Grace = Good; Sin = Bad

"God's grace is not a reward for the righteous, but a gift to the unworthy." - RFC

In my first weeks at Walker Chapel, the message of worship has been clear: Grace is good, and Sin is bad. In a world where people are often judged harshly, the grace of God extends love and hope. God's grace provides us with a place of refuge where we can be reminded of our value and start again, even in the toughest of situations.

Theologians refer to the transformative power of God's love as the "scandal of grace." This is because it defies human logic by extending to the undeserving, embracing the broken, and offering redemption to the lost. Regardless of our perceived worthiness, we are all recipients of God's grace. Even those we may think deserve it the least are not excluded from this love. It is an unwavering force that cannot be undone.

Robert Farrar Capon wrote, "God's grace is not a reward for the righteous, but a gift to the unworthy. It is not a wage to be earned, but a scandalous overflow of love. Grace is God's relentless pursuit of the broken, the lost, and the undeserving. It is the audacious declaration that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less. Grace is the wild, reckless, extravagant love of a God who refuses to give up on us, even when we have given up on ourselves."

Jesus doesn't save us from disasters as we might expect but rather saves us in the midst of them. He doesn't offer rewards to those who happen to win the self-improvement lottery. Instead, Jesus meets us in our sins and shortcomings and extends grace to us. He presents a new church model based on forgiveness, freedom, and grace.

The mission of the church is to spread the Gospel through worship, outreach, and study, conveying the message that God's love is unconditional and everlasting. By following the example of Jesus, who reached out to all, including the lost, the least, and the broken, we aim to offer hope and comfort to those struggling with health, family, hopelessness, or sin. We believe that everyone is deserving of God's love, and our goal is to share this message with all who will listen.

God is not done with us. God is transforming creation from the inside out.