Tag: Brennan Manning

Updated: 5/5/2026

Sermon Prep

This was the midpoint of my trilogy on grace in 2025. The week before this message was on sanctification and the week after was on glorification. Thematically, this really should be the first of the trilogy but it all worked out. The through-line was there and had an overall arch I intentionally pointed out on each sermon.

Of the three sermons this was, like it’s placement chronologically, right in the middle both for quality and how long the sermon was ironically. As I went along I liked each sermon a little less and the length was shorter each time so interesting correlation there. This one isn’t a bad sermon, but it just wasn’t as good as the last one. With that, here’s the YouTube recording and the sermon notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

• Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.

Intro

• Have you ever not known who you are? EX: Jackie Chan’s Who Am I?

“Grace is the free, unearned and undeserved favor of God given through Jesus Christ that pardons sin, empowers righteousness, restores relationships, and transforms the entire person. A divine gift and an active presence that renews the soul.” – Andrew Morrison, Reunion Church

Main Point

• Last week we learned about sanctification, but today will be about justification.
• As Christians, you are not what you do but what Christ has done for you.
  • Justification is just as if you’ve never sinned. An identity status.

Grace and Identity | Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:1-10 (NRSVue)

“[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. [5] He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, [6] to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight [9] he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. [11] In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, [12] so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; [14] this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.”

• The Ephesians were obsessed with how they were perceived in civic life, religious practice, and social status. Paul recenters their focus on God’s grace defining them.
  • The Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.
    • Whereas Corinth was a melting pot, Ephesus was a spiritual epicenter.
• Your identity in Christ isn’t achieved or accomplished, but an acknowledged status.
  • In the same way you’re like your parents, you’re also like Christ (i.e. Christian).
• Sin separates us from God and his grace unites us back to him through Jesus’ sacrifice.

“[1] You were dead through the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. [3] All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else, [4] but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us [5] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— [9] not the result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.”

• We are redeemed, being restored, and will be reunited to God in the resurrection.
  • In other words: we’re justified, being sanctified, and will be glorified.

Why It Matters

“[26] Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [27] So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:26-28 (NRSVue)

• We’re so focused on building our own brand and image that we’ve forgotten that we’re imagers of God meant to represent him on Earth. Our identity has been damaged by sin.

“[17] So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! [18] All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. [20] So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” –  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NRSVue)

• In Christ, this identity is redeemed and we’re being restored to his original design for us.
  • Jesus didn’t save us from our sin because he had to but because he loves you.

Power Text

“[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [15] For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” –  Romans 8:14-17 (NRSVue)

• Our identity is a gift of God’s grace and has been given to us as children of God.
  • Grace redefines us as his children who are cherished, chosen, and loved.

Outro

• “We give glory to God simply by being ourselves. God created us for union with Himself: This is the original purpose of our lives. And God is defined as love (1 John 4:16)… Our identity rests in God’s relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ.” –  Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2015), 34-35.
• Who are you? A child of God who is loved and redeemed or a stranger at arm’s length?

Final Thoughts

This was a run-of-the-mill message on the shorter side that was right under 25 minutes. Like usual when you’re down volunteers and leaders, there’s lots of tech issues. The sound was bad. The set-up was stressful. Being short-staffed is always a race against time to make sure everything is set-up just well enough to keep the ship sailing.

But what I remember most now almost a year later is my baby girl sleeping on my shoulder before worship, which was emotional. I cried during worship and just took in the moment before I went up to teach. Not only was the cute and tender moment with my daughter enough to cry, but I think it was a way to calm my nerves from the morning set-up stress. Shane snapped this pic and texted it to me after service, so it made it even better because I had no idea he did that but I’m glad he did. It’s one of my favorite father-daughter moments captured.

Like last week, I continued hovering at each table instead of sticking to one Table Talk group. I don’t always do this, but when there’s enough leaders I prefer it. I get a lot of FOMO when I miss out on a good conversation at church. It was a good message that continued our trek through Shawn Reinsel’s Simple Grace book. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.