Rudy provided us with a wonderful lesson this Sunday (6/3/18) on the power, pursuits, and conditions of grace. I would like to follow up on that. Grace can be a tricky thing; or rather, the world’s interpretation of grace can be a tricky thing. Grace (G.od’s R.iches A.t C.hrist’s E.xpense) is a simple concept. It is the gift of God, the wonderful blessings of His favor, because of Christ’s death. It is an umbrella of protection and promises we have but to step under. This is where the controversy begins. How do we obtain the grace of god? Some believe we are predestined and that man has no free will to choose. They cite Romans 8:28-30. We know this cannot be the truth of God’s grace. We know
The other day, we had family over at our house for a cookout. It was a beautiful day, and my parents, my aunt and uncle, and I were sitting under the shade of a tree. We got onto the topic of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), when I asked who the brother in the story was supposed to represent. I knew that the father is God, and we (Christians) are the son, but I didn't really understand the other son. My uncle, Chip, brought up a great point. He told me that the brother was us, members of the Church, after a lost brother or sister had come home. He said that we so often look at the brother with disgust. ‘How could someone act that way?’ we would say. But that brother in the st
