Cultural
Values
We want Jesus' Kingdom culture to transform us and then overflow out into the world. These are the values we feel God has led us to focus on:
And to hear more on this please listen to this message.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2: 4-5
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” ~ John Newton
Grace changes everything for us and in us. Grace is no passive shrug. Grace is active. Grace is fierce. Grace shouts aloud a message of undeserved and unconditional love.
Grace motivates and empowers us to live lives that reflect the love God has freely bestowed on us. We are changed, not by law or rules- but through Jesus’ amazing grace.
Grace is at the very core of our new-creation identity in Jesus and not only is this truth we receive- it’s the truth we now share. Grace is the name of our church- but it can’t be just a name- it must describe how we treat one another and what we offer to the world. Grace flooding downhill from the Father, to us, and out into the communities where God has placed us.
Because of the abundant grace we have received, we have infinite grace to share.
"Run, John, run, the law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news the gospel brings, it bids us fly and gives us wings." ~ John Bunyan
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 9
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Courage starts with our heart. We need God’s help to bring his strength into our deepest inner self. We need to be in-couraged by His presence!
For the Christ follower, Courage is a choice and ongoing decision to trust God rather than anyone or anything else. Courage is not recklessness. And courage is not an absence of fear; it’s about getting our fears in the right order. Having healthy fear and reverent awe of God. Knowing who he is- allowing us to step forward.
Courage involves taking risks and being willing to fail. But we fail forwards knowing we fall into God’s arms of grace and healing that gets us up and running again.
William Carey said: “Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.” We want to attempt and expect great things and recognize many more times courage is found and needed in the unseen and hidden things; Courage to stay faithful. Courage to keep showing up. Courage to obey.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
No matter how bleak the circumstance; no matter how dark the valley; no matter how lost things feel – in Jesus there is always hope.
The Hope God gives us is an "anchor of the soul, firm and secure." (Heb. 6: 19)
Martin Luther King Jr. said "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." He wasn't speaking from a place of naive optimism—he was speaking from the trenches of struggle, knowing that hope transforms not just individuals, but entire movements. True hope is powerful because of who and where the hope is based.
The world is desperate for communities that dare to hope. Places that hold true and lasting hope. Grace church can be that place.
Someone once said: “He who gives the most hope, has the most influence”. No one offers more hope than Jesus. As we hold on to Him; as our hope in God is an anchor in the storms, filling us with joy and peace… it will shine a light into a dark and hopeless world.
"When (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36
Compassion isn’t a distant lukewarm “niceness”. It’s not sympathy that says “poor you”. No compassion is a “suffering with”. That’s literally what it means. To come close and share in someone’s sufferings, to sit with them in their pain. To see the world through other people’s eyes and seek to meet them there.
Henri Nouwen put it beautifully; "Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain."
Compassion is a visceral response that moves us forward into action. It’s a reflection of the gospel story where Jesus came close and suffered with and for us.
We want to be a church community who stay tender hearted (kept soft and loving through the Holy Spirit) and then are moved out, led by Jesus to love people in real and tangible ways.