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God's Amazing Grace - Kirk Hickey

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Hello, my name is Kirk Hickey, and this is my story: I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A few years before I was born, my parents were invited by next-door neighbors to a neighborhood church that would bring a multitude of family activities, opportunities to serve, and the promise of being forever family. Soon my family became members of The Church of Latter-Day Saints. Growing up in the Mormon church, I heard a little about Jesus but mostly about our prophet, Joseph Smith, and how good works were a pathway to heaven. My school years brought me into awareness of the sin in the world and my own sinfulness. The weight of my sin was heavy, and my church offered me no way to reconcile that sin. When I was seventeen, I started dating a girl named Jennifer. I remember conversations where she would tell me that Jesus was it, He paid it all on the cross for our sins, and that was all you needed to be saved. My response at that time was, “That is too easy.” You see, I was raised in a faith where the works and requirements of perfection were so great that I felt I never could measure up; I could never be good enough and do all the things required of me. Ultimately, it would be Jesus plus other things I could add to make it to heaven. After I graduated High School, I opted to not do the two-year mission, which was the traditional path for young men in the Mormon faith. In college, I sought out my own desires and pleasures. A wake-up call from God came my Junior year as my roommate died in a boating accident. God brought clarity to the brevity and preciousness of life. It was then that I proposed to my High School sweetheart Jennifer and we were married after my graduation from NSU. Our first year of marriage did not go so well. We were both still lost and seeking our own desires and escapes. Then God brought us to OKC for medical school. It was here that God graciously surrounded us with friends who were Christ-followers. These individuals loved us in our messy state, invited us to church and bible studies, and showed us what it looked like to walk with Jesus. Through those years in medical school, God continued to open my eyes to the fullness of my sin and my need for Christ, my Savior. I finally came to understand Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” So simple….I am saved simply through faith in Christ, and I don’t have to “do” anything. It is the gift of God. It truly is, amazing grace. It was during these years that I trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I am so thankful to be here today at Henderson Hills, surrounded by a great community of believers who have equipped, encouraged, and spurred me on in my journey with Christ. I am here today to profess my faith in Jesus Christ and to testify to God’s amazing grace in my life.

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