Sunday, I framed our text in the story of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-32. The younger son went away but came back and was welcomed by the father. The older brother was jealous that the wayward son was graciously welcomed back and responded to him with disdain. But now a temptation exists for the prodigal son: how will he respond to his older brother’s disdain? Join us Sunday as we consider the response of the graced!

Elon Musk is giving away one million dollars each day to swing state voters who sign a petition to support the First Amendment. Why haven’t you signed that petition? If you did, what would you think if you don’t win? Would you conclude that Elon wasn’t faithful to his promise? What if your sibling won and you didn’t? Is Elon fair?  

Sunday, Paul will address Israel’s rejection of God’s offer of grace. Was God faithful to his people? God has made the same offer to the nations. Is he fair? What teaching of the Scripture helps us answer these questions? Join us as we consider God’s sovereign grace and worship His Christ.

America runs on Dunkin! Have you seen that commercial? I’m not a big fan of Dunkin (at least that’s what I tell my doctor), but their point is that their coffee (and doughnuts) fuel America. What fuels the heart of God? Is it our obedience? Is it our service? Is it our success? Our performance? Our counter-cultural lifestyle? What if we have misunderstood God? What if we’ve recreated him after our own image? Join us Sunday as we consider that God runs on grace!

In Romans 10:14-17, the Apostle Paul summarizes the heart of the Great Commission, the call for the Church to spread the Gospel message to all the world. As we reflect on these verses, we are reminded that the Good News of Jesus Christ does not spread without us, His people, actively participating in proclaiming it. Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions that highlight the logical necessity of Gospel ministry: How can people believe in Christ if they have never heard of Him? And how can they hear unless someone tells them?

Before he was Prime Minister, Winston Churchill was the Lord of the Admiralty. As World War I broke out, he was determined to take the Gallipoli Straits, a narrow path of water that was critical for the Allies to control. The goal was to weaken the Ottoman Empire and cause them to join the Allied forces against Germany. Churchill believed that he could take the Straits without the army, exclusively utilizing the Navy, so in 1914/15 he launched Britain’s attack. It was an abject failure; and since he initiated the attempt, he lost his leadership in the Admiralty and just about went into obscurity. His failure brought public scrutiny, and the newspapers excoriated him. He spent the next year serving as Lieutenant Colonel on the front in the war trying to reclaim his honor. While on the frontlines, he took notable risks to his own life, narrowly avoiding injury on multiple occasions. All this to remove the shame of his failed attack at Gallipoli.

Christian, hear God’s word: “For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame,’” Romans 10:11. Because you have been justified by faith, you will not be put to shame at the last judgment. This passage directly addresses the guilt, shame, and fear that so often weigh us down as children of God. Join us Sunday as we consider this text and worship our Redeemer.

Ryan Reynolds regularly promotes Mint Mobile on social media. For $15 a month, you can get a phone line. He says, “I never thought I would be doing my 100th Mint commercial. How are there people who haven’t signed up. Sorry, I shouldn’t be victim blaming…It’s here when you’re ready.” Our text says something similar. The offer of grace is here, available, and free. You don’t need to search for Christ; you don’t need to go on a mystical quest to find him or convince him to come with you. He’s near; He’s here! And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. With an offer so near and so generous, it’s amazing that more don’t accept it. Join us Sunday as we consider the grace of Jesus!

You won’t obey God’s law, until you understand that you don’t have to. Come Sunday! We’ll worship Jesus and consider God’s grace.

My daughter finished her degree in art education this past May and is moving into her new apartment in Alpharetta. We were helping her move, and I noticed a deformed coffee mug on her shelf. Upon asking her about it, she told me that it was a failed ceramics project that she sent to the kiln to keep as a reminder of what she was learning, how it frustrated her, and that beauty is not always found in perfection. This is not a mug she can use, but it is a mug that has meaning.

In the next paragraph of Romans 9, the Apostle explains why God would be patient with sinners and rebels. These “vessels…prepared for destruction” communicate something to us, God’s children, about His glory, power, and grace. In fact, His patience and redemptive mercy speaks volumes to us about Him. Join us Sunday as we consider this passage and enter the sanctuary of mercy!

Jacob and Esau have done nothing good or bad, and yet God loves Jacob and hates (rejects) Esau. Is this fair? Is this just? In our text, Paul anticipates this response to his teaching on God’s sovereign election. The reason this rubs us wrong is that we begin with a premise. We don’t believe that as Adam’s descendants, all we deserve is the eternal outpouring of God’s wrath. Shouldn’t our good works count for something? Shouldn’t God compare my life to others and see that I’m not as bad as I could be?

Religious people, believers, carry this self-righteousness into the church. The church becomes a gathering of relatively good people who worship God for giving them that little something extra they need to be reconciled to him or for forgiving their minor transgressions. Then a real sinner walks in! How are they perceived? Are they received?

I have a ministry friend who grew up here in Georgia and started his tenure in jail as a juvenile. As he aged, he was in and out of prison for most of his life. While in prison, he converted to Islam and joined the Muslim community. Then a Christian started to engage him. Over time, God called him to faith, regenerating his heart. Now he ministers in the Georgia prisons, having earned his Doctor of Ministry from Miami Theological Seminary. He’ll tell you, “I’m a big sinner.” He’s rough around the edges and doesn’t present like most East Cobbers. Would he feel welcomed in the church?

The Roman church was fighting because the Gentiles just didn’t fit in. How could God choose them? How could they be adopted? Sunday, we’ll consider God’s sovereign mercy as the starting point for community. Join us as we worship and submit ourselves to his word.

The prophet Isaiah opens his book with these words: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: ‘Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’ Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged” (Isaiah 1:2-4, italics added).

It’s an astonishing text because God calls out his own people for rebelling against him. It’s also astonishing because Israel had so many privileges and opportunities as God’s people, and yet they rebelled. Who failed? Did God fail? Did he fail to keep his promises to Israel?

Our text this week addresses these questions within the church: Did God fail? Is God just? Join us Sunday as we consider these questions and step into the glory of a merciful God.