worship preview

I made a comment in my Easter sermon that our opportunity as Christians is not to mark Easter but to let Easter mark us.  Simply recognizing the reality of the resurrection is far short of what God desires for us.  His hope is that we might live a life infused with the life-giving, life-raising power of Christ.   In one of his letter, the apostle Paul gives very direct and helpful instruction on how this hope can be realized in our lives.  He writes:  1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).   As the apostle points out, by the mysterious and marvelous grace of God, we have already been raised with Christ spiritually.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead has elevated us to a place of being eternally beloved sons and daughters of God.  That reality invites us to something profoundly important in our daily lives: to set our hearts and minds on things above.    This Sunday we will focus on this crucially important aspect of the Christian life.  The title of the message will be "Becoming Who We Already Are."  My hope and prayer is that in the course of this service, we might be both inspired and equipped to be marked by the power of Christ's resurrection in the midst of our daily lives.    As we approach Sunday, I would encourage you to ponder these questions: what does it mean to set our hearts and minds?  how much latitude do we have to determine such settings?  if you were to look at your thoughts and attitudes now, how well are you doing in following what Paul suggests?  what are some specific daily practices that would allow his teaching to be more deeply followed in your life?   May this Sunday be a time for changing lives by the power and glory of God.   --Bryan