JR. Forasteros - May 19, 2013
Pentecost
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. She empowers the Church to be the body of Christ, the visible image of God's life, to the world. Everything we do as followers of Jesus flows from the Holy Spirit, and we can do nothing in God's Kingdom without her. What keeps us from living the full life God offers is our refusal (or ignorance) of the Spirit's power. By choosing to connect to the Spirit, we live powerful, victorious lives that present a clear image of God to the world.
From Series: "Already/Not Yet"
Jesus' resurrection wasn't the end of the story; it was the beginning of God's new creation. The Resurrection is God's first step toward reclaiming creation, and we get to be a part of it. By choosing to follow Jesus, we leave the old reality dominated by sin and death and step into God's kingdom, where we find life. This new life has already begun. And yet we're also still waiting, because God's kingdom has not yet come in full. How do we live in the tension between the Already and the Not Yet? This series explores who God calls the Church to be, and how the Holy Spirit enables us to join in God's mission in the space between the Resurrection and the Second Coming. We're not just waiting around for God to show up. God is already here and working, so we're joining in!
Sermon Manuscript Discussion Guide Spiritual Practices Guide
More From "Already/Not Yet"
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The Revelation was never meant to be scary or confusing. It’s a message of hope!
The Revelation to John is the Bible’s scariest, most confusing book.
It’s not meant to be that way. In fact, Jesus himself is giving this revelation to John for the Church. It’s meant to be a message of hope. The problem is that we are strangers to the text. We live 2,000 years away, across a huge culture gap.
But if we are willing to do the hard work to hear Jesus’ revelation through the ears of First Century Christians, the Revelation will come alive for us.
We can hear Jesus’ message of hope to all of us struggling to stay faithful in a faithless culture.
We can learn to hear the Revelation as a beautiful, powerful book, as relevant to day as it was then.
Additionally, I imagined how John would compose his vision if he were writing to the 21st Century American churches rather than the churches of First Century Asia. Read The Revelation to JR. here.
