Grace of God

The Grace of God
Written by Andy Stanley
Published at Thomas Nelson

About book

“Grace. It’s what we crave most when our guilt is exposed. It’s the very thing we are hesitant to extend when we are confronted with the guilt of others—especially when their guilt has robbed us of something we consider valuable.

Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. It’s this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. It’s the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. That struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything.  This struggle is not new; it has been going on since the beginning.”

                                                                            —Andy Stanley

We find in the pages of Scripture that the stories found there often mirror our own stories, and that we too need the very thing we do not deserve: the grace of God.

From the beginning, the church has had an uneasy relationship with grace. The gravitational pull is always toward graceless religion. The odd thing is that when you read the New Testament, the only thing Jesus stood against consistently was graceless religion. The only group he attacked relentlessly was graceless religious leaders.

Even now as you think about grace, there might be a little voice in your head whispering, “It can’t be that easy!”

“What about obedience?”
“What about disobedience?”
“What about repeated misbehavior?”
“What about bad habits?”
“What about justice?”
“What about repentance?”

It’s this tension that makes grace so slippery. But that’s the beauty and the truth of grace. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. It can’t be qualified. But God gives it to us anyway because he loves us unconditionally.

The story of grace is your story. And as you are about to discover grace plays a larger role than you imagine.

Who is Andy Stanley?

Andy Stanley is a pastor, communicator, author, and the founder of North Point Ministries, Inc. (NPM). Since its inception in 1995, North Point Ministries has grown from one campus to three in the Atlanta area, and has helped plant fourteen strategic partner churches throughout the United States. Each Sunday, over 20,000 adults attend worship services at one of NPM's three campuses, North Point Community Church, Browns Bridge Community Church, and Buckhead Church. Andy's books include It Came From Within, Communicating for a Change, Making Vision Stick, and Next Generation Leader. Andy lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with his wife, Sandra, and their three children.

My Thoughts

I must admit that I hesitated before requesting this book.   The reason is simply because I find that there are a lot of books already written on the subject of Grace.   But when I saw that Andy Stanley had written this particular book, I was curious to see what he had to say on Grace.

It is the first book from Andy Stanley that I read and let me tell you that I am not disappointed.   I am enjoying this book and learning so much more about Grace.   Andy starts from the beginning of the Bible and goes through it while presenting to us the Grace of God throughout His Story.

I like the way Stanley writes.   Without knowing it, you go through the major events of the Bible and discover how God used Grace to bless people.    Grace is all about getting what we do not deserve.   And God knows how sinful our soul can be.  Still He loves us and wants us to become His children.    So throughout the Bible is display His Grace to people.   And He still continues today. 

The Grace of God is available at your favourite bookstore, even at amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc..  Thanks to them for sending me the featured product for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the sponsor in any way.  All opinions expressed here are only my own.