This past Sunday I preached from Romans chapter 8 and we explored the idea of living a resurrection life. We need to remember that the resurrection life is a hear and now reality instead of thinking that life with God will happen when we die and "go to heaven."
Romans 8:9 tells us "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in teh realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you..." The here/now reality of our life with Jesus means we can live differently because we're united with Him. In fact, Romans 8 tells us we have an obligation to live life in the Spirit.
What does this kind of life look like? I believe it means taking time to regularly celebrate what God is doing. Our SUnday gatherings can be times to pause and celebrate the resurrection life that Jesus is living through us... sharing stories, singing His praises, praying for one another.
It means celebrating together on other days as well... baking, painting, cooking, eating, drinking together in praise of God's story.
It means boldly and courageously entering into conversations with friends and neigbhours about who Jesus is and what He has done.
It means participating in God's story of renewal wihtout fear. After all, Jesus has already defeated death itself s we're free to risk all things in the name of Jesus because we've literally got nothing to lose.
It means giving abundantly from what we have to bless others. We won't hoard what we have but will look at our bank balances, our hands, our homes, and our time and ask "How can I use all that God has given me to bless His people?"
It means making use of our front yards - pulling our BBQs into our driveways so that we can invite neigbhours to join us so that they can experience the goodness of the resurrected life.
It means Sunday gatherings (and gatherings on every other day of the week!) where we can't wait to share about what Jesus has done in our lives... where we confess how we didn't measure up... but express our thankfulness to Jesus because He always measures up.
It means sharing stories about how we've sought to bless our negbhours.
It means meeting in prayer gatherings, coming before the Father and asking Him to change us, to help us become more like Jesus.
It means that instead of wishing that someone would "provide us with what we need" we would each grow as disciples, taking the initiative to seek out the help and support we need... instead of expecting that a few hours together on a Sunday morning or at a weekly Bible study will cut it.
The resurrected life means living with the awareness that eternal life is a here and now thing... that we can praise and honour Jesus in everything we do... even if it is eating and drinking (to paraphrase Paul's words to the Corinthians a bit!).
So, how will you seek to live a resurrected life this week?
Blessings,
Pastor Brad
This Sunday (April 23rd) Pastor Brad will be traveling to the BCBA (that's the British Columbia Baptist Association) Pastors Conference. The conference is a time for the pastors of our association to meet, to learn, to laugh, to encourage and more!
For Brad the Pastors Conference is a sure sign of spring... so why not head to mentimeter and share some of the things about spring and summer that you're looking forward to? You can scan the QR code or CLICK HERE to share your answers.
Our upcoming Pancake Breakfast and Reconciliation Discussion has been postponed... only because we've heard that a number of people will be out of town and don't want to miss it.
Be watching for more information about this upcoming event! We're aiming for an early June date.
Family Meal is a GO for Thursday.
The food will be ready at 5:00pm so join us if you can!
