Were It Not For The Shepherds, There

[ Christianity], In And Of Itself, Sets Itself Apart Inherently, And So, For Somebody To Say, Well It Just Seems To Me Like You Can Pick Between All These Religions And Still Have The Same Thing. Its Kind Of Like Somebody Saying, You Could Pick Between 80 Bananas And One Apple And Say You Have A Banana. You Cant Call That Apple A Banana.

Do You Purchase The First Tree You See? Of Course Not. You Search For The Right One. You Walk The Rows. You Lift Several Up And Set Them Down. You Examine Them From All Angles Until You Decide, This One Is Perfect. You Have A Place In Mind Where The Tree Will Sit. Not Just Any Tree Will Do. God Does The Same.

What I Try To Do Is Narrow The Sermon Series Down To One Big Question. In This Case The Question Is: What Happens When Grace Happens? I Knew I Wanted To Preach About Grace. I Just Felt As If It Was Time For Our Church To Be Refreshed And See The Beauty Of God's Grace - The Uniqueness Of The Christian Grace As Compared To The Teachings Of Other World Religions On Forgiveness.

We Need To Remember That The First Disciples Were Ordinary Men Called To An Extraordinary Mission. Their Devotion To Jesus Outweighed- By Hair- Their Fears And Insecurities. As A Result God Change Them And Use Them To Accomplish Some Mind-boggling Things. Why Couldn't God - Why Wouldn't God Do The Same In Your Life?

There Is A Rawness And A Wonder To Life. Pursue It. Hunt For It. Sell Out To Get It. Don't Listen To The Whines Of Those Who Have Settled For A Second-rate Life And Want You To Do The Same So They Won't Feel Guilty. Your Goal Is Not To Live Long; It's To Live.