We are a few weeks into a new series on “Becoming Like Family”.  This is important as members of our online community begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together as one church community.  We won’t be bound together by a building, or institution, but rather by five commitments.  We’ve talked about commitment to common learning goals, connectedness as a community of small and large groups, connectedness to God in worship, and now this week, we come to grace in lifestyle.

Those who’ve decided to follow Jesus, and walk in his path, are going to have to choose this over other paths.  These choices impact many areas of life.  That should be no surprise, but sometimes it’s hard to swallow.  We can recoil from rules, or worry about restricted freedom.

We’ll explore that this week, but it starts with understanding why we are asked to live by, and with, grace.

But what does grace mean?

There is a classic Seinfeld episode where Elaine is in a job interview, and the interviewer shares her admiration of Jackie O, who had “grace”.  Elaine tries to say, “I think I have a little grace” but the interviewer snaps back, “You can’t have a little grace, you either have it or you don’t.”  Elaine backpendals, “Alright, I have no grace.  I don’t have grace, I don’t want grace.  Hey, I don’t even say grace.”

You can see the confusion here – what does grace even mean?  Is it poise and kindness?  Is it a lovely name for an old lady that is finally making a comeback?  Is it a prayer before a meal?

Question: What do you think of when you hear the word grace?  What does it mean?

Reminder:  Last week we talked about worship, and asked you to complete our online survey about worship here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8TS7K93

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - May 20, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Priorities

I overhead some people on a first date talking about what’s important in life. I remember answering questions like that – listing your priorities as a good way to learn about someone. There’s a standard formula. If you’re a Christian, have to start with God. Then you’re supposed to say something about people: family, friends, loved ones. Then finally material things – jobs, posessions, etc. But are they true? Or are we trying to say the right things to impress someone – show that we’re a good date, good Christian, good person? They make for inspiring stories - take the Office two weeks ago: Jim has stepped back from a business he’s started to mend his marriage and work at his old job with Dunder Mifflin. David Wallace, the CEO of Dunder Mifflin, says “Most of the guys I know wouldn’t rearrange their golf schedule to save their marriage”. But what does that really look like in practice? How many times can you sacrifice money for kids before your kids suffer? Would God rather you spend Sunday morning at hockey practice, for your kids physical health, or at church, for their spiritual help? When does God trump one’s kids – only on Sundays, all the time, or never? This kind of prioritizing can leave us feeling like every decision is a competition. We asked some people on the street about their top two priorities in life – and heard about kids, money, health and more. That’s what we’ll look at this week. But instead of a question, here’s your task – list off some important things in your life, and rank them. Think of things like Kids, Parents, Spouse, Friends, Job, Home, Savings, Paying Debt, God, Possessions, etc. Prioritize them – rank them – you’re not allowed to give any ties. We’ll use this list in Thursday’s challenge. If you’re not sure, look at your spending, or use of time through the week. It’s usually a good indication of your priorities in life.

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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