Christ Covenant Church In Mesquite

The Father gives us new birth by his word and new life in his word. Therefore we must love one another deeply from the heart, put off community destroying vices, and crave pure spiritual milk.

Jesus was destined by God to be the Living Stone. Likewise, some sinners are destined by God to stumble over the Stone for the praise of his holy justice. On the other hand, some sinners are destined to stand in the sanctuary of the Stone for the praise of his glorious grace. The Living Stone is a sanctuary for all who believe and a stumbling block for all who do not believe.

We were created, redeemed, and destined for the worship of God through Jesus Christ. We are being built into a sanctuary. That means we are being united to Jesus Christ and united to one another for the purpose of worship. We are stone temple priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

As we begin our new series on Union with Christ, I feel compelled to share a personal story that is related to the Jesus story. I hope it will help you better understand why we are doing a series on Union with Christ.

Everyone in the world is either united to Adam or united to Christ. By nature all people are united to Adam in sin. By grace the many are united to Christ in righteousness. Baptism is the sign and seal of our union with Christ in his crucifixion-resurrection

We might be grafted into the Tree of Christ by means of water-baptism, but we will only grab hold of the Tree and grow up in the Tree by the deep work of the Holy Spirit. The faith required to stand fast in the Tree of Christ is a gift of God and fruit of the Spirit.

As baptized Christians we are worship-warriors in union with Christ. God commands us to present our members as weapons of righteousness and our bodies as living sacrifices. The Spirit of Christ “weaponizes” our members to fight against sin and death and for righteousness and life. Worship is warfare.

As baptized Christians we must think and live on the basis of our union with Christ. We must walk in the rhythm of dying and rising with Christ.

In Christ alone is the wisdom that created the world, the wisdom that holds it together, and the wisdom that redeems the world. In Christ alone are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

We ought to think of our baptism into Christ as a formal adoption ceremony into the family of God; and we ought to think of the Holy Spirit coming into our hearts is our birth certificate,

God called you into communion with Christ and God chose you in union with Christ by his grace and for his glory.

The doctrine of justification is first and foremost about how we get right with God in union with Christ; and it is also about how we get right with each other in communion with Christ’s church.

True pastoral ministry is shaped by the gospel of union and communion with Christ.

As we make our way through the text let’s keep in mind the story of the Exodus. Jesus is the true and better Moses who delivers God's people from slavery and leads them on an exodus to the promise land. We are the true and better Israel who are following Christ out of the present evil age, across the blood-water sea, through the wasteland, all the way into paradise.

Today, in lieu of a sermon, I want to present a eulogy for the triune God. [Note: This eulogy is an original mash-up of scriptures, fragments of my recent sermon on Acts 17, studies in Ephesians 1, recent thoughts on union with Christ, and portions of the Westminster Confession of Faith.]

Imagine what your life and world would be like if Jesus was not raised from the dead. If the grave/tomb is stronger that Jesus, what are the consequences?

There are many ways to tell our story, but the best way is to tell it in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is what we do with this sermon. God is a Gardener, and we are his Garden.

Marriage is an eternal mystery revealed in space-time history in the union and communion of Christ and the church.

The Spirit incorporates us in the body, arranges us in the body, and mixes us together in the body for the glory of Christ and the good of his church.

As baptized Christians (washed with water and the word) we have one massive responsibility: Dwell in Christ. We must be intentional and deliberate about centering our heart, mind, soul, and body on Christ or else we will be cut off.