Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 1:6, John 21:15-19, Exodus 16:, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, John 15:1-8
Grace is not only needed for the occasion of conversion, the moment we suddenly (or slowly) come to our senses and realize that we are spiritually bankrupt, having nothing to bring to God and everythi...
2 Kings 5:1-14, Genesis 15:6, Matthew 13:44, Titus 3:5, John 6:29, Romans 5:1-2
In his book The Mystery of Christ , a series of fictionalized pastoral counseling sessions (based on actual events), the Episcopal priest Robert Farrar Capon shares a number of helpful ways of unde...
2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 2:11-12, Ephesians 2:8-10, John 8:1-11, Exodus 16:13-18, Romans 7:18-25, John 15:1-5
A number of you may be aware of Jerry Bridges’ series of books on holiness, and the book that maybe put him on the map was Pursuit of Holiness . Jerry’s a friend, so he’s told me these stories, and I...
Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 1:13-14, Luke 6:37, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 3:23-24
At the beginning to the musical Les Misérables , the lead character Jean Valjean is arrested by the police, with silver he has stolen from a kindly bishop who had given him shelter. Valjean is plainl...
Romans 5:6, Luke 23:39-43, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:6-8
If you’re not stunned by the thought of grace, then you aren’t grasping what grace offers you, or what it cost Jesus. In 1987, eighteen-month-old “Baby Jessica” fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well....
John 1:16-17, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 3:5-6, Galatians 4:6
The piling on of grace upon grace is incredible. God had given us his Son. We killed him. In response God says, “I want to forgive you and offer another ‘family member,’ so to speak.” It was a case of...
At the core of every project of self-salvation is the staunch unwillingness to believe that God’s love and forgiveness can be unmerited. Those who would try and save themselves prefer work to rest, ef...
Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 6:4, Colossians 3:10, Titus 2:11-12, John 1:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17
Amazing grace How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, But now am found. Was blind, but now I see. Lord of all, you have called us toward a new way of life. Give...
Romans 1:25, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 2:10, Luke 2:25-32, Titus 3:4-5, 1 Kings 18:39, Titus 2:11
Your grace, O God, has appeared for the salvation of all, calling us to renounce false gods and irresponsible love. In the midst of our sin, Christ has appeared as a sign of our hope, redeeming us and...
Leader: Since we have a great high priest who can sympathize with our weakness, let us boldly approach the throne of grace, confident that there we will receive God’s mercy and grace in our time of ne...
Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, Romans 8:38-39, Titus 3:4-5, Isaiah 55:1, Psalm 103:10-12, John 15:9
Gracious Father, too often we base our worth on our performance. We believe if we do well, your love grows, and if we falter, your love lessens. Our God, how far this is from the truth. We confess our...
1 John 4:9-11, Titus 3:4-5, James 4:6, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 51:1-2, Micah 6:8
O God, who is rich in mercy, We come before you humbled and in need of your grace. Many of us have been in the church for so long that we have forgotten how each day your mercies are new, your grace ...
Genesis 45:1-15, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:20, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 15:11-32, John 8:1-11
One of the most powerful illustrations of grace and mercy in all of western literature has to be the great scene between Monseigneur Bienvenu and Jean Valjean in the stirring epic Les Miserables by Vi...
Romans 5:10, Psalm 103:8, Luke 6:35-36, Colossians 3:13, John 15:12-13, Titus 3:4-5
The Lord our God is rich in mercy, slow to anger, and abounds in steadfast love. He does not pay us back what we deserve, but even while we were his enemies he sent his son to die for us. Christ died ...
Galatians 2:20, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:5, John 11:25-26, Ephesians 2:8-9
O my all-merciful God and Lord, Jesus Christ, full of pity: Through Your great love You came down and became incarnate in order to save everyone. O Savior, I ask You to save me by Your grace! If You ...
Ephesians 1:7-8, Revelation 5:9, Acts 20:28, Titus 2:13-14, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Hebrews 9:12, Romans 3:23-24
In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. Together we affirm that b...
It’s remarkable that when the Father declares at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” Jesus hasn’t yet done much of anything that many would find impressive. He hasn’...
Titus 3:4-5, Luke 23:39-43, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Romans 6:23, Matthew 20:1-16, Ephesians 2:8-9
The generosity and the magnanimity of God are so great that he accepts nothing from us without rewarding it beyond all computation. . . The vast disproportion existing between our work and God’s rewar...
Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 15:11-32, Romans 5:8 , 1 John 4:10, Titus 3:4-5 , Psalm 103:10-12, Isaiah 49:15-16
Gracious Father, too often we base our worth on our performance. We believe if we do well, your love grows, and if we falter, your love lessens. Our God, how far this is from the truth. We confess our...
Romans 5:6-8, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Mark 10:17-22, Galatians 2:16
In his book The Case for Grace , pastor and author Lee Strobel describes a dream he had as a child after having a significant argument with his father. Strobel does what most of us would do at that...
Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:4-5, Luke 19:1-10
Christmas is about receiving presents, but consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on C...
James 2:13, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:4-5, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 5:7
When Johann Sebastian Bach sought to convey the heart of Christian truth through music, he chose the Mass as his foundation. His B Minor Mass begins with a heartfelt plea from the full chorus and orch...
2 Corinthians 5:17, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 23:39-43, Titus 2:11-12, Philippians 2:12-13, James 2:17-18
Evangelicals believe they are saved by grace through faith but then add a man-made waiver that you have to work as hard as you can meet middle-class behavioral patterns to hang onto it.
Titus 3:4-5, Ephesians 2:8, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Psalm 30:5, Ruth 4:13-17
J. R. R. Tolkien coined the term "eucatastrophe" to refer to the unexpected happy ending at the end of a fairy tale, achieved by grace rather than effort. The consolation of fairy-stories,...
Romans 5:1, Romans 8:1, Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5, 1 John 4:15, Isaiah 61:10, Hebrews 10:14
Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in church people is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justification. Christians who are no longer sure that God l...