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Connect › Connect ePortfolio › Connect ePortfolio rubric

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A journal tool to help with your journaling

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A journal tool to help with your journaling

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Introduction to spirituality of Lutheran schools

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Introduction to spirituality of Lutheran schools

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Lutheran Theology in 90 Seconds -- Nadia Bolz Weber

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Telling the Truth About Ourselves | Have a Little Faith

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5 Timeless Quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Inquiry 2: Lutheran theology has Grace at heart

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Inquiry 2: Lutheran theology has Grace at heart

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Grace is the heart of our theology and shapes our practices in Lutheran Schools. But what do we mean by Grace? If someone asked you ‘What is Grace?’, what would you say?

In the padlet column ‘Perspectives on Grace’ and "Lutheran Spirituality", use the resources to start exploring the question; ‘What are important aspects of spirituality from a Lutheran perspective?’

Choose from some of the clips, stories, songs and articles to add to your understanding. Note down quotes, analogies, images etc, that capture this rich concept.
How might this shape your practice and role?

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Christenson, T 2004 p.45-47

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Oscar winning film 'Babette's Feast' is a beautiful study in the power of Grace. Links below are to some scenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcIAtfaLOh8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBG4mRIg-9M&list=PLkiJy81XonmhhUQ47a28WjJfd0sVuJZYt&index=4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jOn7biSAZo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMm23vUo3U

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If the gospel is "good news," why is it getting such bad press lately? And what can be done to reverse the trend? Multiple Christian Book Award® winner Philip Yancey challenges Christians to actually live the mercy-filled message that is so often preached.

Bible Gateway interviewed Philip Yancey about his book, Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? (Zondervan, 2014).

[ See all of Philip Yancey's books in the Bible Gateway Store]
Briefly define the biblical idea of grace.
Philip Yancey: The classic definition is "God's unmerited favor." I would loosen that up a bit to say that it means God's free gift of the opposite of what we deserve. We deserve wrath and get love, deserve punishment and get forgiveness-all because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. See Ephesians 2:6-9 for Paul's summary of the nature and importance of grace.
You begin the book by quoting a portion of Hebrews 12:15, "See to it that no one misses God's grace." How is this verse central to the book's message?
Philip Yancey: It strikes me that individual Christians and Christian organizations strive for world-changing goals that, although well-intentioned, may be unrealistic or not strictly biblical. Some set the goal of converting everyone; that's admirable, but clearly the New Testament doesn't anticipate such an achievement. Some want to clean up society, something the disciples never dreamed of, living as they did under decadent Rome. Here's a goal, though, that applies to all of us, one we can all work toward. And I wrote the book because for most people grace is not the first word that comes to mind when they think of Christians. Some are indeed missing God's grace.
The title of the book suggests that grace is endangered. What's changed in the 20 years since your classic What's So Amazing about Grace?
Philip Yancey: The US has become increasingly divided and polarized, and meanwhile a whole new set of global enemies has appeared. Surveys report on the rise of the "nones," outsiders to the faith who claim no religious commitment. In short, the West is becoming increasingly post-Christian, and we need to adjust our approach because the Good News no longer sounds like good news. Fortunately, the Bible gives a lot of guidance on this issue, because the Apostle Paul operated within a Roman Empire even more skeptical of and hostile to believers than what we live under today.
How are the Christian behaviors of "love" and "grace" intertwined and how are they separate?
Philip Yancey: Love is an overarching style of relating to another. Love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus said, and later added, "Love your enemies." "Love your wives," Paul advised the Ephesians ( 5:25). To me, grace zooms in on "the other," not the familiar, someone more like an enemy than a neighbor or family member. The rubber hits the road when we try to show grace to a person most unlike us, even someone morally offensive. Jesus was a master of grace: he attracted sinners and moral outcasts even as he offended the religious and responsible people of his day.
The Apostle Paul wrote that Christians are "the aroma of Christ" that may seem like the fragrance of death to one and of life to another (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). Does that metaphor imply that some non-believers are going to negatively misinterpret our message and that there's nothing a Christian can do about it?
Philip Yancey: Probably so. There's an "offense" to the gospel no matter how graciously we present it. It includes the message that God, not humanity, is the ultimate judge of right and wrong, and that the choices we make here have eternal consequences. Interestingly, though, in Jesus' own day the most religious group, the Pharisees, found his "aroma" the most unpleasant. Grace is a free gift of God, but to receive a gift you must have open hands. Those who admit a need open their hands far more readily than those who consider themselves morally superior.
What does it take for churches to be known as places where grace is "on tap"?
Philip Yancey: Oh, I could tell you stories! Some churches do it well, some don't. One way of asking that question is, "How would a person who views himself or herself as a miserable failure feel if they wandered into your church? Often I use AA or other recovery groups as a model. You wander into one of those groups, and they embrace you immediately-as long as you honestly admit the need for help. Yet all too often the truly needy see church as the kind of place you have to clean yourself up before you enter. If your church conveys that spirit of condescension or judgment, it's likely not a place where grace is on tap.
How do you answer the question you pose in the book, "Is the good news really good news"?
Philip Yancey: Without a doubt. Read the stories in the Gospels. "I was blind but now I see" ( John 9). "[My son] was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" ( Luke 15). "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" ( John 3:16). The news is spectacularly good, especially when held up against the bleak, nihilistic view of modern thinkers, as I discuss in the book. Somehow, though, we're not conveying that good news very convincingly.
What's the difference between showing grace and being tolerant?
Philip Yancey: You can be tolerant in a legalistic or paternalistic way, by fulfilling the law or honoring a quota. You can't show grace that way. Grace is heartfelt, tinged with love, a spillover gift of the God who extended undeserved favor toward us-"while we were still sinners," as Paul says ( Romans 5:8)-and asks us to dispense it to others. It's not a natural response. Indeed, C. S. Lewis called it the one distinctive of Christianity found in no other religion.
What do you mean by "holy subversion" and how does it coincide with grace?
Philip Yancey: I use the phrase holy subversion to describe a style of getting our message across within the broader culture. We can confront the culture directly, and sometimes we must. We can withdraw completely, though Jesus sent out his followers "like lambs among wolves" ( Luke 10:3) rather than hiding them in the safety of the barn. I suggest another alternative: while living within it we can show the broader culture a different way of being human. We can care more for the vulnerable than for the successful, demonstrate a contrary way of purity, pursue forgiveness rather than revenge. In other words, we can follow Jesus in such a way that it awakens thirst in the watching world so that they, too, want a taste of the Living Water. The early Christians did that in a way that transformed the Roman Empire. Can we follow their example today?

Bio: Philip Yancey serves as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine. He's written 13 Christian Book Award®-winning books and won two ECPA Book of the Year awards for What's So Amazing About Grace? and The Jesus I Never Knew. Four of his books have sold over one million copies. Yancey lives with his wife in Colorado. Website: www.philipyancey.com

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Vanishing Grace: An Interview with Philip Yancey - Bible Gateway Blog

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If the gospel is "good news," why is it getting such bad press lately? And what can be done to reverse the trend? Multiple Christian Book Award® winner Philip Yancey challenges Christians to actually live the mercy-filled message that is so often preached. Bible Gateway interviewed Philip Yancey about his book, Vanishing Grace: What Ever [...]

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Grace, which comes from the Greek New Testament word charis, is God's unmerited favor. It is kindness from God that we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration ( rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.

Webster's New World College Dictionary provides this theological definition of grace: "The unmerited love and favor of God toward human beings; divine influence acting in a person to make the person pure, morally strong; the condition of a person brought to God's favor through this influence; a special virtue, gift, or help given to a person by God."

God's Grace and Mercy

In Christianity, God's grace and God's mercy are often confused. Although they are similar expressions of his favor and love, they possess a clear distinction. When we experience God's grace, we receive favor that we do not deserve. When we experience God's mercy, we are spared punishment that we do deserve.

Amazing Grace

God's grace is truly amazing. Not only does it provide for our salvation, it enables us to live an abundant life in Jesus Christ:

2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (ESV)

God's grace is available to us at all times, for every problem and need we face. God's grace frees us from slavery to sin, guilt, and shame. God's grace allows us to pursue good works. God's grace enables us to be all that God intends us to be. God's grace is amazing indeed.

Examples of Grace in the Bible

John 1:16-17
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Romans 3:23-24
... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ... (ESV)

Romans 6:14
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (ESV)

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God ... (ESV)

Titus 2:11
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people ... (ESV)

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What Does God's Grace Mean to Christians?

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Learn about the meaning of God's grace in Christianity, plus see examples of the word used in the Bible.

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We all have messed up along the way, but God extends his grace to us all, no matter how much trouble we think we’re in

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We all have messed up along the way, but God extends his grace to us all, no matter how much trouble we think we’re in. Included in purchase is a version without text.

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Why is Christian view of grace different?

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Why is Christian view of grace different?

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What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world? Years ago that very question was discussed at a conference. Some of the participants argued that Christianity is unique in teaching that God became man. But someone objected, saying that other religions teach similar doctri…

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15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people-even eating with them!

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

20 "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.'

31 "His father said to him, 'Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!'"

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Bible Gateway passage: Luke 15 - New Living Translation

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Parable of the Lost Sheep - Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people-even eating with them!

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Lauren Daigle - In Christ Alone (Acoustic)

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What should a college that has grace as a core value; look like, sound like and feel like?​

Is it evident in school statements, policies, procedures?
How does it shape the way we interact with students, colleagues and families?
What difference does it mean to you and your practice?

Remember to reflect on these 2 guiding questions:

In what ways might the concept of grace shape Lutheran education communities?

In what ways might the concept of grace inform the understanding of my role and my contribution?

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home Purposes Resources Leadership and formation contact us your feedback

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We usually define God’s grace as ‘undeserved favour’. Grace cannot be earned, bought or attained by our actions. It is purely and simply a free gift God gives us through the sacrificial suffering and death of his beloved Son Jesus on the cross.

But it doesn’t end with our Saviour on the cross. He rose again from death and ascended to glory, also bringing that same glory and the joy of the assurance of heaven to us. We can be assured of God’s grace and the relationship he built with us through it.

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We all have messed up along the way, but God extends his grace to us all, no matter how much trouble we think we’re in. Included in purchase is a version without text.