Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Grace”
Our Bible verse for today: “We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:7-8 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Grace is amazing!”
In my personal opinion one of the most important and helpful Bible studies written in the last thirty years is Philip Yancey’s “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” The reason I say that is because so much of Christianity has been, and still is, steeped in “un-grace”, or the lack of grace.
Philip calls the word grace “the last best word” in the English vocabulary. The reason he says that is because so many of our words have lost or changed their meanings and therefore no longer carry the weight they once did. But grace is still grace. It has held its meaning through centuries of use. In its purest form it still means “Undeserved blessings freely bestowed upon people by God.”
The grace of God is not only a prominent theme in the New Testament but it is the foundation upon which the Good News of the Gospel is based. The undeserved blessing of forgiveness of sins, freely given through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, is the greatest and best news the world has ever known. It is the very essence of grace.
Then, grace in all its ramifications and applications is preached and taught and modeled all throughout the New Testament. Not only does God freely bestow grace upon us, but He calls us to freely bestow grace on others.
But therein lies the problem. Historically we haven’t done that. Far too often the Christian church has been the recipient of grace but not the dispenser of it. In too many cases we have been, and continue to be, more like modern-day Pharisees. Rabid fundamentalism continues to infect the church in our day. Way too often the church is the dispenser of “un-grace”.
This month we will explore grace as it is taught and modeled for us on the pages of Scripture. I’m looking forward to growing in grace with you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 