Sunday 5th May

Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 
'Jesus Balanced the Scales for All of Us'

2 Corinthians 5:14-21
'14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.'

A new life has begun! God is speaking about how we live our lives... We want to live lives that show Jesus to the people around us.

Do people feel better after spending time around us? Are they noticing that there’s something about what we carry and the way we engage with life?

Last year Shane Willard set us a challenge of: what would it look like for us to set a table for our community...

In Hebrew language, the same word that is used for Table is used for Reconciliation. So the whole way through Scripture, you see reconciliation taking place around tables. 

There is something deep and spiritual that happens when we share a meal together.

Sometimes we view our lives as unbalanced, our own lives weighed down and feeling like we owe God something. God sees us all as already reconciled to him.

“No longer then do we judge anyone by human standards…. We no longer do so! Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being!”
Do I view and evaluate others as made new - already new creations - already reconciled to God ?!

Can we see people the way God sees them?

1 Samuel 16:7
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Timothy 2:1-5
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus."

God wants everyone to be saved. Jesus redeems the whole human race. God brings reconciliation to people through Jesus.

Holiness and dignity doesn’t start with judging people but praying for them.

• What would it look like to set a table for your family?
• What would it look like to set a table for your friends?
• What would it look like to set a table for your neighbours?
• What would it look like to set a table for our community?
• What would it look like to set a table for your enemy? ​
  
  

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You can watch the full message below: