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Grace Point Baptist Church

Grace Point Baptist Church located in South Kansas City Listen to recent Sermons

  1. 3d ago

    One Anothers - Part 10 with Athol Barnes | 08.02.26

    Access Granted The Jewish people had a system of religion that was designed to keep people out of the presence of God. In the temple, the holy of holies was the place where the ark of the covenant, the presence of God was. And only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies to atone for the sins of the people once a year. So when the first readers heard Hebrews 10:19, “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,” it must have shocked them And it should shock us; we are invited to enter with confidence. Confident because our sins are forgiven, confident because our prayers are being heard. Do you know that confidence today? We have access, “…by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,” Hebrews 10:20.   As the high priest had to pass through the curtain to get into the holy of holies, so the broken body of Jesus, his weak flesh that was destroyed on the cross, had to be torn for us to enter in. And it is only by putting on the righteousness of Christ, that we can have access to the throne of God the Father.   Jesus didn’t die, rise again and ascend into heaven; He is the High Priest now and forever. He is our righteousness, he is interceding for us, he advocates for us to the Father (see Hebrews 10:21). Since we have a high priest who represent us, we don’t have to doubt or waiver, we can be assured of our salvation (see Hebrews 10:22).   The Mosaic Law required the priests to undergo many washings and daily rituals in preparation for them to enter into the presence of God. The message of the Old Testament was, “stay back, do not come near.” But the New Covenant message is, “draw near, you are welcome.”   What changed? God’s requirement for holiness has not changed. If you have placed your faith in Jesus as your savior and repented of your sins, you are invited to enter the presence of God through faith in the completed work of Jesus. However, there is preparation we need to do, we must confess our sins (see 1 John 1:9). Repentance must be a part of our daily prayers.   There are two problems with unconfessed sin:  Unconfessed sin hinders our prayers (see Psalm 66:18-19).Unconfessed sin affects our worship experience. When we come to church and gather as the Body of Christ; our sin affects our worship time, our hearing and encountering God.Hebrews 10:23 encourages us with these words, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” It does not matter what people say or how much the moral compass of our culture deviates, we must hold fast to the unchanging promises of the Word of God.    A Stirring Church These are incredible verses set the stage for the next two verses, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25. The focus here is not what we can get out of being a part of the church, but rather, what are we called to contribute to the Body. God calls us to provoke and stir one another up to love and good works (see Proverbs 27:17). We come together to provoke one another, not to irritate one another, but to provoke one another to love (see Matthew 22:36-40), and to good works (see Ephesians 2:10). Being a part of the Body of Christ is not for spectators; we are all called to do our part. Verse 25 continues to encourage the readers to not neglect the gathering time of the church. All the more, as we see the signs of the end times around us.  Whenever there is a tragedy that shakes the nation, church attendance increases. People want stability and hope in times of crisis. Gen-Z Phenomenon An interesting research project has just been done on Gen-Z, the demographic group born from 1997 to 2012. This generation loves the spiritual disciplines. Embracing spiritual disciplines like silence, solitude, and Sabbath-keeping, etc. However, this passion for spiritual disciplines is not accompanied by a rise in church attendance. In other words, the zeal for spiritual discipline is based on how the disciplines make the individual feel. However, spiritual disciplines separated from church community does not create disciples. The reason is that the focus is on the individual and their desires, not the Lord or serving His church. More than Sunday That said, meeting together should include much more than how you spend a few hours on Sunday mornings. We have so many more ways to connect with each other than the first century church.  While nothing can really replace getting in the same room with people, we also need to take advantage of those other opportunities. Simply being mindful of the Holy Spirit’s prompting is a great place to start. If God puts someone on your heart, send them a text or give them a call. If your small group shares prayer requests, make sure Sunday morning isn’t the only time you’re taking those requests to God.     Let’s look for ways to encourage one another, to spur one another on. At the end of the day, God wired us to need one another. How well are you living out the true meaning of meeting together? Is Sunday morning the full extent of your commitment to other believers? Is Sunday morning even part of that commitment? And when you come on a Sunday, is it to be a passive observer or are you coming prepared and expectant, ready to encourage one another?   Who is God prompting you to stir up today?   Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

  2. Jul 29

    One Anothers - Part 9 with Athol Barnes | 09.26.26

    Healthy community is a goal for every church, but cultivating it is challenging. Even the first century church had to be encouraged to work towards a healthy community.    Watch and Pray In 1 Peter 4:7, Peter writes, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Many would agree that we are rapidly getting closer to the day of Christ’s return. As we see “the day” approaching, we need to be mindful of how we live. We should be focusing on living as the salt and light of the world, being self-controlled and sober minded. To be sober minded is to use right judgment, to have steady and clear thinking. If you are sober minded in this world, you will not be drawn to false teaching regarding the return of Christ. Instead, you will be focused on preparing for his return. If our minds are confused, we will have an unfocused prayer life. It is crucial that we are people of prayer; watchful, alert, and sober minded. Peter wrote these words with his own painful memory in mind. Jesus asked him to watch and pray, but Peter fell asleep and couldn’t pray with Jesus as he fought the greatest battle in human history before going to the Cross (see Mark 14). There is no place for listless prayers in the Church. Love One Another Peter continued in verse 8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”. Within the body of Christ, we must prioritize loving one another earnestly and with intentionality. We can only love with the love that comes from God; it is a supernatural love by the Spirit of God. It is not an optional extra (see John 13:34). It is always humbling to realize how little grace we have for someone we don’t know and love, yet for someone we love, we are quick to overlook an offense. Out of relationship comes grace. If someone is bothering you, take the time to learn about them. Get to know them and see how God has uniquely designed them to be a blessing to the church—including to you. Show Hospitality to One Another In verse 9, Peter exhorts the church to be hospitable, which is a spiritual gift and essential for a healthy church community. This is not the sole function of a small team in the church; it is everyone’s responsibility. We cannot outsource this command. Serve One Another In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul teaches about the spiritual gifts given to the church for the health of the church. Peter underlines the fact that these gifts are for us to steward within the church family (see 1 Peter 4:10). If you are not serving one another, you are missing out by not exercising the gift God has given you. Everyone is gifted differently, and we all have differing roles to play. Two Spiritual Gifts In verse 11 Peter highlights two gifts, “Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies…” Preaching: This is more than simply information transfer; this is declaration of the truths of God’s word. This is the crucial declaration of the Bible in the church. Serving: Serving one another in the Body of Christ. Why are these two so important?  In 1 Corinthians 12:31, Paul wrote, “…But earnestly desire the higher gifts.” What are the higher gifts? I would like to propose that the higher gifts are the servant gifts. The gifts done behind the scenes, the “non-platform” gifts (see what Jesus said in Matthew 20:26). Prescription for a Healthy Church In the context of the church, we value worship, prayer, missions, compassion and various forms of ministry, but what did the early church value? In Acts 2 we see that the early church devoted themselves to a few things.   Preaching of the WordActs 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Recently, an increasingly loud group of voices say that we don’t need preaching in the church. They suggest that we simply gather, worship, and discuss the Bible together.  But the Bible constantly shows us that preaching or declaring God’s Word has always been God’s method for equipping His people, even in the Old Testament.    As the Apostle Paul trained and encouraged Timothy, his young church planter, he didn’t focus on the worship team, the building aesthetics, the welcome team, or the free coffee… no, he instructed Timothy to, “preach the word” (see 2 Timothy 4:1-2).  Eric Spady preached on this text at my ordination in 2014, and it has always been my primary goal, to faithfully declare the truths of God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit.    A church without declaration of the Word of God will starve to death.   Sacrificial CommunityActs 2:44-45, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” This is not promoting a form of socialism, rather it is how the church voluntarily showed each other that they valued one another above earthly things. One of the most valued commodities in our culture is our time. We value “me time”; we want flexibility to do our own thing when we want to. But when we value community, we give our time and serve one another. When you are serving the Lord, you have the promise of the Lord’s supply. You are tapping into a supernatural resource, and it brings glory to God (see 1 Peter 4:11).   All for His Glory This is what we were created for. This is our God ordained purpose, to declare the Gospel and to serve one another. And it is all for His glory.  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

  3. Jul 22

    One Anothers - Part 8 with Athol Barnes | 07.19.26

    There is a frequent, and sadly accurate, accusation against the church that there are too many hypocrites in the church. Hypocrisy is evident when people claim to be followers of Jesus but still want to live on their own terms.    The heading in most Bibles before Romans 12:9 reads, “Marks of the True Christian.” What follows seems to be a list of attributes that we can easily gloss over.  In the first portion Romans 12, Paul writes about spiritual gifts that every member of the Body of Christ has been given. Those gifts are to be exercised to build up the church to effectively minister to their community. But exercising the gifts without love is merely a clanging cymbal (see 1 Cor 13:1).    Love Paul uses two Greek words for love in this passage: 1: Agape (Romans 12:9), This is a sacrificial love, like the love displayed by Christ on the cross (see Romans 5:8).  2: Phileo (Romans 12:10), This is affection for one another, particularly within the family. Think of Agape as the steady, immovable anchor that holds a marriage together through the fiercest storms, or the quiet grace that moves us to care for a broken stranger. Phileo is the sweet, joyful warmth shared around a table of dear friends and beloved family. To build a truly flourishing life and community, we need both—the tender affection of Philéo and the enduring covenant commitment of agape. In Romans 12:9-16, Paul focuses on the attitudes of those people in the church who are exercising their spiritual gifts. It is possible to use a spiritual gift in a way that is damaging and destructive to the Body of Christ. For example, teaching can be used to manipulate people, even generosity can be used for selfish motives. Without genuine love, spiritual gifts are not helpful to the Church. Warren Wiersbe writes, “Love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body, which enables all the members to function in a healthy, harmonious way.” Paul lists twelve attributes in these verses: 1. Verse 9, “Let love be genuine.” This is love, without hypocrisy or without motive. 2. Verse 9, “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Love is not a blind sentiment, if we see a brother or sister straying from their walk with the Lord, we don’t sit idly by, we confront them in love and help them to come back to a healthy relationship with God. 3. Verse 10, “Love one another with brotherly affection.” This is the Phileo love, affection within a family. Our warmness for one another in the church is what keeps us in unity. 4. Verse 10, “Outdo one another in showing honor.”We should be in competition with one another to show honor to one another. 5. Verse 11, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”  The word “fervent” means to be boiling over with zeal for the Lord. This is excitement and passion that keeps us fervent when the enemy tries to destroy our witness. Paul encourages us to maintain our zeal, boiling over in serving the Lord even  when things get hard. Remember, we cannot do this, but as we cry out to God the Holy Spirit gives us fervency and zeal. 6. Verse 12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Here we have three in one, but the key is the hope we have, remember this is not a hope in some uncertain future, this hope is based on the certainty of the promises of God and the return of Christ. 7. Verse 13, “Contribute to the needs of the saints.“ This is generosity, sharing what we have with one another. This was a mark of the early church (see Proverbs 19:17). 8. Verse 13, “seek to show hospitality.” Coupled with our love for one another, we need to have a love for strangers who are part of the greater Church (see Hebrews 13:2). 9. Verse 14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” The world watches how we respond when mocked and persecuted. As Christians we don’t have the right to curse those who persecute us. It is not easy, but we have the enabling power of the Holy Spirit when we pray for those who persecute us. And when we do pray for those who persecute is, a miracle takes place and Satan loses his power over our lives (see Luke 6:27-28). 10. Verse 15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” True love never stands apart when people are suffering. If we love one another, we sacrificially care for them and identify with their suffering. Our natural tendency is to avoid people who are suffering, because we feel awkward, but that is selfish motivation. Love motivates us to action.    11. Verse 16, “Live in harmony with one another.” This simply means, thinking the same things, being of one mind. No ulterior motives, living in agreement (see Philippians 2:2). When we keep the Gospel as the thing that unites us, we will live in harmony. When there is disharmony, it is because we have taken our eyes off Jesus as the head of the church. Usually this is because of pride, which leads to our final point. 12. Verse 16, “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.” Don’t be prideful! Prideful people are obsessed with their status in the church. Jesus was drawn to the lowly and rejected the influential people in society. Pride and love of position is always destructive.    These twelve points from these few verses remind us that being a part of the church is so much more than showing up on a Sunday and patting a few people on the back. It means doing life together, sharing burdens, blessing one another, and bringing glory to God through our relationships.    If people in the church, who claim to be filled with the Spirit of God cannot honor and love one another, how can we ever represent Christ to a lost world.    Let us love one another with the supernatural "agape" love of God.  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

  4. Jul 15

    For One Another Part 7 with Athol Barnes | 07.12.26

    The first three chapters of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians addresses our position as followers of Jesus. The next three chapters speak about the very practical aspects of our Christian walk. We need to know our position in order to walk out our faith.    Paul urged the church in Ephesians 4:1 to walk worthy of their calling. Being a follower of Jesus is not a religion or becoming a nice person who follows a set of rules, becoming a Christian is about becoming a new person. Walking a different walk.  The term Christian literally means, “little Christs”. The more we walk with him, the more we look like him, daily being changed into his image.    Paul knew who he was, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord…” HE didn’t say, “I therefore a prisoner of Rome”. He didn’t let his temporary situation define his position. Paul was a prisoner for Jesus, he had surrendered his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. His position with Christ had led him to be temporarily imprisoned in Rome. Are you defined by your current work situation, relationships, or financial status? If you are defined by your temporary situation, you will never know what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. As followers of Jesus we have a common call, we are all saved by grace alone in Christ alone. We share a common experience of grace; this is what unites us. A healthy church is marked by unity. When a church struggles with a lack of unity, it is often because they have taken their eyes off their common call and identity. In verses 2 and 3, Paul explains how to walk worthy of this calling by listing five characteristics of the follower of Jesus: humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity. Jesus exemplified these 5 characteristics in his life on the earth: Humility (Philippians 2:5-8); Gentleness (Matthew 11:28-29); Patience (1 Timothy 1:16); Love (Romans 5:8); and Unity (Ephesians 2:14). The more we look like Jesus individually, the more we live like Jesus relationally, and the more united the church will be. Looking at each of these individually: Humility Paul constantly refered to humility as an essential characteristic of being a Christian in his letters. Humility was not common in the first century, Greek literature shows us that a conceited attitude was highly valued and admired. We live in a similar time. If people a thousand years from now look at our culture, they would see a culture obsessed with our own self-image. Our culture screams, “exalt yourself, pamper yourself, think about yourself first”. But being a follower of Jesus calls us to walk in the opposite spirit (Philippians 2:3). “The essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less”.  Tim Keller    Gentleness:  This does not mean weakness or timidity, rather it is self-control.  Moses, arguably the greatest leader in the whole Bible, was the role model of meekness and gentleness (see Numbers 12:3). Moses had a special relationship with the Lord. He knew that God would defend him, and God was the source of his strength (see Galatians 5:23).    Patience:  For some of us, no matter how fast the microwave heats up the milk, it will never be fast enough. A lack of patience is a display of a lack of humility and a lack of love. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible says that love is patient.  So how do we cultivate patience? By relying on the Holy Spirit and meditating on the patience that Christ has shown us (see 2 Peter 3:9).    Accepting one another in love: Out of relationship comes grace. Unity in the church is impossible without loving acceptance of our differences. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:8, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Diligently keeping unity. Ephesians 4:3 reads, “…eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Notice Paul doesn’t write, “work towards unity,” rather this is an active maintaining of unity. We don’t create unity. We have unity because of the Holy Spirit. God unites us as the body of Christ; our role is to keep the unity. How do we keep unity?  By walking in humility and preferring others.By renouncing harshness and walking in gentleness towards others.By setting aside our own agenda and walking in patience.By setting aside our own expectations and walking in love.Anytime the church lacks unity, it is because we have stopped living in Christlike humility, patience, gentleness, and love.    One Body In Ephesians 4:4-6, we have what was possibly an early church creed, which includes seven “one” statements" One body: the church is the body of Christ.   One Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the one who creates unity and then empowers us to maintain it.   One hope: We share a common hope in Jesus Christ. This hope is not wishful thinking, and the Greek word used here is one of trusting in a certain outcome. Jesus is coming again and those who put their trust in him will be saved.   One Lord: The early believers, by stating that Jesus is Lord, they were proclaiming that Caesar is not Lord. This could mean the death penalty. By declaring Jesus is Lord, we are giving him authority and lordship over every decision of our lives. One faith: These are the essential truths of our faith.   One baptism: This may refer to the act of being baptized in water, but it probably means the baptism of the Holy Spirit that John the Baptist referred to in Luke 3:16.   One God and Father: We have been adopted into the family of God. Regardless of our ethnicity and background, we are all part of one body.   This creed includes the doctrine of the trinity. The three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect unity. The trinity not only creates unity but serves as the ultimate picture of unity.   A healthy church maintains unity by focusing on humility, gentleness, patience and love.   Ask the Lord to help you maintain unity in the Body of Christ.  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

  5. Jul 8

    For One Another Part 6 with Athol Barnes | 07.05.26

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  6. Jul 1

    Love For One Another Part 5 with Athol Barnes | 06.28.26

    Why is the prayer meeting often the least attended meeting on the church calendar? I wonder if we actually believe in the power of prayer.  Samuel Chadwick once wrote, “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil; he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”  James, the half-brother of Jesus, was known as a man of prayer. Early church historians called him James the Just. He would enter the temple alone and be found kneeling and praying daily for the people's forgiveness. He was such a prayer warrior that his knees would be calloused; he was described as having camel knees because of his constant worship.  The activity of prayer does not come naturally to us. From the moment we are born, we are taught how to take care of ourselves and to be self-reliant through education and financial resources. But prayer, at its core, is dependence; it is based on faith and trust in the unseen realm. Prayer is offensive to our proud human nature. We can never overemphasize the importance of prayer and the power of prayer. It is the life blood of every true believer, not just something we turn to when we run into problems in life. Prayer is so much more; we get to communicate with the creator of the universe!  James 5:13 states, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise." No one will go through life without suffering. In this fallen world, we will have trouble (see John 16:33). And when trials come our way, usually the last resort is prayer.  Then James goes to the opposite end of the spectrum, the cheerful heart, and he instructs us to sing praises to God. James writes that from suffering to joy, across the entire spectrum of life, we should be praying, looking to heaven (see Philippians 4:6). Then James narrows it down to sickness, James 5:14-16, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Translations differ on these verses, but the NIV seems to make a categorical statement in verse 15: “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.” James does not give a time frame, but he says the healing will take place, maybe not in the time we hope for it to happen. Sometimes healing takes place over a long time; sometimes it only occurs in glory. We must never give up praying for the sick; we must be a people of faith and a people of prayer; we need to wrestle with this and apply it to our lives. But what is the prayer of faith? We find the answer in 1 John 5:14-15: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” A prayer of faith is a prayer offered when we know the will of God, when we have spent time with God in prayer, discerning His will in the matter and then praying accordingly. This is how Jesus operated when he walked the earth (John 5:19-20). Jesus never did anything outside of the will of the Father. Most of the time, we view prayer as a horizontal petition. But a prayer offered in faith is circular; we wait on the Lord, He gives us the direction and clarity of what to pray for, and then we pray accordingly. Faith is not something we muster up; faith comes from God, and we respond in faith by praying to him.  We now come to the two “One-Anothers” in verse 16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” Confess your sins to one another. This verse doesn’t mean that we need to line up in front of the church and confess our sins from the stage – although sometimes we might need to. A good rule is the following: • Private sin requires private confession • Public sin requires public confession.  James is not implying that we have the power to cleanse one another’s sins; only the blood of Jesus through repentance can do that.  Confessing to one another is a private confession with someone you can fully trust with your sinful mistakes; someone who loves you and is willing to hold you accountable.  Pray for one another.  This is such a vital part of the Christian community, not just praying for one another when they are sick or going through a hard time, but continually praying for one another.  Verse 16 ends with the phrase, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”T The word righteous means our position in Christ. Firstly, as believers, we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. Philippians 3:9 states that it is not our own righteousness, but the gift given to us, that we are in right standing with God.  But we must never neglect personal holiness, daily walking in right relationship with the Lord, which brings power to our prayers.  Jimmy Draper wrote, “A man whose life is a holy life, whose life is consumed with the desire to love and serve God, who walks with and lives for God, will have power in prayer.” Our personal holiness, or lack thereof, does affect our prayers (see Psalm 66:18).  May we seek to walk daily, repenting of our sin, living in communion with our Heavenly Father by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be known as a praying church.  Read More and Discover More Sermons at https://gpchurch.us/

  7. Jun 24

    Love For One Another Part 4 with Tim Duitsman | 06.21.26

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  8. Jun 17

    Love For One Another Part 3 with Eric Spady | 06.14.26

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Grace Point Baptist Church located in South Kansas City Listen to recent Sermons

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    Grace Point Baptist Church
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
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