Anderson Hills

This week, we will take a close look at being made alive with Christ through grace. Just as all believers are united together in one body through our united blessings, so we are also bound together by our united transformation – a transformation from spiritual death to spiritual life. In Chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul emphasizes that we have been saved by grace through faith—it is the gift of God. We are not saved by works, so that no one can boast. We need to understand what it means to go from spiritual death to eternal life through Jesus Christ, and then deepen our appreciation of and commitment to the church that Christ is continuing to build.

This week, we will take a close look at being made alive with Christ through grace. Just as all believers are united together in one body through our united blessings, so we are also bound together by our united transformation – a transformation from spiritual death to spiritual life. In Chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul emphasizes that we have been saved by grace through faith—it is the gift of God. We are not saved by works, so that no one can boast. We need to understand what it means to go from spiritual death to eternal life through Jesus Christ, and then deepen our appreciation of and commitment to the church that Christ is continuing to build.

In the opening chapter, Paul establishes his view about the value and blessings of our salvation in Christ. He does this in the form of praise directed to God, and he describes in detail what it means to have an inheritance in heaven. Paul wants us to know who we are in Christ, and later in his letter he connects this with how we should live as Christians. He states that the foundational blessings we receive from Christ unite us in our common position in Christ and motivate us to bless God with our praise and our devotion. We are a part of His holy coalition, known as the church, and have been called to worship Him and serve Him. Let us never lose sight of what God has done for us in Christ

In the opening chapter, Paul establishes his view about the value and blessings of our salvation in Christ. He does this in the form of praise directed to God, and he describes in detail what it means to have an inheritance in heaven. Paul wants us to know who we are in Christ, and later in his letter he connects this with how we should live as Christians. He states that the foundational blessings we receive from Christ unite us in our common position in Christ and motivate us to bless God with our praise and our devotion. We are a part of His holy coalition, known as the church, and have been called to worship Him and serve Him. Let us never lose sight of what God has done for us in Christ

Can you imagine witnessing Jesus’ resurrection? Maybe you’ve thought about it but you cannot really know for sure how you would respond. Three people close to Jesus, John, Peter and Mary Magdalene, each reacted differently to the empty tomb— one with grief, one with belief, and one with doubt. We are going to take a look at their stories recorded in Scripture to see what we can learn and how we can share the Good News of the empty tomb with others. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. It proves who Jesus is and that God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. And it gives us hope of eternal life!

Can you imagine witnessing Jesus’ resurrection? Maybe you’ve thought about it but you cannot really know for sure how you would respond. Three people close to Jesus, John, Peter and Mary Magdalene, each reacted differently to the empty tomb— one with grief, one with belief, and one with doubt. We are going to take a look at their stories recorded in Scripture to see what we can learn and how we can share the Good News of the empty tomb with others. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. It proves who Jesus is and that God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. And it gives us hope of eternal life!

We are ending our series by reading penitential psalms in the Bible that have a special focus on faith and forgiveness, expressing sorrow for sin and asking God’s forgiveness. Two of the psalms we’ll read are also referred to as psalms of ascent, which were songs sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the annual feasts or while ascending the steps of the Temple. Just as when they approached the temple, the closer we come to God, the more aware we become of our brokenness, the depths of our sin and of our great need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. As we approach Easter, we keep this in mind so that we worship with thankful, reverent hearts to God who sent His Son to pay for our sins

We are ending our series by reading penitential psalms in the Bible that have a special focus on faith and forgiveness, expressing sorrow for sin and asking God’s forgiveness. Two of the psalms we’ll read are also referred to as psalms of ascent, which were songs sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the annual feasts or while ascending the steps of the Temple. Just as when they approached the temple, the closer we come to God, the more aware we become of our brokenness, the depths of our sin and of our great need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. As we approach Easter, we keep this in mind so that we worship with thankful, reverent hearts to God who sent His Son to pay for our sins

This week’s psalms are some of the most difficult of all. They are known as “imprecatory” or “cursing” psalms. In this type of psalm, there is a great focus on “enemies.” The author invokes God to bring down judgment or punishment on his enemies. The people who pray in the psalms seem to have a lot of enemies and they do not react too kindly toward them. Next to some of the most intimate and sublime prayers to God, we find the most vindictive and negative preoccupation with enemies. From this we learn several things: hate needs to be prayed, not suppressed; justice and righteousness need to be upheld; hatred within ourselves needs to be acknowledged; vengeance is to be left to God.

This week’s psalms are some of the most difficult of all. They are known as “imprecatory” or “cursing” psalms. In this type of psalm, there is a great focus on “enemies.” The author invokes God to bring down judgment or punishment on his enemies. The people who pray in the psalms seem to have a lot of enemies and they do not react too kindly toward them. Next to some of the most intimate and sublime prayers to God, we find the most vindictive and negative preoccupation with enemies. From this we learn several things: hate needs to be prayed, not suppressed; justice and righteousness need to be upheld; hatred within ourselves needs to be acknowledged; vengeance is to be left to God.