Getting Grace
Getting Grace: Paul
Today’s passage: Acts 9 Grace is wonderful. God shows us such kindness and love and gentleness. Even though we don’t deserve it, God invites us into a relationship with himself. Having shown us mercy – taking the penalty of our sin onto Himself – God graciously invites us into his family, adopting us by the blood of Jesus through the Spirit of God. I like the idea of grace. I love the fact that there are countless second chances. Every…
Getting Grace: Joseph
Passages under consideration: Genesis 37-54 This weekend, as we continue our exploration of God’s grace, we’re doing something a little different. Rather than looking at a single passage, we’re looking at a story that covers at least 10 chapters! Our focus today will be on the story of God’s using Joseph, and what that story reveals about the grace of God. To understand Genesis 37ff, we need to understand something of the family history. Joseph is a son of Israel…
Getting Grace: Adam & Eve
Grace is something that we cannot live without. Grace starts where mercy leaves off. It’s more than our not getting what we deserve. It’s our getting what we don’t deserve. Grace is, ultimately, God giving Himself to us. It’s by grace that we are saved. That is, we are saved not because we deserve to be with God, but simply because God chooses to save us. Grace is a gift. Grace doesn’t dumb down the immensity of sin. Grace isn’t…
Getting Grace
This week’s passage: 1 Peter 2:9-10 This weekend, we’re starting a brand new series focusing on grace. Grace is one of those concepts that we speak about a lot as Christians. But it’s also something that we can find incredibly hard to get a handle on. In some ways, we just don’t get grace; it staggers our understanding! Grace is God’s treating us with undeserved kindness. It’s God giving us what we don’t deserve. Mercy, on the other hand, is…