from 1 Peter 1:3-9
In our seven week series, “All Things Made New,” we consider the work that Jesus is doing in this world…a work that we don’t have to wait until time has reached its fulfillment to experience, but that we can experience and be a part of now!
As we conclude our series, we are faced with the question, “In what or who do you anchor your hope?” So often we find ourselves let down or disappointed by people or things of this world, and while we were made for relationship and we were made with this longing for that which is NEW, we were meant to find the fullness of both, not in people or earthly pursuits, but in Jesus-the One Who makes possible for us a hope that is enduring and unchangeable!
w/ Vern Collins
from John 15:1-11
A mark of maturity is independence. Whether it is making decisions on your own, setting your own curfew, paying rent, buying a car, owning a home, attaining a job, trying something new, or starting a career, the ability to think, act, care for oneself shows independence…which translates to this world as a sign of maturity.
The problem comes when that thinking or that value system begins to affect our understanding of life with Jesus. No matter how much we accomplish, we are all fragile people living fragile lives.
What if, your maturity in Christ weren’t about exercising your independence, but becoming more deeply dependent on Jesus? In John 15, Jesus calls that, “remaining,” or, “abiding,” in Him.
What would it look like for you to embrace your fragility, rather than try and cover it up with all that you are chasing or accomplishing?
w/ Vern Collins
from Luke 24:36-53
Paul promises in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians that if anyone is in Christ then they are a new creation…he goes on to say that the old has gone and the new has come (from 2nd Corinthians 5).
That is quite a promise for those desperate for change. It is a promise that is full of hope that things don’t have to continue to be as they are…that the struggles we currently have we might just be able to lay down, right? Well, yes…sort of.
What if the change that is promised does not have anything to do with your circumstances, but you within them…or your perspective about them?
We tend to get frustrated when we don’t see the change we long for as followers of Christ, but perhaps we are looking for change in the wrong place.
What if the reality were you were just few adjustments away from experiencing the change you long for in Jesus…change that sets you loose on this world as one who can shape it for God’s Kingdom?
Things change when things have changed.
w/ Vern Collins
from Luke 24:13-35
It is not uncommon for significant change in life to be met with confusion, self-doubt, unrest about how it affects both the present and the future.
Encountering Jesus can be no different. If you’ve given your life to following Jesus and welcoming Him as Savior, then what happens once the novelty wears off? What happens when the music stops, when the weekend is over, when life creeps or crashes back in? Doubt. Fear. Uneasiness. Confusion.
When these feelings start to creep in, guilt is not often far behind.
Take heart…for it is right in the midst of their confusion and fear and doubt that Jesus met the Emmaus road travelers and journeyed with them through it.
w/ Vern Collins
from Zephaniah 3:14-20/Luke 1:46-55
Advent is about expectation…the expectation that God will continue to fulfill His promises. And if God is still fulfilling His promises then isn’t God still acting…and if God is acting, then things will change? Right?
Right. The problem is we don’t often see it. We look for change in our lives, but don’t see it, we expect our circumstances to improve, but aren’t seeing any thing different…so if God is acting, why aren’t things changing? The question, perhaps, is not whether or not things are changing, but, “are you looking for change in the right place?”
w/ Vern Collins
