Free to Live
There is this interesting little line in the letter that Paul of Tarsus wrote to the faith community in Galatia.
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never >again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” - Galatians 5:1, The >Message
What does it mean that we are set free to live a free life?
Faith Is Works, Right?
Is placing your faith in Christ just a different way of saying, “earn your ticket to heaven”?
That’s a question that I’ve received often over the years. It usually crops up when a friend and I begin talking about, “grace.”
Remember, grace is God lavishing God’s love on us through Christ. This lavishing of God’s love is nothing that we earn. It’s nothing that we can bring on ourselves. It is the effect of Christ choosing to reconcile all things through the cross. Christ sets all things right and then we get to experience this God-wrought-loving-justice by faith.
Sermons?
For the last few years I’ve had the joy of preaching at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI. This year, I gave in and started recording the messages and posting them as a weekly podcast.
Here is this week’s message. Perhaps you will find it encouraging:
I call it, Common Grace:
Amazing Grace? Oh OK...
I remember sitting in the living room of my friend, mentor, and pastor, Bob Smart. There were about ten of us sitting in a circle for a Koinonia Group. Koinonia is the Greek word that is roughly translated as “fellowship” in English. He asked a simple question, “What is grace?”
I answered quickly because I knew the answer!
“Grace is unmerited favor, Bob!” I said.
“What’s so amazing about that?” He said.
An Always Present Grace
Often, as we read through the Old Testament, it feels like God is some sort of angry deity. We read some of the stories and think, “Woah dude, chill out.” Yet, when we read closer, we see how many times God warns the people.
Links
Grace or Karma
“Karma is a bitch.”
Did that get your attention? 😏
I am sure it did. Pastors are not supposed to use that kind of bad language.
To Forgive
A Story
The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’
My Fascination with Jesus
How I see my story in his story.
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I am fascinated by the person of Jesus. There is no other person in the history of the world that I would more like to have a beverage with. He’d probably have a few glasses of wine and I would enjoy a nice bourbon. Most likely, we’d be enjoying some hummus, pita, and a plate of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Honestly, I dream often about this.
On Parenting: Raise Adults Not Children
Part 11 of 11 on Parenting Principles
One of the most important leadership principles that I’ve learned over the years is to begin with the end in mind. When it comes to parenting this might be the most true thing. I was talking parenting one day with a friend and he said, “You know Dan, we’re not raising children, we are raising adults.” My friend put into words, so succinctly, what we had already been pursuing. I don’t think that Amy and I realized that had been the driving principle in our parenting but now that we had words for it, we have shared this with anyone who will listen.
On Parenting: Model Your Principles
Part 10 of 11 on Parenting Principles
Do as I say, not as I do.
Raise your hand if you’ve heard that one. There is a lot of talk about just about everything. This series of articles on parenting included. It’s all talk.
Talk. Talk. Talk.
On Parenting: Don't Make Excuses
Part 9 of 11 on Parenting Principles
I think the biggest trap that we fall into as parents is the trap of making excuses for our kids. My mom was a teacher for decades. During her time as a teacher she saw a shift occur from parents holding their children responsible for their actions to blaming the teacher. This shift is very damaging. Why? If we don’t hold our children responsible for their actions we are stunting their growth into adulthood.
On Parenting: Have Expectations
Part 8 of 11 on Parenting Principles
After my parents divorce I will never forget something that my mom told us over and over: You will not be a statistic. She never let us use the fact that our parents were divorced as an excuse to do poorly in school or misbehave. My dad would often talk to us about how people knew our last name and that what we did reflected on the family business. My parents had expectations for my brothers and I. Amy’s (my wife) parents had similar expectations for her and her sisters. There was an expectation of hard work, commitment, and the pursuit of excellence.
On Parenting: Experience Over Stuff
Part 7 of 11 on Parenting Principles
Keeping up with the Jones' is one of the single greatest temptations that we face as parents. Someone always has the nicer car, the nicer house, or the better toys for their kids. Early on in our parenting Amy and I decided that we were going to choose experiences over stuff for our family. We have learned that this was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
On Parenting: Speak With Them
Part 6 of 11 on Parenting Principles
There is this great video that circulates on social media every so often. It is a dad and his son sitting on the couch watching a show. The little boy is probably about a year old. The two of them are having an in depth conversation about whatever it is they are watching. It’s absolutely hilarious and adorable. The little guy is babbling and the dad is responding to him. Their conversation is absolutely brilliant.
On Parenting: Be Consistent
Part 5 on Parenting Principles
Shortly after Ethan was born a couple from the church we were attending invited us over to their home for lunch. The purpose was to sit around and talk parenting. They were significantly further down the road than we were. We did lunch a good handful of times and it was really helpful for Amy and I.
On Parenting: Extend Grace
Part 4 of 11 on Principles of Parenting
I don’t remember the details of what happened. Ethan was probably five or six. What I do remember is that he was disobedient. Whatever it was that he did, Amy and I were angry about it. I am sure I raised my voice and sent him to his room.
On Parenting: Ask For Forgiveness
Part 3 of 11 on Parenting Principles
My son, Ethan, had been driving for a while. Like modern parents do, we had put an app on his phone called Life 360 to track his whereabouts and keep an eye on his driving. One day we were hanging out at the neighborhood pool with friends. When our daughter, Libby, arrived at the pool she said she had seen Ethan with a bunch of friends in his car driving silly. That was particularly odd since Ethan was supposed to be at a girl’s home eating dinner with her family. I pulled out my handy dandy phone and saw that he was exactly where we expected him to be.