Sunday, May 20th, 2018 Message By: Pastor Kent Miyoshi Series: Grace Awakening “FREE GIFT!" FREELY RECEIVE IT “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB) 1. ALL NEED TO RECEIVE GOD’S GRACE “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 NKJ) GRACE: Unmerited favor of God GRACE (Old Hebrew term: “to bend, or to stoop”) 2. PRACTICE EXTENDING GRACE TO OTHERS “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3 NIV) “…But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.” (John 8:6 NASB) “… ‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.” (John 8:7&9 NASB) STEWARD OTHER PEOPLE’S SINS WITH GRACE 3. EXTENDING GRACE DOESN’T MEAN APPROVING SIN “…But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Romans 5:20 NKJ) “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not!...” (Romans 6:1&2 NLT) “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.’” (John 8:10 NASB) Life Group Discussion: What is grace? Other than the example provided in the message, give an example from the Bible where grace was given and received. Describe a time when you needed to receive grace from somebody, and how you extended grace to somebody. Why do think “grace” is vital to our Christian development (i.e. our Christian walk)?