TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:19-20
Listen: Colossians 1
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Our goal for the past twelve weeks has been to see the real Jesus—not some caricature that’s mashed up with other things in our culture but what he actually said, who he truly was, and what he really did. It is our hope you have been moved deeper in your existing convictions, or moved closer toward belief.
We close our series, A Doubter’s Guide to Jesus, with John Dickson’s words, “Following Jesus, then, means learning and applying the wisdom of the Teacher, alleviating suffering in the name of the Healer, and trying to live out one’s imperfect life within the larger, perfect life of Jesus, the true Israel. … it is to bear the name (and shame) of the Christ and to revere him as the Judge of all injustice, including the injustice in me. … it is to approach him as the Friend of sinners, as the Temple of divine presence and mercy, and the Saviour who died for us all. … Jesus is Adam, the progenitor of a new humanity and the guarantor of my own resurrection to eternal life. With this hope I can sit loosely to the claims of my culture, knowing that all earthly empires pass into oblivion while the kingdom of the true Caesar reigns eternal. … [He is] One who values humility above status, [being a Servant] above power, and generosity above privilege.”
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this sermon series. So, what have you learned? What views of Jesus have changed? As we move into the Advent season, say a prayer of gratitude to Jesus the servant who came to die for us, and what he means in your life.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
