I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus. -1 Corinthians 1:4
I love this verse. The Corinthian church was one messed up church. Paul didn’t pull any punches when writing to them in 1 Corinthians about all of their many issues. He tackled each issue head on. Yet as he began writing, he told them of how he gave thanks to God for them. Despite all of the issues in Corinth, Paul saw the grace of God in their midst.
What about you, pastor? I know you see the issues in your church. Some of those issues may be obvious for all to see. Other issues may be more subtle. But you know as well as anyone that your church is not perfect. She has some problems.
But what about evidences of grace? Where do you see God at work in your church? Consider taking some time to list a few of them. Surely there are ways in which you see God at work in your church.
I find that it is easy for me to focus on the negative. I see the problems in my church. Sometimes I consume myself with those problems and become discouraged. But when I take the time to see the evidences of grace in my church, I am able to praise the Lord for what He is doing among us. Some of those evidences of grace are smaller things. Others are seemingly more significant. But one thing I know, God is at work.
How have you seen God at work in the life of your church?
Excellent post Adam, thank you so much. Recent events in my life have taken me back to Scripture for a study of grace as it applies to me personally. The study has really come alive looking for personal applied grace as opposed to writing a sermon or Bible study. Blessings my brother.
We’ve had some tough times here over the last few years. But I see signs of God’s goodness.
Thanks, Adam.
GOD IS gOOd…All thE tImE! We do not always see things that way because it is hard for us to consistently consider the world from God’s perspective! We are too finite to truly know what is good and what is bad. THEREFORE, the only logical thing we can do is to see it all as GOOD…because God is NOT against us. He is for us!
Our pastor was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in June of 2018. He had surgery and the doctor, meeting with him afterward, told him they relieved some of the issues he was experiencing, closed him up and sent him home with instructions to enjoy the time he had left. He was preparing to get a second opinion from a place like the Mayo Clinic or CCA when a series of contacts wound up getting him an appointment with one of the top organ transplant surgeons in the country. The first point of grace was that three months of chemotherapy had to stop the spread of the disease, which it did. The second was a complicated, eight hour surgery around the organs in his colon to remove the tumors and growth. The third was removal of a portion of his liver about eight weeks after the first surgery. There were a couple of additional surgeries to remove small leisions in the pancreas. The end result is that over the course of this past summer, all of the test results have come back indicating the cancer is gone. He’s been preaching regularly since April or May.
The effect of this visible act of grace has been remarkable on the church in bringing a spirit of unity and peace into a congregation that had been saddened and damaged by some major conflict during the previous year. It has led to the maturing of a prayer movement that was just getting started when he got sick. A visible demonstration of grace leads to transformation and there have been all sorts of those.