June 1, 2025
Is there really such thing as a private sin — something hidden that affects no one but you? In this gripping and unflinchingly honest message from our Real People series at Big Valley Grace Community Church, Pastor Rick walks through one of the darkest stories in the Bible: Achan, the man whose hidden sin brought devastation to an entire nation. After God’s stunning victory at Jericho, one soldier saw a bar of gold, wanted it, took it, and buried it in his tent — and thirty-six soldiers died at Ai, thirty-six wives lost their husbands, and countless children lost their fathers because of it.
With vivid storytelling and refreshing candor, Pastor Rick unpacks how to become a hypocrite in four easy steps — seeing, wanting, taking, hiding — and why sin buried in your life always comes out. Drawing a memorable line to the televangelist scandals of the 1980s, he shows how one person’s hidden sin can rob an entire community of its power and reputation, and why there’s no such thing as a sin that hurts no one else.
If you’re wrestling with hidden struggles — habits, addictions, secret sins you hope no one ever finds — this message offers real hope: all of us deserve the stoning, but Jesus took our stoning at the cross (Romans 5:8). God stands ready to forgive anything you’re willing to bring into the light. Whether you’re a long-time believer trying to overcome temptation or someone far from God wondering if forgiveness is even possible for you, this is your invitation to stop burying and start confessing.
Don’t let what’s buried stay buried. Watch to the end — today could be the day you walk out different.
Join us at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA — real people, real issues, a real God.
#HiddenSin #Joshua7 #Achan #ConfessionAndForgiveness #GodsHoliness
May 25, 2025
What does a deep relationship with God actually look like? In this message from our Real People series at Big Valley Grace Community Church, we walk through Psalm 139 — King David’s breathtaking portrait of what it means to be fully known, fully present with, and fully loved by God. David, a man after God’s own heart who was no stranger to failure, declares that God has searched him and known him: God knows when we sit down and rise up, discerns our thoughts from afar, and even before a word is on our tongue, knows it altogether.
If you’ve ever wanted to grow closer to God but felt too broken, too busy, or too far gone, this message will change how you see yourself. You’ll discover that a deep relationship with God doesn’t start with our depth — it starts with his. You’ll learn how to build a deeper relationship with God through honest confession, what it means that God knit you together and wrote all your days in his book, why no amount of darkness can hide you from his presence, and why his thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand. You’ll also see how each section of the psalm connects to a Beatitude of Jesus — from “Blessed are the poor in spirit” to “Blessed are the pure in heart.”
This is Christian encouragement for anyone wrestling with identity, purpose, and value in a culture searching aimlessly for all three: you are not a mistake, not an accident — you were crafted by God, and your life matters because of him. And if you’ve never started a relationship with God at all, this message ends with a simple prayer of redemption through the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7) — today can be your day.
Watch to the end and make David’s prayer yours: “Search me, O God, and know my heart… and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Join us at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA — real people, real issues, a real God.
#Psalm139 #DeeperRelationshipWithGod #KnownByGod #ChristianEncouragement #IdentityInChrist
May 18, 2025
What would you do if God asked you to leave everything familiar — your home, your community, your plans — and go to a place he would only show you when you got there? In this message from our Real People series, we walk through Genesis 12:1–4, the starting point of Abram and Sarai’s story, and discover one of the most powerful callings in Scripture. Through four life-changing questions, this message explores what it means to follow God into the unknown: going from what you know to where he will show, allowing God to change your heart, soul, mind, and strength so others receive the blessing, trusting his plan even when it brings loss, and — like Abram — actually obeying.
With honesty and vulnerability, the speaker shares how God has repeatedly disrupted his own residence, job, budget, schedule, habits, relationships, ministry, and priorities. Then his wife Sarah Boon shares a breathtaking live testimony of obedience: how a three-letter word — “yes” — to adoption and foster care in 2009 changed her family’s trajectory forever, growing them into a family of eleven and teaching her that God’s grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
If you’re wondering how to hear God’s voice, how to know God’s calling for your life, or how to find the courage and boldness to take your next step of obedience, this message is for you. Following Jesus was never promised to be easy — “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24) — but it is always worth it.
Watch to the end and answer the final question for yourself: if your next action was in obedience to God, what would you do? Join us at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA, where real people with real stories follow a real God.
#FollowingGodsCalling #ObedienceToGod #Genesis12 #CourageAndFaith #AdoptionTestimony
May 11, 2025
What do you do when you’ve prayed and prayed for your child — and heaven seems silent? In this message from our Real People series at Big Valley Grace Community Church, Bobby walks through the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15: a desperate, unnamed mom whose daughter was severely oppressed by a demon, who cried out to Jesus, faced what felt like silence, rejection, and a closed door — and refused to give up. Jesus called her faith “great,” and her daughter was healed instantly.
If you’ve ever wondered why God isn’t answering your prayer, how to grow in faith through seasons of waiting, or how to keep praying for a prodigal child who has walked away from God, this message will speak directly to your heart. You’ll discover biblical principles for persevering in prayer, why God sometimes delays to stretch and strengthen our faith, and how he may be teaching others — even our family and friends — through our persistent prayers.
Bobby, a parent of four who has walked through sleepless nights, tears, and seasons of feeling like a failure, shares three powerful, practical next steps: grab your mat and never stop praying, call a friend and join a life group, and leave the light on for your prodigal — don’t give up hope. This is Christian encouragement for difficult seasons of parenting, grandparenting, and longing — rooted in the story of a woman whose great faith moved Jesus himself.
Whether you’re a parent crying out for a struggling child, a grandparent praying for a wayward grandchild, or someone who longs to be a parent, watch to the end: “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24) might become your prayer too.
Join us at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA, where real people with real issues meet a real God.
#PrayingForProdigals #PerseveringPrayer #RealPeople #ParentingWithFaith #DontGiveUpHope
May 4, 2025
Why does God allow anger to build up inside us until it destroys the people and relationships we love most? In this powerful message from our Real People series, Joel walks through Genesis 4 — the story of Cain and Abel — and uncovers what the Bible really says about overcoming anger, taking accountability for sin, and finding God’s grace when we deserve judgment. This is one of the most honest sermons you’ll hear on how to deal with anger in marriage and family, as Joel shares openly from his own story: how anger nearly ended his marriage, and how God rescued and restored it. This May, he and his wife Sarah celebrate 25 years together — proof that no relationship is beyond God’s redemption.
You’ll learn why the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20), how to stop blaming others and own your sin, why leaving God’s presence always leads to wandering, and how generational patterns of pain can be broken by grace. Most importantly, you’ll get a practical, biblical tool for real transformation: the RESET acronym — Repent of your sin, Establish your mind on God’s word, See your identity in Jesus Christ, Engage your relationships, and build Trust through truth, authenticity, and transparency.
If you’re searching for Christian encouragement for a difficult season in your marriage or family, struggling with anger, or wondering how to grow in faith when your story feels broken, this message is for you. God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Watch to the end and ask yourself: what could be the greatest restoration of relationship in your life? Join us at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA — where real people meet a real God.
#OvercomingAnger #CainAndAbel #MarriageRestoration #Genesis4 #ChristianEncouragement
April 27, 2025
What does it really mean to be a godly steward of everything God has placed in your hands? In week four of our stewardship series, we discover The Reward — the incredible promise that when we give in worship to God, spiritual fruit increases to our credit (Philippians 4:17). Walking through Philippians 4:10–20, this message unpacks five practical ways the Philippian church supported ministry: looking for opportunities to show concern, kindly sharing in one another’s trouble, entering gospel partnership through giving and receiving, giving again when new needs arise, and offering sacrifices that are pleasing to God.
If you’ve ever wrestled with how to grow in faith through generosity, wondered what the Bible says about contentment, or asked how to trust God’s promise to supply every need, this message is for you. You’ll learn biblical stewardship principles that turn financial giving from an obligation into an act of worship — and find Christian encouragement for difficult seasons from a passage written by the Apostle Paul himself, who learned the secret of contentment in plenty and in need: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Whether you’re taking your first step in giving or longing to grow as a faithful steward, this is your invitation to lay up treasures in heaven — where there are no garage sales. Watch and be encouraged: we serve a big God who can do anything he wants, and he never runs out.
Join us each week for Bible-based teaching at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, CA. Visit valleygrace.org to connect, find a small group, or learn more about our giving resources.
#Stewardship #ChristianGiving #Philippians4 #GrowInFaith #TreasuresInHeaven