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7AUGUST 2015BODY OF CHRIST NEWS The Power of Gods Grace in Relationships When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment his response was simple Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest com- mandment. And the second is like it Love your neighbor as yourself Matt. 2237-40 NIV. These two commands can be summed up with the phrase love God love people. Henry Blackaby in his book Experiencing God said when one encounters God what they do next dictates what they really believe about God. In other words if one truly loves God then they live out their love for God by obeying his command to love each other. Whenever a person choos- es not to love God and each other they have broken Gods commandments and are guilty of sin. All humans though created in Gods image have a propensity to sin. It was sin that severed the relation- ship between God and humans and as a result have now affected a wide array of social relationships. These relationships include relationships among members of the same family relationships at work at church and even relationships between people of different race within the same com- munity. A restored relationship with God is foundational to restoring all other relationships affected by sin. Any Christian willing to engage the chal- lenge to restore broken relationships must first be willing to address and seek forgiveness for the wrong associ- ated with the sin Secondly apply the power of Gods grace to forgive others as they were forgiven and third be willing to initiate the conversations necessary for the healing to take place. The Bible speaks of the power of Gods grace in Romans 520 where it says where sin increased grace increased all the more. When one studies the life of Old Testament Israel it did not matter how deep the power of sin may have sunk nor did it mat- ter the number of times Israel was reminded of her blatant repeated sin the prophets were still called to pro- claim Gods willingness to forgive Israel for her sins. That is grace increasing all the more where sin increased. Gods grace overflows beyond the magnitude of any sin and abundantly exceeds it. His grace is sufficient and powerful enough to forgive us of any misdeed regardless of the magnitude of the offence against him. As a result the only hope this culture has for deliver- ance from the grips of sin and begin the process of restoring broken rela- tionships lies in the power of Gods grace. It was the power of Gods grace that moved him to initiate the redemptive process to afford humans the oppor- tunity of a restored relationship with him. Repenting of sin and accepting the grace of God in the finished work of Christ on Calvary is what restores the broken relationship between God and humans. That same grace is pow- erful enough to restore any social rela- tionships that remains broken as the result of sin. An example of the power of Gods grace in relationships can be found in the book of John. In this pericope we see Jesus was leaving Judea on his way to Galilee. John is recorded in John 44 as saying about Jesus And he had to pass through Samaria. Anyone familiar with biblical history is aware of the racial tension that existed between the Jews and Samaritans. This hostility dates back to the time when the Assyrians took Samaria cap- tive and caused a large number of the inhabitants of Samaria to be deported and replaced by people from all over the Assyrian empire 2 Kings 1723 24. As time evolved race relations between the two groups worsened. By New Testament times a settled atti- tude of hostility had resulted so much so that John wrote the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans John 49. Strict Jews sought to bypass Samaria by opting for a longer less direct route which would have involved crossing the Jordan and traveling along the east side. It is against this backdrop of deep animosity and racial tension that John writes of the power of Gods grace in restoring relationships. Once again John wrote Jesus had to go through Samaria. Jesus necessity to pass through a neighborhood with such history of animosity and broken race relations demonstrates that the power of Gods grace is not restricted to the broken relationship between God and humans but it extends to broken rela- tionships between people of different race within the same community. What is striking about Jesus encounter with this Samaritan woman is not only does he violate cultural norms to encounter this woman on her own territory but Jesus initiates a conversation with her which is even more remarkable. He asks the woman Will you give me a drink John 47 Imagine the shock the woman expe- rienced when Jesus a Jewish Rabi engaged her a Samaritan woman in conversation v. 49. To her amaze- ment Jesus goes the next step by applying the power of Gods grace to her life by restoring her to a right rela- tionship with God then continues the process of restoring the relationship between Jews and Samaritans John 428-30. All humans are created in the image of God but are prone to sin. Like the prophets of old Christians as recipi- ents of Gods grace have a higher responsibility to incarnate Christ in their relationships with other image bearers. Christians are challenged to demonstrate the power of Gods grace in relationships among family mem- bers relationships at work at church and even relationships between people of different race within the same com- munity. Relationships broken as the result of sin must have the power of Gods grace applied for them to be restored. Gods grace is more than powerful enough to restore any broken relationship that resulted from sin. As previously stated where sin increased grace must increase all the more. Because of sin in our relationships public perceptions of race relations in America have grown substantially in recent years. The perception has increased in the aftermath of the shoot- ing of Trayvon Martin in Stanford Florida the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson the arrest and subse- quent death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in Baltimore and most recently the mass shooting that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston South Carolina. These events are not restricted to these cities but is symp- tomatic of deeper issues surrounding race relations that remains unresolved in the United States. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in this nation If there is going to be any hope of changing that statement in this nation maybe like Jesus it is time for Christians to see the need to go through the Samaria of their life and initiate a process of healing by apply- ing the grace of God to their broken relationships. Applying the power of Gods grace to any broken relationship causes indi- viduals to 1 acknowledging the issue and repent of the sin 2 take the initiative to forgive others of their sin 3 and whenever possible avoid the long route by going through Samaria and begin the difficult conversations to heal those broken relationships that still exists. It is when the Christian begins to live out the great command to love God and love people that the power of Gods grace will take affect in a wide array of relationships includ- ing those between people of a different race. By Pastor Felix Gilbert SERMON Felix Gilbert All humans are created in the image of God but are prone to sin. Like the prophets of old Christians as recipients of Gods grace have a higher responsibility to incarnate Christ in their relationships with other image bearers.