Remembering God's Grace + TONIGHT!

Good morning Immanuel. Remembering God's grace puts us in a posture of humility.

“Therefore…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:11-12).

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

There are 41 commands in Ephesians, but only one lives in the first half of the letter—therefore, remember. Remembering where we have come from, by the grace of God, is good for our souls. Through remembrance, we go from receiving gospel doctrine to embodying gospel culture.

Here's what I mean by that. Where do we get the expectation, energy, and blueprint to bear with the obliviousness of others in a church? We get it by remembering how Jesus saved us from our obliviousness to God. We were all once strangers to the covenants of promise. We weren't even looking for him! And where do we get the energy and blueprint to pull near to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not like us? We get it by remembering that we could not have been more unlike Jesus when he pulled us in. I have more in common naturally with the worst person that you can imagine than I do with the son of God.

When Paul wants to build peace, unity, and reconciliation in the church, he begins by calling us to remember the grace of Christ to us. Or, to put it another way, we go from believing gospel doctrine to embodying gospel culture by remembering the grace of God given to us. Because remembering God's grace puts us in a posture of humility. And humility is what peace requires.

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September 13, 2023 - Midweek Updates

• Celebration

  • SUNDAY - Miss us this Sunday? Catch up on the service and the new member welcome on our YouTube channel here!

• Tonight At Immanuel!

  

  • WED. NIGHT - TEACHING AND COMMUNITY (6:30pm - 7:30pm)

    • Join us tonight as the Reverend Ray Ortlund helps us think through the Good News at Rock Bottom. This is a great opportunity to invite a friend. Let’s make a discovery (or rediscovery) of Jesus together.

    • iKids - Open for kids ages 2 through 4th grade tonight.

    • Students - Student Ministry City Groups (students 5th-12th grade) are held in the gymnasium. Doors open at 6 pm.

• On the Horizon

  • YOUNG PROFESSIONALS - Our next monthly Young Professionals Fellowship is September 21 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Invite a co-worker, or come and meet a friend! Food will be available, with a suggested optional donation of $10 to help cover the costs. RSVP here.