Archive for the ‘Run With Endurance’ Tag
“A Picture of The Father’s Love for Humanity!”
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Children's Ministry, 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, Lent, 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, Faith, Father's love, First Sunday In Lent, fix your eyes on jesus, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, Hebrews, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews12:1-2, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life In Christ, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Participate Doc't Spectate, Press On, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Run With Endurance, 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?, You Belong
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Audio Part A:
Audio Part B:
Full Audio Message:
Watch on YouTube:
Summary:
In this sermon, Pastor Timothy Brassell proclaimed a powerful hope-filled message from Hebrews. Rather than focusing Lent merely on self-denial, the sermon lifted our eyes to Jesus, the Son who fasted, trusted, obeyed, suffered, and was glorified on our behalf. At the heart of the message was this profound truth: Jesus took our humanity into Himself and lived the faithful human life we could not live. He actively obeyed the Father and passively entrusted Himself even through suffering and death. As Hebrews calls us:
“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”— Hebrews 12:1–2 (CSB)
Jesus did not save us from a distance. He entered fully into our humanity. As John Brown wrote: “The Son of God, had He never become incarnate, might have pitied, but He could not have sympathized with His people. To render Him capable of sympathy, it was necessary that He should become man that he might be susceptible of suffering, and that he should actually be a sufferer that he might be susceptible of sympathy.”— John Brown, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
This is the Father’s love on display. Not abstract compassion, but incarnate solidarity. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Because of this love, we are not spectators but participants in Christ’s communion with the Father through the Holy Spirit. Hebrews warns us: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”— Hebrews 3:15 (CSB)
Lent is not about coasting but pressing on. As Bonhoeffer also wrote: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”— The Cost of Discipleship
This death is not destruction but the surrender of pride and unbelief. In Christ, humanity has already been lifted, healed, and brought into communion with the Triune God. The call of Lent is clear: take Jesus most seriously and then take your life in Him seriously. Look up. Trust deeply. Press on. Respond today.
Key Themes and Reflection Questions:
- Take Jesus Most Seriously 🙌👑
Theme: Lent calls us to look up, not down. To fix our eyes on Jesus, who has already defeated sin and stands as our faithful human representative before the Father.
Discipleship Question: In what area of your life do you need to stop focusing on your weakness and start focusing on who Jesus is and what He has already done? - You Belong to the Father ❤️🏠
Theme: The Father’s love is revealed in giving His Son to become human forever. In Christ, humanity is not rejected but embraced, you belong to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Discipleship Question: Do you truly live as someone who belongs to God, or are you still trying to earn a place in His love? - Participation, Not Spectating 🤝🔥
Theme: Jesus did not act instead of us but on our behalf so we could share in His life. We are not spectators cheering from the stands. We are participants in His obedience, faith, and communion with the Father.
Discipleship Question: Where is Jesus inviting you to actively participate in His life rather than passively admire it? - Press On with Endurance 🏃♂️✨
Theme: The Christian life is not coasting downhill but pressing forward with endurance. We run the race by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1–2).
Discipleship Question: Are you striving to enter God’s rest and grow in faith today, or have you begun to coast spiritually? - Guard Your Heart — Respond Today ⏳💛
Theme: Hebrews warns against hardening our hearts. The Holy Spirit is drawing us now. Delayed obedience leads to spiritual dullness; receptive faith leads to life and glory.
Discipleship Question: Is there something the Spirit is asking you to respond to today that you have been postponing?
Reflective Moment:
Take a quiet moment to picture Jesus standing before the Father, faithful, obedient, fully human, and fully alive. Now remember: He stands there not apart from you, but for you and with you. Hear the Spirit’s gentle call: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.” Ask the Father to soften your heart, deepen your trust, and strengthen you to press on with endurance. Thank Him that in Christ, it is “all but impossible to fail,” because Jesus has already gone before you.