GC2 Church

GC2 Church
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These podcasts are an extension of the teaching ministry of GC2 Church, located in San Diego, CA. Our name comes from the essence of Jesus' ministry: fulfilling the Great Commission while living the Great Commandment. GC2 Church offers gospel-centered, biblical teaching that aims to inspire and equip disciples to go make disciples.   For more information, please visit: www.gc2church.org.

  1. 4d ago

    Titus 2:11-15 | Trained by Grace

    Sermon Big Idea: The grace of God doesn't just save us — it trains us to live differently while we wait for Jesus to return. Sermon Overview: What if the same grace that saved you is also the force actively shaping who you are becoming? That's the stunning claim the Apostle Paul makes in Titus 2:11–15 — and it's the message we unpacked together at GC2 Church in Poway this week. Whether you're new to faith or have been following Jesus for decades, this passage speaks directly into the rhythms of everyday life: your relationships, your habits, what you reach for when life gets hard, and how you treat the people around you. For anyone in the Poway and San Diego area asking what the Bible says about how to actually live — not just believe — this message is for you. What Does the Bible Say About Grace? (It's More Than Forgiveness) The arrival of grace appeared in history through Jesus Christ and changed our standing before God, freely and completely, with nothing we could do to earn it or lose it. This arrival delivered justifying grace. But here's what stops most people cold: a 2017 Pew Research study found that roughly half of American Protestants still believe good deeds and faith are required to get into heaven. Half. Even in a nation with deep Christian roots, the core of the gospel — that grace is a gift, not a reward — hasn't fully landed. Paul's point in Titus 2 is urgent: there is a massive difference between works for salvation and works from salvation. One is driven by fear, debt, and pride. The other overflows from gratitude for a gift you could never repay. What Does the Bible Say About Growing as a Christian? Grace Doesn't Just Save You — It Trains You This is where Paul takes the conversation somewhere most people don't expect. Verse 12 says grace is "instructing us" — the word carries the image of a coach or trainer working with you over time, not a one-time pep talk.  Grace trains in two directions at once: What to walk away from: godlessness and worldly passions — the things we instinctively reach for when life feels empty or hard (status, comfort, control, achievement). What to walk toward: a sensible, righteous, and godly life — the kind of character Paul described in the whole of Titus 2 as an intergenerational community where older believers pour into younger ones. This isn't produced by trying harder, finding the right program, or attending the right church events. It's produced by grace — the most powerful force of transformation in the universe. What Does the Bible Say About Hope? Living Between Two Arrivals of Grace Paul frames the Christian life as living between two arrivals. Grace first appeared in the person of Jesus (v.11). And grace will fully appear again when He returns — what Paul calls "the blessed hope" (v.13). Biblical hope isn't wishful thinking ("I hope things work out"). It's a fixed, certain, future reality that reshapes how you live right now. There are three postures of waiting: Passive waiting — checking out, numbing, just getting through the day. Anxious waiting — believing Jesus is coming, but letting the anxiety of today overshadow it. Active waiting — so confident in the certain future that it frees you to be fully present and invested right now. The grace of God trains us to be active waiters — people whose good works aren't obligated but zealous, the way an Olympic athlete is consumed by what they're training for. How We Desire to Live This Out At GC2 Church in Poway, this isn't just a Sunday message — it's the DNA of how we try to do life together. We believe the church is meant to be an intergenerational community: older men and women pouring into younger ones, every generation living in a way that adorns the gospel (Titus 2:1-10). That looks like neighbors forgiving each other, parents not giving up, people handling money with generosity, and strangers becoming community. We're not a perfect community — but we're a community desiring to be trained by the same grace that saved us. And we'd love for you to be part of it! Frequently Asked Questions Q: Is grace really free, or do I have to do good things to keep it? Grace is entirely free — it is not earned, maintained by good behavior, or lost when you fall short. Jesus "gave Himself for us" (Titus 2:14) as a willing, voluntary sacrifice. Your standing before God is secured by Him, not by your record. Good works are the response to that gift, not the requirement for it. Q: What does the Bible say about how to change my habits and desires? According to Titus 2:12, it's grace — not willpower or rules — that trains us to want differently. Paul says grace teaches us to renounce worldly passions (a decisive rejection, not just cutting back) and to pursue a self-controlled, righteous life. Real transformation starts with understanding what grace has already done for you. Come As You Are — Join Us This Sunday If you're looking for a welcoming, gospel-centered church in the Poway area, we'd love to invite you to GC2 Church. We gather weekly and are committed to being a community where people of every generation and background can grow together in faith. Sleep in, enjoy your morning, and come meet us at 4:30 PM on Sunday. We gather at GC2 Church — 13617 Midland Rd, Poway, CA 92064 — a relaxed, 4:30 PM Sunday service designed so you have your whole morning free. Whether you've been walking with Jesus for years or you're just curious, there's a seat for you here.  Plan Your Visit at GC2 Church →We can't wait to meet you! Topic Words: grace, second coming, blessed hope, redeem, purify, instructing, renounce sin, active waiting,

  2. Aug 11

    Titus 2:1-10 | How Doctrine Makes Disciples

    Sermon Big Idea: Sound doctrine doesn't just form individuals — it builds a disciple-making environment that spans every generation. Sermon Summary: It Starts With Sound Doctrine (Titus 2:1) What does it look like when Christian doctrine actually does what it was designed to do? In this sermon from our ongoing series Every Good Work in Poway, Pastor begins in Titus 2:1, where the apostle Paul charges his young apprentice Titus with a single, foundational task: teach what accords with sound doctrine. The word Paul uses for "sound" is a Greek medical term — hygiainō — the root of our English word "hygiene." Healthy, life-giving, nourishing teaching. Just as a healthy diet produces physical vitality, sound biblical doctrine produces spiritual health in individuals and communities. For churches in Poway and across San Diego, this is the starting point of everything: not programs, not strategies, but faithful, gospel-centered teaching that is allowed to do its work in people's lives. The measure of maturity, Paul reminds us, isn't how much doctrine you know — it's how much it changes you. Sound Doctrine Produces Older Men and Women Worth Following (Titus 2:2-3) Paul makes clear that when sound doctrine takes root in a community, it produces recognizable fruit in every generation — beginning with the oldest members of the congregation. Older men shaped by healthy teaching become sober-minded, dignified, and steadfast — men whose lives the next generation can actually follow. Older women become what Paul calls kalodidaskalos — a word he literally invents in Titus 2:3 — "teachers of what is good." This is one of the most remarkable moments in the passage: Paul creates a new word to name and honor the calling of older women as disciplers of younger women. For churches seeking to build genuine discipleship culture in the broader San Diego community, this is the model — not just strong Bible teaching from the front, but older believers whose lives have been so shaped by the gospel that they are worth following and imitating. The Intergenerational Transfer: How Discipleship Actually Moves (Titus 2:4-6) The heart of Titus 2 is the transfer of faith and wisdom across generations — and Paul is explicit that this happens through relationship, not just instruction. Older women are called to train younger women, using a Greek word (sōphronidzō) that means to bring someone to their senses, to help them see clearly what they could not see before. This is life-on-life, proximity-based discipleship — the kind that requires trust, vulnerability, and sustained investment. Young men are called to self-control, the foundational virtue on which everything else is built. This intergenerational vision is both countercultural and desperately needed in the American church today. Biblical discipleship doesn't happen in silos. It requires older and younger believers in genuine relationship, chewing over the Word together in real-life settings where doctrine meets everyday struggle. Sound Teaching That Silences Opposition and Adorns the Gospel (Titus 2:7-10) Paul closes this passage with two powerful bookends. First, in verses 7-9, he calls Titus himself to be a living model — a typos, a stamp or impression — of the good works sound doctrine produces. His teaching must have integrity and dignity, his speech sound and beyond reproach, so that opponents of the gospel find nothing to grab onto. Then in verse 10, Paul reveals the ultimate goal of the entire discipleship ecosystem he has been describing: that every member of the community — from the oldest to the youngest, from the most prominent to the least — might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. The Greek word kosmeō means to put something on display so its beauty is visible. The lives of ordinary disciples in Poway and San Diego are meant to make the gospel beautiful to the watching world. Application: You Believe the Gospel — Don't Forget to Wear It Sound doctrine doesn't just fill minds — it builds a disciple-making environment that spans every generation. The application for our church community in Poway is threefold. First, the measure of spiritual maturity isn't how much doctrine you know, but how much it has changed you. Second, intergenerational discipleship requires proximity — real relationships where the Word intersects with real life, not just classroom-style knowledge accumulation. And third, the gospel is not only something you believe — it is something you wear. You wear it in how you speak to your teenager, how you treat someone with less power than you, how you respond to the difficult person in front of you. The watching community of Poway is not reading your church's statement of faith. They are reading your life. When sound doctrine does its work across every generation, the result is a community that makes Jesus visible to everyone watching.

  3. Aug 3

    Titus 1:5-16 | Setting the Church in Order

    Sermon Big Idea: A gospel-ordered life, like a gospel-ordered church produces what's genuine and exposes what's counterfeit. Sermon Overview: Does Your Life Match What You Believe? What does the Bible say about character — and why does it matter more than credentials, charisma, or credentials? In our Sunday message at GC2 Church in Poway, CA, we dug into Titus 1:5-16, where the Apostle Paul lays out what a gospel-ordered church actually looks like from the inside out. The answer is both convicting and deeply encouraging: when the gospel is truly at the center of a life — or a church — it produces what is genuine and exposes what is counterfeit. That's a word for leaders. But as we'll see, it's a word for all of us. What Does the Bible Say About Church Leadership? Order in the Church Isn't Optional Paul left his co-worker Titus in Crete with two specific assignments: finish what was started, and appoint elders in every town. That second task is more loaded than it sounds. Paul doesn't reach for the word pastor — he uses elder and overseer, terms rooted deeply in Israel's history (think Moses appointing 70 elders in Numbers 11). These weren't self-appointed roles. They operated under delegated authority — Titus reported to Paul, Paul reported to the gospel. And notice: Paul calls for a plurality of elders — team-based leadership, not one person carrying everything alone. That structure wasn't bureaucratic overhead. It was a built-in safeguard against the very abuses Paul was trying to prevent. Think of church structure like plumbing. It's not the goal — but without it, the water (the gospel) never reaches the people who need it. In a cultural moment when Gallup research shows American confidence in institutions — including organized religion — is at an all-time low, this matters. The answer to bad institutions isn't no institutions. It's better ones, built on the gospel. What Does the Bible Say About What Qualifies a Church Leader?  Character Over Credentials Paul's qualifications list in Titus 1:6-9 is striking for what's missing: no mention of speaking ability, charisma, or management skills. The list is almost entirely about character — and it begins at home. Blameless doesn't mean sinless or flawless. It's a legal term — "above reproach," like a defendant against whom nothing credible will stick. It's not about having a perfect past. It's about whether there's an ongoing, willful pattern left unaddressed. Faithful in marriage and family isn't about holding to an impossible standard. It's asking: in your most intimate relationships, where character is hardest to fake, are you faithful? A household is the first testing ground for anyone who would shepherd others. Not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not controlled by wine, violence, or money — these vices share a common thread: something other than self-control is functioning as master. A leader whose anger, appetites, or ambitions run the show can never truly serve others. He's serving himself. The positive flip side? Hospitable (literally "a lover of strangers"), loving what is good, sensible, just, holy, self-controlled. And one doctrinal requirement: holding firmly to the faithful message — not casually referencing it, but clinging to it like a lifeline — so he can both encourage with sound teaching and courageously confront error. What Does the Bible Say About False Teachers? Protecting the Church From Dangerous Voices Paul doesn't soften it: there were many rebellious people in Crete — "empty-word speakers," full of talk but producing no fruit, reshaping people's thinking through deception. The root problem? Their hearts. As Paul puts it in verse 15, to those who are defiled, nothing is pure — not because of external contamination, but because the defilement is internal: mind, conscience, heart. Verse 16 lands the punch: "They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works." That line closes the loop on everything. Character and belief cannot be permanently separated. Frequently Asked Questions What does "blameless" mean in Titus 1:6? It doesn't mean sinless or without any past failure. It's a legal term meaning "above reproach" — no credible, ongoing pattern of unaddressed sin that would disqualify someone from trust and leadership. Why does Paul require a plurality of elders instead of one pastor? Team-based leadership was the standard practice in the earliest churches (see Acts 14:23). It's a safeguard against the abuses of unchecked authority — accountability built into the structure itself. What's the difference between a genuine leader and a false teacher in Titus 1? Genuine leaders hold firmly to the gospel and let it shape their character from the inside out. False teachers profess to know God but deny Him by how they live — their hearts are the problem, not just their doctrine. Living This Out at GC2 Church in Poway At GC2 Church, our desire is that this isn't abstract theology — it's the mission we're trying to live on the ground in our community. We're not a perfect church. We're a community of imperfect people trying to close the gap — and believing that Jesus makes that possible. Whether you've been following Jesus for decades or you're just curious what a gospel-centered church actually looks like, we'd love to have you. No need to rush your morning. Sleep in, relax, and join us at 4:30 PM on Sundays at: GC2 Church — 13617 Midland Rd, Poway, CA 92064

  4. Jul 27

    Titus 1:1-5 | Left Behind for a Purpose

    Sermon Big Idea: God doesn't leave people behind. He leaves them on purpose for His mission. Sermon Summary: Left Behind on Purpose: Finding Your Mission in Poway Have you ever felt stuck — like life is moving forward for everyone else while you're still standing in the same place? Maybe it's a career that stalled, a season that won't end, or simply the quiet sense that you were meant for something more. If you live in Poway or the San Diego area and you've wrestled with that feeling, you're not alone — and the Bible has something surprisingly specific to say about it. In this opening message of our new series, Every Good Work, Pastor Jason unpacks Titus 1:1–5 to show that being "left behind" isn't a sign you lost. It might be exactly where God intends you to be. What Does the Bible Say About Feeling Stuck or Left Behind? The Gospel That Grounds the Mission Before the Apostle Paul gives his coworker Titus a single instruction about the chaotic island churches of Crete, he spends four verses grounding the entire assignment in the gospel itself. That sequence is intentional. Paul is making the case that you can't understand the mission until you understand the message that creates it. Paul opens with three theological anchors — faith that produces godliness, hope rooted in the promise of a God who cannot lie, and proclamation revealed at exactly the right moment in history. Together they form the foundation underneath every hard assignment: if these things are true, then no placement is accidental, and no season is wasted. If the God who cannot lie made a promise before the beginning of time and fulfilled it in Jesus Christ, then the difficult place you find yourself in right now has a foundation under it that cannot move. The big idea of the entire message says it plainly: "God doesn't leave people behind. He leaves them on purpose for His mission." What Does "God's Elect" Mean — and Why Does It Matter for My Daily Life? One of the most significant phrases in Titus 1:1 is easy to walk past: Paul calls believers "God's elect." This isn't an invitation to debate predestination — it's a pastoral move. Paul is reminding the Cretan churches of their identity before giving them their assignment. In the Old Testament, God chose Israel through Abraham (Deuteronomy 7:6) to be his own people, set apart for his purposes. Now, through faith in Jesus Christ, that same election extends to all believers — regardless of background, ethnicity, or track record. The implication is transformative: before God tells you what to do, he tells you who you are. You are chosen. Not because of your performance or spiritual resume, but because of what God did in Christ. That identity is the foundation everything else stands on — including whatever assignment is in front of you right now. The Grace that Creates the Partnership How does the gospel create community across differences? One of the most countercultural moments in this passage is a single phrase in verse 4: Paul calls Titus — an uncircumcised Greek with no Jewish heritage — "my true son in our common faith." In Paul's world, Jewish and Gentile communities simply did not mix. The social, religious, and ethnic separation was theologically grounded and legally enforced. And yet Paul looks at this Greek man and claims him as a son — full standing, no asterisk, no qualifier. What made that possible wasn't tolerance or goodwill. It was the gospel. Their common faith in Jesus — created something neither of them could have built on their own. The gospel doesn't just save us individually; it builds a community that transcends the deepest human divisions. That truth is as relevant in Poway today as it was in first-century Crete. God Always Begins His Mission Before We Arrive One of the most surprising discoveries in Titus 1 is tucked away in a completely different book of the Bible — and it reframes everything. Before Paul ever set foot on Crete. Before Titus was left behind on purpose. Before any missionary arrived with the gospel — something had already happened on that island. God had already shown up. Thirty years before Paul wrote this letter, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the city of Jerusalem was packed with Jewish pilgrims from every nation on earth. The Holy Spirit fell. The disciples spoke in languages they had never learned. And the crowds were stunned. That moment — the birthday of the church — is recorded in Acts 2. And tucked inside the list of nations present that day is one easy-to-miss detail: "Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages." — Acts 2:11 Cretans were in the room when the church was born. Cretan ears heard Peter's sermon. Cretan hearts were among the three thousand who responded to the gospel that day. And when the festival ended — they went home. Back to their island. Back to their families, their towns, their culture. And they carried something with them that Crete had never had before: an eyewitness account of the resurrection and the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Here is what that means: Paul and Titus didn't bring the gospel to Crete. The gospel of Crete came home from Jerusalem. By the time Paul and Titus arrived on the island, seeds had already been planted by God's own initiative — years before any organized missionary effort reached those shores. The harvest was already slowly growing. What Titus was called to set in order wasn't a blank slate. It was a field God had already been tending. This is one of the most liberating truths in the entire passage — and it applies directly to wherever God has stationed you right now. You are not responsible for bringing God to your Crete. He was already there before you arrived. The risen Christ is already at work in the lives of your coworkers, your neighbors, your family members — behind the scenes, by his Spirit, in ways you may not yet be able to see. Your calling isn't to start something from nothing. Your calling is to join what God has already begun — with anticipation, with faith, and with the confidence that the same God who sent his Spirit to Crete on the day the church was born is still moving in the specific community where he has planted you. God doesn't just send people on mission. He goes ahead of them. Our Desire at GC2 Church At GC2 Church, this message isn't just something we preach — it's something we're actively trying to build. The call of Titus 1:5 — to "set right what was left undone" in the specific community where God has placed you — is the rhythm we're building our discipleship culture around. We believe the mission moves when disciples make disciples. And we believe that every person in Poway, Rancho Bernardo, or the broader San Diego North County area has been placed exactly where they are on purpose — not by accident. Our job as a church is to help you find that assignment and walk into it together. Frequently Asked Questions What does it mean that God "cannot lie" in Titus 1:2 — and why does that matter for me? Paul describes God as literally the non-lying God. This is the only place this word appears in the entire New Testament. He uses it because hope only holds when the one who made the promise can be trusted to keep it. People break promises — through deception or simply failing to follow through. God does neither. His promise of eternal life, made before time began and fulfilled in Jesus, is the most reliable foundation any human life can be built on. What is the book of Titus about — and why is it relevant today? Titus is a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to a church planter named Titus, who was left behind on the island of Crete to bring order to young, disorganized churches in a culturally chaotic environment. It's a practical letter about what happens when the gospel takes root in real communities — it produces ordered lives, gospel-shaped relationships, and faithful witness in the surrounding culture. Its themes — identity, leadership, intergenerational discipleship, and everyday witness — are directly relevant to any church trying to live out the gospel in a complex, modern city. How do I find my purpose if I feel stuck in my current season? The sermon from Titus 1:5 offers a specific answer: "put in order what was left undone" — describes Titus's assignment in Crete. It's not demolition language; rather it's construction language. Paul isn't asking Titus to tear everything down and start over. He's asking him to go through what's already there, find what's out of alignment, and finish what was started. That's the assignment for every believer — in your family, your workplace, your neighborhood. You're not waiting for the perfect season to begin. God has already been working where you are. Your job is to join him. Join Us This Sunday at GC2 Church in Poway If this message resonated with you — if you've been wondering whether your current season has a purpose, or if you're looking for a church community in the Poway area that takes the gospel seriously and applies it to real life — we'd love to have you join us. The best part? You get to sleep in. We meet Sunday evenings at 4:30 PM — so you can enjoy a full morning, have a relaxed afternoon, and still gather with us for worship, teaching, and community as the day winds down. No early alarm required. GC2 Church 13617 Midland Rd, Poway, CA 92064 Sundays at 4:30 PM

  5. Jul 19

    How to Pray for Others | Colossians 1:9-14

    Sermon Big Idea: Because Christ rescued us into His kingdom, we pray for others' growth — not just their comfort. Sermon Summary: Introduction: A Culture Engineered for Comfort Most of us pray for others the same way: "help her feel better," "keep him safe," "make it easier." These aren't wrong prayers — but if comfort is the ceiling of how we intercede for the people we love, we've quietly let American culture shape our prayer life more than Scripture has. In this message, we look at how the Apostle Paul prayed for a church he had never even met, and what his example teaches us about praying for people beyond just their comfort. Praying for Wisdom, Not Just Comfort (v. 9) Colossians 1:9-14 shows us a strikingly different pattern. Paul doesn't ask God to smooth out the Colossians' circumstances — his first request is that they'd be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding, the kind of insight that comes only from God, not from research or self-sufficiency. Along the way, we uncover a surprising detail: Paul had never personally visited Colossae. He learned about this church only through a secondhand report from a man named Epaphras — and it didn't stop him from praying for them relentlessly. That single fact dismantles one of our most common excuses for not interceding for others: "I don't know them well enough to pray for them like that." Praying for Fruit Bearing and not Just Feeling Better (vv. 10) From there, Paul's prayer moves outward into two more requests that go far beyond comfort. He prays that the Colossians would bear real, lasting fruit — the kind that takes time, patience, and cultivation, not a quick fix. And he prays for something even more surprising: not relief from hardship, but the strength to endure it with genuine joy. This is a different kind of request altogether — not "God, make this go away," but "God, sustain them well while they're still in it." Joyful Endurance: Not Just Immediate Relief (v. 11) This language is strong it's the same vocabulary Paul uses to describe the power that raised Christ from the dead in other letters. But instead of asking God for a dramatic rescue from hardship, Paul aims all of that resurrection-level power at something far more ordinary: endurance and patience, sustained with genuine joy. This isn't gritted-teeth survival or forced positivity — it's a joy that only makes sense if it's supernaturally sustained, because human willpower can produce grim endurance, but it cannot produce joyful endurance. It's the same pattern we see in Jesus himself, who endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2) — real suffering and real joy, held together, not in contradiction but as the actual shape of faithful obedience. When we intercede for someone walking through a hard season, this verse invites us to pray for more than a quick way out. It invites us to pray that God would sustain them with real joy while they're still in it — however long "in it" turns out to be. The Gospel Foundation Behind Every Prayer (vv. 12-14) At the center of this passage is the real fuel behind sustainable intercession — not duty, but gratitude. Paul reminds the Colossians of what's already true of them: qualified, rescued, redeemed, entirely by grace, before they did anything to deserve it. That remembered rescue is what turns prayer for others from an obligation into an overflow. Duty runs dry. Gratitude for a finished rescue doesn't. Putting It Into Practice So what does this actually look like on an ordinary week? This message offers a few simple, practical shifts: Upgrading our prayer requests to ask for growth and not just comfort. Praying Scripture directly over the people we love. Close the gap between "I'll pray for you" and actually doing it in the moment. Letting gratitude — not obligation — be what sustains the habit of intercession. None of this requires a new technique or more spiritual discipline. It simply requires a more attuned memory of what God in Christ already done for us-qualified us. Forgiven us. Redeemed us. Join Us Whether you're a busy parent in Poway juggling a full calendar, a student navigating friendships and pressure, or simply someone who's said "I'll pray for you" more times than you've followed through, this message offers a practical, gospel-centered way to pray for the people in your life — for their growth, not just their comfort. Join us as we learn from Paul's example and rediscover what it means to truly intercede for others in San Diego and beyond.

  6. Jul 14

    Hearing God | John 10:24-27

    Sermon Big Idea: Our proximity to Jesus is what produces hearing, not a technique. Sermon Overview: A Sunday message from GC2 Church — a gospel-centered church in Poway, San Diego Hearing God: One Voice. Four Channels: Scripture, Spirit, Community and Circumstances   We live in a moment when AI technology can clone a person's voice so convincingly that even a mother cannot tell it from her daughter's. For the first time in human history, hearing a familiar voice is no longer sufficient proof that you're hearing the real person. The same challenge has always existed in the spiritual life. People have made devastating decisions — walked away from marriages, followed false teachers, given their lives to movements that ended in tragedy — all in the name of hearing from God. And on the other side, millions of sincere Christians have quietly given up on the conversation altogether, settling for a one-way prayer life where they talk at God but never really expect Him to say anything back. Both of these are real dangers, and both of them have the same answer. If you're part of a church in Poway or the greater San Diego area and you've ever wondered whether God still speaks today — this message is for you. Jesus addressed this question directly in John 10:22–27, where He tells the religious leaders who have been watching His ministry closely: "My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me." Three present-tense verbs — hear, know, follow — describing not an occasional spiritual experience but the normal, ongoing reality of anyone who belongs to Him. The people surrounding Jesus couldn't hear Him not because He wasn't speaking, but because they didn't belong to Him. Hearing, Jesus makes clear, is a relational capacity — not an intellectual one. The barrier to hearing God is rarely lack of information. It is lack of proximity. This is the foundation of everything: our proximity to Jesus is what produces hearing — not a technique, not a ten-step process, but a relationship cultivated and sustained over time. At our Sunday worship service in Poway, we believe that hearing God is not the exception — it is the everyday inheritance of every believer who stays close to Jesus. God speaks through at least four consistent, biblical channels, and this message walks carefully through each one. He speaks through His Word — Psalm 119:105 reminds us that Scripture is a lamp to our feet, illuminating the very next step of faithful travel, while 2 Timothy 3:16–17 grounds us in the reality that all Scripture is God-breathed, carrying the life-giving quality of God's own breath, profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Hebrews 4:12 takes it further still — the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the deepest interior of who we are, judging the very thoughts and motivations of the heart. He speaks through His Spirit — John 16:13 promises that the Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth, always speaking in perfect coherence with the Father and the Son, and Romans 8:14–16 grounds the Spirit's leading not in spiritual elitism but in adoption, the settled identity of a child who cries "Abba, Father" and is led as a normal consequence of belonging. He speaks through community — Acts 15:28 gives us one of the most honest pictures of communal discernment in the New Testament: "It was the Holy Spirit's decision — and ours" — the Spirit working not instead of the community's process but through it, through testimony, Scripture, debate, and wise judgment together. And He speaks through our circumstances — Romans 8:28–29 assures us that God is actively, presently working all things together, not for our comfort, but for our conformity to the image of His Son. This is the kind of gospel-centered, exegetically grounded Bible teaching our congregation in Poway, California gathers around every Sunday. The goal of this message is not to give you a formula for hearing God more efficiently. It is to help you cultivate the kind of closeness to Jesus that makes His voice increasingly familiar — the way a child learns to recognize a parent's voice, not by studying it, but by living near it. As Ephesians 2:13 reminds us, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. The cross didn't just forgive your record. It brought you near. And nearness, as Jesus makes clear in John 10, is what His sheep have always had — and what produces hearing in every season of life, through every channel God uses. Whether you're a long-time follower of Jesus or someone just beginning to explore faith in the San Diego area, we'd love to have you join us. You can find us in Poway — and we believe God is speaking, and that you can learn to hear Him.

  7. Jul 6

    Our Weakness and Vulnerability | Matt. 6:13

    Sermon Big Idea:  Because we are weak and the enemy is real, Jesus teaches us to pray with honest dependence every single day. Sermon Summary: Pastor Jason begins by discussing how we live in a culture that rewards projecting strength and hiding weakness — and if we're honest, the church has picked up the same habit. But in the very prayer Jesus personally designed for his disciples, he builds in a daily confession that cuts against everything our culture tells us. The sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer — "lead us not into temptation, deliver us from the evil one" — isn't a crisis prayer for when everything falls apart. It's a daily rhythm Jesus expects every disciple to pray, regardless of maturity level, because he knows something about us we keep forgetting: we are weaker than we think, the enemy is more real than we admit, and honest dependence on God isn't a sign of weak faith — it's the mark of the most courageous kind. The first half of the petition — "lead us not into temptation" — forces us to reckon with a Greek word that has confused Bible students for centuries: peirasmos. It carries two meanings simultaneously — a trial that God uses to confirm and refine faith, and a temptation the enemy uses to exploit and destroy it. Matthew 4 shows us both agents at work in the same moment: the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for a purpose, and the devil moves in with a sophisticated, patient attack at the moment of greatest vulnerability. What matters isn't just the trial itself — it's who is behind it and what they intend. God's purpose is always your refinement. The enemy's purpose is always your ruin. And because our own desires drag us toward sin in ways Jesus' never did, we bring real internal vulnerabilities into every trial — which is exactly why Jesus tells us to pray this petition before the test arrives, not after we've already failed it. The second half — "deliver us from the evil one" — names a specific, personal adversary that an educated, professionally driven community like Poway can be tempted to dismiss as unsophisticated theology. But Jesus doesn't treat the enemy as a metaphor, and neither does the rest of the New Testament. First Peter 5:8 describes him as a prowling lion — patient, strategic, and targeting vulnerability with a sophisticated multi-step ambush. And here's the honest contrast that makes this petition so necessary: Jesus walked into Matthew 4 with no internal foothold the enemy could exploit. We don't. We walk into every trial carrying exactly what the enemy is looking for — wounded pride, fear of failure, unmet desires, the quiet exhaustion of trying to hold it all together. The enemy doesn't need to create our vulnerability. He just finds the door that's already cracked open and pushes. His most effective tool in a community like ours isn't dramatic temptation — it's slow, quiet, respectable drift that happens so gradually we don't notice until we're far from where we started. But the petition doesn't end with our weakness or the enemy's strength — and neither does this sermon. The word Jesus uses for "deliver" — a rescue word that assumes a victim who cannot self-rescue and a rescuer who is stronger than the threat. Like earthquake survivors trapped in rubble who cannot dig themselves out, we are entirely dependent on someone coming in from the outside. And that is exactly what Jesus did. He didn't rescue us from a safe distance — he entered the wreckage of our humanity, faced the enemy head on in the wilderness, went all the way to a cross where it looked like the rubble finally won, and walked out of an empty tomb on Sunday morning. The resurrection is God's definitive answer to every scheme, every lie, and every temptation the enemy has ever thrown. We pray "deliver us from the evil one" in the name of the one who already defeated him — and his victory, not our strength, is the ground we stand on every single morning we pray this prayer.

  8. Jun 28

    A House of Prayer | Mark 11:12-25

    Mark places the scene at the head of the passion week and frames it as an intercalation. The fig tree and the temple are bound together so that each interprets the other. Jesus rises from Bethany hungry, sees a leafy fig tree, and pronounces, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The fig tree stands there with the look of life but no fruit, and Jesus treats it as an enacted parable of judgment. The tree’s leaves promise what its branches do not deliver. So temple-centered religion, thick with ceremony and traffic, promises nearness to God while remaining spiritually barren. The temple scene supplies the meat of the Markan sandwich. Jesus drives out buyers and sellers, overturns tables, and blocks vessels from moving through the outer court. The action is not a bid to seize control or a call to mere prayer renewal. If Jesus wanted to renew temple worship, he would not cut off the very services that enabled sacrifices and temple tax. Instead, his disruption functions prophetically. By halting sacrifice, he signals that the temple system itself is under judgment and that its time is short. Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7 sharpen the point. Isaiah’s “house of prayer for all nations” announces inclusion, not permanent segregation behind a dividing wall. Jeremiah’s “den of robbers” is not a marketplace scam but a hideout, a place of false security where guilty hearts imagine they are safe because they frequent holy space. The temple has become a refuge for unrepentant people who trust a place and a program rather than God. History will vindicate Jesus’s words when Rome levels the temple in AD 70. Returning to the withered fig tree, Jesus points his disciples not to a technique but to a source. “Have faith in God.” Whoever says “to this mountain” will see God act. The mountain in view is the Temple Mount, and the promise of answered prayer serves the same movement from old system to new covenant. The effectiveness of prayer rests in a relationship given by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Hence the word about forgiveness. Those who stand forgiven extend forgiveness, because grace received remakes the heart. Leaves without fruit will not do. Faith in God bears the fruit of bold, humbled prayer and reconciled lives.

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About

These podcasts are an extension of the teaching ministry of GC2 Church, located in San Diego, CA. Our name comes from the essence of Jesus' ministry: fulfilling the Great Commission while living the Great Commandment. GC2 Church offers gospel-centered, biblical teaching that aims to inspire and equip disciples to go make disciples.   For more information, please visit: www.gc2church.org.

Information

  • Creator
    GC2 Church
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    GC2 Church