Archive for the ‘John 3:16’ Tag
“The Gift of Jesus Christ ✨: God’s Ultimate Act of Love!”
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As we gather to celebrate Christmas, let us reflect on the words of Isaiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). These words proclaim the greatest gift ever given—Jesus Christ. In Him, God has not only given us blessings or good things; He has given us Himself.
Isaiah describes the names of this Child, each one brimming with meaning and hope. He is our Wonderful Counselor, offering wisdom and guidance. He is our Mighty God, strong to save and sustain us. He is our Everlasting Father, tender and protective. And He is the Prince of Peace, bringing reconciliation and hope to a broken world. These titles reveal the fullness of who Christ is—God’s perfect answer to the deepest needs of humanity.
Augustine of Hippo wrote, “God has given us Himself, the giver of all good things, as our delight, and in Him alone is true rest.” Christmas is not only a time to remember a historical event but to marvel at the mystery of the incarnation. God [Father-Son-Holy-Spirit], through His Son and by the Holy Spirit, stepped into our world, becoming one of us so that we might find rest, joy, and life in Him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer beautifully captures this truth when he wrote, “The child in the manger is none other than God Himself, stepping into our world to bring us back to Him.” The manger is a picture of God’s humility—a God who left heaven’s glory to enter our brokenness and draw us near.
But we cannot consider the manger without remembering the cross. J.I. Packer reminds us, “The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father’s will, Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later, He might hang on a cross.” Christmas and Good Friday are inseparably linked. The baby born in Bethlehem came to take on the sin of the world, securing redemption for all who believe.
Athanasius of Alexandria puts it this way, “He became what we are so that He might make us what He is.” In His birth, Christ took on human flesh so that we might be restored to the image of God and receive the gift of divine life.
C. S. Lewis sums it up: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” This is the beauty of Christmas—that through Jesus, we are forgiven, adopted into God [Father-Son-Holy-Spirit]’s family, and made heirs of eternal life.
A Call to Reflection
This Christmas, may we not only celebrate the Child in the manger but bow in worship to the Savior and King who gave Himself fully for us. The Child born for you invites you to draw near, to rest in His love, and to share this hope with others.
Take time today to reflect on what it means that God gave Himself for you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). How does the birth of Christ bring hope to your life, peace to your heart, and joy to your circumstances?
Remember, Christmas is a celebration not just of Christ’s birth but of His mission to redeem us. As Philippians 2:6-8 reminds us, “[Christ], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage… He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
A Shared Celebration
As we celebrate Christmas, let us remember we are part of a story much greater than our own. Let us remember the fullness of His gift. HE is THE HOPE for a world lost in sin, THE PEACE for troubled hearts, and THE JOY that cannot be shaken. Isaiah’s words still ring true today. Together, as the body of Christ, we proclaim the GOOD NEWS: “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). Jesus Christ reigns as our eternal King, and in Him, we find our true rest, peace, joy and salvation.
A Prayer
Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus. In Him, we find hope, peace, and joy in relationship with You, our relational God. Help us to embrace the wonder of His birth, the humility of His life, and the power of His salvation in the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May His love and light shine in and through our hearts this Christmas and always. Amen.
Living By The Spirit!
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Comments (1) 
Full Message:
Main Bible Verse: Ephesians 1: 13 – 14
Introduction:
How are we supposed to be living our lives in these times?
Scripture reminds us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” –Ephesians 1: 13-14
Theological Theme:
These times bring insecurity but God’s [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] great desire for His people is that we feel secure in His love and power. Therefore, the perspective we have of this life should not change as the Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ.
God wants us to have an abundant life but we need to ask “what is our TRUE inheritance and what are we supposed to learn?’ Everything in this life may be unstable – We live in some very unstable times in our society but we are to live by The Spirit and not by our own ways.
Christ Connection:
John 3: 16 – God so LOVED US that he gave us JESUS. He is so passionate to having a people for His own possession that He gave us Jesus/His Son so we can be His possession, who live forever for the praise of His glory.
“By giving us the Holy Spirit, God seals or stamps us as his own at our conversion. And then the Holy Spirit continues to testify, authenticating the reality of this relationship by making us more and more like Jesus. The God who has thus authenticated this relationship will most certainly protect his people through trials and difficulties.” – Erik Raymond
Missional Application:
God sends us His Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to lock in our faith – as an authenticating seal to validate our son-ship, and as a protective seal to keep us out of destructive forces. God wants us to feel secure and safe in His love and power.
Conclusion:
If we are having insecurity issues in understanding that we are to LIVE BY THE SPIRIT and WALK ACCORDINGLY, then we need to read scripture and remind ourselves, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” –Acts 14: 22 and we need be in fellowship “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith….” –John 6: 63
Circumstances will dictate other thoughts and you can forget who you are in Christ, what The Father did through His Son, and what that means for YOU but no matter how hard you are on yourself we have to be reminded that God has CHOSEN YOU and has REDEEMED YOU!
“To be sealed with the Holy Spirit is the gracious gift of God, whereby he demonstrates the authenticity of the believer’s relationship with him and his authority, ownership, and commitment to his people.” – Erik Raymond
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Our Father’s Hope For All: In The Forgiveness Of Sin! pt.6
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Christmas, 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, 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, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, Forgiveness, Forgiveness For Everyone, Forgiveness of Sin, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Is For Us, God Is With Us, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God With Us, God's Faith, God's Forgiveness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, healing, Hope in Christ, Hope in God, Human Nature Renewed, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Idolatry, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Inclusion, Jesus, Jesus Is The Resurrection, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Presence, John 3:16, Love, Luke 24, Luke 7, Luke 7: 36-50, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, Reconciliation, Reconciliation with God, relationship with God, Relationship With Jesus, Relationships, Restored Relationship With God, Resurrection, resurrection of Jesus, Salvation, Sin, Spiritual Healing, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Holy Spirit, transformation, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Truth, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union with Christ, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
Comments (2) 
Part 6A:
Part 6B:
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: Luke 24 Luke 7: 36-50
Introduction:
“Our Father’s hope for all: In The Forgiveness Of Sin” has primarily to do with relationship and how relationships work. It is not some static fact apart from actual relationship. When we say Resurrection, we mean God’s forgiveness resulted not only in the sending away of sin but RELATIONSHIP with JESUS in a RENEWED HUMAN NATURE by the Spirit. This message focuses in on the forgiveness/reconciliation that is ours because of Jesus, The Resurrection.
Theological Theme:
The Gift God gives us is The Gift of Himself. God doesn’t have anything else to give humanity but Himself, so the gift you have been given in The Gospel is God -The Father, Son and Spirit and relationship with Him. This is why Jesus personalized Resurrection saying that HE IS THE RESURRECTION – John 11:25.
Christ Connection:
The primary thing Jesus has been proclaiming is HIMSELF and Who HE IS. Because He is God the Son, the only begotten of The Father, then when He is with us, in our humanity, He is God with us, God for us, for our humanity!
What The Resurrection is proclaiming:
- Jesus is God The Father for us (since He is One with the Father).
- Jesus is The Holy Spirit in us (since the Spirit is One with He and the Father).
- Jesus is God, having done something to our human nature. Jesus is literally inside our human nature and so God is intimate with us by the Holy Spirit in our human nature.
- Jesus is God, transforming our human nature up close and personal – personalizing and humanizing us.
When we say JESUS, we are saying that in Him and because of His union with us as His creation, there is now a reconciled relationship that God has with all with creation. For Jesus to become human and to touch and heal humanity means that what God created but had fallen into sin has now been made right again, in Him, so that we can have hope now and fulfillment at Jesus’ Final Appearing! We receive in Christ the complete forgiveness of sin and at the same time the complete healing of the proper relationship between God and man, and all creation.
“The Gospel is as inclusive as Jesus’ Humanity” – Bobby Grow
Missional Application:
What sin is:
Because God is a relationship and has called us into His relationship, sin means our not believing in Him, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sin is our not trusting, or relating with Him. Sin is turning to something else other than The Father, Son and Spirit for your identity, for guidance in your life, for strength in your trials, etc. Sin is also the horrible motive of seeking to put God to death. Sin according to the scriptures is lawlessness meaning that it corrupts every part of our humanity in word and deed, and everything in between..
However, the one unchanging Truth of the universe is God and His love revealed in Jesus Christ. God is interested in us and in a restored relationship no matter that we have sinned and despite that we have done everything to mess up our relationship with Him. In His fantastic mercy and grace He has placed into the universe, and into His creation in Jesus Christ, THE FULLNESS OF THE FATHER SON AND SPIRIT IN FLESH! So Law in The New Testament is actually the Love of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit Revealed in the human nature of the Son. Since everyone has sinned, and Christ has undone our sin, every human has been forgiven of their sin and reconciled to God in Jesus Christ and, therefore, are each and all called to put their trust in Jesus and receive this forgiveness and reconciliation freely given to us!
Conclusion:
In The Resurrection Season, God The Father proclaims to you through His Son and in the Holy Spirit the forgiveness of all of your sins. Luke 24: 1-8
God wants all to participate in what Christ has done for us and to receive what is already theirs in Christ – THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. The reason your sins are forgiven in Christ is because Jesus is “THE ONE FOR THE MANY”. Knowing Christ in His Resurrection means knowing the forgiveness of ALL your sins. Hear and receive this hope and proclamation of THE COMPLETE forgiveness of your sins because of Jesus, THE Resurrection, and because of Jesus’ Resurrection, bodily, from the dead!
“….Despite man’s sin, God is with him, the One who was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world, drawing man unto Himself in merciful judgment. Man’s evil past is not merely crossed out because of its irrelevancy. Rather, it is in the good care of God. Despite man’s life in the flesh, corrupt and ephemeral, God is with him. The victor in Christ is here and now present through His Spirit, man’s strength, companion, and comfort. Despite man’s death God is with him, meeting him as redeemer and perfecter at the threshold of the future to show him the totality of existence in the true light in which the eyes of God beheld it from the beginning and will behold it evermore. In what He is for man and does for man, God ushers in the history leading to the ultimate salvation of man.” ― Karl Barth, The Humanity of God
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