05 Jun Amazed by grace

2 Samuel 9:1-13

And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” ⁷ And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.” If you believe it, say “Amen.” Here is my concern. Grace is amazing. As a church, we want to be a community of grace. We want to be a place where it is okay to not be okay. We want to be a home for the imperfect. That is why we talk about the grace of God every single week in this church. Even before we get into the sermon, we remind you of the grace of God through the gospel liturgy. We begin the service by calling you to worship the Holy God. And when we are in the presence of the Holy God, our sins are exposed. There is absolutely nothing that we can hide from God. He sees all our flaws like an open book. Even if we have the best week of our lives, the good things that we do are often driven by desires for our own glory and not God’s glory. And it is wicked in God’s sight. But the good news is that the grace of God is at work enabling us to confess our sins and assuring us of our pardon. It does not matter who we are, what we have done, or where we came from, grace is available for everyone who wants it. It was grace that saved us. It is grace that sustains us. And it is grace that will carry us to the end.

And the grace of God not only forgives us of our sins. But grace also points us to Christ-righteousness that is freely given to us when we put our faith in Jesus. It means that right now we stand in front of God as holy, righteous, blameless, and beautiful, not because of anything we do and did not do. But because we are clothed in Jesus’ perfect beauty. And the more we grow in grace, the more we are in awe of Jesus and his perfect work for us. So, get this. The right understanding of God’s grace leads to more brokenness, less boast; more humility, less pride; more unworthiness, less entitlement; more neediness, less independence. This is what growing in grace looks like.

But if we can be honest, that does not always happen. If we are not careful, grace can be a concept that we talk about every week, but it no longer amazed us. We sing with our mouths, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.” But in our hearts, we no longer think that we are a wretch. We no longer think that we are undeserved sinners. There is a pull in our hearts that make us think that we actually deserved grace. And rather than pointing us to Christ-righteousness, it leads us to self-righteousness. And this is my concern. Because I see it happening in my own heart. Rather than growing in brokenness, I become more demanding. I easily condemn others. I point fingers. I gossip. I boast about myself. And I think I am better than others. Does anyone know what I am talking about? And if we think that we are better than others because of our past, family background, social standing, or accomplishment, we have yet to know grace. If we think that we deserved grace because of what we have done, we don’t understand grace. Grace has nothing to do with what we have done but it has everything to do with what has been done for us. Grace levels the playing field.

I love the story we look at tonight. This story is a beautiful picture of grace. It is a story of King David and a man by the name of Mephibosheth. It is a historical event that teaches us that grace is too good to be true, but it is true. Grace is amazing. But let me give you the context first. By this time, David is at the top of his game. He has defeated both his foreign and domestic enemies and firmly established his kingdom. He is collecting tributes of gold and silver from other nations. He has built a new capital and a palace. He has everything he needs. He lacks nothing. God has given David the promised rest. And amid this prosperous reign, David remembers his old promise to his old friend. And he shows extraordinary kindness to a person who could have been his enemy. This is David at his best. And David at his best reflects the heart of the true king. What David does gives us a glimpse into the heart and character of the true king. David’s kingdom is a shadow of God’s perfect kingdom. And God’s kingdom is a kingdom of kindness to those who were once his enemies. And David’s greatness foreshadows the greatness of the king in the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ.

So, let’s look at the story together. I have three points for this sermon: Recipient of grace; Reversal of grace; Result of grace.

Recipient of grace

2 Samuel 9:1-5 – And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.

This story begins with a surprising question. David asks, “Is there anyone still alive from the house of Saul that I can show kindness to?” This is very surprising because it is very different from what we might expect. If you know many ancient kingdom stories, then you would know that whenever a new king took over a kingdom, there are certain threats and dangers that come with the throne. Especially, if the new king is from a different family than the previous king. When that happens, the transition is rarely smooth. People from different families would lay claim to the throne and raise their own army to take over the kingdom. It becomes a game of thrones. Because of that threat, the smart thing for a new king to do would be to eliminate all possible threats as early as possible. He would eliminate anyone who could challenge his claim to the throne. And if the new king is from a new family, the first people he would execute would be any remaining family members from the previous king. It is considered the wise and acceptable thing to do to establish his reign. But not so with David. David is seeking members of the house of Saul. But not because he wants to eliminate threats. But because he wants to show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.

And this is crucial. Who is Jonathan? Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. He was the son of the previous king, King Saul. Jonathan was also David’s best friend. And he was a good man. Jonathan was faithful to God, and he was faithful to David. He knew that God has chosen David to be the next king of Israel and he was okay with it. Think about it. Jonathan was the crown prince. And yet he was the first person to welcome David as the king of Israel. Jonathan loved David. And he made a covenant with David. The only thing Jonathan asked was for David to show kindness to his family. 1 Samuel 20:14-15 – ¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; ¹⁵ and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” The Hebrew word for the steadfast love of the Lord in these verses and the word kindness in 2 Samuel 9 is the same word. It is the word “chesed” which means the covenant love of God. What David wants to show is not mere kindness but the covenant love of God.

And here is what’s amazing. The promise between David and Jonathan was made many decades ago. No one knows about this promise except David. And even if people know, no one expects David to keep it. It goes against cultural expectations to show kindness to possible future threats. What is normal is for people to prioritize their own interests. And the same is true today. We live in a generation that has no concept of covenant. Let me put it this way. A covenantal relationship is the opposite of a consumer relationship. A consumer relationship is one in which our personal needs are more important than the relationship. For example, we have a consumer relationship with petrol stations. Especially with the recent increase in petrol’s price. Whether it is Shell, BP, Caltex, or others, we have a relationship with it as long as they give us a good product for a good price. But if the prices increase, we switch to a cheaper petrol station. We go to the one that meets our needs. That is a consumer relationship. But a covenantal relationship is one in which the relationship is more important than our personal needs.

One example of a covenantal relationship in the Bible is church membership. When we join a church, we enter a covenant relationship with that church. We agreed to prioritize the relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ over personal needs. But today, many Christians no longer view church membership as a covenant. We come to church when we feel like it, and we don’t come to church when we don’t feel like it. Or we choose to do online service because it is more convenient for us to do so. In fact, we don’t even go to the same church every week. We keep switching from one church to another depending on which church meets our needs. Church membership is no longer seen as a covenantal relationship but a consumer relationship. But David is different. David understands what a covenant is. He is a man of his word. So, he seeks members of the house of Saul because he made a covenant with Jonathan.

So, the words get out that David is seeking members of the house of Saul. And a man by the name of Ziba is brought to David. Ziba is a servant in the house of Saul. We find out later that he has many servants of his own. So, he is most likely the head servant in the house of Saul. 2 Samuel 9:3 – And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” Notice what David says. David not only says that he wants to show kindness; he wants to show the kindness of God. And to David’s surprise, there is a person from the house of Saul who is alive. And that person is none other than the son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth. What a providence. Out of everyone, it happens to be the son of the person with whom David made a covenant. However, Mephibosheth is crippled in his feet. What happened was, when David came to power, the house of Saul quickly went into hiding. Mephibosheth was five years old at the time. And the nurse who carried him tripped, dropped him, and the injury made him crippled for life. And he has been living in hiding from David until that time. He lived in a place called Lo-debar, which means a place of no pasture. A barren and unfruitful place.

Imagine if you are Mephibosheth. You used to live in a place where you were royalty. You could eat whatever you want and as much as you want. You were groomed to be the prince of Israel. But in one moment, you lost everything. And it wasn’t even your fault. You had no say in which house you were born. It was your nurse who made you cripple. And now you are living in a barren land looking at your lifeless legs. You are not able to walk. You have no future. You are doomed to a life of hopelessness. Then suddenly a messenger from King David knocks at your door. “Knock, knock, knock.” “Are you Mephibosheth?” “Yes, I am. What do you want from me?” “I come with an order from the king to take you to him. He wants to see you. I need you to leave with me right now.” “But I am of the house of Saul. I am his enemy. Why does the king want to see me?” “That’s for you to find out. My order is to bring you to him. Quick. We need to leave. Now.” And Mephibosheth is taken to see David.

Before we move on with the story, I don’t want you to miss the comparison. Because you and I, we were like Mephibosheth. God is a powerful king. His kingdom is everlasting. And like Mephibosheth, we were born in the royal line of Adam. But then we fell and became crippled because of someone else’s fault. We were born in sin, and we had no ability to please God. We became the enemy of God because of our forefathers. We were alienated from God’s presence. We dwelled in a barren and unfruitful place. We were hiding in fear from God. And there was nothing we can do to reverse our condition. We were not loveable nor beautiful nor desirable. We were doomed to hopelessness. But one day, a messenger from God knocked at our door and brought us to the presence of God. And it changed everything about our lives forever. Let’s continue with the story.

Reversal of grace

2 Samuel 9:6-8 – ⁶ And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” ⁷ And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

What a beautiful picture of grace. When Mephibosheth comes into the presence of David, he is extremely afraid. What he expects is execution. Because that’s what they do to avoid civil war. Mephibosheth is the grandson of the previous king. He is a big threat to David’s kingdom. And many years before it, his uncle, Ish-Boseth tried to claim the throne and he died because of it. Mephibosheth has no reason to think otherwise. He does not know anything about David’s promise to Jonathan. He was too young when it happened. He cannot play that card. But look at what David says. He says, “Mephibosheth, I know you have many reasons to be afraid. You have many reasons to fear me. But do not fear. Because I summon you here not to punish you but to show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.” Do you know what David is saying? He is saying, “I am about to show you extraordinary love and kindness. And you are going to have your life changed in a single moment. But what you are about to enjoy because of my extraordinary kindness to you is not on account of anything in you. You did nothing to deserve it. But I am going to do it on the account of a promise I made a long time ago with your father. A promise you know nothing about. But a promise in which you are the beneficiary.”

Can you see what happened? David is showing grace to Mephibosheth. And this grace is costly and risky. It could backfire easily. Because what David does is he empowers a key man in the enemy camp. As long as Mephibosheth is alive, he is a potential threat to David. But rather than executing him, David elevates him. David restores to him all the land that used to belong to the house of Saul. And not only that. Since that day, Mephibosheth will always eat at David’s table. Think about it. At one moment, Mephibosheth was unloved. The next moment, he experienced extravagant love and kindness. At one moment, he was poor. The next moment, he is rich. At one moment, he was filled with shame. The next moment, he is given the honour to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life. So, David not only pardons Jonathan’s son but also accepts him into his fellowship and grants him the status of royalty. This is unheard of.

And look at Mephibosheth’s response to David’s extraordinary kindness. 2 Samuel 9:8 – ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” When we read this, our modern minds immediately think, “That’s a very self-deprecating talk. No one should talk like that. No one should call himself a dead dog. A Cavoodle, maybe. But not a dead dog.” One of the most degrading things you could call a person on that day is a dog. It is very offensive to the Jews. Even more than us. But Mephibosheth does not just call himself a dog. He calls himself a dead dog. He doesn’t say, “Ha! Finally, somebody realizes my potential. Finally, someone realizes what an important person I am. It makes perfect sense that I have been given power, honour, and riches. I deserve it.” Oh no. Mephibosheth says, “This does not make sense at all. Why would you show such extraordinary kindness for a dead dog like me?” That’s how Mephibosheth sees himself. He sees himself as worse than the worst. He does not deserve David’s kindness at all. Rather than a sense of entitlement, Mephibosheth is filled with awe. He does not understand what just happened to him. Instead of being made a prisoner, he is treated like a prince. Instead of execution, he receives restoration. It is too good to be true, but it is true. Mephibosheth is utterly amazed by grace.

Friends, I know this is insane, but this is absolutely biblical. This is what separates Christianity from every other religion. Every other religion says that we must be good enough to be accepted by God. They tell us that we must clean up our lives, we must pray, we must do many things, and then we will be blessed. But Christianity tells us that we are dead dogs. There is nothing in us that makes God goes, “Aww. Look at those cute people at RSI. They are so adorable. I want them on my house.” Nothing. But God shows his kindness to those who do not deserve it at all. And this is counterintuitive to us. We tend to show kindness to those whom we think deserved it. We show kindness when it is convenient for us. Our kindness is a calculated move. For example, I am an INTJ. It means that I continually play chess in my head. I don’t do things just because. Everything I do is part of a calculated move. If I show kindness to a person, it is because I know that person will benefit me in one way or the other. I am not going to waste my time and resources on someone who will not benefit me. Especially, if that person could potentially harm me. I will stay as far away as possible. If that person is in this church and he is always in the back seat, I make sure that I am always in the front seat. No offence if you are sitting in the back seat. But David shows grace to someone who cannot advance his agendas and could potentially harm him. This is what grace is. Grace is not a calculated move of kindness. Grace is extraordinary kindness to the least deserving.

Result of grace

2 Samuel 9:9-13 – ⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

Look at the transformation that happens in Mephibosheth’s life. David tells Ziba to take care of all the land that he has given to Mephibosheth. It means that now Mephibosheth has a source of income. He will never be in lack. He will always have bread to eat. And from that day forward, Mephibosheth always eats at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. So, not only does Mephibosheth has a source of income, but he also lives like a royal prince. It speaks of an elevated position of intimacy. Mephibosheth will always have space at David’s table of fellowship. He not only eats the king’s food, but he also has open access to fellowship with the king. And Mephibosheth also moves from Lo-debar to Jerusalem. He no longer hides from the king but lives at the centre of the kingdom of David. What a story.

But pay attention to how the story ends. 2 Samuel 9:13 – ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet. Why end such a wonderful story on a sour note? Why mention, “Now he was lame in both his feet”? We already know that he is crippled. Why end with a reminder that he is lame? I think there are two reasons. First, it is to remind us that there is always a place in God’s kingdom for the lames. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of grace. And the king in the kingdom of God is a gracious king. The kingdom of God is a kingdom where the lames are not excluded but welcomed. It is a kingdom where the lames are transformed into royalty by the grace of the king. The kingdom of God is not a place for those who have it all together. It is the place for broken people who have received the grace of God. That’s the first reason.

The second reason is to remind us that we have what we have in the kingdom of God not because of our achievements but because of grace. Because here is what I believe. Maybe the reason why some of us are not amazed by grace is because we forget that we are lame. We do not realize that we are dead dogs. We think we are good people who deserved to be welcomed by the God of the universe. We forget that we, by our very nature, are lame. We are sinful, we are crippled, and we are diseased. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that we were dead in our sins, enslaved by sinful desires, and were under the wrath of God. There was only one thing that we deserved. We deserved eternal punishment. You and I deserved hell. But then comes the two most powerful words in the Bible. Listen. Mephibosheth was weak, crippled, disabled, undesirable, outcast, enemy, and poor. BUT DAVID. We were dead, enslaved, and under wrath. BUT GOD. This is the good news of the gospel. You and I were dead BUT GOD. You and I were enslaved by sin BUT GOD. You and I were under wrath BUT GOD. Rather than giving us what we deserved, God intervened. Rather than leaving us to our destruction, God has another agenda. God in his richness of mercy, in his great love with which he loved us, looked at our hopeless condition and said, “I am going to show them my extraordinary kindness. I am going shower them with grace.” And just like Mephibosheth get to eat at David’s table for the rest of his life, we get to eat at the king’s table for eternity.

And just like Mephibosheth receives the kindness of God through David, we are also the recipients of God’s kindness. In fact, it is not only kindness. Paul says it is the immeasurable riches of God’s grace in kindness. I love that. John Piper put it this way. How rich is God? In 1990, queen Elizabeth was worth $4 billion. That’s a b with 9 zeroes. Even in 1990, that is a lot of money. I don’t even know what she does but wave her hand. But apparently, she is extremely rich. Let’s say that one day I meet queen Elizabeth and she likes me. She says, “Young man, I find it quite pleasant to be able to meet you today. And it is to my joy that I want to invite you to be part of the Royal family. I want to adopt you into my family, and I want to lavish you with all my wealth. It would be a pleasure if you agree to it. What say you?” And I’ll be like, “Where do I sign? Consider it done.” From that moment, I am no longer Yosia son of Mr Yusuf. You can call me the Duke of Chatswood. But here is what I know about $4 billion. It is a lot of money, and she can lavish me with a lot of riches. But it won’t last forever. Eventually, those $4 billion will run out. But not so with God. How rich is God? Immeasurable. And he says that he will show us the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness. It means that there will be no end to God’s kindness toward us. God will never run out of kindness toward us for eternity. There is always more of his kindness for us to experience forever. Can you get your mind around that? We were once God’s enemies but now we are the recipients of his kindness for eternity. How amazing is that?

However, don’t miss the most important part. This extravagant grace is given on the merit of someone else. David does not show kindness to Mephibosheth because of Mephibosheth. He shows kindness to Mephibosheth for the sake of his father, Jonathan. The promise David had made with Jonathan secures for Mephibosheth honour and blessing beyond what he could ever imagine. Friends, don’t miss this. God shows his grace to us not because of us. God shows his grace to us because of the merit of another. If God’s grace is dependent on our merits, we would be forever lost. None of us stands a chance. Just like David shows kindness to Mephibosheth because of his promise to Jonathan, God shows mercy to sinners because of his covenant promise to another. God shows his grace to us for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ. David blesses Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake. God blesses us for Jesus’ sake. We are welcomed into the family of God not because we are good enough. We are forgiven, we are made right, we are adopted, we are sanctified, and we are glorified in the end as the people of God not because of us but for Jesus’ sake. We received every spiritual blessing in Jesus.

Do you know how Jesus purchased these blessings for us? In the same way that Mephibosheth received his blessings. Here is how. Mephibosheth had his father, Jonathan. Jonathan was a true friend to David. He put himself in harm’s way to protect David from harm. When Saul wanted to kill David, Jonathan hid David. Jonathan voluntarily lost the throne so David could ascend to the throne. Jonathan lost his life so David could live. And because of that, David could welcome Mephibosheth. David could risk his life to love Mephibosheth because of what Jonathan had done. What a friend Jonathan was to David. And here is the good news. We have an even better friend than Jonathan. David had a friend who lost an earthly throne for him; we have a friend who lost a heavenly throne for us. David had a friend who died on Mount Gilboa; we have a friend who died on Mount Calvary. At the cross, Jesus took every single drop of God’s wrath toward us. He voluntarily took it upon himself. He died the death that we should have. Why? So we could receive God’s blessings.

Can you see? Mephibosheth did not deserve the kindness David showed him. Do you know who did? Jonathan. And Jonathan’s work was imputed to Mephibosheth. And because of it, he was welcomed to David’s table. You and I did not deserve the kindness that God shows to us. But Jesus did. And God made a covenant with Jesus in the eternal past that when we put our faith in Jesus, Jesus’ perfect work will be imputed to us. So that Jesus’ righteousness is our righteousness. Jesus’ perfection is our perfection. Jesus’ beauty is our beauty. All of it is imputed to us for the sake of Jesus. It is given to us by grace. That is why one of the best definitions of grace is, “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” If we understand this, we can say with Paul, Philippians 3:8-9 – ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

Let me close with this. Friends, are you still amazed by grace? Can you sing from your heart, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.” Or is it simply a good lyric that you memorized? Are you still humbled by the fact that you are included in God’s table of grace? Or has it become something that you think you deserved? Are you becoming more and more broken before God? Or are you becoming more and more boastful before God? Is your life marked with gratitude and thankfulness? Or do you spend more time complaining because things do not work according to your expectations? When is the last time you spend time with Jesus just to enjoy him? Or is your time with him filled with demands? And if tonight you realised that you are no longer amazed by grace, the answer is not to fake it till you make it. What you need to do is to confess your sin and look to Jesus. Look at what he has done for you. Look at all the blessings he has purchased for you. Look to the old rugged cross where your sin is nailed once and for all, and you are granted forgiveness, love, adoption, inheritance, and salvation. Realize once again that you are lame, but you received God’s extraordinary kindness because of Jesus. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. List out some reasons why we might no longer be amazed by God’s grace.
2. Church membership is an example of a covenantal relationship. Discuss the implications.
3. Why do you think Mephibosheth refers to himself as “a dead dog”? What does it say about grace?
4. Why is the fact that Mephibosheth is lame good news for both him and us?
5. How do we receive the kindness of God in our lives?
6. What struck you the most about God’s grace in this story?