Embracing the Transformative Power of God's Grace
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "If I save my life, get it. Self-assertion, self-promotion, self-absorption, I will lose my life. But if I lose my life in loving God and in loving others, I will be surprised by joy and peace. And then he goes on and says, okay, let's get real practical here now. The grace of God is to produce not just love, joy, and peace, but patience, forbearance, kindness, and goodness. In other words, goodness and holiness. Experiencing the grace of God is to produce not just love, joy, and peace, but patience, and grace of God is incredibly active." [28:57]
2. "Michelangelo was obviously an incredibly talented artist and sculptor. He did the Statue of David. He painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He had tremendous acclaim, tremendous applause from people. But he began to live for that applause. The applause of people. He began to mean more to Michelangelo than the grace of God. But Michelangelo reached the point in his life where he realized, I'm not going to be on this earth too much longer. And it was at the time of the Reformation when Martin Luther and other reformers were pointing out, it's not by works that we're saved, but it's by God's grace through our faith in his son, Jesus Christ." [30:30]
3. "It's something that we find ourselves drawn to. And when you and I are confronted by the grace of God, his undeserved favor, his unearned love, his unmerited forgiveness, the gift of eternal life that he promises to all who put their faith in him, that draws us. There is something elegant and charming about grace. It brings us delight. Have you experienced the delight of God's grace?" [04:53]
4. "The first type of train is a symbol for works righteousness. But then there's a second type of train. That train pulls into the station and the poor, the blind, the hurting pile into that train car. But there's something that's different about this train car. The seats don't have those little tickets on the top of them. Instead, the conductor passes through the car and welcomes everybody. And everybody understands that the conductor is a friend. In fact, he's one of their closest friends, if not the best friend. And this train is headed towards heaven. And this train is salvation by grace. Not by works." [11:21]
5. "Life no, not when it comes to knowing God. It's not based on performance. It's based on God's performance, not mine. And all of a sudden that begins to attract me as I begin to realize I belong to him. I'm a child of his not because I have per not because I've outperformed anybody else, not because I'm better than this person or that person. I belong to Christ because of his amazing grace, his love, his acceptance. And you long to belong, and I long to belong. And the problem is that in this world that we live in, usually belonging is based on your performance. Have you performed well enough? That's radically different from the kingdom of God, from the family of Christ. You belong because he has chosen to love you. He accepts you." [13:37]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Grace means God accepts us. We belong to him. And therefore, we better learn to accept each other because we belong together, to love each other, to speak the truth to each other, to hold each other accountable, to be the body of Christ, which is marked by grace. And that's really, really hard because you and I both know where you're going to be tomorrow morning. Pedal to the metal, perform, perform, perform. And if you don't perform, you will be fired. And yet the grace of God is totally different. The grace of God is all about his acceptance, his sacrificial love, his calling us to himself, to live connected to him, and to accept each other, and to have compassion for each other, not control." [16:37]
2. "Cheap grace is, well, God forgives me, so it does not matter the way I live. False, Paul says. You're denying the truth. If you believe the grace of God, if you think it doesn't matter how you live, why did Christ die on a cross for us? Because it does matter the way we live. And when you begin to grasp that, you begin to want to allow Christ's Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out in deeper and more profound ways." [17:58]
3. "Grace frees me to not live for the approval of people. I'm living for God's approval. I'm living for his love, his truth. Grace frees me from having to experience physical comfort. In other words, grace helps us with work, suffering, and obedience. How does grace help us with suffering? 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 to 10, Paul writes, coming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to me a messenger of Satan, a thorn in my flesh. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my what? Grace. My grace is sufficient in your weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses. For when I'm weak, then I'm strong." [19:25]
4. "Now, what does grace do? Grace is sufficient for God's grace. It's his favor. It's his presence. It's the fact that he's at work in the midst of suffering, in the midst of pain. And Paul began to realize, when I am weak, then I'm strong because God's grace, his favor, his presence, his love, the fact that he's at work in the midst of my suffering is very real to me. Now, that's a challenge. And it's fascinating to watch people in our culture struggle with that." [21:14]
5. "Now, either the love of Christ, the love of God, becomes a deep, profound, soul-gripping experience, or else it's just an intellectual postulate. And the challenge for me, for all of us, is to move out of the theoretical, out of the abstract, into a life-gripping experience and conviction of God's love, of the fact that I have eternal life. Well, Cliff, where on earth did that come from? Well, it comes from the scriptures, but let me tell you also where it came from. This week, I had a little five-year-old girl sitting right next to me. And I love to teach little kids to memorize scripture." [22:49]
6. "Do you get the Christian life? It's right there. Serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. And here's the next line. If you go biting and devouring each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. Do you hear that, husbands and wives? Do you hear that, parents and children? Do you hear that, neighbors? Do you hear that, folks who know very well who's cut you off at the knees, who's been hypocritical, who's lied about you, who's hurt you? Paul writes, if you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other." [26:06]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "If I save my life, get it. Self-assertion, self-promotion, self-absorption, I will lose my life. But if I lose my life in loving God and in loving others, I will be surprised by joy and peace. And then he goes on and says, okay, let's get real practical here now. The grace of God is to produce not just love, joy, and peace, but patience, forbearance, kindness, and goodness. In other words, goodness and holiness. Experiencing the grace of God is to produce not just love, joy, and peace, but patience, and grace of God is incredibly active." [28:57]
2. "Michelangelo was obviously an incredibly talented artist and sculptor. He did the Statue of David. He painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He had tremendous acclaim, tremendous applause from people. But he began to live for that applause. The applause of people. He began to mean more to Michelangelo than the grace of God. But Michelangelo reached the point in his life where he realized, I'm not going to be on this earth too much longer. And it was at the time of the Reformation when Martin Luther and other reformers were pointing out, it's not by works that we're saved, but it's by God's grace through our faith in his son, Jesus Christ." [30:30]
3. "It's something that we find ourselves drawn to. And when you and I are confronted by the grace of God, his undeserved favor, his unearned love, his unmerited forgiveness, the gift of eternal life that he promises to all who put their faith in him, that draws us. There is something elegant and charming about grace. It brings us delight. Have you experienced the delight of God's grace?" [04:53]
4. "The first type of train is a symbol for works righteousness. But then there's a second type of train. That train pulls into the station and the poor, the blind, the hurting pile into that train car. But there's something that's different about this train car. The seats don't have those little tickets on the top of them. Instead, the conductor passes through the car and welcomes everybody. And everybody understands that the conductor is a friend. In fact, he's one of their closest friends, if not the best friend. And this train is headed towards heaven. And this train is salvation by grace. Not by works." [11:21]
5. "Life no, not when it comes to knowing God. It's not based on performance. It's based on God's performance, not mine. And all of a sudden that begins to attract me as I begin to realize I belong to him. I'm a child of his not because I have per not because I've outperformed anybody else, not because I'm better than this person or that person. I belong to Christ because of his amazing grace, his love, his acceptance. And you long to belong, and I long to belong. And the problem is that in this world that we live in, usually belonging is based on your performance. Have you performed well enough? That's radically different from the kingdom of God, from the family of Christ. You belong because he has chosen to love you. He accepts you." [13:37]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Grace means God accepts us. We belong to him. And therefore, we better learn to accept each other because we belong together, to love each other, to speak the truth to each other, to hold each other accountable, to be the body of Christ, which is marked by grace. And that's really, really hard because you and I both know where you're going to be tomorrow morning. Pedal to the metal, perform, perform, perform. And if you don't perform, you will be fired. And yet the grace of God is totally different. The grace of God is all about his acceptance, his sacrificial love, his calling us to himself, to live connected to him, and to accept each other, and to have compassion for each other, not control." [16:37]
2. "Cheap grace is, well, God forgives me, so it does not matter the way I live. False, Paul says. You're denying the truth. If you believe the grace of God, if you think it doesn't matter how you live, why did Christ die on a cross for us? Because it does matter the way we live. And when you begin to grasp that, you begin to want to allow Christ's Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out in deeper and more profound ways." [17:58]
3. "Grace frees me to not live for the approval of people. I'm living for God's approval. I'm living for his love, his truth. Grace frees me from having to experience physical comfort. In other words, grace helps us with work, suffering, and obedience. How does grace help us with suffering? 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 to 10, Paul writes, coming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to me a messenger of Satan, a thorn in my flesh. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my what? Grace. My grace is sufficient in your weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses. For when I'm weak, then I'm strong." [19:25]
4. "Now, what does grace do? Grace is sufficient for God's grace. It's his favor. It's his presence. It's the fact that he's at work in the midst of suffering, in the midst of pain. And Paul began to realize, when I am weak, then I'm strong because God's grace, his favor, his presence, his love, the fact that he's at work in the midst of my suffering is very real to me. Now, that's a challenge. And it's fascinating to watch people in our culture struggle with that." [21:14]
5. "Now, either the love of Christ, the love of God, becomes a deep, profound, soul-gripping experience, or else it's just an intellectual postulate. And the challenge for me, for all of us, is to move out of the theoretical, out of the abstract, into a life-gripping experience and conviction of God's love, of the fact that I have eternal life. Well, Cliff, where on earth did that come from? Well, it comes from the scriptures, but let me tell you also where it came from. This week, I had a little five-year-old girl sitting right next to me. And I love to teach little kids to memorize scripture." [22:49]
6. "Do you get the Christian life? It's right there. Serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. And here's the next line. If you go biting and devouring each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. Do you hear that, husbands and wives? Do you hear that, parents and children? Do you hear that, neighbors? Do you hear that, folks who know very well who's cut you off at the knees, who's been hypocritical, who's lied about you, who's hurt you? Paul writes, if you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other." [26:06]
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