Reckless Grace Study Guide E-Book

Bill Vanderbush

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 54

Beschreibung

Encounter the relentless, radical, and reckless grace of God. In Reckless Grace, Bill Vanderbush and Brit Eaton challenged our understanding of forgiveness using powerful biblical evidence and showed us how to step into the fullness of grace, bringing reconciliation and restoration to our relationships. Take one step further and put the Christ-centered teachings of Reckless Grace into practice with this Reckless Grace Study Guide. Engaging chapter summaries, new and expanded thought-provoking questions, and ample space to record responses make this study guide an interactive experience and the perfect companion for individual and small group studies alike. Begin your journey toward hope, healing, and spiritual transformation.  

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLCSavage, Minnesota, USABroadStreetPublishing.com

RecklessGrace Study Guide

Copyright © 2020 Bill Vanderbush and Brit Eaton

978-1-4245-6183-4 (softcover)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked CPG are taken from the Cotton Patch Gospel. Copyright © 2004 by Smyth & Helwys. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover and interior by Garborg Design at GarborgDesign.com

Printed in the United States of America

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Part I: The Grace Message

Chapter 1: Grace Redefined

Chapter 2: Grace Received

Chapter 3: Grace Released

Chapter 4: Grace of God

Part II: The Cost of Grace

Chapter 5: The Problem with Grace

Chapter 6: Count the Cost of Grace

Chapter 7: Pillars of Grace

Part III: Grace and Glory

Chapter 8: Grace in Action

Chapter 9: Opportunities for Grace

Chapter 10: The Embrace of Grace

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About Bill

About Brit

Bill’s Teaching Materials

Part I

The Grace Message

The joy that comes with being a steward of God’s relentless, radical, reckless grace is simply too good not to share.

BILL VANDERBUSH

Grace Redefined

“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them: if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

JOHN 20:23

Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. Three years of ministry ended brutally. Kingdom hopes of many were crushed. Shell-shocked disciples gathered in the upper room to pray, cry, and pray some more. Jesus’ death shouldn’t have come as a surprise. He predicted it often enough, but they didn’t understand. Maybe it was the brutality of his death. Maybe it was their secret hope that Jesus’ Father in heaven would save him, but no, now it was over. They huddled behind locked doors fearing for their own lives. Would the Jews murder them also?

Suddenly Jesus was there … in their midst, saying “Peace to you.” He was there with them! He was back! What thoughts must have been racing through their minds. Were they Nothing can stop us now thoughts? Or were they, Oh no, the Jews will try to kill him again? We don’t know, but we do know this much: when Jesus showed up, everything changed!

In the midst of the shock and awe, Jesus did something totally unexpected. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” God breathed on them! Only one other time in the history of mankind has God breathed on humans—when he first formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him. By breathing on his disciples, Jesus, the last Adam, restored God’s image and likeness back into his creation.

What Jesus said next is completely overwhelming: “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (John 20:23). This passage is the scriptural linchpin for God’s gift of grace to us. It can change your life and the lives of those around you who desperately need God’s grace. But isn’t God the only one who can forgive sins? How could God give us ordinary mortals this gift?

Before his death, Jesus had already given his disciples the power to perform miracles. Peter walked on water. Philip traveled great distances instantly. Other apostles healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. Everything Jesus did, a disciple also did, except for one thing—the forgiveness of sins.

Releasing forgiveness of sins through the love of God is the greatest supernatural gift Jesus imparts to us. After creation, we fall into sin. After the resurrection, we are restored to our original identity. Out of that identity comes power and authority in the spirit realm. The resurrected Jesus invites us to represent him in everything, including his grace. You see, Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross erased your sins (past, present, and future). All we have to do is come into agreement with him by surrendering our will by faith and receiving his grace. This is what it means to align our heart and mind with his redemptive sacrifice.

We already have the gift of God’s grace. We possess power and authority to forgive sins in Jesus’ name. This may sound offensive to you. The gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to our post-Christian culture. It comes down to accepting radical grace. Grace that makes no sense by earthly standards. Grace we cannot possibly steward faithfully in our own strength.

What is grace? Where did it come from? How do we get it? What does it cost? How will it change me? How do I control it? Can I control it? The questions go on and on.

Grace is not a thing. It’s not a feeling. We can’t create it, but we know where to find it. Grace is a person. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of grace. He is grace personified, and he offers this encounter with his grace to all who believe. Jesus won’t force you to accept it. Walking in his radical grace is a conscious decision we all get to make. It’s a choice to be forgiven and in turn to forgive others. It’s a choice to come into agreement with God about his opinion of you and everyone else created in his likeness.

Extending grace to others brings us into agreement with the redeeming love of a God who keeps no record of wrongs and asks us to love our enemies. Jesus offers freedom from the prison of sin. Jesus offers an outpouring of radical grace unlike anything you’ve ever received.