Grace Bible Study Participant's Guide: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine

By Max Lucado

Grace.

We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.

But do we really understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, “Do you believe in grace?” who could say no?

Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace?

God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly.

Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.

Let’s make certain grace gets you. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Sep 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781401675851

Max Lucado

Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com Facebook.com/MaxLucado Instagram.com/MaxLucado Twitter.com/MaxLucado Youtube.com/MaxLucadoOfficial The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

Book preview

]>

CONTENTS

Introduction

Why Study with a Small Group?

How to Study with a Small Group

How to Use This Guide

SESSION 1: The Grace-Shaped Life

SESSION 2: Jesus Stooped Low to Take Our Place

SESSION 3: You Can Rest Now

SESSION 4: Accepting the Gift of Wet Feet

SESSION 5: Coming Clean Within Grace that Abounds

SESSION 6: Chosen to a Guaranteed Place in the Family

SESSION 7: Sustaining and Sufficient Grace

]>

God’s grace has

a drenching about it.

A wildness about it.

A white-water, riptide,

turn-you-upside-

downness about it.

Grace comes after you.

]>

INTRODUCTION

In a world of checks and balances, works and rewards, judgments and penalties, grace is a difficult concept. We can’t reconcile it. We can’t earn it. We don’t have to pay it back. And, like most of humanity, we’ll never completely understand it. But we can accept grace and give it to others.

We know grace as a noun, but Max tells us to think of grace as a verb. It is an action. It’s not enough to read about grace; we must experience it. It is only because God graced us with the sacrifice of his Son that we can grace others with kindness, forgiveness, understanding, mercy, favor, and most importantly knowledge of God’s grace. Therefore, understanding grace begins with accepting God’s grace and practicing it in our everyday lives. Why not begin with those closest to us?

]>

Grace is the voice

that calls us to change

and then gives us the

power to pull it off.

]>

WHY STUDY

WITH A SMALL GROUP?

A relationship with God is personal; the grace he has given each of us is unique because each individual is uniquely made. Our experiences and our errors differ. Our paths to knowing God vary from person to person. Still, God’s grace in our lives should be apparent to the world. Remember the children’s song This Little Light of Mine? It encourages both the singers and the listeners to keep the fire of God’s grace burning in their own hearts and to expose that fire to the world. Jesus showed us how to do both: He prayed silently with his Father (Luke 6:12). He preached to large crowds (Matthew 11:7) and developed close relationships with a small group of disciples (Mark 3:14). His actions were then modeled by the first-century church, who were encouraged to pray diligently (Ephesians 6:18) and then meet as groups to read the words of the apostles (Colossians 4:16) and live every aspect of life together in their small communities (Acts 2:44).

How does this model of personal relationship with God and public interaction with others fit into our technologically connected but relationship-challenged world? It’s easy to pray and study by ourselves, even easier to pull up a preacher’s sermon on our laptops. Maybe it’s a little harder to get up from our desk chairs and drive across town to study with