God’s Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate

[God’s Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate]( Current Teaching Series [Essentials for Living]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [God’s Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate]( By Rick Warren — 08/18/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) You can’t earn God’s grace. You can’t work for it. You don’t deserve it. The Bible teaches, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). You can only receive grace by faith. The Bible is full of stories illustrating God’s grace. Maybe the most familiar one is about the prodigal son in Luke 15. As you might remember, the father in this story has two sons. One day the younger son said, “Dad, I’m leaving. I want my half of the family inheritance right now so I can get out of here.” So his father gave him half of the family inheritance, and the son moved to a foreign country. He then wasted his life on wild living. And, after a while, he realized he had wastefully spent everything he had. Forced to get a job, he ended up in a pig trough feeding pigs, and he was so hungry, he thought about eating the pigs’ food. Flat on his back, he thought, “What am I doing here? I know I blew it. It’s all my fault, but the people who work for my dad as servants live better than this.” So he decided to head home and tell his father, “I know I messed up. I admit it. I wasted all of my inheritance. I don’t deserve to be called your son. But just hire me as a servant, and I’ll work for you the rest of my life, because even your servants live better than I’ve been living.” Yet the Bible says the father was both loving and gracious toward his son. When he saw the son in the distance coming home, he ran to meet him with a giant hug. Then the father threw a party for his wayward son. When you accept God’s grace, that’s how God responds to you. Your past is forgiven, you have a purpose for living, and you have an eternal home in heaven. That’s good news. And that’s a reason to celebrate! [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What are some ways you’ve tried to earn God’s grace throughout your life? - If you’re a follower of Jesus, how did you celebrate when you made that decision? - Sometimes our reaction to the story of the prodigal son is impacted by our own relationship with our parents. How do you think your reaction has been influenced by how you relate with your parents? The post [God’s Grace Gives You a Reason to Celebrate]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the Going Deeper with God Personal Renewal Retreat when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( God longs to renew your joy and re-energize your faith—you only need to step into his presence. That’s why every year Pastor Rick personally goes through a spiritual renewal study. And now he’s made that very same study available to you. It’s called Going Deeper with God: A Personal Renewal Retreat. Join Pastor Rick for six audio lessons as he personally leads you on a spiritual journey to bring you closer to God. Complete with a companion workbook to help you apply what you learn, this encouraging study invites you to experience a dynamic spiritual revival. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 5 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Essentials for Living. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Living by Grace Message 2: How to Connect with People Message 3: Using the Bible to Make Decisions Message 4: How to Invest Your Life Message 5: How to Tell God You Love Him [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States