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“Jesus’ Membership Has Its Privileges, Rewards, and Costs!”
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Children's Ministry, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, Fiction, 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, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, 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: Acts 3, Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Life, 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?
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Scripture: Acts 3: 1-11
Summary:
“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.”— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
What does it really mean to be a member of Jesus Christ’s Church?
In Acts 3:1–11, Peter and John encounter a man who had been unable to walk from birth. He is carried daily to the temple gate to beg, expecting Peter and John to give him money. Instead, Peter tells him, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” The man rises, enters the temple with them, and begins walking, leaping, and praising God.
But Pastor Timothy Brassell invites us to look beyond the miracle and ask an important question: Who are Peter and John, and what does their relationship with Jesus reveal about who we are as His Church?
Peter and John are not acting independently of Jesus. Acts is the continuing ministry of the risen and ascended Jesus Christ, working in and through His people by the Holy Spirit. Jesus remains the Head of His Body, and His followers are invited to participate with Him in what He is doing. This is not simply Peter and John’s story, it is also our story as members of Christ’s Body. Their lives show us something of what it means to be chosen by Christ, to belong to Christ, and to be sent by Christ for His purposes in the world. That changes the way we understand church membership.
Membership is more than having our name on a church roll, attending worship, or simply identifying ourselves as Christians. As Pastor Tim emphasizes, “Membership is union with Christ and participating with Christ.” We are members of His Body, joined to Christ and to one another for participation in His continuing ministry. To be a member of Christ’s Body means recognizing that we belong to Someone else. Our lives are His, and He has joined and gifted us together for the common good.
The Father has made His purpose for humanity known in His Son. Jesus Christ has taken our humanity upon Himself, represented and substituted for us, and included us in His relationship with the Father. The Holy Spirit invites and enables us to believe, receive, enjoy, and participate in that life, and to freely share this Good News with others.
Peter and John give us a picture of what that participation looks like. They worship together, pray together, witness together, and participate together in what Jesus is doing. The Christian life was never intended to be an isolated, individualistic existence. We are called to be in the world but not of it, learning to think, live, love, and serve according to Jesus Christ. Our life together reflects the relational, self-giving life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Bonhoeffer’s words speak powerfully into this reality:“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.“ Membership in Christ’s Body turns us outward because Jesus invites us to participate with Him in His continuing ministry to others.
Membership Has Its Privileges
One of the extraordinary privileges of belonging to Jesus is that we are real partners with Jesus Christ in His continuing ministry. The risen and ascended Jesus has not stopped working in the world. By the Holy Spirit, He continues His ministry through His Body, the Church. Each believer is gifted for the common good so that Christ may build up His Body and make Himself known to others.
Peter and John were not spectators watching Jesus work, and neither are we. Jesus invites us to participate with Him as He encourages, strengthens, heals, serves, reconciles, and draws people into the knowledge of Himself and His Father in the Holy Spirit. And this participation does not mean that we are doing Jesus’ work for Him. Christ Himself is at work in us and through us as we participate with Him. That is the extraordinary privilege of membership: the One who calls us is also the One who empowers us. Jesus chooses to share His ministry with us.
Membership Has Its Rewards
The greatest reward of belonging to Jesus is not material prosperity or an easy life. We receive Jesus Himself. In Him, we share His relationship with His Father in the Holy Spirit. Eternal life is not merely endless existence; it is participation in the life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus gives us His presence, peace, joy, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a hope and inheritance that cannot be measured by the temporary circumstances of this world. This does not mean we escape difficulty. Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble, but He also tells us to take heart because He has overcome the world.
There is no uncertainty about the final outcome. The victory has already been won in Christ. The question Pastor Tim presses upon us is: Will we participate in His victory? Will we take our relationship with Jesus seriously enough to trust Him, follow Him, and participate with Him even when doing so requires us to press through discomfort, discouragement, opposition, or fear? Our greatest reward is Christ Himself and the astonishing gift of sharing His life with the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Membership Has Its Costs
Participation with Jesus also has a cost. After the healing in Acts 3, Peter and John proclaim Jesus Christ and soon face opposition, arrest, and imprisonment. Following Jesus was never promised to be comfortable. There will be times when participation in Christ means denying ourselves, pressing through discouragement, facing opposition, and continuing to proclaim the Gospel even when others do not want to hear it. One of the real costs of proclaiming the Gospel is accepting that not everyone is going to like it or receive it. Yet the possibility of rejection cannot silence the Church.
We live in the world, but we are not called to become of the world. Our thinking, living, loving, serving, and witnessing remain centered in Jesus Christ. Even when following Him carries a cost, we continue participating because we know who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for humanity. Pastor Tim reminds us that this does not mean forcing Jesus upon people, irritating them, or treating His name as some kind of formula. Instead, we look at others with the Holy Spirit, asking Him for wisdom and creativity in how we participate in what Jesus is already doing in their lives.
If someone already believes, we seek to help them believe more and allow them to strengthen us as well. If someone does not yet believe, we desire to help them come to believe. And if someone is rejecting Jesus, we continue lovingly pointing them toward the One who has already represented and substituted for them and desires that they know and receive the life that is theirs in Him. Why? Because we know the privileges and rewards of knowing Jesus Christ. We know the Father revealed in Him. We know the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit. Having received such Good News, how can we keep it only to ourselves? Acts 3, then, is more than the story of Peter, John, and a man who was healed. It is a picture of the Church participating in the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ.
We are His Body. He is our Head. We belong to one another because together we belong to Him. Each of us has been called and gifted for the common good, and Christ joins us together so that, by the Holy Spirit, His life may be made visible and His Gospel may go out into the world.
Membership in Jesus has privileges. It has rewards. And yes, it has costs. But through it all, we are participating in something far greater than ourselves. The continuing ministry of Jesus Christ and the life and purpose of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit God revealed in Him.
Reflective Moment
What does membership in Jesus Christ mean to you?
Is it primarily a name on a list or a place you attend? Or do you see yourself as a living member of Christ’s Body, someone He has called, gifted, and joined to others to participate with Him in His ministry?
Where might Jesus be inviting you to participate with Him right now? Perhaps there is a believer He is calling you to encourage and strengthen. Perhaps there is someone who does not yet believe whom the Holy Spirit is inviting you to love, serve, and gently point toward Christ. Perhaps there is someone who has rejected Jesus whom you have stopped believing can ever change. Or perhaps Jesus is calling you out of isolation and into deeper fellowship with another believer. With someone you can pray, worship, serve, encourage, and walk with. Remember, you do not participate alone. The Father has called you into His purpose. The Son has joined Himself to you and shares His ministry with you. The Holy Spirit lives and works in you, empowering you to participate.
So the question is not simply, “Am I a member of the Church?” The deeper question is:
“Am I actively participating with Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, in what the Father is doing in the world?”
Watch Pastor Timothy Brassell’s full Gospel Message, to hear more about what Acts 3:1–11 reveals about belonging to Christ, participating in His continuing ministry, and living together as His Body in the world.
“Questions and Responses About Jesus and The Christian Life!”
Filed under: Advent, Ascension, Ascension of Jesus, 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, 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: 1 Corinthians 15, acts 28: 23-31, Acts. 19: 8-10, Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Life, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Corinthians 12: 12-27, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, epiphany, Faith, Faith and questioins, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, Hebrews 10, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Jesus at the center, John 11:25, 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, season of ephiphany, 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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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Summary:
On the Second Sunday after Epiphany, the congregation gathered for an open and honest conversation about Jesus and the Christian life. The message took an unusual but refreshing format. Instead of a traditional sermon, the service became a living theological conversation led by Pastor Timothy Brassell, an opportunity for real questions and thoughtful responses.
Following his recent teaching series on the Ascension of Christ, and as a follow-up to a previously shared interview on the Ascension featuring theologian Cherith Fee Nordling, Pastor Tim invited the congregation to ask real questions about Jesus, salvation, and the Christian life. What unfolded was a rich, Gospel-centered dialogue rooted in Scripture and centered on Christ, with each question carefully summarized and pastorally addressed for the benefit of all.
Note: This message was presented in a live Q&A format. Some of the original questions are not fully audible in the recording, but the pastoral responses and key themes are clear and are reflected in the written summary.
Discussion and dialogue are biblical practices, modeled by the early church (Acts 19:8–10; Acts 28:23–31). The theological foundations of these conversations were rooted in the apostolic witness to Christ (Ephesians 1; 1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 10).
Key Highlights and Themes:
Here are the major theological emphases that emerged:
- Jesus is eternally human.
The Ascension means Jesus did not stop being human. He remains fully God and fully man forever and this changes how we understand our future.
As theologian T. F. Torrance explains: “The ascension means that in Jesus Christ our humanity has been lifted up into the very presence of God.”
- Christianity is relational, not merely informational.
Discussion, dialogue, and shared learning are biblical practices, modeled by the early church (Acts 19:8–10; Acts 28:23–31). Faith grows in community and conversation.
- The Church is a body, not isolated individuals.
Faith is personal but never private. To be Christian is to be joined to Christ and to one another (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). The Ascension reminds us that Christ gathers His people into one living body.
- All theology must keep Jesus at the center.
Every question—about salvation, forgiveness, resurrection, or eternal life—must begin with who Jesus is and what He has done.
As Dr. Cherith Fee Nordling reminds us: “Jesus’ talk about the kingdom is to talk about the King; the kingdom doesn’t exist apart from him.”
- Resurrection is not just an event; it is a Person.
Jesus Himself is “the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25). Our hope rests not in an idea or a doctrine, but in the living Christ.
Pastor Tim reminded the church that Epiphany means “a flash of insight,” and that the greatest epiphany the world has ever received is the revelation of Jesus Christ. God with us, fully human and fully divine forever. Because Jesus has ascended and remains human eternally, our understanding of God, salvation, and the Christian life must always be centered in Him.
The heart of the message was simple but profound:
“Jesus is the answer, so what is your question?”
From that foundation, the church explored deep questions about salvation, resurrection, eternal security, and what it truly means to be human in Christ. The conversation revealed that theology is not meant to be abstract. It is meant to shape our daily lives, our worship, and our hope.
Below are the main questions that arose during the discussion, along with pastoral responses that kept returning to one central conviction: every Christian question must be answered by looking first to Jesus Christ
QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES:
QUESTION 1: What does it really mean to say, “I’m only human”?
Response: We often excuse our mistakes by saying, “I’m only human.”
But in light of Jesus, true humanity is not defined by sin and failure. Real humanity is seen in Christ.
- To sin is not truly “human”
- To love, obey, forgive, and trust God. That is true humanity
- Jesus shows us what being fully human actually looks like
Insight: Anything in us that is unlike Jesus is not truly human. It is broken humanity.
QUESTION 2: Why does the resurrection matter?
Response: Resurrection matters because:
- Jesus’ resurrection was a real, physical, human resurrection
- Humanity is not temporary. Jesus remains human forever
- Our future hope is not to become spirits, but glorified human beings like Christ
The resurrection means God has permanently united Himself to humanity.
QUESTION 3: Are we “once saved, always saved”?
Response Summary: Pastor Tim explained an important distinction:
- In Christ, all humanity is INCLUDED by nature
- But salvation is also personal, it involves our response
Jesus united Himself to human nature, but each person must respond to Him personally. So:
- Humanity is saved in Christ objectively
- But each person must receive that salvation subjectively
Eternal security is found not in our own faithfulness, but in Jesus’ faithfulness on our behalf. “You cannot look at yourself and feel secure. You must look at Jesus.” –Pastor Timothy Brassell
QUESTION 4: What does the Ascension actually accomplish?
Response: The Ascension is essential because:
- Jesus had to ascend in order to send the Holy Spirit
- Through the Ascension, Christ shares His perfected humanity with us
- The Spirit brings the life of Jesus into our daily experience
Without the Ascension, the Christian life would not be possible.
QUESTION 5: Will we always have a body in eternity?
Response (based on 1 Corinthians 15): Yes, but it will be a glorified, spiritual body.
- Not less physical than now, but MORE alive
- Recognizable, yet transformed
- Like the resurrected body of Jesus
The Christian hope is not escape from the body, but the renewal of it.
QUESTION 6: Can we really approach God with confidence?
Referencing Hebrews 10 and Ephesians 2:
Response: Because of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension:
- We have full access to the Father
- Not by our own goodness
- But through the perfect humanity of Jesus
Right now, by faith, believers already share in Christ’s heavenly life.
Reflective Moment:
The day reminded us that the Christian faith is not afraid of questions. In fact, honest questions often become the doorway to deeper worship. When our questions begin with Jesus and end with Jesus, they lead not to confusion, but to clarity, confidence, and hope.
Scripture invites us to draw near to God with confidence, not because of our certainty, but because of Christ’s faithfulness. As the letter to the Hebrews declares, “We have confidence to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)” (Hebrews 10:19–20).
Our assurance rests not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ, who stands before the Father in our place. John Calvin expressed this truth simply and clearly: “Christ entered heaven in our name, so that now heaven is opened to us.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, II.16.16)
Because of this, our questions need not lead us into fear or uncertainty. They can lead us into rest. Augustine gave voice to this deep human longing when he prayed: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions, Book I). So we rest today in Jesus Christ, the One who has opened the way to the Father and holds our lives securely within the life of God.
Youtube link : Let Us Grow In Jesus’ Grace And Knowledge
It’s Time For Jesus To Renew Your Mind!
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verse: Romans 12: 1-2
Introduction:
“There is no point in playing down the staggering significance of the incarnation and resurrection. God the Creator of the universe, transcendent over all time and space, has himself become a creature within time and space, the man Jesus Christ… within the measures and limits’ of our human historical existence, he is at work in immeasurable love defeating the forces of darkness, irrationality and evil within creaturely being where they are…entrenched. The eternal Word-and-Reason of God has become human flesh, personally penetrating into and participating in…our existence!!” – T.F. Torrance, “Space, Time and Resurrection”
It is better to think of this Christian life mainly as something that God will pull off by grace and not something that you will pull off by works. The Father, through The Son, by The Spirit, meets us in the world in which we live right now. In the middle of the mess. The Father and The Son have broken into our chaos, along with The Holy Spirit and every BREAK-IN by Jesus is a BREAK-WITH the something else that was creating the chaos and holding us hostage.
Theological Theme:
Father, Son and Spirit God IN GRACE has given HIMSELF AS GRACE to be among us and to lead us from wherever he is right now. You are the beloved child of God in Jesus Christ. The beloved child the Father always wanted. This is not possible to believe and receive part from receiving the Hoy Spirit and having Spiritual union with Jesus Christ. Our Father is not discouraged that you, personally, have not yet fully received this truth about yourself but, encouragingly, He has made provision in His Son, Jesus Christ, to receive all those things on your behalf and in your place, so that you can trust him and grow up into Him, increasingly, by His grace!
Christ Connection:
We are being called by Jesus to have our minds renewed. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. This is possible because he has gone before us and “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” – Hebrews 12:2, and he sends us the holy Spirit.
There is not a year on this earth or a political situation anywhere where Jesus is not human now and king of the universe. There is not a minute of pandemic and panic-filled life that Jesus is not the Savior of the whole world. Jesus meets us first as The Word, as The ONE who speaks to us, who lovingly comes to us and embraces us, who speaks a word of grace and love and goodness and gospel to us about Who he is and also who we are in him.
Missional Application:
We have the Person of the Holy Spirit of God. The very Spirit of the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is the way that God is. He is God’s exact characteristics being God of God himself. He shares with us the characteristics of Jesus The Son who is always giving Himself in self-sacrificing, self-giving love for the other for the sake of the Father. The Spirit is the answer to the questions: “What has Jesus done for us and done on our behalf?” “What is He doing for us now? “How will that reach us?” “How will we participate with Jesus and what He is doing to glorify His Father, to honor Him?”
The answer is: He is poured out on the human race and from Whom we are given grace and power from Jesus to receive him. All people everywhere are continually encouraged to turn from their sin, turn to Jesus and relate with him in the communion of the Holy Spirit, becoming the saved and adopted children of God.
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