Due to the Christmas holiday this weekend, there is no new program this week but we invite you to check out some of our past episodes if you'd like. As a suggestion, here's a link to three "highlights" programs that we put together about a year and a half ago to help celebrate our 200th episode. This link goes to the first highlights program, and you'll find the second two programs there as well.
Growing in Grace Special Celebration Edition - Highlights
We hope you had a very wonderful Christmas, and we look forward to growing in grace with you in the new year, with brand new programs beginning next week.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
271. Continuously Reminding Ourselves of Who We Are
Download/Play MP3 (14 Min, 6.4MB)
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
Peter mentions some of the qualities of the new nature that we've become partakers of, such as knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness, etc, and says that the person who lacks these things has forgotten that he has already been cleansed (past tense) from his past sins. When we do things that don't line up with our new nature/new identity, it doesn't change who we are, but perhaps we have simpy forgotten who we are, or not appropriated the truth of who we are.
One of the overall purposes of our Growing in Grace programs is to provide constant reminders of who we already are in Christ, which will hopefully help people to grow in their knowledge of their identity and nature and in walking in it more and more steadily.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
This week we joked around about the special "Growing in Grace Coffee Mug" created by our friend Leonard. Here's a pic of it. :)
Check out the original post that inspired the mug (read through the comments on the link). "Brother Slick" is Joel's alter ego. :)
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
Peter mentions some of the qualities of the new nature that we've become partakers of, such as knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness, etc, and says that the person who lacks these things has forgotten that he has already been cleansed (past tense) from his past sins. When we do things that don't line up with our new nature/new identity, it doesn't change who we are, but perhaps we have simpy forgotten who we are, or not appropriated the truth of who we are.
One of the overall purposes of our Growing in Grace programs is to provide constant reminders of who we already are in Christ, which will hopefully help people to grow in their knowledge of their identity and nature and in walking in it more and more steadily.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
This week we joked around about the special "Growing in Grace Coffee Mug" created by our friend Leonard. Here's a pic of it. :)
Check out the original post that inspired the mug (read through the comments on the link). "Brother Slick" is Joel's alter ego. :)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
270. Stop Trying to Produce Fruit
Download/Play MP3 (14 Min, 6.4MB)
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." He didn't leave it up to us to produce godly fruit, but rather He said that whoever abides in Him will bear fruit. The beautiful thing is that we don't produce this fruit! Rather, God produces it in and through us, and we simply bear the fruit.
If it was up to us, we'd fall flat on our faces! So instead of trying to produce all these wonderful things in the Christian life, our "job" is to rest in Christ and to allow His life to flow in and through us instead of trying to do all the work.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." He didn't leave it up to us to produce godly fruit, but rather He said that whoever abides in Him will bear fruit. The beautiful thing is that we don't produce this fruit! Rather, God produces it in and through us, and we simply bear the fruit.
If it was up to us, we'd fall flat on our faces! So instead of trying to produce all these wonderful things in the Christian life, our "job" is to rest in Christ and to allow His life to flow in and through us instead of trying to do all the work.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
269. The Foundation of What God Has Already Given Us
Download/Play MP3 (14 Min, 6.4MB)
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
The Apostle Peter says that God's divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. This is the key - the foundation - to the living out of our lives in Christ. Without living from the foundation that God has already supplied us with everything, many try to live their Christian lives from their own strength and efforts.
Peter talks about "adding" to our faith things such as virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Are these things that we can come up with on our own? This week we talk about how these things are already a part of who we are in Christ. They are already supplied to us, as they are part of the very nature of God that is in us. We're "partakers of the divine nature," not because we struggle and strive to produce any of these things on our own, but because God has already supplied us with these things.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download, or use Player below)
The Apostle Peter says that God's divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. This is the key - the foundation - to the living out of our lives in Christ. Without living from the foundation that God has already supplied us with everything, many try to live their Christian lives from their own strength and efforts.
Peter talks about "adding" to our faith things such as virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Are these things that we can come up with on our own? This week we talk about how these things are already a part of who we are in Christ. They are already supplied to us, as they are part of the very nature of God that is in us. We're "partakers of the divine nature," not because we struggle and strive to produce any of these things on our own, but because God has already supplied us with these things.
Here's this week's short GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.
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