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Hello friends,
I hope our second Grace Church newsletter finds you well. I am excited to share with you a few things about our church plant including who we will be and what is upcoming.
GRACE-SATURATED
When I’ve discussed what we will be as a church I’ve said we will be a grace-saturated church in and for Benbrook displaying and proclaiming the grace of God to sinners and sufferers. When I say ‘grace-saturated’ here’s a bit of what I mean:
“A shorthand for grace is ‘mercy, not merit.’ Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and not getting what you do deserve…Christianity teaches that getting what you deserve is death with no hope of resurrection…Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it...While everyone desperately needs it, grace is not about us. Grace is fundamentally a word about God: his uncoerced initiative and pervasive, extravagant demonstrations of care and favor… In grace, God gives nothing less than Himself. Grace, then, is not a third thing or substance mediating between God and sinners, but is Jesus Christ in redeeming action” (On The Grace of God by Justin Holcomb).
Grace–Jesus–is what Benbrook and the Southwest region of the Metroplex needs.
We will not only declare God’s grace but cultivate a culture of grace. A culture where it’s okay to not be okay. A culture where people don’t hide their sin and suffering but can and do honestly expose it. A culture where we don’t trust in our earning, deserving, and meriting but on God who “cares and stoops and rescues.” A culture that extends to others what we’ve received from God. We will be a forgiving, merciful, pursuant, gracious, and loving community.
TWO STORIES
1. BLOG: Planting As A Team: The Greens
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