Grace Chapel Church Podcast | Franklin, TN

It's very easy to see in today's culture that the Christian meaning of Christmas is quite different than the world's meaning of Christmas. Pastor Steve says that the way to make Christmas great again is to consider, meditate on, and believe the very things that make Jesus great! We cover seven different facets of His Greatness: His Miraculous Incarnation, His Multiple Offices, His Magnificent Achievements, The Adoration of His Creation, The Majesty of His Appearing, The Righteousness of His Judgments, and The Glory of His Dwelling Place.

Recounting the Christmas story of Mary and Joseph that we're all familiar with, Pastor Steve looks at all of the details of the manger scene that reveal the predetermined purposes of God and Him speaking to us in divinely orchestrated ways. He describes five reasons why the God of Details wanted Jesus born in a manger: to show Jesus' humility, to connect with the common people, to remove the fear of approaching, to announce that Jesus is free to all, and to allow beasts to feast in His Presence.

Fresh off the release of his new book, Courage to be Healed, Dr. Mark Rutland speaks to us on finding hope to restore our inner health through the identification of toxins, the throne those toxins derive from, the therapy to address the specific throne, and the goal of that therapy in our lives. Whether you need inner healing or know someone who does, this message is filled with the hope that your story isn't over yet. God's message to you today is, "I love you, I forgive you, and I want you well."

In the final part of Forget Not: Growing in the Grace of a Grateful Life, Pastor Rob speaks on how success can lure us into overestimating our own contribution and underestimating the contribution of others (including God's Goodness and Grace) to the success in our life. This opens us up to ingratitude and pride, which more often than not go hand-in-hand. We need to remember God’s Grace during times of failure, but we need to remember it much more in times of success.

In Part 2 of Forget Not, Pastor Rob speaks on growing in gratitude in the midst of suffering and hardship, with a special emphasis on depression and anxiety. Using Psalm 42 as the backdrop, he breaks it down into the problem of the soul, the power of preaching, and the promise of peace. You were not made to walk this journey of life alone, so if you need anything at all, we are here for you – simply reach out to us at care@gracechapel.net.

Is it possible to live through the ups and downs of life with a consistent, abiding joy? When the Bible speaks of joy, peace, fulfillment, and satisfaction, it never speaks of them as a goal but as a byproduct of something else. The Biblical key to abiding joy, peace, and fulfillment is found in one thing: gratitude.

Fresh off the release of his new book, Jezebel's War with America, Dr. Michael Brown joins us to speak on the Jezebel spirit that is running rampant in our society – from the spirit of idolatry and the seduction of porn to the emasculation of men and the war on gender.

Separation Between Church and State – one of the most misunderstood and abused phrases in America today. The phrase has been wrongly applied and repeated so often that it has been ascribed a legal power that it was never intended to have. Pastor Steve takes an accurate look at our nation’s history and the beliefs of many of our founders so that we can be further equipped to be passionate servants of Jesus Christ in the nation God gave us. By no means do we want a state religion, but we don’t want history being re-written and our freedom of religion and freedom for religion taken away by those who desire freedom from religion.

This message has been stirring in Pastor Steve's heart for nine months and the time is now right for him to give it. God gives us and our nation the prescription for personal and national forgiveness, healing, and restoration in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. While this verse has been used so many times before in this context, far too often many people gloss over the "turn" part, but it's our TURN that causes God’s TURN toward us with healing and restoration!

Pastor Steve sits down with Pastor Ian (Grace Chapel Fairview), Pastor Brian (Grace Chapel Navojoa), Pastor Rob (Grace Chapel Franklin), and Pastor Jake (Grace Chapel Knoxville) to have a conversation on God's Faithfulness in each of their lives and here at Grace Chapel for the last 25 years.

Kicking off Grace Chapel's 25th Anniversary celebration for the month of October, Pastor Don Finto appropriately encourages us to not dwell on past successes or failures, but rather continue to press into all that God would have for us.

In the final part of Encounter(ing) God // Spirit, Pastor Steve speaks on The Shepherding Gifts – Leadership, Pastor/Teacher, Apostolic, and Administrations. As this concludes our nine month Encounter(ing) God series, we pray that the Holy Spirit has revealed things to you that have changed your life and those who Jesus puts in your path forever.

In Encounter(ing) God // Spirit - Part 11, Pastor Steve covers the category of spiritual gifts known as the Spiritual Strengthening Gifts: Mercy, Healings, Exhortation, and Prophecy.

In Part 10, Pastor Steve covers gifts of Spiritual Insight, which include the gifts of Discerning of Spirits, Word of Wisdom, and Word of Knowledge. The advantage these gifts can bring into a situation is 1) discerning an evil spirit's operation in a given situation, 2) receiving a word of wisdom to solve a problem, and 3) receiving a word of knowledge to expose the enemy's plans and to reveal things in people’s lives to build up their faith in God.

We are continuing our detailed look into the different spiritual gifts in scripture and Part 9 is Salvation gifts: Evangelism, Faith, and Miracles. Our prayer is that you'll discover, develop, and deploy your gifts so that through you others might enter into the Salvation that only Jesus can bring.