What Does the Bible Say About: Grace?

What does the Bible Say About… Grace? July 18, 2021 What Jesus Says: • The Question Behind the Question: • We all feel expectations—from God, others, and ourselves—to _________________ and ________________. • We live with the knowledge that we cannot actually __________ those expectations. • We long for assurance that we can be ______________________ —for God, for others, and for ourselves. God’s grace should ________________ his people to be gracious _________________. (Matthew 4:17, 6:9-15, 10:7-8, 18:32-35; Luke 6:37-38) What Paul Says: • God’s grace breaks down the _____________ and _____________ between people. (Ephesians 2:8-9, 13-16; Galatians 2:15-16, 3:26-29; Romans 3:23-30) What the Israelites Say: • God is gracious—he _______________________ his people with kindness and generosity. (Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 4:1, 51:1, 17, 57:1, 84:11; Proverbs 3:3-4, 34; Joel 2:13-14; Amos 5:15; Jonah 4:2) Conclusions: • God responds to our brokenness and failure with _____________ and __________________. • The generosity of God should _____ our other relationships with ______, too. • The church is called to be a place full of _____________—where all are loved and forgiven by God and ____________________. Discussion Questions • How does Peter respond when he sees the evidence of Tabitha’s generosity? How does God respond to Peter? • Again, Peter probably didn’t try to raise every Christian back to life after they died. Why was Peter confident that God would answer his prayer? 1. Getting Started: • What did you find most interesting about the sermon this week? The most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? • Have you ever received grace in a way that had a big impact on your life? What happened? • How do you connect with the question behind the question? Do you feel the burden of unmet expectations in your life? 3. Going Deeper • How does the story of Tabitha show the way grace can spread through a community? • Imagine a world that was governed completely by God’s grace. How would you feel in that world? What would be different? • What would it look like for our church to be a community transformed by God’s grace? What do we need to get there? 2. Into the Bible (Read Acts 9:36-41) • • This story shows a chain reaction of grace that starts with Tabitha. How is Tabitha generous? The church probably didn’t call for Peter for everyone who died. Why did they this time? What role might Tabitha’s generosity have played in their reaction?