Dear Saints:
Change is a word we're hearing an awful lot about recently. We hear phrases like "Change we can believe in" and "The change we need" coming out of Washington, D.C. Certainly our times cry out for deep change. And yet, the change we most need and the kind of change that we can truly believe in can't possibly be enacted by our government. The deepest kind of change happens at a spiritual level and must be pursued on a personal level by followers of Christ.
Last Sunday we began looking at the process of change promised in the Bible. We focused on the call we have to keep in step with the Spirit and how the Spirit both claims us as Christ's followers and challenges the false self's agenda in our lives. This Sunday we will go further as we explore the difficult notion of dying to self that Jesus puts at the heart of the gospel.
In preparation for Sunday, please read first Luke 9:23-26 and then Romans 6:1-14. As you read Luke's passage, I invite you to focus on what it means to pick up our cross daily to follow Christ. What is this cross Jesus is talking about? Why must it be picked up each day? As you read the Romans passage, ask yourself, why does Paul consider dying to self so necessary to our hope as Christians?
I would encourage you to take your time to reflect on what it means to "count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." What are ways of doing this that can make a difference in your life?
I would encourage you to take your time to reflect on what it means to "count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." What are ways of doing this that can make a difference in your life?
Please be in prayer for those who are leading this service as well as all those who will attend.
In Christ,
Bryan
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