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Made You Alive with Christ

In David LaChapelle’s painting, “Last Supper,” Jesus is surrounded by the sinners of today, yet Romans 5:6-8 tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Thus in the cross we see God’s love shown through His benevolence.

I.  Colossians 2:13-14.  We were dead in our sin, but God made us alive with Christ.  Through His work on the cross, we can see His benevolence through His forgiveness and justice.  While it is easy to see love in not counting our sins against us, it is harder to see love in Jesus dying to pay for our sin.

II. Hebrews 4:14-16.  Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, and grace is getting what we don’t deserve.  Because of God’s benevolence in the form of His Son on the cross, we don’t have to be eternally punished for our sin and will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus instead (Romans 3:21-26).

III. Ephesians 2:1-5.  We who have received God’s benevolence must, in turn, show benevolence to others.  This is illustrated well in Jesus’ parable of Matthew 18:21-35 in the story of the debtor, forgiven of his debt, who wouldn’t forgive another of the debt owed to him.

God’s love, as shown through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, brings us to another table, one laid out for the wedding supper of the Lamb.  We are spiritual beggars, knowing we are not worthy of a scrap from the King of King’s table, yet we find ourselves in robes washed clean and seated at the table, feasting for all eternity.

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The Need to Intercede

A 65 year-old grandmother, who cares for two disabled siblings and houses several adult grandchildren on the bank of the Saranac River, just lost everything in recent ice jams and subsequent flooding.  Although it has been years since she and some members of her family have come to church, I have been connecting her with various agencies with which I have contact and of course with her church family that wants to know how to help.

We all have a need for intercession and in turn need to intercede for others.  I have come across both givers and takers in my twenty years of ministry, and it is certainly the givers who have the hardest time accepting help.

I.  Exodus 32:7-14.  When God wanted to destroy the Israelites He had just saved out of Egypt because they had fallen into idolatry, Moses interceded for them, even offering to take God’s punishment upon himself.  Concerned for God’s Name, Moses even turned down God’s offer to make him into a great nation in place of Israel.  Being an intercessor can often take self-denial and sacrifice.

II.  Hebrews 7:23-25.  No one would know that more than Jesus, who as our High Priest, laid down His own life to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father with His own blood.  Like He did for the Israelites, God did not wait for us to repent first, but rather, before we realized our need, while we were still enemies to Him, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

III.  1 Timothy 2:1-3.  Because of the intercession that we have received, we in turn intercede for others, regardless of how they have conducted themselves towards us or the church in the past.  This is how God loved us, and so we in turn love others (1 John 3:16-18).  This pleases God who wants all men to be saved, and who knows that your intercession might lead them to a knowledge of the truth?

Will helping this giving grandmother lead her back to God?  Only God knows.  But, already she has acknowledged that the church has always been there for her–even when she was not attending.

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This age is passing away

Our blessed Father in heaven, forgive our sins. Keep us from sinning. Help us overcome temptation. We rejoice in the remission of all our transgressions. Help us to live worthily of the gospel. We want to be righteous people. The gift of Christ’s sacrifice is precious to us. Praise to you for your grace.

Let our souls rest in you. Keep the worries of the world at bay. Remind us that you are our guarantee and protection of security in this world. Show us the ephemeral nature of this age. It is passing away. All that it contains will be destroyed. So we want to trust in you and find our peace in your Son.

We pray for our governing authorities. May they rule fairly. Let us live in peace and quietness. May our society be more just. We are grateful for the justice of the final day and for the mercy you extend to us. In the present, we ask that we may live in security and confidence, thanks to the proper actions of government.

Build up your church. Let us place upon it its proper value. Let us see in it the expression of your rule. Help us to dedicate ourselves to your people. Make the body of Christ a priority for us. Show us ways to do good, especially to those of the family of faith. Thank you for giving us a loving community of saints, among whom we may grow, learn to serve, and develop our hope.

Give us a word of encouragement to speak to the tired and weary. Show us how to admonish and correct with love and tenderness. Teach us to love sincerely and earnestly. Restore in us your image, in Christ, that we might, with patience and strength, be people who care and share. Above all, help us to share the message of salvation.

May you be glorified among us and in the world, as we live by the power of your Spirit and walk in the ways of your commandment.

—•••—

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Where Joy Descends Like Rain

O Lord, to walk before you I’m content,
Where peace flowers along the rocky way,
Where joy descends like rain to liven the heart,
And love perfumes the air with heaven’s scent.

Let not the flesh make us, your saints, lose sight,
Keep feet from stepping aside, in mud and clay,
From us let not the Spirit’s breath depart,
Permit us to walk under your warming light.

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This day with hope

Father, so many people groups remain to be reached. They live not only in remote corners of the earth, but near us as well, in poor ghettos and rich enclaves, behind walls of their own choosing or imposed upon them, people considered sane and others thought to be crazy, people who suffer great pain or wrongs, others who live in pleasure and luxury. Let us never refrain from speaking and from offering the salvation in Christ that we have come to know.

Let us see this day with hope and expectation. Help us hold on to faith in the flurry of activities, in the whirl of work and demands. Show us the opportunities that lie before us. Give us courage to create moments of openness by our demeanor and speech.

Make us see that in our world we deal with souls who will live forever in heaven or hell, people who were created in your image, individuals with perspectives, opinions, fears, and ambitions. Help us hear and observe to understand, that we might more effectively share the truth of the gospel.

Let the Good News be to us our life. Let us be willing to surrender all for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be wholly dependent upon the guidance of your Spirit. Let your love be our most precious possession. Let your presence comfort and encourage us at every step of our journey toward eternity. Amen!

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Among the Olive Trees

Take from me, O Lord, my every burden.
To you, O God, I give this day’s battle.
Let this small struggle never return to me.
To you I release it, surrendered now and forever.

Give plentiful help to meet my needs this hour:
Your hand to raise me up, your sacrifice
To pull me out of self and into grace,
Your love to stir rejoicing that shatters silence.

Your Spirit’s gift of presence, give me fully,
That I might have to freely give to others;
Among the olive trees my Lord was never alone.
And I, with him, alone will never be.

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Love, the more excellent way

Introduction

  • Love is a big word. It covers a wide range of meanings in our language. By studying what the Bible says about it, we can come to an understanding of what it means in God’s plan for us.
  • The Corinthians loved knowledge, philosophy, and personalities. As a result, they lost the essence of the Way of Christ.
  • They suffered from the same syndrome as the first disciples, a competitive love of first place.
  • Paul presents love as the cure to this syndrome.

Love in 1 Corinthians 13

  1. Love in context, 1 Cor 12-14: The chapter comes in the center of a discussion about the proper use of gifts in the congregation.
    1. As such, love is the centerpiece and the motivation for the use of gifts.
    2. Love is the solution to selfish ambition.
  2. Essential love, 1 Cor 13.1-3: Motivation matters. If we don’t do things out of love, then our works bring us no benefit.
  3. Active love, 1 Cor 13.4-7: Love is not a feeling, but a cluster of attitudes and actions that benefit the beloved one.
  4. Unending love, 1 Cor 13.8-13: The nature of love is not affected by eternity, as are faith and hope. On the contrary, it comes into its fullest light.
    1. Miracles—which the Corinthians loved so much—would cease, but not love.
    2. God is love, 1 Jn 4.8, 16. As such, it partakes of his eternal nature.

Conclusion

  • “Pursue love” 1 Cor 14.1, and seek those things that will properly express it and that will edify the family of faith. (Edification is the key word of chapter 14.)
  • Since God is love, let him define it, sustain it, express it, preserve it, and nurture it in us.
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The Night Is Gone

The night is gone, the day has dawned,
And God smiles on his chosen people;
Be the love of Christ our strength and bond:
When trials assail, let hearts be peaceful.

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The day when we live

Heavenly Father, let this be a day of peace, when fullness and joy and blessing populate the hours.

Let this be a day of security, when we rest in you and find safety in your shadow.

Let this be a day of sowing, when the seed of the gospel is scattered far and wide and the power of salvation comes to needy souls.

Let this be a day of reaping, with shouts of joy at seeing friends and family and perfect strangers come into your family.

Let this be a day of faithfulness, as we decide in every situation to do your will and please you in all things.

Let this be a day of hope, with sights set on heaven and the prayer of Jesus’ return on our lips.

Let this be the day when love is shown and shared and received, when people are treated as equals, and our time is dedicated to others, and our obedience brings to us your special presence.

O Lord, let today be the day when we live for these things and not for the world and its passions and ephemeral pleasures; let today be yours and a closer step toward our life in heaven with you.

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Garb of Glory

Surround me with your rousing love,
Awaken me from this worldly slumber;
Draw me not to dreams of greatness,
Save from Satan’s lies and sin;
Give me, Lord, your garb of glory,
A double portion, to deaden desire
For the pride of life—impress in me,
Upon my soul, the powers invisible—
Surrender your servant to mercy’s song.