Setting the Scene:
Don't you have to do something to earn God's love? Or does grace mean I can do anything I want? Many people have a hard time fully embracing the unique and unparalleled message of the gospel in Jesus Christ. It's hard to believe that because of God's love and grace toward us, we can have eternal life and all sorts of blessings today through no effort or merit of our own. That seems too amazing to be true. But it is true. In this session we will be looking at what it means to be on the receiving end of God’s Grace in Jesus. This kind of Grace embraces the excluded, the hurting, the last, the least and the lost. This kind of grace brings all of us into life changing contact with Jesus. This kind of grace is simply all about the lengths that God goes to love you and I.
Scripture:
Ephesians 2:1-10
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”
Romans 5:8
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
DVD: “How he loves us”
Open Discussion :
1. How does it make you feel to know that God’s grace means that he pursued you through eternity and brought you to himself by the cross.
2. Can you sum up what “GRACE” means in a short sentence?
3. In the DVD John Piper talks about what God might say about you being in his family – what do you think of this.
4. What do you think God has done with your sin? (Psalm 103:12)
DVD: “Amazing Grace” – Chris Tomlin
Reflection:
“I will be satisfied to the extent that I see everything I have as a gift from God. Here is the truth: Everything you have – your money, talent, friendships, marriage, children, material possessions, health, home, bike, car, even the country you live in – is a gift from God that He had chosen out of His generous nature to give you.”
― Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Satisfied (Ecclesiastes): Looking for the Answer to the Meaning of Life
Prayer:
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