Growing in Grace

Most people want to grow, mature, and improve in who they are and what they do. This is certainly true for Christians.  We are (or should be) a people who know we are broken. We have come to Christ seeking forgiveness and new life. We believe God can mold us into his image.  Yet, we also know we’re not there yet. So we want to grow. We want to grow in faith, grow in love, grow in peace, even grow in grace.

In 2 Peter 3:17, the Lord warns us not to be carried away by the errors of people still living in the world.  If we do, we’ll lose the stability we have in Christ. With this in view, Peter writes in verse 18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.” So we should grow in the grace and knowledge of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.  All glory and honor belongs to him, so he is the focus of and power for our growth! Of course we can’t get more grace – God has already poured out his grace through Christ to the point of overflowing.  But we can grow in how we understand, appreciate, live in, and spread God’s grace.  

So that’s what this new blog from Living Hope Church will be about: Growing in Grace. Each week there will be a new post intended to help instruct, encourage, and inspire you to move away from the brokenness of this world and mature into the new life you have in Christ.  Some articles will be devotional reflections on a passage of Scripture, while others will be topical insights on practical issues, or theological instruction on a pressing topic.

Think of a blog like a snack between meals.  You can’t live on snacks – or at least you shouldn’t – so we hope you’ll still regularly eat healthy meals! Your main spiritual nutrition should come from Sunday worship, small groups, and your personal devotional life.  These articles are primarily written as a resource for the people of Living Hope Church; however, if you know someone else that could use something to eat – pass it on.  While not a main meal, we hope these posts will help energize you and keep you progressing forward.

Articles will be written by the Living Hope pastors, Tim Dance and Matt Kozma, as well as other lay leaders in the church.  Many thanks to Lachelle Kozma for all her technical support in getting this project off the ground. We’re grateful that Laura Dibert has stepped up to serve as our Blog Manager to oversee the editing, posting, and monitoring of this resource.  She’ll also keep an eye on the comment section, so share your insights and questions below! You can reach our Blog Manager directly at blog@findlivinghope.com.  

We all need to grow, and thankfully we have the unending grace of God to empower our growth in him!