“Living Grace-full”

Amanda Lunemann

2 Peter 1:1-11

I.  “Amazing Grace” - John Newton

A. Grace all around us - in language, in songs, in church, and yet.........??????

1. Mumford and Sons - Roll Away Your Stone - “it seems that all my bridges have been burned. But you say ‘That’s exactly how this Grace thing works...’”

II.   Wesley, the Human Condition, and the Role of Grace

            **Grace, Grace, Grace, with another dollop of Grace :P

a.  Prevenient Grace - God as Initiator, Author of a play whose entire storyline/ “supergoal” is RIGHT RELATIONSHIP  = Whole Self: Mind, Body, Spirit

            **I understand prevenient grace to be the gift of unconditional love from God that                 awakens a desire/passion within us to want to know God and respond to God’s initial                    invitation to be in right relationship with us = NON COERCIVE! Free to choose this                 Grace.....

            ** Anne Lamott - Conversion Story = When Jesus wouldn’t leave her alone :P

b.  Justifying Grace - God as Lead Actor whose name is “Forgiveness” = Jesus

            **I understand justifying grace to be God’s gift of letting us know we need not be bogged             down with guilt and heaviness because God has taken care of our issue of sin and has set             us in the right light with God through Jesus Christ.

c.  Sanctifying Grace - God as the Motivation informing all characters in the Play = Holy Spirit

            **It’s the experience of God actively working to transform our minds, passions, bodies,

                and spirits into ones thoroughly devoted to God’s love = It’s simply the work of God’s                 love becoming our love = (P.S. This is DANGEROUS for us and the world!)

III.   Celtic Christianity, the Human Condition, and the Role of Grace

            a. Memory Loss - “Supergoal” is Restored Memory

            **Humanity has lost it’s memory of who we truly are - “Sons and Daughters of the One                 from whom all things come”!

            ** Gospel (good news) is given to tell us what we already know and have forgotten,                  rather than what we already know (guilty of sin = Wesley, Calvin, Classical Western                  Xnty etc.)

b.  Jesus Christ - Lead Actor whose name is “Truly Natural One”

               ** Jesus restores us to the original root of our being = He makes us RADICALLY

                    OURSELVES!

c.  Luring Call - The Score/Orchestra of the Play = Grace!

                 Grace is given so that we might once again hear the tune which is originally infused into our being/soul from the beginning.....the tune of losing ourselves in love for one another and therefore truly finding ourselves.

** Kathleen Norris - Infant in the airport. Seeing every face and responding with absolute delight!

            - “Drab departure gate transformed into the gate of heaven”............

             

           

IV.   Grace and Love = Where you start matters!!!

a.  Ex: Russian Matryoshka Dolls

As Christians, there is not a more beautiful beginning place than this. Starting here means we start in freedom. We are free to love. We are free to read this thing (Bible) with an open mind, finding awe and wonder when we do. We are free to do justice. We are free to live. Fully. Wholly (with a W and a H). We are free to “build on what we’ve been given......2 Peter 1 Passage.......

We are free to see, touch, feel the Kingdom of God AND work with God to bring it about fully here. On Earth. Today..............and that is where Cody will take you next week........

Grace. It’s where we start. It’s where we live. It’s where we are always going. It’s the best play humanity will ever see and be apart of. And that’s why we live. Grace - Full with “the streets paved and the way wide open”