ALIVE IN CHRIST!



Romans 6:3-11

 What's your favorite holiday?  What do you think is the most important holiday?  For me, it's Easter, because without Easter, Christmas has no meaning.  The most important thing about Easter is not the jelly beans and chocolate Easter Bunnies nor ham dinners with the family.  It's the empty tomb and what that means to us and to the world.


I have a new goal in life.  I want to be the kind of Christian that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, "Oh, crap!  She's awake."

The only way I know to is to be alive for God in Christ.

You see, that's the importance of the empty tomb for us as Christians.  As Christians, we are baptized into Christ's death.  As we are plunged beneath the cleansing flood of God's grace and love, the old self -- our sins and guilt are washed away -- and we are free to become the people God created us to be.

We are also baptized into Christ's resurrection.  Because God raised Christ from the Dead, we can be confident that God will raise us from the dead to eternal life.

The empty tomb means that when Christ lives in us and we live in Christ, we are given new life and life everlasting.

So, what are the signs of life when we live for God in Christ?


  • A transformed life.  If we've heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times.  "People don't change."  I've learned that that isn't so.   I know that God's love in action has the power to transform people's lives.  Grace has the power to heal emotional wounds and broken spirits.  It can erase those negative messages that control our thoughts and actions and replaces them with God's truth and love.  
          As our spirits respond to the Spirit of Christ in us and as we participate with God's grace at work in
          us, we begin to become self-aware, and as we become more self-aware, we become more other-
          aware.  As that happens, we realize that we don't have to keep doing the same old things that harmed
          ourselves and others and put up walls between us and God.  When we realize the effect of our actions
          on others and the world, we are more thoughtful, more intentional about how we do good wherever
          we are.  Although this means denying ourselves, we receive in return the joy of purpose and meaning.
  • Growth.  This transformation doesn't take place over night.  That's why we call it a faith journey.  Through the process of sanctification, as we participate with God's grace, we grow in knowledge of Christ, in our relationship with God and in love with our neighbors.  Every day holds opportunities for discovery as our understanding of God and God's mercy and love widens and deepens.  Each of us should be able to say, "My relationship with God is not the same as it was five years ago -- it's more."
  • Reproduction.  The result of a transformed life and growth is the reproduction of Christ's love, actions and ministry in our lives.  Christ's mission becomes our mission, which is God's mission to bring love and salvation to all people for the redemption of all creation.
          Which means we need to be passing on our spiritual DNA.  Christ's great commission tells us to
          go out (not stay inside our comfort zone) to all people (not just the ones who look like us or think like 
          us) of the world, making disciples and teaching them about Jesus and God's law of love. That is the
          main purpose of the church:  to equip people to live as followers of Jesus Christ so that they can 
          reproduce Christ in themselves and pass on their spiritual DNA to others.

          Alive and growing churches know that and live it out in their actions and decisions.

I want to be to be so alive that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, "Oh, crap!  She's awake!"

I want to be part of a church that is so alive that when we gather together, the devil says, "Dang! It's those people again!"

Who's with me? Who's ready to take the gift of the empty tomb and of Christ's resurrection and be really alive for God in Christ?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHRISTIANS AND COFFEE BEANS

Image
1 Peter 1:17-23 John 17:14-19 Potatoes, eggs or coffee beans? Which are Christians called to be? We're going to find out as we explore what it means to be “in the world but not of the world” in today's message, “Christians and Coffee Beans.” Put three pots of water on to boil. When the water begins to boil, put some potatoes in one, eggs in another pot, and coffee beans in the third point. Boil for 20 minutes The potatoes went into the pot hard. After boiling in the hot water, they are now soft, easily broken up and mashed. The eggs, with their fragile shells and soft centers, are also changed. They are now hard-boiled. The coffee beans are different. While they look the same as they did when they were put into the water, they have transformed the water. The water has taken on the smell, taste and color of the coffee Jesus was not of this world, yet he came into the world to redeem the world by his death and resurrection an...
Read more

OATHS -- GONE WITH THE WIND?

Image
Leviticus 19:11-12 Matthew 5:33-37 Even if we've never seen the movie, Gone with the Wind, we're probably familiar with Scarlett O'Hara's oath. Framed by the sunset, Scarlet raises her fist in defiance and says, “As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again!” In today's passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leads us into a new understanding of oaths and profanity. Did the character, Scarlett O’Hara in the movie, Gone with the Wind , take the Lord’s name in vain when she made her famous oath? “As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again. Leviticus 19:11-12 tells us not to take oaths, make promises that profane the Lord’s name, that is take the Lord’s name in vain. Scarlett’s oath is a profane ...
Read more

ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER

Image
"...  and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds...  " --  Hebrews 10:24  ( Amplified Bible) "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."  -- I Thessalonians 5:11 (NRSV)       To encourage means to:   give support, confidence, or hope to someone; give support and advice to someone to help them do or continue to do something; thelp stiulate development.  Encourage and building each other up go hand in hand.  Here are some ways we can encourage and build each other up which will in turn help us become healthy, thriving churches. 1.  Have high regards, great respect and favorable thoughts for each other. 2.  Be thoughtful and intentional when you speak.  Consider where someone is coming from and choose wisely your words. 3.  Be gracious.  When someone makes a mistake, be quick to forgive...
Read more