Resembling Christ

25 April 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Theme: Connecting with God

Topic: Resembling Christ

Reading: 1 John 3:1-7

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.²Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he^* is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. ⁴Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Introduction

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins and reconcile us to Himself. But even beyond the atonement for sin, is the transformation of all who believe in the death and resurrection of Christ do undergo. The transformation occurs through the Holy Spirit and is aimed at making us more like Jesus. Why do we not just believe in Him but also have to be like Him? In dying on the Cross, Christ put to death the desires of the flesh and called us to be like Him. As we get connected with God, we are transformed to the image and likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. In this study, we shall discuss what it means to be like Jesus and why the transformation has to occur in all believers.

Questions/Discussion

1. What does becoming like Christ mean to you?

Romans 8:15-17, 29-30

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness^* with our spirit that we are children of God,¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

²⁹For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.^*30And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Galatians 3:26-29, 4:1-7

for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^* heirs according to the promise.

^4:1-7 My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property;²but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.³So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits^* of the world.⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^* hearts, crying, ‘Abba!^* Father!’⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.^*

1 John 3:2-3

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he^* is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

2. How do we become more Christ-like?

John 14:23-26

Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. ²⁵ ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you.²⁶But the Advocate,^* the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

1 Timothy 5:22, 6:11-21

Do not ordain^* anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

^6:11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made^* the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.¹³In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you¹⁴to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,¹⁵which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.¹⁶It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen. ¹⁷ As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,¹⁹thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. ²⁰ Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; ²¹by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.

James 4:7-8

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1 Peter 1:22-23

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth^* so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply^* from the heart.^*23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.^*

Mention some of the benefits and hindrances.

3. When are we expected to resemble Christ - now, later or both?

Philippians 3:12-21

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;^* but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.¹³Beloved,^* I do not consider that I have made it my own;^* but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly^* call of God in Christ Jesus.¹⁵Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you.¹⁶Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. ¹⁷ Brothers and sisters,^* join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.¹⁸For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.¹⁹Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.²⁰But our citizenship^* is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.²¹He will transform the body of our humiliation^* so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,^* by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

We are called to be like Jesus. As ambassadors of Christ, let us live and love like Him, our Perfect Example, that when He comes He will find us working for Him.

Closing Prayer

Lord, it is only through your Holy Spirit that we become transformed to the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live according to Your purpose all the days of our lives. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

United in Christ

18 April 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Theme: Connecting with God

Topic: United in Christ

Reading: Acts 4:32-35

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Introduction

One of the great things that God achieves when we come to Christ is unity among the believers. People of diverse and even divisive backgrounds lifting up the name of Christ in one accord and praising God together. When you take a look at human history, several activities or even beliefs have brought people together but unlike Christianity, most of those activities have some inherent divisive tendencies. Take for example sports; they bring people together but to cheer for different and rival teams, and although this is not always the case, atimes sports can bring strife and violence. Sports bring people together but have certain perhaps unintended developments. By sending His Son to die for us on the Cross, God does not just want us to connect with Him but that we also be united in the body of Christ, as we come to believe in Him and in His power to save and deliver.

Questions/Discussion

1. What is your understanding of Christian unity?

Psalm 133

¹ How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes. ³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.

John17: 6-12, 20-23, 25-26

‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them in your name that^* you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost,^* so that the scripture might be fulfilled.

²⁰ ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,^* so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁵ ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Acts 4:32-35 - see above

2. How are we united in Christ?

Romans 8:14-17

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’ ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness^* with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

1 Corinthians 12:12-19, 27

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  ¹⁴ Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be?

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

3. What are some of the factors or issues that bring division among Christians

and how should they be handled?

John 6:52-69

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ ⁵³So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; ⁵⁵for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ ⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. ⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ ⁶¹But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? ⁶²Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. ⁶⁵And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’ ⁶⁶ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’^*

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^* by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.^{* 12}What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ ¹³Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God^* that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

Our call as Christians is a call to unity in Christ, a call to love and be loved. Let us strive to seek unity in Christ at all times that God may reach the world through us.

Closing Prayer

Thank you Lord, for not just saving us but also making us one family with you and with one another. Continue to unite us with your love and grant us the heart and grace to love everyone just as You first loved us. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Simply believe

11 April 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Theme: Connecting with God

Topic: Simply believe

Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’³Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb.⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.⁵He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.⁸Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;⁹for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes. ¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look^* into the tomb;¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.¹³They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’¹⁴When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.¹⁵Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’¹⁶Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,^* ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).¹⁷Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Introduction

The Easter message is a powerful and life-changing one. Christ paid the price for our salvation ushering us into a new life in Him and reconciling us with God. Several factors make the Easter celebration a unique one. For me, the most powerful of these factors is the reminder that God loves us beyond our greatest and wildest imagination. According to the Scriptures, Christ Himself raised several people up from the dead so what makes His ressurrection unique, different and so powerful? The Calvary Cross on which Christ died followed by His resurection represent several realities: love, salvation, mercy, favor, justice, acceptance, reconciliation, freedom, liberty, healing and the list goes on. This evening we shall be considering how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ connect us with God and how we can easily miss out on this reality through unbelief.

Questions/Discussion

1. Why did the disciples disbelieve that Christ has risen from the dead and what are the lessons for us?

Mark 10:32-34

They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him,³³saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;³⁴they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’

Mark 16:1-14

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.³They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.⁶But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.^*

The Shorter Ending of Mark

[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.^* ]

The Longer Ending of Mark

[Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.¹⁰She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping.¹¹But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. ¹² After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.¹³And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. ¹⁴ Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.^*

John 20:10-17

Then the disciples returned to their homes. ¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look^* into the tomb;¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.¹³They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’¹⁴When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.¹⁵Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’¹⁶Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,^* ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).¹⁷Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’

2. What are the implications of Christ resurrection for us today?

John 11:21-27

Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’²³Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’²⁴Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’²⁵Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.^* Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’²⁷She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,^* the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

Philippians 3:7-11

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.⁸More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ,^* the righteousness from God based on faith.¹⁰I want to know Christ^* and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

3. What are the reasons for doubts about the resurrection of Christ in our world today?

Acts 17:16-22

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.¹⁷So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place^* every day with those who happened to be there.¹⁸Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)¹⁹So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?²⁰It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.’²¹Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. ²² Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.

Acts 17: 29-34

Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent,³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’ ³² When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’³³At that point Paul left them.³⁴But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

Christ is the resurrection and the Life; in Him we have our being. Let us believe with all our heart, soul and mind, that the resurrection power of Christ will permeate all our being.

Closing Prayer

Thank you Lord for saving us through the death and resurrection of Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant us a believing heart that will trust and love you all the days of our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be all the glory, honor and adoration, now and forever. Amen.