Grace Sermon Series PackageFeaturing 3 sermons from the 6 week series

Week 1 sermonThe Grace-Shaped Life

Week 2 sermonJesus Stooped Low to Take Our Place

Week 3 sermonYou Can Rest Now

Sermon 1

The Grace-Shaped Life

Sermon 1

The Grace-Shaped LifeObjectiveTo introduce or remind your church of the following truths:

1. God’s grace is not limited by our understanding and treatment of it.

2. Grace is available to everyone.

3. A changed heart is evidence of God’s grace on the move.

Preparation:Read chapter 1 in GRACE. Meditate on what “Christ in you” really means and consider when this became a reality for you. Jot down several examples in your own life of how God has cauterized your heart, removing the bad cells and replacing them with his own. Ask God to give you the words to share the magnitude of his love and grace.

Supporting Scripture:“See to it that no one misses the grace of God.” (Hebrews 12:15 NIV)

“Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

“I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed.” (Ezekiel 36:26 MSG)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” (Titus 2:11 NKJV)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV)

“The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you.” (Colossians 1:27 MSG)

Outline:I. The grace-shaped life begins with receiving God’s grace.

II. A wimpy grace doesn’t change you.

III. Marked by a changed heart.

IV. Is your life shaped by grace?

Opening Question: What does a grace-shaped life look like?

I. The grace-shaped life begins with receiving God’s grace.

A. A simple definition of grace: God’s unmerited favor.

B. Everyone needs grace, regardless of circumstances.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24 NKJV)

II. A wimpy grace doesn’t change you.

A. Have we settled for a “goldfish grace”? It sits on a shelf and looks pretty, but it doesn’t do anything.

B. God’s grace does something—it changes lives.

Max Lucado says, “Our God is in the business of changing hearts.”

III. Marked by a changed heart.

A. God as a heart surgeon.

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 11:19 NKJV)

B. The example of Paul.

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

C. Christ creates the change—unique to Christianity is that Christ accepts us before we change, then he moves within us.

You can’t forgive? Christ can.

Can’t face tomorrow? Christ can.

IV. Conclusion: Is your life shaped by grace?

A. Questions for reflection:

Have you received God’s grace?

What evidence do you see in your life of a changed heart?

Sermon 2

Jesus Stooped Low to Take Our Place

Sermon 2

Jesus Stooped Low to Take Our Place

Objective:To introduce or remind your church of the following truths:

1. God loves each of us enough to stoop to our level and even below.

2. Satan’s goal is to accuse and destroy us.

3. God stands in our defense every moment of every day.

Preparation:Read chapter 2 in GRACE. Meditate on what Christ as your Defender really means and consider how it applies directly to your own life. Pray that God will show you what he wants your audience to hear.

Supporting Scripture:“We will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.” (I John 3:19–20 NLT)

“Since we have a great priest over God’s house, let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.” (Hebrews 10:21–22 NCV)

“For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10 NLT)

“The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.” (Romans 8:34 MSG)

“He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” (Hebrews 7:25 NLT)

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.” (Isaiah 50:7–9 NIV)

“And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart.” (2 Corinthians 7:11–12 MSG)

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NLT)

Outline: I. The God who stoops.

II. Satan the Accuser.

III. Satan’s Condemnation vs. the Holy Spirit’s Conviction.

IV. What is the fruit of this grace?

Opening Question: Do you trust your Advocate or your Accuser?

I. The God who stoops.

A. Jesus stoops.

“But early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’

They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one.” (John 8:2–9 NLT)

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5–7 ESV)

B. Jesus also defends us.

“Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one, because God is the One who makes them right. Who can say God’s people are guilty? No one, because Christ Jesus died, but he was also raised from the dead, and now he is on God’s right side, appealing to God for us.” (Romans 8:33–34 NCV)

II. Satan the Accuser.

A. John called Satan the Accuser.

“For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10 NLT)

B. Condemnation—the preferred commodity of Satan.

III. Satan’s Condemnation vs. the Holy Spirit’s Conviction.

A. Satan’s condemnation will destroy.

“Unlike the conviction of the Holy Spirit, Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve, only regret.” —Max Lucado

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10 NLT)

Satan’s aim is to “steal your peace, kill your dreams, destroy your future.” —Max Lucado

B. Conviction from the Holy Spirit brings about change in the heart.

“See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” (2 Corinthians 7:11 NIV)

IV. Conclusion: What is the fruit of this grace?

A. Confidence in your Defender.

“Behold the fruit of grace: saved by God, raised by God, seated with God. Gifted, equipped, and commissioned. Farewell earthly condemnations.” —Max Lucado

B. Questions for reflection:

Will you listen to Satan’s accusations?

Or will you believe what Jesus says about you?

Sermon 3

You Can Rest Now

Sermon 3

You Can Rest NowObjective:To introduce or remind your church of the following truths:

1. Grace is a gift.

2. There are no merit badges in God’s economy.

3. God has completed the work of salvation. We add nothing to it.

Preparation:Read chapter 4 in GRACE. Meditate on the wonder of grace as an unearned gift. Jot down any times in your life where you tried to rely on merit to earn God’s favor. Pray that God would give you the words to speak and that your audience’s ears would be open to hearing his voice.

Supporting Scripture:“God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it.” (Romans 4:16 MSG)

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” (2 Timothy 1:9 UPDATED NIV)

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:5 NIV)

“And all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins.” (Romans 3: 24–25 NCV)

“Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: ‘The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself.” (Galatians 3:12–13 MSG)

“Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.” (Hebrews 13:9 NCV)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

“The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” (Exodus 33:14 NIV)

“Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to GOD. He got you out in the nick of time; He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live. So thank GOD for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.” (Psalm 107:6–8 MSG)

Outline:I. How good is good enough?

II. The trouble with trying to be good enough.

III. God’s best idea.

IV. Rest for the weary.

Opening Question: How good is good enough?

I. How good is good enough?

A. The unknowable score.

“Most people embrace the idea that God saves good people. Still no one can answer the fundamental question: What level of good is good enough?” —Max Lucado

B. The stakes are high—our eternal destination is on the line.

II. The trouble with trying to be good enough.

A. It only makes us weary and frustrated.

“Attempts at self-salvation guarantee nothing but exhaustion.” —Max Lucado

“Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.” (Hebrews 13:9 NCV)

B. It doesn’t lead to more faith.

“Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: ‘The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself.” (Galatians 3:12–13 MSG)

C. It never works.

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 ESV)

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on

a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10–14 ESV)

III. God’s best idea.

A. We contribute nothing. He contributes everything.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV)

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” (2 Timothy 1:9 UPDATED NIV)

B. Certainty replaces endless effort—we can rest.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

IV. Conclusion: Rest for the weary.

A. Questions for reflection:

Are you worn out and weary?

Where are you relying on merit to earn God’s favor?

How can you give hand that over to him this week?

Week 1

The

Grace-Shaped Life

Week 2

Jesus Stooped Low

to Take Our Place

Week 3

You Can Rest Now

Week 4

Accepting the Gift

of Wet Feet

Week 5

Coming Clean

Within Grace that

Abounds

Week 6

Chosen to a

Guaranteed Place

in the Family

Week 7

Sustaining and

Sufficient Grace

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