sermon from Oct 17

Hope for the World

Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27; 22:6

Series on “Our Mission” (part 6)

When Christians say that Jesus is the only way for salvation for the world it is partly because Christianity alone has the hope for the salvation of this physical earth as well as our bodies. Other systems of belief usually offer escape from the world and the body as the goal. John sees heaven coming to the earth, the city of God descending with Jesus as king of this earth. It tells us a lot about death, and just as much about life itself.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE VIEWS ABOUT DEATH?

• Secular material view, “this world is all there is, so grab the fun now.”
• Befriend death. Death is not an enemy, but something natural. We live on in the memories of other people (“Tuesdays with Morie”).
• Eastern religious view. The goal is reincarnation, eventual nirvana, and escape from this world and personhood itself.
• Taiwanese view. A combination of traditional religions and a belief in a heaven where the dead continue to be served.
• Innacurate “Christian view”. The goal is a private relationship with Jesus and escape to “heaven” (almost totally spiritual in nature).

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT DEATH

• Death is an enemy defeated by Jesus on the cross and the empty tomb.
• When we die our body goes to the grave and our souls go into an afterlife where we are either “with Christ” or separated from Christ.
• Someday Jesus will come back and there is a bodily resurrection for all.
• Jesus brings heaven to a new recreated earth. The goal is not so much a personal relationship with Jesus where we worship him privately, but a relationship with Christ where we long for and work toward “new heavens and earth.”

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD LIVE

• Hope daily for his second coming (I John 3:1, 2)
• Approach money, sex and power differently: (1) Money—simplicity and generosity; (2) Sex—chastity and faithfulness; (3) Power—using power for the good of others.
• Finding your calling: (1) Where do you have passions and gifts that God has blessed that serve others? (2) Where can you participate in Christ’s suffering?

Listen to the sermon online