We are a forgetful people in a land of distractions. Our minds are easily captivated by trivial and temporary inducements. New things quickly become old. In our mind’s eye even glory tends to fade and warnings tend to wane. It is no wonder that we who are invisibly united to Christ and visibly in and not of this world live in constant need of renewal. And what is true for the Christian is true for the church. This is a series that seeks to renew the mind of the church. Not so much by reviewing what she is called to do as much as what she is called. As with the Christian so with church, her God-given identity defines her. We who are the church are a people for God and none other.
Before we return to the book of Romans, we will be looking at the what scripture says about the Church, in its nature, how she expresses herself in song, and how the church cares and equips for its members.
The messages from this series can be found here:
Manny Pereira - September 29, 2019
Undeniably the Christ
Jesus is undeniably the Christ—the long-awaited, promised Messiah, the unique God-man come to redeem. He has come as the glory of a new dawn upon this darkened world dominated by sin’s suffering and satanic influence, to save us. We have witnessed His authority and power over creation and corruption. We have witnessed Him as God touching humanity with deepest compassion. Now, in this passage, we see Him as the promised light come into the world to cast out darkness; the promised Son come to crush Satan. It is crowning and climactic. In the progress of Jesus’ self-revelation, this passage uniquely and undeniably testifies to Him as the Christ. It also begins to unlock the riddle seen in His rejection. The irony, again, is rich and profoundly symbolic. Here blind men see more than scholars. Here there is no clearer witness to Jesus’ scriptural identity and yet there is no clearer rejection of Him by those who most study Scripture. The crescendo is sounded. The Christ is revealed. How will those who see and hear respond?
Scripture References: Matthew 9:27-34
