A Life Shaped by Grace – This past week was our annual Vacation Bible School, and much of today’s service reflects that, including the Children’s Moment, led by Maggie Jarrell, our Minister with Children and Families.  We continue our journey through the writings of Paul with a further look at his Letter to the Romans.  Although this is the first of Paul’s letters in the Bible, it was the last one he wrote, and, perhaps it is first because it’s the longest.  But it reflects the maturity of Paul’s ministry.  The overarching theme is the grace of God, who loves us unconditionally, and in this chapter, Paul tells us how the grace we are given transforms our lives and our acts.  It goes way beyond being nice, setting aside one’s own purposes for the sake of others.  The large challenge governs our acts for those in the world, and Paul instructs us in how to treat our enemies, to love our enemies.  We likely could not do this on our own, but Paul says it is through the grace of God that we have been given the ability. 

(NOTE:  Emphasizing the importance of the Word, the video begins with the scripture reading, but if you want, you can scroll back to the beginning of the service in the video – the entire service is available.)