The Waterfall of Grace

Read: At the start of a new year, it is useful to think about the most important aspect of our spiritual lives for the coming year. There is a force, an influence, that will change you more than any other. It is God’s grace. God’s grace is the powerful force of God that reaches down from the mere symbol of the cross, and actually moves, moulds and mends our lives. Let us pray, through this study, that God’s grace reaches everyone in New Life in 2011.

There are three main ways God brings His grace into our lives.

Firstly, our access to Grace, is our FAITH.

Romans 5:1 says “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And weboast in the hope of the glory of God.”

1)     It says we gain access to God’s grace, by our faith. Discuss among yourselves the difference between faith and fear.

2)     What are the practical realities of walking in faith? How does it feel, what are the day to day realities?

3)     If filling your mind with faith brings God’s grace, what do you think filling your life with fear will bring?

Secondly, you Find Grace at His Throne

4)     Read Hebrews 4:16. If we find grace at God’s throne, what are the ways in which we can come to near to God’s throne room and experience his grace giving?

5)     Share among yourselves stories of God’s grace and goodness, coming into lives through encountering God in worship. These might be personal, the stories of others, or biblical accounts.

Thirdly, The Key to Receiving, is Asking

6)     Read Matthew 6:7-8. “Asking God” is one of the principles to drawing the goodness of heaven into your life. Why do you think God, who knows everything, might want us to still ask Him for things?

7)     Does anyone in the group have a story of asking from God, and receiving? Share your stories.

8)     Spend some time together now, asking God things for the year ahead. Remember not to just ask personal things, but for the church, region, and even the nation too.