Foundations | We lead with Grace

Devotional

Day 1: Eyes Down, Mercy Up

The tax collector stood far off, fists pounding his chest like a funeral drum. His eyes stayed fixed on the dirt as he choked out three words that split heaven open: “God, have mercy.” No comparisons. No résumé. Just raw need meeting radical grace. Jesus said this broken man walked home right with God—not the polished religious leader rehearsing his merits. [38:02]

Jesus’ story guts our performance-based spirituality. The Father’s approval doesn’t hinge on moral report cards but on honest desperation. Heaven’s economy elevates the humble, not the self-sufficient.

How often do you approach God like the tax collector—not negotiating with goodness, but surrendering in need? When shame whispers you’re disqualified, hear Jesus’ verdict: mercy triumphs over metrics. Where is your gaze fixed today—on your resume or His redemption?

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”
(Luke 18:13, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to strip away every pretense of self-sufficiency as you approach Him today.

Challenge: Write “Have mercy” on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it hourly as a prayer prompt.

Day 2: Not Like Other People

The Pharisee’s prayer pierced the temple air like a trumpet blast: “Thank you I’m not like THEM.” He cataloged his fasting, tithing, and moral superiority—a checklist meant to box God into debt. But his words built walls, not bridges. Jesus called this the prayer of the unrighteous. [37:40]

Comparison corrupts worship. When we measure ourselves against others—whether in morality, suffering, or success—we blind ourselves to our shared need for grace. God refuses to be impressed by our scorecards.

Notice today when “I’m not like them” creeps into your thoughts—toward a struggling friend, a difficult coworker, or a public figure’s failure. How might Jesus redirect your focus to your common ground at the foot of the cross?

“The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”
(Luke 18:11-12, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one judgmental comparison you’ve made this week. Thank Jesus for covering both you and “them.”

Challenge: Identify someone you’ve mentally labeled “other.” Text them a genuine encouragement today.

Day 3: Receiving Like a Child

Parents shoved through the crowd, desperate for Jesus to touch their children. The disciples scolded them—too messy, too noisy, too unproductive. But Jesus scooped up a child and declared, “This is how you approach My kingdom.” No pretense. No bargaining. Just open-handed receiving. [39:28]

Children know their dependence. They don’t earn meals or negotiate bedtime—they simply trust. Jesus says spiritual growth begins with childlike reception, not adult negotiation. Grace flows to empty hands, not full resumes.

Where have you overcomplicated faith with adult calculations? What would it look like to approach Jesus today with a child’s shameless dependence—asking boldly, clinging freely, resting secure?

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
(Luke 18:17, NIV)

Prayer: Kneel physically or mentally as you pray today. Let your posture declare your dependence.

Challenge: Spend 5 minutes in silent prayer, imagining yourself sitting on Jesus’ lap as a trusting child.

Day 4: Persistent Widow, Relentless Grace

The widow kept pounding the judge’s door, her fists raw from knocking. An unjust system ignored her. A corrupt official resisted her. Yet she persisted—and cracked open a conduit for justice. Jesus uses her stubbornness to reveal God’s heart: He’s not a reluctant judge but a ready Father. [35:18]

When we feel overlooked—by people, systems, even heaven—this story reframes our persistence. What looks like nagging becomes worship when directed toward the One who never wearies of our cries.

What injustice or need have you stopped bringing to God because you’ve decided He’s indifferent? How might the widow’s example reignite your boldness?

“And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?’”
(Luke 18:6-7, NIV)

Prayer: Name one “unanswered” prayer. Ask God for persistence to keep knocking.

Challenge: Set a phone reminder to pray for that need at three specific times today.

Day 5: Chief of Sinners, Recipient of Mercy

Paul listed his credentials: liar, persecutor, violent man. Then he called himself the “worst of sinners”—not to wallow, but to spotlight grace. His past became a platform to display Christ’s patience. The church’s archenemy became its architect, proving no one falls beyond grace’s reach. [54:09]

Your greatest shame is not your identity but Christ’s opportunity. When we stop minimizing our sin, we maximize His mercy. Grace shines brightest through cracked jars.

What chapter of your story feels too dark to display? How might surrendering it to Christ transform a wound into a witness?

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”
(1 Timothy 1:15-16, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for one specific failure He’s redeemed. Ask Him to use it to encourage someone.

Challenge: Share a sentence of your redemption story with one person today—in person or online.

Sermon Summary

The call to lead with grace starts by asking a hard question about goodness and assumptions. Grace refuses to put people on a sliding scale of worth, where a public failure makes a person a pariah. Luke 18 sets the frame for that refusal. The widow’s cry for vindication reveals a broken system and a righteous lowly one, while the judge in power is crooked. The contrast between self righteousness and repentance then steps into the temple, where a Pharisee tallies moral wins and a tax collector beats his chest and prays, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Jesus declares that the sinner goes home justified, because those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

The kingdom insists on childlike reception, not adult self sufficiency. The children are welcomed, and the door into life swings on humility. Jesus’ verdict lands even heavier when a sincere ruler asks about eternal life. No one is good except God alone. That sentence closes every boasting loop and removes the oxygen from moral pride. The doctrine of human sinfulness does not deny that people do admirable things. It declares those things cannot save. If people are enough on their own, there is no need for the cross. But the cross is precisely the point. Redemption comes by grace.

The path into that grace stays simple and honest. Admit. Repent. Receive. The tax collector’s prayer becomes the model for the soul: God, have mercy. Hebrews names the place where that prayer is heard. The throne of God is grace. Confidence at that throne does not come from spotless performance. It comes from a merciful High Priest who sympathizes, yet did not sin.

The practice of grace must move horizontally. Ephesians 4 lays out the posture: be completely humble, gentle, and patient, bearing with one another in love. Grace that pours down from the cross should show up in the church’s bloodstream as unity, peace, and a long memory of being forgiven. The identity of a Jesus people gets summed up like this. Grace bends down, picks them up, dusts them off, gives them a new name and a new trajectory. God is God. God alone is good. And grace is the gift.

Key Takeaways

1. Only God is truly good No one stands righteous enough to erase the need for the cross. This frees the church from performative goodness and points faith back to the Lord who stands alone. Admiration for human virtue can inspire, but it cannot justify. Only God is good, and that truth keeps grace central. [42:14]
2. Humble repentance beats polished religion The honest cry God, have mercy justifies the sinner while self congratulation hardens the heart. Repentance is not groveling for shame’s sake but opening the soul to receive what cannot be earned. God lifts the lowly who stop pretending. Exaltation follows humility, not spiritual showmanship. [38:32]
3. Receive the kingdom like a child Childlike trust outpaces adult control, calculation, and resume building. The kingdom is received, not managed, and grace lands best in hands that are empty. The simplest prayer often proves the wisest step toward God. Dependence is not a flaw in the kingdom, it is the doorway. [39:28]
4. Grace is a throne not a ladder Access comes by a High Priest who sympathizes, not by climbing moral rungs. Confidence to draw near grows from Jesus’ mercy, not from a clean week or a strong will. Bold approach does not deny sin, it brings sin to the only place it can be dealt with. The throne’s name is grace. [52:16]
5. Grace received must go horizontal The gospel that forgives also forms a people who forgive. Humility, gentleness, patience, and unity are not extras for mature believers, they are the fruit of remembered mercy. A church that knows its debt stops tallying what others owe. The forgiven become forgivers. [56:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:48] - Foundations: Lead with Grace
[30:45] - DC window story on assumptions
[33:01] - Are people good or canceled?
[35:18] - Widow and the unjust judge
[36:39] - Pharisee vs. tax collector
[38:32] - The humble are justified
[39:28] - Receive the kingdom like children
[40:23] - Impossible for man, possible with God
[42:14] - No one is good but God
[46:17] - No cross if people are enough
[49:20] - Prayer of mercy and repentance
[52:16] - Approach the throne of grace
[56:29] - Extend grace in the church
[64:32] - Benediction: become people of grace

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Observation Questions

In Luke 18:9-14, how does Jesus contrast the Pharisee’s prayer with the tax collector’s prayer? What specific attitudes or actions distinguish them?
According to Ephesians 4:1-3 (referenced in the sermon), what four qualities are believers called to embody in their relationships with others? [56:29]
What does Hebrews 4:16 say about approaching God’s throne, and how does this connect to the tax collector’s prayer in Luke 18? [52:16]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus chose a tax collector—a figure widely despised in that culture—as the example of someone justified before God? What does this reveal about the nature of grace?
The sermon emphasizes that “grace is a throne, not a ladder.” How does this metaphor challenge common misconceptions about earning God’s favor through personal effort? [52:16]
Jesus says we must “receive the kingdom like a child” (Luke 18:17). What might childlike dependence look like in contrast to adult self-sufficiency?

Application Questions

Reflect on a recent situation where you were tempted to judge someone’s worth based on their actions or failures (like the DC bike story). How could humility and grace reshape your response next time? [30:45]
The tax collector’s prayer was simple: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” What would it look like to make this prayer a daily habit? Identify one area of your life where you need to stop “performing” and start admitting your need for mercy.
The sermon mentions that “grace received must go horizontal.” Who in your life is hardest to extend patience or forgiveness to right now? What practical step could you take to “bear with them in love” (Ephesians 4:2)?
When have you tried to “climb the ladder” of moral performance to feel confident before God (e.g., through achievements, service, or comparison)? How can you shift your focus to Jesus’ mercy instead? [52:16]
The story about paying for the milk highlights integrity over self-interest. Is there a situation where you’re tempted to compromise honesty for convenience? How does grace empower you to choose differently? [42:56]

Sermon Clips

Be completely humble, guys. Come on. You don't have it all together. Don't act like you do. Remember? Everything is uncovered. God sees everything. We must give an account for this. So be humble and be gentle and be patient, bearing with one another in love. You should forgive because you've been forgiven. We know that in the Lord's Prayer, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who've trespassed against us. He says, come on. Remember where you came from. Remember who you are and what you are. You should be humble and gentle and patient with other people. [00:56:29] (34 seconds)

But if I say that people are good enough on their own, then I don't need the cross. If I say that people are are inherently good and wonderful and can do it on their own, then there's no need for Easter. There's no need for Good Friday. There's no need for the crucifixion. There's really no need for Jesus. And that's why I think it's this hard thing because as a church, we say we lead with grace and we believe in people and the potential of people. Yes. But we have to be honest, so we lead with grace, but we always choose truth and we have to say, we love you, we believe in you, but you're sinful, but you're imperfect. [00:46:12] (38 seconds)

I'll receive the new name that you give me. I will stop listening to the lies and the shame of the past of what I've done, what I've said, and what I've thought. That's not me anymore. Now I'm redeemed. Now I'm forgiven. And now I walk in your grace. See, the grace of God bends down, picks us up, dusts us off, and gives us a new name and a new trajectory. And it says we can't earn this, We can't be coercive in this. We can't manipulate this. You can't be good enough to get this. It's simply a free gift that God has given us through the death of Jesus on the cross. [00:50:31] (37 seconds)

Verse 19, why do you call me good? Jesus answered, no one is good except God alone. And right here, this sentence disturbs me. No one is good. No one. No one. No one is is good, but don't we hear that all the time? Like, people are good. Inherently, humans are are there's goodness in in all of us when you get right down to it, like like, all of us are good. Right? I'm a I'm a good person. My my mother is probably one of the the goodest, there you go, people that I know. [00:42:01] (37 seconds)

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Foundations | We lead with Grace | Terrence Sutton