All Things New: Living Now in Christ's Future

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen Before Time: Adoption as God’s Pleasure

Before creation’s first breath, God’s delight was set on you. Not as an afterthought or contingency plan, but as the centerpiece of his eternal purpose. Being chosen means being woven into the family tapestry of the divine, marked by love that predates stars and galaxies. This adoption isn’t a legal transaction but a relational explosion, where God’s fatherhood reshapes identity. Holiness isn’t achieved here—it’s received, a gift wrapped in Christ’s perfection. The pleasure God takes in this plan isn’t dutiful but visceral, like a parent savoring their child’s homecoming. [25:48]

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” (Ephesians 1:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What shifts in your heart when you realize God’s choice of you wasn’t pragmatic, but passionate? How might living as “already holy” change your struggles with shame today?

Day 2: Jigsaw Pieces Fitting: God’s Restoration Blueprint

Cracked relationships, systemic injustice, aching bodies—these are not the final picture. God’s plan is a cosmic jigsaw where every fractured piece finds its place under Christ’s rule. The Greek word anakephalaiōsis means “summing up,” not erasing but redeeming. Racism, abuse, and poverty aren’t minimized but will be transfigured. This restoration isn’t distant; it’s the trajectory of history. Your current pain is a puzzle piece in God’s art, not wasted but destined for glory. [30:25]

“Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you struggle to trust that God will repurpose—not just remove—your deepest wounds? How might your daily choices align with this restoration project?

Day 3: Resurrection Now: Living Eternity’s First Chapter

Eternal life isn’t a post-death subscription—it’s a current reality with a resurrection timestamp. When Jesus said “I AM the resurrection,” he ripped eternity from the future into now. Believers don’t wait to cross from death; they’re already breathing resurrection air. This life isn’t a waiting room but the first act of an unending drama. Every act of love, every defiance of despair, is a down payment on the coming wholeness. [31:58]

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.’” (John 11:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your life still feels stuck in “waiting mode”? How would embracing resurrection as a present tense verb change your next 24 hours?

Day 4: Tickets Booked: Anticipating God’s Future Today

The French cycling trip wasn’t just future—it reshaped present packing, training, and dreaming. So God’s promised restoration isn’t passive; it’s an active lens for today’s choices. Anxiety withers when the end is certain. Every act of justice, every moment of forgiveness, becomes a rehearsal for the coming kingdom. Your today is already funded by God’s guaranteed tomorrow. [34:06]

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: What practical decision would you make today if you truly believed God’s future was as certain as a booked plane ticket? Where is God inviting you to “pack your bags” in faith?

Day 5: Life Unstuck: Wide, Deep, Limitless in Christ

Eternal life isn’t longevity but dimensionality—a existence unshackled from survival mode. Jesus offers not just more years, but more you in every moment. Like a river deepening its channel, this life expands in worship, risks in love, and digs into joy. The “fullness” isn’t about busyness but the richness of being fully known and fully alive. [33:10]

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for a “stuck record” existence? What one step could you take this week to lean into the wide, deep life Jesus purchased for you?

Sermon Summary

Paul opens with doxology. God the Father blesses with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because people are united with Christ. God loved before the foundation of the world, chose in Christ, and decided in advance to adopt into his family. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Grace pours out in the Beloved. Redemption comes through the blood of his Son, forgiveness of sins, and a shower of kindness with wisdom and understanding. God reveals the mysterious will regarding Christ, the good plan to bring everything together under Christ, things in heaven and on earth.

The contrast rises. A fractured, dystopian outlook says there is no big plan. Postmodern shrug says there is no truth and nothing makes ultimate sense, so each person must figure it out alone. Scripture refuses that resignation. Creation begins with God’s love and image-bearing design, and Revelation ends with Jesus as Alpha and Omega, God making all things new. Jesus calls for alert hearts, not afraid ones, discerning minds, not despairing ones. Time, space, human lives, and the fate of creation move on a trajectory where God is both source and end. The plan to restore all things centers in the gracious lordship of Jesus.

Paul reaches for a big word, the sum-total word, the plot-resolving word, like the final pieces of a jigsaw snapping into place. God will refurbish everything, including human lives. Broken bodies, broken hearts, poverty, abuse, racism, even shattered relationships, all of it brought back into unity in Jesus. And this future has already broken into the present. Jesus declares, I am the resurrection and the life. In him, those who hear and believe have crossed over from death to life. Easter authority stands behind it. Life here is not a dress rehearsal for heaven. In Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, the future has stepped into now.

Eternal life is not a record stuck on repeat. Eternity is life to the full, rich, wide, deep in every moment and place. Baptism shares Christ’s dying and rising and sets believers inside that life even now. Knowing how it ends reframes everything. Like confirmed tickets that change the mood long before the plane takes off, the promised future already shapes anticipation, decisions, and endurance. That vision gives perspective and perseverance. God is at work for good, bringing all things together in Christ. So the call lands simple and strong. Seize it with both hands. Live with hope, gratitude, and a joyful sense that what lies ahead is better than the wildest dreams.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s plan sums everything in Christ Paul announces a real, cosmic goal, not a vague sentiment. The plan is concrete and Christ-centered, where heaven and earth are gathered into one Head. Unity is not human achievement but divine pleasure and purpose. That promise steadies a shaken heart and gives a map when the world feels plotless. [26:31]
2. The future has already broken in Resurrection life is not postponed until the funeral; it is present-tense communion with the risen Jesus. Faith hears and crosses over, now, because Easter authority is active now. Hope stops being distant and starts being daily bread. That is why fear does not get the last word. [31:58]
3. Eternal life means fullness now Eternity is not endless duration but abundant depth. Life in Christ stretches wide and deep, filling ordinary places with mercy, meaning, and resilient joy. Baptism ties ordinary time to resurrection time, so mundane weeks carry holy weight. This fullness trains the soul to notice grace. [33:10]
4. Hope reshapes daily perseverance When the ending is secure, endurance shifts from grim survival to steady expectation. Like travelers whose tickets are paid, the heart begins to live forward, making choices in light of the coming reunion of all things. Perspective grows, gratitude rises, and courage becomes practical. [34:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:26] - Opening prayer and doxology
[25:27] - Every blessing in Christ
[26:10] - God’s mystery and good plan
[26:31] - All things under Jesus’ authority
[26:55] - Do you want the ending?
[27:33] - Dystopian fears and no plan
[28:37] - Spoiler alert: Scripture tells the end
[29:20] - Alpha and Omega, making all things new
[30:25] - The big word that sums it all
[31:42] - Resurrection life in the present tense
[32:30] - Not a dress rehearsal
[33:45] - Tickets booked: living in anticipation
[34:22] - Perseverance, perspective, and seizing life

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Ephesians 1:3-10 (ESV): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
- John 11:25-26 (ESV): Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
- John 5:24 (ESV): Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Observation questions

According to Ephesians 1:3-10, what specific reasons does Paul give for praising God?
In John 11:25-26, Jesus uses the present tense when saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What does this imply about the timing of eternal life?
The sermon contrasts a “dystopian” worldview with Scripture’s vision of the future. What key difference is highlighted between these two perspectives? [28:00]
How does Ephesians 1:10 describe God’s ultimate plan for creation?

Interpretation questions

Why might Paul emphasize that God’s plan to “unite all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10) is rooted in His “good pleasure” (v. 9)? How does this affect our understanding of suffering or brokenness in the world?
Jesus says believers “have passed from death to life” (John 5:24) in the present tense. How does this reality challenge a view of eternal life as only a future hope?
The sermon mentions that “eternity is life to the full, rich, wide, deep in every moment” [33:10]. How does this redefine common misconceptions about eternal life as merely “endless duration”?
How does the metaphor of “confirmed tickets” for a trip [34:06] help explain the relationship between future hope and present-day choices?

Application questions

If “resurrection life is present-tense communion with the risen Jesus” [31:58], how might this truth change the way you approach a current struggle or fear?
The sermon states that “knowing how it ends reframes everything” [34:22]. What practical decision or attitude in your life would shift if you fully believed God is restoring all things?
Ephesians 1:4 says God chose us to be “holy and blameless.” What habits or relationships might need adjustment to align with this identity today?
Jesus’ “I am” statements (John 11:25-26) are declarations of His authority. Where do you need to trust His power to bring life into a situation that feels “dead” or hopeless?
The sermon warns against living as if life is a “dress rehearsal for heaven” [32:30]. What areas of your life (work, relationships, service) might you be treating as temporary or unimportant?
How could the metaphor of “confirmed tickets” [34:06] inspire you to live with more intentional joy or generosity this week?

Sermon Clips

59s

#FullnessOfLife

“``He has the authority to do this, Jesus, as the father's only son who has gone into death and broken free of its power once and for all at Easter. This life isn't a dress rehearsal for heaven. We're not filling in time here until we go to something better. In Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, the future, heaven, eternity, they broke into our present, and we have already begun living that reality now. And just what is Jesus offering? Jesus says he came to give us life, life to the full. What's on offer is eternal life, and eternal life isn't just a life that goes on and on and on and on like a stuck record.”

58s

#ResurrectionNow

“According to Paul, this is what brings God pleasure, and that future reality isn't something we just sit and wait for, like being stuck on hold, hoping to speak to someone. It has already broken into the present. When Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, he said to Mary, I am the resurrection of the life. Those who believe in me will live even though they died, and those who live and believe in me will never die. Did you notice the tense of the verb? It's present tense. I am. And in John chapter five, Jesus declares very truly, I tell you, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

60s

#RestoreAllThings

“The world today, including us, is fractured and broken. It brings God pleasure to bring it all back together in unity in Jesus. All of it, all of history, every human included, put back together as we should have been, including broken bodies, broken hearts, all things poverty, abuse, racism, all things made right again, even fractured relationships. All things restored, reconciled, renewed by this word, anechocephalicized. Jim, do you know what that is? According to Paul, this is what brings God pleasure, and that future reality isn't something we just sit and wait for, like being stuck on hold, hoping to speak to someone.”

57s

#FutureSecuredInChrist

“The tickets were booked nearly a year ago, and they have been kind of planning and looking forward to it all that time. The closer it gets, the more they are anticipating and looking forward to what the future held. They've already started living that reality. It was was theirs. The ticket was paid and the seats confirmed. That's the vision of the future that God's word has, a vision of God of what God is doing right now and into the future. It's a vision that gives us perspective and perseverance. It helps us make sense of things knowing that ultimately, in all things, God is working for our good as he brings all things together into Christ Jesus.”

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All Things New: Living Now in Christ's Future

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen Before Time: Adoption as God’s Pleasure

Day 2: Jigsaw Pieces Fitting: God’s Restoration Blueprint

Day 3: Resurrection Now: Living Eternity’s First Chapter

Day 4: Tickets Booked: Anticipating God’s Future Today

Day 5: Life Unstuck: Wide, Deep, Limitless in Christ

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

All Things New: Living Now in Christ's Future

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