I've been reading about the grace of God quite a bit lately. I have a question for anyone out there to respond to: When, & how, have you experienced the grace of God in your life? I am interested in hearing personal stories of the grace of God. I am convinced that the grace of God is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions in the world. Grace is God reaching down to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
What's needed today in the broken places of this world like Sudan, Syria, Egypt, etc. is the grace of God poured out.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
A Maze In Grace
This past week I spoke to a group of senior adults at a local nursing home, telling the parable of the workers being hired to work the harvest at various times in the day. When the master of the vineyard went about paying the laborers for their work for the day, I told how He started by paying the ones who had worked only 1 hour and got paid for a full day's worth of work. The ones who had worked hard through the heat of the day expected to get paid more than the going rate of a day's wage, but when they got paid they received only what they had agreed to get paid at the beginning of the day. I then asked how do you think those guys felt? Immediately I heard, "That was unfair".
Question: Was the Master (who represents God in the parable) in fact unfair? Is God ever unfair?
As I've pondered that I have run across these quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him." Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship
I will be dealing with "A Maze in Grace", the troubling side of grace tomorrow in church. Hope to see you there at 8:15 a.m. in our Traditional worship time, or 10:30 a.m. in our Contemporary worship. Discipling classes will be held for us all between the worship times. God bless you!
Question: Was the Master (who represents God in the parable) in fact unfair? Is God ever unfair?
As I've pondered that I have run across these quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him." Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship
I will be dealing with "A Maze in Grace", the troubling side of grace tomorrow in church. Hope to see you there at 8:15 a.m. in our Traditional worship time, or 10:30 a.m. in our Contemporary worship. Discipling classes will be held for us all between the worship times. God bless you!
“Cheap grace is the grace
we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without
requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without
confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the
cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him."
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him."
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