On Sunday, September 8, 2024 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached the fifth installment in the series “Finding a Place of Grace.”  This message was based on Romans 8:32.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find sermon audio and video to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Romans 8:32
3. List as many examples as you can quickly imagine of things that began small, but grew into something impressive.
4. God’s grace flows from justification all the way to glorification (as we talked about this morning).  Too often we fail to remember this progression over time, and it leads to times of potential disillusionment or discouragement when we don’t see everything realized TODAY that God has promised. What are some examples of struggles in your life that linger today but that God has promised to take away TOMORROW?
5. God graciously has given His Son for us and will eventually take us to glory if we believe in Jesus.  What are you most looking forward to about the glorified provision of God for us in eternity (we talked about several aspects of this today)?
6. What are some practical ways you can “keep looking downstream” as you live your life today?
7. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

finding a place of GRACE #5 9.8.24

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

Ever been to Leadville, Colorado? I’ve been there a couple of times. This small town sits at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. That’s probably why I spent MOST of my time in this mountain village at an emergency room with my son who was suffering from altitude sickness. But apart from the elevation of Leadville, I have another connection with this place: the Arkansas River begins on the outskirts of town.

Growing up just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma and with a sister who lives in the Little Rock area, I am well familiar with the Arkansas. So when I was in Leadville and saw the sign for the headwaters of the this river I was intrigued. While the alpine setting is beautiful, the waters of the Arkansas themselves look scattered and thin at their origin. Like a 4 year old t-ball team at their first practice, the waters of the Arkansas are still trying to get their act together at 10,000 feet.

So, let’s imagine that we are standing next to the narrow water’s edge just outside Leadville, and looking at the “river” together. And, let’s imagine that you had never been to the ocean before. If I told you there that the Arkansas ultimately becomes the Gulf of Mexico, you might assume that the Gulf of Mexico was nothing more than a half acre farm pond. But of course, you would be wrong. What begins as a stream in Leadville, ultimately grows into an ocean just past New Orleans! But, if you had never seen downstream, you might question how big the ocean really is.

I tell you this today, because as I was preparing for Sunday’s message (part 5 in the “Finding a Place of Grace” sermon series at Wildwood Community Church), I was reminded that the grace of God is like a river flowing toward us. From the moment of our belief in Jesus, a river of God’s love and mercy are poured upon us … but this grace does not stop there. It is flowing downstream. What do I mean by that?

Well, in theological terms, the moment of our belief is the moment of our justification – where we are declared forgiven by God, being brought into alignment positionally with Jesus’ righteousness by God’s grace. We saw this two weeks ago as we looked at Zaccheus’s conversion from Luke 19. From justification, the grace of God flows toward sanctification – our growth in obedience and faithfulness as we follow Jesus. Last week we saw from Titus 2, that God’s grace not only saves us, but also trains us to walk away from ungodliness and toward godliness through the power of the Spirit. But the grace of God keeps going past sanctification, ultimately ending in glorification – when we are transformed completely from a corruptible body to an incorruptible one, outfitted for eternal blessing.

To say it another way, the headwaters of grace are justification, that gain intensity through tributary of sanctification, and culminate in the ocean of glorification.

Why is this important?

Well, we have not been to the ocean. We live in either Leadville or Tulsa or maybe Little Rock, looking at a small to medium sized body of water, unable to imagine (or possibly too impatient to see) the ocean that is coming. When we come to faith in Christ, we are like that t-ball team at their first practice … and even years into our walk with God, we may still feel like little leaguers. Since we have not yet gotten our act together, we wonder if we ever will.

So we have a farm pond sized faith … that begins to question God for the still broken condition of our world, the lingering temptations of our sin, or the suspicion that things will never improve (or if they do, we may never get to see it.)

Dear friends … this universe is headed someplace, being directed by Someone, and if we know Him, the grace that brought us justification and sanctification, will ultimately lead to our glorification. BY. HIS. GRACE.

This Sunday, we will look at select verses in Romans 8 together (ultimately centering on Romans 8:32) to see the certain hope we have for the ocean of glory and grace that is to come. I can’t wait to look at these verses together. Are you looking for a place of grace? Join us Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 as we swim in this ocean together. See you then – and bring friends.

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Romans 5:1-11.  This message was part 1 in the “Finding a Place of Grace” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Romans 5:1-11
3. What are some examples of your life where you longed for grace from others?  Do you typically find it easier to receive grace, or to give it?
4. In the message today, we looked at a definition of grace from Caleb Batchelor:  “Grace is the personal love of God for people who deserve the eternal wrath of God.”  What stood out to you about this definition … and how do you see it illustrated in Romans 5:6-11?
5. Have you ever been tempted to reduce grace to God “lowering the standard” or reducing our need so grace is not necessary?  How did the study of these verses this morning give you a greater appreciation for God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ?
6. Are you currently placing your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and receiving His grace?  If not, what obstacles are preventing you from placing your faith in Jesus today?
7. If we have placed our faith in Jesus and stepped into the environment of His grace, our lives have stability and security.  In what ways does living in God’s grace allow you to “move freely about the boat” (in the words of the illustration used this morning)? 
8. How does God’s grace help the Christian through seasons of suffering and difficulty?  How have you personally experienced this in your life, or witnessed this in the lives of others?
9. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

finding a place of GRACE #1 8.11.24

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

What if grace were a place?  If it were … wouldn’t we all want to live there?

I mean, we often go looking for grace … wanting to RECEIVE it in abundance, even if we are slow to GIVE It in moderation.

Think about it:  right now students of all ages are gearing up for the start of another school year.  At some point this fall, most all of these students will find themselves behind on an assignment, imprecise in the answers they provide on a test, or rambling in their essay.  When students struggle in these ubiquitous ways, they LONG for a teacher to extend them grace.  However, these same students often offer little sympathy or grace to a professor/teacher who asks a question in a misleading fashion, grades one student’s essay harder than the essay of another student, or does not entertain with every lecture.  We look for grace … we sometimes even demand that it be given to us, but we often are slow to extend it to others.

But back to my original question.  Knowing how we long for grace … grace GIVEN TO US … if grace were a place, wouldn’t everyone want to live there?  I know I would.

In Romans 5:1-11, the Apostle Paul describes the environment in which a follower of Jesus finds their life.  The Christian lives (according to Paul) on the GROUNDS OF GRACE, having gained access to it through Jesus’ work on our behalf.

What is grace?  How does it define the environment of the Christian life?  And how does it allow us to stand even as the waves of life roar about?  This Sunday, August 11, 2024 at Wildwood Community Church, we will begin a new 6 part worship series called “Finding a Place of Grace.”  The Church is a place of grace, and we can see it in many areas if we know what it is and how to look for it.

And when we begin to see God’s grace given, it inspires us to not just receive it, but give it away as well.  Join us this Sunday for part one of this series as we begin this important study together, kicking off a new ministry year.  See you Sunday … and bring friends!

P.S.  We will also have communion at the end of our services this week.