Grace and Peace

Hey yall!

Hope all is well in Texas.. or wherever you may be reading this from. As Paul would write, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!" I always thought that was just a fancy, religious-sounding greeting Paul used as a standard phrase to open letters he wrote to the New Testament churches. This past Sunday, during our first worship service at the rec center here in Herriman, Utah, Pastor Ben Helton let us in on the significance of Paul's favorite greeting. Ben reminded us that "grace" is God's unmerited favor, and the "peace" Paul refers to is the peace we feel when we are confident in where we stand with God because we are His children. Ben explained that Paul was reminding his new church plants that God had given them a gift-a gift that was undeserved, and the peace that comes along with accepting that gift.  Ben went on to share and explain to us the purpose of our new church: To Reach Herriman with the GRACE and PEACE of Jesus at any cost! So far, God has begun a beautiful work here. There were 23 souls present Sunday at the first public Christian church service ever in Herriman, and we are trusting that each of those souls will be won to Christ.. and that He will continue to add to His new work here. 

I leave you with the gospel-drenched greeting from Paul's letter to the Church in Corinth found in 1 Corinthians 1:2-3. 

"To the Church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."