Amazing Grace: Special Guest speaker Hunter Howard

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Flat Tires Reveal Our Need for Grace

A stranded teenager with a shredded tire learns grace isn’t earned through competence but given through help. Just as human inability meets divine intervention on the roadside, God’s grace meets us precisely where our strength fails. This divine help isn’t conditional on our performance but flows from Christ’s finished work. Grace begins by exposing our limitations so we might lean wholly on God’s ability. The law reveals our inadequacy, but grace supplies what we lack through Jesus’ perfect obedience. True freedom comes when we stop pretending we can fix ourselves. [03:01]

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been “driving on a flat tire” spiritually, trying to solve problems through self-effort? What would it look like to call for Christ’s help in that area today?

Day 2: Grace Is Divine Ability, Not Pixie Dust

Grace resists cheap caricatures of magical fixes or passive spirituality. Like a farmer partnering with rain and soil to grow crops, believers cooperate with God’s empowering presence. The Philippians 2 call to “work hard” aligns with God’s inner working, not against it. Grace isn’t a mystical force but Christ’s resurrection power enabling ordinary obedience. When we act on God-given desires, we activate His sustaining strength. This divine collaboration makes radical obedience possible. [15:35]

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:12-13, NLT)

Reflection: What specific God-given desire have you hesitated to act on? How might trusting His “power to do” transform your next step?

Day 3: The Two-Phase Engine of Grace

God’s grace operates like a dual combustion engine: first igniting holy desires, then fueling holy actions. The desire to pray, give, or forgive originates from His Spirit, not self-improvement plans. These implanted longings come with built-in power for fulfillment. Our role isn’t manufacturing zeal but cooperating with the energy already at work within. What He initiates, He completes. [28:00]

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, ESV)

Reflection: Which God-planted desire feels overwhelming to act on? How does knowing He supplies both the “want to” and “how to” change your approach?

Day 4: Grace Displaces Darkness Like Light

Obedience fueled by grace doesn’t blend in—it disrupts. Just as a single lamp illuminates a blacked-out room, grace-empowered living exposes cultural decay. This light isn’t our moral performance but Christ’s character radiating through acts of love, integrity, and forgiveness. The brighter we shine, the more we expose opportunities for others to encounter God. [22:32]

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: Where has fear of standing out silenced your witness? What grace-empowered action could quietly illuminate your corner of the world today?

Day 5: The Ripple Effect of Activated Grace

God’s intentions for your community flow through your activated obedience. Every grace-fueled act—a kind word, a integrity-keeping decision—advances His kingdom like pebbles creating ripples. What seems small in your hands becomes transformative through His multiplier effect. Our work isn’t to manufacture outcomes but to faithfully release what He’s placed within. [31:15]

“We keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, NLT)

Reflection: What “pebble” of obedience have you undervalued? How might God use it to create ripples beyond your sight?

Sermon Summary

God’s law is perfect, and that creates a real problem for imperfect people. God’s law shows sin for what it is, not so God can point a finger and condemn, but so people can see how much they need His help. Jesus did not come to abolish the law. Jesus came to fulfill it and fulfill its purpose.

The gospel is the good news that Jesus did what people could not do. Jesus fulfilled God’s law in their place, paid for sin at the cross, and now works by His Spirit on the inside of those who trust Him. Grace is surely unmerited favor, undeserved goodness, extreme forgiveness, and God’s kindness. Grace is also much more than that. Grace is God’s power to accomplish what people cannot accomplish. Grace is divine ability.

Philippians 2 holds grace and effort together. Paul says, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation,” and then says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Grace is not magic. Grace is not pixie dust. Grace requires participation, intentional effort, and obedience. Grace is not against effort. Grace is against earning.

God’s grace does not merely save people from the consequences of sin. Grace sets people free from sin’s authority. Sin may still talk, and the flesh may still be present, but grace means sin no longer rules. Christ gives His people power to refuse sin and obey Jesus. Grace fills hard work with God’s power, and there will be results.

Paul shows that salvation begins on the inside but does not stay hidden there. God works in His people to will and to work, to desire and to act, to receive His intentions and carry them out. God places the desire to be kind, generous, righteous, and bold witnesses for Christ within the heart. God also supplies the power to do what He puts there.

Grace makes God’s people shine like bright lights in a crooked and dark world. Christ’s light becomes visible when His people obey Him, and darkness cannot ignore light when it turns on. Second Thessalonians declares that God enables His people to live worthy of His call and gives power to accomplish every good thing faith prompts them to do. Jesus alone makes that life possible. Jesus came to do what people could not do, and those who turn from sin, receive Him as Lord, and trust His cross receive forgiveness, new life, and the Holy Spirit within.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace is divine ability in action. Grace is not merely God being nice to undeserving people, though it surely includes that. Grace is God’s own ability overtaking human inability so that His will can actually be done. God does not simply demand obedience from a distance. God works in His people with power to carry out what pleases Him. [10:04]
2. Grace opposes earning, not effort. Grace cannot be bought, deserved, or paid back through religious striving. Grace also does not leave a person passive, waiting for spiritual pixie dust to fall. God fills obedient effort with His power, and that power produces real results that can be seen. [15:35]
3. Grace breaks sin’s old authority. Sin may still speak, tempt, and pull at the flesh, even after many years of following Jesus. Grace means sin no longer has the right to rule or command Christ’s people. Christ gives His people freedom to say no to sin and strength to obey what He says instead. [19:43]
4. God gives both desire and power. God puts His will, His intentions, and His desires into the hearts of His people. God also gives the ability to turn those holy desires into actual kindness, generosity, witness, and righteous action. Grace becomes visible when God’s intention moves from the heart into obedience. [27:38]
5. Jesus is grace received personally. Jesus fulfilled the law, bore sin, rose from the grave, and pours out His Spirit. Grace is not an abstract idea apart from Him. Jesus gives forgiveness, a new heart, and a new life to those who turn from sin and surrender to Him as Lord. [35:21]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:19] - A Good Idea and the Need for Help
[03:49] - God’s Perfect Law and Human Inability
[07:45] - Jesus Did What People Could Not Do
[08:29] - Grace as Divine Ability
[12:26] - Philippians 2: God Working in You
[14:47] - Grace Is Not Magic
[17:11] - Grace Produces Visible Results
[19:43] - Grace Sets People Free From Sin
[21:47] - Shining Like Bright Lights
[24:13] - God Gives Desire and Power
[30:53] - God’s Intentions Become Action
[32:38] - Power to Accomplish Faith’s Good Works
[34:39] - Receiving Grace Through Jesus
[37:46] - Prayer to Receive Christ

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Philippians 2:12-13
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” [12:26]

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” [32:38]

Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [05:09]

Observation questions

In Philippians 2:12–13, what two responsibilities are placed side by side: the believer’s response and God’s work within them? [13:13]
What visible actions and attitudes does Paul connect with shining “like bright lights” in Philippians 2? [14:38]
According to Matthew 5:17, what did Jesus say He came to do with the Law and the Prophets? How does that differ from abolishing them? [05:07]
In 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12, what does Paul ask God to enable believers to do, and what is the purpose of that kind of life? [33:17]

Interpretation questions

If grace is God’s ability working in people to do His will, why does Philippians 2 still call believers to work hard? What is the difference between making an effort to obey and trying to earn God’s acceptance? [16:16]
Philippians 2 says that God gives both the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. What might it look like when a person has a good desire from God but does not act on it? [27:38]
Jesus fulfilled the law in humanity’s place, and He now works in His people by the Holy Spirit. How does this protect believers from both legalism on one side and passivity on the other? [35:21]
Paul connects God’s power for good works with honoring the name of Jesus. How can a believer’s kindness, generosity, integrity, or witness bring attention to Christ rather than to themselves? [33:25]

Application questions

Where are you most tempted to rely on your own strength to obey God—perhaps in your thoughts, relationships, habits, work, or family life? What would it look like to depend on God’s grace in that specific area this week? [10:17]
Is there an area where you have confused grace with passivity—waiting to change without taking a clear step of obedience? What intentional effort might God be inviting you to make? [15:29]
Sin may still speak, but it no longer has authority over those who are in Christ. What temptation or repeated pattern has been speaking loudly to you lately? What is one practical way you can say no to it and say yes to Jesus? [19:34]
Think about a recent desire to be kind, generous, courageous, or a witness for Jesus. Did you act on that desire? If not, what could help you respond more quickly when God places a good intention in your heart? [28:11]
Where do you spend regular time among people who may be discouraged, lonely, hurting, or far from God? What could it look like for Christ’s light to become visible through your words and actions there? [22:59]
What “good thing” has faith been prompting you to do that feels beyond your ability right now? How can the group encourage and pray for you to take a faithful next step, trusting God to supply the power? [33:25]

Sermon Clips

54s

#GraceOverSin

“Over three decades of following Jesus and sin still talks to me. How about you? But here's the good news. Because of the grace of God, I don't have to do what sin tells me to do anymore. In Romans, it teaches us about this, that we are no longer under any obligation to do what sin tells us to do. Before grace, right, we didn't really have a choice. We just kinda went along with sin because it was our nature. But now because of the grace of God, by the Holy Spirit on the inside of us, right, that we receive through Jesus. Now we don't... We have no obligation to do what sin tells us to do. We actually can obey because of his grace.”

42s

#DivineAbility

“No. But grace is divine ability. In other words, it's not our ability. It's God's ability. And what is God able to do? God can everything. Right? Grace is God's ability. It is divine ability, but not just God's ability for whatever. Grace is divine ability actually in us to do his will. Grace is God's ability working in you to do his will.”

35s

#GraceInAction

“See, the full work of grace is not only to desire the will of God, but then go and do it. And the good news is he puts the desire and he puts the ability in us to carry out that desire. And you thought you were just a good person. That's why you just wanna be so kind. The desire to be kind, the desire to be good, the desire to be generous came from him and then from him the ability to actually go and do it.”

42s

#WorkOutYourFaith

“Grace is not pixie dust. Grace is not magic. It actually requires our participation. Grace requires intentional effort. Work hard, the word says, to show the results of our salvation. See, it is God at work in us, and it is God at work through us, but we have to join with him and work hard. To what? To obey.”

36s

#FaithAndEffort

“Now we know that we cannot earn the grace of God. Right? There's nothing you can do to pay for it. There's nothing you can do to earn it. It is unmerited. It is unearned. It is because he is good. Right? But when we have the grace of God, it's not against our effort. In fact, it goes together. Because we have the grace of God, now we make a big effort to obey him.”

48s

#ShineForJesus

“There is no way that if you are following Jesus, if you're obeying Jesus, if you're doing his will, there is no way that the darkness won't notice it. You will shine bright. how many of us wanna shine bright for him? How many of us want God to use our lives to shine bright and push the darkness out? How many of us want God to use us to push the darkness out of somebody else's life? Did you know that's the power of grace through you? He's not only working in you, but he'll work through you to shine and to bring his light to other people, which I know is a big part of the vision of three w church.”

65s

#LightInTheDarkness

“receive God's grace, work hard to show the results through obedience. The result says in the scripture that we will shine like bright lights. The result is shining. Bright light is the outcome of grace. We know that Christ is light, and we shine bright with his light when we do his will. When we live following Jesus and obeying Jesus, have you noticed that makes you a little bit different than the people around you? Following Jesus, obeying Jesus makes us different from the rest of the world and they will take notice. This is something so powerful because there is no way possible that if you're in a dark room with somebody and all of a sudden the light turns on, there's no way they're not going to notice.”

55s

#GodsPurpose

“God... In God's heart, there are plans for the world. God has specific intentions for the people that live in your neighborhood. God has intentions for the people that you work with. God has intentions for your classmates at school. God has intentions for this community, for this city, and for the world. And he wants to connect you and me to the intentions that are in his heart. And then not only does he connect us to his intentions, he activates us to act upon those intentions. What do we call that? It's grace. He puts his intentions, he puts his plans, his desires, his will into our heart. He works it into us and then activates us to do it.”

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