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By the Grace and Power of God
Luke 11:1–13 | Sermon Series: “I Do, I Will”
If you live long enough, you’ll eventually hit a point where your strength—mental, emotional, spiritual, maybe even physical—is just… gone.
Sometimes it's the crushing weight of a loss, a disappointment, or a choice you never wanted to face. Other times it's the sheer exhaustion of trying to hold everything together when you're not sure you can keep going. You don’t know what the next right step is—or you do, but your legs won’t move. It’s like something inside you just won’t let you leap.
That image plays out every summer at children’s camp. One of the favorite—and most terrifying—challenges is the Tower of Faith: a high platform with a harness and safety rope. It’s completely safe. But try telling that to the child staring over the edge. From the ground, it’s an activity. At the top, it’s a crisis of trust.
Some kids stand at the edge, whisper a prayer, and leap. Some shut off their thinking just long enough to jump. And some have to climb back down, knowing that this time, they couldn’t do it.
But here’s what I love about children’s camp: whether you jump or walk down, you’ve had the chance to grow on the inside. You’ve faced something real. And that’s not just true for the kids—it’s true for youth helpers and adults, too.
Because sooner or later, life hands you your own Tower of Faith moment. A leap you didn’t choose. A pain you can’t solve. A question you don’t have the answer to. Sometimes we lack wisdom. Sometimes we lack money or security. Sometimes we’re missing what we thought we could count on—like faithful friends or even a faithful spouse. Sometimes we’re not even sure if God can be trusted.
And that’s where we come face to face with a phrase in our church membership vows:
“I will—with God’s help. By the grace and power of God.”
We don’t say, “I will—with grit and hustle.”
We don’t say, “I will—with perfect confidence.”
We say, “I will—by the grace and power of God.”
Our culture loves the verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” But let’s be honest—this isn’t really about scoring touchdowns or winning games. That verse has more to do with the athlete who suffers a devastating injury and faces a year of rehab, not knowing if they’ll ever walk the same way again.
That’s what this Sunday is about. We’re going to look at what it means to rely completely on God—not when we’re full of faith, but when we know in our bones that we don’t have what it takes.
What do we do when we can’t move forward?
When we can’t love this person, forgive this hurt, or keep going on our own?
We turn to the One who gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
We learn to live not by our strength, but by the grace and power of God.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
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