Archive for the ‘Resurrection’ Category
“God Warns His People Through A Prophet!”
Filed under: Bible, by Tony Marra, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, Malachi 1, Malachi 3, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, Spiritual Amnesia, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Summary:
Have you ever suffered from “spiritual amnesia” forgetting the goodness of God, the blessings He has given us, and just how faithfully He has been with us?
In this Gospel centered message, Pastor Tony Marra takes us into the book of Malachi, where we find a people who had forgotten. Israel had experienced God’s faithfulness, yet over time they drifted from Him. Their worship became careless, their offerings reflected hearts that had grown distant, and amazingly, when God confronted them, they responded by asking, “How have You loved us?” and “How have we despised Your name?” Pastor Tony calls this “spiritual amnesia.” And Israel’s story invites us to examine our own.
God’s warning through Malachi was not the voice of a Father looking for an excuse to abandon His children. It was the voice of the Father calling His people back to Himself. As Pastor Tony reminds us, God confronts the faithlessness of His people “to draw them back to Him in repentance.” He does not leave His children lost, He comes after them.
This is why we must never allow the reality of our sin to become greater in our minds than the grace of the God who comes to save us. As theologian Karl Barth reminds us: “We are forbidden to take sin more seriously than grace, or even as seriously as grace.”— Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/2, p. 41
That changes how we hear Malachi. When Malachi speaks about tithes, offerings, worship and obedience, the issue goes much deeper than money. Pastor Tony emphasizes that our whole life is an offering. Giving can include our finances, but also our love, encouragement, service, hospitality, care for those in need, and sharing the Gospel. Giving becomes an act of faith, a response to the goodness of the God who has already given Himself to us. And this is where Malachi ultimately points us beyond ourselves and to Jesus Christ.
We cannot heal our own wandering hearts. But, as Pastor Tony declares, “thankfully we have the Holy Spirit to help us.” God Himself lives in us, overcoming that pull away from Him and drawing us into His life, and the curse is not the end of the story. Jesus came to us and for us. On the Cross, He took our curse upon Himself so that in Him we might receive the promised blessing. The Father has given us His Son, and in Christ He has given us His Spirit as the guarantee of what is yet to come. Pastor Tony reminds us that when we have the Spirit of God, we have “every spiritual blessing that belongs to God in Christ.”
This gives us a profoundly Christ-centered way of hearing the warnings of Malachi. God’s judgment is not His final word over humanity. His purpose is not destruction, but redemption and restoration. In the words of Karl Barth: “But judgement too cannot be the last word of God. Judgement too must be a means and the way of His grace. When God judges and punishes, He is at the same time the Creator who calls new life into existence.”— Karl Barth, Sermon on Mark 13:1–2, March 9, 1913
Judgment is not the last word. Jesus is. Malachi ends by pointing toward the coming Messenger and Messiah. Centuries later, John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus Christ. And where Malachi closes with the consequence of humanity’s sin, the Gospel reveals the One who bears the curse and brings us into forgiveness and new life. Jesus is our blessing, from whom all blessings flow.
Reflective Moment
Where might you be experiencing “spiritual amnesia”? Have you become so focused on what is missing, difficult, or painful that you have forgotten the Father’s goodness toward you? Have worship, giving, serving, loving, or caring for others become something you simply do rather than a response to the God who has first loved and given Himself to you?
The Father is not standing at a distance waiting for you to find your own way back. In Jesus, He has come after us, and through the Holy Spirit, He is present and at work within us.
Remember the Father who loves you.
Remember the Son who came for you and gave Himself for you.
Remember the Holy Spirit who lives in you.
Hear God’s warning as His gracious call to turn again toward the One who has never stopped loving us: Come back. Stay close. Remember Who I AM and remember whose you are. Watch Pastor Tony Marra’s full message, “ and hear how Malachi’s ancient warning still speaks the Good News of the God revealed in Jesus Christ to us today.
“The Ultimate Goal of God’s Healing and Wholeness!”
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Good News Celebration, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Acts 3, Acts 4, Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, healing, Healing And Wholeness, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Acts 3. Acts 4:1-4 (CSB)
Summary:
What is the ultimate goal of God’s healing and wholeness? Is it simply that our bodies are healed, our circumstances improve, or our problems disappear? In this Gospel-centered message, Pastor Tim takes us deeper into Acts 3 and into Acts 4 to show us that, as wonderful as healing is, healing itself is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal of God’s healing and wholeness is restored relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
The man at the Beautiful Gate expected silver or gold, but God had something far greater in mind. Through Peter and John, the Father spoke a gracious “counter word” to the brokenness of this man’s life: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” His healing was real, physical, and astonishing but it was also pointing beyond itself to Jesus Christ, the One in Whom God is healing and restoring His creation.
Pastor Tim reminds us that this is the pattern of the apostolic Gospel. The Gospel is always “a word of God’s gracious healing in the name of Jesus Christ.” Every word spoken by sin and its consequences is confronted by the Father’s gracious word of healing and restoration in His Son. This is why Jesus must remain at the center of our witness. We do not ultimately point people to ourselves, our power, our goodness, or even merely to better circumstances. We point them to Jesus.
This matters because Pastor Tim reminds believers that we are successors of the apostles, not apostles in the unique sense of those original eyewitnesses who walked with Jesus, but successors in receiving and passing on their testimony. What they testified about Jesus Christ is now the testimony entrusted to us. The times may change. Cultures may change. The language we use may change, but the Gospel does not change. So what does that Gospel sound like?
It begins with grace. With what the Father has already accomplished for us in Jesus Christ, and in the light of Jesus, sin is exposed for what it truly is: not merely immoral behavior, but our rejection of God Himself, the very Source of our life. Yet sin never gets the final word. As Pastor Tim emphasizes, God’s grace is greater than our sin. Jesus has entered our broken humanity, borne our sin and its consequences, taken them into His death, and raised our humanity with Him in His resurrection toward the restoration of all things.
The early Church Father Athanasius beautifully captures this movement of God toward us in Jesus Christ: “the most holy Son of the Father, being the Image of the Father, came to our region to renew man once made in His likeness, and find him, as one lost, by the remission of sins”— St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, §14
This is the gracious movement we see proclaimed in Acts. The Son comes from the Father not merely to repair something in us, but to renew and restore humanity in Himself. God’s healing is ultimately directed toward communion. Our participation, through the Holy Spirit, in the Son’s own relationship with His Father.
That grace calls for a response: “Repent and turn back.” Repentance is not an attempt to persuade a reluctant God to come near to us. The Lord is already present and acting graciously toward us. Rather, we are called to turn, receive, trust, and begin participating in the life that has already been given to us in Jesus Christ. Repentance means responding with our whole selves, body and soul, to Christ.
And here we arrive at the heart of the message: “The goal is not healing. Healing is not an end in itself.” Physical healing matters. Spiritual healing matters. The restoration of broken circumstances matters. But all of it ultimately serves the Father’s greater purpose of drawing us into communion with Himself through His Son and in His Spirit.
That is why Luke does not end this story with a healed man walking and leaping. The healing opens the way for the Gospel to be proclaimed and Acts 4 tells us that many who heard the message believed. The number of men alone grew to about 5,000. The miracle pointed beyond itself to Jesus, and through Jesus people were drawn into relationship and union with God.
The apostolic message also points forward. Jesus, Who is truly present with us now by the Holy Spirit, will return bodily in glory, and God is moving His creation toward “the restoration of all things.” The Gospel therefore carries both gracious invitation and urgency: turn to Christ, trust Him, receive what is already yours in Him, and participate now in the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Reflective Moment:
What if the healing you are asking God for is pointing toward something even deeper?
Bring the Father your need, your pain, and everything that longs to be made whole, but remember that His ultimate goal is more than changed circumstances. In Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, He is drawing us into deeper communion with Himself.
As Pastor Tim concludes, “the ultimate goal of God’s healing and wholeness is a relationship restored to God the Father through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit.”
We encourage you to watch the full message as Pastor Tim walks through the apostolic Gospel in Acts 3–4 and challenges us to consider not only what we believe about God’s healing, but what message we are passing on to others as witnesses of Jesus Christ.
“God’s Heart Revealed By Jesus!”
Filed under: Bible, By The Late Pastor Peter Dickinson, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's Heart, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Lamb of God, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, Loving us, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Revelation 4, Revelation 5, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Revelation 4 and Revelation 5
Summary
What is God really like, and how can we know His heart toward us?
In this powerful Gospel message, Pastor Peter Dickinson takes us into Revelation 4 and 5 and invites us to look beyond the mysterious images and symbols that so often capture our attention in the Book of Revelation. For years, much of the focus surrounding Revelation has been on trying to understand its symbols, identify what they represent, or determine what they might tell us about the future. But Pastor Peter redirects our attention to something much more important: Revelation is fundamentally about the revealing of God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. At the center of the book is not simply a mystery to decode, but the God who desires to make Himself known.
Theologian Karl Barth gives us a beautiful way of understanding why this matters. God is not solitary in His being, but eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: “In Himself He does not will to exist for Himself, to exist alone. On the contrary, He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and therefore alive in His unique being with and for and in another. . . . He does not exist in solitude but in fellowship.” — Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, II/1, p. 275
The God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is the Triune God who is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And it is this God who freely turns toward us and draws us into fellowship with Himself.
That brings us to one of the most important questions Jesus ever asked His disciples: “Who do you say I am?” To know Jesus is not merely to know facts about Him; it is to encounter the One in whom God has made Himself known. Jesus speaks of His unique relationship with the Father, telling us that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son reveals Him. Later, when Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus responds, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” If we want to know what God is really like, we look to Jesus.
This becomes especially powerful as Pastor Peter takes us from Revelation 4 into Revelation 5. In Revelation 4, John is given a breathtaking vision of the throne of God. Heaven resounds with the words, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” We see God’s majesty, holiness, sovereignty, creative power and glory. All creation owes its existence to Him, and heaven worships the One by whose will all things were created and have their being.
But Revelation 5 takes us deeper. John sees a scroll that no one is worthy to open, and he weeps. Then he is told that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed. Yet when John looks, he sees something astonishing: a Lamb, standing as though He had been slain. Heaven erupts in worship, proclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” Pastor Peter then asks the crucial question: Why is the Lamb worthy because He was slain, and what does the slain Lamb reveal to us about God? His answer takes us directly to the heart of the Gospel: “It is by the slaying of the Lamb the very heart of God is revealed.”
The Lamb does more than show us what Jesus is like. The Lamb reveals the Father. We cannot separate what Jesus does from who God is, because Jesus is the incarnate Son who is one with His Father. The cross does not reveal a loving Jesus rescuing humanity from a reluctant or unwilling Father. Jesus tells us, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Pastor Peter emphasizes that the heart we see in the Son is the heart of the Father. What the Father is like, Jesus reveals; the life and love we encounter in Jesus are the life and love of God Himself made known to us.
This is why the Incarnation matters so deeply. Jesus is not merely a messenger bringing us information about a distant God. He is the eternal Son of the Father who has become truly human. God has not remained outside our condition, calling to us from a safe distance. Drawing from Thomas F. Torrance, Pastor Peter stresses that in Jesus Christ, the Son enters the depths of our lost humanity, taking our sin, violence, suffering and death upon Himself in order to overcome everything that separates us from God. Even in the depths of our betrayal and brokenness, Jesus is God reaching into our humanity to heal and save.
The cross therefore becomes what Pastor Peter describes as “a window into the innermost heart of God.” At the very place where humanity rejects God, God does not reject humanity. In the incarnate Son, He enters our darkness and gives Himself to us in saving love. Jesus is not concealing the Father behind Himself; He is opening the Father’s heart to us. The Lamb who was slain shows us just how far God’s love moves toward humanity.
Here Barth’s words capture something at the very heart of Pastor Peter’s message: “Loving us, God does not give us something, but Himself; and giving us Himself, giving us His only Son, He gives us everything.” — Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, II/1, p. 276
That is the astonishing Good News revealed in Jesus Christ. In giving us His Son, God has given us Himself. The cross is not the place where Jesus convinces the Father to love us; it is the place where the love of God for humanity is revealed in all its depth. The Father sends His beloved Son because God already loves us.
First John brings this into beautiful focus: “God is love.” This love does not begin with us reaching toward God. It begins in God Himself. The Father sends His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him, and John testifies that “the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” The Gospel begins with God’s initiative toward us. The Father sending, the Son giving Himself, and humanity being drawn into the life and love that have their source in God.
Revelation 4 and Revelation 5, then, are not giving us two competing pictures of God, one of a powerful God seated upon a throne and another of a loving and suffering Jesus. The slain Lamb stands at the center of the throne. The holiness, majesty and power revealed in Revelation 4 lead us into the self-giving love revealed in Revelation 5. In Jesus Christ, we discover that God’s power and God’s love belong together. The One who created all things is the One who gives Himself for His creation.
And this revelation is Trinitarian from beginning to end. The Father sends the Son. The incarnate Son reveals the Father. The slain Lamb opens the heart of God to us. And through the Holy Spirit, we are brought into a living knowledge of Jesus and therefore into the knowledge of the Father. Near the conclusion of the message, Pastor Peter speaks of Jesus, through the Spirit, walking with us, leading us through Scripture and opening our eyes to see the very heart of God. We are not merely given information about the Father, Son, and Spirit; we are invited into relationship with the God who has made Himself known to us.
This is why knowing Jesus matters so deeply. Christian faith is not ultimately about trying to discover a hidden God somewhere behind Jesus. God has made Himself known. When we wonder what God is like, we look to Jesus. When suffering causes us to question God’s heart, we look to Jesus. When our failures make us afraid of how God sees us, we look to Jesus. And when the brokenness of the world makes us wonder whether God is really at work, we look again to Jesus—the incarnate Son, the Lamb who was slain and yet stands victorious at the center of the throne. As Pastor Peter says near the conclusion of his message, “To know Jesus is to know God’s heart.”
Reflective Moment
John is told that the Lion has triumphed, but when he looks, he sees the Lamb who was slain. That image invites us to reconsider what we believe about the power and heart of God. In Jesus, we discover that God’s victory is revealed through self-giving love. The Lamb at the center of the throne is the same Jesus who entered our humanity, gave Himself for us, and reveals the Father.
When the world around us seems defined by power, fear, suffering, and uncertainty, Revelation points our eyes back to the Lamb who stands victorious.
Are we learning to see God—and the world around us—through the Lamb? There is much more in Pastor Peter Dickinson’s message than can be captured here. We encourage you to watch the full sermon, and allow Revelation 4 and 5 to draw your attention beyond the symbols and questions about the future to the One standing at the center of it all. Discover again the Father who sends His Son in love, the Son who enters our humanity and reveals the Father’s heart, and the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to know and participate in the life and love of God.
“The Dangers Of Family Idolatry—Finding The Right Perspective!”
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, Luke, Luke 12: 49-53, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?
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Scripture: Luke 12: 49-53
Summary:
Family is one of God’s good gifts. Yet Scripture reminds us that even good gifts can become idols when they take the place that belongs to Jesus Christ alone. In this Gospel-rich message from Luke 12:49–53, Pastor Timothy Brassell calls us to reconsider one of the most cherished assumptions of our culture, that family is life’s highest priority.
Jesus’ startling words about bringing division are not a rejection of the family but a revelation of His absolute lordship over every human relationship. The Father did not send His Son to destroy families, but to redeem, reorder, and renew them according to His Kingdom. When Christ becomes our ultimate loyalty, even the closest relationships are transformed by His grace.
Pastor Tim reminds us that the family is not the foundation of the Christian faith. Family is not our revelation of God, our reconciliation, our wisdom, our sanctification, or our salvation. Jesus Christ alone is the Father’s perfect revelation, the only true foundation, the only Cornerstone of God’s Kingdom, and the One through whom humanity is reconciled to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
As our culture increasingly searches for identity apart from God, Christians are called to be a counter-cultural people whose identity is found in Christ alone. The temptation is not merely to idolize success, reputation, traditions, or the “perfect family,” but to make family itself the source of our worth, security, hope, and ultimate allegiance. C.S. Lewis captures this challenge with remarkable clarity: “We must turn down or disqualify our nearest and dearest when they come between us and our obedience to God.” This is not a call to love our families less, but to love them rightly, under the loving lordship of Jesus Christ.
Following Christ does not always produce outward peace. Sometimes faithfulness to Jesus brings misunderstanding, tension, or even division within families. Yet these painful moments do not mean Christ has abandoned us. Rather, they often become opportunities for the Holy Spirit to deepen our trust in the Father and conform us more fully to the image of His Son. As Jesus Himself experienced misunderstanding and opposition from those closest to Him, He now walks with His people through every trial they face.
Yet this message is not one of despair. It is filled with hope. Pastor Tim concludes by reminding us of the glorious promises Christ gives to those who trust Him through every conflict. We are promised that we will be with Christ, become like Christ, share in His glory, rejoice at His eternal banquet, and participate forever in His Kingdom. These promises remind us that every earthly relationship ultimately finds its true meaning within the everlasting communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Reflective Moment:
Have I allowed even good things—my family, traditions, reputation, or relationships—to occupy the place that belongs to Jesus Christ alone? What might the Holy Spirit be inviting me to surrender so that my deepest identity, loyalty, and hope rest fully in the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit?
This challenging yet hope-filled message invites us to see family through the light of Jesus Christ and discover the freedom that comes when every relationship is brought under His loving lordship. Watch the full sermon and allow God’s Word to renew your perspective through the grace of the Father, the faithfulness of the Son, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
“The Promise of a Coming King!”
Filed under: Bible, by Tony Marra, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?, Zechariah 13, Zechariah 3, Zechariah 6
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Scripture: Zechariah 3, 6 & 13
Summary:
For centuries God’s people waited. They lived with promises spoken long before they were born. Promises of a coming King, a righteous Priest, and a Branch who would bring life where there once appeared to be only deadness. Through the prophet Zechariah, the Father revealed that history was moving toward a Person. These promises were never merely about future events. They were always about Jesus Christ.
In this message, Pastor Tony Marra invites us to rediscover how Zechariah’s remarkable prophecies find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ and what they continue to reveal about the Father’s eternal purpose for humanity.
Biblical prophecy reveals more than God’s knowledge of the future. It reveals His faithfulness. Long before Bethlehem, Calvary, or the empty tomb, the Father was already proclaiming His Son and assuring His people that His gracious purpose could never fail.
Karl Barth beautifully captures this truth: “The doctrine of election is the sum of the Gospel because of all words that can be said or heard it is the best: that God elects man; that God is for man too, the One who loves in freedom. It is grounded in the knowledge of Jesus Christ because He is both the electing God and elected man in One.” — Church Dogmatics, II/2
God’s promise of a coming King is therefore far more than the prediction of a future ruler. It is the revelation of the Father’s eternal purpose to reconcile humanity through His beloved Son.
Zechariah speaks of “the Branch” who would remove the guilt of the land in a single day. What was anticipated under the old covenant was fully accomplished in Jesus Christ. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, He bore our sin, defeated death, reconciled us to the Father, and opened the way into the fellowship of the Triune God. The Gospel is not that humanity finally found its way to God. The Gospel is that God, in Jesus Christ, came to humanity.
The promised King is unlike every earthly ruler. Zechariah describes Him as righteous, victorious, and yet humble, entering Jerusalem on a donkey rather than a warhorse. His Kingdom is established not through force but through self-giving love. Every promise of God finds its “Yes” in Him, and through His reign the Father is reconciling the world to Himself.
Yet Zechariah’s vision reaches even further. The Branch would also build the Lord’s Temple. No longer confined to a building made with human hands, God’s presence is now revealed in Jesus Christ, the true Temple, who by the Holy Spirit gathers His people into His own life.
As James B. Torrance reminds us: “The Christian worshipper is one who is given, through the Spirit, a share in the Son’s communion with the Father.” — Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace
This is the glorious fulfillment of Zechariah’s vision. Through the Holy Spirit we are united to Christ, becoming His living Body and the dwelling place of God. The Church is not simply a community that remembers Jesus; it is the community through which the risen Lord continues His ministry in the world.
Pastor Tony also reminds us that this King continues His work through seasons of testing. Zechariah speaks of God’s people being refined like silver and tested like gold. Trials are not evidence of God’s absence but opportunities through which the Holy Spirit deepens our trust in Christ and conforms us more fully to His likeness.
In an age that places its confidence in technology, political systems, or human achievement, Zechariah calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. He alone is the humble and victorious King whose Kingdom cannot be shaken. His promises remain certain because they rest not upon our faithfulness, but upon His.
Reflective Moment:
Where have you been looking for security, hope, or peace? The Father has already fulfilled His greatest promise in Jesus Christ. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, He has reconciled humanity to Himself and poured out the Holy Spirit so that we might share in His life. Whatever uncertainties surround us today, we can rest confidently in the unshakable Kingdom of our humble and victorious King.
If you’d like to explore these prophetic promises more deeply, we encourage you to watch Pastor Tony Marra’s message, “The Promise of a Coming King,” and discover how Zechariah’s ancient vision finds its glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
God’s Encouragement To “Fear Not”!
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, Faith Over Fear, Fear Not, GCI Baltimore, God's Encouragement, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Joshua 1, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Joshua 1
Summary:
Uncertain times have a way of exposing our deepest fears. Questions about our health, our families, our future, and even our faith can leave us anxious and discouraged. Yet the story of Joshua reminds us that God’s answer to uncertainty is not greater self-confidence, it is greater confidence in Him.
In this deeply personal and encouraging message, Pastor Richard Andrews reflects on God’s words to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” He reminds us that fear often reveals where we have given power to circumstances, people, or outcomes that rightly belong to God alone. But the good news of the Gospel is that the Father has not abandoned His children. The God whom Jesus Christ reveals is faithful, merciful, and present. Through the Holy Spirit, we are not left to face uncertainty alone. We are invited to confess our limitations, humble ourselves beneath God’s loving care, and learn again to trust His heart even when we cannot see the road ahead.
This is why the late theologian T. F. Torrance could confidently say: “The basic truth of the whole Christian life is that God has accepted you.”
What a liberating truth! Our courage is not rooted in our ability to control the future or to understand every twist and turn in our lives. It is rooted in the Father’s unwavering love revealed in Jesus Christ and poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We are accepted before we are victorious. We are loved before we are strong.
Pastor Richard beautifully reminds us that God often knows what lies ahead long before we do. Like a trusted guide who sees dangers we cannot see, He sometimes leads us down unexpected paths, not to harm us, but to bring us safely into His promises. The question is not whether God is faithful. The question is whether we will trust the Father, revealed in Jesus Christ and present with us through the Spirit, enough to follow Him.
Perhaps that is why Karl Barth wrote: “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
The Christian life is not the absence of fear. Joshua was afraid. We are afraid. Courage is not pretending otherwise. Courage is bringing our fears before the Father, entrusting them to Jesus Christ, and allowing the Holy Spirit to remind us that we are never alone. Fear tells us we are abandoned. The Gospel declares that we never are.
Because of Jesus Christ, we do not have to fear the unknown, the future, loss, or even death itself. The Father is with us. The Son has overcome the world. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. And the God who called Joshua still speaks His encouragement to His people today: “Fear not, for I am with you.” This message is a timely reminder that what is most certain in an uncertain world is not our strength, but the steadfast love and faithfulness of the Triune God.
Reflective Moment
Take a moment to consider the places in your life where fear or uncertainty has taken hold. Have you given more power to your circumstances than to the God who holds all things together? Where might the Father be inviting you to trust Him more deeply? What would change if you truly believed that Jesus Christ has gone before you, the Holy Spirit is with you now, and nothing can separate you from the Father’s everlasting love?
Perhaps today is not a call to figure everything out. Perhaps it is simply an invitation to hear God’s encouragement once again: “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Rediscovering The Father and “Mother” Of Us All!
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Epiphany, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Adoption In Christ, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Ephesians, Faith, Father and Mother, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Ephesians 5; 6:1-3
Summary:
What comes to mind when you hear the command, “Honor your father and mother”?
For many of us, our thoughts immediately turn to our earthly families, the blessings we have received, the wounds we carry, the relationships we cherish, or perhaps the relationships we wish had been different. But in this Gospel-rich message, Pastor Timothy Brassell invites us to rediscover that this command is about something far deeper than earthly family structures.
It is about the eternal relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and our inclusion in that life through Jesus Christ.
Before Paul gives the command to honor father and mother in Ephesians 6:1-3, he first proclaims the Gospel in Ephesians 1. He reminds us that the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, adopted us as His children, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. The command, therefore, is not built upon duty or obligation alone. It is built upon grace.
As Pastor Tim explains, the primary thing going on in the command to honor your father and your mother is our adoption into the life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relationship.
This changes everything. Fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood are not merely human realities that God blesses from a distance. Rather, they are earthly reflections of the deeper reality revealed in Jesus Christ. The Father eternally loves the Son in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and through Jesus we are graciously included in that love.
This means the Gospel speaks powerfully to every person. Whether your earthly family is strong or broken, whether your parents are living or gone, whether your experiences are joyful or painful, the good news remains: you have a Father—the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—and He has made you His own in Jesus.
But Pastor Tim presses even further. He challenges us to rediscover that the Church is the “mother” of us all. Not because God is female, nor because motherhood is projected onto God, but because Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, continues to nurture, comfort, teach, and raise His people through His body, the Church.
The early Church understood this well. As Cyprian famously wrote: “He cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.” — Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church, 6
This ancient insight beautifully echoes Pastor Tim’s message. The Christian life was never meant to be lived in isolation. We are called into participation. Participation with Christ, participation in His relationship with the Father, and participation with one another through the Holy Spirit. The Church is not an optional addition to the Christian life. She is the family Christ gathers, the place where He continues His ministry, and the community through which He mothers and nurtures His people in the love of the Father.
Pastor Tim reminds us that the Church has a unique and counter-cultural message. We are not called to simply mirror the world’s understanding of fathers, mothers, and families. Rather, we are called to proclaim the deeper truth: that all human relationships find their meaning in the eternal love shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As Irenaeus wrote many centuries ago: “The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.” — Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.20.7
Humanity flourishes not by looking inward or by defining itself apart from God, but by beholding the Father revealed in Jesus Christ and participating in His life through the Holy Spirit. This message is both comforting and challenging. Comforting because no one is fatherless or motherless in Christ. Challenging because we are invited to lay aside our cultural assumptions and rediscover who God truly is and who we truly are because of Jesus Christ.
Reflective Moment
Take a moment to reflect. When you think about fatherhood, motherhood, and family, what shapes your understanding most. Your experiences or the Gospel?
What would change if you truly believed that the Father of Jesus Christ is your Father, that you have been adopted into His life through the Son, and that the Holy Spirit is continually drawing you deeper into that relationship?
And how might your view of the Church change if you saw her not as a place you attend, but as the family through which Jesus Christ continues to nurture, comfort, and raise His people?
This message invites us all to rediscover the Father and “Mother” of us all and to rejoice in the astonishing truth that through Jesus Christ, we have been welcomed into the life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
“God’s Promises Sustain His People!”
Filed under: Bible, by Tony Marra, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Daniel 7, Faith, Father Son and Holy Spirit, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gods promises sustains His people, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, Hope in Christ, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Jesus reigns, kingdom of god, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Daniel 7: 1-14
Summary:
In this encouraging and Gospel-rich message, Pastor Tony Marra explores Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7:1–14, revealing how God’s promises sustain His people amid the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms.
Daniel’s vision reminds us that while human governments, nations, and powers come and go, God’s purposes remain steadfast. Throughout history, kingdoms have risen, flourished, and fallen, yet the Kingdom of God endures forever. In a world often marked by uncertainty, conflict, suffering, and change, this message points us beyond the instability of earthly powers to the unshakable reign of Jesus Christ.
At the center of Daniel’s vision stands the Son of Man, the One who receives an everlasting Kingdom from the Ancient of Days. Pastor Tony reminds us that this vision ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the King whose dominion will never pass away and whose Kingdom will never be destroyed. Unlike the temporary powers of this world, Christ’s reign is eternal, bringing hope, peace, and purpose to humanity.
This message draws our attention to the Father’s great purpose for humanity. God has not abandoned His creation to the chaos of history. Through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, humanity has been reconciled to God and gathered into His Kingdom. What Daniel glimpsed in prophetic vision, we now see fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, who reigns as Lord and continues His ministry through the Holy Spirit.
As theologian James B. Torrance reminds us: “The Son of God, in assuming our humanity, became a man, not to sanctify maleness, but our common humanity so that, be we men or women, we can see the dignity and beauty of our humanity sanctified in him.”
In Jesus Christ we see both the heart of God and the true destiny of humanity. The Son did not merely come to rescue humanity from afar; He entered fully into our human existence in order to restore, heal, and reconcile us to the Father.
Pastor Tony encourages us not to place our hope in earthly systems or the shifting circumstances of life. Instead, we are invited to set our minds on things above, where Christ reigns. Even in seasons of hardship, suffering, or uncertainty, God’s promises remain sure because they are grounded in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
This message also reminds us that God’s Kingdom is not merely a future hope. Through Christ and by the Holy Spirit, we are already being drawn into the life and love of the Triune God. As James B. Torrance beautifully wrote: “Christian worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.”
This is the good news at the heart of the Gospel. Through Jesus Christ, humanity has been brought near. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distant from us but have acted decisively in Christ to reconcile humanity and bring all things together under His loving reign.
Daniel’s vision points us beyond the temporary realities of this age and toward God’s ultimate purpose; the renewal and restoration of all things in Jesus Christ. The Kingdom seen in Daniel 7 is the Kingdom that will endure forever, the Kingdom where God’s promises find their complete fulfillment, and the Kingdom into which humanity is graciously welcomed through Christ.
As we remember Jesus Christ and all He has accomplished on our behalf, we are reminded that our future is secure in Him. The God who rules over history is the same God who sustains His people today. His promises remain true, His Kingdom remains unshaken, and His purpose for humanity will be fulfilled.
Reflective Moment:
Where have you been placing your hope lately? In the temporary kingdoms of this world or in the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ?
When life feels uncertain, Daniel’s vision reminds us that earthly powers rise and fall, but Jesus Christ reigns forever. The Father has not abandoned His creation, and by the Holy Spirit, He is still drawing humanity into the life and love revealed in His Son.
Take a moment this week to lift your eyes above today’s worries and remember: God’s promises are greater than your circumstances, and His Kingdom will never pass away.
As you reflect, remember this good news: you are sustained not by the strength of this world, but by the faithfulness of the Triune God, who has gathered you into Christ and is bringing all things together under His loving reign.
“The Holy Spirit Sets Us Free For Jesus!”
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, freedom in Christ, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Participation not performance, Pentecost, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Revelation 4, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Revelation 4
Summary:
What if freedom is not what you’ve thought it was? What if it’s not ultimately about control, choice, or independence, but about being set free for Someone?
In this Christ-centered Pentecost Sunday message, Pastor Timothy Brassell proclaims a Gospel that re-centers everything on the living reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not as abstract doctrine, but as the very life into which humanity is being drawn. At the heart of this message is a defining truth: freedom is not first about what we are free from, but who we are free for. And by the Holy Spirit, we are set free for Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit—though unseen—is not absent. He is the living presence of God, actively drawing us into fellowship with Jesus, opening our eyes to see Him rightly, and freeing us from distorted, “alien” versions of Christ that have shaped much of modern Christianity. This is the crisis and the invitation.
We have often known a Jesus mixed with fear, performance, and self-effort… a Jesus attached to frameworks that subtly place the burden back on us. But the Spirit is now at work to undo what we have learned, leading us into repentance, not as shame, but as a renewed seeing of the real Jesus. And this changes everything.
As John Calvin reminds us: “As long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us.” — Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.1.1
This is precisely the condition the Holy Spirit comes to transform, not by adding something new to Christ’s work, but by bringing us into living participation with Him. Revelation is not ultimately about chaos, timelines, or speculation, it is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 4, what the Spirit shows us is not anxiety, but a throne. The Father reigning, the Son victorious, and the Spirit revealing a reality where all creation is being drawn into worship, peace, and communion.
This is the truth beneath every circumstance: God has already acted in Jesus Christ. The future is not uncertain, it is held in Him.
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit:
Pastor Tim brings this into sharp focus as he proclaims the active, personal work of the Spirit among us.
The Holy Spirit makes Jesus known.
The Holy Spirit guides us into truth. Which is a Person, not a concept.
The Holy Spirit frees us from lies and deception.
The Holy Spirit brings us into real participation with Jesus’ life with the Father.
As James B. Torrance writes: “Christian worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.”
And again: “Worship is not so much something that we do, but what Christ is doing and in which we are given to participate through the Spirit.”
This is Pentecost. Not an abstract power, but the personal presence of God, drawing us into communion. The Spirit does not point to Himself. He reveals the Son, who brings us to the Father. In that movement, we discover what it truly means to be human: To be human is to be free to hear and respond to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. This is not something we achieve. This is something we are being brought into. We participate by grace in the life already accomplished for humanity in Jesus Christ.
Set Free For Fellowship, Not Isolation:
The Spirit sets us free to meet Jesus, not in abstraction, but in real, lived communion.
He meets us in fellowship, where Christ is present among His people.
He meets us in Scripture, where we encounter Him, not just study ideas.
He meets us in real life, where even trials become places of testing and deepening trust.
Even in seasons where the Church feels weak, small, or uncertain, the Spirit is not absent. In fact, those very moments expose what we truly believe, and invite us back to Jesus, not as an idea, but as the living center of everything.
Reflective Moment:
Where might you be living with a version of Jesus that feels distant, demanding, or unclear? What if the Holy Spirit is gently inviting you, not to try harder but to see again… to meet the real Jesus, who has already brought you into His relationship with the Father? What would it look like this week to slow down, open Scripture, or step into fellowship, not to perform, but to encounter?
Pentecost reminds us: You are not left alone. You are not trying to figure this out by yourself.
You are being drawn—right now—by the Holy Spirit into the living communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Watch the full message and see how the Holy Spirit is not only revealing Jesus, but actively setting you free to know Him, walk with Him, and participate in His life today.
“God Pictures A Future Of Hope!”
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Easter, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Resurrection, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Easter, Ezekiel 37, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, John 19, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Scripture: Ezekiel 37
Summary:
In this deeply pastoral and hope-filled message, Pastor Richard Andrews invites us to see that the future God holds out to humanity is not uncertain, distant, or fragile but grounded in the living reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit revealed in Jesus Christ.
Beginning at the cross in John 19, we are reminded that even in His final moments, Jesus was not turned inward, but outward, making provision. As He declared, “It is finished,” He was not only completing His work, but revealing the very heart of God: a God who provides, who draws near, and who will not abandon His people.
This is the Triune God we meet in Scripture. The same yesterday, today, and forever, whose desire for humanity has never changed: that we would share in His life through Jesus Christ.
From there, the message draws us into the vision of Ezekiel 37, where dry bones are raised to life. What appears dead, scattered, and beyond hope is precisely where God speaks. This vision is not merely historical, it is prophetic and personal. It finds its ultimate fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, where death itself is undone and humanity is given new life.
We begin to see that:
- What looks like death is not beyond the reach of the Father’s will
- What feels fractured is not outside the reconciling work of the Son
- What seems empty is not untouched by the life-giving presence of the Holy Spirit
The God revealed in Jesus does not stand at a distance from our brokenness. He enters it. He speaks into it. And by His Spirit, He brings life where there was none.
This same God promises not only life, but unity. In a world marked by division, fragmentation, and hostility, the message reminds us that true reconciliation is not something we manufacture. It is the work of the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. As Ezekiel’s vision of two sticks becoming one points forward, we see its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the One who gathers, heals, and unites a people from every nation, tribe, and language into one communion.
And at the center of it all is this unshakable truth: God does not wait for us to get our lives together before drawing near. He dwells with His people, even in their rebellion in order to cleanse, restore, and renew. This is the heart of Revelation 4, not fear, but worship. Not chaos, but the throne of God. Not uncertainty, but a future secured in Jesus Christ, where all things are being brought together in Him.
As Karl Barth reminds us: “What happened on that day (of Easter) became, was and remained the centre around which everything else moves. For everything lasts its time, but the love of God – which was at work and was expressed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead – lasts forever. Because this event took place, there is no reason to despair, and even when we read the newspaper with all its confusing and frightening news, there is every reason to hope.”
Reflective Moment:
Where do you see “dry bones” in your life right now?
Where has hope grown thin… or even disappeared?
What if those very places are not evidence of God’s absence…
but the very places where He is speaking life?
The invitation of this message is not to strive harder, but to listen more deeply. To come before the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, undistracted and undisturbed… and hear Him say:
“I am here. I am your God. And I am not finished.”
This message doesn’t just speak about hope, it proclaims the living hope we have in Jesus Christ, the One who has already acted, is present with us now, and is faithfully bringing all things to their fulfillment.
Take time to watch and listen to the full message. There is more here, not just for understanding, but for encounter.