Fall Like Rain

Written By Rachel Fish

In "Fall Like Rain," the last of our Overwhelming Grace series, Pastor Jimmy Seibert walks through his top 10 grace scriptures. Grace is the overwhelming love, pleasure and favor of God toward undeserving people and the power of God to do the will of God. Grace is attached to a person, the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. He shares through these Scriptures that the throne of grace is always open and humility is how we access more of it. Grace strengthens the heart against strange teachings, abounds as we sow it into others, breaks the power of besetting sin and gives us a place to stand. He ends by encouraging us with a passage from Zechariah with Jesus speaking 'grace, grace' over every mountain we face and of God's grace falling like rain, coming toward us before we ever reach for it.

Key Scriptures

Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9 (NIV)
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. 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.

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

James 4:6 (NIV)
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Zechariah 4:6-7 (NASB1995)
Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"

Discussion Questions

Choose a few of these questions to go deeper in the sermon and put the truths of Scripture into practice. You don't need to answer every question. Select the ones that will best help your group engage with God's Word and apply it to your lives.

Scripture Study & Deeper Understanding

  1. Read Ephesians 2:1-10. Paul describes us as "dead in transgressions" before he ever mentions grace, and then he pivots with "But God." What do these verses reveal about who takes the initiative in salvation, and why does Paul stress that it is "not by works, so that no one can boast"?

  2. Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What does this passage tell us about the One who sits on the throne of grace? Why does knowing Jesus as a high priest who understands our weakness make it possible to approach God with confidence instead of fear?

  3. Read Zechariah 4:6-10. Zerubbabel and the returning exiles were trying to rebuild the temple in the face of opposition and discouragement. What would "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit" have meant to them? How does the capstone brought out with shouts of "Grace, grace" connect to Jesus as the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; Ephesians 2:20)?

Encouragement, Challenge & Personal Testimony

  1. Jimmy defines grace as both the overwhelming favor of God toward undeserving people and the power of God to do the will of God. Which side of grace is easier for you to believe right now, and where do you sense God inviting you to trust the other side more?

  2. James 4:6 says God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Jimmy shared how going low with his daughter to "set the table" for grace. When has someone humbling themselves, or you humbling yourself, opened a door for healing in a relationship? What do you think makes it so hard to go first?

  3. "Get as secure as you can as fast as you can." Where do insecurity, comparison or the need for approval tend to show up in your life? How would your daily life look different if you lived from God's acceptance instead of running to earn it?

Putting It Into Practice

  1. Jimmy asked, "What is the loudest voice in your life?" Take an honest inventory of the podcasts, feeds and people shaping your thinking. Are they rooted in love for Jesus, His Word and His church, with a good spirit? What is one voice you need to turn down and one you need to turn up this week?

  2. 2 Corinthians 9:8 promises that God is able to make all grace abound as we sow generously. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you one graceless situation or person where you can come in the opposite spirit this week, with a kind word, a generous act or a humble apology. Write down what this could look like for you this week.

Prayer

  1. Listening to the Holy Spirit: We're going to take focused time to listen to the Holy Spirit and what He wants to speak to us personally based on our time in Scripture and discussion tonight. Let's sit in silence for 60 seconds and ask the Spirit to speak to each one of us.

    [After the minute of silence] What do you sense the Holy Spirit highlighting or speaking to you as we prayed?

  2. Prayer Requests from Tonight's Study: What prayer requests come up for you based on our Scripture study and discussion tonight? How can we pray for you as you seek to apply what God has shown you?

Rachel Fish
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Apprehending Grace