Grace Methodist Church

06/01/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 13:15-25 (Issues of leadership)

(Last one from this book)

https://youtu.be/uLNYJ4-VmL8

Originally given on 8/20/23

Originally preached on 8/20/23

05/30/2026

Hello all,

A few years ago, we started up a relationship, through GoServe Global, with Genesis Church in Iquitos, Peru. Each year since then, a group of folks from Grace have gone to Peru to either help with construction, ministry, or both, or even anything else that was needed. We have continued to support the ministry both financially and, more importantly, through prayer. We have also been blessed to have a group from Genesis Church come to Marcus and lead us in worship, sharing what God has done and is doing in their context.

There are many reasons why we engage in and support missionary work. First and most importantly, it is because it is a crucial way that we can engage in following the Great Commission. If nobody went to faraway places, it would be hard to say that we are going into all the world in order to make disciples of all nations. It is also important because, in truth, it is not that God has a mission for the church, it is that God has the church in the first place because of this mission.

One of the other reasons why we support missionary work around the world is because it is a great reminder that we are part of something that is far bigger than just what we experience in the local church and in our communities. The God who is at work in Peru is the same God who is at work in Marcus and Remsen.
�This is an important reminder so that we do not make two basic errors. One error is to think that God sees us as so special that we think that what God is doing with us is fundamentally better than what God is doing in other places. There is sometimes a temptation, at least throughout history, to think that we have a corner on the market on Christianity and faithfulness. Sometimes, this takes the form of thinking that our version of faithfulness is the definition or the standard of what faithfulness should be.

The other temptation is to think that God is doing great things in other places but either doesn’t seem to want to do great things with us. We are currently in the season of Pentecost. In fact, Pentecost was just last week. If there is ever a time to remember that God is interested in moving with power among his people, it should be in the season of Pentecost.

Last week, we were invited to reflect on the major change that the Holy Spirit worked in the first Christians and begin to ask and even pursue what kind of similar transformation God wants to work in our own lives. This week, we are going to be reminded of what this same God is doing somewhere else. It will look different. There will probably be aspects of ministry in urban Peru that just don’t make sense in rural Iowa. However, if you find yourself yearning for God to do some similar things with us, be praying. You do not know what God has wanted to do as soon he has willing people to work through.

Tomorrow, we gather to worship together and be blessed by stories of God’s work in Iquitos from our Peru team. The whole congregation did not go to Peru but the whole congregation, and even the whole community in various ways, supported the work, helped them to get there and back, and helped to bless the ministry at Genesis Church. It will be a huge blessing.

Obviously, if you are traveling or ill, you cannot join in person. For those folks, or for anyone who is not directly connected to our congregation who may want to also hear these stories, you can tune in to the live-stream, either live at the time or else after the fact. Here is the link for that.

https://youtube.com/live/tpgKEHKCklU?feature=share

Be blessed by the work of God, both at home and abroad!

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05/28/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 13:1-14 (Show hospitality because you may entertain angels without realizing it)

https://youtu.be/Egx2E0xQWNg

Originally given on 7/30/23

Originally preached on 7/30/23

05/26/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 12:18-29 (Receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken)

https://youtu.be/WIfgkBQ32dQ

Originally given on 7/23/23

Originally preached on 7/23/23

05/23/2026

Hello all,

There are certain days of the year that get highlighted as specially important for our lives of faith. When I was a kid and not part of the church, the only service I would attend in a year, if I attended any at all, was Christmas Eve. I know that a lot of people make a point of attending on Christmas and Easter, even if they never do any other time of the year, but for me, it was really only Christmas, and that was really only if we were visiting my grandparents and I went with one of them.

Clearly, Christmas and Easter are important days and, if the goal is to make sure we are in church on crucial days of the church year, those two days are really good choices. The thing is, if that is how we are trying to understand things, why has attending church on Pentecost not been seen as equally important? Not only do folks who are only loosely connected to the church not feel a particular burden to be in worship on Pentecost Sunday, there are times, especially when Pentecost is deep into the summer, that many people who are consistently involved in Sunday worship are not there.

I am really not trying to give people a hard time. In all honesty, what it says to me more than anything else is that the church (as a whole, not as a specific congregation) has not done a good job of making it clear why Pentecost is important. Even if we say that people’s schedules are crazy in the late Spring and early Summer which gets in the way, why is that? Everyone knows that Christmas and Easter are special and that is why we make space. If people don’t realize how important Pentecost is, why would we ever keep that time special?

The truth is that Pentecost is one of the most important days of the year. Christmas celebrates the time when God stepped into the creation as one of us and one with us. Easter celebrates when Jesus was raised from the dead in glory. Pentecost celebrates when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles, and by extension the Church, to go out and continue the ministry of Jesus anointed with the very power of God.

Before Pentecost, the disciples were scared and hiding away. After it, they transformed the world. Something happened then that made a difference that we need to pay attention to. A baby can be born, even the greatest of all babies, and yet not have it change our hearts. After all, Herod’s heart did not change when Jesus was born and most people didn’t know who he was.

Jesus can be raised from the dead and people at the time, including Jesus’ disciples, can miss just how important it was and we can tell that because they largely went back to how life was before they met Jesus. When the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they can never remain the same but are propelled into the world. When God takes up residence inside of you, you cannot hardly help get up and go into the world to pursue the Great Commission.

Suppose that God wants to do in our lives what he did in the lives of those first Christians (hint: he does). What should we do in response?

We gather tomorrow morning to commemorate this crucial moment in history. It is also the first Sunday since the end of the school year (for students. Teachers are still at it for one more week) and it is Memorial Day weekend. It is likely that one or two people may be traveling this weekend. If you are away or, if me during the week, are sick, or something like that, you can join online, either live at the time or else after the fact. Here is the link for the live-stream of the service:

https://youtube.com/live/dN6OSS4Tz18?feature=share

Receive the Holy Spirit and let the power of God drive you forward in faith!

In Christ,
Pastor Travis Stevick

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/23/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 12:12-17 ("Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy.)

https://youtu.be/Bras8lVpUws

Originally given on 7/9/23

Originally preached on 7/9/23

05/20/2026

Hello all,

I have been asked to pass on the following information from the Trustees:

Attached is a graphic that shows where we are in the process of raising money for the capital campaign. We are getting really close, but we aren't there yet!

We are ready to meet our goal and get rolling on the various projects that will help do needed maintenance and upgrades as well as equip the church for the next steps in ministry!

If you have already donated or pledged to the campaign, thank you so much!

If you are unable to donate or pledge to the campaign, God bless you. We are so glad you are with us and we ask for your prayers as we continue these projects.

If you are able to donate or pledge and you have not yet done so, prayerfully consider making a donation or pledge to help us get the rest of the way to our goal.

If you need any more information or want a reminder of the various projects included in this campaign, speak to any member of the Trustees or pick up one of the pamphlets at the church.

If you want to make a donation or pledge, you can drop it in the offering plate on Sunday morning (make sure to mark any checks with "Capital Campaign" so they go to the right place). Otherwise, you can hand it to any member of the Trustees!

Be blessed and thank you for all your support in this campaign!

In Christ,
Pastor Travis Stevick
on behalf of the Trustees Committee:
Evan Grell, Chair,
Ron Rosewall
Jess Marra
Becky Leavitt
Derrick Marra
Kathy Rice

05/18/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 12:4-11 (Not yet resisted sin to the point of shedding blood)

https://youtu.be/-YH7PuMOiN0

Originally given on 6/18/23

Originally preached on 6/18/23

05/16/2026

Hello all,

I have recently been interviewing folks from around our annual conference to share their stories: about coming to faith, about being called into ministry, about what God is doing in their context. There are some questions that I ask everyone and there are others that come up, whether because I know something specific to ask about or else because they say something I want to follow up with.

One that I started asking everyone without really planning on it at first, was to ask them to name what they have seen as a sickness that impacts the churches they have seen. Even at the beginning, I tried to be clear that I am not trying to pick on any congregation, but to highlight general tendencies that we should watch out for. The goal was to give an opportunity for these conversations to also have a prophetic character, because sometimes it is helpful to hear the same point from more than one person and it may help galvanize people to address issues in their lives or churches.

In subsequent conversations (that haven’t been posted yet) I have made a point to highlight that the word “sickness” is deliberate and important. I am not trying to name “sins” that are common to many congregations (although they may be sins, after all). The point is that, when someone is sick, the appropriate response is not judgment or condemnation. When someone is sick, they need diagnoses and treatment. That treatment may take many forms but we cannot possibly expect someone to behave as if they are well until the sickness (whether acute or chronic) is dealt with, or at least managed.

How do you deal with sickness? Usually it is some combination of rest, medicine, and therapy. All of those apply in one way or another. We could say that medicine could, among other things, be the application of scripture an prayer. Avoiding those when we are spiritually sick is like avoiding the antibiotics you have been prescribed. You have to take them, and all of them, to get better and not have things surge back or develop a resistance.

Therapy is often slow and deliberate gaining of mobility, function, or strength. When I dislocated my shoulder, I couldn’t go right back to heavy lifting. I had to take it slowly, but I had to work on it every day or I wouldn’t have gotten back to normal. The spiritual discipline are something like that. They move relatively slowly, but when we deliberately progress in it, we find we are stronger and more capable than we would have been without it.

Rest is maybe the odd one. After all, one of the sicknesses that impacts too many churches and Christians is a kind of inactivity. Doesn’t it seem odd to say that rest could be the solution to that? In a world where we are all so busy we can’t hardly keep track of what day it is, a time of deliberate rest and pulling back to re-evaluate and re-start can be very helpful.

We may also need repentance, don’t get me wrong, but sin is also a sickness and God has given us the remedy. We do need to engage it and, if we do, we really will become well by God’s grace.

Tomorrow morning, we gather to worship the Lord together. It may be a slightly less jam packed service, which will be a change of pace from recent weeks! That being said, it is possible that the normal, routine weeks are the most important. After all, any of us can do something special once in a while. What really shows our character and condition is what we do over time, in a sustained way. It is wonderful to celebrate, but it is glorious to continue to follow Jesus in the daily grind of our lives.

If you cannot join in person, make sure you join online, whether live at the time or else after the fact. There is no substitute for being together and sharing life with one another, but if travel or illness prevent it, it can be something that can help bring some sustenance until we can gather again.

Here is the link for the live-stream:

https://youtube.com/live/6VBZZhYN2JI?feature=share

Be blessed and find a way to share Jesus with someone, in word or deed, this week!

In Christ,
Pastor Travis Stevick

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/11/2026

Sermon on Hebrews 11:32-40 (Faith and the great saints from the Old Testament)

https://youtu.be/Z_-CiRHunRI

Originally given on 5/7/23

Originally preached on 5/7/23