GOD’S GRACE & MERCY
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: {God's Grace & Mercy}
Main Scripture: {Exodus 3:7-10, Exodus 33:12-18, Exodus 34:6-7, Gen 6:5-8, Luke 1:26-33}
(Other passages Exodus 33:12-18, John 8:1-11, Titus 3:5-7, Heb 4:16, Psalm 103:10-13, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:35-36, 2 Cor 5:17-19
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
God's grace and mercy can be experienced in our daily lives. Every morning his mercies are new. Not only can we experience God's grace and mercy, but God also ascribes these attributes to himself in the Bible. Although grace and mercy share similar meanings, we can see examples of God's kindness in different ways. God's grace or his favor towards mankind, and God's mercy or his pity for those in miserable conditions show God's love for us. Ultimately, these attributes point to redemption through Jesus Christ.
Notes:
God proclaims his divine nature of Grace and Mercy
Read Exodus 34:6-7
In this passage, God passes before Moses who was hidden in the cleft of a rock. As he passes, God says of himself "the God of compassion and mercy". God proclaims his attributes while passing before for Moses.
We know that God is gracious and merciful because he declares his nature of grace and mercy.
Read Exodus 33:12-18
Moses has a personal moment with God reminding God of the favor he promised to his people.
Moses asks to see God! Moses saw God's heart that day and he wanted to be even closer to him. When we see how much God loves us we will want to draw closer to him.
Today we will look at examples in the Old and New Testament of God's grace and mercy, how God's grace and mercy applies in our lives today, and what it looks like for us to give grace and mercy.
Examples of God's grace and mercy in the Bible.
God's grace is God's favor towards mankind. A good example of this would be the story of Noah.
Read Gen 6:5-8
Noah found favor in God's eyes. Noah didn't do anything to deserve this favor but God graciously chose to bestow grace upon Noah and his family.
This is the first time the word grace is mentioned in the Bible, Genesis 6:8. Although we can certainly see other examples of God's grace in the Bible before this. God putting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and giving them dominion over everything he created would be one.
Scripture says that Noah was a righteous man or a just man and he walked with God. That was rare in Noah's time.
Regardless of how righteous Noah was, he would certainly fall well short of the standard of a Holy God! Nonetheless, Noah found grace or favor in God's eyes.
An example of God's grace or favor in the New Testament is story of Mary being chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ
Read Luke 1:26-33
Out of all the women throughout the generations. God chose Mary to give birth to his one and only son! That's the favor or God.
We don't see a description of Mary's character but we do see her response to the angel
“I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
That gives us a glimpse into Mary's desire for God's will to be done in her life.
Mercy is similar to grace however, mercy implies more towards pity or compassion
Read Exodus 3:7-10
God had compassion on his people that were suffering and he took action to deliver his people.
In the New Testament we see God's mercy in the story of the lady caught in adultery
Read John 8:1-11
This women was guilty of the act she had been charged with. However, Jesus showed her mercy. Not only that Jesus shows the entire crowd their need for mercy as well.
Mercy as given by God is the foundation of forgiveness
In other words when we think of mercy we think of God's pity for mankind, so he sends his only begotten son to save us from our sins. That's God's mercy his compassion for us
How does God's grace and mercy apply to us today?
First, God draws people to Jesus for salvation! The Holy Spirit is actively convicting people of their need for a savior.
Read Titus 3:5-7
God loves us so he draws us to himself for salvation. Why does God love us? He made us; we belong to him. We were made in his image.
That's grace, that's mercy!
Second, daily God bears our burdens. When we have a relationship with God we see things differently. We know where our help comes from. We stand on the promises of God. We know that he will show up in our lives. He's a good father!
Read Heb 4:16
Whatever burden, whatever weight we are carrying we can bring those to the Lord. Cast our cares own him because he cares for us. 1 Peter 5:7
Third, God does not treat us as our sins deserves. When we fall short God is there to restore us, when we confess our sins and turn to him. He picks us up again
Read Psalm 103:10-13
That's God's grace and mercy actively working in our lives today!
What does it look like for us to give grace and mercy?
First, we should show mercy to others.
Mark 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
God is merciful to us, we should be able to show mercy to others. We should have compassionate hearts that care for people.
Micah 6:8
No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
We are to love mercy. Jesus tells to love our enemies, Matt 5:44. The only way we can do that is through spending time with God. When we spend time with God we become more like him. Spending time reading scripture and reflecting on it. Spending time talking to God and listening to the things he tells us. Being around God's people encouraging and being encouraged by people who have the same Spirit as we do.
Secondly, this is a hard one. Don't return evil for evil, but give people or the circumstance to God. God demonstrates this by sending Jesus to die for our sins when we were still sinners. Jesus looked past our evil ways to redeem us.
Read Luke 6:35-36
Let people see Christ in you in the moments of opposition. That's when we tend to let the flesh out. Let God be glorified in those times. We were called to this.
Third, let people know God has grace and mercy for them. God has granted us the greatest grace we could ever receive. I know we live in a temporal world. We are concerned with the current issues facing us. That could be relationship problems, financial problems, health problems...
However, God gives us eternal life! What would a person give in exchange for that?
Read 2 Cor 5:17-19
God bestowed grace or favor on mankind. Not everyone knows that. Or if they've heard it they may have misinterpreted it or simply don't understand.
I love how God has strategically placed us all in different places to be a reflection of his grace.
We have received God's grace, we have grace to share.
Our god is full of grace and rich in mercy! He proclaims those attributes of himself. If we stop and consider the things that have happen in our lives, we have experienced God's grace time after time. His unmerited favor.
His mercy, how can we think about Jesus Christ coming to give his life for us and not rejoice in his mercy for us!
We see God's grace and mercy working in our lives modeling and shaping us to be more like Christ and we see his grace and mercy working through us to make an impact in our homes our workplaces, and the people we encounter for his glory.
Discussion:
Can you recall a personal experience of God's grace and mercy in your life?
How has your understanding of God's grace and mercy changed after this lesson?
How does knowing God bestows grace and mercy to us impact your relationship with God?
Is there someone you need to show grace and mercy to in your life?
Pray Together
Lord, thank you for granting us grace and mercy. Although we don't deserve it, you shower us with your love. I pray our love for you would grow as we continually discover how you affectionately care for us and bear our burdens daily. Lord, I pray we will be living testimonies of your goodness. May we respond to your grace and mercy by living lives worthy of Jesus Christ with thanksgiving.
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!
