“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

What would it take to make you happy?

* friends or social life?
* your job?
* being in love?
* recognition and success?
* sex?
* personal growth?
* good financial situation?
* having a house or apartment?
* being attractive and beautiful?
* your religion
* marriage?

Or maybe the reason why we’re worried a lot of times is that we’re looking for happiness in the wrong places. Join us this Sunday at Grace Place as we start a series on the beatitudes entitled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.

Topics:

July 9 – The First Step To Happiness
July 16 – How to Heal a Broken Heart
July 23 – Controlling My Reactions
July 30 – The Secret of Satisfaction
August 6 – You Get What You Give
August 13 – Happy From Inside Out
August 20 – Finding Your Missing Peace
August 27 – Handling Harrassment For Your Faith

Starting this Sunday, worship with us at Celebration Sunday@Grace Place for a morning of fellowship, worship and a relevant message and discover how to worry less and be happy more. We are meeting at Tiara Oriental Hotel (near Makati Fire Station and Makati Post Office). Service starts at 10:30 am. If you have questions, please text GRACEPLACE to 2299 or email arnold.gamboa [at] graceplace.ph

See you there. Bring-a-friend!

Da Vinci Decoded @ Grace Place

Saving Grace

“The Lord is gracious & compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love”. Ps.145:8.

It is God’s nature to give us blessings, not to punish us; to give us what we need, and not what we truly deserve. This is what we call Grace. So what really is grace?

It is God’s Gift to us. When someone gives you a gift, surely it’s for free. God’s grace & forgiveness is free. In fact, Christianity can be spelled with just 4 letters, DONE. Jesus finished our salvation on the cross, and there’s no need for us to do anything (sacrifices, good works, mourning, guilt) because it is already done…absolutely free. And, we just got to believe it to Receive it. The good thing about grace is that, it is Available to everyone. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. Romans 10:13 (NIV). God’s love and forgiveness is not just limited to churchgoers, the pastors, but to everyone who believe in God.

Grace comes through Christ, only through Christ. Why? Because He was the one who paid for our sin, with His own life. The Bible says that the punishment of sin is death, and it only takes one sin for us to die. Imagine, one lie, one lustful thought, one stolen penny would cause us our life. But Jesus in all His graciousness has taken that punishment away from us and took our place on the cross instead. When the Father gave us the gift of everlasting life, He didn’t get it for free, He bought it with the life of His son Jesus, the most valuable treasure in Heaven. When Jesus died, heaven went bankrupt. We all deserve to die, but Jesus covered our sins with His own blood, so that when we face the Father, our own transgressions are no longer visible. It would be Jesus’ face He would see, and all will be forgiven and forgotten. All God wants is for us to live our life in Jesus.

The Grace of God is extended throughout Eternity. Acceptance of His love means living forever, not only here but also in heaven.

Life may be hard because this is not where God intended to live with us forever. Accepting God is the true insurance plan. Everything we ever hoped for, everyone we want to be with is in heaven. We may feel embarrassed or undeserving of His love. But we have to remember that He sent His son Jesus not to condemn us but to save us. Too good to be true? But that is the truth. God is waiting for us, no hidden charges, tax free, no hidden agenda, just you and God, and that’s for free.

Summary by Joyce Gamboa
Grace Place celebrates every Sunday, 10:30 am at Tiara Oriental Hotel, Makati City. For inquiries, questions and directions to the location, please text GRACEPLACE <your name> <your message> to 2299.
Listen Now!

Grace Place soft-lanch : Can you be my guest?

Hi everyone!

Arnold here. I’d like to invite you to be my guest for the soft-launching of a non-profit, non-denominational, non-sectarian organization I’m involved with – Grace Place. This group was formed to help Metro Manila young urban professionals develop a balanced and enjoyable life through authentic relationships, purposeful living and a vibrant relationship with God.

In this event, you will:
• Meet new friends
• Hear inspiring messages
• Enjoy cool acoustic music
• Drink free coffee!

I’ll be very happy if you’ll accept this invitation. Let’s both make our Sunday morning recharging, away from our desks during workweeks. If you have questions, please do contact me through my cell phone at 0920-951-8075.
Attached is a post card invitation that also lists the topics and the map to Tiara Oriental Hotel. Here are the details:

Place: Tiara Oriental Hotel (at the back of Makati Post Office)
Date: March 26, 2006 Sunday
Time: 10:30 AM

Hope to see you there!

GRACE PLACE: Grow in God’s Grace

“God wants us to grow up..like Christ in everything”. Eph. 4:15 (Msg.) Every infant has to become a toddler, that toddler will develop to become a full grown man. Even a butterfly meta morphed from a larvae, that is because no living creature stayed in just one stage for a lifetime..It is a process called growth. God himself wants us to mature in our faith, and eventually develop in us the very character of His son Jesus. This is our 3rd value in life – to become like Jesus, or simply called Discipleship. God doesn’t want us to be stuck in spiritual infancy, so He guides us, and in the process He uses 3 unexpected tools for our growth.

1. Troubles . Trials are things designed by God to build our character and to draw us closer to Him. It is when we are in pain that we truly cry out to God; it is when we are broken that we can say our most honest prayer. He allows these things to happen because He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to depend on Him alone. In life, learning about Jesus is easy, but only in suffering that we really get to know Jesus.

2. Temptation. These are situations designed by Satan to harm us. It is everywhere, even Jesus was tempted by the devil, not just once but three times. God uses temptations to allow us to mature in our choice because every temptation we encounter is an opportunity for us to grow in God’s grace . For every time we turn our heads away from sin, we look straight into God’s face instead, embracing Him more. We were given the gift of free will, and in exercising patience and self control over self gratification and preservation, we grow to become more like Jesus. The devil was lying when he claimed that it is too much for us to overcome. God has promised to be with us always, and that includes during every temptations.

3. Trespasses are situations designed by other people, intentionally or unintentionally, to hurt us. The Lord use this because He wants us to learn how to forgive. He wants us to return good for every evil hurled at us. God gave us the perfect example when Jesus was hurt, insulted by the people on His way to Golgotha. Jesus could easily call on His great army of angels who are always ready for His orders. Instead, He gave them mercy and called on His father to forgive them. God wants us to go through this because it is when we’re truly hurt that we can really forgive. Getting even is easier, but when we fully understand what was done on the cross,how much it cost, we will learn to endure anything for His name.

Our journey through life alongside troubles,temptations and trespasses is hard. But remembering that God is always in control is enough to sustain us until we reach the end of the road where God is waiting for us, arms open wide and with the sweetest smile you would ever see.

Summary by Joyce Gamboa
Grace Place celebrates every Sunday, 10:30 am at Tiara Oriental Hotel, Makati City. For inquiries, questions and directions to the location, please text MSG GRACEPLACE <your name> <your message> to 2948 for GLOBE and SUN. (SMART to follow)