April 22, 2014 - Along the way ...

Last week was a roller coaster of emotions for me as we made our way through another Holy Week.

On the one hand, I confessed that Good Friday is one of the most awkward days of the church calendar.

Its hard to know what to say when confronted with the reality of Jesus' cross.   Words fail to capture the immensity of that moment.  Besides it seems strange to be excited that Jesus died, and yet as Jesus Himself said, "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31)  It had to happen in order for us to be saved, but I still feel awkward being happy about it.  Do you feel the same way?

On the other hand, Sunday I confessed the opposite.  Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!  We announced, "Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!"

Whereas Friday is awkward and words seem inappropriate, Sunday is completely different.   When I consider the implications of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, I just can't stop talking about it.  There are never enough words to explain and relate all the benefits that are ours through faith, or all of the sad things that are coming untrue because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

I highlighted three benefits; three sad things coming untrue as taught by the Heidelberg Catechism (a tool we use to teach the Christian faith - it covers the apostles' creed, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the ten commandments, and the prayer Jesus taught us to pray sometimes referred to as the Lord's Prayer).  Those three benefits are: righteousness; Christ's righteousness which is imputed to us through faith, new life; the new life we have because the Holy Spirit is alive in us and we are already being made new, and resurrection; not simply Jesus' resurrection, but also the assurance of our own resurrection after we die.

I admit that these three benefits are all amazing, but this year the hope of the resurrection struck me most.  Since my dad died 6 months ago last Sunday, the hope of his resurrection through faith has brought me and my family comfort and has given us peace.  That has been the goodness of the good news that has impacted me most this year.  

So what about you?  What benefit of Jesus' resurrection from the dead means the most to you?
How will you complete this sentence: "Because Jesus rose from the dead I have ..."?
I invite you to share your own testimonies that we might encourage one another as journey together along the way ...

Blog post for the week of March 31 - Resurrection Sunday, 2013

Jesus is alive, and we have all the reason in the world to celebrate!  But what specifically are some of those reasons?  To learn more let's look at I Corinthians 15.

(Read I Corinthians 15)

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (20)

Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection.  He is the archetype, the pioneer, the original, but He is not the only one who will ever experience resurrection from the dead!  Jesus is the first fruits, and and there will be many more to follow!

I love how Paul describes the difference between a natural body made alive again (i.e. resuscitation) such as Lazarus, etc. and the spiritual body which is the result of resurrection.  (see verses 42-44)
That is such a great picture of what the resurrected bodies will be like of all who place true faith in Jesus.  And we are guaranteed this resurrection through faith because as Paul says, "And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man (Adam), so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man (Jesus)." (49)

This is our hope!  We will be like Jesus, and even now the Holy Spirit is shaping us to become more like Jesus, so that we can more accurately bear His image as a testimony to all creation that Jesus is alive!  Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

So what about you?  What do you notice in I Corinthians 15 about Jesus' resurrection that gives you reason to celebrate?  Let's share our hope as we journey with Jesus together along the way ...