Discovery Church: Grand Rapids

This week (April 28) was Discipleship Emphasis Sunday, which involves a Bible Project video and small group discussion, so there is no new talk to share. Please enjoy this old but still relevant talk from 2022, preached by Pastor Paul Sausser.Galatians 6:1-10In giving a picture of true love for one another, Jesus’ law of love includes carrying each other’s burdens. The church hasn’t always done this well—we can do this better. We need to get humanly close enough to see what those burdens are, and we have to be a person who is connecting deeply to God so He can empower us, open our eyes, and prompt us to help bear these burdens, great or small, of our sisters and brothers.View the full service on our YouTube channel.

God wants us to properly consider these small but valuable diamonds in the form of habits and principles, for our Christian life at its highest level.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18This talk is primarily in Spanish, with English interpretation.Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/NZn2MVT1zlM

Heaven is more real than the broken world we see around us. Christ’s sacrifice sets us free to live in his presence, allowing us to start to experience that eternal reality even now in the body of Christ.Hebrews 9:11-14, 23-28Pastor Matthew Wright joins us as Pastor Paul and Renae are on vacation.Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Fj0jr-wRgmU

This week, worship began with communion. A short pause is included in the podcast where communion was served before the talk begins.Because of Jesus, we have access to what is better than what this world has to offer. Being the better high priest and offering a better sacrifice, we have access to a better life, a life that has its totality in Jesus. Why would we go back to anything that is inferior?Hebrews 8:1-13Watch the full service here, including a big announcement from Pastor Paul: https://youtu.be/a9xNvgr1a_g

The resurrection of Jesus is so profound, such a pivotal point in history, that because of it, everything is different. Because Jesus rose from the dead, He offers us a fresh start as He has the power to change everything!Mark 16:1-8Watch the full service: https://youtu.be/Q7o7LK9MOOA

At different times in our lives, we all need some sort of rescue. To “be saved” is to “be rescued.” The stories and ceremonies within the Old Testament all point towards the One and the way that Father God would provide rescue—through His selected Lamb. We are saved by the blood of the Lamb.Exodus 12:1-6; John 1:29-31Watch the full service: https://youtu.be/X2YXgy9d9B4

This week was Discipleship Emphasis Sunday, which involves a Bible Project video and small group discussion, so there is no new talk to share. Please enjoy this old but still relevant talk from 2022, preached by Pastor Paul Sausser.Acts 8:26-40Our society is highly polarized, especially with political differences. Humans are good at division. Philip and an Ethiopian, who are so different, connect deeply for no other reason than that God is up to something. God, through the work of his Son Jesus, is reconciling people. The book of Acts is God creating a new humanity, a redeemed humanity, one that brings diverse people together into His family for His glory. God is intent on destroying boundaries that separate people from one another.View the full service on our YouTube channel.

Just as we need mediators in many parts of our lives, we need a spiritual mediator to be the go-between between us and God. In Old Testament times, God provided the High Priest. Now, Jesus is the only High Priest we need to mediate on our behalf before God. He is the only One who clicks all the boxes of what is needed in a spiritual mediator.Hebrews 6:20-7:5, 9-10, 20-27Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27) Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/oBnjFnj_W4A

Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Fulfilling the requirements of every priest that ever existed, Jesus became the high priest (the one who offers the sacrifice), the altar (where the sacrifice is made), and the sacrifice (the actual offering) once and for all, for us. He is solid and stable, never moving, so on Him we can place our anchor.Hebrews 6:1a, 4-8, 12-20Watch the full service here: https://youtu.be/wa1MRFZ6c7g