November 6, 2022 - The Story of God God could have given us a systematic theology if he wanted to. He easily could have prepared the checklist and the bullet points and the logical, rational, outlines of what he’s doing and what he expects of his people. But he didn’t reveal his “truth” to us this way. Instead, he chose to give us a story. His story. Our church is making a shift from viewing the Bible primarily as a book of commands and laws to seeing the Scriptures first and foremost as a story. We believe this is the best way to read, interpret, and apply the Bible. That’s not to say there are no commands or laws in the Bible - of course there are! But we think those laws and commands should be understood in terms of how they fit in the story. By telling and living the story together, we’re reminded that God is the author and he writes the final word. He created something beautiful in the beginning and he’s recreating something beautiful forever. The story is about redemption for all of creation, including us. And it’s happening even now through our Lord Jesus Christ.  For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 23, 2022 - By His Presence and Power When God calls his people to bold action, his people are generally quick to make excuses as to why they cannot answer the call or point to reasons they think God’s plan might fail. Our Lord is just as quick in his response: “I will do this,” he says. “I will accomplish it.”  We are called by God to join him in his worldwide salvation mission. But the whole thing is God’s to achieve. The Golf Course Road Church enjoys a rich heritage of big decisions and daring moves that have impacted Midland, the Permian Basin, and the world for the Kingdom of God. “Breakthrough” is merely the latest in a storied string of bold ventures to proclaim and live out the Gospel in new contexts and exciting ways.  For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 16, 2022 - Serving in Love: Mission The fastest way to get out of a spiritual rut is to dive head-first into a mission. New experiences challenge our beliefs and assumptions. Ministry when you’re in over your head forces you to face your fears and surprises you with resources and strength from God you didn’t know you had. Hearing the stories first-hand, seeing the places and meeting the people, makes the needs and opportunities more real. The Scriptures become more alive when you connect them to real ministry. Being on mission pushes us out of the comfort of theory and rhetoric and into the places where God is really changing the world.  For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 9, 2022 - Growing with God: Christian Practices“Be still and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46:10We believe a better understanding and more faithful practice of the spiritual disciplines will shape us individually and congregationally into the image of our Christ who, from time to time, went off alone to be with his Father and pray. Paying careful attention to these timeless disciplines – praying Scripture, confession, giving, fasting, silence, memorizing and reciting the Bible - will put us more in tune with our Father and to his leading in our lives. As part of our commitment to spiritual formation, we want to place more value on these kinds of exercises. It’s time for us to move from more classes on prayer to more time spent in prayer, from studying about fasting to actually abstaining from food or other pleasures to focus our minds on Christ, from studying the Word to really dwelling in the Word. It’s time to make ourselves completely available to God to do with us what he will. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

October 2, 2022 - “Belonging Together: Community” “In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” ~Romans 12:5 The older couple who paid attention to you during your early years of marriage. Your small group that’s been together through thick and thin for fifteen years. Your greatest friends in the youth group. The Tuesday morning prayer group. We can all look back and see where God placed the perfectly right people in our lives at the perfectly right time. These are the people who love us, who encourage us, who challenge us, and support us. Through them, our God has worked to deepen our faith and enrich our relationships to him and to one another.  As part of our vision and direction at GCR, we want to do community well. We believe God gathers his people together so he can work through those community dynamics to transform us more into the image of Christ. And we’re committed to paying closer attention to it here.  For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 25, 2022 - Learning to Live: Knowledge“…asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will.” ~Colossians 1:9We’ve all experienced spiritual growth through knowledge: a Bible study that opened our eyes to the truth of God, a preacher who inspired us to deeper faith and commitment, or an author who explained things in ways that really made it click. But the Scriptures never uphold knowledge only for the sake of knowledge. It’s not just gaining more information. The knowledge of God is intended to change the way we think and behave. More knowledge should transform every facet of our lives.“…in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord.” ~Colossians 1:10For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 18, 2022 - BREAKTHROUGH The Golf Course Road Church of Christ enjoys a rich heritage of big decisions and daring moves that have impacted Midland, the Permian Basin, and the whole world for the Kingdom of God. This Sunday, September 18, we’re rolling out the next big thing in a storied string of bold ventures to proclaim and live out the Gospel in new contexts and exciting ways.These next steps are the result of more than a year of listening to your faith stories, gathering information from your faith experiences, careful study, and prayerful discernment. And they represent a foundation of Christian transformation and mission that will serve our Lord, the GCR Church, and Christ’s Kingdom in Midland and beyond for the next couple of generations.GCR gratefully stands on the shoulders of the courageous saints who’ve gone before. We honor their great faith and celebrate their sacrifice and service. Inspired by their resolute dedication to GCR’s God-ordained purposes, beginning this Sunday, each of us now commits to doing whatever is necessary to continue this legacy of bold faith For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 11, 2022 - Reflecting God’s Holiness “He does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” ~Exodus 34:7 We tend to think about how our God ought to be instead of how our God has actually revealed himself to us. Our God is certainly compassionate and gracious, patient and loving, faithful and forgiving. But what about God’s less-than-marketable qualities? There are facets to God’s eternal nature that are clearly revealed in the Bible that rarely make it into our church systems and sermons.  God inspired the writing of our Scriptures to teach us what he is like. What he says about himself - all of it - must be taken into serious account.  Our God is high, exalted, and mighty. He is holy. He will not tolerate sin.Our God is near, approachable, and personal. He is loving. He will erase our sin. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

September 4, 2022 - Prayer and Peace “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” ~Philippians 4:13 We’re wrapping up our “More Than a Motto” series this Sunday with a look at perhaps the most familiar of all the popular slogans found in Philippians. Please know these words are not about making the sales numbers, passing that semester exam, winning the golf tournament, or losing those twenty pounds. When Paul proclaims that he can do everything through God in Christ, he’s talking about serving others with humility and sacrifice, regardless of his own current circumstance. Can you imagine? Patiently listening to the grumbling neighbor when I’m not sure how I’m going to pay this month’s bills? Serving that sick lady from Bible class when I’ve got reports past due at work? Forgiving my cousin when what she said about me has wounded me deeply? Is that even possible? Does anybody really live like that? If so, how?  Well, certainly not with their own strength. That’s impossible. For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.

August 28, 2022 - Prayer and Peace Shalom. Peace. It’s the perfect state of harmony and communion between God and his people, between God’s people and one another, and throughout all creation. It was promised to the patriarchs. The psalmists wrote about it. The prophets foretold the deliverance of this ultimate peace. For centuries, every generation of God’s people longed for that peace. They sang about it. They preached about it. They looked for it. They waited for it. And now we have it! That peace of God, that perfect shalom, has come to God’s people in Christ Jesus!For more information on GCR, visit our website at www.gcrchurch.com or download our app.