New Life

Several years ago, my sister said something to me that completely changed our relationship. I can’t remember if it was on the phone or on skype or over email, but I remember being in my apartment in China being completely overwhelmed with God’s grace and power.

My sister had recently begun moving back towards God, very much like I had years before. We had both decided to follow Christ at a young age, and had periods of obedience and great relationship with Him. However, we also had times of blatant disobedience. There were areas of life that we had not surrendered to Christ. We were not living lives true to who we were – children of the Lord.

So what did she say that changed our relationship? She shared with me that as she had been reading in 2 Corinthians, one verse jumped out at her. That verse was 2 Corinthians 5.17:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The power of Christ in our lives means that we are a new creation. We have new life. We are no longer held captive by our flesh. We live in freedom from sin because of Christ’s death and resurrection.

This verse changed our relationship because from then on, we truly began to relate and interact not just as sisters, but also as sisters in Christ. I am so thankful for Christ’s work in our lives, and for the opportunity to celebrate His victory over death.

This weekend at Grace Church, we are celebrating victory in the lives of 44 people. That is 44 brothers and sisters in Christ, each of whom have powerful stories of redemption. You can hear their stories on our Pastor’s Blog, be encouraged by their stories, and celebrate with them.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” - 1 Peter 1.3-4

It's All About Jesus

What is the Bible about?

I think we all know the answer to that question – Jesus. It’s easy to say the Bible is about Jesus without actually thinking about it. But have you ever thought about how each individual story, song, and prayer is divinely ordained by God to point to His Son? Listen to this message by Tim Keller:

I love this video. I love the truth in it. I love the passion in his voice. I love how excited he is about Jesus and how exciting these truths are to me. We showed this video to our 9^th grade girls a few months back and it has helped frame each passage we study. It has served as a continual reminder of what everything in the Bible points to and what everything in our lives should point to.

Each time we study a new story or passage, I ask the girls, “What is the Bible about?” They answer, “Jesus.” Then I ask, “So what is this particular story about? What is it pointing to?” That is such a great place to begin discussion of how all passages in the Old and New Testaments prepare and point our hearts toward Jesus.

As we study the metanarrative of the Bible – Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation/Restoration – we are continually reminded that the main character is Christ. And as we seek to have our lives in line with God and seek to be a part of His story, we are reminded that Christ, not self, is also the main character in our lives.

It’s not about us.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. – Colossians 1.15-20