GracePoint Church

GracePoint Church

GracePoint Church has two locations in Asheville and Mars Hill, North Carolina. GracePoint exists to make disciples. A disciple is someone who is growing to be like Jesus and helping others do the same. Find out more at mygracepoint.com

  1. 1D AGO

    Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

    It was a deal I couldn't pass up! I walked away feeling like I just ripped off the guy. He had sold me a gym membership for a fraction of the actual fee. I wondered how this guy could possibly stay in business. He was practically giving memberships away. On my first day of "working out," I was surprised that the gym wasn't packed with people. Fast forward 8 months and I finally understood the business model. I had gone to the gym barely a handful of times, the owner banking on my failure. I took advantage of the "deal," but never realized the benefit of my plan. Isn't this how so many of us approach a loving God–who has freely given us His grace and has invited us into a life-giving relationship with eternal benefits? Our intentions may be good, that we want to experience something different than what life is delivering. We start off strong only to realize we're not taking advantage of all that God has for us as we walk "with" Him. God is not "banking on my failure." God desires that we would experience the joy and peace of following His plan. The book of James acts like a trainer who shows the way to get spiritually healthy and isn't afraid to get in our face at times when we need a little push to stay on track. In James 4:11-17, he takes us there again showing us practical ways to stay in spiritual shape. I encourage you to come with us and let's workout together in the community of church. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but it's good truth and a great deal.

    1h 24m
  2. 1D AGO

    Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

    It was a deal I couldn't pass up! I walked away feeling like I just ripped off the guy. He had sold me a gym membership for a fraction of the actual fee. I wondered how this guy could possibly stay in business. He was practically giving memberships away. On my first day of "working out," I was surprised that the gym wasn't packed with people. Fast forward 8 months and I finally understood the business model. I had gone to the gym barely a handful of times, the owner banking on my failure. I took advantage of the "deal," but never realized the benefit of my plan. Isn't this how so many of us approach a loving God–who has freely given us His grace and has invited us into a life-giving relationship with eternal benefits? Our intentions may be good, that we want to experience something different than what life is delivering. We start off strong only to realize we're not taking advantage of all that God has for us as we walk "with" Him. God is not "banking on my failure." God desires that we would experience the joy and peace of following His plan. The book of James acts like a trainer who shows the way to get spiritually healthy and isn't afraid to get in our face at times when we need a little push to stay on track. In James 4:11-17, he takes us there again showing us practical ways to stay in spiritual shape. I encourage you to come with us and let's workout together in the community of church. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but it's good truth and a great deal.

    54 min
  3. FEB 1

    Why Is Everyone So Angry?

    ICE activity in Minneapolis, tension in Iran, unrest at the border, seemingly unending wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, a spiraling economy, violence in our cities... and now unpredictable weather. It’s a great day to be an apprentice of Jesus. Christians should never be surprised by a fallen world that produces fallen things. Distressed? Yes. But anxious? No. The Bible gives followers of Jesus a clear path for navigating life in a darkening world. Church is where we practice this traveling together. Our peace can never come from this temporary world. It always comes from God alone. That said, we are not called to run or hide with our heads in the sand. Rather, we are to be instruments of hope, peace, and love to a world thirsting for it. Our current series in the book of James tackles real struggles head-on and offers clear direction back to the narrow road. Last weekend, we experienced one of those challenges firsthand when severe weather forced us to cancel in-person gatherings at both campuses. This weekend looks to be bringing some of the same. At this time, we plan to hold services as usual, but please continue to check our website first and church communication outlets for the most up-to-date information. If you have any concern at all about the weather, we strongly encourage you to stay home. While we will miss the intimacy of being together in person, our team is working hard to provide a rich and meaningful online worship experience–if it comes to that. Additionally, during any weather-related challenges, please direct folks with emergency needs to this email or our website for current information and resources.

    1h 1m
  4. JAN 25

    Vision and Mission

    I wanted to compete in the Olympics. I had just watched the 1976 Olympics and was so inspired that I determined that 1980 would be my year. I was ten years old. I had the vision of incredible athletes fresh in my mind. Our men's 4 x 100 relay team had just finished in 8th place.   I tore out a picture of the Olympic symbol and a flag of Canada...and put it on my dresser in my room. Then I ran. I ran to school. I ran between classes. One time I even took the city bus to the track at our local university and I ran.  Several weeks later, as I was walking past my dresser with a donut in my mouth I caught a glimpse of the flag and the Olympic symbol. I don't remember what happened to that picture, but I never saw it again. Mercifully, Canada did not compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics allowing me much-needed additional time to prepare for 1984.  The truth of the matter was that I was inspired. I had a vision of what could be and I started off so well, but life got in the way. Distractions flourished and time went by. I never did live out my Olympic dream.  Isn't that the way so many of us approach our faith? We sense a need that grows into desire to know the truth and to live it out in our lives. We find a church and we begin to "walk with Jesus." Our intentions are great...but life gets in the way. We never experience the "abundant life" (John 10:10) that Jesus came to give to us.  Thankfully, God keeps the vision for becoming like Jesus...ever before us. However, we were never meant to accomplish it on our own. It begins with a longing that stirs within us. What follows is a decision to follow Jesus. But we need the Holy Spirit to be our help...AND we need each other to accomplish the vision.

    56 min
  5. JAN 18

    You Can Be Right and Still Be Wrong

    I could feel my face begin to turn red. My hands felt sweaty and got a little shaky. My voice was on edge and words just kept coming out of my mouth. I could feel the sound of my voice getting louder and people in the room beginning to stop what they were doing to look at what I was doing.  It wasn't my proudest moment. I wish it was simply "a" moment. Sadly, I have had too many "moments" where I was attempting to help someone see the truth...at least the way I saw it.  Have you been there? You know you are right and the conversation has heated up because now you have to prove you are right. It had long shifted away from a respectful dialogue now to a need to win at all cost.  I find myself getting "sucked into" this mode more than I care to admit. Yet, James tells his readers that this is not the way to communicate God's truth. James wants us to know how to be wise in the way we treat one another--that being righteous is more important than being right.  Perhaps, this may be a root cause in some of the relational tension you may be feeling in your marriage, with your co-worker, friends, neighbors or family. We want everyone to agree with us...to do it our way...to be a clone of us. If we could just get everyone to understand, then all will be well in our world. Really? I hope you continue with us in our ongoing look at this letter, penned by the brother of Jesus more than a few years ago. Surprisingly, it reads as though the ink might still be wet.  I hope you can sit with us this weekend and join other friends and family as they do the same.

    1h 3m
  6. JAN 4

    “Is A Sinner’s Prayer Good Enough?”

    Well...we've survived another season of the fire hose of advertising. In the midst of it all, we celebrated the birth of our Savior and ushered in a New Year. The change of pace can be crazy but it has also brought moments of reflection.  I've reflected on another year of rich and meaningful relationships at GracePoint. Relationships that are deep because of the Spirit in each of us who know Jesus. It's been a time to think about my own abiding walk with the Lord too. I'm grateful that God continues to be patient when it comes to His continuing work on my own soul.  I have also been sucked into the vortex of all the chaos this holiday season...striving to find the balance between the world's version of Christmas and the churches. I think I blew it on a few gifts I bought for loved ones. When I read the advertisement, they sounded so great. But when my purchases arrived, several of my gifts failed to live up to their billing. It was rather disappointing.  Isn't that the way advertising goes? Rather than seeking to improve your life, most retailers are simply trying to separate you from your dollar. Hopefully we learn, as we move forward, how to read the fine print and know what we're getting into--saving much heartache and pain with future purchases.  I wonder if some of us come to faith in Jesus in a similar fashion. We have an idea of what it means to follow Jesus. But once we commit to being a Christian, many of us find ourselves disappointed, frustrated and confused. And I wonder if some of the reason is because we bought into an "idea" of what it meant to follow Jesus, but we didn't really read what the bible says about following Jesus. Which, by the way, isn't fine print, but rather bold print. And it's good news. When we follow Jesus His way...it leads to such a better experience.  I hope you'll join us at church on Sunday as we step back into our series on the book of James.  Happy New Year.

    1 hr

About

GracePoint Church has two locations in Asheville and Mars Hill, North Carolina. GracePoint exists to make disciples. A disciple is someone who is growing to be like Jesus and helping others do the same. Find out more at mygracepoint.com