God is Gracious

FCF: Every person has a natural desire to prove themselves.

Recap:

   1. God is glorious, so we don’t have to fear others.

   2. God is generous, so we don’t have to worry or withhold.

   3. God is great, so we don’t have to try to be in control.

   4. God is good, so we don’t have to look for satisfaction anywhere else.

   5. God is gracious,…

Big Idea: God is gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves.

Q: What is grace?

   A: Grace = “God’s favor towards those who deserve punishment” — undeserved favor

EPHESIANS 2:8-9

“From nursery school onward we are taught how to succeed in the world of ungrace. The early bird gets the worm. Demand your rights. Get what you pay for. I know these rules well because I live by them. Yet if I care to listen I hear a loud whisper from the gospel that I did not get what I deserved. I deserved punishment and got forgiveness. I deserved wrath and got love. I deserved a debtor’s prison and got instead a clean credit history. I deserved stern lectures and crawl-on-your-knees repentance; I got a banquet feast spread before me.” (Philip Yancey, “What’s so Amazing About Grace”)

Q: What does grace look like?... Luke 7:36-50

Q: What does grace invite?

1) Grace invites humility.

“Humility is the proper estimate of oneself in light of God’s holiness and grace.”—JohnCalvin

2) Grace invites receiving.

3) Grace invites transformation.

“Grace teaches us that God loves because of who He is, not because of who we are.”

   —Philip Yancey

4) Grace involves great cost.

“Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.”

    —Max Lucado