The Bible’s declaration of present and future Redemption is as revolutionary now as it was two millennia ago: God came into this broken creation to begin redeeming it. Redemption has started in us, God’s people, and eventually, it will be completed in us and through us. Our souls and bodies alike will be redeemed. Both the human and sub-human worlds will be redeemed. Redemption is for all of creation!
Sermons by Arik Stewart (Page 4)
In Genesis chapter two, God reveals that his intent for the world has always been a symbiotic relationship between human and sub-human creation. Our original occupation was caring for plants and animals to sustain and multiply life for our enjoyment and God’s glory.
Who are we? What is our purpose? What will bring us fulfillment? We are children of God, created to be in relationship with Him, follow His commandments and demonstrate His character for His glory and our joy.
In the vineyard teaching, Jesus often describes fruit as being the result of abiding in Him. So, what is fruit? We believe fruit is anything and everything Jesus is doing in us and through us—in our community and other communities—all of which is worth celebrating.
We don’t suffer without reason. Because, when we suffer, people see our hope amidst it and are intrigued. When they ask about the reason for our hope, we have an opportunity to share our faith in Jesus. Are you prepared to share?
Long ago, king Solomon had to navigate many personal and public demands. Wisely, he sought help from God, Who gave him wisdom and inspired him to record it. Despite the span of thousands of years, our lives aren’t that different from Solomon’s. We live with increasing personal and public demands. Thankfully, God’s transcendent wisdom is applicable to our lives today.
We long for the fantastical and we long for the relational. Our resurrected king is the origin and perfect embodiment of them both; the only one who can fully fulfill our longing.
We believe disciples follow Jesus, are changed by Jesus, and join Jesus in His mission of love. But when we are working in His mission, we often find that loving God and loving one another is easier than loving our neighbors, especially when fishing for people. Perceived failure in sharing the gospel well, both past and present, can be discouraging, but we trust that Jesus is not done with us. Just like Peter, we trust that the more we follow Jesus, the more He will change us to become effective fishers of people, giving us immense purpose and hope.
In the beginning, God gave us weeks. Then He gave us instructions on how to use them. When Jesus came, he gave us freedom to use weeks at our own discretion. The early church chose to gather on Sundays because Jesus came back to life on the first day of the week. On that day, he shared the good news with his disciples and they acknowledged that it was with great sacrifice that the gap between us and God was bridged. The same thing happened again a week later. Over 100,000 weeks later, the same thing is still happening.
When we, as Christians, recall the ways that we have failed to love one another, the conclusion of our self-assessment should always be that we are righteous, not condemned; Christ’s perfection has overcome our imperfection. And within this mercy and grace, we are free to love more and more. “Do so more and more” was Paul’s charge to the Thessalonians. What would his charge be to Denverites?