Where do you feel like you belong?

There has been a decline of social connections over the decades. We are more isolated, inside in our lives of air conditioning and Netflix. And we’re not just isolated but also divided- in a pandemic of loneliness. But we were made for community.

How can we share the gift of Christian community more fully this year?

The book of Ephesians goes deep in looking at God’s design for the church.

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul talks about the POWER of the church through Jesus Christ, he’s trying to wake us up to what we have in Christ.

Paul prays for:

• Wisdom & revelation
• Hearts may be enlightened
• Know the hope to which He has called you
• Know the glorious inheritance of the saints (the gifts of one another, the connections)
• Know his incomparably great power for us who believe

So much of the power of the church comes from the service of so many of the overlooked servants of the church, servants like Gene Powell who passed away over Christmas. Gene served our church in so many ways for so many years.

In Christian community, we are engaging in something mysterious and powerful. When we gather together and the Spirit is among us, something happens. People walk away from church for all kinds of reasons, or sometimes maybe they stay on the outskirts, but in Ephesians, Paul is calling us to sink into it. That we belong. It takes time and at times it’s inconvenient, but there is an alchemy of transformation in which ordinary people become saints as followers of Jesus. There is power in Christian community.

Are you willing to risk, to brave the waters and dive deeper into Christian community? There is surprising power that meets a deep longing in our hearts in and through Christian community.

Opening Heaven: Jesus is Baptized
Weekly Devotional 1.6.2024

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

At the start of Matthew 3, Matthew moves from the birth narrative to John the Baptist preaching the baptism of Jesus. In the gospels, John the Baptist and Jesus are paired together in the announcement of their births and actual births. While John’s birth is seen as a miracle, Jesus' birth was divine, and heaven and earth rejoiced at the newborn Savior. Zechariah was told that he and Elizabeth would bear a son who would prepare a way for the Lord. Now, around 25 years later, after Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to Nazareth, John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness. John preaches that people should repent because the kingdom was at hand—the same message Jesus preached in the next chapter (Matthew 4:17). People then confess their sins and are baptized by John in the Jordan River. Repentance and baptism all go hand in hand. We must first recognize that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Baptism symbolizes the repentance of sin. John is baptizing people who confessed their sins and repented to flee from God’s wrath. Jesus was without sin and took upon God’s full wrath on our behalf. He received the Father’s wrath for our sins so that we could receive his righteousness. This is entirely different than why John the Baptist was baptizing people. They would confess sin to flee from God’s wrath, but Jesus was without sin and took on God’s wrath. Jesus is the opposite on both accounts! While baptizing the repentant crowd, John the Baptist condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees as hypocritical and unrepentant and then spoke of one greater who would come. That greater one is Jesus. Jesus went from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, John responded by saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” John knows that Jesus is greater, that He was without sin, and that he offered a lesser baptism than what Jesus could offer. Why would Jesus need to be baptized if He was without sin? Jesus was getting baptized with sinners as a way to identify with the very ones for whom He gave us His life. Jesus repenting does not mean that he is confessing sin, but rather offering himself fully to God. When we repent, we turn away from sin and towards God’s will for us. We cannot follow sin and God at the same time. By being baptized, Jesus also affirms the message that John is preaching and reveals that He is God’s beloved Son. Together, we see that God’s Son has come down to dwell with the people and live a life of obedience fully reliant on the Father.

Ronney Joe Webb - A Baby Changes Everything - 1 Corinthians 15

•If it weren’t for a loving God, there would be no baby. Good loves us so much that God wanted a relationship with us by sending his son to earth.

•If there were no baby, there would be no sinless man. Jesus did what we cannot do - be perfect in every way.

•If there were no sinless man, there would be no cross. Jesus’ death is the perfect sacrifice for our sinful nature.

•If there were no cross, there would be no resurrection. Jesus died so that we may live.

•If there were no resurrection, there would be no salvation.

•Without salvation, we cannot live eternally with God.

•We need a loving God, we need a baby, we need a sinless man, we need the cross, we need salvation, we need Resurrection because we were DESIGNED to live eternally with God.