THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF GOD'S WORD (4 OF 13)
by Drew Hunter
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
This content is part of a series.
The Transforming Power of God's Word (4 of 13)
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
We want to be a church that has a certain kind of culture.
We want to have a gospel culture.
A culture that reflects the way that God treats us in Jesus.
When we receive the grace of Jesus, we begin to reflect the grace of Jesus.
When we are welcomed by Jesus, we begin to welcome others like Jesus.
And we are committed to taking Jesus' call to follow him as disciples seriously. And we are committed to helping one another obey him. This is a culture of discipleship: We submit our lives under the grace and authority of Jesus; and we help one another do the same.
In other words, God has made us a new humanity. We are a new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostle Paul said, ''If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.'' God created the world... and he is renewing it, starting with the church.
But how do we grow in this? How is this culture created and cultivated?
Think with me how the first creation was made. Light was created. The sea was filled with fish. The land was filled with animals. The sky was filled with birds. The ground was covered with fruit trees.
And how did all of this happen? Through God's words. He spoke, and things were made. He said, ''Let there be light'' and there was light.
He spoke creation into existence. And he speaks the new creation into existence as well. If you are a Christian, you are a new creation. You were spiritually dead, and you were made alive. And 2 Corinthians 4:6 tells us what happened: ''God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.''
Just as he spoke light into the darkness of creation, he spoke spiritual light into the darkness of our hearts. And this is the light of the gospel: He brought the words of the gospel to us, and he spoke them to us, and we came a ...
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
We want to be a church that has a certain kind of culture.
We want to have a gospel culture.
A culture that reflects the way that God treats us in Jesus.
When we receive the grace of Jesus, we begin to reflect the grace of Jesus.
When we are welcomed by Jesus, we begin to welcome others like Jesus.
And we are committed to taking Jesus' call to follow him as disciples seriously. And we are committed to helping one another obey him. This is a culture of discipleship: We submit our lives under the grace and authority of Jesus; and we help one another do the same.
In other words, God has made us a new humanity. We are a new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostle Paul said, ''If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.'' God created the world... and he is renewing it, starting with the church.
But how do we grow in this? How is this culture created and cultivated?
Think with me how the first creation was made. Light was created. The sea was filled with fish. The land was filled with animals. The sky was filled with birds. The ground was covered with fruit trees.
And how did all of this happen? Through God's words. He spoke, and things were made. He said, ''Let there be light'' and there was light.
He spoke creation into existence. And he speaks the new creation into existence as well. If you are a Christian, you are a new creation. You were spiritually dead, and you were made alive. And 2 Corinthians 4:6 tells us what happened: ''God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.''
Just as he spoke light into the darkness of creation, he spoke spiritual light into the darkness of our hearts. And this is the light of the gospel: He brought the words of the gospel to us, and he spoke them to us, and we came a ...
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