Intro to Grace 2010 revised April 2010

Editor's Notes

• #4: CALL TO PLANT CHURCH: DONNA, KIDS AND MYSELF.FUNDRAISING AROUND THE COUNTRY. CHURCHES AND PEOPLE PRAY AND GIVE. MOVED HERE SUMMER OF 2000FOUNDING GROUP– 10-15 PEOPLE PRAYING/PLANNING/REACHING
• #5: FIRST SERVICE 8 YEARS AGO. APRIL 2001 – 50 PEOPLE? ONLY CHURCH THAT YEAR STARTED ABOVE A SPORTS BAR: KNUCKLE’S AT RICKEY’S HYATT– EMPHASIS ON SCRAPPY, LOW-KEY, SMALLVALUES IN PLACE, EVEN SO A REAL IMPACT
• #6: 2003CHILDREN’S MINISTRY GREW BEYOND FOUNDINGFAMILIES. RUF STARTED. DAVID AND MINDI JONES: SIGNIFICANT BOOST FOR STANFORD STUDENTS.
• #7: ELDERS, DIACONATE, ASSOCIATE PASTORORGANIZATION SERVICE ESTABLISHED US AS AN OFFICIAL CHURCH IN ONLY 4 SHORT YEARSPEOPLE COMMITTED TO SACRIFICIAL SERVICEGRACE TEEN AND GROWING KIDSSERVING IN MERCY AND COMPASSION
• #13: Improving CommunityApplying Lessons LearnedCommunicationPeople interactionCommunity GroupsFinancial Stability“More with Less”Budget RestraintConsistent StewardshipMember InvolvementAdding more lay leadershipClarifying rolesCreativityRecovering MissionMulti-SiteMercy Ministry
• #19: Areas of fundamental agreement between all Christians:Who is God? 1. Absolutely Unique (Exodus 3).2. Incomprehensible yet Knowable - Both Infinite and Personal(Job 11:7; Isaiah 40:18; John 17:3; I John 5:20).3. Trinity - God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4; James 2:19).God is Three Persons (Matthew 28;19; John 5:23; 14:15-26; 16-27; 20:22).Who is Jesus Christ? 1. Fully God (Mark 2:10; Matthew 28:20; John 8:19, 58; 5:18).2. Fully Man (John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 2:10-18).
• #20: What is the Bible? 1. Revelation - The very words of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21).2. Canon - Scripture alone is our final standard.Traditions that conflict with scripture have no authority (Matthew 15:6) .3. Clear for all believers - Understanding, Interpretation, Application (2Tim 3:16-17). Who is mankind? 1. Created in God's Image - Original and Continued Glory (Genesis 1:26 - 31). 2. Fallen - Shame (Genesis 3). 3. Sinful - Both By Nature (Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:1-10). And By Choice (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  What does it mean to be Saved? 1. Reconciliation - answers the sin nature problemThough we are sinners, God seeks us out in love (Romans 5:6).Jesus came to rescue us from the sin dilemma (Matthew 1:21; I John 4:14).On the cross, Jesus took our place. He became our sin-bearer (I Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21).Through Christ's work we are reconciled to God, and have peace with God (Romans 5:1-2; 8:1-2).Salvation is freely offered to all - by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).2. Restoration - answers the ongoing sin problemGod enables us to hate our sin and turn away from it (2Tim 2:25).He sends his Spirit into our lives to restore us into his image, i.e., to make us like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; I Thessalonians 5:18-21).Sanctification is the process of renewal in time; Glorification is the finished product (Romans 8:28-29).
• #22: 1. Because God Chose You Unconditionally Before TimeGod chooses whom He will save. His decision is not based on anything we have done good or bad (Romans 9:11-13). He doesn't “foresee the good guys” because there are no good guys. We are all guilty (Romans 3:10-12). If election were based on merit no one would ever be elect! (Deuteronomy 6:9; I Corinthians 1:27; Romans 9:23). God shows his mercy to people who neither want nor deserve it. Why did God choose you and me? The answer is a mystery. It was for his own glory, and because in his mercy He was pleased to do so. Not fair? (Ephesians 1:1-14; Romans 9).2. Because Christ Died for You Personally on the CrossChrist's atonement is personal. He died for his church (Ephesians 5:25-27). He “laid down his life for his sheep” (John 10:15, 26-29). He came to give his life for “all the Father had given him” (John 6:39; 10:29; 17: 2,24), and promised to raise all of them up on the last day (John 6:39 - 40). 3. Because the Holy Spririt Made You Alive When You Were Spiritually DeadWe have free will, in that we are free to do whatever we desire; however, no one naturally desires to love or obey God (Romans 3:23; 8:7; I Corinthians 2:14). We are not sick with sin - we are dead in it! (Ephesians 2:1-2). Our only hope is for Christ to make us alive (Regeneration), for him to draw us to himself (John 6:44). Just as God created the world out of nothing by calling it into being - “Let there be” - so he calls us into life out of death (2 Corinthians 4:5-6). The ability to repent and place our faith in Christ is a gift (2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 2:8-9). God acts first in our salvation - He is its author (Hebrews 2:10; 12:2).Regeneration (God's action) must come before faith (our response), or faith wouldn’t be a gift and our salvation would be ultimately based on our good works. We must be born again to see the kingdom (John 3:3), and that new birth comes from God (John 1:12-13). God's grace is the only reason one person is a Christian and another is not. For who makes you different than anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” (I Corinthians 4:7).4. Because God Wants You Forever And Will Preserve YouGod begins our salvation and promises to carry it through to completion, i.e., complete restoration to the image of Christ (Philippians 1:6; John 10:27-30). Our growth is a matter of cooperation with God's Spirit (Romans 6:11-14; 12:1-2; 13:12-14; Ephesians 6:10-18), but God is the ultimate source of our growth (I Thessalonians 5:23 -24; Ephesians 2:9; Philippians 2:12-13). 5. How Do I Know That God Has Chosen Me?John 6:37 says “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” We know that those who truly come to Christ (believe in him) do so because God has made them alive, Christ has died for them, and God has chosen them.
• #45: GO OVER THE CHART QUICKLY. Compare the two ways of avoiding the gospel.GOSPEL ‘THIRD WAY’… a Christian is someone who has adopted a whole new system of approach to God. They realize their entire reason for either irreligion or religion has been essentially the same and essentially wrong! Christians realize that both their sins and their best deeds have all really been ways of avoiding Jesus as savior. “... the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin.” (Flannery O'Connor). As Luther put it, the Christian is simuljustus et peccator—simultaneously accepted, yet a sinner. When the gospel dawns on the soul, it becomes a transforming power (Romans 1:17). A Christian says: “though I have often failed to obey the law, the deeper problem is why I was ever trying to obey it!” Even our effort to obey it is just a way of seeking to be our own savior. In that mindset, even if we obey or ask for forgiveness, we am really resisting the gospel and setting ourselves up as Savior. To “get the gospel” is turn from self-justification and rely on Jesus' record for a relationship with God. “Lay your deadly doing down, down at Jesus' feet. Stand in Him, in Him alone—gloriously complete.” (Unknown)
• #46: New relationship because of God’s graceUnion with Christ, changing from the inside > outIdolatry is the root sinExamples of behavior/symptom caused by idolatryHoliness = true worship of ChristSanctification by grace through faith…. Leads to the NEXT slide for the process
• #49: Respond to Conflict: Who is glorified? Who has the focus: God? Me? Opponent?Personal PeacemakingOVERLOOK AN OFFENSE— Many disputes (SPOUSES ! DO THIS OFTEN)are so insignificant that they should be resolved by quietly overlooking an offense. “A man’s wisdom giveshim patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” (Prov. 19:11). Overlooking an offense is a form of forgiveness,and involves a deliberate decision not to talk about it, dwell on it, or let it grow into pent-up bitterness or anger.RECONCILIATION— If an offense is too seriousto overlook or has damaged our relationship, we need to resolve personal or relational issues through confes-sion, loving correction, and forgiveness. “[If] your brother has something against you…go and be reconciled” (Matt. 5:23-24). “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin,you who are spiritual should restore him gently” (Gal. 6:1; see Matt. 18:15). “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13).NEGOTIATION— Even if we successfully resolve relational issues, we may still need to related to moneyASSISTED – Helped by ‘one or two others’…. Then the elders…. Then the church