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The Eternal Hope of Christmas

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Advent. No Comments on The Eternal Hope of Christmas

Hope. Peace. Love. Joy. The four themes of advent help us to remember the great impact of Jesus coming to Earth in human form. And hope is a concept that we sometimes have a poor view of. When we speak of the hope of Jesus, it’s not a vague good feeling or uncertain but positive vibe; it’s a solid belief in the fulfillment of the promises of a faithful God.  And so as we reflect on what Christmas means for our sense of hope, we are reminded of several promises.

Christmas reminds us of the hope of life eternally spent with God.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. – 1 John 5:13

For the believer, we know that our future is kept by the Father. And we KNOW that we have eternal life. That’s a secure position, not something that will change on a whim. And verse 14 goes on to say this-

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

We have CONFIDENCE that we have access to the Father’s ear! That alone is a mind-blowing thought, that the Creator of the universe listens to our small voice! And not just listens to us out of obligation, but out of love.And when we hear “eternal” in this verse, we tend to only consider eternity future, the unimaginable life in heaven with Jesus and without sin. But our hope is not just for a future that we wait to attain!

Christmas reminds us of the hope we have in our daily walk with the Lord. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10

The reminder of salvation through faith alone because of God’s calling is a great stabilizer for when we feel unworthy or inadequate. God saved us through His doing, not our own, and yet He also prepared for us good works to do, fueling our desire to become more like Jesus and stay close to Him and His Word! The recreation of our lives in Jesus is a feat that only God could do, and the fact of Jesus’ human incarnation reminds us that we have a Savior who understands intimately what it is like to live on this planet.  The beginning of His physical presence that we celebrate on Christmas is an awesome picture of the Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). The broken world we live in will inevitably have trials and tribulations, but the Christmas story speaks into this as well.

Christmas reminds us of the hope of life beyond the distresses of this world. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:3-6

Listen to the power of the words here. Imperishable. Undefiled. Unfading. Kept in heaven for you, guarded by God’s power. These strongholds help us as we face our trials. Our hope is not in something flimsy or imperfect, but in an amazingly powerful God who will see us through all difficulties. And while we know this life will have struggles, we know that’s not the end of the story

Christmas reminds us of the hope of a renewed life to come. 

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

This is how hope helps us to live out our faith. While hope may be set on things unseen, we have full assurance that God is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory. THIS is the hope that we have, not that life will be easy, but that the worst we face here is the worst we will ever experience, and it pales in comparison to our eternal future.As Christmas draws near, I am praying this over you just as Paul did over the believers in Rome at the end of his letter. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).

Love in Christ,
Pastor Ben

The Gospel for Everyday Life

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Gospel. No Comments on The Gospel for Everyday Life

We’ve all been there. We walk into a room to grab an item only to have that needed item escape your memory. “Why did I walk in here?” we say to ourselves as we bumble around aimlessly, trying to remember what we knew just moments prior. It’s a reminder of another reality we often forget about: we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who redeemed us.

The Bible teaches us that each and everyone of us have inherited sin from Adam (Romans 5:12). We are sinners, plain and simple. There is no one righteous; not a single one (Romans 3:9-12). The sin that dwells within us is, as Theologian R.C. Sproul states, is “Cosmic treason against God”. The sinfulness of man is the single greatest problem in the entire world.

Because of sin, we deserve death (Romans 6:23). We deserve hell. Yet, as we read in last week’s post, God is marvelously gracious. He shows us this marvelous grace, this eternal love through His Son Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus was condemned to die in our place in order that we would not face condemnation. His death canceled ours. His resurrection sealed our eternal victory. Christ, and Christ alone is our hope.

This is the message of the gospel. The Gospel is the good news that a holy God sent us His sinless Son Jesus Christ who, through His death and resurrection, has graciously saved us from our sin, delivered us from eternal hell, and has called us to live holy.

It is the gospel of Jesus that has saved us from our sin! But it is also the gospel of Jesus that sustains us in the here and now. This is why, beginning July 20th, we will be hosting a four week study called, “The Gospel for Everyday Life”. 

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1 reminds us of the gospel that saved us, the gospel we’re standing on, and the gospel that sustains us. Why do we need a gospel reminder? Because as stated earlier, we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who has redeemed us. Paul says it this way in his letter to the Galatians:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”. (Galatians 1:6–7)

We need to be reminded of the Gospel everyday. We need to be reminded of the hope of our salvation that is only found in Jesus. We need to be reminded of His redeeming love. We need the reminder because we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love.

Our goal in “The Gospel for Everyday Life” is to help you know the gospel deeper and how this good news sustains us every day. We’ll focus on four aspects of the gospel:

  1. What is the Gospel? (July 20th)
  2. The Gospel and our Personal Holiness (July 27th)
  3. The Gospel in our Relationships (August 3rd)
  4. The Gospel is our Mission (August 10th)

My prayer for you is that your affections for the Lord will grow as you grow in the grace of the Gospel. Each and every one of us needs a gospel reminder. As author and pastor Tim Keller said, “The Gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 

So come and join us as we remember how the power of the Gospel is for everyday life. Register Here.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt

A Statement on the Historical overturning of Roe v. Wade

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Elder Statements. No Comments on A Statement on the Historical overturning of Roe v. Wade

A statement from the Elders of Grace Life Church:

There are moments throughout history that have long been forgotten and there are moments that will be remembered in history books. On June 24th, one of those historical moments occurred when the Supreme Court overruled Roe vs. Wade with a 6-3 vote. 

Six weeks ago, a SCOTUS opinion was leaked of this incredible possibility. The document showed the Supreme Court had voted to strike down the landmark decision. And this past week, they in fact did! To God be the glory!

Justice Alito writes in the document, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Roe v. Wade is the name of the lawsuit that led to the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. The majority opinion found an absolute right to abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.

For close to 50 years, abortion has been a legal option for unwanted pregnancies and has resulted in the deaths of approximately 63 million unborn babies. While Roe v. Wade stated abortion is a justifiable course of action, God’s Word deems otherwise. Abortion is a heinous and sinful act of murder; it is the taking of an innocent life created in the image of God. And thanks to this most recent ruling, abortion is no longer considered a constitutional right. In fact, to call it a right to begin with is in complete contrast to the teaching of God’s Word.

In 1973, the issue of abortion was taken out of the hands of the people. Now, it returns to our hands so we can continue to speak against abortion at the voting booth. The striking down of Roe is something we have prayed for and worked towards for many years. And frankly, it’s something many of us never thought we would see in our lifetime. We praise God that we were witnesses to this historical moment. 

The Word of God has much to say about life. 

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Psalm 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

These verses reveal to us that life begins at conception and that every life is intricately knitted together by creator God in the mother’s womb. This is why every Bible-believing Christ follower should stand for life. All human beings are made in God’s image, and God is not pleased with the killing of humans and the destruction of that image.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

We must be careful that we do not see this ruling primarily as a political victory, nor that we miss the opportunity to speak into the lives of those around us. We may know people expressing a feeling of hopelessness in this situation, and what an opportunity to speak the true hope of Jesus into this discourse. Because our hope is not based on a law, or a government, or an elected official, but on the person of Jesus Christ Himself and He alone.  So let us encourage you to respond in the following ways:

1. Pray. Pray for our country. Pray for our world.  Pray for our leaders, from local and state authorities all the way to our national and even international leaders. We know that God establishes all authority.

Romans 13:1-5 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

2. Take care of the widows and orphans. In our local context, we support First Coast Women’s Services and some of you are or have served there. We can get you connected with them to be involved directly, or you can give to our Special Offering Fund to support them financially.

Exodus 22:22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

3. Share the Gospel. It’s not our job to convince people to take on our entire set of beliefs nor to expect them to act like Jesus if they don’t know Jesus to begin with. Let us not get caught up in arguments and instead tell people how Jesus has changed your life and reveal everyone’s need for salvation from sin.

Our Scripture verse for the next few weeks is Isaiah 6:5, which says

“And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; 
for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; 
for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’!”

Let us not forget what it was like to be lost, and to see the weight of our own sin but also the freedom we have in Christ from being bound to it, and let that speak into our dealings with the world.


4. Show Christlike compassion. We pray that our response will be Christlike in approach, boldly standing in the face of this depraved act while also sitting with those reeling from a decision they may regret. We extend grace, patience, and love, just like the Savior has extended grace, patience, and love to us.

 

Let’s take a moment to pray today for our country and to celebrate the providence of God and the end of Roe vs. Wade. 

By His Grace,

Your Elders; Pastor Matt and Pastor Ben