This past week's message was "No Condemnation" from Romans 8:1-11. Early in the week I started hearing "no condemnation" messages and messages of grace to me and in general. As you will read/hear in the sermon, there is a big message of grace and no condemnation that I share that was applicable to my life last week as we had the celebration of life and burial for Janice.
Below is the written message from Sunday, the YouTube link and the SoundCloud link. There is so much more that I could say and share, yet it isn't coming out at this time.
Peace,
Rev. Deb
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“No Condemnation”
Romans 8:1-11 (CEB)
July 12, 2020 (6th Sunday after Pentecost)
St. Elmo UMC (FB Live)
Romans 8:1-11 (CEB)
1So now there isn’t any
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 God has
done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness.
God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the
same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. 4 He did
this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now
the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. 5 People
whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people
whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the
Spirit. 6 The attitude that comes from selfishness leads
to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. 7 So the
attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to
God’s Law, because it can’t. 8 People who are self-centered aren’t able to
please God.
9 But you aren’t
self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in
you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. 10 If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life
because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. 11 If the
Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who
raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through
his Spirit that lives in you.
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THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF
GOD.
THANKS
BE TO GOD.
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NO CONDEMNATION.
Those words have been echoing in my mind all
week. You have probably heard me say
this before, but every sermon during this pandemic has found a way to be a part
of me, to live through me, whether before I preach them, during, after, or all
of the above.
This week, I’ve been hearing the words “no
condemnation” in a variety of settings, some spoken to me and at others times
just thinking about situations. I’ll
share some with you so you too can start thinking about all the times in which
there is no condemnation.
*Not being able to give my all this week. NO CONDEMNATION.
*Someone wearing a mask. NO CONDEMNATION.
*Someone not wearing a mask. NO CONDEMNATION.
*Anyone expressing a differing idea. NO CONDEMNATION.
*Anyone experiencing grief. NO CONDEMNATION. (especially grateful for
this one.)
Get the idea?
What about you? What situations
have gone through your life in which you have thought or said to someone else
OR wish it was said to you? NO
CONDEMNATION.
I will give you two more short ones:
Riding my bicycle the other day, one came to
mind. I thought how much I really still
miss riding a motorcycle, how the “M” is still on my license, how I have one
picked out. What a perfect opportunity
for “NO CONDEMNATION”. Though I realize
all the pushback is really not condemnation, but rather concern. I thought I
would try.
A more serious one now.
We tend to be more loving, forgiving, and gracious
to others. However, when it comes to
ourselves, we hold onto things that would otherwise have been let go for
others. Why is it so difficult for us to
say these words for ourselves? NO
CONDEMNATION.
I invite you to say it with me this morning. You can say it outloud where you are or you
can type it or both. Ready? NO CONDEMNATION.
How did that feel?
How does it feel to know there is truly no condemnation?
When we read today’s passage, some of what we see in
it are these things: we see that there is no condemnation because of Christ. That
because of Christ we are set free from sin and death. That with the attitude of the Spirit we will have
life and peace.
All these things are possible because of grace. Grace manifested in love, forgiveness,
humility, and many other things.
Grace.
What does that look like? What does that feel like?
Allow me to share a personal story.
I have experienced ‘no condemnation’ and this grace
at several life-changing times in my life.
They have become spiritual markers, if you will.
The story I want to share with you this morning, is
the one that is closest to me right now.
Years ago I received a call from someone. They asked me if I still wanted
reconciliation. If I did, meet them at
Panera for lunch. I did want reconciliation
with this person. This was huge. We got together and what she offered was pure
grace and no condemnation. She offered a
beginning from that moment forward. No
past. It was a gift of grace that led to Ooltewah Owl football games, trips to
Maryville, TN to visit someone together, a trip to a funeral in Toccoa, a trip
to Chicago for a wedding, visits at the RV campsite, shared Thanksgivings,
Christmases, and more. You see, this
person was Riley’s first wife Janice.
She had every reason to never accept me, forgive me, to extend me
grace. She easily could have kept “condemnation”
on her heart, mind, and soul. But, she
didn’t. Because of the grace in her, the
love of Christ in her, she followed up on a request I had made and through God’s
grace, there was NO CONDEMNATION.
That is what it looks like. Healing.
Wholeness. Forgiveness. Restored relationship.
What does it feel like? Freedom.
Pure freedom. From that first day
of learning we were going to be moving forward, there was freedom.
Because of God’s grace, this story of “no
condemnation” may sound odd to some.
That’s okay. When I needed backup
for certain situations, she was there for me and I was there for her. I know that God healed our relationship for
the good of us, the good of our families, and for the glory of God.
I am eternally grateful for Janice and her
willingness to extend God’s grace to me because she knew grace in her life.
This and other situations in my life have
allowed me to extend grace extensively to others, offering “no condemnation”.
What about you? How will you receive the gift of grace and “no
condemnation” and pass it along to others?
The
Grace of God by Nathan Good
She
makes herself look strong outside
When she’s falling apart within
She picks herself up and carries on
After falling down again
Can’t admit it’s all uphill
Trying to carry it alone
Life holds no pleasures now
All she can do is moan
She’s gonna need the grace of God
To carry her through
The grace of God
To hold her too
She can try, she can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry her through
By the grace of God
He had it all made for him
But he lost it to his pride
He could have had the world my friend
But now he wishes he’d died
He struggles along uphill
Trying to carry it all alone
When she’s falling apart within
She picks herself up and carries on
After falling down again
Can’t admit it’s all uphill
Trying to carry it alone
Life holds no pleasures now
All she can do is moan
She’s gonna need the grace of God
To carry her through
The grace of God
To hold her too
She can try, she can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry her through
By the grace of God
He had it all made for him
But he lost it to his pride
He could have had the world my friend
But now he wishes he’d died
He struggles along uphill
Trying to carry it all alone
Life
holds no pleasures now
All he can do is groan
He’s gonna need the grace of God
To carry him through
The grace of God
To hold him too
He can try, he can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry him through
By the grace of God
We all go through this from time to time
We’d rather struggle along
Feeding our pride
Than admit that we’re wrong
Accept why Jesus died
We're gonna need the grace of God
To carry us through
The grace of God
To hold us too
We can try, we can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry us through
By the grace of God
All he can do is groan
He’s gonna need the grace of God
To carry him through
The grace of God
To hold him too
He can try, he can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry him through
By the grace of God
We all go through this from time to time
We’d rather struggle along
Feeding our pride
Than admit that we’re wrong
Accept why Jesus died
We're gonna need the grace of God
To carry us through
The grace of God
To hold us too
We can try, we can stumble
God only wants the humble
But His love can carry us through
By the grace of God
May there be life, peace, and freedom as
we remember that there is NO CONDEMNATION because of the grace and love of
Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Will you pray with me?
---------------------------------------------------------LINKS:
YouTube Service:
SoundCloud Link-- NO CONDEMNATION (Scripture, sermon, prayer)
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