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    The Grace of God: The Gift We Don't Deserve. The Love WE Can't Believe.
    The Grace of God: The Gift We Don't Deserve. The Love WE Can't Believe.
    The Grace of God: The Gift We Don't Deserve. The Love WE Can't Believe.
    Ebook219 pages7 hours

    The Grace of God: The Gift We Don't Deserve. The Love WE Can't Believe.

    By Andy Stanley

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In order to be a people of grace, we have to understand the story of grace...and how grace transforms us.

    Grace is more story than doctrine. It's more than forgiveness or compassion. It's undeserved by definition, essential to salvation. And it turns out that God's grace—though it's the only thing we stand on and the only thing we should stand for—is the very thing that we consistently distort and hesitate to extend to others.

    Why is that?

    Even now, as we think about the simple and unconditional nature of grace, our instincts cling to complexity and conditions. We wonder: "What does grace have to do with justice or judgement?" "How does grace overcome repeated misbehavior or bad habits?"

    To understand the story of grace—what it means and how it's misunderstood, why we need it and how it was given to us—we have to begin at the beginning...

    Follow Andy Stanley as he traces the story of grace through the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, peering into the lives of biblical characters to discover how each story reveals grace to be God's preeminent characteristic from the very beginning.

    See the narrative of Scripture in light of this grace as Pastor Andy reveals:

    • Why creation itself was an act of grace.
    • Why grace is inviting to the unrighteous and threatening to the self-righteous.
    • Why grace is so predictably unpredictable.
    • Why no effort of ours can add to God's grace.

     

    Combining biblical study, personal story, and an urgent message to today's Christians and churches—The Grace of God is Andy Stanley's clearest, most powerful message on the thing that defines our relationship with our God and with one another.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateSep 12, 2011
    ISBN9780849949128
    The Grace of God: The Gift We Don't Deserve. The Love WE Can't Believe.
    Author

    Andy Stanley

    Communicator, author, and pastor Andy Stanley founded Atlanta-based North Point Ministries (NPM) in 1995. Today, NPM consists of eight churches in the Atlanta area and a network of 180 churches around the globe that collectively serve over 200,000 people weekly. As host of Your Move with Andy Stanley, which delivers over 10.5 million messages each month through television, digital platforms, and podcasts, and author of more than 20 books, including Irresistible; Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets; and Deep & Wide, Andy is considered one of the most influential pastors in America.

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    Reviews for The Grace of God

    4.5/5

    25 ratings8 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title full of wise teaching about biblical histories that shows God's Grace. It is a really great book that highlights the overwhelming grace of God in every word of the Bible. Some readers had minor theological issues, but overall, it is a helpful and wonderful read that emphasizes the importance of Grace.

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Pastor Andy Stanley of the fast-growing North Point Community Church in Atlanta gives us a biblical overview of the message of God’s grace. Stanley believes in this message, and it is this foundational concept that he has used to start and grow his churches. He believes that all Christian churches should be doing the same in order to share the true message of Jesus Christ. But he doesn’t get to that until the last chapter, although it is a powerful chapter, backed up by all of the biblical exegesis throughout the rest of the book and a conviction and a hope to preachers everywhere looking for revitalization in The Christian Church.However, this book is first and foremost written to the average person, not just the Christian, but also the nonbeliever, and most of all, to the sinner. Stanley begins at the beginning with Adam and Eve. I struggled a bit to meet with Stanley on his analysis of grace in the fall and the calling of Abraham. I worried that I just wouldn’t get it. The book is written in plain and simple language for the common reader, and I felt I needed more. The book became more relatable in the story of Joseph, and then Stanley knocked me off my feet with grace and the Ten Commandments. That’s right, grace and the Ten Commandments. After that, Stanley continued to turn the standard view of God’s rules and regulations on its head and demonstrate the power of God’s grace over and over again. The power of forgiveness over sin. The power of faith over self-righteousness.The power of the message of grace increased with every chapter in the stories of Rahab, David, and Jonah. We are more than halfway through the book and he hasn’t even gotten to the New Testament! Stanley concretely shows that grace was God’s plan from the beginning, and it was fully realized – “it was finished” – in the life and death of His son, Jesus Christ. Stanley continues analyzing the message of grace in the life stories of Matthew, Nicodemus, the Samaritan women at the well, and the criminal hung on the cross, but now, we get the words of Jesus, the words of the Lord, and we clearly see His intention to bring the message of grace to all. Stanley uses scripture and also the parables of the workers and the prodigal son to leave no doubt that grace is what it’s all about.This book would make an excellent bible study for a small group. Discussion questions can be downloaded online. Read the biblical story, then read Stanley’s interpretation, and you may wonder why you had never seen it that way before. Stanley provides a summary sentence about grace at the beginning of each of the 13 chapters and key ideas are bolded throughout the text. The book is also an excellent personal read for new believers, nonbelievers, and longtime believers who may have become like the Pharisees and been so caught up in following the rules that they forgot about the message of grace. Stanley even addresses the issue of fairness and reminds us that we are all in need of God’s grace and that it is freely available to all who believe.
    • 5/5
      Often the grace of God is seen as a New Testament idea - with "the god of the Old Testament" being one of wrath and judgment. Stanley, a master storyteller, clears up such misunderstands by drawing out the depths of God's grace throughout the Bible; from creation to the early church, the message of the Bible is saturated with God's grace. Stanley unpacks the primacy of God's grace in several familiar Old Testament stories (e.g. Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, the giving of the law, and more) and in Jesus' own life and teaching (e.g. Matthew's genealogy, the Samaritan woman, and more). Overall, this work provides a well-told reminder of the necessity and centrality of God's grace. A
    • 5/5
      I had not read any books by Andy Stanley previous to this one (I've since gone back and picked up two of his earlier books). I happened to just by chance pick it up one day while killing some time between appointments for work read the cover and thought hmm maybe this could help with some questions that always run thorugh my mind. While I was reading this book and long after I was done I could only think of two words "Wow and Thank you". I Highly Recommend this book. I really never understood the whole aspect of "Grace" until reading this very easy to read plainly written book. The one thing we all so desperately want is the one thing we do not deserve and yet it's the one thing that is available to all of us if we will just ask.
    • 5/5
      I received this book as part of Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. Many people consider God as portrayed in the old testament to be vengeful compared with the picture of love displayed by Jesus. I find that quite puzzling. You don't need to read too far to find God offering forgiveness to those who don't deserve it. Andy Stanley starts in Genesis and works his way through the bible looking at how God has been offering grace to those who least deserve it from the time of Adam and Eve onwards. He also looks at how God's discipline shows His love for us.The church has often failed to show the world what grace really looks like. It's hard to give others grace and often we fall into the temptation of thinking we can earn God's favour instead a realising that firstly, we are always going to fall short and secondly we don't need to earn anything. Grace is what the world needs. In Andy Stanley's words: “Grace. It’s what we crave most when our guilt is exposed. It’s the very thing we are hesitant to extend when we are confronted with the guilt of others—especially when their guilt has robbed us of something we consider valuable.Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. It’s this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. It’s the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. That struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. This struggle is not new; it has been going on since the beginning.”An excellent book. I'd highly recommend this for Christians and also to those who haven't yet grasped what a gift the grace of God is.
    • 5/5
      **I received this complimentary copy through Booksneeze.com. All the opinions expressed are my own.**This was an amazing read and well worth the time spent reading it. Andy Stanley did a masterful job on communicating the grace of God. By showing how man does not deserve God's grace, how God has extended his grace a plethora of times, and why grace is a great gift of God.Mr. Stanley does not try to persuade the reader to his understanding of grace but tries to inform the reader of what the grace of God is. By doing this, he allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. After all, grace is something not easily understood by mankind, something Mr. Stanley readily admits in this book.Another plus for this read is the way in which Mr. Stanley weaves the story of grace exhibited. By using Biblical history, Mr. Stanley shows that some of the greatest Biblical character had much grace extended to them and how such grace is still available today. God has not changed; neither is the grace He gives.I would highly recommend that this book be put on your "must read" list. Mr. Stanley is an amazing communicator and his style, with this subject, work wonderful in tandem. The beauty of grace was revealed with such passion and candor that I found myself stopping several to review what I had just read. A six star book when only five stars are given.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book, full of wise teaching about many biblical histories that shows God's Grace. Worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Simple. Stanley's way of simply going through relatively well known parts of the Bible and drawing the important line of Grace throughout is wonderful. We must put what's first first: Grace.
    • 4/5
      Overall, really great.

      It showed me God's grace in a way I've never noticed it before. I've never truly noticed full of grace every word of the Bible is! I was nearly brought to tears several times in recognition of his overwhelming grace.

      I had just a few minor theological issues with it, but nothing major at all. Definitely a helpful read!

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    The Grace of God - Andy Stanley

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