Dear Redeeming Grace, Last week, Dave reminded us that the church needs master encouragers like Barnabas. Men and women who highlight where God's grace is at work and help others look more like Christ. What a great joy that the church is one of the main contexts where this kind of encouragement happens. Listen to how the writer of Hebrews instructs us: "And let us consi...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Last Sunday we thought of how we need God to act upon us and compel change in our lives for how we relate to God and others. And by His grace, He's done just that. God has transformed every believer into a new creation! In 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Paul writes this: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; beho...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Jesus prayed these words in what is known as the High Priestly Prayer: "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:11b ESV) How amazing to think that God's desire for his people is to have a kind of unity that reflects the perfect and eternal unity of the Father and Son. Dave re...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Last week we saw how the gospel goes further out and further in. It goes further out as more and more people hear the transforming message of salvation, through faith in Christ alone. And it goes further in as our hearts are shaped to love like God, desiring that all would come to repentance and faith. We say it often at Redeeming Grace; we exist to...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Last week we considered the power of three simple words that opened the spiritual eyes of a man named Saul; "I am Jesus." With those words, Saul knew that Jesus had risen from the dead. He was alive, and He was God. Years later, as Paul reflected on his testimony in a letter to the church in Corinth, he wrote this: Last of all, as to one untimely b...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, In Jason's message last week, we were reminded of a glorious truth: "no one is too far from the reach of redemption." The gospel is for all people. That reality becomes sweeter when we remember that includes us! We were once far off, in need of redemption, but we've been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13). Our hearts should overflow in ...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding inthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lordyour labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58 ESV) Amazingly, these words come right on the heels of Paul expounding on the mystery of the last day and our own resurrections. He reminds the Corinthians that death is swallowed up in vi...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will for Christ's sake." These words were written by an 18 year old young man who would one day be known as one of Americas greatest theologians - Jonathan Edwards. In th...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, In just over a week we'll once again wake up to enjoy Christmas morning. In most homes I imagine that means we'll gather together to enjoy the tradition of giving and receiving gifts. The more I've reflected on this tradition, the more I appreciate how it points to a wonderful truth. John 3:16 is likely the most well known verse in all of scripture....
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, In each of our conversion stories, God used particular individuals to faithfully share the gospel with us. If you are a Christian, it is most likely because someone cared enough about you to share the gospel with you. And in most cases, they were ordinary Christians.Our desire is to capture these stories of "Who Told You" to encourage and inspire Red...
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