Basic Gospel Teaching Edition

"Grace is not only the grace that saves; it's the grace that sustains. We wrap up this study with encouragement to fully embrace the New Covenant in your life. This New Covenant is marked by a new command, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God." If you are loving others, that is confirmation that you belong to Him, for love comes from God. Truly, the Christian life begins with grace, is sustained by grace, and ends with grace. It is grace, glorious grace!

"The purpose for the grace of God is so that we can know God and to connect us to the love of God. The work of Jesus Christ makes us spiritually alive and empowers us to live in this world of darkness as lights shining brightly.

"Throughout the New Testament we see statements about eternal life. This is the goal and the prize. This is what God wants for us. There is a definition of eternal life in John 17:3 - "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." As we get to know God, we experience His gift of eternal life. So how does this work itself out? 1 John 2:12,14

"Christianity is a relationship. It is different from any religion. Eternal life IS about a relationship with God the Father. The defining passage as far as eternal life is concerned is John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." All paths throughout the Word of God lead to this truth. We have the incredible gift of knowing God and being in relationship with him.

"The movie, We Are Marshall, is deeply moving and inspirational. After the entire Marshall football program was wiped out in a plane crash, the entire town wondered if Marshall could ever field a football team. The rallying cry of the town became "We are Marshall!". I use this story to encourage you to fully embrace the New Covenant. It's time to embrace God's perfect plan and will for you. It's time to say "I am a New Covenant believer."

"The Easter story is the most compelling and powerful one that's ever been told. The truth of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection is what all of Christianity depends on. If Jesus didn't die and wasn't raised from the dead, then Christianity has no meaning. From "It is Finished" to "He is Risen", Easter is the culmination of our story as believers.

"God has a goal of perfection for us - we cannot achieve that on our own. We have to rely on the perfect will of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. The gift of God's grace to us is the New Covenant. Because of the New Covenant we have the gift of a new heart, we are a member of God's family, we can know God, and we receive the miraculous forgiveness of sins.

"What is God's will for your life? That can be a perplexing and frustrating question for many. Most of us think of God's will in terms of a plan for our life... who to marry, where to work, etc. It take a shift in focus to really understand the will of God. Instead of thinking of God's will in terms of a plan, let's focus on thinking of God's will as a legal will that he has ratified through the death of Jesus Christ.

"As Christians, we've been forgiven, made righteous, holy, alive together with Christ, and God has sent his spirit to take up residence in us. That is what it means to live in the newness of life. Our new life is lived by grace through faith. This is in conflict with the world we live; a world which is often chaotic, selfish, and anti-Christianity.

"S. M. Lockridge preached a powerful evangelical sermon years ago. The tagline is "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming". For Christians, Friday represents the death of Christ on the cross and his burial But, thanks be to God, Sunday is coming! Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. For those of us who have to come to Christ, it is always Sunday ... just was he was raised from the dead, we too have been raised to newness of life. We live in a "Friday" world, but, as Christians, our reality is in Sunday...new life in Christ Jesus.