Duration 6 Weeks
That’s none of your business! Harsh words. Demeaning words. Dismissive words. And yet, in the context of the Gospel, these are words of hope and grace. This sermon series explores how the Gospel takes trite phrases of ours, turns them upside down, and reveals God’s abundant love and grace. Of course it is none of your business! Grace is all about the business of God.
Romans 3:21-2 (NIV); Matthew 19:16-26 (NIV)
When someone offers you a deal that seems too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true. Such great offers or deals usually come with a hook. Something is expected, something is required, the fine print must be read and don’t sign until you read it through because we all know there is no free lunch. So, when we hear about God’s grace, isn’t there a part of our skeptical self that asks, “What’s the catch?”
Matthew 20:1-15 (NRSV); Ephesians 2:3-9 (NRSV)
From the child who gets a smaller piece of candy to the corporate ladder climber passed up for a promotion, we cry out, “That’s not fair!” Instinctively, we want people to get what they deserve. The good prosper. The bad are punished. But when it comes to God’s grace, none of us should be so foolish as to cry out, “That’s not fair!” It always comes as a gift.
Psalm 19 (NIV); Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)
It is demeaning. It shuts down the conversation. “Because I said so!” This comes from a vantage point of power. But in the context of the Gospel, it comes from the vantage point of grace. The woman at the well believed that she was of little value, scorned by the community and probably out-sinned the grace of God. And yet because of Jesus saying so, she is restored through the power of His word.
Micah 6:6-8 (NIV); Philippians 3:4b-14 (NIV); Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
We like to even up the score, don’t we? If someone picks up the check, we will do it next time. If someone gives us a gift, we feel compelled to do the same. If someone does us a favor, we owe them one. After all that God has done for us, how can we possibly think we could ever even the score?
Romans 5:6-11 (NRSV); John 21:15-19 (NRSV)
In Buddhism, Karma is a tenet that assures us that everyone will eventually get what they deserve, either in this life or when you are reincarnated in the next life as a rat! For Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times, after the resurrection when Jesus meets with him the first time, what Karma should he expect to happen?
Exodus 3:1-17; 4:1-17 (NIV); Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)
It’s a classic breakup line. “It’s not you, it’s me.” It’s meant to weasel out of a relationship by taking the blame and responsibility. Did we ever really believe it? When Moses tried to break up with God, he turned it inwardly saying, “It’s not you, it’s me. I don’t speak well. I’m not the right person. They won’t believe me.” But God wouldn’t give up on his servant, Moses, and neither will he give up on you.