Grace Baptist Church Sheboygan

God calls His people to come and worship Him. The commands He gives concerning worship provide structure for right worship, even as the fellowship He designs for worship produces praise from the hearts of His people that is pleasing to Him. In this passage, we take a detailed look at the 'why' of worship.

God’s commands in Deuteronomy 15 are driven towards a similar goal. As Israel’s King, God shows regard for the poor and the vulnerable among his people, passing laws to protect the poor. These commands teach us to put others over our personal gain.

God calls his people to give with glad and generous hearts. He does this for many reasons, four of which we consider in Deuteronomy 14. A) We Give Because We Have Glad Fellowship with God B) We Give Because Giving is an Exercise of Faith to Trust in God to Provide C) We Give in Gratitude to Support God’s Kingdom Work D) We Give Because God Means For Us to Reflect His Own Gracious Heart in Love to Others

Cloven hooves? Chewing the cud? Owls and vultures? No pork? What are all these food laws, and why do they matter? In this sermon, we explore the details and the purpose of clean and unclean foods in the Law of Moses. We explore God's plan to set His people apart from the nations, and we look at how Christ has made the unclean, clean through his work on the cross.

Life is about priorities. What we love affects what we do. Deuteronomy 13 challenges us to take a close look at the priorities of our heart by causing us to see the supremacy of the name of God.

Rules are important. Good rules don't limit our joy, they maximize it. In Deuteronomy 12, God gives rules for worship. These include breaking with sin, coming to him in the way he calls us, and coming in true joy.

God's work of redemption happens according to his plan of redemption. In the book of Ruth, we can see how God worked to redeem the house of Elimelech and to bring about a new chapter in the story of salvation. In this conclusion to Ruth, we see the costliness of redemption and the effect of redemption.

Rest is a big theme across the Biblical storyline, and it's especially important in Ruth 3. Here we see Naomi work to secure rest for Ruth in the house of Boaz. It's a beautiful, somewhat awkward story of two lovers that points us forward to the greater rest that God has for his people in Christ.

The Lord is a God who protects those who put their hope in him. He is a refuge to us in every time of need. God's protection and kindness is seen in three ways here in Ruth 2. His kindness and faithfulness to those who hide themselves in him is seen in Ruth's humble faith. His generous heart is mirrored in Boaz. His steadfast love is remembered as Naomi rejoices in His redemption.

The Lord is kind. He does not forget, but redeems what has been lost. In this opener to the book of Ruth, we witness God working in spite of the bad decisions of men and the rebellion of his people to accomplish the impossible.

It's important for God's people to remember and to rejoice. In this conclusion to Esther, we learn about how the feast of Purim became established. As Mordecai and Esther use their authority to establish the memory of God's salvation in the mind of every Jew, we look forward to Jesus, who is our better king and our great Savior.

In this passage we see the day finally arrive, as God saves his people and repays their enemies by destroying them. From this passage we learn three main lessons: that God is the great reverser, that a hard heart is a truly dangerous thing, and that God has secured everlasting joy and relief for his people.

With Haman overthrown, God's people were still in danger. In Esther 8, we see how she worked to complete the salvation of her people by interceding for them before the king. Esther's example points us to the greater work of Jesus, who intercedes for us.

Jealousy--is it a good thing or a bad thing? It really depends. When jealousy is motivated by self-seeking desire, fear, and anxiety, then it is a wicked and terribly destructive thing. But when jealousy is motivated for holiness, it is right. In this passage we see a right sort of jealousy that leads to the salvation of Esther and the destruction of Haman. It gives us an opportunity to think about the passion God has for his people and the hope we have in the Day of the Lord.

We trust God to provide for us, but do we realize that the heart of God delights to give us the good gifts he has prepared for us? Seeing the pleasure of God in caring for the needs of his people, delivering them, and enforcing perfect justice is key to loving the Lord with all our heart.

The tide starts to turn for Esther and the Jews in Persia. God gives her favor in the sight of the king and the favor that Haman has enjoyed starts to work against him. In this sermon, we see that our only hope for salvation is in the merciful heart of God and the favor of our King.

God's providence frees us from fear of death. It frees us to take right risk. It gives us significance for living. In this sermon we look at the heart of the book of Esther and what it means to live by faith in a God who provides.

When it comes to problems, we all want solutions. In our rush to 'fix' what's going on, we often forget the important step of lament. In this sermon we look at three lamentable things that happened in the darkest days of the book of Esther. We also consider the place of lament in our own lives.

Mordecai's place at the king's gate put him in the right place and the right time to save the king's life, but it also put him in the wrong place at the wrong time to put his own life in danger. In this sermon we consider the providence of God and how He works in all situations for the good of his people.

God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. In this passage we meet Esther and watch as God brings her into the kingdom of Persia as Queen.