I hardly ever get to sit through one of my husband’s sermons. For several reasons. One, I have a toddler. Two, I have a baby. Three, I teach Sunday school. Because of a lack of a nursery and teaching Sunday school, I can’t hardly recall the last time I sat through one of my husband’s sermons.
Our church is a small international church that meets at the Sheraton hotel in Poznan, Poland. It’s called Poznan International Church and was established in 1997. We absolutely love it! My husband has been the lead pastor there since May of 2002 (the exemption being the year and the half we lived in the States).
On any given Sunday, you will find roughly 16 languages under one roof—all worshipping one God. That’s pretty darn awesome, right?! Right!
This Sunday we didn’t have church in the general meeting room where we normally have service because there was a conference also taking place on the same day. So we met at the restaurant downstairs called Someplace Else. It is a fantastic restaurant with a great atmosphere.The walls display hundreds of signed photographs or musical or sports memorabilia that the General Manager, Marco, has collected for the Sheraton over the years where he has been GM.
On top of that, it is a cozy area where we meet. And, guess what! Children are full-on in the same place where we are. Does that cause some disruptions? You betcha! I feel like half the time I spend reminding little voices to quiet down and little boys to stop climbing equipment. But, overall, there is something beautiful when we all gather together at the restaurant bar for church.
We sit next to each other. We converse in the service together. And, after church, no one is in a hurry to go. And so we share for hours with one another our lives.
It’s a blessing. And you will never leave with a frown. I guarantee it.
Back to Richard’s sermon for today. It was a a beautiful sermon for me to hear. It was on Grace.
Sometimes we hear this word and forget how powerful its meaning is. Richard shared an acronym with church. Grace stands for:
G—God’s
R—Riches
A—At
C—Christ’s
E—Expense
You know. I think that as Christians we sometimes become too callous to grace. We think, “We have given our lives to you, God, give us grace!” It’s almost as if we demand it. And we shouldn’t. Because grace is a gift. It is undeserved. And it came at a great cost.
Grace—God gives it to us for free. But Grace came at the cost of Christ.
So, I would like to end by simply reminding you… Accept the beautiful gift of God’s favor undeserved through Grace—but never forget to appreciate that it, Grace, is a beautiful gift that came at a great cost. And then go and live your lives in respect of this fact, glorifying God in all that you do.
Be beautiful examples of God’s grace here on earth. Be a gift of grace to your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers. Set the world on fire for the love that God offers us through his son, Jesus Christ!
Amen.
The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him…God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22, 23 (The Message)
And 2 Makes Crazy 