A Brand New Day
While God never changes in His nature, He does change the way He works with human beings. Jesus announced a significant change when He held up a cup and identified it with His blood that would establish a new covenant. After being raised from the dead, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. They waited and the Spirit came! The Church was born. That day, God began working in a brand-new way. And to this day, we are participants together with God as He works uniquely among us.
In this series, we’ve defined ReChurch as engaging in a fresh way with the miracle-movement of God called the church. How are you engaging in the church in a fresh way? What things pull you away from wholehearted involvement in God’s movement called the church?
Read Luke 22:19-20. What is the new thing Jesus is describing? What is the difference between God’s unchanging nature (Hebrews 13:8) and the reality that God does change the way He works with people?
God’s change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant is drastic. Look at the following verses that highlight some of these differences: Hebrews 8:6, 13, 9:15, Romans 6:14, 7:6, 2 Corinthians 3:6-8.
After Jesus was raised to life, what did He tell the disciples to do? (Acts 1:4-8) How was the church birthed into existence? (Acts 2:1-4)
You had nothing to do with the circumstances of your birth. You’re alive now because of God’s purposes. Read Acts 17:26-27. What is your purpose in life? How would you know if you have lived a successful life?
Further Reading
Searching for the Generous Life
Just like modest investments can grow over time, our investment into God's kingdom generates growth and produces eternal dividends. The apostle Paul presented the Macedonian believers as an example of generous giving to the Corinthian church and to us. Let's explore...
Searching for Reconciliation
Confronting others concerning biblical/theological compromise is never easy or pleasant. Such encounters must be handled with sensitivity to the needs of others, directed by spiritual wisdom and the Scriptures, and guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul closed chapter two of...
Searching for Courage
On the surface, hearing God and following His commands seems straightforward. However, when God calls us to do something that generates fear in us and feels daunting, second-guessing His call becomes reasonable. Finding the courage to obey such a call is overwhelming....
Searching for the Abundant Life
Jesus explicitly explained his purpose when He said “…I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). He said similar things many times, and these ideas are repeated, over and over again, by those who wrote the New Testament. Yet many people,...
Searching for Real Friendship
Some relationships may imitate friendship, but there’s no substitute for the real thing. Exploring the relationship between David and Jonathan in the Bible, we’ll identify some distinguishing features of friendship that are often overlooked and discover how to infuse...