The Whole Story
"Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader's arsenal."
Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University Professor
Wrestle with the Word
Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17
REFLECTION
Have you ever been given something you thought you didn’t deserve? Had someone do something unexpected for you. Paying for your meal? Sending flowers just because?
At my previous church where I served as the Youth Director we used an unusual technique to teach the confirmation class about grace.
The leader, holding a pie full of whipped cream, would call up a student to the front. “I’m going to ask you a question and if you can’t answer it, you’re getting pied in the face.”
The question was always an impossible one to answer.
“Okay, get ready… 1… 2… 3…”
And then the leader pied themselves in the face. The grace of God is kind of like that. A gift undeserved and given anyway. There is nothing we do to earn that grace, but God gives it freely.
Paul, who had done terrible things had been given grace. He wasn’t beyond the love of God and neither are you.
LISTEN
NEXT STEPS
Surely I've been wrong along the way
But I will not be called by my mistakes
He calls me his friend
When all I see's where I've been
I hear him tell me where I am going
PRAYER
Loving God, we have failed you time and time again, and yet your love and grace never wavers. Help us not feel shame from our past but use it to your glory, so that all may encounter your loving presence and recognize their worthiness. Amen.