Grace Church Eden Prairie

Pastor Trop preaches that every person will eventually face hard, life-stopping news that shakes their faith. He explains that the Christmas story doesn’t begin with comfort, but with Joseph receiving heartbreaking news that Mary is pregnant—and the child is not his. Matthew 1:18-25 shows how this moment fulfils God’s plan, revealing that the child conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit and is the promised Immanuel, “God with us.” Joseph’s response reveals a righteous heart as he chooses mercy over shame, even while hurting. God speaks to him in a dream, confirming the miraculous conception and commanding him to name the child Jesus, who will save His people from their sins. Joseph immediately obeys, embracing the cultural cost, protecting Mary’s purity, and taking Jesus as his legal son. Pastor Trop emphasizes that adversity exposes what’s in our hearts, but it is never an excuse for disobedience. Ultimately, Joseph’s quiet obedience becomes a model of godly character, reminding us that Christ’s birth turns even our hardest news into hope.

Pastor Troy highlights how Matthew begins Jesus’ story with a genealogy to show that Christ enters real human history with purpose and promise. He notes that the presence of four unexpected women — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba — reveals God’s gracious heart to welcome the broken, the outsider, and the undeserving into His redemptive plan. Pastor Troy reminds us that Jesus stands at the very center of history and arrives as the ultimate source of rest, forgiveness, and freedom. This Christmas, we are invited to bring our imperfect stories to Him and find the grace and restoration only the Son can provide.

Pastor Troy's message from Acts 5:1–11 tells how Ananias and Sapphira pretended to be fully generous while secretly holding back, leading God to judge their hypocrisy in a dramatic and immediate way. Their deaths brought a deep sense of awe and reverence to the early church, reminding everyone that God cares about honesty, purity, and the condition of the heart, not appearances. Pastor Troy emphasized that while this passage is sobering, it’s meant to purify believers, not terrify them, and to call us toward authenticity, integrity, and a worshipful fear that draws us closer to God.

Pastor Troy's Thanksgiving message emphasizes the importance of remembering God’s “benefits,” as highlighted in Psalm 103:2, warning that spiritual forgetfulness leads to ingratitude and disobedience. He explains that remembering God’s works strengthens trust, fuels gratitude, and anchors believers in their faith. He outlines numerous spiritual benefits of knowing Jesus — summarized through the acrostic THANKSGIVING — including Transformation, Hope, Assurance, Nearness (to God), Knowledge, Salvation, Grace, Identity, Victory, Inheritance, New (mercies), and Glory. Pastor Troy challenges listeners to intentionally combat forgetfulness by taking God’s Word seriously and recalling His ongoing faithfulness.

Pastor Jim reflects on the story of the ten lepers to emphasize the beauty and importance of genuine gratitude. He highlights how only one healed man — a Samaritan — returned to thank Jesus, demonstrating a heart transformed by reflection, recognition, humility, and praise. Pastor Jim encourages believers to practice intentional gratitude, turning their pain into praise and expressing thanks to God and others, and reminds us that salvation through Christ is the greatest reason for thanksgiving.

This sermon teaches that God’s grace doesn’t just save us—it actively shapes every part of our lives. Using Acts 4:32–37, Pastor Juan shows how the early church was transformed by grace into a community marked by supernatural unity, deep love for others, bold gospel witness, and radical generosity. Their shared belief in Jesus created a powerful unity across cultural and social differences, and their new identities in Christ drove them to care for one another sacrificially. Grace also empowered them to proclaim the resurrection with courage, letting their transformed lives become their testimony. Ultimately, the passage calls believers today to examine how God’s grace is shaping their unity, their stewardship, their boldness, and their everyday identity. The grace that saves us is also meant to reshape us into people who reflect Jesus to the world.

Pastor Troy Dobbs contrasts theory and reality, demonstrating that while many Christians view persecution as theoretical, the early church and many believers today experience it as a daily reality. In Acts 4:23–31, after being threatened, the disciples responded by praying not for safety, but for boldness to keep proclaiming Jesus. Their prayer began with recognizing God’s sovereignty, was rooted in Scripture, and reflected deep confidence in His control over all things. God answered by shaking the place where they prayed and filling them with the Holy Spirit, strengthening them to speak with courage. The message reminds us that God’s sovereignty means nothing is random or beyond His power, even in the midst of suffering. Because of this, we can rest in His control and, like the early church, pray for strength and courage rather than comfort and ease.

Pastor Troy Dobbs discusses how the Holy Spirit inspires boldness in believers. Drawing attention to the fact that because John and Peter were in close proximity to and believed in Jesus, they had the Holy Spirit within them. Pastor Troy Dobbs also encourages believers to reflect on what contributes to their silence when it comes to sharing their faith and the gospel with others. He encourages them to spend time with the Lord so they, too, can speak with boldness.

Pastor Steve Harrison’s message for ENGAGE Sunday reminded us that nothing can stop the power of Jesus’ name. He walked us through Acts 4, where Peter and John boldly preached about Jesus’ resurrection even after being arrested — and how the Holy Spirit gave them the courage to stand strong. Pastor Steve encouraged us to expect challenges when we live out our faith, but to keep trusting that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. At the heart of it all, he reminded us that Jesus is our cornerstone — there’s no other name that saves, and He’s worth sharing with the whole world.

Pastor Troy’s sermon compares binge-watching long TV series to the unfolding story of the early church in Acts, both draw people in through growth, depth, and development. He highlights how Peter healed a lame man not by his own power but through Jesus’ name, showing that miracles exist to point people to Christ, not to glorify humans. Peter’s message to the amazed crowd centers on three truths: Jesus’ glory, humanity’s sin, and the call to repent. He boldly declares Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Holy and Righteous One whom the people rejected and crucified, yet whom God raised from the dead. Though the crowd was guilty, Peter offers hope: if they repent, their sins will be wiped away, and they will experience spiritual refreshing. Pastor Troy concludes that ignorance won’t excuse unbelief; God has revealed Himself through creation, Scripture, and Christ, and the only right response is to repent, believe, and be renewed by Jesus.