Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Holding Firm" – Saturday, 18 October 2014 - Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Holding Firm" – Saturday, 18 October 2014 - Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15: Resurrection
1-2 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you’re in this for good and holding fast.)
3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.
10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.
"Holding Firm" by Matthew Thomas
In this passage, the apostle Paul does two things: he gives a history lesson, then reminds the readers that it is more than a lesson. It is the very basis of the Christian faith. Jesus died, was buried, rose to life, appeared to many, and ascended to heaven. These truths impact us more than we know.
We should hold firmly to this gospel; it is the only truth worth clinging to. We know many things to be true–oxygen is necessary for our survival, gravity holds things in place, and actions have consequences. However, none of these truths can bring us to heaven, forgive our sin, or reestablish our original purpose and calling. Jesus does. That is why we hold firmly to this passage's teaching above all others. It is not just stuff of faith, but of life.
Paul warns against believing in vain. There are two ways to do that. The first is to believe that which is untrue; the second is to forsake that which is true. Paul's concern is the latter; all who believe in Jesus should guard against that pitfall. Hold firm.

Hymn for Today:

"Where He Leads I'll Follow" by William A. Ogden
1. Sweet are the promises, kind is the word,
Dearer far than any message man ever heard;
Pure was the mind of Christ, sinless I see;
He the great example is, and pattern for me.
Refrain:
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow all the way.
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow Jesus ev’ry day.
2. Sweet is the tender love Jesus hath shown,
Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known;
Kind to the erring one, faithful is He;
He the great example is, and pattern for me.
Refrain:
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow all the way.
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow Jesus ev’ry day.
3. List to His loving words, Come unto Me;
Weary, heavy laden, there is sweet rest for thee;
Trust in His promises, faithful and sure;

Lean upon the Savior, and thy soul is secure.
Refrain:
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow all the way.
Where He leads I’ll follow,
Follow Jesus ev’ry day.
Thought for Today:

“The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story—no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
The word that saves is right here,
    as near as the tongue in your mouth,
    as close as the heart in your chest.
It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”"(Romans 10:4-10).
Prayer Needs:
That many people in Nicaragua will come to Know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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