The best planning tool is the one you actually USE and then APPLY. We're attaching three printable resources (and a bonus Life Plan workshop video!) for you to try. So set aside a little time to dive in and do the work you'll thank yourself for again-and-again this year.

1) "4 Questions Looking Back, 5 Questions Looking Forward"
Pastor Josh has incorporated these simple and effective questions into multiple sermons. Don't spend hours with this tool; it should be punchy and capturing your gut reactions. Give yourself no more than 5-10 minutes per question. You might be surprised at the profound simplicity and clarity of what rises to the surface.

Click the icon below to access this tool.

2) The Life Planning Tool
Pastor Carey has led us through this tool a few times in the past and it's ALWAYS helpful to take inventory and build new habits that will grow you as a Christian, family member, employee, student, etc. If you've used it before, review your work from last year, take a fresh crack at it, and plan for this year to be the best yet. Additionally, you can follow THIS LINK to watch Pastor Carey's Life Plan workshop, so you can follow along with him as he walks through the tool.

Click the icon below to access this tool.

3) Donald Whitney's "10 Questions to Start A New Year"
These are insightful questions to fan the flame of your inner devotional life. Start asking yourself how you plan to grow closer to Jesus this year. Plus, he adds in 21 additional, really good questions to consider as you have time.

Click the icon below to access this tool.

Remember...we will all go somewhere this year, either by design or by default. Let's be intentional in our pursuit of Jesus and make the most of the days and breath He gives us! Carve out some time to look back, look ahead, think about your life, and make plans, not excuses.

The Grace City Church house was FILLED with the excited chatter and warmth of 816 women at this month's Made Conference. That's 816 mothers and daughters and grandmothers and aunts and nieces and sisters. That's hundreds of Wenatchee Valley families represented...and others from around the country. Surely, more hugs were given, more tasty drinks shared, more words of encouragement spoken, more prayers lifted, more hearts of women realigned to the heart of the Lord in living out the truly noble calling of being a woman in one place on that day than anywhere else in the nation.

And you're invited to be praying the Lord will continue to use that glorious day and its momentum to ripple out His blessings to positively impact individuals, homes, workplaces, communities, and outward, to the very ends of the earth.

— Our registration page was viewed 7,171 times!

— More than 800 women attended!

— We had attendees from Virginia, Texas, Hawaii, Oregon, Idaho, and a whole bunch from across Washington State!

— 135 attendees are from other churches!

— At least 30 attendees don’t attend church regularly!

— The attendee list was printed and our Noble Women Doorholder Team prayed over the entire campus and for each woman and girl by name on Friday night!

— Thanks to the generous giving of our church family, 98 women were able to attend by scholarship!

We Are Warriors — We Help Bravely

We Are Gardeners — We Nurture Carefully

We Are Teachers — We Make Intentionally

We Are Daughters — We Love Lavishly

Grace City, 

We turn 15 this year! To celebrate, we are launching our most wild and crazy, bold and audacious, dream-big, all-in, Kingdom-accelerating initiative in the history of our church

The last 15 years have been busy. Like the pioneers of old, we've pushed our way over the dangerous trail. We've survived roving bandits, scurvy, hard winters, broken wheels, Indian attacks, snake bites, wrong turns, mountain passes, thieving merchants, and more. We've fixed broken wheels, weathered storms, gone without food, and still we've pressed on.

And finally, we arrived. We found our fertile valley. We found a place to build our home.

For the past 15 years, I've used that pioneer language with you. I wanted us to stay in that hungry, gritty, pioneering mindset. And we have. And here we are.

This fall marks a shift in our focus—a watershed moment in the life of our church.

Not that we stop being hungry, gritty, or pioneering, but now we add to our pioneer mindset the settler mindset. We're still pioneers at heart, but now we shift that energy from driving over mountain passes to pushing up crops and homes and roads and stores and putting down roots.  Now we begin the work of homesteading.

And here is where the vision gets exciting. I will bring a specific focus to our homesteading efforts, and that focus can be summed up in one word...FAMILY. We want to focus the resources of our time, money, and energy pouring ourselves into the health of the family.

Moms. Dads. Kids. Families.

Thriving.

We want to build a place where families are valued, protected, encouraged, and equipped.

We want to build a place teeming with life and love, where the biblical values of family can be tangibly felt and experienced.

In other words, our vision could be summed up in this audacious statement...We want to get to work turning the “apple capital of the world” into the Family Capital of the World.  

What if people began moving here from all over the world (more than already have) not only because of the physical beauty of our valley but because of the spiritual beauty of our valley?

What if word began to spread..."You want to raise a strong family? Well then, you want to move to Wenatchee and plug into Grace City Church. That is a place where families and generations thrive."

This is the vision I will unpack this fall…a vision to build a comprehensive ecosystem for husbands, wives, children, and families to thrive. In the context of a multi-generational community. Everyone contributing to the health of the other.

This vision has been 3 years in the making, stewing in my mind and heart. But in reality, it's a vision that's been burning in God's heart since he spoke those first two words to humanity: "BE FRUITFUL..."

I will kick off this 8-week adventure with a series of sermons unpacking, week-by-week, new and major initiatives we intend to start for the sake of the family. I will lay out a compelling future for the next phase of Kingdom Homesteading as a church family.

And make no mistake, it will take all of us leaning into the plow to see this vision come about.

So make plans to join us, this fall, for our 4th Kingdom Initiative, BE FRUITFUL. September and October will be full of fun events for the whole family.

Be here for weekly services and be sure to get connected to House News and our app for updates, as there is much more information to come.


Wagons…Ho!!

Pastor Josh

One of the coolest things about God's Word is that no matter how many times we've read it or heard it preached, we can always learn something new from it!  It also doesn't matter how old a Sunday sermon is. They often present timeless ways to focus on what the Bible says and how it should apply its truth to our everyday lives. Here are the five most-watched sermons on YouTube from Grace City Pastors.

The popularity of these particular sermons should give us all some insight into the types of questions YouTube viewers are asking. And—for those of us who've been around Grace City for a while—they certainly give us some trips down memory lane.

The most important issue in marriage may not be what you think. In this sermon, Pastor Josh kicks off the Marriage Strong series with a word for singles and marrieds about the single greatest thing determining the health of any marriage. Click on the video above to watch!

Want to know what God's Word says about repenting and rejoicing in hard times? Well, you have come to the right place. In this sermon, Pastor Adam covers just that with a timely example from Zephaniah.   

The Bible covers and is relevant in considering all topics, even the topic of singleness. In this oldie-but-a-goodie, a young Pastor Josh unpacks what God has to say about it through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

Do you have—or do you know someone who has—family members who are harder to get along with? Difficult? Dysfunctional, even? The Bible has answers for you!  In this popular sermon, Pastor Josh covers just how to deal with dysfunction in any family. 

What does the Bible have to say about divorce and remarriage?  In this sermon, Pastor Josh discusses these topics through a biblical lens.  Click the video above to watch the whole sermon.

Our Easter in Wenatchee—JESUS IS REVIVAL— celebration turned out to be just that. REVIVAL!

Two years (nearly to the day!) from rolling out the Atrium vision to our church family, we kicked off Easter weekend with a memorable ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday night.

What followed were 4 Easter services, 1 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday, of straight-up worship and celebration! The good news was proclaimed that Jesus is revival...and HE PROVED IT! Chains were breaking, dry bones were shaking, and eyes were opening as the Lord moved and we baptized 123 people—more in this one weekend than we baptized all of last year.

Thank you, Grace City Church Family, for your steadfast love and faithfulness, your generosity, your efforts to reach the lost in Jesus' name, and your prayers, which availeth much.

Can these dry bones live? You know, Lord.

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Grace City is built on the foundation of Jesus and dedicated to the work of helping more people meet, love, and follow Him. May God give us strength to build strong men, noble women, and thriving families. May God grant us the privilege of inspiring creativity, generosity, and Kingdom-sized dreams in others. And may we never forget that it all started with a 16-year-old kid, a broken leg, and a courageous “Yes!” to God’s holy call.

To the many who have prayed, worked, given, and served, thank you. To the tired, the hopeless, the guilt-ridden and broken; to the doubters, the outcasts, the shame-filled and the laid low; to the dry bones and weary hearts, may all who walk through these doors find family, friendship, hope, and, ultimately—in the person Jesus Christ—a place they can call home.”

Pastor Josh
Phase 3 Atrium Ribbon-Cutting

Each service kicked off with a MEMORABLE spoken word performance by Pastor Adam and the Grace City Worship Team. You can watch the intro below and access the complete Easter 2023 Sing List HERE any time.

Pastor Josh brought a prophetic word for our troubled culture from the obscure book of Ezekiel.

In a vivid vision of the state of Israel, God leads His prophet Ezekiel to a desolate valley full of dry human bones. This is Israel. She has lost her national identity and abandoned faith in God. She is mired in corruption, sexual perversion, and moral decay. Her soul is dead.

Looking out over so much death and carnage, God asks the central question of humanity, “Can these dry bones live?”

The answer changes everything.

God moved powerfully in the hearts of all who heard His answer thunder from Heaven on Easter Sunday, 2023, and we pray He would do the same for you as you listen to this sermon and hear Heaven’s prophet—the risen Christ—declare over your life, “Dry bones…Live!”

We baptized 80 people at our Easter 2022—Jesus Ain't Fair—celebration at the Chelan County Fairgrounds! Eighty!! And we baptized a 115 in all of 2022, the most in any year of our church. This year, we all told our community that Jesus is revival and He showed up to prove it. We baptized 123 people this Easter!

Check these out.

Pastor Adam James

Jesus is in the tomb, but the chief priests and Pharisees are still afraid. What if His disciples come and steal the body? He did say, after all, that after 3 days He would rise?

So they went to Pilate, who agreed to put a seal on the stone and post a guard at the tomb.  

Every measure was taken to ensure that Jesus was dead—really dead—and stayed dead.

There was to be no question. Finally, we’re rid of this Jesus guy.

The sting of death still hangs in the air and the disciples are stunned. It’s over. Done. Jesus is dead. Signed, sealed, delivered. What are we going to do now?

I wonder what the disciples were thinking and feeling?

Can you imagine what life would be like if Jesus stayed in that tomb? The hopelessness and despair would be utterly disorienting.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much more about what happened on Saturday. Only that the women rested from their work of preparing spices and perfumes, because it was the Sabbath (Luke 23:56). And this business about posting a guard at the tomb.

Have you ever had a plan backfire? These folks are about to find out that nobody rules over Jesus. And the disciples are about to be unbelievably surprised.

Friends, Jesus is full of surprises. 

An influential Christian leader, during my time in Bible college, always loved talking about “the surprises of Jesus.”  Whether it’s an answer to prayer. Or an unexpected gift of provision at just the right time. Or an incredible opportunity you weren’t expecting? An encouraging note. A “chance” meeting. A surprise visit. The announcement of your first child or a new pregnancy. On and on it goes… Jesus is full of surprises. He loves to bless His children in ways that are so personal and so particular and sometimes, just flat out over the top.

The anticipation of Easter Sunday morning should grow on us throughout the day today. Because the greatest surprise of Jesus, the Granddaddy of ‘em all, is about to shock (and change) the world forever.

What happens next??

[Join us at any of the 4 Easter Services we have planned this weekend to find out.]

“Father, you are so gracious and kind. You know us so well. You know what we need before we ask. Before the foundation of the world was laid, you set a plan in motion, to send your Son to surprise us all. Lord, help us never grow tired of the shock and surprise of Easter morning. Prepare our hearts to experience newfound joy and renewed gratitude and praise. Lord, as your people prepare to gather all over the world to celebrate the good news of Easter morning, would you bless those who will preach and proclaim the truth of the resurrection. Will you bless those who will hear it. Will you draw men and women to the truth of Jesus and bring more lost sons and daughters home to the Father. We love you Lord and we thank you for being the God of all grace who is still full of surprises! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Pastor Adam James

After Jesus’ arrest—using all four gospel accounts—here’s a compilation of what happened to Jesus:

• The Trials of Jesus Christ:
  • 1st trial, before Annas
  • 2nd (and primary) trial, before Sanhedrin, Jesus is condemned
  • 3rd trial, immediately at dawn (meanwhile, Peter denies Jesus a third time); the condemnation repeated, then Jesus taken to Romans
  • 4th trial, before Pilate
  • 5th trial, before Herod
  • 6th trial, before Pilate
• Jesus is scourged; the city cries, "Crucify Him!”
• Jesus is finally turned over to be crucified
• Jesus is mocked (Roman soldiers), crown of thorns
• Judas hangs himself
• Jesus is crucified around 9am
• Jesus' Seven Sayings from the Cross:
  • "Father, forgive them..."
  • "Today...with me in paradise"
  • “Dear woman, here is your son..."
  • "My God, My God..."
  • "I am thirsty"
  • "It is finished"
  • "Into Your hands..."
• The Death of Jesus Christ (About 3pm; curtain in temple torn, rocks split; some graves opened and people rise and go into the city)
• Jesus' side pierced
• Passover lambs slain in temple
• Jesus buried by sundown in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb

 
We are now at the apex of Christianity—the Center. The Cross event and subsequent resurrection is the nuclear power center that will never diminish in its ability to humble, strengthen, revive, and propel the people of God.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

There is so much opportunity for personal reflection on Good Friday.

We are not the victims. We are the perpetrators. Jesus is the victim. The sinless, innocent Son of God. Never has one been more deserving of being treated well, of being honored and adored. And yet never has one been treated so horribly, so wrongly.

We crucified the Lord of glory. Our sin put Him there.
What sin, what shame, have you brought to the foot of the Cross?

As you ponder and behold this crucified King, what do you see?  What do you see in His eyes? What do you see in His face and in His body? What do you hear in His words? What do you see in His actions and in His silence?

What do you see in Peter’s denials? What do you see & hear in the chief priests' interrogation? What do you see in Pilate & Herod? What do you see in the crowds? What do you see in the Roman soldiers? What do you see in the women who followed weeping? What do you see in the criminals crucified with Jesus?

Consider the words of the prophet Isaiah (53:3-7,12), speaking of Jesus:
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth…
…For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.” 

“Father, the pain in this world is so deep, our sin was and is so costly…but I praise you, Lord, because you made a way, through Your Son Jesus for us to be saved and healed. You paid for our waywardness and our denial. You carried our grief and our sorrow. Thank you, Jesus, for your willingness to lay down your life. Thank you for giving us the reminder of your broken body and blood through the bread and cup of communion. Thank you for washing our feet and giving us the example to follow of what it looks like to serve. Thank you for teaching us to love one another and for promising to send us the Holy Spirit. Thank you for praying for us and never leaving and forsaking us, even though we left you. Lord, help us to trust you even when facing our own road of suffering, and help us spread the good news of your sacrificial love with every opportunity you give us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Pastor Adam James

The events of “Maundy Thursday,” the Thursday before Easter, include:

• Preparations for the Passover meal
• Passover meal/Last Supper — Lord’s Supper instituted
• Jesus predicts Peter’s denial
• Jesus washing the disciples feet (John 13)
• The Upper Room discourse (John 13-17)
• Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
• The Betrayal & Arrest of Jesus (though this may have taken place after midnight, so technically Friday)

Today, the weight will bring Jesus to His knees. This night, the Thursday before Easter, Jesus, overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, cries out in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

How heavy, how dark, how thick does sorrow and the anticipation of death have to be to drive the Son of God to His knees? Sweating drops of blood?

Jesus is now entering into the suffering for which He came. He has come to be the Passover Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But that’s much easier for us to sing about on a Sunday than it was for Jesus to carry out in real space and time on Thursday and Friday.

Consider what transpires on this day in the life of Jesus.

He’s betrayed by one of the Twelve who shares in the Last Supper. As Jesus is breaking the bread and giving the cup, symbolizing his body & blood, the others don’t get it yet...but Jesus does. He knows fully what it represents and what’s about to go down tonight and tomorrow. This is the eve of His crucifixion.

He’s arrested by the guards, after facing Judas one last time. The feet He just washed run away from Him, as He’s abandoned by His disciples. But that’s after they keep falling asleep on Him, unable to pray for Him as He enters into the darkest hour of agony in the Garden.

He’s alone—except for the Father. The cup of wrath against sin is full to the brim and it’s His to drink.

Here we see our Savior surrendering his life. The Sacrificial Lamb—beginning His walk to the slaughter house. What He will endure in the next 24 hours is nearly indescribable.

Read the words of the gospel accounts and let your imagination take you into the reality of what is happening.

What words or phrases grab you as you read it? What emotions does it stir up within you?

Stand in awe. Shed tears of grief and gratitude. Jesus surrendered to this Plan to bring you to God. Jesus entered into this grief and sorrow so that one day He could take yours away.

Let it sink in.

In the deepest and darkest moment of Jesus’ life, He got alone, on His knees, with His Father. Let this be instructional and inspirational to you and me.  No matter what you’re facing or have had to face or will ever have to face… Jesus has already gone deeper into sorrow than you’ll ever go. He can identify with the deepest valley, the darkest night, the saddest sorrow, the worst grief. And even there, He trusted. He surrendered. This is one of the truest pictures of worship. To trust in the face of pain.

He could have called down angels. But He didn’t. The disciples fled, but Jesus stayed the course for us.

“Father, the pain in this world is so deep, our sin was and is so costly…but I praise you, Lord, because you made a way, through Your Son Jesus for us to be saved and healed. You paid for our waywardness and our denial. You carried our grief and our sorrow. Thank you, Jesus, for your willingness to lay down your life. Thank you for giving us the reminder of your broken body and blood through the bread and cup of communion. Thank you for washing our feet and giving us the example to follow of what it looks like to serve. Thank you for teaching us to love one another and for promising to send us the Holy Spirit. Thank you for praying for us and never leaving and forsaking us, even though we left you. Lord, help us to trust you even when facing our own road of suffering, and help us spread the good news of your sacrificial love with every opportunity you give us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

The Humble King (Palm Sunday)
Where's the Fruit (Monday)
The Stakes Are High (Tuesday)
The Clouds of Darkness (Wednesday)

Pastor Adam James

With all the teaching that Jesus did on Tuesday, it’s no surprise that Wednesday is a much quieter day for Jesus in the gospels. But His enemies got busy.

Luke tells us that it was on Wednesday that Satan actually entered Judas, leading him to pursue his plan of betrayal.

Mark’s account may actually shed a little light as to what pushed Judas over the edge. Perhaps, it was bitterness and anger that opened him further to the destructive scheme of Satan.

You see, it was Judas who was frustrated with the “waste” of expensive perfume that the woman poured over Jesus. Judas thought the perfume could be sold for money to be given to the poor—or so he said. John’s gospel, however, makes clear that Judas didn’t actually care about the poor, at all. “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6).

Jesus knew that what she had done was actually to begin to prepare His body for burial, and He rebuked Judas to leave her alone. He said, “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.” Later He said, “I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

I don’t imagine Judas enjoyed being called out by Jesus like that. The very next verse (Mark 14:10) says, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.”  

And, of course, he did it for money.

Judas must have been the answer to the “prayer” of the chief priests and teachers of the law. They had been looking for “some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.” Now all they had to do was wait until the Passover Feast was over, so that the people wouldn’t riot.

As we move forward in these final days of Jesus' earthly life and mission…the clouds of darkness grow. Human depravity and demonic hatred are on the scene. Greed, anger, bitterness, hatred, scheming, lying, betrayal…

As the darkness grows, so does the weight of what’s happening. It’d be easy for me to point my finger at Judas in self-righteous disgust. But in this story, nobody gets away with clean hands. Jesus was going to the cross for MY sin… my greed, my anger, my hatred, my betrayal.

As the song  “What Have We Done?” so pointedly states, “Judas sold you for 30…I’d have done it for less.”

The betrayal and scheme to arrest Jesus is a dark, sad scene. And the same darkness was in us before Christ rescued us.

And here’s a crazy thought: Jesus knew it was coming. God wasn’t asleep at the switch. This was all part of the Plan. But woe to him who betrays the Son of Man and fails to repent.

Thanks be to God, Jesus stayed the course even as the clouds of darkness grew.

“Father, how great is your love for us. How incredible your plan to destroy the works of Satan. Jesus, forgive me for the times and the ways that I’ve betrayed and denied you…for the times I’ve given in to bitterness, anger, greed, or hatred. Lord, thank you for your gift of mercy and grace to ransom a sinner like me. Father, continue to purify and refine my devotion to you, that I might be faithful when tempted and sobered by the price you paid and the pain of betrayal you endured to purchase my salvation. Overthrow the work of the evil one in our city, in our nation, in our world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

The Humble King | Palm Sunday
Where's the Fruit (Monday)
The Stakes Are High (Tuesday)

Pastor Adam James

Tuesday was a full day of teaching for Jesus. Nearly 5 full chapters of Matthew’s gospel account (Mt. 21-25) record all the teachings that Jesus gave on Tuesday. On this day, Jesus re-entered the temple courts to teach the people and engaged in more standoffs with the chief priests and Pharisees. And Jesus didn’t hold back!

From Matthew 21:23 all the way through chapters 22 & 23 of Matthew’s gospel, you find remarkable exchanges between Jesus and the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Chief Priests.

If you had time today, you could read about:

• The authority of Jesus questioned (21:23-27)
• The parable of the two sons (21:28-32)
• The parable of the tenants (21:33-46, today’s reading)
• The parable of the wedding banquet (22:1-14)
• Jesus’ response about paying taxes to Caesar (22:15-22)
• Jesus’ response to the Sadducees about marriage at the resurrection (22:23-33)
• Jesus’ summary of the Greatest Commandment (22:34-40)
• And the scathing Seven Woes against the Pharisees—whew! (23:1-39)

Then Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and delivered what is known as the Olivet Discourse to His disciples (24 & 25), before again returning to Bethany. In the Olivet Discourse, we hear about:

• The signs of the end of the age (Mt. 24:1-35)
• The day and hour being unknown (24:36-51)
• The parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13)
• The parable of the talents (25:14-30)
• And the teaching on the sheep & the goats at final judgment (25:31-46)

Make no mistake, friends, Jesus had things to say.

And not everyone was excited about what he had to say. 

And not everything was easy to understand. But He was on a clear mission from God, and as the end drew near, Jesus didn’t mince His words.

As we consider the events and teachings of Jesus on this Tuesday of Holy Week, we’re reminded that Jesus drew clear lines in His teaching, calling for a clear response. There is no question that a holy sense of urgency is in order for the people of God.

What will it be?  

• Obedience or disobedience?
• Receive Him or reject Him?
• Answer His invitation or make excuses?
• Honor God or fear man?
• Religious on the outside and rotten on the inside? Or humbly broken at the feet of Jesus even though you’ve made a mess of things?
• Love Jesus more and more to the end? Or grow cold and fade?
• Get right with God today? Or fool around with life, run out of time, and miss out on the banquet?
• Steward the gifts and talents He’s given you? Or waste your life in unbelief and go to a place of darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth?

Will you hear the words, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!”

Or, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared of the devil and his angels.”

Jesus brought intense clarity on Tuesday. The difference between eternal punishment and eternal life all hinges on the person of Jesus Christ.

How do you treat Jesus Christ? Do you respect the Son of the Owner? Have you fallen on Jesus or are you waiting for Him to fall on you?

Better to be broken now at the feet of Jesus than to reject Christ—he cornerstone—and be crushed later.

Friends, this is what is on the line. The stakes are high.

“Father, it’s both a day filled with the promise of some of the greatest realities that could ever be imagined—eternal joy!—and simultaneously some of the hardest truths to even try to comprehend—weeping & gnashing of teeth. Help us live our days with a clear sense of urgency to be obedient and faithful, loving you with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Help us be those who “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone we find.” Lord Jesus, I believe you are more than just a prophet in the eyes of man…you are the Son of God, the King of the banquet, the Master of the house, the Christ, the true Shepherd of the sheep, the true Righteous Judge who is to come!  And you are also the hungry we are to feed, the naked we are to clothe, and the sick & imprisoned we are to visit. Make your Name known in our city as we build our lives upon You. May we walk in your truth without compromise and may we walk in your love without excuse. Thank you, Jesus, for being and speaking the truth this world desperately needs. That I desperately need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Pastor Adam James

On Monday of His final week leading up to the Cross, Jesus again entered Jerusalem after retreating to Bethany (where He likely stayed with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead).

We see Him cursing a fig tree and cleansing the temple. These actions carried significance as symbolic and literal judgments on the “fruitless” people of Israel who had abandoned the true worship of God. They honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him (Isa. 29:13).

The fig tree had leaves—the appearance of “fruit” and “life." But upon closer examination, there was no real fruit to be had. This was a parable, of sorts, concerning the condition of Israel. And Jesus pronounced a curse on the fig tree that the disciples later saw had caused the tree to wither and die.

As Jesus got into the city and went into the temple, He encountered another troubling scene. There were crooked money-changers, people buying and selling and extorting the people of God…in the temple!

And the righteous anger of Jesus began to clean house.

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers!”

Not only was true praise absent from the people of God, but so were true prayer and righteousness nowhere to be found.

The “showdown” between Jesus and the Pharisees was in full effect. This would have been quite the scene. Many were amazed by His teaching, but the chief priests and the teachers of the law had had enough and wanted Him dead.

Make no mistake, friends—here is a great difference between dead religion and true righteousness.

There is a great difference between phony lip service and soul-stirring praise from the heart of a redeemed worshipper.

There is a great difference between religious-looking idolaters, whose hearts crave money, possessions, and power, and people who carry the aroma of the Spirit of God and traffic in the reality of true prayer.

There is a great difference between the flesh & the Spirit. Between hard hearts and soft hearts.

But beware, they are both often found hanging around Jesus and among the people of God.

Let us be careful to “test ourselves.” Is there the genuine fruit of salvation on our tree? Is there genuine fruit of repentance, worship, prayer, and righteousness?

Let judgment begin in the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). Let those who profess to know God demonstrate the genuine fruit that Jesus is seeking. 

May we find ourselves broken over our sin and longing to be a people with whom Jesus is pleased. Let us be a people of true fruit: sincere worship, authentic prayer, and genuine integrity.

“Father, as we consider the condition of our lives and of those who profess to know You, we confess that too easily and too often we lack the fruit you are looking for. Jesus, even as you found Israel to be lost and barren, so too you first found us in that same condition. But we praise you that you have not left us there! Thank you for the life-giving, fruit-bearing work of your Holy Spirit in the lives of your people. Lord, I pray for all the churches in our city that profess to know, love, and follow Jesus. May our city be filled with sincere worshippers, authentic pray-ers, and those who follow you with genuine integrity. Lord, let it begin in my heart…have your way in me. Show me any areas in my life where you are not finding the fruit you are looking for. And thank you that because of the Cross, the “old fruitless fig tree” of my life is in fact cursed and dead, and in it’s place you have given a new tree, a new life that has been created to bring you praise and bear new fruit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Pastor Adam James 

The stage was set.  The momentum was building.  The crescendo coming.  What an exciting time!

Surely, Jesus was going to unveil his full Kingly authority and overthrow those who ruled over and oppressed Israel, and those who opposed Jesus' claims as the Messiah, right?

Jesus was entering Jerusalem. Yet He knew...this was the beginning of the end.  And the end of the beginning.  His final week would culminate not with the overthrow of an earthly kingdom but with the defeat of a spiritual one, through the agony of the cross.

The praises rang out from the crowd, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Jesus' miraculous and compassionate ministry of healing the sick, lame, and blind, and even raising the dead, had won him the praise of many.  But not everyone was convinced.  No. In fact, the tension was building to a boiling point.

The Pharisees grew more and more indignant with each resounding chorus, "Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the highest!" (Matt. 21:9)  They chastised Jesus and demanded that He rebuke the crowds and the children who sang.  But Jesus replied, "If they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out."

Friends, Jesus really is the King who is worthy of praise.  All creation is on the edge of its seat as Jesus enters Jerusalem.  This is the one who spoke it into existence.  This is the Messiah—the Anointed One—the King.

In this scene, we see the humility of Jesus riding on a donkey.  We see the praise of the crowds.  We see the indignation of the Pharisees.  We see the love and compassion of Jesus...coming to bring peace.

But we also see the sadness of what is and what is to come.  We see the dark cloud growing on the horizon. We can't help but think that the crowds are maybe a bit fickle.  A bit shallow.  These ardent worshippers will soon be either silent and backing away from Jesus, or they'll join another crowd, in a different chant, "Crucify Him!"

No wonder—as Jesus looked over Jerusalem—He began to weep.  

And friends, if we're honest, you and I can find ourselves in that crowd.  Jesus is the humble King, deserving of praise.  And we are often fickle worshippers.

As we enter the week leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us reflect on the reality of who Jesus is—the true Messiah (Anointed One, King, Savior)—the One who is worthy of our praise and worship.  The One who came to bring true peace.  He is so worthy that even if we were to be silent, all of creation knows His worth and would cry out in songs of praise.  In fact, the heavens are daily declaring the glory of God (Ps. 19:1-6).

Let us also reflect on the sadness of unbelief.  There are many who do not see, who do not recognize the truth concerning our Savior.  Each of us at one time has been in that condition.

May we be moved to weep over our cities and to pray for the Kingdom of God to come in power, opening blind eyes and resulting in great praise to the Humble King who has come to set His people free.

by Josh McPherson

In light of the recent tragic events in Nashville TN, where a killer entered a Christian school and murdered 6 innocent people, many have asked me what measures we take at Grace City to secure our House.

I'm glad you asked.

As you know, just as any good dad takes seriously the protection of his family and home, we take seriously the security of our church family and all who visit Grace City.

For years, we had a wonderful volunteer team of faithful protectors who coordinated our security team. But as the needs of our church family grew, a volunteer team just wasn't enough. So,  at the beginning of 2022, we hired Justin Kissel full-time to oversee all security aspects of our church family’s life.

Justin came to our team well equipped. He has over 20 years in law enforcement at the WPD as a patrol officer, SWAT Team Leader, Firearms Instructor, a Field Training Officer, and gifted tactical instructor.

But more than that, Justin has a tender heart for Jesus, a pastoral heart to love people, and a shepherd’s heart to protect our flock.

Since being on staff, he has built up our Watchmen Team to over 30 protectors, added security measures to our physical building, and instituted solid security protocols across all aspects of Grace City life.

Our Watchman Team is dedicated to providing security to protect our house. The team is made up of former and current LEO’s, military, FBI, corrections deputies, firefighters, farmers, construction workers, and business owners—all wired with a heart to protect.

Practically, this means that every youth event has multiple, dedicated Watchmen Team members present, armed, and alert.

As well, at every worship service we have Watchmen Team members spread throughout the building. Some are in Grace Kids. Some post up at the entrance. Some monitor security cameras. Still others are strategically and inconspicuously seated around our Community Hall during the service. And all are connected on state-of-the-art comms for quick communication in the event of a situation.

The team undergoes bi-monthly, reality-based training, including firearms qualification, deescalation, use of force, active shooter, service-disruptions, protests, and mass-casualty scenarios.

In fact, this past weekend, our Watchman Team spent an entire Saturday training for mass-casualty situations through Jenn Foreman’s Combat First Aid course. Led by professional instructors, including Justin and our own Shaun Kelly (former EMS and firefighter), the Watchman Team trained hard in order to be ready and able to serve our church, if necessary.

And serve us they do.

They've handled potential picketers. They’ve escorted disrupting individuals off-site. They've dealt professionally with folks displaying mental instability. And they’ve worked in conjunction with local LEO's to trespass aggressive individuals.

They are trained and prepared. They are measured and professional. They are alert and vigilant. They are ready, willing, and able to protect our House should the need arise.

But not only do we have a team trained and prepared to protect our house, Justin has had the opportunity to work with numerous churches and teams to help them prepare. He’s shared his protocols, his security plans, and his training with other churches to help them keep their churches safe.

[Read these fun reports from Justin for a couple of examples: Mr. Kissel Goes to Eastmont Community Church and Mr. Kissel Goes to Orondo Community Church]

And calls continue to come in from churches and Christian schools. All asking to learn from the program Justin is building.

This is the heart of the people and teams of Grace City. To help serve as many people as we can, free of charge, sharing whatever we’ve built and learned. And we can do that because of generosity of the people of Grace City. Thank you.

With all of our intentional effort, it is our earnest hope and prayer that they are never needed. We don’t train hoping to use it. We train praying it is never needed. But we train and prepare, nonetheless.  

Some have asked how I square faith in God with preparing aggressively for terrible scenarios.

Easy.

It’s the same as I do in every other area of my Christian life. I pray God provides for my family, then I work hard by the sweat of my brow to make a living. I ask God to save sinners, then I preach the gospel with all my might. I ask God to build His Church, then I make a strategic plan to grow Grace City. I ask God to protect my family, then I lock our doors at night.

So we ask God to protect our Church, and we train to be the means by which He answers that prayer. All the while, we invoke the name of Jesus and pray for protection in the heavenly spiritual realms. That’s where these battles begin, so that is where we take the fight first.

But if that spiritual battle should ever make its way to our door in the form of physical threats or acts of violence, we will be prepared to meet them. With whatever force necessary. Until evil stops hurting innocent people.

This is the ethos of our House…ready of mind, willing of heart, and able of skill to protect and defend innocent life. It is our code of honor. And we hold it with deep conviction.

As Lead Pastor of Grace City, I am deeply grateful for this team, for their vigilant heart and watchful eye over our church family. To the men and women who serve on the Watchman Team, THANK YOU. 

If you see them, would you tell them thanks as well? Thank them for training hard, preparing well, and signing up to be the first ones to step into harms way should the need arise in order to protect our church family.

And let us pray, by God’s grace, we never need them.

For the elders,
Pastor Josh

 by Josh McPherson

This week the eyes of our nation were transfixed on the tragic Christian School shooting in TN.

We witnessed the sick mentality of a cold-blooded killer on full display in a twisted manifesto and pathologically evil actions.

We watched the courageous heroism of cops stepping over the body of a 9-year old girl dressed in pink lying motionless on the floor as they charged towards the sound of gunfire.

We listened to the heartbroken pastor-dad of one of the murdered little girls when he said, “Through tears, we trust she is in the arms of Jesus, who will raise her to life once again…”

And in the middle of all this mind-numbing tragedy, the political circus fired up.

As if on cue, the POTUS approached the mic, made a few jokes about ice cream, and proceeded to drone on, in sleepy prose, the tired party-line politics of calling for more gun restrictions.

The cringeworthy, tone-deaf press conference lectured gun owners and blamed guns. No mention of mental illness. No mention of personal responsibility put on a demented criminal. With less then 10 seconds dedicated to mourning the loss of little children, he pivoted to party-line agendas.

Blame the gun, blame law-abiding citizens—barely mention the families.

Had this tragedy happened at a gay night club or a muslim mosque, cries of hate-crime would fill the air. But a Christian school intentionally targeted for its orthodox beliefs? An act of murder in response to repeated calls for violence from Antifa during a “trans day of vengeance”?

No hate crime here. Just another tragic example of how "Guns kill people." Duh.

And then the jeering started. As one progressive partisan mocked on twitter, “Very surprising that there would be a mass shooting at a Christian school, given that lack of prayer is often blamed for these horrible events. Is it possible they weren’t praying enough, or correctly, despite being a Christian school?”  

Smug mockery in the face of heartbreaking tragedy. How nice.

Then came the blame game. It was probably the narrow-minded Christians who made her feel ostracized in the first place. 

And just like that, the political narrative turned a killer into a victim and a 9-year old dead girl into a member of the oppressive class.

Though not surprising, it was breathtakingly disappointing to witness nonetheless. The hatred and vitriol was hard to comprehend. Yet here we are.

This is how nations are destroyed. Refuse to require personal responsibility for actions. Blame other people. Victimize criminals. Encourage mental derangement. Ignore mental illness. Hand out drugs like candy. Gaslight the general populous. Cast baseless dispersions, spread horrific rumors, and hurl wild accusations against a particular class of people ("Christians are waging a genocide against trans people!" was one headline I read). Then use these baseless lies to legitimatizes violence against them in response. And what do you have?

Well, friend, you've got yourself a culture war primed for a violent revolution.

We're literally living out of a chapter pulled from Karl Marx’s playbook.

Though the tragedy happened at one local Christian school, the impact was felt on every Christian school campus in America. Schools who run largely on thin tuition and donated charitable dollars. Schools with teachers who don't have pensions. Schools without tax-funded budgets. Schools that live on conviction and the charitable generosity of a local community. Schools who love children and teach them to sing songs like "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."

These are the vilified institutions brainwashing children that must be "held accountable." Obviously, they were to blame.

Um, What?

I spoke with the Headmaster of one Christian school in our state this week. “It’s a sad day for Christian education across the country. A sobering wake-up call to the evil that exists and hatred directed towards us.”

Many in Christian education, and children everywhere, went to school with heavy hearts and a nervous eye towards the locked doors this week.

Who's next?

Will copycat actions crop up across the nation?

Are we all in danger?

As I’ve spoken personally with schools and churches this week, all were scrambling to review their safety measures in order to keep their children safe. At Christian schools. Who would have thought? Insane.

In light of such things, how do we respond as Christians?

Well, we respond how Christians the world over have responded for centuries past. In no particular order...

We weep with those who weep, mourn with the hurting, and pray for those who lost loved ones in such a violent and senseless attack.

We honor the protectors who courageously did their job to prevent further destruction of life.

We pray for the family of the killer, whose lives are forever marred with the shame of her actions.

We ignore the lies hurled at us in the spirit of the Accuser.

We keep our minds clear with the Word of God.

We don't take the bait of the mocker by getting down in the mud and rolling around with mud-slingers.

We love the ones who declare they are our enemy & pray for those who persecute us.

And we refuse to live in fear.

And we keep loving all people.

And we keep helping those who are hurting.

And we hold fast to our faith.

And we prepare to protect our own from evil.

And we refuse to stop preaching the truth of the gospel—the only hope for a broken society.

And we thank God that this is not the end of the story.

While evil wreaks havoc and destruction, and the accuser casts lies and dispersions, Christians the world over are quietly, sacrificially, daily loving people. The Church continues to bless communities. And the Kingdom of God advances steadily forward.

This week alone, pastors of Grace City and Doorholders (members of our church family serving on many different Grace Teams) have ministered in powerful ways to hurting people.

One young man, who has been abandoned by his family, found his way to Grace City. He met loving adults and students who welcomed him into our House. He gave his life to Jesus. He forgave those he was angry with. We’ll baptize him this Easter.

Another young man, currently incarcerated as a juvenile felon but allowed to come to Grace City youth events, spoke at length with one of our pastors. After the good news of Jesus was explained to him...that forgiveness and newness of life was available through Jesus, he stood up and declared, “I have to do this, I want Jesus to change my life.” We’ll baptize him this Easter.

A hurting woman in Chelan County jail had been repeatedly molested as a child by her father. This started a broken cycle of sexual abuse by other men. She turned to studying Wiccan witchcraft for comfort. This week she was loved and discipled by our Chaplain Team and encouraged to turn away from demonic worship to her Heavenly Father who loves her. She was prayed for, listened to, and loved on in the name of Jesus.

Another young man started attending youth group. Got ahold of the Bible. Read it from cover-to-cover. Became convinced that Jesus was the Son of God. Gave his life to Jesus. Now he’s praying for his parents and bringing them to church with him. We’ll baptize him next to his family on Easter.

How about the young lady coming out of an alternative lifestyle? Yup, you guessed it, getting baptized at Easter.

Or the man who found his refuge in career success until his career and success let him down? Now he's surrendered his life to Jesus. We’ll baptize him on Easter.

51—to be exact.

51 people will get baptized, and counting. (*editor's note...since publishing this blog, the number is over 60!*)

51 stories of deep, personal, life-changing transformation.

That’s how a nation is changed.

One broken person loved at a time. One hurting person at a time listened to, loved on, and pointed to Jesus Christ.

That’s what pushes back the darkness.

Love. Truth. Grace. Personalized in a face, a conversation, a prayer offered in faith. Through you, the Church, loving people in Jesus name.

It’s an honor to work with you in these days, Grace City, to point more people to the only source of true and lasting personal and social change—the risen Savior.

For my Easter sermon, I’m going to preach from an odd text. In the Old Testament, a prophet of God stands on the edge of a deserted desert valley. The valley is filled with the bones and carcasses of dead animals. The prophet looks across the devastating landscape of death and God asks him a single question, “Son of man, can these dry bones live?" (Ez. 37:3)

The answer is glorious.

So let's come this Easter Weekend ready to celebrate the Risen Savior. Bring a friend, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, mother, father, friend. The world is dark, the gospel is bright, Jesus is alive, and there are still people who haven’t heard. We have good work to do.  

I'm fired up. Even in the face of a hellish tragedy, Heaven marches on. Because of an empty tomb, Death doesn't get the last laugh. Thanks be to God. Jesus is Revival.

Onward,

Pastor Josh

"I had the opportunity today to go out to Orondo Community Church and help them with a security consultation. Hayden McCall (on the left) works for Washington State Patrol and reached out to me a few months back. While Orondo Community Church is his home church—where his family attends and serves—he’s also been attending Grace City since 2017 (notice the SMN hat!). Hayden and his wife attend Thursday Night service at Grace City then Sunday services in Orondo. Hayden is putting new security measures in place and asked if I’d be willing to give some input. I gladly accepted! I met with him and pastor Billy Saul (in the middle). We walked through various scenarios, and I provided them with input on how to prepare and respond. I absolutely LOVE being able to help other churches in this capacity!"

—Justin Kissel, Head of Security