Tyler Staton
Dallas Willard most famously defined grace this way:
“Grace is God acting in our lives to accomplish what we cannot accomplish on our own.”
He often paired that definition with his clarifying insight:
“Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort.”
“The Annunciation is a heavenly angel's announcement, claiming God's most ancient, most sweeping, most far-reaching promises must be believed personally, if they're to be received personally. A revelation made plain in the words of the angel Gabriel's lips, greetings you who are highly favored.
Another translation made famous by an old hymn is Mary full of grace. That's what the angel calls Mary with a little bit of a poetic imagination. Greetings, Mary full of grace.
It's a fitting title given all that Mary did to earn her decisive role in God's redemption. What does the text say made Mary stand out from all the other potential candidates for the role of God's mother? What qualified her?
What about her did God find so impressive? How did she earn his divine favor and blessing and love? Nothing.
We're not given a syllable about qualification in the enunciation. It's just receiving. She receives the angel's announcement.”
From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=1277
This material may be protected by copyright.
“You are not your last name or your family of origin or your socioeconomic status. You are not your weight or your waist size or your desirability according to any cultural standard. You are not your relationship status, your parenting status, your friendship status or your social calendar.
You are not your last year, your last week or your last mistake. You are full of grace. You are Richard full of grace.
You are Bethany full of grace. You are Nate full of grace. That is who you are.
And the fight of your life is and always will be to trust that grace continually. To not merely believe God once, but to trust God continually when he says that's who you are. To know Mary, not as one lucky exception, but the first in a long line of grace carrying, grace trusted, grace defined disciples.
It is grace that found you first. It is grace that renamed you. Grace that called you, filled you, and redeemed you.
And it is grace that finds you again today. Grace that reminds you who you really are. Grace that calls you by the only name that heaven knows you by.
“And the fight of your life is and always will be to trust that grace continually. To not merely believe God once, but to trust God continually when he says that's who you are. To know Mary, not as one lucky exception, but the first in a long line of grace carrying, grace trusted, grace defined disciples.
It is grace that found you first. It is grace that renamed you. Grace that called you, filled you, and redeemed you.
And it is grace that finds you again today. Grace that reminds you who you really are. Grace that calls you by the only name that heaven knows you by.
Grace that refills you. Grace that keeps on reminding you of that till he's washed out every trace of that old lie within you. As it says in Titus 3, but when the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”
“Your life will be every bit as much of a complicated mess as Abraham's and Mary's and everyone in between and it will be just as eternally consequential, cosmically meaningful as those whom all generations would call blessed to the degree that like your ancient ancestors, you learn to trust his grace. Grace in the midst of your fear of all that you want to control but can't. Grace in the midst of all the plans you had that now lie shattered on the floor in front of you.
Grace in the face of all that you found security in that has been swept like a rug out from under you. The friendship that you lost, the relationship that you lost, the job that you lost, health you lost, money you lost, house you lost, future you lost. Grace washing over the mistake you made that haunts you but you can't undo, the people that you hurt, the fool that you made of yourself, the shame that you wear.
Grace that sounds like, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise up to the heights, you're there, and if I make[…]”
From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=2097
This material may be protected by copyright.
From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=1526
This material may be protected by copyright.
Grace that[…]”
From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=1495
This material may be protected by copyright.
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