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Topic: Story of God

The King is Coming

December 3, 2023
In the middle of another election cycle here in the US of A, we are drawn to the candidates, looking for someone who is going to give us a quick fix to the complex issues of the nation. Isaiah speaks of a moment in history 2800 years ago, and only the names have changed.
The people who listened to Jesus teach at the temple every day woke up Friday morning, to find him already beaten, bloody, and nailed to a cross. The future hope of Israel was bleeding out in front of their very eyes. But as Jesus dies on the cross, there are a lot of massively significant things happening.
The religious leaders need the Roman authorities to rubber stamp the execution orders, so they take Jesus to the governor of Judea, Pilate. After much back and forth discussion, Pilate offers an exchange: The guilty for the innocent; the criminal for the king; Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ. The religious leaders make their choice, and the crucifixion is approved.
Resurrection Sunday, 2023 – Every one of us has a dominant story that shapes the way we view the world, ourselves, and God. For some it's a story of pain, loss, rejection. For others it's a story of hard work, effort put in, and reward or accomplishment. But all of those stories are but smaller stories inside the Greatest Story...the Story of God as spoken in the Bible.
In our humanity and our near-sightedness, we tend to forget that God has been at work for decades and centuries before we ever arrived on the scene, and that what we are participating in today is just another chapter in His story of redemption.
How do I know I’m saved right now? And how can I be sure I can’t (or haven’t already) sin my way out of God’s grace? Or do I have to be a perfect Christian from now until I die in order to get to heaven?