Charis.
Sweet grace, undeserved benefit. God’s merciful kindness toward us. The root of gratefulness and joy.
Thankfulness grows when we remember stories of God’s grace.. in the Bible and in our lives.
Jesus tells so many stories about grace, and we see grace flowing through all of Scripture. God’s grace is essentially the foundation of the Gospel.
“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time -- to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” - 2 Timothy 1:9
Stories of grace are woven together throughout Scripture. Everything that happens from the first page through the resurrection of Jesus is pointing toward the gracious redemption of humankind.
So for our first week, we are going to be reading from the story of Esther. A little background: This took place in Persia which was the dominant superpower in the Middle East at that point in history (483 B.C.). The Medo-Persian Empire spanned the provinces of Media and Persia as well as the previous empires of Assyria and Babylon. Esther lived in the capitol city of Susa.
Esther was a young Jewish woman. The Jewish people were a displaced people group. They had been in captivity in Babylon and then freed by a Persian King. Some of them chose to stay in Persia. It was home. They were established. It was potentially dangerous to go back to Jerusalem, a place many of them had never known. Esther’s family had stayed in Susa where the Jewish people were a minority.
As we read this week, look for the things that stick out as God’s sovereignty and grace toward His people.
Suggested Practice:
Have each family member think of a story of God's grace in his or her own life. Not the story of a friend or a Bible story; something that is personal to each one.
Write out the story or draw a picture of it. As a family, take the time to share each story. The story doesn't have to be long or complicated; just something simple that showed God's grace.
Help any children to understand what God's race is. One way to explain grace is something you did not earn or deserve, but it was given to you anyway. Ask each other for God stories. Ask how they know God is real.
#livethankfully
Have each family member think of a story of God's grace in his or her own life. Not the story of a friend or a Bible story; something that is personal to each one.
Write out the story or draw a picture of it. As a family, take the time to share each story. The story doesn't have to be long or complicated; just something simple that showed God's grace.
Help any children to understand what God's race is. One way to explain grace is something you did not earn or deserve, but it was given to you anyway. Ask each other for God stories. Ask how they know God is real.
#livethankfully
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