October 13, 2025 • 48 mins
What if the most life-changing power isn’t something you earn, but something you receive? We open with a rapid tour of the Five Solas and then linger on grace alone—the unmerited favor of God that meets us in our mess and remakes us from the inside out. A youth ministry turkey-bowling fiasco becomes a living parable: where you expect judgment, grace listens, instructs, and restores. That story sets the tone for a journey through Romans, Ephesians, John, and Acts, showing why salvation is a gift, not wages, and how grace breaks sin’s dominion without turning a blind eye to holiness.
Together we trace the line from the mercy seat in the wilderness to Jesus Christ, where grace and truth embrace. We explore how Scripture, not tradition, anchors our confidence; why “shall we continue in sin?” still demands a clear “by no means”; and how humble communities correct with gentleness, not pride. Along the way, Judas and Paul stand as stark contrasts—one who let small compromises bloom into betrayal, and one who learned to boast in weakness so that Christ’s power could rest on him. The early church’s “great grace” wasn’t a slogan; it was a lived reality that fueled bold testimony, radical generosity, and resilient hope.
If you’ve wrestled with church hurt, felt stuck in old patterns, or wondered whether God is still good when answers feel slow, this conversation is for you. We offer three clear takeaways: grace reminds us of our brokenness, grace reminds us of God’s goodness, and grace compels us to encounter God personally. Expect practical counsel, honest self-examination, and a call to extend the same grace you’ve received—at home, at work, and in your church family. If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a quick review to help more people discover the power of grace.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
AI Video (00:00):
500 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther ignited a
fire that would reshapeChristianity forever.
His stand against theprevailing doctrines of his day
wasn't just a protest, it was acall to return to the
foundational truths of thefaith.
This pivotal moment ofProtestant Reformation wasn't
about creating a new religion,but about rediscovering the
(00:21):
gospel.
At the heart of thisrediscovery were five core
principles, Latin phrases thatbecame the rallying cry for
reform.
These are the five solas, solascriptura, scripture alone.
The Bible, not tradition orhuman authority.
It's our ultimate andinfallible guide for faith and
life.
It's the final word, thehighest course.
(00:42):
Sola Fidel, faith alone.
We're justified, declaredrighteous in God's sight, by
faith alone, not by our words.
We trust solely in Christ'sfinished work on the cross.
So is God's gift, grace alone.
Salvation is an earth, it's agift from God.
It's this unmerited favor thatsaves us.
Nothing we do can ever deserveit.
So is Christus, Christ alone.
(01:04):
Jesus Christ is the onlymediator between God and
humanity.
He is the one and only way tosalvation, our one true King,
and our sole redeemer.
Solid Day of Gloria, to theglory of God alone.
The ultimate purpose ofeverything, including our
salvation, is to bring glory toGod.
Our lives are to be lived forhis praise, not our own.
(01:26):
These aren't just historicalslogans, they're living truths
that anchor our faith.
Jason Brown (01:32):
Do you give the grace you have received?
You know, thinking about thisidea of grace is so pivotal.
And it reminds me of a storythat I experienced some years
ago.
Now, I was a youth pastor herea few years back.
And in doing so, you know, it'sthe adventure of trying to deal
with students and young adults.
(01:53):
And man, they're different,they're a different time of
life, right?
So during your teen years, yourparents don't know anything
until you get to be a youngadult and they know everything,
and you realize you don't knowanything.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And so during that phase,you're trying to wrestle them
together and get a group of themgoing.
And man, we love and revere ourstudents.
We want them to know Jesus.
They are the church today.
(02:13):
And so that's who we want to beengaging with.
And one way to get students toshow up to anything is to
provide food.
And so we provided food, and Iwas thinking about that.
I was like, okay, so it's fall,it's almost Thanksgiving.
What's the best food to givethem?
Turkey.
And so we're gonna give turkey,we're gonna figure out turkey,
turkey, turkey with the game.
You know, we have the masterceremonies of games right here,
(02:33):
Travis in the front row for ouryouth department.
And it's like, what game can wego?
Students love bowling.
Okay, we're gonna put bowlingtogether with turkey, and we're
gonna have turkey bowling.
And so we're gonna take frozenturkeys and we're gonna hurl
them down at some pins.
But we don't have any pins,Pastor Jay.
That's right, we don't.
We're gonna use two-liter sodabottles because this is a great
(02:56):
idea.
And it's gonna be wonderful.
There's gonna be no problemswith this idea at all.
It's gonna be super fun.
And as we did it, man, itstarts knocking them over, and
you know, we're thinking about,man, they're gonna explode.
It's gonna be crazy.
We have some plastic up and wehave a little bit of a thing of
a backstop.
I really thought it out, youguys.
I'd thought it out.
There's no problems.
Until the first, you know,15-year-old power-packed boy
(03:19):
grabs this ginormous frozenturkey and he chucks it down
towards the bottles, and itknocked off all the bottles, and
then went right over everythingI had put there to block it,
and into the wall, leaving afrozen turkey hole this big in
the multi-purpose wall.
(03:40):
And all of the leaders turnedand looked at me, they're like,
ooh.
And I was trying to look foranybody else but me.
I was like, oh no, it's me.
And I knew the gavel wascoming.
You know, I knew there wasgonna be judgment.
I knew I was to blame.
It was my idea.
I was the one that planned it.
And now there's a huge hole inthe wall that's perfectly cut
(04:04):
out for a turkey.
And in the morning, we have ourdaycare here that they're gonna
use this room.
And I'm like, ah.
And of course, you know, I wastrying to like posture and think
of a way to explain this to mydad, who's the pastor.
And uh, you know, I'd grown upwith him, I was expecting, you
know, there was gonna be aJ-size hole next to the turkey
in the wall.
So, you know, I thought I wasgonna see the bright light of
(04:26):
going to see Jesus.
I was like, Yes, Lord, I seeyou, I'm coming.
That's not what happened.
What happened is I came in andtalked to him, and you know,
instead of getting the reprimandfor what I had done, he started
asking me what I was doing.
And I said, Well, we did thisgame, we want to engage these
kids, and we have these new kidscoming, we want to get them
tied in.
(04:47):
And he started to hear theheart behind what I was doing.
And instead of giving mejudgment, he gave me grace.
And so he said, We're gonna fixit, we're gonna make sure that
you follow up with it and youget it fixed.
Yep, yep, we can do that.
And what happened was it itturned from being a judgment
moment into a learning moment.
And it is a moment where thethe grace that my dad had
(05:10):
received had changed hischaracter that he now is passing
on, and I was experiencing thegrace of God through his life to
me.
Because I didn't get what Ideserved, but instead I got
grace that was extended to me.
Friends, do you give me thegrace that you have received?
(05:30):
Today we continue with thisidea of the five solas, these
are the five statements of faithof the reformation, and we're
glad that you're part of us,we're glad that you're here with
us at Cornerstone.
Uh, you know, very much here atCornerstone, we see ourselves
as people who are imperfect.
We are all in need of a savior.
And so that's how we viewourselves.
We are people on a journeyfollowing after Jesus.
(05:52):
And we use this imagery ofChrist walking with his
disciples because that's how weview ourselves, as people who
are following Jesus where he'sleading us to go.
And since that's true, then wewant to be more like Jesus.
And our ambition is to do thatcollectively.
It's why we do it throughoutthe week, throughout the city
and life groups, so we can be anintentional to connect with
(06:13):
each other, to grow in ourrelationship with God, and to
serve.
It's also why missionally welove God, we make disciples, and
we reach the world.
That's why we believe inmissions and we want to see
people both here where we liveand across the world know the
love of Christ.
Now, looking to the five solas,this is something that goes
back to the idea of theReformation.
(06:34):
And there are five statementsof faith, as you saw in the
video, that talk about these keypieces of what we believe.
And so as we look at it, yousee sola scriptura, scripture
alone.
You see sola fide, that byfaith alone.
Today we're looking at solagratia by grace alone.
We'll take a look at solusChristus or Christ alone.
(06:55):
And then last, solide o gloria,or God's glory alone.
Glory be to him alone.
And we looked and saw howMartin Luther was talking to in
his day, speaking to these verythings and recalibrating the
hearts of the church backtowards the very thing that made
our faith our faith, which is awalk in Jesus Christ, and about
(07:17):
his work on the cross for us.
So as Martin Luther, who hehimself was talking about, I'm
not, it's not going to be drivenby tradition or by relics or by
praying to these other things.
No, I'm going to have a faiththat's in Jesus Christ because
that's what the book says.
And so we talked about how thescripture is so important to us,
it's the revelation of God'sword.
We talked about that with solascriptura.
(07:39):
Our Bible, we looked at 2Timothy 3, and it says, all
scripture is breathed out by Godand profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction andfor training in righteousness,
that the man of God may becomplete, equipped for every
good work.
And so for us, the word of God,it's alive.
(07:59):
It's not a dead documentwritten thousands of years ago,
but by the Holy Spirit, it canbe made alive so that it impacts
our life.
So it challenges our character.
So it's something that washesover us and in us and through
us.
And so that's something that'simperative and important to us.
So as we go into the word, itenvelops us.
And as we spend that time inthe scripture, it starts to wash
(08:21):
over our character and align uswith where he's asking us to
go.
It's also why the scripture isa higher authority than even the
way we do what we're doing,which is traditions, because the
scripture is the alignment ofGod's word for us.
And so what we say is that youdon't have to belong to the
church to belong to Jesus, butwe belong to the church because
(08:41):
we belong to Jesus.
And so you see how those thingsare aligned and how they come
together.
So my encouragement to youwould be be people of the word,
be people that go into the wordof God and let it wash over you.
The next thing we talked aboutwas sola fide or faith alone.
And we looked at the scripturehere, and it says in Ephesians
(09:02):
2, for by grace you have beensaved through faith.
And this is not of your owndoing, it's of the gift of God,
not a result of works, so thatno one may boast.
We are his workmanship createdin Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,that we should walk in them.
(09:22):
And so we talk about how faithis the way that we make a make
an understanding of our beliefin Jesus.
We're saying, Lord, I believeyou are who you say you are.
And it's placing our trust inthe unknown, which is found in
the eternal God of our faith.
Today we're taking a look atSolo Gratia, grace alone.
(09:43):
And if you have a Bible, yourtablet, your phone today, let me
encourage you to highlight.
We're gonna be looking throughRomans quite a bit, but starting
here in Romans 3, verses 23 and24.
Let me encourage you tohighlight that so you can take a
look back over it this week andlet it let it soak into your
heart.
It picks up here Romans 3, 23,it says, For all have sinned and
(10:05):
fall short of the glory of God,and are justified by his grace
as a gift through the redemptionthat is in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for yourword and we pray over it today.
Oh, that you would spark it andmake it alive in us.
(10:25):
Lord, that you would challengeus in our character to be more
like you.
We pray in the name of JesusChrist.
Amen.
So sola gratia, grace alone.
As we look at these pieces, wetalked about last week how the
scripture in Ephesians it startsout talking about it's only by
grace that we've been savedthrough our faith in God.
(10:46):
And so that's something thatsparks this idea of that it's
not our own doing, it's not byworks.
And this is imperative becausewe as people who are broken, we
know we're broken.
We don't have to have someoneconvince us otherwise, do we?
All of us have made mistakes.
And since that's true, then aswe come towards God, it's the
question always has to be whatcan we offer a holy God?
(11:10):
We don't have anything that wecan earn our way into his
presence.
There's not enough steps.
How can we do it?
We can't make ourselves holybecause we are unholy.
And so God needed a holysacrifice to make those things
in alignment.
And by the law, he would makethat be a substitute of a
sacrifice where this animaltakes my sin upon it, and as
it's sacrificed, my sin is dead.
(11:31):
But as Jesus comes, he doesthat for all of us.
And so he's the one that takesthe sin upon himself.
And so for us, whenever westart to look this way, we have
to understand it's by the graceof God.
It means that uh that we getsomething that we don't deserve,
and in a positive way.
And so this grace that he givesto us, he comes all the way to
(11:53):
us.
He abandons heaven and gloryand all those that were
worshiping him before thethrone, and he comes down in a
way we can understand.
He becomes mortal man and livesthis life.
And in doing so, he becomesthat very sacrifice that we
need.
He's the one that pays theprice for us.
And so we can't earn it, wecan't do enough good things.
(12:13):
I mean, you can't give enoughmoney, you can't serve enough
time, you can't do it.
But what we can do is werespond by faith in obedience to
God, accepting his work for us.
And that is the grace, the giftof God for us.
As we look to our Bible, we doso intentionality.
It's like, Lord, speak to me ofwhat this looks like for today.
(12:35):
What is my daily bread?
And as it becomes alive, itchallenges us in that way.
You know, in this thing, inthis theme of grace, we see it
often that it was written by thechurch fathers.
We see it in Paul and Peter'swritings as they would write
epistles to the church.
That's the letters that we readas books of the Bible and the
New Testament often.
They would write and actuallylead with this idea of grace.
(12:56):
And you can see three exampleshere.
It says, Grace to you and peacefrom our God, our Father, and
our Lord Jesus Christ.
See, what they were living inis the grace of God that had
been extended to them as aChrist follower, and therefore
we're extending grace to eachother.
And this is so what's pivotalfor us because we want to be
like they are, that they'releading out saying, Listen,
(13:19):
grace and peace to you.
We together are on this team.
We together are living thislife for God.
We together are walking ingrace.
And in doing so, it starts tochallenge us to be in alignment
with Him.
You see here the example fromPeter, it says, My May grace and
peace be multiplied to you inthe knowledge of God and of
Jesus our Lord.
(13:40):
Friends, that's what I pray allthe time.
Lord, give me your wisdombeyond my experience, beyond the
things that I know.
I need your insight.
And so, Lord, speak to me.
Give me your download of yourspirit for me for today, that my
daily bread would be walking inalignment with you.
Would you say amen to that?
So we pick up here inscripture, walking forward a
(14:03):
little bit, taking a look atExodus 25, and it's the
reference from where mercystarts to be an establishment
for the people of God.
And obviously, the mercy of Godhad already been there, an
extension to Abram becomingAbraham, and then later with
Joseph and the salvation ofIsrael, later with Moses and
their freedom from Israel.
(14:23):
But there was a need for Moses,who lacked wisdom, to get
wisdom from God.
Exodus 25 says, And you shallput the mercy seat on top of the
ark, and in the ark you shallput the testimony that I shall
give you.
There I will meet with you, andfrom above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubim thatare on the ark of the testimony,
(14:44):
I will speak with you aboutwhat I will give you in
commandment for the people ofIsrael.
It says a little further in inNumbers 7, it says, And when
Moses went to the tent ofmeeting to speak with the Lord,
he heard the voice speaking tohim from above the mercy seat
that was on the ark of thetestimony, from between the two
cherubim, it spoke to him.
(15:06):
So the Lord gives them atangible representation of his
glory.
He wasn't encapsulated in agold box, but what he did is
allowed his presence to resthere with the artifacts of what
he had given him, the law andthe miracles that he had done
that had been put inside the Arkof the Covenant as testimony of
God's glory and his love forthe children of Israel.
(15:28):
And in doing so, what happensis you see that this gilded box
becomes the presence of God.
And it would say that Moseswould go into the tabernacle to
meet with God, and God wouldspeak to Moses in this way.
And he's doing so because why?
Because Moses needs wisdom fromGod.
And he needed wisdom to rulethe people of God as their
(15:50):
leader.
Why?
Because Moses was a brokenperson like all of us.
And though Moses has thisamazing story of God sparing his
life and being raised up inPharaoh's house because his his
uh adopted mother was Pharaoh'sdaughter, so he gets this
education to be a ruler and aruling class in Egypt.
But then he throws it all awaybecause he lets his anger take
(16:12):
hold and he murders somebody.
And then he covers up thatmurder and then he's trying to
get away with it, and then heflees for his life whenever it
becomes apparent that everyoneknows what's going on.
And he's hiding out in SaudiArabia as a shepherd when God
speaks to him and calls him tobe a leader and a liberator of
the children of God.
(16:33):
So you can only think abouthimself as he goes back before
Pharaoh, how broken and howinadequate he felt to do this
job that God called him to do.
And so he would go, and as he'sleading the children of Israel
now back in the desert, he'sgoing and meeting with God, and
God is speaking to him.
It's an opportunity for him todraw near to God.
(16:55):
And it's that very same thing.
That's where we see Joshualearns from Moses about this
very process about going in andlistening to the word of God,
about how God wants him to drawnear to himself, to have a
relationship with him.
And as he does, and Mosespasses on and Joshua steps into
the seat.
That's why the Lord is speakingto him, saying, Listen, you got
(17:18):
to be strong and courageous.
You have battles that are aheadof you.
But I am with you.
You are not alone.
And so for us, we see thisrepresentation of this golden
box, the Ark of the Covenant, asa representation of God's
presence here.
For us today, after the afterthe work of Christ on the cross,
we have that same impartationin the scripture.
(17:40):
It becomes the opportunity forus to draw near to what he's
speaking to us.
It's an opportunity for him tospeak to us and say, This is the
word, this is the guidance Ihave for you, if you'll draw
near to me.
And so for us, that's why welook to the scripture and hold
it in such high regard, becauseGod will use it to guide us.
Now, looking here to thescripture, it continues forward.
(18:03):
And it says in Romans 3, as wetalked about, for all have
sinned.
How many?
All have sinned and fall shortof the glory of God and are
justified by his grace as agift.
His grace is a what?
It's a gift through theredemption that is in Christ
Jesus.
That means that we are allsinners.
(18:26):
And that means that we're allbroken.
It means that we all havesomething inside us that
separates us from God.
Sin is literally, it's anarchery term, it's a military
term meaning to miss.
And so as we are people aremissing God's plan and God's
grace and God's law for us, thenwhat happens is we make these
things that separate us fromGod.
(18:46):
We are creating these sins,these mistakes, this brokenness
that separates us from God.
And that's why us as Christ'sfollowers, we need to deal with
that sin and ask him to forgiveus so that we don't have
anything that starts to developin our lives to drive us away.
And so we see how his grace isthen extended to us in such an
(19:08):
amazing way, because it'snothing that we could do and
nothing we could earn, so it'sgiven to us as a gift.
Now, we're about on the seasonof giving gifts, and I don't
know if any parents in the roomhave already received a hit list
of the gifts that they'reexpecting at their house from
their children.
But uh, it's starting to happento us.
And so, you know, it's one ofthose things that, you know,
it's a different thing whereit's like, you know, I
(19:30):
appreciate what you get me as agift, but I want these things
here on this long list.
So if you could provide them,that would be great.
That's not quite the samething, is it?
If you give a gift out of yourheart, man, it's received so
different because it's like theydidn't do anything to warrant
this gift, and you're not givingit for that reason to try to
get anything from them.
You're just doing it becauseyou care for the person or you
want them to receive somethingspecial.
(19:52):
And that's what God has donefor us, is that he gives this
redemption as a gift.
And that's his grace for us.
Here in the word, going back toRomans, and now in chapter
five, it says, But the free giftis not like the trespass.
For if many died through oneman's trespass, much more have
(20:12):
the grace of God and the freegift by the grace of one man
Jesus Christ abound for many.
This goes back to the storythat we learn in Genesis about
the creation of mankind.
And it says that the Lordplaced Adam and then gave Eve,
and they were there together inthe garden, and they had
everything, and they felt nosin, and they felt no shame, and
they felt no guilt.
(20:33):
And God just created them andsaid, Listen, you have all these
things, and he gave themauthority over all the living
things.
But he said, Don't touch this,this tree, don't touch it.
But somehow they started tolisten to the enemy of their
soul, the devil.
And he convinced them to goagainst what God had instructed
them to do.
And in doing so, they were freeof sin, but now they've made a
(20:56):
mistake and they've broken thatcovenant with God, and it
creates a rift, it creates achasm between us as man and
mankind and God.
And suddenly there's this sinthat enters in the world.
And so we growing up, we knowwe don't have to learn how to
sin.
It becomes inerrant in us whenfrom the time we're small.
And so it's something that'salready happening in our life,
(21:17):
and so we need to be put backinto right standing with the
living God.
That's why the fall of man camethrough one person in Adam or
him and Eve and their decisionto say no to God.
And so that brokenness startedto flow through them in that
way, down to all of us.
In the same way, Jesus comesand he restores us back and
redeems us all through hissacrifice, one person, holy and
(21:41):
unto God as a sacrifice for God.
And we're redeemed back toGod's presence.
And so we can see where God'splan for us is made whole in
Jesus as he comes and emptieshimself of all glory and he
pours his love out on allpeople, though he didn't sin, he
takes on our mistakes.
(22:02):
The word says in Romans 6, itsays, What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin thatgrace may abound?
By no means.
How can we who died to sinstill live in it?
Friends, that's the challengefor us, and that's why we
celebrate with those that followtheir faith commitments in
(22:24):
water baptism.
Because what they're doing isthe decision they've made by
faith in their heart to askChrist into their life, they're
going public with that andsaying, I'm going to be dead to
sin and alive in God.
And so we don't sin because weexperience grace.
Just because we don't haveinstant ramifications for our
bad decisions doesn't mean thatwe should continue to sin.
(22:45):
No, instead it means that we'resupposed to be in alignment
with God because his grace is sosufficient for us.
And here's the thing you know,I grew up in church and I got
church hurt like many othershave got church hurt, which
means I had people say to methings that I didn't like, and
they they said things in meanways or did things to my parents
(23:06):
that I didn't like, and I gotbitter.
And that bitterness it became aroot of anger, and that
bitterness really took shape,and it started to drive a wedge
in my heart, not just towardschurch people, but towards God.
And what happens is that we'recalled to be those that are
walking collectively togetherwith grace.
And the reason it's a grace,the reason we hear that these
(23:28):
epistles are written with thatas the forerunner of Christ's
grace on us and our grace witheach other, our peace with each
other, is that we are walking inthis tension of justice and
grace together as a group.
And that means that whenever wego to see something and
challenge something in a brotheror sister's life, the reason is
not because I am pious and I'mtelling you to do better.
(23:50):
No, it's because I love you andI want us to do better
collectively.
It also means in the scripturethat I look first at my own self
and the plank in my own eyebefore I try to go get the speck
out of my brother or sister'seye.
And that means it's very muchnot just what you say, but how
you say it in living the love ofChrist and saying, listen, not
(24:12):
oh you're messing up, oh you'rethis, oh you're backsliding.
No, no, how about this?
How about instead we say, hey,you doing okay?
What's going on?
Hey, we're on this journeyfollowing Jesus, he's going this
way.
Where are you going?
Feels like you're wandering offa little bit.
I love you.
Can we walk this thingtogether?
How can I help you?
Doesn't that hit differentlythan oh, you're a mess.
(24:34):
Bye.
You know what I mean?
Like we're going this way.
And then people are like, oh,they didn't even love me.
They didn't, and then they fillin all the things and they get
hurt and they run from God.
And the very thing that theyneed the whole time is God's
presence in a community offaith.
But now they're hurt, and sothey're out looking for
everything out in the world,trying to fill the hole, the
God-sized hole inside of themwith experiences and substance
(24:54):
and blah blah blah blah blah.
Because none of it willsuffice.
Because he built us to be thepeople of God living as a
community of faith for him andfor his purposes.
He continues in scripture here.
It says in Romans 6, 14, forsin will have no dominion over
you, since you are not underlaw, but under grace.
(25:18):
Friends, that means that thecontrol of sin that it once had
over your life is now done andgone by the power of Jesus
Christ.
And as we accept his work forus on the cross, what it means
is that we're coming toalignment with him.
And so it's no longer has thechains on us.
As we say, Lord, I believe youare, and you accept his work on
(25:39):
the cross for you, that sincontrol is broken off of your
life.
And so it behooves us asChrist's followers not to go get
re-chained back up to the stuffthat Jesus freed us from, but
instead to live free of thecontrol of sin and be those that
walk in step with where God istaking us to go.
(26:01):
Continuing in Romans, we seehere in Romans 11, it says, But
it, but if it is by grace, it isno longer on the basis of
works.
Otherwise, grace would nolonger be grace.
So we know it's not by work.
We know it's not something weearn.
And anybody who would tell youotherwise, friends, what it
(26:21):
happens is that they they startto align these things with
systems or religious ideas, andthey're trying to work their way
in because we're trying to dogood and make that count for
something.
You know, see, we as Christfollowers, we do good and do
good works as a response toGod's love for us.
So it's not because we'retrying to earn our way into
(26:41):
heaven.
That doesn't work.
Because you can make a saintout of anybody it that way, they
could just give enough moneyand get counted.
Man, if that was the case, Ichecked all the boxes a long
time ago.
I'm gonna just retire right nowand go do whatever I want.
Peace.
You know what I mean?
But instead, we're not there.
All of us, all of us are on thejourney to be more like Jesus.
(27:05):
And so that means every day wego and we pick up our cross and
we follow Jesus.
It's not a one-time done anddusted, and oh, I'm forgiven and
I can live however I want.
That's not what it says.
What does it say?
It says that you will be thosewho daily pick up their cross
and follow me.
So we need to be those who arein alignment with Christ and
(27:26):
what the word of God says.
Now, as it continues here, wesee that it starts to speak in
James 4, a differentperspective.
It says, But he gives moregrace.
Therefore, God says God opposesthe proud, but gives grace to
the humble.
We can see how easy it might beto be those who start to get
(27:49):
puffed up in how our life isgoing because we get the
benefits of living for God, andand things start to come
together in our life differentlythan they did than when we
didn't have God.
And some people might get thatmessed up, that it's they're
getting their show together, andso therefore they start to get
pride about something.
But instead, that we would bethose who have the correct
perspective of God, our Savior,and He who is doing a good work
(28:11):
in us, that He is above us andnot the other way around.
Whenever we start to elevateourselves above God, then we're
struggling for control on ourlife.
And what that means is thatwe're very much fighting against
the very God that we're sayingwe're trying to serve and live
for.
And so he says that he actuallyactually resists the proud.
(28:32):
He actually will put his handout against you instead of being
the one that elevates and givesgrace to the humble.
So let us be those who arehumble, who have our hearts in
alignment with God and say,Lord, we thank you.
Lord, today I give you praise.
Lord, today I lift up my faceand my voice towards you, that
you would be worshiped with mylife.
(28:54):
Not how great am I and what amI feeling.
Friends, you don't want God toresist you.
You want God to give you graceand lift you up.
So let's be those that humbleour hearts after him.
Amen.
Continuing here, we see whereit talks about in John 1,
(29:14):
returning to that narrative fromlast week.
For from his fullness we allreceived grace upon grace.
For the law was given throughMoses.
Grace and truth came throughJesus Christ.
That's why when Jesus came, hesaid, I came to complete the
law, not to throw it away.
And so the law becomescompleted in Jesus as grace and
(29:38):
truth.
The law was given to Moses byJesus, remember?
He's the one that gave us thelaw.
So the law, what it did is itput us into right standing with
trying to live a holy standardfor God.
Not just in what we did andwhat we thought, but also in in
in in in other ways where it'slike I'm separated away from the
other cultures around me.
We're gonna dress a certain wayand do a certain thing.
(29:59):
And have certain traditionsbecause it's a reminder of my
commitment to God.
But every time that this cameup, the standard, everyone made
sin.
Everybody made mistakes, right?
Nobody was righteous.
No, not one.
And so what happens is thatJesus comes and he, because he
lived a sinless life, because hewas the sacrifice of God, he
(30:22):
fulfills the law because helives the law all the way out
perfectly.
And then he, not of his ownsin, but our sin, he takes it
upon himself and he pays for oursin.
And so what we receive insteadof judgment is we receive grace
extended to us.
(30:43):
And it's such a powerful thingto think about.
When we think about all thatwe've done, all the mistakes
we've made, all the evilthoughts that have run through
our minds.
We know we can't approach aholy God like that.
But his grace is extended to usin such a powerful way.
(31:08):
That while we are still brokenand messed up in a disaster, he
came all the way to us becausehe loves us that much.
And he takes us and he calls ushis children, sons and
daughters of the Most High God.
And he makes us into a newcreation that sin does not have
control over you anymore, butyou are free in the name of
(31:32):
Jesus Christ.
That no addiction and nobrokenness and no kind of thing
from the past will rule andreign in our lives, but instead
we can walk free of that inJesus because of the grace
extended to us.
Now, here in Scripture we seeit a little bit more robust in a
different way.
In Ephesians 1, it says, In himwe have redemption through his
(31:55):
blood.
That's the sacrifice of Christ,the forgiveness of our
trespasses, which is our sinthat we've made against him,
according to the riches of hisgrace, which he lavished upon us
in all wisdom and insight,making known to us the mystery
of his will, according to hispurpose, which he set forth in
(32:15):
Christ as a plan for thefullness of time to unite all
things in him, things in heavenand things on earth.
Friends, when we say that Godhas a plan and a purpose, it's
not just a cool idea wrapped inalliteration.
No, it comes from thescripture.
The word of God said he has aplan for you.
(32:36):
Says that he has a purpose thatyou're here for, a plan and a
purpose.
And he you were made on purposewith purpose.
And he wants to do great thingsthrough your life.
And so as we come to thisplace, we understand that he is
there available to us, and he'llreach us and meet us in every
(32:57):
bit of brokenness.
I think of so many that aregoing through difficult seasons.
I think of people that arewrestling and walking through
difficulty and loss, difficultyin some kind of prognosis that a
doctor has given.
We're thankful for the wisdomhe's given us in medical ideas,
but we still contend for the Godof the universe who does
(33:19):
miracles and who is divine andwill heal and restore.
He'll bring peace to heartsthat are broken.
He will restore marriages, hewill restore family
relationships, he will do allthis and more.
I have seen it, I will proclaimit.
God is good and has good thingsplanned for us.
It's by his plan, it's by hispurpose.
(33:43):
And sometimes we get angrybecause it's not the timeline
that we want when we start topray.
Oh God, how come?
The Amazon drone, it droppedoff stuff today.
I just ordered it an hour ago.
How come my prayer hasn't gotanswered already?
He's like, maybe it's becauseI'm doing a plan and a work in
and through your life, and thattakes time.
(34:06):
Friends, we're so we're sodialed in, we're so small on
just our little world, and Godsees everything outside of time
and space.
And he values you and hearsyour heart in the midst of all
of that, so much that he camejust for you, for the redemption
of the cross.
(34:26):
We see the scripture here, ittalks about how the early church
they started to really takethis idea of Christ's love for
them, and they they rejoiced it.
It started to the work of theHoly Spirit in them started to
spark something different, andit was dynamic.
And what happened, it says inActs 4, verse 33, and with great
power, the apostles were givingtheir testimony to the
(34:46):
resurrection of the Lord Jesus,and great grace was upon them
all.
Friends, I think about thepeople that Jesus picked.
He he picked like a ragtaggroup of people.
He he has like these saltysailor guys, and he has a tax
collector.
He's got all sorts of peoplemixed together.
He didn't pick the cream of thecrop, like these people like
(35:08):
you know, Paul.
He didn't pick those guys.
He picked these other guysfirst.
And they were dedicated, theyleft everything to follow Jesus.
And you see what happens intheir life is that he empowers
them to do the work of Christ,and then amazing things,
miracles start to happen out oftheir life.
Why?
Because they embraced the graceof God for them and they
(35:29):
believed in faith, and becauseof it, God used them as a tool
in his hand to do miraculousthings.
But here's the thing I alsothought about was that all that
time that Jesus had those peoplefollowing him, in the midst of
them was also Judas.
And Judas was there as someonewho left everything to follow
(35:49):
Jesus.
He was someone who was therewhen he fed the 5,000 with
someone's lunch.
He was there and saw themiracle of him walking across
the water and calming the seasand healing the multitudes.
He saw it all.
But there was something insideof Judas' heart that he had not
aligned yet.
He did not let that healingcome to some part of his heart.
(36:12):
And because of it, Judas becamea traitor.
A guy who walked with Jesus forthree years was a traitor
against him.
And it breaks my heart to thinkabout it.
Because it starts talking abouthow he was so motivated, he was
a thief first, and this smallthing starts to happen in his
(36:32):
heart, and it started tocrescendo towards the end of
everything, and it was adisaster.
But even here, where there's abeautiful moment where Mary
cracks open a box and there'sall these amazing things that
happen, and she's she'sanointing Jesus' feet, and this
aroma fills the room, and allthese things happen.
He's bitter in his heartbecause he wanted a piece of
that money that they could havesold that for.
(36:54):
It says it here in scripture.
It starts to talk about it inJohn 12.
It says, But Judas Iscariot,one of his disciples, he who was
about to betray him, said, Whywas this ointment not sold for
the three for 300 denari andgiven to the poor?
He said this, not because hecared about the poor, but
because he was a thief.
And having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself
(37:15):
what was put into it.
A traitor.
I think sometimes about thatsame thing.
When God starts to speak to meabout something that he's like
saying, Jay, I want you to givetowards this.
Not about a tithe, likesomething about generosity.
(37:38):
But I had a plan for what Iwanted to spend that money on,
and so maybe I didn't do it.
Think about how I'm stealingthat away from what God wanted
me to do.
Think about when he asked us todo something and be obedient to
our time, the thing that's mostimportant we can't buy more of.
Whenever he asks us to give usof our time or our talent, and
(38:00):
we don't do it.
Am I more in alignment withJudith than I am with Jesus?
Heaven help us, Red.
Heaven help us.
That we would be uh those thatsay yes to God.
(38:22):
That we would be those thatdon't get caught up in our own
thing and allow the small thingsto take root and divide a wedge
in our heart with God.
But instead we would be likethose of the rest of the eleven
who gave their all for JesusChrist, and in the end they get
to hear, well done, good andfaithful servant, instead of
(38:44):
trying to walk towards Jesus tobetray him with a kiss.
See, the grace of God isavailable even for Judas if he
would have turned back.
Because Jesus loves us thatmuch.
Second Corinthians, Paul'swriting to the church at
Corinth, he says it like thisBut he said to me, My grace is
sufficient for you, for my poweris made perfect in your
(39:08):
weakness.
Therefore I will boast all themore gladly of my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ mayrest upon me.
See, Paul knew very much whatit was like to break the heart
of God.
He knew what it was like tohave weakness.
He was the jihadist persecutorof the church in his day.
He was seeing to it thatChristians were put into prison
(39:30):
or killed, and he was looking toit, and God chose that guy to
become the greatest churchplanter of all time.
And he turned him around and heblinded him for days so that he
could see spiritually what hewas supposed to do.
And then he charged him to goand do great things.
So Paul knew what it was liketo be a Judas because he had
(39:52):
done it.
But God chose even people likePaul to change their life and do
something drastic, because thatis the grace of the Almighty
God.
He loves us that much that eventhe enemy of the church is
loved so that they can have arelationship with the living
God.
So when you think of your ownfrailty, you think of your own
(40:20):
weakness, you think of your ownmistakes, know this that even in
those things God can use themfor his greatness, that he would
be revered, that he would beglorified if we're obedient to
respond to him.
Come back to that question.
Do you give the grace you havereceived?
(40:43):
Three takeaways today, andwe'll close.
The first is this grace remindsus of our brokenness.
It reminds us because it meansthat he's given us something
that we don't deserve, as wetalked about.
We know that we're fallenpeople.
We know we're broken.
And so his grace is a gift tous.
It reminds us of ourbrokenness.
(41:04):
But then, two, it also remindsus of God's goodness.
And that's something that wehave to hold in our mind because
sometimes we get we get letdown because maybe the prayer
that we pray doesn't getanswered in our timeline, that
we wouldn't be those that thinkGod is no longer good.
No, friends, God is gooddespite the circumstances.
And he's working things, eventhings that are heartbreaking
(41:26):
and lost.
He's working those things andusing them even for his
purposes.
So grace reminds us of God'sgoodness.
And the third is this gracecompels us to encounter God
personally.
It calls us to the mercy seat,to draw forward, to hear from
God, to meet him, and to hearfrom him for our own lives, to
(41:51):
transform us into what he wantsus to do.
So you have to answer thequestion Do you give the grace
you have received?
Today, as we come to the end ofthis service, we ask the
question so often of what itmeans to be a Christ follower.
Each one of us has to answerhave you embraced Jesus?
(42:14):
This is the question that everyChristian has said yes to, is
that they've accepted Christ'swork on the cross for
themselves.
They say, Lord, I believe youare who you say you are, and
invite you into my heart andlife.
I ask you to forgive me of mysin, cleanse me of all
unrighteousness.
I want to live my life withyou.
And that's why to us the symbolof the cross is so profound,
(42:35):
because the cross was a symbolof torture and death.
And as Jesus went to the cross,he took all the sin of the
world, all my mistakes and allof yours.
He took it upon himself.
And when he died upon thecross, he did so because he
loved us that much.
Because his grace was extendedto us that much.
The Apostle Paul, he writes tothe church at Rome, he says it
like this (42:56):
because if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord, and believe inyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will besaved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, with the
mouth one confesses and issaved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
(43:19):
That wherever you are today,either in this room or online,
under the sound of my voice,that you embrace what Christ
wants to do in your heart andlife.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made that commitment to
Jesus today.
You can say yes to him.
Ask him to forgive you of yoursin, start a new relationship
with him.
Or maybe maybe you have.
(43:44):
But that like Judas, you letsomething get into your heart
and life to drive a wedgebetween you and God.
Friends, don't end up the wayJudas ended up.
You have an opportunity torepent and to start a new
relationship by committing yourlife back to God, to live in the
thing you know you should bedoing, to not let church hurt
(44:05):
and other things take you out ofwhat God wants to do in and
through your life, but insteadthat you would embrace the
healing that He has for youthat's only found in Jesus
Christ.
I'm gonna ask if you're here inthe room, if you just stand to
your feet as Christians arepraying and people are working
to respond.
Friends, wherever you areonline, if you just take a
(44:26):
moment and stop to open yourhearts for what God wants to do.
We've already had peoplerespond this morning to make a
commitment to Jesus.
We've been praying for you thatyou would make the same kind of
decision today.
So if that's you and you'rehere in the room, you say,
(44:47):
Pastor, I just want to beincluded in that prayer today.
If that's you, if you justraise your hand right where
you're at.
Say that's me.
I just want to make a decisionto follow Jesus, you the hand
that's there.
Others making decisions.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Lord.
Friends online as well.
Thank you, Lord.
People make decisions.
I'm gonna ask if everyonewould, if they'd pray this
prayer out loud after me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
(45:08):
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you.
(45:30):
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice if you makea decision to follow Jesus
today.
What a powerful decision.
You saw the hands that wereraised here today.
Hey, that was you, take a takea moment, take a snapshot of
next steps.
You want to be able to followand be successful in your life
(45:51):
with Christ, and we want to beable to connect with you to
encourage you in this way.
Today, friends, we have anopportunity to respond here
about the grace of God extendedto us and us extending to
others.
Or maybe you're here and youjust need more of his presence.
You need more of his guidance,you need more of his
understanding.
If you come forward and make aplace with God, we're gonna have
(46:13):
people come and just to prayalongside you.
Maybe you're needing of aphysical touch and your body and
healing will come and pray withyou.
Maybe it's restoration andrelationships for brokenhearted
that we'll pray with you thatthe Lord will meet you right
here in this moment.
You expect you experience thegrace of God.
Lord, we thank you for thisword.
And Lord, as we open up thisaltar today, Lord, we do so with
(46:35):
hearts that are turned towardsyou.
Lord, in saying thank you forthe gift that you've given us of
your grace, the gift ofsalvation which you've given to
us that we cannot earn.
But Lord, instead we turn toyou with our whole heart, Lord,
in worshiping you witheverything we have.
Will we come to this altar,Lord, seeking more of your
empowerment, more of yourpresence, Lord, in our lives?
(46:56):
We thank you in advance forwhat you're doing in and through
us.
We pray in the name of JesusChrist.
Amen.
It's exciting because today isparty with the pastors.
You haven't had a chance tomeet some of our pastoral team.
Take a chance to do that.
Grab your kids if you havethem, and then meet over here in
the east side.
There's a conference room rightdown the hallway.
We have some refreshments foryou.
We just want to be able toconnect with you and say hello.
Celeste Brown (47:18):
And we have Fall Family Day coming up.
It's gonna be amazing.
And we need you.
We need volunteers.
So if you go on the app, youcan sign up.
There is time slots, so youdon't have to do it the entire
time, but we would love to haveyou be involved and then invite
someone.
Invite neighbors, colleagues,friends, invite the whole
neighborhood if you want.
But it's just gonna be a greatday to get them onto the campus
(47:39):
and get to know them.
Jason Brown (47:41):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Or lift up his countenance uponyou and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(48:04):
Will you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us?
Pray all this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
500 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther ignited a
fire that would reshapeChristianity forever.
His stand against theprevailing doctrines of his day
wasn't just a protest, it was acall to return to the
foundational truths of thefaith.
This pivotal moment ofProtestant Reformation wasn't
about creating a new religion,but about rediscovering the
(00:21):
gospel.
At the heart of thisrediscovery were five core
principles, Latin phrases thatbecame the rallying cry for
reform.
These are the five solas, solascriptura, scripture alone.
The Bible, not tradition orhuman authority.
It's our ultimate andinfallible guide for faith and
life.
It's the final word, thehighest course.
(00:42):
Sola Fidel, faith alone.
We're justified, declaredrighteous in God's sight, by
faith alone, not by our words.
We trust solely in Christ'sfinished work on the cross.
So is God's gift, grace alone.
Salvation is an earth, it's agift from God.
It's this unmerited favor thatsaves us.
Nothing we do can ever deserveit.
So is Christus, Christ alone.
(01:04):
Jesus Christ is the onlymediator between God and
humanity.
He is the one and only way tosalvation, our one true King,
and our sole redeemer.
Solid Day of Gloria, to theglory of God alone.
The ultimate purpose ofeverything, including our
salvation, is to bring glory toGod.
Our lives are to be lived forhis praise, not our own.
(01:26):
These aren't just historicalslogans, they're living truths
that anchor our faith.
Jason Brown (01:32):
Do you give the grace you have received?
You know, thinking about thisidea of grace is so pivotal.
And it reminds me of a storythat I experienced some years
ago.
Now, I was a youth pastor herea few years back.
And in doing so, you know, it'sthe adventure of trying to deal
with students and young adults.
(01:53):
And man, they're different,they're a different time of
life, right?
So during your teen years, yourparents don't know anything
until you get to be a youngadult and they know everything,
and you realize you don't knowanything.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And so during that phase,you're trying to wrestle them
together and get a group of themgoing.
And man, we love and revere ourstudents.
We want them to know Jesus.
They are the church today.
(02:13):
And so that's who we want to beengaging with.
And one way to get students toshow up to anything is to
provide food.
And so we provided food, and Iwas thinking about that.
I was like, okay, so it's fall,it's almost Thanksgiving.
What's the best food to givethem?
Turkey.
And so we're gonna give turkey,we're gonna figure out turkey,
turkey, turkey with the game.
You know, we have the masterceremonies of games right here,
(02:33):
Travis in the front row for ouryouth department.
And it's like, what game can wego?
Students love bowling.
Okay, we're gonna put bowlingtogether with turkey, and we're
gonna have turkey bowling.
And so we're gonna take frozenturkeys and we're gonna hurl
them down at some pins.
But we don't have any pins,Pastor Jay.
That's right, we don't.
We're gonna use two-liter sodabottles because this is a great
(02:56):
idea.
And it's gonna be wonderful.
There's gonna be no problemswith this idea at all.
It's gonna be super fun.
And as we did it, man, itstarts knocking them over, and
you know, we're thinking about,man, they're gonna explode.
It's gonna be crazy.
We have some plastic up and wehave a little bit of a thing of
a backstop.
I really thought it out, youguys.
I'd thought it out.
There's no problems.
Until the first, you know,15-year-old power-packed boy
(03:19):
grabs this ginormous frozenturkey and he chucks it down
towards the bottles, and itknocked off all the bottles, and
then went right over everythingI had put there to block it,
and into the wall, leaving afrozen turkey hole this big in
the multi-purpose wall.
(03:40):
And all of the leaders turnedand looked at me, they're like,
ooh.
And I was trying to look foranybody else but me.
I was like, oh no, it's me.
And I knew the gavel wascoming.
You know, I knew there wasgonna be judgment.
I knew I was to blame.
It was my idea.
I was the one that planned it.
And now there's a huge hole inthe wall that's perfectly cut
(04:04):
out for a turkey.
And in the morning, we have ourdaycare here that they're gonna
use this room.
And I'm like, ah.
And of course, you know, I wastrying to like posture and think
of a way to explain this to mydad, who's the pastor.
And uh, you know, I'd grown upwith him, I was expecting, you
know, there was gonna be aJ-size hole next to the turkey
in the wall.
So, you know, I thought I wasgonna see the bright light of
(04:26):
going to see Jesus.
I was like, Yes, Lord, I seeyou, I'm coming.
That's not what happened.
What happened is I came in andtalked to him, and you know,
instead of getting the reprimandfor what I had done, he started
asking me what I was doing.
And I said, Well, we did thisgame, we want to engage these
kids, and we have these new kidscoming, we want to get them
tied in.
(04:47):
And he started to hear theheart behind what I was doing.
And instead of giving mejudgment, he gave me grace.
And so he said, We're gonna fixit, we're gonna make sure that
you follow up with it and youget it fixed.
Yep, yep, we can do that.
And what happened was it itturned from being a judgment
moment into a learning moment.
And it is a moment where thethe grace that my dad had
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received had changed hischaracter that he now is passing
on, and I was experiencing thegrace of God through his life to
me.
Because I didn't get what Ideserved, but instead I got
grace that was extended to me.
Friends, do you give me thegrace that you have received?
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Today we continue with thisidea of the five solas, these
are the five statements of faithof the reformation, and we're
glad that you're part of us,we're glad that you're here with
us at Cornerstone.
Uh, you know, very much here atCornerstone, we see ourselves
as people who are imperfect.
We are all in need of a savior.
And so that's how we viewourselves.
We are people on a journeyfollowing after Jesus.
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And we use this imagery ofChrist walking with his
disciples because that's how weview ourselves, as people who
are following Jesus where he'sleading us to go.
And since that's true, then wewant to be more like Jesus.
And our ambition is to do thatcollectively.
It's why we do it throughoutthe week, throughout the city
and life groups, so we can be anintentional to connect with
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each other, to grow in ourrelationship with God, and to
serve.
It's also why missionally welove God, we make disciples, and
we reach the world.
That's why we believe inmissions and we want to see
people both here where we liveand across the world know the
love of Christ.
Now, looking to the five solas,this is something that goes
back to the idea of theReformation.
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And there are five statementsof faith, as you saw in the
video, that talk about these keypieces of what we believe.
And so as we look at it, yousee sola scriptura, scripture
alone.
You see sola fide, that byfaith alone.
Today we're looking at solagratia by grace alone.
We'll take a look at solusChristus or Christ alone.
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And then last, solide o gloria,or God's glory alone.
Glory be to him alone.
And we looked and saw howMartin Luther was talking to in
his day, speaking to these verythings and recalibrating the
hearts of the church backtowards the very thing that made
our faith our faith, which is awalk in Jesus Christ, and about
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his work on the cross for us.
So as Martin Luther, who hehimself was talking about, I'm
not, it's not going to be drivenby tradition or by relics or by
praying to these other things.
No, I'm going to have a faiththat's in Jesus Christ because
that's what the book says.
And so we talked about how thescripture is so important to us,
it's the revelation of God'sword.
We talked about that with solascriptura.
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Our Bible, we looked at 2Timothy 3, and it says, all
scripture is breathed out by Godand profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction andfor training in righteousness,
that the man of God may becomplete, equipped for every
good work.
And so for us, the word of God,it's alive.
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It's not a dead documentwritten thousands of years ago,
but by the Holy Spirit, it canbe made alive so that it impacts
our life.
So it challenges our character.
So it's something that washesover us and in us and through
us.
And so that's something that'simperative and important to us.
So as we go into the word, itenvelops us.
And as we spend that time inthe scripture, it starts to wash
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over our character and align uswith where he's asking us to
go.
It's also why the scripture isa higher authority than even the
way we do what we're doing,which is traditions, because the
scripture is the alignment ofGod's word for us.
And so what we say is that youdon't have to belong to the
church to belong to Jesus, butwe belong to the church because
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we belong to Jesus.
And so you see how those thingsare aligned and how they come
together.
So my encouragement to youwould be be people of the word,
be people that go into the wordof God and let it wash over you.
The next thing we talked aboutwas sola fide or faith alone.
And we looked at the scripturehere, and it says in Ephesians
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2, for by grace you have beensaved through faith.
And this is not of your owndoing, it's of the gift of God,
not a result of works, so thatno one may boast.
We are his workmanship createdin Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,that we should walk in them.
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And so we talk about how faithis the way that we make a make
an understanding of our beliefin Jesus.
We're saying, Lord, I believeyou are who you say you are.
And it's placing our trust inthe unknown, which is found in
the eternal God of our faith.
Today we're taking a look atSolo Gratia, grace alone.
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And if you have a Bible, yourtablet, your phone today, let me
encourage you to highlight.
We're gonna be looking throughRomans quite a bit, but starting
here in Romans 3, verses 23 and24.
Let me encourage you tohighlight that so you can take a
look back over it this week andlet it let it soak into your
heart.
It picks up here Romans 3, 23,it says, For all have sinned and
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fall short of the glory of God,and are justified by his grace
as a gift through the redemptionthat is in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for yourword and we pray over it today.
Oh, that you would spark it andmake it alive in us.
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Lord, that you would challengeus in our character to be more
like you.
We pray in the name of JesusChrist.
Amen.
So sola gratia, grace alone.
As we look at these pieces, wetalked about last week how the
scripture in Ephesians it startsout talking about it's only by
grace that we've been savedthrough our faith in God.
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And so that's something thatsparks this idea of that it's
not our own doing, it's not byworks.
And this is imperative becausewe as people who are broken, we
know we're broken.
We don't have to have someoneconvince us otherwise, do we?
All of us have made mistakes.
And since that's true, then aswe come towards God, it's the
question always has to be whatcan we offer a holy God?
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We don't have anything that wecan earn our way into his
presence.
There's not enough steps.
How can we do it?
We can't make ourselves holybecause we are unholy.
And so God needed a holysacrifice to make those things
in alignment.
And by the law, he would makethat be a substitute of a
sacrifice where this animaltakes my sin upon it, and as
it's sacrificed, my sin is dead.
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But as Jesus comes, he doesthat for all of us.
And so he's the one that takesthe sin upon himself.
And so for us, whenever westart to look this way, we have
to understand it's by the graceof God.
It means that uh that we getsomething that we don't deserve,
and in a positive way.
And so this grace that he givesto us, he comes all the way to
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us.
He abandons heaven and gloryand all those that were
worshiping him before thethrone, and he comes down in a
way we can understand.
He becomes mortal man and livesthis life.
And in doing so, he becomesthat very sacrifice that we
need.
He's the one that pays theprice for us.
And so we can't earn it, wecan't do enough good things.
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I mean, you can't give enoughmoney, you can't serve enough
time, you can't do it.
But what we can do is werespond by faith in obedience to
God, accepting his work for us.
And that is the grace, the giftof God for us.
As we look to our Bible, we doso intentionality.
It's like, Lord, speak to me ofwhat this looks like for today.
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What is my daily bread?
And as it becomes alive, itchallenges us in that way.
You know, in this thing, inthis theme of grace, we see it
often that it was written by thechurch fathers.
We see it in Paul and Peter'swritings as they would write
epistles to the church.
That's the letters that we readas books of the Bible and the
New Testament often.
They would write and actuallylead with this idea of grace.
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And you can see three exampleshere.
It says, Grace to you and peacefrom our God, our Father, and
our Lord Jesus Christ.
See, what they were living inis the grace of God that had
been extended to them as aChrist follower, and therefore
we're extending grace to eachother.
And this is so what's pivotalfor us because we want to be
like they are, that they'releading out saying, Listen,
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grace and peace to you.
We together are on this team.
We together are living thislife for God.
We together are walking ingrace.
And in doing so, it starts tochallenge us to be in alignment
with Him.
You see here the example fromPeter, it says, My May grace and
peace be multiplied to you inthe knowledge of God and of
Jesus our Lord.
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Friends, that's what I pray allthe time.
Lord, give me your wisdombeyond my experience, beyond the
things that I know.
I need your insight.
And so, Lord, speak to me.
Give me your download of yourspirit for me for today, that my
daily bread would be walking inalignment with you.
Would you say amen to that?
So we pick up here inscripture, walking forward a
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little bit, taking a look atExodus 25, and it's the
reference from where mercystarts to be an establishment
for the people of God.
And obviously, the mercy of Godhad already been there, an
extension to Abram becomingAbraham, and then later with
Joseph and the salvation ofIsrael, later with Moses and
their freedom from Israel.
(14:23):
But there was a need for Moses,who lacked wisdom, to get
wisdom from God.
Exodus 25 says, And you shallput the mercy seat on top of the
ark, and in the ark you shallput the testimony that I shall
give you.
There I will meet with you, andfrom above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubim thatare on the ark of the testimony,
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I will speak with you aboutwhat I will give you in
commandment for the people ofIsrael.
It says a little further in inNumbers 7, it says, And when
Moses went to the tent ofmeeting to speak with the Lord,
he heard the voice speaking tohim from above the mercy seat
that was on the ark of thetestimony, from between the two
cherubim, it spoke to him.
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So the Lord gives them atangible representation of his
glory.
He wasn't encapsulated in agold box, but what he did is
allowed his presence to resthere with the artifacts of what
he had given him, the law andthe miracles that he had done
that had been put inside the Arkof the Covenant as testimony of
God's glory and his love forthe children of Israel.
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And in doing so, what happensis you see that this gilded box
becomes the presence of God.
And it would say that Moseswould go into the tabernacle to
meet with God, and God wouldspeak to Moses in this way.
And he's doing so because why?
Because Moses needs wisdom fromGod.
And he needed wisdom to rulethe people of God as their
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leader.
Why?
Because Moses was a brokenperson like all of us.
And though Moses has thisamazing story of God sparing his
life and being raised up inPharaoh's house because his his
uh adopted mother was Pharaoh'sdaughter, so he gets this
education to be a ruler and aruling class in Egypt.
But then he throws it all awaybecause he lets his anger take
(16:12):
hold and he murders somebody.
And then he covers up thatmurder and then he's trying to
get away with it, and then heflees for his life whenever it
becomes apparent that everyoneknows what's going on.
And he's hiding out in SaudiArabia as a shepherd when God
speaks to him and calls him tobe a leader and a liberator of
the children of God.
(16:33):
So you can only think abouthimself as he goes back before
Pharaoh, how broken and howinadequate he felt to do this
job that God called him to do.
And so he would go, and as he'sleading the children of Israel
now back in the desert, he'sgoing and meeting with God, and
God is speaking to him.
It's an opportunity for him todraw near to God.
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And it's that very same thing.
That's where we see Joshualearns from Moses about this
very process about going in andlistening to the word of God,
about how God wants him to drawnear to himself, to have a
relationship with him.
And as he does, and Mosespasses on and Joshua steps into
the seat.
That's why the Lord is speakingto him, saying, Listen, you got
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to be strong and courageous.
You have battles that are aheadof you.
But I am with you.
You are not alone.
And so for us, we see thisrepresentation of this golden
box, the Ark of the Covenant, asa representation of God's
presence here.
For us today, after the afterthe work of Christ on the cross,
we have that same impartationin the scripture.
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It becomes the opportunity forus to draw near to what he's
speaking to us.
It's an opportunity for him tospeak to us and say, This is the
word, this is the guidance Ihave for you, if you'll draw
near to me.
And so for us, that's why welook to the scripture and hold
it in such high regard, becauseGod will use it to guide us.
Now, looking here to thescripture, it continues forward.
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And it says in Romans 3, as wetalked about, for all have
sinned.
How many?
All have sinned and fall shortof the glory of God and are
justified by his grace as agift.
His grace is a what?
It's a gift through theredemption that is in Christ
Jesus.
That means that we are allsinners.
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And that means that we're allbroken.
It means that we all havesomething inside us that
separates us from God.
Sin is literally, it's anarchery term, it's a military
term meaning to miss.
And so as we are people aremissing God's plan and God's
grace and God's law for us, thenwhat happens is we make these
things that separate us fromGod.
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We are creating these sins,these mistakes, this brokenness
that separates us from God.
And that's why us as Christ'sfollowers, we need to deal with
that sin and ask him to forgiveus so that we don't have
anything that starts to developin our lives to drive us away.
And so we see how his grace isthen extended to us in such an
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amazing way, because it'snothing that we could do and
nothing we could earn, so it'sgiven to us as a gift.
Now, we're about on the seasonof giving gifts, and I don't
know if any parents in the roomhave already received a hit list
of the gifts that they'reexpecting at their house from
their children.
But uh, it's starting to happento us.
And so, you know, it's one ofthose things that, you know,
it's a different thing whereit's like, you know, I
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appreciate what you get me as agift, but I want these things
here on this long list.
So if you could provide them,that would be great.
That's not quite the samething, is it?
If you give a gift out of yourheart, man, it's received so
different because it's like theydidn't do anything to warrant
this gift, and you're not givingit for that reason to try to
get anything from them.
You're just doing it becauseyou care for the person or you
want them to receive somethingspecial.
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And that's what God has donefor us, is that he gives this
redemption as a gift.
And that's his grace for us.
Here in the word, going back toRomans, and now in chapter
five, it says, But the free giftis not like the trespass.
For if many died through oneman's trespass, much more have
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the grace of God and the freegift by the grace of one man
Jesus Christ abound for many.
This goes back to the storythat we learn in Genesis about
the creation of mankind.
And it says that the Lordplaced Adam and then gave Eve,
and they were there together inthe garden, and they had
everything, and they felt nosin, and they felt no shame, and
they felt no guilt.
(20:33):
And God just created them andsaid, Listen, you have all these
things, and he gave themauthority over all the living
things.
But he said, Don't touch this,this tree, don't touch it.
But somehow they started tolisten to the enemy of their
soul, the devil.
And he convinced them to goagainst what God had instructed
them to do.
And in doing so, they were freeof sin, but now they've made a
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mistake and they've broken thatcovenant with God, and it
creates a rift, it creates achasm between us as man and
mankind and God.
And suddenly there's this sinthat enters in the world.
And so we growing up, we knowwe don't have to learn how to
sin.
It becomes inerrant in us whenfrom the time we're small.
And so it's something that'salready happening in our life,
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and so we need to be put backinto right standing with the
living God.
That's why the fall of man camethrough one person in Adam or
him and Eve and their decisionto say no to God.
And so that brokenness startedto flow through them in that
way, down to all of us.
In the same way, Jesus comesand he restores us back and
redeems us all through hissacrifice, one person, holy and
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unto God as a sacrifice for God.
And we're redeemed back toGod's presence.
And so we can see where God'splan for us is made whole in
Jesus as he comes and emptieshimself of all glory and he
pours his love out on allpeople, though he didn't sin, he
takes on our mistakes.
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The word says in Romans 6, itsays, What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin thatgrace may abound?
By no means.
How can we who died to sinstill live in it?
Friends, that's the challengefor us, and that's why we
celebrate with those that followtheir faith commitments in
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water baptism.
Because what they're doing isthe decision they've made by
faith in their heart to askChrist into their life, they're
going public with that andsaying, I'm going to be dead to
sin and alive in God.
And so we don't sin because weexperience grace.
Just because we don't haveinstant ramifications for our
bad decisions doesn't mean thatwe should continue to sin.
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No, instead it means that we'resupposed to be in alignment
with God because his grace is sosufficient for us.
And here's the thing you know,I grew up in church and I got
church hurt like many othershave got church hurt, which
means I had people say to methings that I didn't like, and
they they said things in meanways or did things to my parents
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that I didn't like, and I gotbitter.
And that bitterness it became aroot of anger, and that
bitterness really took shape,and it started to drive a wedge
in my heart, not just towardschurch people, but towards God.
And what happens is that we'recalled to be those that are
walking collectively togetherwith grace.
And the reason it's a grace,the reason we hear that these
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epistles are written with thatas the forerunner of Christ's
grace on us and our grace witheach other, our peace with each
other, is that we are walking inthis tension of justice and
grace together as a group.
And that means that whenever wego to see something and
challenge something in a brotheror sister's life, the reason is
not because I am pious and I'mtelling you to do better.
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No, it's because I love you andI want us to do better
collectively.
It also means in the scripturethat I look first at my own self
and the plank in my own eyebefore I try to go get the speck
out of my brother or sister'seye.
And that means it's very muchnot just what you say, but how
you say it in living the love ofChrist and saying, listen, not
(24:12):
oh you're messing up, oh you'rethis, oh you're backsliding.
No, no, how about this?
How about instead we say, hey,you doing okay?
What's going on?
Hey, we're on this journeyfollowing Jesus, he's going this
way.
Where are you going?
Feels like you're wandering offa little bit.
I love you.
Can we walk this thingtogether?
How can I help you?
Doesn't that hit differentlythan oh, you're a mess.
(24:34):
Bye.
You know what I mean?
Like we're going this way.
And then people are like, oh,they didn't even love me.
They didn't, and then they fillin all the things and they get
hurt and they run from God.
And the very thing that theyneed the whole time is God's
presence in a community offaith.
But now they're hurt, and sothey're out looking for
everything out in the world,trying to fill the hole, the
God-sized hole inside of themwith experiences and substance
(24:54):
and blah blah blah blah blah.
Because none of it willsuffice.
Because he built us to be thepeople of God living as a
community of faith for him andfor his purposes.
He continues in scripture here.
It says in Romans 6, 14, forsin will have no dominion over
you, since you are not underlaw, but under grace.
(25:18):
Friends, that means that thecontrol of sin that it once had
over your life is now done andgone by the power of Jesus
Christ.
And as we accept his work forus on the cross, what it means
is that we're coming toalignment with him.
And so it's no longer has thechains on us.
As we say, Lord, I believe youare, and you accept his work on
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the cross for you, that sincontrol is broken off of your
life.
And so it behooves us asChrist's followers not to go get
re-chained back up to the stuffthat Jesus freed us from, but
instead to live free of thecontrol of sin and be those that
walk in step with where God istaking us to go.
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Continuing in Romans, we seehere in Romans 11, it says, But
it, but if it is by grace, it isno longer on the basis of
works.
Otherwise, grace would nolonger be grace.
So we know it's not by work.
We know it's not something weearn.
And anybody who would tell youotherwise, friends, what it
(26:21):
happens is that they they startto align these things with
systems or religious ideas, andthey're trying to work their way
in because we're trying to dogood and make that count for
something.
You know, see, we as Christfollowers, we do good and do
good works as a response toGod's love for us.
So it's not because we'retrying to earn our way into
(26:41):
heaven.
That doesn't work.
Because you can make a saintout of anybody it that way, they
could just give enough moneyand get counted.
Man, if that was the case, Ichecked all the boxes a long
time ago.
I'm gonna just retire right nowand go do whatever I want.
Peace.
You know what I mean?
But instead, we're not there.
All of us, all of us are on thejourney to be more like Jesus.
(27:05):
And so that means every day wego and we pick up our cross and
we follow Jesus.
It's not a one-time done anddusted, and oh, I'm forgiven and
I can live however I want.
That's not what it says.
What does it say?
It says that you will be thosewho daily pick up their cross
and follow me.
So we need to be those who arein alignment with Christ and
(27:26):
what the word of God says.
Now, as it continues here, wesee that it starts to speak in
James 4, a differentperspective.
It says, But he gives moregrace.
Therefore, God says God opposesthe proud, but gives grace to
the humble.
We can see how easy it might beto be those who start to get
(27:49):
puffed up in how our life isgoing because we get the
benefits of living for God, andand things start to come
together in our life differentlythan they did than when we
didn't have God.
And some people might get thatmessed up, that it's they're
getting their show together, andso therefore they start to get
pride about something.
But instead, that we would bethose who have the correct
perspective of God, our Savior,and He who is doing a good work
(28:11):
in us, that He is above us andnot the other way around.
Whenever we start to elevateourselves above God, then we're
struggling for control on ourlife.
And what that means is thatwe're very much fighting against
the very God that we're sayingwe're trying to serve and live
for.
And so he says that he actuallyactually resists the proud.
(28:32):
He actually will put his handout against you instead of being
the one that elevates and givesgrace to the humble.
So let us be those who arehumble, who have our hearts in
alignment with God and say,Lord, we thank you.
Lord, today I give you praise.
Lord, today I lift up my faceand my voice towards you, that
you would be worshiped with mylife.
(28:54):
Not how great am I and what amI feeling.
Friends, you don't want God toresist you.
You want God to give you graceand lift you up.
So let's be those that humbleour hearts after him.
Amen.
Continuing here, we see whereit talks about in John 1,
(29:14):
returning to that narrative fromlast week.
For from his fullness we allreceived grace upon grace.
For the law was given throughMoses.
Grace and truth came throughJesus Christ.
That's why when Jesus came, hesaid, I came to complete the
law, not to throw it away.
And so the law becomescompleted in Jesus as grace and
(29:38):
truth.
The law was given to Moses byJesus, remember?
He's the one that gave us thelaw.
So the law, what it did is itput us into right standing with
trying to live a holy standardfor God.
Not just in what we did andwhat we thought, but also in in
in in in other ways where it'slike I'm separated away from the
other cultures around me.
We're gonna dress a certain wayand do a certain thing.
(29:59):
And have certain traditionsbecause it's a reminder of my
commitment to God.
But every time that this cameup, the standard, everyone made
sin.
Everybody made mistakes, right?
Nobody was righteous.
No, not one.
And so what happens is thatJesus comes and he, because he
lived a sinless life, because hewas the sacrifice of God, he
(30:22):
fulfills the law because helives the law all the way out
perfectly.
And then he, not of his ownsin, but our sin, he takes it
upon himself and he pays for oursin.
And so what we receive insteadof judgment is we receive grace
extended to us.
(30:43):
And it's such a powerful thingto think about.
When we think about all thatwe've done, all the mistakes
we've made, all the evilthoughts that have run through
our minds.
We know we can't approach aholy God like that.
But his grace is extended to usin such a powerful way.
(31:08):
That while we are still brokenand messed up in a disaster, he
came all the way to us becausehe loves us that much.
And he takes us and he calls ushis children, sons and
daughters of the Most High God.
And he makes us into a newcreation that sin does not have
control over you anymore, butyou are free in the name of
(31:32):
Jesus Christ.
That no addiction and nobrokenness and no kind of thing
from the past will rule andreign in our lives, but instead
we can walk free of that inJesus because of the grace
extended to us.
Now, here in Scripture we seeit a little bit more robust in a
different way.
In Ephesians 1, it says, In himwe have redemption through his
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blood.
That's the sacrifice of Christ,the forgiveness of our
trespasses, which is our sinthat we've made against him,
according to the riches of hisgrace, which he lavished upon us
in all wisdom and insight,making known to us the mystery
of his will, according to hispurpose, which he set forth in
(32:15):
Christ as a plan for thefullness of time to unite all
things in him, things in heavenand things on earth.
Friends, when we say that Godhas a plan and a purpose, it's
not just a cool idea wrapped inalliteration.
No, it comes from thescripture.
The word of God said he has aplan for you.
(32:36):
Says that he has a purpose thatyou're here for, a plan and a
purpose.
And he you were made on purposewith purpose.
And he wants to do great thingsthrough your life.
And so as we come to thisplace, we understand that he is
there available to us, and he'llreach us and meet us in every
(32:57):
bit of brokenness.
I think of so many that aregoing through difficult seasons.
I think of people that arewrestling and walking through
difficulty and loss, difficultyin some kind of prognosis that a
doctor has given.
We're thankful for the wisdomhe's given us in medical ideas,
but we still contend for the Godof the universe who does
(33:19):
miracles and who is divine andwill heal and restore.
He'll bring peace to heartsthat are broken.
He will restore marriages, hewill restore family
relationships, he will do allthis and more.
I have seen it, I will proclaimit.
God is good and has good thingsplanned for us.
It's by his plan, it's by hispurpose.
(33:43):
And sometimes we get angrybecause it's not the timeline
that we want when we start topray.
Oh God, how come?
The Amazon drone, it droppedoff stuff today.
I just ordered it an hour ago.
How come my prayer hasn't gotanswered already?
He's like, maybe it's becauseI'm doing a plan and a work in
and through your life, and thattakes time.
(34:06):
Friends, we're so we're sodialed in, we're so small on
just our little world, and Godsees everything outside of time
and space.
And he values you and hearsyour heart in the midst of all
of that, so much that he camejust for you, for the redemption
of the cross.
(34:26):
We see the scripture here, ittalks about how the early church
they started to really takethis idea of Christ's love for
them, and they they rejoiced it.
It started to the work of theHoly Spirit in them started to
spark something different, andit was dynamic.
And what happened, it says inActs 4, verse 33, and with great
power, the apostles were givingtheir testimony to the
(34:46):
resurrection of the Lord Jesus,and great grace was upon them
all.
Friends, I think about thepeople that Jesus picked.
He he picked like a ragtaggroup of people.
He he has like these saltysailor guys, and he has a tax
collector.
He's got all sorts of peoplemixed together.
He didn't pick the cream of thecrop, like these people like
(35:08):
you know, Paul.
He didn't pick those guys.
He picked these other guysfirst.
And they were dedicated, theyleft everything to follow Jesus.
And you see what happens intheir life is that he empowers
them to do the work of Christ,and then amazing things,
miracles start to happen out oftheir life.
Why?
Because they embraced the graceof God for them and they
(35:29):
believed in faith, and becauseof it, God used them as a tool
in his hand to do miraculousthings.
But here's the thing I alsothought about was that all that
time that Jesus had those peoplefollowing him, in the midst of
them was also Judas.
And Judas was there as someonewho left everything to follow
(35:49):
Jesus.
He was someone who was therewhen he fed the 5,000 with
someone's lunch.
He was there and saw themiracle of him walking across
the water and calming the seasand healing the multitudes.
He saw it all.
But there was something insideof Judas' heart that he had not
aligned yet.
He did not let that healingcome to some part of his heart.
(36:12):
And because of it, Judas becamea traitor.
A guy who walked with Jesus forthree years was a traitor
against him.
And it breaks my heart to thinkabout it.
Because it starts talking abouthow he was so motivated, he was
a thief first, and this smallthing starts to happen in his
(36:32):
heart, and it started tocrescendo towards the end of
everything, and it was adisaster.
But even here, where there's abeautiful moment where Mary
cracks open a box and there'sall these amazing things that
happen, and she's she'sanointing Jesus' feet, and this
aroma fills the room, and allthese things happen.
He's bitter in his heartbecause he wanted a piece of
that money that they could havesold that for.
(36:54):
It says it here in scripture.
It starts to talk about it inJohn 12.
It says, But Judas Iscariot,one of his disciples, he who was
about to betray him, said, Whywas this ointment not sold for
the three for 300 denari andgiven to the poor?
He said this, not because hecared about the poor, but
because he was a thief.
And having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself
(37:15):
what was put into it.
A traitor.
I think sometimes about thatsame thing.
When God starts to speak to meabout something that he's like
saying, Jay, I want you to givetowards this.
Not about a tithe, likesomething about generosity.
(37:38):
But I had a plan for what Iwanted to spend that money on,
and so maybe I didn't do it.
Think about how I'm stealingthat away from what God wanted
me to do.
Think about when he asked us todo something and be obedient to
our time, the thing that's mostimportant we can't buy more of.
Whenever he asks us to give usof our time or our talent, and
(38:00):
we don't do it.
Am I more in alignment withJudith than I am with Jesus?
Heaven help us, Red.
Heaven help us.
That we would be uh those thatsay yes to God.
(38:22):
That we would be those thatdon't get caught up in our own
thing and allow the small thingsto take root and divide a wedge
in our heart with God.
But instead we would be likethose of the rest of the eleven
who gave their all for JesusChrist, and in the end they get
to hear, well done, good andfaithful servant, instead of
(38:44):
trying to walk towards Jesus tobetray him with a kiss.
See, the grace of God isavailable even for Judas if he
would have turned back.
Because Jesus loves us thatmuch.
Second Corinthians, Paul'swriting to the church at
Corinth, he says it like thisBut he said to me, My grace is
sufficient for you, for my poweris made perfect in your
(39:08):
weakness.
Therefore I will boast all themore gladly of my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ mayrest upon me.
See, Paul knew very much whatit was like to break the heart
of God.
He knew what it was like tohave weakness.
He was the jihadist persecutorof the church in his day.
He was seeing to it thatChristians were put into prison
(39:30):
or killed, and he was looking toit, and God chose that guy to
become the greatest churchplanter of all time.
And he turned him around and heblinded him for days so that he
could see spiritually what hewas supposed to do.
And then he charged him to goand do great things.
So Paul knew what it was liketo be a Judas because he had
(39:52):
done it.
But God chose even people likePaul to change their life and do
something drastic, because thatis the grace of the Almighty
God.
He loves us that much that eventhe enemy of the church is
loved so that they can have arelationship with the living
God.
So when you think of your ownfrailty, you think of your own
(40:20):
weakness, you think of your ownmistakes, know this that even in
those things God can use themfor his greatness, that he would
be revered, that he would beglorified if we're obedient to
respond to him.
Come back to that question.
Do you give the grace you havereceived?
(40:43):
Three takeaways today, andwe'll close.
The first is this grace remindsus of our brokenness.
It reminds us because it meansthat he's given us something
that we don't deserve, as wetalked about.
We know that we're fallenpeople.
We know we're broken.
And so his grace is a gift tous.
It reminds us of ourbrokenness.
(41:04):
But then, two, it also remindsus of God's goodness.
And that's something that wehave to hold in our mind because
sometimes we get we get letdown because maybe the prayer
that we pray doesn't getanswered in our timeline, that
we wouldn't be those that thinkGod is no longer good.
No, friends, God is gooddespite the circumstances.
And he's working things, eventhings that are heartbreaking
(41:26):
and lost.
He's working those things andusing them even for his
purposes.
So grace reminds us of God'sgoodness.
And the third is this gracecompels us to encounter God
personally.
It calls us to the mercy seat,to draw forward, to hear from
God, to meet him, and to hearfrom him for our own lives, to
(41:51):
transform us into what he wantsus to do.
So you have to answer thequestion Do you give the grace
you have received?
Today, as we come to the end ofthis service, we ask the
question so often of what itmeans to be a Christ follower.
Each one of us has to answerhave you embraced Jesus?
(42:14):
This is the question that everyChristian has said yes to, is
that they've accepted Christ'swork on the cross for
themselves.
They say, Lord, I believe youare who you say you are, and
invite you into my heart andlife.
I ask you to forgive me of mysin, cleanse me of all
unrighteousness.
I want to live my life withyou.
And that's why to us the symbolof the cross is so profound,
(42:35):
because the cross was a symbolof torture and death.
And as Jesus went to the cross,he took all the sin of the
world, all my mistakes and allof yours.
He took it upon himself.
And when he died upon thecross, he did so because he
loved us that much.
Because his grace was extendedto us that much.
The Apostle Paul, he writes tothe church at Rome, he says it
like this (42:56):
because if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord, and believe inyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will besaved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, with the
mouth one confesses and issaved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
(43:19):
That wherever you are today,either in this room or online,
under the sound of my voice,that you embrace what Christ
wants to do in your heart andlife.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made that commitment to
Jesus today.
You can say yes to him.
Ask him to forgive you of yoursin, start a new relationship
with him.
Or maybe maybe you have.
(43:44):
But that like Judas, you letsomething get into your heart
and life to drive a wedgebetween you and God.
Friends, don't end up the wayJudas ended up.
You have an opportunity torepent and to start a new
relationship by committing yourlife back to God, to live in the
thing you know you should bedoing, to not let church hurt
(44:05):
and other things take you out ofwhat God wants to do in and
through your life, but insteadthat you would embrace the
healing that He has for youthat's only found in Jesus
Christ.
I'm gonna ask if you're here inthe room, if you just stand to
your feet as Christians arepraying and people are working
to respond.
Friends, wherever you areonline, if you just take a
(44:26):
moment and stop to open yourhearts for what God wants to do.
We've already had peoplerespond this morning to make a
commitment to Jesus.
We've been praying for you thatyou would make the same kind of
decision today.
So if that's you and you'rehere in the room, you say,
(44:47):
Pastor, I just want to beincluded in that prayer today.
If that's you, if you justraise your hand right where
you're at.
Say that's me.
I just want to make a decisionto follow Jesus, you the hand
that's there.
Others making decisions.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Lord.
Friends online as well.
Thank you, Lord.
People make decisions.
I'm gonna ask if everyonewould, if they'd pray this
prayer out loud after me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
(45:08):
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you.
(45:30):
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice if you makea decision to follow Jesus
today.
What a powerful decision.
You saw the hands that wereraised here today.
Hey, that was you, take a takea moment, take a snapshot of
next steps.
You want to be able to followand be successful in your life
(45:51):
with Christ, and we want to beable to connect with you to
encourage you in this way.
Today, friends, we have anopportunity to respond here
about the grace of God extendedto us and us extending to
others.
Or maybe you're here and youjust need more of his presence.
You need more of his guidance,you need more of his
understanding.
If you come forward and make aplace with God, we're gonna have
(46:13):
people come and just to prayalongside you.
Maybe you're needing of aphysical touch and your body and
healing will come and pray withyou.
Maybe it's restoration andrelationships for brokenhearted
that we'll pray with you thatthe Lord will meet you right
here in this moment.
You expect you experience thegrace of God.
Lord, we thank you for thisword.
And Lord, as we open up thisaltar today, Lord, we do so with
(46:35):
hearts that are turned towardsyou.
Lord, in saying thank you forthe gift that you've given us of
your grace, the gift ofsalvation which you've given to
us that we cannot earn.
But Lord, instead we turn toyou with our whole heart, Lord,
in worshiping you witheverything we have.
Will we come to this altar,Lord, seeking more of your
empowerment, more of yourpresence, Lord, in our lives?
(46:56):
We thank you in advance forwhat you're doing in and through
us.
We pray in the name of JesusChrist.
Amen.
It's exciting because today isparty with the pastors.
You haven't had a chance tomeet some of our pastoral team.
Take a chance to do that.
Grab your kids if you havethem, and then meet over here in
the east side.
There's a conference room rightdown the hallway.
We have some refreshments foryou.
We just want to be able toconnect with you and say hello.
Celeste Brown (47:18):
And we have Fall Family Day coming up.
It's gonna be amazing.
And we need you.
We need volunteers.
So if you go on the app, youcan sign up.
There is time slots, so youdon't have to do it the entire
time, but we would love to haveyou be involved and then invite
someone.
Invite neighbors, colleagues,friends, invite the whole
neighborhood if you want.
But it's just gonna be a greatday to get them onto the campus
(47:39):
and get to know them.
Jason Brown (47:41):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Or lift up his countenance uponyou and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(48:04):
Will you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us?
Pray all this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
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