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CloseRyan Sim - November 19, 2013
Tuesday - Study It - Grace - in Lifestyle
This week we’re exploring how following Jesus impacts our lifestyle by one principle: grace. Grace is one of the most important, life-changing aspects of Christian story. Here’s how the Bible talks about grace: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV) Here is an easy way to remember the meaning: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense A friend had a young child at home, and a baby on the way and his mother loved to help out by cleaning up the house. One particularly stressful time she was coming down to decompress the situation by cleaning up the house. My friend came home that day to find his wife madly cleaning up the house, before the mother in law arrived. She didn’t want her mother-in-law to see a messy house, even though she was there to clean it as a gift. We so often we think that we have to have cleaned up our lives before we can accept what God wants to give us. We don’t have to have sorted ourselves out before we can accept God’s free gift of forgiveness, his grace. When you ask someone why they don’t like Christianity…you’ll often hear “it’s just a bunch of rules.” I don’t need a book to tell me how to be a good person. If that was true, I wouldn’t want to be part of this religion either. But it’s not true…that’s the religion that Jesus came to get rid of, and not his hope for us. Here’s the version of Christianity that people are usually describing: Obey God’s laws God will accept you He’ll provide you with loving care He’ll give you a new status, as a servant of God. This is a law religion, the kind of thing the Pharisees liked to promote. Jesus didn’t have very nice things to say about that! The problem is – no one has ever obeyed God’s laws perfectly enough to earn God’s love. Actually, there was one person – Jesus. He knew our hopeless situation, and did something about it. Jesus was all about grace. This involves the same steps, but in a different order: God loves and accepts you…unconditionally God will provide you with loving care. He wants to be part of your life today, not some day in the future. God will give you a new status: Child of God adopted into his family You now return God’s favour with thanksgiving and living in his way. In grace…we are given God’s love, care and fatherhood as free gifts, even before having proven ourselves worthy, and that gives us a lot to live up to! Question: Where have you typically seen laws and rules in your faith? As the way to earn God’s love, or respond to it? Why? 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.
Related Topics: Grace, Law, Lifestyle | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio
From Series: "Becoming Like Family"
This series looks at becoming “like family” with others learning to follow Jesus. We're exploring how the church is not a building, institution or event, but a community of people. It's important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.
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Introduction to Daily ChallengesNovember 2, 2012 |
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Monday - New Idea - Poor in SpiritNovember 12, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Poor in SpiritNovember 13, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change - Poor in SpiritNovember 14, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Poor in SpiritNovember 15, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - Poor in SpiritNovember 16, 2012 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Those who MournNovember 19, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Those Who MournNovember 20, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change - Those Who MournNovember 21, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act - Those Who MournNovember 22, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - Those Who MournNovember 23, 2012 |
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Monday - A New Idea - MeekNovember 26, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - MeekNovember 27, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change - MeekNovember 28, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act - MeekNovember 29, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - MeekNovember 30, 2012 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Poor in SpiritDecember 3, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - RighteousnessDecember 4, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change It - RighteousnessDecember 5, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act On It - RighteousnessDecember 6, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - RighteousnessDecember 7, 2012 |
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Monday - A New Idea - MercifulDecember 10, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - MercifulDecember 11, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change It - MercifulDecember 12, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act On It - MercifulDecember 13, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - MercifulDecember 14, 2012 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pure in HeartDecember 17, 2012 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pure in HeartDecember 18, 2012 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pure in HeartDecember 19, 2012 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pure in HeartDecember 20, 2012 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pure in HeartDecember 21, 2012 |
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Christmas EveDecember 24, 2012 |
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Christmas DayDecember 25, 2012 |
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Boxing DayDecember 26, 2012 |
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Thursday - December 27December 27, 2012 |
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Friday - December 28December 28, 2012 |
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New Years Eve - GrowthDecember 31, 2012 |
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New Years Day - GroupsJanuary 1, 2013 |
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Wednesday - January 2 - GraceJanuary 2, 2013 |
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Thursday - January 3 - GenerosityJanuary 3, 2013 |
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Friday - January 4 - GodJanuary 4, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - PeacemakersJanuary 7, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - PeacemakersJanuary 8, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - PeacemakersJanuary 9, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act - PeacemakersJanuary 10, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - PeacemakersJanuary 11, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - PersecutedJanuary 14, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - PersecutedJanuary 15, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change - PersecutionJanuary 16, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act - PersecutedJanuary 17, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - PersecutedJanuary 18, 2013 |
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Monday - New Idea - Living BackwardsJanuary 21, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Living BackwardsJanuary 22, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change - Living BackwardsJanuary 23, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act on It - Living BackwardsJanuary 24, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - Living BackwardsJanuary 25, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - SaltJanuary 28, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - SaltJanuary 29, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - SaltJanuary 30, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - SaltJanuary 31, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - SaltFebruary 1, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - LightFebruary 4, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - LightFebruary 5, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - LightFebruary 6, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - LightFebruary 7, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - LightFebruary 8, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - LawFebruary 11, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - LawFebruary 12, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - LawFebruary 13, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - LawFebruary 14, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - LawFebruary 15, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - AngerFebruary 18, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - AngerFebruary 19, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - AngerFebruary 20, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - AngerFebruary 21, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - AngerFebruary 22, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - The LookFebruary 25, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - The LookFebruary 26, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Study It - The LookFebruary 27, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - The LookFebruary 28, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - The LookMarch 1, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - TruthMarch 4, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - TruthMarch 5, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - TruthMarch 6, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - TruthMarch 7, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - TruthMarch 8, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - RetaliationMarch 11, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - RetaliationMarch 12, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change It - RetaliationMarch 13, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - RetaliationMarch 14, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - RetaliationMarch 15, 2013 |
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Monday - A New Idea - NeighboursApril 8, 2013 |
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Tuesday - Study It - NeighboursApril 9, 2013 |
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Wednesday - Change - NeighboursApril 10, 2013 |
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Thursday - Act On It - NeighboursApril 11, 2013 |
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Friday - Reflect - NeighboursApril 12, 2013 |
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