1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,040 Well, it might have something to do with us talking about grace. 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:11,520 You know, today the chapter that we're going to kind of use as the bouncing point for the 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,120 sermon today from the sermon series at church called Tov. 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,240 Tov means goodness. 5 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:24,000 And this series is all about forming a goodness culture that resists abuse, resists abuses 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,720 of power, especially for us in church. 7 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:28,920 You're going to see this everywhere you go. 8 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,880 But for us, the point is to focus in on what can happen in a church. 9 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,280 But as we move in that direction towards grace, I did want to ask if there are any fans of 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,080 seven-layer dip? 11 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:41,080 Anybody? 12 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:42,080 Seven-layer salad. 13 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,080 Oh, the healthier version. 14 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:51,120 Good job, Becca. 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:59,200 So any guesses how old the seven-layer dip is, around what year it came out? 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:00,200 Get the shuffleboard out. 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,200 Nice and loud. 18 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:02,200 What? 19 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:03,200 70s. 20 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:04,200 Any other guesses? 21 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,200 50s. 22 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:13,400 See, we have some people that lived near the 50s, in or near around the corner of the 50s. 23 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,340 And so they probably remember certain versions of this. 24 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:23,640 Research shows, this is very important research about seven-layer dip, that it was first broadly 25 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:28,640 published as a recipe in 1981 in Tucson, Arizona. 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:34,600 But there is an earlier version that precedes it in California in 1978. 27 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,760 The joke I deleted and I'm now putting back in is that, see, I have a couple things in 28 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,240 common with seven-layer dip. 29 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:41,840 We're both born in 78. 30 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,480 We have lots of layers. 31 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,000 Can anyone name all seven layers? 32 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:48,760 No, I'm not gonna ask you to. 33 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,960 No, no, no. 34 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:51,960 Yeah. 35 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:52,960 Yeah. 36 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,240 Ogres are like onions. 37 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:01,760 I won't test you, but it's refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese, tomato, 38 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:02,760 and black olives. 39 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,560 And of course, depending on your region or how you were brought up, you maybe use lettuce 40 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,600 or green onions or jalapenos or whatever it is to your liking. 41 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,720 Now, if you love something like a seven-layer dip, maybe you have your favorite layer. 42 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:21,920 I asked Alex how many layers belong in a dip, and he said, one, just the cheese, right? 43 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:27,440 So some of us probably have a favorite layer, and maybe for some of us, we would like seven-layer 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,020 dip if we just removed one of them. 45 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:33,600 Maybe we don't like the beans because of later. 46 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,280 Maybe we don't like the tomatoes. 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,760 Maybe we don't like the salsa or black olives. 48 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:41,920 You don't hate dip. 49 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:47,160 You just don't like that particular layer in your dip. 50 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:53,000 So this is my just creative way of bringing it back around to grace. 51 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,200 What if grace has layers? 52 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:01,320 And what if a community, if a church doesn't always walk with as much toveness, with as 53 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,720 much goodness as it could because we don't like all the layers? 54 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:13,240 Because we don't like all the parts that are built in to what grace is and can be. 55 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:19,320 When McKnight and Berenger wrote about grace in their book, they described it in seven 56 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,260 parts, what I'm calling seven layers. 57 00:03:22,260 --> 00:03:24,320 And they're not all easy. 58 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,480 They don't come naturally to us, especially when considering what some of us have been 59 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,160 through, what some of us have experienced. 60 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:37,200 But they all work together. 61 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:38,760 So let's go ahead and dive in. 62 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,500 I'm going to be referencing a bunch of scriptures throughout this passage. 63 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:47,720 So today we're not going to stand for only one, but let's go ahead and pray and center 64 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:53,480 ourselves, center our minds and our hearts for paying attention to what God might say 65 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:54,480 to us today. 66 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:59,840 Heavenly Father, we thank you for the scriptures and we thank you that we can still learn from 67 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:00,840 them and learn from you. 68 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:06,080 And I pray that whatever you have for us today, that it would stick, that it would become 69 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:12,120 a part of the framework of our faith, that our faith would become stronger as we become 70 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,720 more like your son, Jesus. 71 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,600 Your name, amen. 72 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:23,520 I know this series is based on the book, A Church Called Tove, but I do not know how to 73 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,240 talk about grace without talking about Brennan Manning. 74 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:28,720 I just don't know how to do it. 75 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,080 Somebody wrote about grace like Brennan Manning. 76 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,960 So you're going to hear multiple quotes from him today, starting with this one. 77 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:42,440 He said, do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, 78 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,280 beyond fidelity and infidelity, that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening 79 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:53,240 rain, that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole 80 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:54,840 being rejects it? 81 00:04:54,840 --> 00:05:00,320 Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as 82 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:09,380 you are and not as you should be, because none of us are as we should be? 83 00:05:09,380 --> 00:05:17,200 This grace at every layer and every level, that God loves you, that's grace. 84 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,960 Every layer of it has God's love. 85 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,400 He forgives you from corner to corner, from top to bottom. 86 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,040 That is the grace of God. 87 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:32,880 This is how God forgives and works completely and lavishly. 88 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:39,920 Humans, on the other hand, how we forgive and offer grace reminds me a bit more of Mike 89 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,560 Tyson. 90 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:47,000 He said when asked about preparation for a certain fight, do you have a plan going into 91 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:48,280 this fight, Mike? 92 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:54,400 He said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. 93 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,280 For humans, grace exists beautifully in the abstract. 94 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:03,160 It sounds like a great idea, a great plan. 95 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:09,360 C.S. Lewis said it this way, everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has 96 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,640 something to forgive. 97 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,400 The real work of grace is not easy. 98 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,960 So the first layer of that grace is God. 99 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,960 God is the one that has grace to offer in the first place. 100 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:30,720 Theologically speaking, here's a theological term for your day if you are looking for that. 101 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,960 It's called provenient grace. 102 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,140 Provenient grace is this concept that grace always comes first. 103 00:06:37,140 --> 00:06:42,880 There is nothing that you can do, think, or be that grace did not come first. 104 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,760 It's just the reality of who God is. 105 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,680 Grace is always before Psalm 145, 8 through 9. 106 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:56,320 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 107 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,960 The Lord is good to all. 108 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:04,640 He has compassion on all He has made. 109 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:12,320 Manning says this, this vulgar grace is indiscriminate compassion. 110 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,880 It works without asking anything of us. 111 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,920 It is not cheap, it is free. 112 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:24,760 Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try and find something 113 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,040 or someone that it cannot cover. 114 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,000 But grace is enough. 115 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,560 He is enough. 116 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,320 Jesus is enough. 117 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,800 We may not always feel like we deserve God's grace or that someone else deserves God's 118 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:41,800 grace. 119 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,480 But that's not how grace works. 120 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,840 Grace takes no tickets or tallies. 121 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:54,120 Grace is indiscriminate compassion. 122 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,880 Grace is something that God has for everyone. 123 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,280 And that grace is meant to do something. 124 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,920 It's meant to redeem. 125 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:10,540 Ephesians 1, 7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance 126 00:08:10,540 --> 00:08:15,240 with the riches of God's grace. 127 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,560 Second layer is redemption. 128 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:23,000 Now over the course of 2000 plus years, well 2000ish years of Christianity there's been 129 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,840 a lot of versions of what that means. 130 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,200 Again another theological term for you. 131 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:37,360 How redemption works or is offered to humanity is called an atonement theory. 132 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:38,800 I won't ask you to repeat it. 133 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:41,360 And there's a lot of them. 134 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:49,360 They're called theories because even after 2000 years we still aren't really sure exactly 135 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:50,360 how it works. 136 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,360 Does that make sense? 137 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,120 2000 years later, we have a lot of them. 138 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,480 Here's a few. 139 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:02,840 There's the ransom theory that says that Jesus died to pay ransom to the devil. 140 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,520 To free us from the evil clutches of Satan. 141 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:10,520 There's the satisfaction theory that says Jesus died to pay God off, to pay the debt 142 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,840 that our sins creates between us. 143 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,600 There's penal substitutionary atonement. 144 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:22,220 That says Jesus doesn't just die to satisfy the debt of our sins, but he dies in our place 145 00:09:22,220 --> 00:09:29,480 to suffer the anger and wrath of God toward our sinfulness. 146 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,640 Here's another few. 147 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,160 Christus Victor. 148 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,480 Jesus dies to defeat the power that sin has over us. 149 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,160 Because he rose from the dead, he is the victor over death. 150 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:44,800 The scapegoat theory. 151 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,680 This one is one of the most recent views. 152 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:53,000 It says that we are forgiven because Jesus died in our place not to bear God's wrath, 153 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,000 but ours. 154 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:01,600 He's not simply a sacrifice, but he is a victim of our violence. 155 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:09,840 Lastly, and probably the oldest, is called moral influence theory of atonement. 156 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:17,440 It says Jesus' atonement for us isn't boiled down into only his death and his resurrection. 157 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,840 It's his whole life. 158 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:26,280 All of his teachings, all of his life, every example is meant to show us how to live like 159 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:28,360 him. 160 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:29,880 And his death. 161 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:38,280 His death is meant to be the last straw that pushes us to see that we need to change. 162 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:46,640 The perfect son of God lets himself die in our hands. 163 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,360 How can we live with that? 164 00:10:49,360 --> 00:11:00,200 Should that not cause us to want to change, to be influenced by his very life? 165 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:06,080 Will not the Holy Spirit convict our hearts and work every day to morally influence the 166 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,360 decisions that we make from moment to moment? 167 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:15,160 For me, there's lots of churches that believe in and emphasize the first three. 168 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:19,560 For me, I live from a mixture of those last three. 169 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:27,160 No matter how you think it works, or how it really works, imagine we'll find out someday, 170 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:33,000 the point of every theory of atonement is that redemption is because of God. 171 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,280 Redemption is from God, because God is gracious. 172 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,280 So first, God offers grace, then God gives redemption. 173 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:48,040 And when both of those are present, third, the giving and receiving of the gift of grace 174 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:54,080 creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. 175 00:11:54,080 --> 00:12:02,120 Paul wrote in Ephesians 2.13, but now you have been united with Christ Jesus. 176 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:06,920 Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the 177 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:07,920 blood of Christ. 178 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,520 And this bond, it cannot be broken. 179 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:18,360 Paul writes in Romans, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present, 180 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:24,520 not the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation 181 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:29,720 will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. 182 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,680 And Jesus said it himself, my sheep listen to my voice. 183 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:35,000 I know them and they follow me. 184 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,360 I give them eternal life and they will never perish. 185 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,240 No one can snatch them out of my hand. 186 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,800 My father who has given them to me is greater than all. 187 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,160 No one can snatch them out of my father's hands. 188 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:53,440 I don't know your favorite kind of super glue, but nothing is stronger than the bond between 189 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:59,280 a human heart and the love of God. 190 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:06,800 We might be tempted to think that this is where grace should end. 191 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:08,240 God has grace. 192 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,120 God gives redemption. 193 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:11,320 We're bonded with God. 194 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,060 That sounds like a complete transaction, doesn't it? 195 00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:19,160 But God grace isn't stagnant. 196 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:20,800 Grace is a fertilizer. 197 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,040 Grace is active. 198 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,800 Grace grows. 199 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,320 In the fourth layer, grace leads to action. 200 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,680 It doesn't mean that we act to receive grace. 201 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,840 It means that we act because we've received grace. 202 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:39,240 John, the youngest disciple of Jesus knew this when he wrote, we know what real love 203 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,880 is because Jesus gave up his life for us. 204 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:47,080 So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 205 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,040 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother and sister in need, but shows 206 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,520 no compassion, how can God's love be in that person? 207 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,440 Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other. 208 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,920 Let us show the truth by our actions. 209 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:10,640 If grace bonds us with God, then grace leads us to act like Jesus, to offer grace to others, 210 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:16,980 to give redemption and bond with them, to act with grace and generosity and sacrifice 211 00:14:16,980 --> 00:14:19,700 toward them. 212 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:26,320 Remember last week, talking about empathy, the scriptures tell us to no longer think 213 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:32,920 more highly of ourselves than we ought, but to think of each other as better, to serve 214 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:37,800 each other. 215 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,440 That's true of everyone. 216 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:47,080 But especially God and the writers of the scriptures want us to be aware of how we treat 217 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:52,680 each other in the community of faith. 218 00:14:52,680 --> 00:15:01,400 Because in the fifth layer of grace, we find out that God by his grace has made us family. 219 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:05,480 God has made us siblings. 220 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:10,760 First John 3, 1, see what love the father has given us that we should be called children 221 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,480 of God. 222 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:14,600 That is what we are. 223 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,120 That doesn't mean siblings always get along. 224 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,560 That doesn't mean they always agree. 225 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,120 It doesn't mean that it's always easy. 226 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:28,240 It doesn't mean that all the same power dynamics, the same temptations to control and use each 227 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,000 other just disappear. 228 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,760 They don't. 229 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:43,320 Families can be dysfunctional, difficult, even God families. 230 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:50,800 Brennan Manning wrote, in a healthy family, you know how love is defined. 231 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:56,720 It's clear, has boundaries, it's attainable. 232 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:06,280 Unfortunately, in a shame-bound family, love is a moving target. 233 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,340 One day it's this and one day it's that. 234 00:16:10,340 --> 00:16:14,840 That's when you're sure you got it figured out, you discovered you don't. 235 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:25,120 The aim of grace in church, the body of believers, is to be a healthy family where love is easily 236 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,720 attainable because it's offered for free. 237 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,180 Because grace is free. 238 00:16:32,180 --> 00:16:35,720 Because our work isn't to get grace, it is to give grace. 239 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:41,520 And in a healthy church there will always be someone that doesn't know how to give 240 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:42,520 grace. 241 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,920 But there should and can be so many more that do. 242 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,040 And so they can learn. 243 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:59,520 When we live in grace as a family, layer six, grace becomes a kind of reverse power. 244 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:04,080 It's what McKnight and Beringer call it, a reverse power. 245 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:09,000 It makes love central, makes love immovable. 246 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,920 The target is no longer moving around the room. 247 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:20,240 It's just center, it's just what we're all standing on. 248 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,880 Where we were selfish, we become selfless. 249 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,540 Where we felt pride, we choose humility. 250 00:17:26,540 --> 00:17:31,880 Where we were greedy, we become generous. 251 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,480 Grace levels the playing field. 252 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:40,680 Grace transforms us into equal partners. 253 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,320 There are no more favorite sons and daughters. 254 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:51,680 There is no one to be jealous of. 255 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:57,560 There no longer needs to be older sons angry at the father that he threw a party for the 256 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:05,160 younger son that came back because all I have is yours. 257 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,000 We are equal. 258 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:16,500 Eugene Peterson's translation of Ephesians 2 says this, that's plain enough, isn't it? 259 00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:19,880 You are no longer wandering exiles. 260 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,200 This kingdom of faith is now your home country. 261 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,300 You're no longer strangers or outsiders. 262 00:18:26,300 --> 00:18:32,600 You belong here with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. 263 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,280 God is building a home. 264 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:39,680 He's using us all irrespective of how we got here and what he is building. 265 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,040 He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. 266 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,680 Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone with Christ Jesus as 267 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,880 the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. 268 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:58,960 We see it taking shape day after day, a holy temple built by God, all of us built into 269 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:08,000 it, a temple in which God is quite at home. 270 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:14,040 That passage is on the banner in our lobby for a reason. 271 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:19,320 Because while most people aren't going to stop and read it, because you know, like create 272 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:29,160 a traffic jam or something, grace should be the first thing you walk by. 273 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,440 Now not all of this is easy to hear because most of us have at least one thing that we 274 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,000 don't want to forgive. 275 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:42,600 One reason, at least one, that we don't want to offer grace. 276 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,960 Maybe we look at these first six layers of grace and we'd be fine with it or at least 277 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,520 more comfortable with it if we could just remove the beans. 278 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:52,640 Just remove that sour cream. 279 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,240 I'm lactose intolerant. 280 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,680 I can't, I can't do that layer. 281 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:03,920 I'll break out on a rash. 282 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:09,560 The truth is without the grace of God, without redemption, without being bonded to God by 283 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:19,040 His grace, every one of us is grace intolerant. 284 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:26,200 Having the grace of God in you is what makes you able to digest the grace He's asking you 285 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,040 to give. 286 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:36,640 Because we're limited in our humanness by our proclivity for sin. 287 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:43,160 But grace doesn't leave us alone just to muster what we can to live all the layers of grace 288 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,800 on our own. 289 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:52,720 Because the last thing, that last layer is the work of the Holy Spirit. 290 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,640 Holy Spirit does the work we don't know how to do. 291 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:06,040 The Holy Spirit turns enemies into friends, turns strangers into siblings. 292 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:10,480 We don't form tov on our own. 293 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:19,720 Instead, the Holy Spirit takes our limitations and liabilities, all of our gifts and ingredients, 294 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:25,880 and says we all belong in one recipe. 295 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:33,000 We may have distinct layers, but we can become one. 296 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:40,400 The Holy Spirit is able to make us a family that will flourish, thrive, and grow because 297 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:46,000 of grace, because of Jesus. 298 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:55,640 As I wind down and start to close up, I just want to share one more quote and then a prayer. 299 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,440 This is Brendan Manning. 300 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:13,480 He says, in the end, I want you to really dial in and hear this. 301 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:21,960 In the end, my sin will never outweigh God's love. 302 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:26,160 The prodigal can never outrun the Father. 303 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:33,200 I'm not measured by the good I do, but by the grace I accept. 304 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:39,920 Being lost is a prerequisite to being found. 305 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:46,640 Living a life of faith is not lived in the light, it is discovered in the dark. 306 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:53,840 Not being a saint here on earth will not necessarily keep you from being in that number when the 307 00:22:53,840 --> 00:23:02,160 march begins. 308 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:08,000 I thought that maybe today, as we've been talking about grace and family, that we could 309 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:13,560 pray together and that maybe for some of us that this will be the first time saying something 310 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:21,840 like this, but here at the house we have something we call the prayer of belonging. 311 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:28,040 It's just a prayer that recognizes that you want to be a part of the family, that there's 312 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,560 nothing that can keep you from God. 313 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:36,280 So I'd love for us all to pray this together. 314 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:44,840 Oh God, our heavenly Father, I am finding I want to be in your family. 315 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,760 I am finding I want to belong in you. 316 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:56,360 I know I've made mistakes, I have sinned and thought I couldn't belong. 317 00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:02,520 But now I believe Jesus is your son, that he died for my sins and has given me life 318 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,080 forever in your family. 319 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,460 Now I can see my mistakes and sin can't keep you away from me. 320 00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:16,560 You have found me, you have forgiven me, you have told me I belong in your family. 321 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,240 And I believe you. 322 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:20,240 Amen. 323 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:46,840 Amen.