Adoption

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18

How great and wonderful it is that we are called sons and daughters of God. We who were once slaves of sin are now sons and daughters of the Creator. Adoption is an amazing thing.

“Adoption is the highest privilege available to fallen children of Adam, with all its privileges accruing to the one who enjoys the status of being an heir of all the promises of God and of everlasting salvation – access to the Father’s throne of grace, his pity, protection, provision, and chastening, and the seal of his Spirit unto the day of redemption.” (Robert Reymond)

In my reading on adoption I came across 6 wonders of adoption that I think will increase our awe of our God. (This is from the book “Body of Divinity” by Thomas Watson)

1. God adopted us when he already had a son of his own. Normally, people adopt because they want kids but don’t have any. In God’s great love he adopted us though he had a son.

2. We have been adopted from the worse situation possible. Slavery to sin. Watson says,
“Pharaoh’s daughter took Moses out of the ark of bulrushes in the water, and adopted him for her son; God did not take us out of the water, but out of our blood, and adopted us. He adopted us from slavery; it is mercy to redeem a slave, but it is more to adopt him.”

3. Our adoption was costly for God. “It was no easy thing to make heirs of wrath (into) heirs of promise”. He sealed the adoption papers by the blood of his own Son.

4. God adopted his enemies. “If a man adopts another for his heir, he will not adopt his mortal enemy; but that God should adopt us when were not only strangers, but enemies, is the wonder of his love.”

5. God is taking great numbers out of the Devil’s family and adopting them into the family of heaven. “God is resolved to increase his family, he brings many sons to glory.”

6. What an honor it is to be adopted by God. We are sons and daughters of the Most High. We are sons and daughters of the great “I AM”.

God is the Gospel

“Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘BEHOLD YOUR GOD!’”

J.I. Packer in his book “Knowing God” says,

“The gospel tells us that our Creator has become our Redeemer. It announces that the Son of God has become man and had died on the cross to save us from eternal judgment. The basic description of the saving death of Christ in the Bible is as a propitiation, that is, as that which quenched God’s wrath against us by obliterating our sins from his sight. God’s wrath is his righteousness reacting against unrighteousness; it shows itself in retributive justice. But Jesus Christ has shielded us from the nightmare prospect of retributive justice by becoming our representative substitute, in obedience to his Father’s will, and receiving the wages of our sin in our place. Justice has been done, for the sins of all that will ever be pardoned were judged and punished in the person of God the Son, and it is on the basis that pardon is now offered to us offenders. Redeeming love and retributive justice join hands, so to speak, at Calvary, for there God showed himself to be ‘just’ and the justifier of him that has faith in Jesus.”

Man’s greatest need is redemption. The greatest need for the students at your table, for you, for your family, for your co-workers, for your enemies is the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4)”

So what is the good news (and by news I do mean a message of joy and victory that is carried by a messenger for the purpose of proclaiming it.)? Let me say first what the good news is NOT. The good news is NOT that there is no pain, or death, or sin, or hell. These are still present with us. The good news is “that the King himself has come and these enemies have been defeated, and if we trust in what he has done and what he promises, we will escape the death sentence and see the glory of our Liberator and live with him forever” (John Piper).

This leads us finally to the purpose of this good news. Why did Jesus come? Why is this news good? John Piper again helps us understand the aim of the gospel:

“What makes all the events of Good Friday and Easter and all the promises they secure good news is that they lead us to God. –Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18—And when we get there, it is God himself who will satisfy our souls forever. Everything else in the gospel is meant to display God’s glory and remove every obstacle in him (such as wrath) and in us (such as our rebellion) so that we can enjoy him forever. God is the gospel. That is, he is what makes the good news good. Nothing less can make the gospel good news. God is the final and highest gift that makes the good news good. Until people use the gospel to get to God, they use it wrongly.”

The Good news of Jesus Christ is not about God seeing us as supremely valuable, but about God seeing himself as supremely valuable and loving us enough to make a way for us in Jesus Christ for the purpose of us enjoying his greatness forever. The good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is that those who put their faith in Christ gain God. He is what makes the gospel good.

“Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘BEHOLD YOUR GOD!’”

Clarifying Our Vision - Contribute

Teaching this week is Brian Manns. This week Brian is teaching on the third step in our process of making disciples: Contribute.

Focus
Contribute is the third step in the disciple making process at First Baptist Church. Contribute involves discerning your spiritual gifts and finding a place of service. Your spiritual gifts play a huge role in this step because if you’re in a place of service that doesn’t match your gifts or personality you won’t feel comfortable doing it. We serve the Lord because we have some very explicit commands in scripture to do so. Serving comes from an outflow of your heart. When you realize how the Lord has done for you, you realize how much we can do for Him.

Quote
Jesus is the perfect example of a servant. Though he is God he didn’t cling to his rights as God but took the place of a servant. If we have been born again our attitude should be that of Jesus. We shouldn’t try to always get and never give. Rather we should ask ourselves, am I doing the will of my Father in Heaven? The best way to bring glory to God is to use the gifts that He has given you to serve Him with a loving and thankful heart.

Key Scripture
Matthew 20:26-28, Matthew 23:11-12, John 12:26, Ephesians 4:11-12, James 2:14-26

Respond
1.What purpose does it serve to serve Christ?
2.What should be the attitude of our heart that would prompt us to serve?
3.What does Jesus mean in Matthew 20:26 where he says “it should not be this way among you”?
4.Why do we have to follow Jesus in all areas of life to serve him?
John 12:26
5.Why does it matter what our spiritual gifts are if we are serving the Lord? Ephesians 4:11-12
6.What does faith without works have to do with serving God?
James 2:26

One another

The Bible commands us at least 32 times concerning our relationships with one another:

Accept one another - Rom. 15:7
Admonish one another - Rom. 15:14
Bear with one another - Col. 3:13
Build-up one another - Rom. 14:19, 1 Thess. 5:11
Care for one another - 1 Cor. 12:25
Comfort one another - 1 Thess 4:18, 2 Cor. 1:3-4
Confess your sins to one another - James 5:16
Do not complain against one another - James 5:9
Be devoted to one another - Romans 12:10
Encourage one another - 1 Thess 5:11
Do not envy one another - Gal. 5:26
Fellowship with one another - 1 John 1:6-7
Forgive one another - Col 3:13, Eph 4:32
Greet one another - 1 Peter 5:14
Be hospitable to one another - 1 Peter 4:9
Be humble toward one another - 1 Peter 5:5
Be kind to one another - Eph. 4:32
Do not lie to one another - Col. 3:9
Love one another - John 13:34-35, 1 Thess. 3:12
Live in peace with one another - 1 Thess 5:13
Pray for one another - James 5:16
Prefer one another - Romans 12:10
Regard one another as more important than self - Phil. 2:3
Be of the same mind toward one another - Romans 12:16
Seek after that which is good for one another - 1 Thess. 5:15
Serve one another - 1 Peter 4:10, Gal. 5:13
Do not speak against one another - James 4:11
Stir up one another - Hebrews 10:24
Be subject to one another - Eph. 5:21
Do not sue one another - 1 Cor. 6:7
Teach one another - Col. 3:16
Be truthful to one another - Eph. 4:25

Clarifying Our Vision - Connect

This Sunday we will be looking at our second step in our church's process of making disciples.

Here are the main Scripture passages that we will be looking at and some response questions to get the conversation going.

Scripture:
Ephesians 4:4-6, Ephesians 2:14-22, Ephesians 3:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12.

Central Points of the Study:
1. A Christian is not only a child of God, but a member of the family of God.
2. Christians cannot grow to the fulness of God by living independently of others.
3. Personal transformation takes place in the context of redemptive community.

Personal Applications from these points:
1. I continually need to learn more about God's love for me in Christ, and I cannot do this alone.
2. I need to understand my gifts and my role in the larger body of Christ.
3. God calls me to be committed to a lifestyle of mtually edifying relationships.

Relational Application:
4. I want to pray for others to gain a greater understanding of God's love for them in Christ.
5. I want to help others understand and own their vital place in the body of Christ.
6. I want to help others grasp the privilege and responsibility of participating in intimate Christian relatioships that promote biblical growth and change.

Main question:
1. How does your life reflect your commitment to meaningful relationships that help you grow and change? What things get in the way or serve as replacements for you? Some possibilities might include:
-- The busyness of life (keeping relationships distant and casual)
-- Being totally immersed in frindships that are activity-and happiness-based.
-- Consciuous avoidance of close relationships.
-- Formal commitment to church meetings and activities but no real connectins with people.
-- One-way ministry driven relationships (always ministering to others but never allowing yourself to be ministered to).
-- Self-centered relationships that only look to receive and not give.
-- A private "just me and God" approach to the Christian life.

More questions...
---What opportunities for redemptive relationships are already in your life? (friendships, parents, small groups)? Are you committed to and experiencing the personal transformation that God has planned for these relationships? If not, what things are in the way?
---IF you do not have this kind of relationship in your life, what is God calling you to do so that you can participate in a redemptive community?