Theme:  God’s Grace

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

These are ticket stubs.  Last Thursday night, my wife and I went to a musical show at the Paramount Theater and these were the tickets that we used to get in.  Do you know how much I paid for these tickets?  Nothing!  They were a gift given to me by a friend.  These tickets weren’t free, my friend had to pay for these tickets, but I didn’t have to pay anything.  He gave them to me as a gift.

Isn’t it great to have a friend like that?  Well, all of us have a friend like that.  The Bible tells us that we are “saved by grace, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  That means that we can have eternal life because it is a gift of God.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  The gift was not free; it was purchased with a price.  Jesus paid the price!  What a gift!  What a friend!

Thank you, Lord, for the greatest gift of all.  Thank you for Jesus, who loved us so much that He paid the price for our sin to give us the gift of eternal life.    Amen.