Center Grace Church

09/01/2026

We don’t always notice our habits and dependence on specific things until we take them away. Here’s your challenge: What if you tried fasting from your phone, or that extra hour of sleep, or something else you’ve grown overly-dependent on this week? Use that free time to connect with God through prayer, listening to a sermon, or reading the Bible.

08/31/2026

“The bodily practices of fasting and feasting are not just about food; they’re about the soul.”
The sermon explores the spiritual disciplines of fasting and feasting, emphasizing that neither practice is ultimately about food but about the soul and its desire for God. While fasting expresses our longing for Christ during this present age when we do not physically see Him, feasting celebrates the joy, gratitude, provision, and fellowship we have in Christ while anticipating the ultimate feast to come. Jesus explains that His disciples did not fast while He was physically with them because the bridegroom was present, but that they would fast when He was taken away. Likewise, Levi’s response to encountering Jesus was to leave his old life behind and throw a great feast, demonstrating that genuine communion with Christ produces joy and gratitude. The sermon challenges us to recognize the ways we seek satisfaction in visible things—work, food, entertainment, possessions, exercise, sleep, or screens—and to use fasting to redirect our hunger toward Christ. Ultimately, Jesus Himself is the true satisfaction of our souls: the perfect second Adam who perfectly obeyed the Father, endured the greatest “fast” of suffering and separation on the cross, and secured for His people the promise of the eternal marriage supper of the Lamb, where our longing will finally become complete satisfaction in His presence.

Sermon starts at 41:02. See summary below.Text: Luke 5:27-39Preac...

08/24/2026

“The only way that we're ever going to acquire a taste for service is by repeatedly tasting Christ's service of us.” This sermon explores Christian service as a spiritual discipline, emphasizing that healthy service begins with receiving Christ rather than trying to prove ourselves through serving. Jesus modeled this by washing His disciples’ feet from a place of secure identity—He knew who He was and therefore had nothing to prove. Our service should likewise flow from a secure identity in Christ, point others toward the gospel, and be a grateful response to what Jesus has already done for us. We aren't called to meet every need or serve in order to feel needed; instead, we serve thoughtfully and lovingly, remembering that “your service does not begin with your giving; it begins with your receiving.” As we repeatedly experience Christ's sacrificial service toward us, it leaves an impression that gradually shapes us into people who naturally serve others.

Sermon starts at 44:38. Summary below.Text: John 13: 1-17Preacher...

08/19/2026

Your responsibility is not to become someone else’s conscience. What does that look like in practice? Hear Pastor Derek break it down.

08/16/2026

“We need to view other people not as our enemies, but as our neighbors.”
Spiritual friendship is an essential discipline of spiritual formation - God never intended Christians to become who He wants them to be in isolation. Using Galatians 5–6, the sermon identifies two fallen patterns in relationships: relational cannibalism, where we use, compare, compete with, provoke, envy, and “feed on” other people to fill our own emptiness; and relational hunger strikes, where we withdraw into isolation because of individualism or relational hurt. The gospel offers a radically different way: rather than feeding on one another, Christians are called to feed one another through love, service, restoration, accountability, forgiveness, vulnerability, and mutual care. This requires a posture of gentleness and humility rather than superiority, with the goal of restoration rather than condemnation. Ultimately, however, these new practices aren't produced by sheer willpower. Christ Himself is the source and model of spiritual friendship, and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to walk in this new way. Jesus pursued us, served us, bore our burdens, and called us friends; therefore, we can risk pursuing imperfect people and cultivating genuine spiritual friendships.

Sermon starts at 32:12.Center Grace Sunday WorshipText: Galatians...