Point of Grace Online Worship - May 17, 2026

5.17.26    Sermon Notes “The Servant in You – Availability” 

God is calling us to something more significant than than “getting more volunteers” to do all this ministry stuff.

He is calling us to grow as His “Servants” in the world!

The spiritual practice of service is:

The expression of Christlike love through meeting the practical needs of another, especially those most in need of help. 

In this series we are looking at four key ways this Spiritual Practice is expressed:
                 Love          Hiddenness         Availability       Kinship 

Availability

Matthew 20:29-34
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.
Immediately they received their sight and followed him. 

Jesus was radically available while living an intentional life.
His “intentionality” did not outrun His “interruptibility” which responded to “compassion” within.

 σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai) – “from the gut” – deep gut wrenching response to another’s condition which compels one to practical action 

Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” 

The context is “how to love?” – God and others – With desire to do it right?

The expert’s question is “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answers with a story that reveals and envisions! 

            Reveals?        

The deformation of humanity when intentionality outruns interruptibility
        when compassion-ate gives way to compassion-less.

            Envisions?

The re-formation of humanity, lost in Eden and won back in Resurrection when a new kind of Human, Jesus of Nazareth, filled with compassionate love, entered the fray of broken humanity with healing, wholeness, and blood-bought redemption inviting us to be reborn into new life and re-formed into the image of God. 

Final question!            An invitation to b______________! 

Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Point of Grace Online Worship - May 10, 2026

5.10.26    Sermon Notes “The Servant in You – Hiddenness” 

God is calling us to something more significant than than “getting more volunteers” to do all this ministry stuff.

He is calling us to grow as His “Servants” in the world!

When Jesus comes to live in us by His Spirit He brings His heart with Him. 
The heart of Jesus becomes the animating center of our being. 
The heart of Jesus is a servant’s heart… and its foundational core is Love!

The spiritual practice of service is:

The expression of Christlike love through meeting the practical needs of another, especially those most in need of help. 

If practicing the way of Jesus isn’t filling me to overflowing with the love of Jesus, I’m nothing more than noisy — religiously busy but out of tune with God’s redemption in me and the world around me.  But if practicing the way of Jesus is deepening my own experience of God’s irrevocable love to the degree that I increasingly serve others with the same kind of love then my life is harmonizing with the renewal of the world.

Tyler Staton 

In this series we are looking at four key ways the Spiritual Practice is expressed:

Love          Hiddenness         Availability       Kinship 

Jesus is forming a necessary humility in us as He calls us to serve in Hiddenness
          with quiet stealth
          in the midst of the ordinary. 

Matthew 6
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 

Recognition for serving is best left in God’s hands and not engineered for me by me.

Some of our “serving” needs to be “in secret” with “quiet stealth” - a healthy rhythm of keeping the “self” in check.

Do you have “secrets” with God? 
Am I content with only the Father seeing? 

The humility that “hiddenness” forms serves in the ordinary and not just extraordinary situations of life! 

John 13:2-
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 

“Many of us, imagining the environment where Jesus will form us into a radical gift of sacrificial love for the world, picture … a soup kitchen … or rehab program…. or third world village.… and don’t get me wrong, it could be that. We’ll get there in the coming sessions.

Most of us tend to imagine service to be practiced among people we don’t know in environments we aren’t currently in, but it’s worth noting that Jesus grounded service in ordinary places, and among everyday relationships.
The office of the business executive….the kitchen of the stay-at-home parent… the classroom of the high school student… the studio of the designer…. the shared living room in the college dorm….the dinner table of the married couple.
Jesus is grounding the most sweeping, glorious of promises in the most common, ordinary places and ordinary company … by humbly taking up ordinary service — all in the name of love. And that, for me at least, serves as both a comfort — and — a confrontation.  Because the truth is:
 Most of us (myself included) are better at doing “projects” of love than becoming “people” of love.”   (Tyler Staten) 

Serving with Hiddenness leaves recognition in the Father’s hands, finds contentment knowing its enough that the Father sees and lifts the otherwise mundane and ordinary opportunities into the realm of the holy.

There is only One truly safe place for the servant to go for
affirmation, validation, strength and encouragement….
into the presence of the One who served us in the hiddenness of
divinity wrapped in humanity and gave His life in service to us. 

Help us, Father, to remember that your loving gaze is always upon us;

That no good deed escapes your delighted attention.
Lead us to serve in familiar and hidden places,
beyond all other rewarding eyes but yours.     Amen.

Point of Grace Online Worship - May 3, 2026

5.3.26    Sermon Notes “The Servant in You – LOVE”

“Disciple and Do the Servant in You” 

God is calling us to something more significant than than “getting more volunteers” to do all this stuff.

He is calling us to be “Servants” ….

When Jesus comes to live in us by His Spirit He brings His heart with Him. 
The heart of Jesus becomes the animating center of our being. 
The heart of Jesus is a servant’s heart.

Matthew 20:25-28
 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Living as a Jesus servant in this world is the meaningful life Christ intends for us.  It is the absolute best intention our savior could have for our lives … to live into our beautiful design as humans created in the image of God. 

There is one place to start.  One core foundational characteristic of the Servant Heart of Jesus that beats within everyone that calls on His name that identifies as a Jesus follower.

LOVE is the foundational virtue value and essence of the heart of God in Christ.  LOVE  

To quote Tyler Staton, from some of the resources we are encouraging you to engage with,
“The aim and destination of the spiritual journey is not work/life balance, personal peace, or even character formation (as an end in itself) but to become love — that my inner journey of formation would pour out of me actively in service to others.   Love, in the Christian imagination, is different than in our modern, Western sense.  It’s not just nice, warm feelings of goodwill toward “humanity" generally.  But incarnate, embodied, practical actions of self-sacrificial service, as we see in Jesus.

 That’s service: to willfully enter into the life of another, at cost to myself, that they might have more life.”

“Jesus, when asked what the most important command in Scripture was, gave a common, predictable answer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. What was less predictable though, and set Jesus apart from the other rabbis of his day, was what followed: “And a second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus inseparably joined together love for God and people. The way I love others is directly connected, even revealing, of the true state of my heart toward God. 

The spiritual practice of service is:
The expression of Christlike love through meeting the practical needs of another, especially those most in need of help. 

 John 13:12-17
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The spiritual practice of service is:
The expression of Christlike love through meeting the practical needs of another, especially those most in need of help. 

1 John 3:16-18
 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:7-12
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 

These verses help me face one of the significant challenges of life as a “Servant of Christ” ….  

I am prone to let the How? of doing spiritual practices (serving) out run the “why?” of doing (serving)! 

Jesus always calls us back to letting the Why? take the lead.
And the “WHY” for any spiritual practices in the way of Jesus is LOVE……  

Why serve? …..  LOVE …. from God overflows in love for God and others.     

11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 

The “WHY” must outrun the “HOW”.      The “WHY” is LOVE! 

If practicing the way of Jesus isn’t filling me to overflowing with the love of Jesus, I’m nothing more than noisy — religiously busy but out of tune with God’s redemption in me and the world around me.  But if practicing the way of Jesus is deepening my own experience of God’s irrevocable love to the degree that I increasingly serve others with the same kind of love then my life is harmonizing with the renewal of the world.

Tyler Staton

Point of Grace Online Worship - March 15, 2026

MOVING IN HUMILITY FROM A MISPLACED SELF-CONFIDENCE

 TO A CONSECRATED CHRIST-CONFIDENCE

Point of Grace - Pflugerville, Texas

March 15, 2026 

INTRODUCTION

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 

True Biblical Humility:

Moves Us from Misplaced Self Confidence

To

A Humble Christ-Confidence!

I.  WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH MISPLACED SELF-CONFIDENCE

       A. Peter…

 Matthew 26:33

Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. 

Luke 22:61

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. 

      B. Paul….

 Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body,

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Philippians 3: 4-6

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.  

Philippians 3:7-9

But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 

II.   THE SECRET TO A CONSECRATED CHRIST-CONFIDENCE 

IN HUMILITY… 

        A. _________________________ with __________________________ 

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ…”   

Luke 9:23

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves,

take up their cross daily and follow me.” 

       B. ___________________ on Christ _____________________________ 

Galatians 2:20

“…and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  

Colossians 1:27

Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

Philippians 2:13

It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 

Matthew 19:26

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. 

Matthew 19:26 (The Message)

No chance at all if you think you can do it yourself.

Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it. 

Luke 10:19

I have given you authority… 

       C. _________________ that You are ____________________________ 

Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ…and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me….The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Romans 5:8

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  

CONCLUSION

Point of Grace Online Worship - March 8, 2026

Pursuing Humility – A Lenten Journey 03.05.26

+ + + 

What is “biblical” humility?

• Humility is the radical reliance on God as the animating

center of our being and living.

• Humility denies “self” that place of power and yields to

God as the rightful holder of that position.

• Humility is a posture of the heart that does not come

naturally but is to be pursued.

 + + +

 We can be assured God is at work forming humility in us.

• The question becomes am I yielding or resisting His

transformational work in my life.

• How do I join Him in my transformation by “Pursuing

Humility”?

 + + +

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and

learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is

easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

+ + +

1.Humility can be learned.

2.Knowledge of GOD.

3.Knowledge of SELF.

+ + +

Key Characteristics

1.Non-Programmed

2.Student-Led

3.Simplicity

4.Global Impact

+ + +

The Fear of the Lord.

Humility.

+ + +

“Humility is the consent of the creature to let God be

all.”

-Andrew Murray-

+ + +

“The call to humility has been too little regarded in the Church

because its true nature and importance have been too little

apprehended. It is not something that we bring to God, or that He

bestows; it is simply the sense of entire nothingness that comes

when we see how truly God is everything. When the creature

realizes that this is a place of honor, he consents to be-with his will,

his mind, and his affections—the vessel in which the life and glory

of God are to work and manifest themselves; he sees that humility

is simply acknowledging the truth of his position as creature and

yielding to God His place.”

-Andrew Murray - Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness-

+ + +

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn

of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether

thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all

things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:15-16

+ + +

9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time

we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Galatians 6:9

+ + +

Take a risk and share the score of where you are at?

1-10

•10 is I am fully energized, not weary or loss of

heart

•1 is I am going to quit and disappear

+ + +

Weariness does not = Weakness

+ + +

Fatigue is a human signal not a

Spiritual Flaw

+ + +

Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that

we are but dust.

Psalm 103:13-14

+ + +

Identity Confusion

Confusion between two things:

•Being and Doing

•Becoming or Performing

 + + +

 The most impressive thing about

you and the most epic thing you

can do is to just live in the fact that

you are loved by the Father.

 + + +

 Write your testimony.

 It raises the level of love that Jesus

loved you so much that he pulled

off the mission that was YOU.

 + + +

 Your Resiliency is going to come

from your beloved-ness, not from

your competency.

 + + +

 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good

 Galatians 6:9

 + + +

 He is much kinder and gentler and

for you than you probably think.

 + + +

 Confrontation - “Jesus, I invite You

to confront my limits with your

love.

 + + +

Point of Grace Online Worship - March 1, 2026

Point of Grace Worship   3.1.26     Sermon Notes – Lent 2 - “Pursuing Humility” 

“Pursuing Humility” 
A Lenten Journey

 What is “biblical” humility?

Humility is the radical reliance on God as the animating center of our being and living. 
Humility denies “self” that place of power and yields to God as the rightful holder of that position.

Humility is a posture of the heart that does not come naturally but is to be pursued. 
We can be assured God is at work forming humility in us. 
The question becomes am I yielding or resisting His transformational work in my life.

How do I join Him in my transformation by “Pursuing Humility”?

1 Peter 5:5-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

“I am sure there are many Christians who will confess that their experience has been very much like my own. I had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart are to be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, just as they were of the Master, and further, that this humility is not something that will come of itself. But that it must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice. As we study the Word, we will see what very distinct and oft-repeated instructions Jesus gave his disciples on this point and how slow they were to understand them.”
Andrew Murray – Humility -The Journey Toward Holiness

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“By saying, “take my yoke, learn from me”, He is saying for them to “adopt and learn My ways of living and carrying the loads of life … I am gentle and humble in heart … you will find rest for your souls”

Jesus’s humility – “His radical reliance on His Father” as the animating, emanating center of His being” – was key to His “yoke” to be learned by His disciples.

Three Helpful Postures and Prayers in Pursuing Humility

Confrontation – Confession – Lament  

Confrontation - “Jesus, I invite You to confront pockets of pride in me.”

Inviting Jesus to confront our pockets of pride and self-reliance so we might yield to Him is unnatural but so necessary in our pursuit of humility. 

Psalm 139:23-24
 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Confession – “Jesus, I confess my sin and brokenness ……………, forgive and cleanse me with your blood.”

Confessing sin, brokenness and sin’s toll in our lives, opens us up to His forgiveness, restoration and healing, 

1 John 1:7-9
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 51
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 

Lament – “Jesus, I am hurting, confused, frustrated…… are You even there? …. Help me hold on to You!”

In suffering and pain we are prone to “take over” (pride) and give up on God … even blame Him.  Learning to lament in His Presence while living through suffering, grief, loss and despair opens us up to help and hope from Him.   He can handle my complaint!

Psalm 13
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me. 

Confrontation - “Jesus, I invite You to confront pockets of pride in me.”

Confession – “Jesus, I confess my sin and brokenness ……………, forgive and cleanse me with your blood.”

Lament – “Jesus, I am hurting, confused, frustrated…… are You even there? …. Help me hold on to You!”

Point of Grace Online Worship - February 22, 2026

Point of Grace Worship   2.12.26     Sermon Notes – Lent 1 - “Pursuing Humility”  

“Pursuing Humility” 
Our Lenten Journey  

Who are your heroes of humility?  

What is “biblical” humility?

Humility is the radical reliance on God as the animating center of our being. 
Humility denies “self” that place of power and yields to God as the rightful holder of that position. 

Philippians 2
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

“Humility, the place of entire dependence upon God, is from the very nature of things the first duty and the highest virtue of his creatures. And so pride, the loss of humility, is the root of every sin and evil.
… It was when the serpent breathed the poison of his pride, the desire to be as God, into the hearts of our first parents that they too fell from their highest estate into the wretchedness to which all humankind has sunk in heaven and on earth.
Pride, or self-exaltation, is the very gateway to hell and so Jesus came to bring humility back to earth to make us partakers of it and by it to save us.  … He humbled himself and became obedient to death. His humility gave his death its value and so became our redemption and now the salvation he imparts is nothing less and nothing else than a communication of his own life and death, his own disposition and spirit, his own humility as the ground and root of his relationship with God and his redeeming work.
Jesus Christ took the place and fulfilled the destiny of man as a creature by his own life of perfect humility his humility became our salvation his salvation is our humility.

Without humility there can be no true abiding in God's presence or experience of his favor and the power of his spirit.   Without this no abiding faith or love or joy or strength. Humility is the only soil in which a virtue takes root.  A lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure.  Humility is not so much a virtue along with others but it is the root of all because it alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all.
Andrew Murray “Humility – The Journey Toward Holiness” 

Humility is not:

-        weakness but strength – God-empowered strength

-        insecurity but confidence rooted in God, not self

-        passivity but activity led and enabled by God’s Spirit

-        lack of courage – but boldness born of union with Christ

-        self-hatred or self-condemnation – but the positioning of self in a place of surrender to God. 

Humility is:

-        strength submitted to God

-        confidence rooted in God not self

-        power restrained and directed for the good of others

-        willingness to serve rather than dominate     

 The Hope of Humility

            The pursuit of humility leads us to become the best version of ourselves … to live the life we were meant for … making the contribution and having the relationships which enliven our truest selves… by living the meaningful life Christ intends.

            All led and made possible by a God who says “Come to Me … I am gentle and humble in heart.” 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Point of Grace Online Worship - February 15, 2026

Point of Grace Worship   2.15.26     Sermon Notes – “Transfiguration Sunday – Who’s Got the Power?” 

The Transfiguration – What happened?   Why was and is it important? 

Mark 9:1-10
And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud:
 “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. 

Why was The Transfiguration so important for them and is for us now?

·       It encouraged these lead disciples in their faith that Jesus is the Divine Son of God, full of power and glory.

·       It vividly displayed that the Old Covenant (Law and Prophets) is fulfilled in Jesus and gives way to Him as the ultimate revelation of God to humanity. Only Jesus was transfigured.  Only Jesus was left.
 Jesus is the One and Only lens to see all God’s revelation through.

·       The disciples are directed by the Father to “Listen to Him” in order to endure what following Jesus means as He turns toward Jerusalem where a cross awaits Him and unprecedented trials await them.

·       This is truly a mountain top experience for the 3 but then Jesus calls them to the humility of discipleship, “Don’t tell anyone … until the resurrection.” 

2 Peter 1:16-18   16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

“Peter is recounting the “mountaintop” of the Transfiguration which displayed ‘the Lord Jesus Christ in power’ while he is in one of the darkest valleys of his life.  Jesus had discipled Peter in such a way that Peter trusts in Jesus as the One and Only source of life, hope and power whether on “mountaintops” when it is easier and you want to just “stay” ….. but also “in the valleys of powerlessness” when you want to just “go”…. go somewhere, anywhere, for relief.
His words discipled those 1st century readers of his letter in the same way – trusting Jesus as the One with the power … whether in the mountaintops or valleys of life.  He is doing the same with us.” 

Let’s follow Jesus and Peter back down the mountain.

“14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer (and fasting).” 

Where do we go for power?

Especially when what use to work doesn’t work … when facing a different “kind”?

Where does our lifestyle direct us?       

Where is Jesus and the Father directing us?   Who’s got the power?    

“Our spiritual health and capacity to do real life well
does not rise to the level of our aspirations or beliefs
but falls to the level of our regular spiritual rhythms
 which are designed to lead us into the Presence
of the One with the power.”