light” action will you take in each place (encouragement, prayer, help, invite, integrity)? [49:52]
Adopt “read until God speaks” this month—one verse or twenty. When will you read, where will you sit, and what book will you start? Who will you text weekly for accountability? [01:23:58]
Name one entanglement (habit, app, grudge, people-pleasing, schedule clutter) that pulls you off-mission. What cut or change will you make by Friday to please the One who enlisted you? [01:05:23]
Where have you been asking God to bless your plans instead of joining His? Write one change this week to align with His mission (serve a team, change a time slot, say no to a good thing to say yes to a God thing). [01:11:21]
Choose one faithful rhythm through Easter: join a serving team, invite five people by name, attend rehearsal weekly, serve outside the walls. Which will you choose, and what is your first step and date? [01:25:36]
Return to the essentials—gospel, Scripture, prayer, love. What preference or word-fight will you drop, and who will you welcome with an open door this week, trusting Jesus to do the freeing? [01:21:46]

Sermon Clips

What you need to realize is the great commission today that we have from Jesus Christ. He said to go. Amen. Amen? And to go not just to go anyway but to go and be the salt and the light of the world. And may I say to you, you can't be the salt and the light if you think church is an hour, if you think church is a thirty minute segment, if you think church is just to go have some fun, let me tell you something, you got the wrong opinion about church. Somebody's giving you the wrong view. [00:43:57] (41 seconds) #ChurchIsALifestyle

Some of you need to hear this going into 2026. There are some people you don't need to be friends with. Come on. Come on. Amen? Amen. There are some people that are gonna drag you, mamas and daddies. Stop trying to be your child's friend. Start being mom and daddy because they need that right now more than anything else. [00:44:59] (20 seconds) #ParentsLeadNotFriends

When you deal with human beings, you're gonna have people full of pride that are gonna come alongside you at times, and the worst thing you can do is nitpick them to death. Off got off for quiet, didn't it? I'm not here to share you today. What I'm gonna tell you is that you're gonna deal with difficult people in your life. If you're gonna be a leader, I promise you, you're gonna deal with difficult people. Can I get an amen? Amen. It's not on them. It's on you to do the next thing. [00:56:34] (40 seconds) #LeadThroughChallenges

Be strong. Be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. We need to understand today. We need to be strong. Here was Paul was telling Timothy to be strong in the grace. He didn't say in the law, did he? He said in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We got too many people wanna be policemen, but not workmen. They wanna carry the gospel gun and the badge and the handcuffs. But yet, They don't wanna be the workman. Deacon, we need to change that today. Amen? God is looking for some workmen. [00:57:46] (61 seconds) #StrongInGrace

``You see, you've gotta be like that soldier and you've gotta understand, we're not a country club or social club. We need to get back to the essentials. We need to get back to the ABCs, and we need to tell a dying world that they need Jesus. Amen? It's not that they don't like god. They want god. They're searching for god. But the problem is they don't like what they see when they get here. [01:09:27] (25 seconds) #SoldierForJesus

You see, if we're gonna run the race, we need to run it to win. And the only way we're gonna win people to Jesus is turning the volume of life down, forsake what we want and say, God, what do you want from me? Stop worrying about everybody else. You can't teach nobody nothing until you know what god wants from you, from me. Amen? [01:11:54] (28 seconds) #RunToWinForJesus

And when we understand that and we start understanding that it's not about us but it's about him, church. When we get back to the ABCs in this year 2026, let's get back to the essentials of the faith, telling people about Jesus Christ, singing his praises, giving people hope, real hope. We've got a dying world that wants God. [01:21:25] (33 seconds) #BackToABCs2026

May we not be the closed door to where they don't see God by our idle talk. I don't care who you are or what you are. All I know is my Bible says if you're a human being, you're breathing there, breathing out, you're made in his image, and I'm supposed to love you, period. And God will worry about the rest. [01:21:58] (30 seconds) #LoveEveryone

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Be Strong In the Grace of God

Devotional

Day 1: From rut to revival: thanksgiving, praise, worship

Day 2: Go be salt and light beyond the walls

Day 3: Soldier, athlete, farmer—gritty grace and discipline

Day 4: Turn the volume down; study and listen

Day 5: Radical welcome: grace that invites real change

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Be Strong In the Grace of God

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