(We are the beloved of God, and because God loves us so deeply, God never stops pursuing us, drawing us to God's self, or growing us in love and grace.) Grace is a word that carries all sorts of meanings and connotations in the modern English language… * We say “grace” at a meal to offer a prayer of thanks. * To be “graceful” or “gracious” suggests that one is courteous, kind, and pleasant. * We might say someone moves with “grace” when they are elegant and move with ease. But as a word we use in talking about the Christian faith it carries a very specific meaning and sits at the center of our understanding of who God is and how we experience God’s care for us. The Christian faith teaches that grace is “… the love and mercy given to us by God, because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.” (umc.org) John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist tradition gave us a significant and rich understanding of how God’s grace woos us, claims us, and grows us in Christ-likeness. Wesley understood grace as God’s active presence in our lives giving us the power to respond to God and live a victorious life in Christ. Songwriter Matthew West sums up the power and promise of God at work in our lives with these words: Grace Wins. As we make our way through each day, face challenges of all kinds, suffer hardships and hurts; as we doubt, despair, and deal with all manner of disappointment, the Bible, John Wesley and Matthew West all remind us that God is at work for our good... that because God loves us so dearly and so deeply, God's desire for us is unstoppable.... and God’s grace always wins! Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xcw9sLegjA