Love as Our Glue: Palm Sunday Call to Mission

We often treat Easter like it's about us. You know, we celebrate the resurrection as we should, but here's what I've discovered. Over the last few years, here's what what Jesus has been laying on my heart. We can never fully celebrate the resurrection of Christ until first we grieve his death. We can't sit here next Sunday and celebrate the resurrection of Christ and think that somehow we did enough to earn that because we did not. [00:53:17] (31 seconds)  #GrieveBeforeGlory

Here's the kicker. Gratitude starts in our hearts and moves outward. This kind of gratitude is not dependent on the style of music, the sermon, or the order of the church service. We cannot obtain this kind of gratitude by conjuring up emotional expressions of worship. It is not dependent on our preferences or a musical personalities. This kind of gratitude is relayed from God's heart to our hearts in order to become literal expressions of divine grace to the world. [00:49:57] (30 seconds)  #HeartSourcedGratitude

We're not saved because we have the the right knowledge that alone. We're not saved because we're a good people. We're not saved because we've we've just kinda agree with a certain set of doctrines. We're we're born again and transformed because the Holy Spirit has drawn us to himself. You know, they taught that man needed additional philosophy, a system of astrology, aesthetics, and all these regulations and all those kind of things. In other words, they added all these different laws. [00:41:47] (27 seconds)  #SavedByTheSpirit

Paul gives a great principle for living that everything we do or say should be done and said in the name of Jesus. One commentator put this way, he says, one of the best tests of any actions listen to this. One of the best tests of any actions is that we ask this question. Can we do it while calling up on the name of Jesus? Can we cuss someone out while we're calling the name of Jesus? [00:51:22] (26 seconds)  #DoItInJesusName

Now, why would they use the word perfect there? You see the false teachers taught that perfection came only through an added kind of knowledge. You know, we've talked about that through first John, Gnosticism, this idea and divine denying the deity of Christ, denying that he actually physically resurrected. And so here you have Paul dealing with that. You know, Jesus is the perfect body unit. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. Jesus represents all of that in his death, burial, and his resurrection. [00:40:57] (30 seconds)  #JesusPerfectSacrifice

That is the word that you it means to control. In other words, what's he saying? One commentator put it this way, he used the verb from the athletic arena. It is the word that uses the umpire who settles things in any matter or dispute. That the peace of Jesus is the umpire of any man's heart, then when feelings clash or when we are pulled into two directions at the same time, the decision of Christ will keep us in the way of love and the church will remain as one body. [00:47:21] (29 seconds)  #PeaceAsUmpire

That the idea of dwelling uses the word let it dwell in you. He's not talking about a renter. He's not talking about so we just rent this prop. He's talking about something we own. Letting the message about the Messiah take up residence in you. That's what he's saying. Let the message of the Messiah live in us. What is the message of love and hope and joy? The resurrection and victory. That's exactly what we just sang about. [00:49:06] (26 seconds)  #LetChristDwell

Guys, oftentimes we'll say to people because we got people in our life that we've not forgiven and we'll say, I don't have to forgive it. They've hurt me so bad. And the reality of it is until you forgive them, you'll always carry the scars of that. Nobody's asking you to go on vacation with them, but we have to forgive. We have to love. It is it is literally love is our glue. Peace is our guide. [00:48:01] (25 seconds)  #ForgiveToHeal