Look around and identify where
you see hope. There just isn’t that much hope in the world today. The world
economy isn’t offering a whole lot of promise. The streets are restless with
racism and violence. The political scene is filled with empty promises. Sometimes
relationships are good and sometimes they are, well, not so good. Even our
wardrobe is either outdated or it doesn’t fit! Oh, sure we see and experience
pockets of hope from time-to-time; everyday life in this world isn’t always
hopeless. But if we lock our hope in what this world has to offer we will live
like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh who didn’t find any reason for joy when he
looked around. As Christians this shouldn’t surprise us; our ultimate hope is
found beyond this world. Paul wrote,
“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most
to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)
What he is saying is that even
if we have Christ and that relationship with Him doesn’t offer us anything
outside of what we experience in this life then we are miserable indeed. We
have been called to live a life of denying self and suffering (Galatians 2:20) and
if there is no resurrection then we are just poor chumps slogging through life.
Through Christ God not only offers us forgiveness in the present, He also
offers us resurrection hope in the future. Think about it, if Christ is not
raise doesn’t that just put us right back on the same slippery slope as
everyone else, looking for hope in a hopeless world?
Does this means that Christians
are just supposed to exist in this life and hold no value in living in the
world today with a “pie-in-the-sky” attitude? Absolutely not! We have enough
instruction in God’s Word to teach us that there are wonderful opportunities
and there is great value in living today (cf.
Romans 5:1-5). Paul even ended his great chapter on the resurrection with these
sound words,
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not
in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Yes, there is a reason to get
up, get dressed and head out the door – God has something for us to do. It may
not be fun, it may not feel good, but anything done for the glory of the Lord
is worth doing and has eternal value.
The doctrine of the resurrection
holds out hope to us. And hope is what we look for every day. When we have hope
it energizes us to do the work God has called us to do.
He Is Alive…Hope Is Alive!
Scott
We are at that time of year when
our mission’s focus is on the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. But what exactly
does this mean? And who was Annie Armstrong? Let me tell you about Annie and
then I’ll move our focus to the offering.
Annie Armstrong (1850-1938) was
born in Maryland, saved at age nineteen, and helped plant a church at
twenty-one. She was instrumental in establishing the Woman’s Missionary Union
in 1888. She was the WMU’s first secretary of correspondence. One year she
wrote more than 18,000 letters! She was obviously passionate about writing that
included writing curriculum for the Sunday School board.
Armstrong was also involved in
leading the WMU to raise money for foreign and home missions. While she was
serving as secretary (1888-1906) total offerings for the Foreign Mission Board
increased 266.27907% ($86,000 to $315,000). This increase is mainly attributed
to her passion for missions.
She had a tireless mentality of
doing all she could for the glory of God and the advancement of the Kingdom.
This commitment was felt throughout the world through missions and the Southern
Baptist Convention.
The convention goal this year is
$60 million; our part in this is $1,500. 100% of the monies given through the
Annie Armstrong Offering will be used for missionary work in the United States
and Canada. The funds will be used for church planting, college evangelism, and
training the next generation of missionaries through apprenticeships, internships
and student missionaries.
Giving to the Annie Armstrong
Offering is not a duty, it is a delight. Our giving should reflect a sacrifice
beyond our regular giving of tithes and offerings to support Calvary; our
sacrifice should reflect the sacrifice of Annie Armstrong. If we truly
sacrifice the way God would want us to I wonder if our offering wouldn’t blow
the doors off our goal? After all, it’s only a goal.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
The resurrection is a doctrine of hope. It is a truth that was shrouded in mystery for centuries to Old Testament believers. The believers who lived before Christ's resurrection were not given much revelation from God about what happened to those who died. But even those believers trusted that God would do the right thing. Job said of his life after death,
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. (Job 19:25-26)
At this point in history God had not chosen to pull back the curtain to reveal what happened to His followers after they died. The mystery of what ultimately happened to the body after death continued. And then it happened! Three days after Jesus' agonizing death on the cross He physically raised from the dead. What was once a total mystery began to be revealed. God began to give a glimpse of His plan for our physical bodies after we die.
God continued to progressively reveal His ways throughout the New Testament. When we finally come upon Paul he basically throws the curtain wide open so all could see. Paul was dealing with this issue with the believers in Thessalonica; he wanted to give them hope in the midst of grieving for those who had died and so he wrote,
But we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep...The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive...will be caught up together with them...and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, 16-17)
I believe people look for hope in death. The one true hope believers have in death is that God is not done with their believing loved ones. He clearly promises a resurrection to eternal life for those who believe in Him. The resurrection of His Son, Jesus, is proof positive of the authenticity of the resurrection. The resurrection we celebrate every week as we gather on the first day of the week infuses us with hope!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
I have some great news! Actually I have three things I want to share with you this week...
First, Greg Mickey has announced that he has been called by God to the ministry of the gospel. This has been weighing on Greg's heart for some time now and in a way he has "stuck his neck out" by telling everyone. This is a step of faith and I believe God will honor him and Beth because of it. One huge hurdle that is out of the way for Greg is his education; he holds a Master of Divinity degree and so his official training is complete, but he still has more to do. Sunday morning Calvary Baptist Church approved to move forward to ordain him. Ordination puts our personal stamp of approval on his life and call. More details to come...
Second, we had a wonderful day of family worship. It was fantastic to see the familiar faces, and some new ones, gathered to give thanks to an awesome God for raising His Son from the dead. The resurrection gives us hope for the future. The last great enemy we face is death. Paul wrote that "death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54). In that context what "swallows" up the sting of death is the resurrection (cf. vv. 51-53).
Finally, the Building Fund Easter Offering...I know, you've probably already looked at the financial report if you get one, but if you just read this blog I want you to know. But really I just want to honor God and not us. Yes, the offering was off the hook for Sunday with $8,070 coming in just fore the building fund, and the general offering was one of the best also. But we must, and I mean must, keep in mind that we don't get any of the credit. I am thrilled that even though we are in a recession that God's people can, and will, give sacrificially beyond their means. This offering is huge for us, but it proves that when we look beyond our ability and see life in the heavenly realm where we are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6) that nothing is impossible for God to accomplish! This brings our total giving for the Building Fund Easter Offering up to $18,261.28 which means we still have $1,738.74 to go to meet the goal.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
The cross centers our life and the resurrection gives us hope. The cross without the resurrection is a l
esson in tragic hopelessness. This is something that Paul confronted the believers with in Corinth.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ESV)
Paul saw that underneath all the dismaying problems of the Corinthians lay one massive theological falsehood: they denied the resurrection of the dead. And by doing that, they denied the importance of the world that God created. They denied that these flawed bodies of ours are loved by God and we will be redeemed.
Notice the "if's" in the above passage, they are piled up and by doing this Paul is raising the stakes higher and higher. He ties Christ's resurrection in with our resurrection. Paul's point is simple: if the Corinthian position on the resurrection prevails then we have no past and no future! That is, if we have believed in Christ's resurrection as giving us hope for the future when there is no hope for the future, then we are truly the most miserable people on the planet.
But the resurrection is true and therefore our hope is real. And hope changes everything. Join us this Sunday as we focus on the resurrection of our great Shepherd, Jesus.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
