First Christian Church of Plainville
We welcomed Manhattan Christian College President Kevin Ingram this week for our Sunday service. Kevin gave a very timely message on grace. Grace is so important that MCC chose it as their theme for this last year.
Grace can be defined as “an undeserved gift.” We all know that God’s grace saves us, and it is a gift that we certainly don’t deserve. Romans 3:23-24 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Notice that it says “freely.” It is not our works that save us.
Grace is important to our world. We see that clearly today in an environment where division and conflict seem to be the norm. The fact is, if we don’t think we need grace, we probably aren’t going to give grace. And we are clearly instructed to be givers of grace. We are told in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” It is a gift we are to give to others.
Sometimes we may feel sorry for ourselves and question why we are having to endure difficulties in our lives. Paul certainly questioned this when he said, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it (thorn in his flesh) away from me. But he (God) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (Eph. 12:8-9) It is difficult to delight in our weaknesses, but we are to do it nonetheless. Our weaknesses allow for God’s glory to be displayed.
God’s grace also equips us for service. Romans 12:3 states, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” God has given you gifts. We each have different abilities and we are given these gifts to serve others, not to bring attention to ourselves.
The question for you this week is, “If Jesus lived your life, what would it look like?” Would he be a giver of grace?
Congratulations to all of our 2021 graduates! May you keep God in your heart as you take the next step in your life.
