10/29/17-Eph. 4:1-16-In Christ: The Church: One, Equipped, and Ready

We are currently going through the book of Ephesians and looking at God’s desire for His church.

 

Right belief leads to right behavior, like a series of building blocks. What we believe about Christ affects what we believe about salvation which affects what we believe about church which in turn affects what morals and values and ethics we hold.

 

We spent the last few weeks focusing on grace (How God made the first move. He acts in love to us), then we asked, “What does grace require of me?” We saw “He (Jesus) became what we are” NOW this week we continue to see to “so we could become what He is”

 

This text is the how steps. And notice Paul addresses us as a body, not as a bunch of individuals.

 

Vs. 1-2-Paul is saying here that these traits display what it means to extend God’s grace. We have been shown grace by God & now must show grace to others.

 

This list is given in order to promote community. In the body of Christ, we must be humble, gentle, patient, and show tolerant love. Remember, all of us are works in progress 😉

 

Now comes the why (v. 3-11)-These here are not heady ideas, but a living reality. Our foundation for unity as a church is based on God Himself.

 

These verses show us the Trinity, 1 God in 3 Persons. First, look at the One here and the stressing on unity: “One Spirit, One Body, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all”

 

How many gods to we worship as Christians, not 3 but 1. 1 God the only true God. This emphasis on God’s oneness is meant to humble us. There is only one God, one gospel, one message of hope to the world, one truth as a foundation, one church.

 

That “one church” is not one denomination. Rather any who call upon the name of Jesus and believe that He has been raised from the dead constitute the one church, for it is built not on a denomination but on Jesus Christ Himself.

 

Vs. 6-”God is over all” (transcendent)-meaning He rules over all, and everything is under HIs control and His loving care. He is all-powerful

 

→ “God is through all”-(immanent)-meaning He is close to us, through us, and in us, constantly showing His active presence.

 

This is 1 God, but Paul mentions at the same time, 3 Persons: One Spirit (Holy Spirit), One Lord (Jesus Christ), and One God (Father). All these make up 1 God, 1 Being, yet they are different persons.

 

Paul writes that God is “of all, over all, through all, in all” AND also vs. 10-He says that Jesus Christ “His rule might fulfill the entire universe”

 

So, put it together, God fills all things and Christ fills all things. This is meant to show us that Jesus Christ is God and He is just as much God as the Father and Holy Spirit.

 

It is a unity with diversity, which is where we get our word “university” from. To believe the Gospel is to enter this unity with God and with other believers.

 

BUT, this unity does not mean we all lose who God made us to be, for that is where “diversity” comes in. We worship 1 God, yet Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit, for they are different persons.

 

So, our unity is in Jesus, but we have a diversity of different gifts. I’ll explain below but first thing is first. What does vs. 7-10 mean? Christ is our General

 

The great part is that He has done all the work. He has fought the war and won! This section uses military parade language. Christ is the conqueror over sin and death, freed us from sin’s kingdom, and recruited us into His military.

 

And then He gave us the spoils of war, but these gifts are not silver and gold. They are the Holy Spirit, eternal life, and so much more. The Gospel is the celebration is Christ’s victory! All we are meant to do is not fight the war ourselves but declare to the world His victory and invite others to the party!

 

If you want to see an ideal model for the church, it comes from looking at the unity of 1 God and the diversity of 3 Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

 

As we turn to our final point, we now see the reasons Jesus gave us those gifts: The purpose is to build up the body, to live the truth in love, to push each other onward in our walks with God.

 

Last week, we saw the “endgame” and now we are going to see the path to get there, vs. 11-16. Each of us have different gifts, every one of us, (means you too 🙂

 

Gifts are given so that the living body of Jesus, the church (us gathered here) grows into maturity. We grow so that we will know and be secure in the truth.

 

The truth is Jesus Christ, we grow so that we would look like Him, do like Him, say like Him, think like Him.

 

This truth. Use it with you gifts. Let it be the power that empowers your gift. Don’t know what your gift is? Ask God, pray, ask one of us about it!

 

We all have a gift and with that gift comes a responsibility. We are all ministers and must use our God-given gifts, and don’t worry the Holy Spirit will help

 

Whatever you do, do it for Christ’s sake and for His kingdom. When we live the truth, not just individually in our lives, but as a body of Christ here, then the hurting will be healed, the lost will be instructed, the lonely will be loved.

 

This is how we show the world the gospel. It is by using our gifts in love toward one another.

 

Our Church is to be one, with all of us using our gifts, for God’s glory and for His truth. So be like Jesus in everything.

10/22/17-Eph. 3:14-21-In Christ: His Love In You

This prayer from Paul speaks to our hearts to draw us close, close to God for worship. And not only to worship but also to an endgame, a conclusion.

 

We looked at the statement, “He became what we are, so that we could become what He is”. The first half (“He became what we are”) fits nicely with the first half of Eph.

 

Today we start the second half of that saying (“so we could become what He is”). Being “in Christ” is the main point of the book of Ephesians. Being “permeated with His grace” is all throughout the book.

 

Grace is how “we become what He is”. V. 14-Paul is not only praying for the Christians in his day, but he is also praying for us as well!

 

v. 15-To understand the power behind these words, we must go back. In Genesis, it says that God made humans in His image. In this sense, God is a father to all people, not just in a creative sense, but a loving sense.

 

We see and know that we are broken by sin, YET God’s grace is constantly drawing humanity close to Him that we would accept His offer.

 

Humanity, in our brokenness, may have rejected God as their adopted Father, but Jesus the Son of God had a special relationship with Him that He now invites us believers to accept, and to show others that God is our true Father, the one who loves and cares for us.

 

To show that instead of belonging to that evil kingdom, that instead humanity was created for their true Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

 

In Jesus Christ we see a new Adam. In Him, we see what humanity was designed to be. In Him we are a new people, with one Father whom we do recognize.

 

v. 16-17-Paul wants us to know Jesus personally, to not just know about Him but to know Him. Paul prays that we would know that power, and that power comes from accepting God’s grace, not our own moral effort or good works.

 

It comes from accepting the humble truth that are not, by nature, good or moral. It comes by saying to Jesus, “I give up! I need you, here to dwell in my heart, take over me”

 

That scares us. We want to have it both ways. We desire to be happy and joyful, but we still want to be in charge of our own lives, but we can’t have both. It is because we were made for Him.

 

If we were made for that purpose, we can’t hang on to our own way. We don’t want to surrender our will, but without doing that, we won’t experience true life.

 

That transaction of grace where we trade our sins for His grace won’t become real in our lives. Jesus says, “if you seek life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life (give it to me), you will find it”.

 

We will find true life, life as it was meant to be lived: full, joy-filled, grace-abounding.

 

Paul not only means grace as a one-time divine trade, but also grace as a daily reality. Grace is a way of life, and it must be daily lived out or else we won’t see lasting change in our lives because God will remain distant.

 

Grace not only guarantees our salvation, but it is the source of power to help us live righteous lives. It is that “new heart of flesh” that Jeremiah talks about.

 

When we accept His grace and surrender, Christ dwells in our hearts and He gives us an unlimited supply of grace. Don’t ever underestimate the power of grace to change you or anyone else! For Paul, grace is a reality that must be lived out.

 

God is our Father, the Holy Spirit gives us power, and Christ dwells in our hearts (notice the Trinity reference?)

 

v.17-19-Paul talks about being rooted in love, God’s love, and coming together as a body. Christianity is deeply personal, but not private, and we must living it out among each other.

 

Finally, Paul prays for us to be filled to the measure with the fullness of God. This is the purpose of a Christian: To be filled with Christ and look so much like Him in our lives that we others see us, they will see Jesus,

 

“Deification”-Means through being in Christ, and He in us, just as He became what we are (fully human), so we could become what He is (perfect).

 

Through Christ, we become by grace what God is by nature. We become like Him! This is our purpose, and it is the Father’s joy to give this to us.

 

If we believe this, then we will behave like it. A simple prayer goes, “Lord, more of you and less of me”. As we grow in Him, everything not godly will be gone, and everything touched by sin will not be touched by grace.

 

Through daily walking with Christ, grace interpenetrates us. We start to take on properties of God: holiness, love, justice, mercy, and peace.

 

God is our Father who created us and all humans. Paul wants us to know the purpose of that creation and its endgame, to know and live out God’s grace and love daily because Christ is in control of our lives, so that one day just as He became what we are, so we may become what He is!

10/15/17-Eph. 3:1-13-Responsive Reading

One: Lord, You have created us in Your Image, by your loving hands, and although we are broken by the sin we have chosen, You refuse to stop loving us.

 

All: You wrapped your strong, compassionate, and gentle arms of grace around us, and with Your nail-scarred hands, have dried our tears. We have all gone astray, thinking we knew better than You, but your great love brought us back and brought us home.

 

One: Dear King Jesus, You have seen our suffering, our alienation from You and from one another, and in your love, you have provided the way of grace, through your cross.

 

All: Rather than trusting in our own efforts, our titles, roles, and duties to attempt to stand on our own merit, may we instead always be reminded of Your grace and love that has provided a way. We stand confident, not on our own strength, but on the unchanging Rock of Christ.

 

One: Precious Savior, You care for each of us individually, for You have made us for You and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.

 

All: You look at each one of our hearts and the aches, pains, and troubles within. Yet, rather than see only these things and withdraw, You draw close to us, remove our hearts of stone and give us new hearts of flesh, of grace, and of desire to obey Your word.

 

One: Holy Spirit, You not only draw near to us, and in doing so, draw us as individuals close to You, You have also called us here together, as Conemaugh Brethren, to be the body of Christ, His presence in the world today.

 

All: As we depart from worship, we remember that as the church, we are the bride of Christ. Help us to remember our wedding vows to Him and keep us faithful.

 

One: You not only have called us together, but have done so in order that you would equip us with your grace. Make us administrators of grace, and may grace be a lifestyle for us.

 

All: May we be like your Son Jesus in that we embody your grace. May Your grace and truth touch and characterize everything we do, and turn us into a church community that does both well.

Psalm 23 Liturgy-Responsive Reading

One: Lord, our great Shepherd, we gather here in the midst of a time of great pain and heartache as a nation and as a church.

 

All: Remind us of your mercy that carries us like a shepherd carries his sheep in his loving arms.

 

One: It is said in your word, Lord, that you are a shepherd that not only protects but provides.

 

All: In You, we lack nothing. Grant us Your love, grace, compassion, truth, and during this time, hope to sustain us, so we can take one day at a time.

 

One: You are a shepherd who leads us and guides us.

 

All: Good Shepherd, lead us into green pastures of Your tranquility so that we may have rest in You. Guide us beside the still waters that remind us of your peace.

 

One: You are a shepherd who restores and renews.

 

All: Good Shepherd, even as we face violent and painful times in our lives individually and corporately, may we walk the path of righteousness and holiness. Plant our feet on solid ground not only that we would stand firm and true but that we would offer those around us the same firm foundation that is You, Jesus Christ.

 

One: You are a shepherd who do these compassionate acts solely because you are good.

 

All: Good Shepherd, may we be reminded always that you have saved us, cleansed us, and restored us from sin and death not because we have earned it, but because You are a good, good Father, that is simply who You are.

 

One: Lord, we come to you admitting that this week, our country and many of us individually have felt as though we have seen the valley of the shadow of death.

All: We have seen the pain and fear that violence has wrought that has brought a pause to our lives. Good Shepherd, teach us to be peacemakers so that You through us can teach the world what it means to live in wholeness in relation to You, one another, and self.

 

One: We have not only been exposed to pain in this way, but this week several of us lost loved ones that we cherished.

 

All: Even though we walk through death’s valley at different points in our life, remind us Good Shepherd that it is your hand that lead us and comfort us with your rod of instruction and your staff of gentleness. We do not stumble aimlessly as if we have no hope, for we have You, and You are stronger than death.

 

One: Dear Lord Jesus, after you arrived at your friend Lazarus’ grave, you reminded the sisters Martha and Mary both of your total humanity and perfect divinity. With one sister, you wept, while the other, you reminded her that standing before her was none less that the Resurrection and the Life.

 

All: Gracious Shepherd, we admit we need to hear both of these truths daily, both that you grieve with us and that you feel our pain, and yet you also overcame death and that those who put their trust in You, you promise the same eternal life.

 

One: So lead on Shepherd, to the banquet you yourself have prepared before us. Protect us from our enemies of despair and hopelessness, of cynicism and want, so that we would joyfully accept your invitation to join you at your feast of peace and hope.

 

All: And as we walk in our lives day by day to this great banquet, remind us that your goodness and your mercy pursue us and overtake our hurt. Remind us that we will dwell in your house forever like you dwell in our hearts now. Stir in us and plant our feet upon the conviction that death does not have the final word, Lord Jesus, you do. May our mourning be one day turned into dancing so that we as your church may proclaim to ourselves and others those same words that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, that “death has been swallowed up in Christ’s victory, Oh death where is your victory, oh grave where is your sting?” Good shepherd lead on, through our heartache and through our pain into your presences where we may find good eternal life, amen.

10/1/17-Eph. 2:11-22-In Christ: God’s Holy City

Last week we looked at what it means for an individual to be “In Christ” by grace through faith. This week we are going to go from looking individually to looking at us as a group.

 

At first glance, this text looks like old, dusty history, but when we see the implications, we are going to understand this has just as much to say to us today as back then.

 

The three sections we are going to see is the Problem of sin (v. 11-13), the Peace of God (v. 14-18), and the People of God (v. 19-22)

 

The Problem of Sin (Sin divides and builds walls of hostility, between us and God, and between each other).

 

In this text, both Jews and Gentiles had hostility toward one another, and so in sin, they put walls up against each other (walls of suspicion, mistrust, and ignorance).

 

How often we too jump to conclusions about a person or group before getting to really know them, only to find out we may have been off base the whole time.

 

Paul in this section focuses mostly on Gentiles (most of us) and lays out the hopelessness and isolation that a life apart from Christ brings. Elsewhere, Paul puts Jews and Gentiles in the same boat (“There is none that is righteous, not even one, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”)

 

Here, Paul says that Gentiles were without Christ, and they were outside the Old Testament covenant so that they did not know God or His love.

 

Maybe we too felt like that. Like we are never good enough, not possessing the right name, education, wealth, etc.

 

Yet Paul lays out the gospel hope in vs. 13-When we were far away and isolated from God, He took the initiative. He loves us and through that love, drew us to Him so that we could be a community. This community of redeemed people is called the church.

 

Christ’s death has destroyed all kinds of barriers and so now there is…

The Peace of God-In Jesus Christ, God drew close to humanity, walked alongside us, entered into our evil world, took responsibility for our evil, & bore it all in His body on the cross.

 

Christ is our peace, and through the cross, God is extending the olive branch, His peace, to you and I. When we gather as a church, we do so in the shadow of His cross, that new reality, because we are in Christ. Remember, He became what we are so we could become what He is.

 

In Christ, humanity is recreated. In Christ, the hostility that sin built between us and God=gone

 

Christ killed that hostility within Himself as He carried sin to the cross. So use the cross to remember this. A cross has two pieces, a vertical piece, and a horizontal piece. In Christ, He gave us vertical peace between each of us with God. He also gave us a horizontal peace between us and our neighbor.

 

For when the true peace of God, Christ’s peace, touches us, it touches every part and we must live it out. This means not just “inner peace”, but the gospel must be the foundation for being at peace with one another.

 

Paul says in Christ the hostility between Jew and Gentile is gone now. Christ accomplished this by abolishing the law. This does not mean that the Old Testament is no longer a moral guide. Rather, what once separated Jew and Gentile (circumcision, sabbath law, food laws) are no longer to be enforced so that neither Jew nor Gentile is excluded from Christ’s table of fellowship.

 

In Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are re-created, born again, made new men and women and now we are in a new family.

 

Today there seems to be an interest in dividing people. We have division through different races, genders, income, citizenship, political views, and Paul is not necessarily saying that when we become Christians, these differences vanish.

 

Simply put, in Christ the differences no longer matter as “identity badges”. Instead, the cross and resurrection are the events which shape our identity. Who unites us is stronger that what could ever divide us.

 

He is the peace that breaks down all the walls of hostility, because in Christ, we only carry one label: Christian.

 

We went from problem of sin, to the peace of God, and now it is the people of God.

 

Another way of putting is that Christ is building us into a city of God.

 

We are God’s temple, not a building of concrete and steel, but of followers of Jesus, and He is the chief cornerstone, which means he bears the load and determines the lines. In other words, Jesus is the foundation of the church and our truth.

 

We in the church are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts are where God resides, and if He has called us out from darkness to light, then He has given us different gifts in his body that we must use to glorify Him

 

Yet, just as importantly if not more importantly, we must show the world what it means to be united in Christ as a church. We must be the “family of God”, understanding one another not by any differences that we may have, but rather by Whom unites us. In Christ, there is the foundation for peace and reconciliation.

9/24/17-Eph. 2:1-10-In Christ: By Grace Alone

This is the Gospel Message. Without clearly understanding this text, we won’t have an understanding of who we are individually, who we are corporately as a church, or how to be effective witnesses and evangelists.

 

Paul is contrasting life before an encounter with Jesus with life after. Paul does this by looking at our lives as a journey between two kingdoms.

 

It all surrounds the statement: Jesus Christ became what we are so we could become what He is”

 

-1) Paul says in v. 1 that we were all dead in transgressions and sins. Paul isn’t saying that were were all pretty good and moral people, then Jesus came and added a bit more goodness.

 

He is saying that we were dead men walking, enslaved to sin. We were dead with no hope.

 

The Reason: We were living for ourselves, following our own desires. The Bible calls this our sinful nature. When we listen to it, we end up worshipping something that is not God, and then we feel trapped by it, even if it is something good.

 

We take the good things and make them ultimate things, then they become false gods or idols. What is worse is that if we fail to get these things, they never forgive us, and even if we succeed to get them, they never satisfy us.

 

Well why is the world like this? Paul gives us the answer in vs. 2. He says this world is a kingdom into which we were all born, and this kingdom has a ruler sin. (NOTE: sin is not all-powerful, for the world only has one true Ruler, God)

 

Sin touches every part of our lives and corrupts it, from our will to our mind and our emotions and our body. Satan may tempt us but he never forces anyone to sin. We make the choice and hence are responsible.

 

And after sin touches every part of our lives, it only has one end result: death. Before we knew Christ, we were part of a kingdom whose tyrants were sin and death.

 

We have tried to find life in ourselves and our desires and in doing so, cut ourselves off from God. In the end, life without God is meaningless.

 

We thought we were our own masters, but we were slaves to our own desires and brought death upon ourselves. No amount of “good works” or charity or religion could save us.

 

Gospel: Even though our situation looks pretty hopeless, God out of His love, looked at our state, and out of His love, He did something about it.

 

In Jesus, a divine trade happened: He became what we are so we could become what He is. He became a human being (tired, hungry, weak, etc.) and lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died, so that we could become what Jesus is (holy, righteous, eternally alive).

 

God has made us alive in Christ Jesus-He did not just give us rules or good morals, for that would be like putting a band-aid on a mortal wound. Rather He saw we were dead, and showed us grace and made us alive again!

 

God gave us his grace, which means He gave us Himself. Humanity’s problem si that were were spiritually dead, so the only hope is if God gives us spiritual life.

 

When we are born-again, we switch kingdoms! Christ takes our sinful nature, our “heart of stone” and gives us His heart, a heart of love.

 

To enjoy this gift of salvation, we must be united to the Giver. We must be “in Christ”. That means He is to be living in us and we are to be living in Him, a brand new reality, a brand new way of life!

 

In Christ, our will, our heart, our mind, our emotions, our everything is transformed, so that now, where it was once impossible to choose to love God, that is all we want to do!

 

He shapes us and molds us. The cross and resurrection of Jesus is not only done for our benefit, but it must be something in which we as believers participate. We must daily die to self, and trust God to give us new life to live for Him.

 

We have transferred our identity, from the kingdom of darkness and death to the kingdom of Jesus. We live in His reality, and that is why we say “Jesus is Lord”. Now, we must “live out” that identity.

 

That we are no longer slaves to sin, but alive and free in Jesus Christ. This is accomplished only and completely by grace through faith. Faith is the way we receive grace.

 

Faith is the way that God changes us to desire what He desires. Faith is not just saying “I believe in God” but “I believe God” (understanding who He is and trusting Him)

 

If we are trying to save ourselves by our own goodness, then it will never work for if we are comparing ourselves to God, how can we measure up to perfection?

 

But if the way to God is through a person, Jesus Christ, who lived the life we should have lived, and died the death we should have died, and saves us by sheer grace, then it is a loving relationship and a joy to be free from sin. God saw where we were, and loved us so much He became what we are so that we could become what He is.

9/17/17-Eph. 1:15-23-The Local Church: Jesus is Lord

Paul’s prayer is that we would know God and understand the benefits of the gospel

We are Christians. That means we are adopted children of our heavenly Dad, and we have a new identity. Christian means “little Christ”. Our lives are no longer dominated by sin, unrighteousness, or pride, but now ruled by Jesus.

The bottom-line truth for the Christian is this simple statement: Jesus Is Lord

We have a new life in His kingdom, and as members of that new kingdom, we participate in His life, and we continue His mission. This is so much deeper than simply “making a decision for Christ”. Rather this includes “becoming one with Him”, and this is not some strange mystical union. It means what John the Baptist said, “He must increase, while I must decrease”. It means becoming more like Jesus.

This passage in Ephesians shows that we as a church have 6 aspects.

First-The church is a caring community
-If we are going to be a church that is proclaiming, promoting, and providing the gospel through love, service, and prayer, then the first of these three is love.
-If we strive to love one another as Christ loves us then the world who struggles with loneliness will be drawn to that
-Too hard to love someone? Remember Jesus Christ and His love for you, and allow His love to be the power you use to love others. If you have trouble, then try serving them. If you can serve another, you can eventually learn to genuinely care about them.
-If we strive to be a caring community, through Christ-given love, not only will we love each other, but it will overflow to those outside our walls.

Second-The church is a praying community
-Remember our vision statement, “…through love, service, and prayer”
-Church that prays together stays together
-Church that prays together grows spiritually
-Church that prays together, God will give her a mission to the world. (Not just busywork, but purposeful work)

Third-The church is a thinking community
-Just because we are Christians, doesn’t mean we turn off our brains
-If anything we ought to be thinking more for the Bible calls us to be wise.
-With all of the issues that face our world, we as Christians no longer have the luxury to not think biblically about each of them
-If we don’t think, then the Gospel won’t look relevant to any of this.
-The Gospel is our foundation. Creation, Fall, Redemption (crucifixion, resurrection, sending of the Holy Spirit)-everything falls under one of these categories.
-Want to solve racism, war, poverty, bullying? Look to the Gospel
-Before we act, we as Christians must think
-Point of knowing the Bible is to know God and His ways, to be in relationship with Him, and understanding Him

Fourth-The church is a time-understanding community
-What?
-We understand what God has done in the past
-We understand what He will do in the future (the details may be fuzzy but we have a sense of who comes out winning, Jesus)
-So with a healthy knowledge of both past and future, we live confidently in the present.
-We don’t hid from the pain of live, but we understand and take hope in the fact that death does not have the final word, Jesus does.
-”Faith is patience with the lamp lit”
-God wants us to take hold of that lamp, to have that faith that gives us confidence to understand yesterday and yet face tomorrow.

Fifth-The church is a confident community
-Confident, not arrogant, because we place no confidence in ourselves, only in God
-Paul was writing to a church that was living in a real superstitious culture
-They would try to manipulate Fate by using magic
-The world today isn’t that much different. For all of our advancements in science, people can still be superstitious
-So why do people fear the stars instead of trusting in the One who made the stars?
-Paul wants the Ephesians (and us here at Conemaugh) that everything is under the Lordship of Christ. He rules over all, and He proved this when death could not even defeat Him!!
-Paul is saying we don’t need to quiver before some “unseen hand of Fate”, for we trust in a God who has plans for us and they are good!
-No power is greater than Christ. He rules over all-We aren’t slaves. Nothing can stand against HIM!

Sixth-The church is a power community
-We have the power to serve others.
-The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is given to every believer when we become Christians and it is always available.
-Paul’s prayer wasn’t that God’s power would be given to us but that we would be aware of that power already given to us in Christ, and use it!
-Our culture today offers no basis for hope
-Hope was just as rare in Paul’s day as it is in ours.
-But God’s work in christ addresses meaninglessness, the problem of evil and death.
-The Gospel does not just offer nice words, but power and living hope
-God does not always remove us from danger or difficulty or death, but His power, He makes us more than conquerors! How?

→ He may not remove these things, but redeems them. Our hardships have purpose now, and even if we cannot see it, God still is redeeming our suffering and using it for His glory

If we are in Christ, We have His power to do good in the world, to change lives!

“Jesus is Lord”-This all springs from this simple truth. Cling to it.

“If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away, and behold all things have become new”

Jesus is Lord