“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!” Ephesians 2:4,5
City Alight is a music ministry from a church in Sydney, Australia. They strive to write songs that are very singable for congregations, and are very lyrically rich. One of their songs is simply entitled, “Grace”. Here are some of the lyrics:
Your grace that leads this sinner home
From death to life forever
And sings the song of righteousness
By blood and not by merit
Your grace that I cannot explain
Not by my earthly wisdom
The Prince of life, without a stain
Was traded for this sinner
By grace I am redeemed
By grace I am restored
And now I freely walk
Into the arms of Christ my Lord!
Centuries earlier John Newton wrote the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”. Grace is the lifeblood of the believer, and of the church! The reason that the church exists at all is solely because of the grace of God! This morning, as we hear testimonies of God’s miraculous saving power, we recognize that it is the same grace that saves a person from the clutches of a life in prison, as it is that saves a person from a life of respected meaninglessness and monotony. But for the grace of God, we are all prisoners, in bondage to our sin and it’s eternal consequences! “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!”
Our prayer is that God would richly bless those coming into membership today, and that He might use you powerfully, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Hallelujah! What a Saviour!