God’s Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Good News About Grace

God's Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate By Rick Warren — Mar 8, 2016 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) You can’t earn grace. You can’t work for it. You don’t deserve it. The Bible teaches, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). You can only receive grace by faith. That’s good news! That’s a reason to celebrate. The Bible is full of stories illustrating God’s grace. Maybe the most familiar of those stories is of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. As you might remember, the father in this story has two boys. One day the younger one says, “Dad, I’m splitting. I want my half of the family inheritance right now so I can leave.” So he takes half of the family inheritance and moves to a foreign country. He then wastes his life on wine, women, and song. After a few months, he realizes he has blown everything he has. He ends up in a pig trough feeding pigs. Flat on his back, he’s thinking, “What am I doing here? I know I blew it. It’s all my own fault, but the people who work for my dad as servants live better than this.” He decides to go home and tell his father, “Dad, I know I blew it. I admit it. I wasted half the family inheritance. I do not deserve to be called your son. But just hire me as a servant, and I’ll work for you the rest of my life because even your servants live better than I’m living now.” Yet the Bible says the father was both loving and gracious toward his son. When he saw the son coming home from a long distance, he ran out to meet him with a giant bear hug. Then the father threw a party for his wayward son. That’s how God responds to us when we accept the grace of God. The angels in Heaven have a party every time one person responds to the grace of God. When we accept the grace of God into our lives, it means our past is forgiven, we have a purpose for living, and we have an eternal home in Heaven. That’s good news. That’s a reason to party! You can learn more about how to accept God’s grace and have a real reason to party at my website, rickwarren.org. When you’re there, click on the “Know God” tab. You’ll find a video and a guide explaining what it means to trust your life to Jesus. Let me know if you pray along with the prayer by writing me at rick@rickwarren.org. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What are some ways you’ve tried to earn the grace of God throughout your life? How did you celebrate your decision to follow Jesus? Sometimes our reaction to the story of the Prodigal Son is impacted by our own relationship with our parents. How do you think your reaction has been influenced by how you relate with your parents? Our Gift: Choose Joy Devotional Book The secret to being happy no matter what is looking at every experience and circumstance you face from God’s viewpoint. When you go through difficult times joy becomes a choice you make minute by minute. Written by Pastor Rick’s wife, Kay Warren, this Devotional book is the perfect tool to help you stay focused on God’s word and see things from His perspective. LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren The Good News About Grace teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: Saving Grace Message 2: ​​​​​​Sustaining Grace Message 3: ​​Liberating Grace Message 4: ​​Offering Grace Message 5: ​​Restoring Grace Message 6: ​​Amazing Grace PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe