We’re continuing the (Re)Born Identity series, learning about our identity as believers, and this week’s declaration comes from Philippians 3:20. The Apostle Paul said that we can say, “I Am a Citizen of Heaven.” What he’s talking about is not simply having a membership card. It’s not a casual affiliation with a foreign nation.

The original word that’s translated as either citizenship or conversation is really about the way you conduct your life. It’s about what you say, what you do and how you carry yourself. It is from a word that means community, so when you say, “I Am a Citizen of Heaven,” you are not a lone wolf or a free agent. Being a citizen means being part of a community where how you act, what you say and how you live affects every other member of the community.

When we become followers of Jesus, it’s the beginning of your place in the family of God. Jesus gave us the power to become the sons and daughters of God. And it’s the Holy Spirit who confirms it. So we can say with confidence, as part of our (Re)Born Identity that we are God’s children.

Sometimes we face situations in life that leave us feeling less than loved. And if we allow them to, the feeling of the difficult moment will overwhelm the reality of the spiritual truth and we will start to think and feel things that are not part of our new identity in Christ. When you surrender to the relationship that it offers, it unlocks some other (Re)Born declarations. More identity defining truths that you can speak over yourself that will help you on life’s journey.

God told Moses, my people are enslaved, they are oppressed. I see it. I know about it. It’s time to do something about it. And I have called you to lead them out. God has also called us to get into this fight against human sex trafficking. It's time to take action NOW

Our (Re)Born Identity teaches me that I am a work in progress. Jesus paid it all and is accomplishing it all, but He isn’t finished with me yet. Salvation is less a plan of salvation and more a relationship with an eternal Savior. A past, present, and future relationship with an eternal Savior.

Our (Re)Born Identity teaches me that I am a work in progress. Jesus paid it all and is accomplishing it all, but He isn’t finished with me yet. Salvation is less a plan of salvation and more a relationship with an eternal Savior. A past, present, and future relationship with an eternal Savior.

Identity. Who are you? That may be the most loaded of loaded questions. Salvation is used too flippantly in the American church. I’m not sure we really understand what it means to be saved. We talk about the “moment of salvation”, but I’m not sure we understand what all happened in that moment. And what happened in that moment has everything to do with our (Re)Born Identity. So let’s find out who our Father says we are.

There is a significance about the role of a father in a child's life. Over the years, this significant role has been minimized. The effect of that trend away from fatherhood is being felt in our nation and our world. Today, I want to encourage fathers and challenge you to rise up and take your place beside wonderful women of God and parent well the kids you've been blessed with.

God said through the prophet Micah, He expects us to love mercy. To walk in it. To be full of it. So we should probably start with what mercy is. I want to focus on three major ways mercy expresses itself, then we can talk about how to apply it and how it affects our lives.

If we are measured by how we love each other, but we don’t care about issues of justice and fair treatment, we can neither claim to love others nor claim to follow Jesus. Every person is God’s creation and the reason Jesus died on the cross. He does not take kindly to people mistreating or ignoring ANY of His kids. So justice is not optional. I want us to look at some things that might help us navigate these trying times and be able to continue to meet the metric of Christianity.