Deeply Rooted: Growing up in Christ

Did you know there are two ways to God? They are Plan A and Plan B. We will look at these and weigh which one is the best.

We sometimes find it quite difficult to reconcile justice and grace. Is God two-faced? Is he angry one day and loving the next? Is the Old Testament God of wrath the same as the New Testament God of mercy? This week we will look at how the powerful story of the God of justice and grace unfolds—and what it means for us as his people.

Due to technical difficulties the first couple of minutes of the sermon have not been recorded. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

Snapshot to sermon: Not only does injustice come with the horror of human suffering and the terror of demonic evil, but it also raises troubling questions. Where is God? Why doesn't God act? Where are good people? Why don't we act?  What can be done about horrific miscarriages of injustice?  The good news about injustice is that God is against it and that He uses ordinary people to bring His justice and mercy to others. 

Is it possible for complex, busy human beings like us to have a genuine spirituality, to follow Jesus, to know the Eternal God, by faith, to grow ‘roots’ in ultimate reality? Let’s look at a vision of discipleship that can be unfolded as 'a gospel-centered life' in which, admitting that it is vital to practice the external disciples of Bible, prayer, fellowship and witness, there is a New Testament sense in which the primary discipline of the Christian life is an internal discipline of 'believing the gospel for myself'... leading to a growing awareness of God’s holiness and my sinfulness and need, a vision that liberates from pretending and performing, from arrogance and shame, where I can be honest about my weaknesses and brokenness, and live in awe of the love of God, focused through the lens of the cross of Christ. Such a vision can provide a spiritual rootfulness that grows into fruitfulness, to the glory of God!

Last week we looked at how we can walk with God in an intimate relationship, learning to receive our new life from Him. This week we’ll look at the dynamic of how we can take this new life into our daily lives. As we step into our world, our lives become the place where the ‘ways and mindset of God’ meets the ‘ways and mindset of the world’. What does this look like as we go about our daily lives? What is the mindset, that sets us apart from the world? What are some thresholds that can keep back the life of Christ in our day to day affairs? 

Walking with God in intimate relationship is the foundation of our spiritual lives. We are spiritual beings created for an intimate and transforming relationship with our Creator – both now and forever. As we learn to develop a conversational relationship with God – telling Him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing, understanding, and obeying what He is saying to us – our ability to “grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ” will grow and enable us to be transformed more and more into His likeness.