Grace Upon Grace Journal

Last Sunday, I continued my sermon series based on the Four Alls, a journey through God’s grace and what it means for all of us. On the first Sunday, we reflected on “We All Need Grace.” Yesterday, the message was “Grace Is for All.” I connected it with our experience at camp with Bella, my dog. She absolutely loved the river. At home, she has a little plastic pool, but the river was different. She felt like she was in heaven. The pool has limits; the river keeps flowing. Sometimes we do the same thing with grace. We create our own little “pools” and decide who deserves grace, who belongs, who is forgiven, and who is welcome. But John 3:16 reminds us that God so loved the world. I also reflected on the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of a river flowing from the temple, the water that kept getting deeper: ankle-deep, knee-deep, up to the waist, until it became deep enough to swim in and dive into. God was inviting Ezekiel to go deeper. What a beautiful picture of grace. We don’t have to create...

Cheap grace is when we want God’s forgiveness without allowing God to change our lives. It is talking about forgiveness without talking about repentance. It is wanting Jesus as our Savior, but not necessarily as our Lord. It is receiving grace without being willing to follow Jesus. It is a faith that wants the blessing but not the discipleship. It wants the presence of Christ but doesn’t want to change the things in our lives that keep pulling us away from him. Costly grace, on the other hand, is like the treasure hidden in a field; the kind of treasure someone is willing to give up everything to find. It is like the pearl of great value for which a merchant sells everything he has. It is the call of Jesus that causes the disciples to leave their nets and follow him. Costly grace is what happens when the Kingdom of God becomes so precious to us that we begin to rearrange our entire lives around it. Costly grace is not simply something we receive. It is an invitation we respond to. It c...

Beyond religious practice, the New Covenant offers every person a renewed understanding of themselves and others, making it a powerful force for social transformation. The salvation proclaimed in the New Testament, at its fullest, calls for the humanization of people by setting them free from everything that prevents them from becoming who God created them to be. This understanding points to the social responsibility of the Gospel, which is meant to shape both the lives and the witness of Christians, leading them toward the fullness of their humanity and a life marked by good works. In keeping with this vision, many social movements have emerged from both Protestant and Catholic Christianity with the goal of bringing greater compassion, dignity, and humanity to Christian ministry and practice. Among them are Catholic pastoral ministries, Protestant social ministries, the work of the The Salvation Army, founded within the Methodist tradition, and the Methodist Reconciling Ministries mov...

  A Reflection Based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 By Rev. Marvel Souza Sermon preached on November 17, 2022 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) What can we say about time? This is a question that has accompanied humanity throughout history. Time is part of our existence. It shapes our stories, our decisions, our accomplishments, and even our struggles. Although all of us live within time, the way we experience and understand time changes throughout the different seasons of life. During childhood, time seems almost unlimited. Children live fully in the present moment without worrying about hours, minutes, schedules, or deadlines. Time is measured by simple moments: the time to play, the time to eat, and, sometimes with difficulty, the time to go to sleep. There is a beautiful freedom in childhood, as if there will always be enough time for everything. During adolescence, we begin to discover that time comes with responsib...

  Bible Study Recap – John 17–21: From Prayer to Resurrection This past Wednesday, we finished our study of the Gospel of John by exploring chapters 17–21 and discovering what it means to live as Easter people. We began with Jesus' beautiful prayer in John 17, where He prayed not only for His disciples but also for all who would believe in Him—including us. We talked about how Jesus' desire for unity challenges us to build a loving, supportive community where faith grows together. In John 18, we reflected on Jesus' arrest and Peter's denial. Even though Peter failed, Jesus never gave up on him. We were reminded that God's grace is greater than our mistakes and continues to work in our lives. John 19 brought us to the cross, where Jesus declared, "It is finished." We discussed how the cross was not a defeat but the completion of God's saving work. As United Methodists, we remember that we are saved by God's grace, and our good works are a grateful r...

Bible Study Recap – John 16 Last Wednesday, we began by reflecting on the four bases of the ministry of reconciliation: reconciliation with ourselves, with our neighbors, with all creation, and with God. Together, we discussed practical ways we can live out each of these areas in our daily lives. We then reviewed the message from John 15, focusing on Jesus' invitation to "abide in Me." This led us into John 16, where Jesus explains the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prepared His disciples for the challenges they would face if they chose to remain in Him. He never promised an easy path, but He did promise that the Holy Spirit would be with them, bringing a peace that remains even in the middle of hardship. We talked about how this same peace is available to us today through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We also discussed the importance of making decisions from a place of peace. When we lack God's peace, it may not be the right time to make an important decision. Som...