Evanston Vineyard

This third sermon in our Saved series deal with the last part of our Gospel summary: Jesus, the crucified king of love is making all things new. When Jesus was raised from death he ascended as King! That means he reigns, and that the reign of death won’t last. Jesus is making a new world in love.

Last Sunday we introduced a one sentence Gospel that we believe makes better sense of the entire story of Jesus and what it means to be saved. This week, we talk about the present reality of the that salvation.

This Easter Sunday we are digging into the magnificent, dense chapter on resurrection by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. There is hope in here for every single person. We also interrogate the one sentence Gospel of “Jesus died for our sins.”

Many of us are probably familiar with the most common reasons for baptism: 1) It’s commanded; 2) Jesus himself was baptized; 3) It’s a public profession; 4) It’s entrance into the community of believers. But the Apostle Peter in his first letter gives us another, massively important reason that we need to hear.

Some God encounters are sweet, while others are confrontational and arresting. We’ll explore how Jesus uses a series of important events to turn the light on for Saul and how he even uses others to play a role in Saul’s purpose discovery, healing and salvation. 

We end our journey in James, a book that has been lanced through with brutal honesty, on a high note. Three hopes, all located in healing: our bodies matter, the Lord will raise us up, and pray for each other that we may be healed.

James tells us that the reality of the kingdom transforms the way we think about money and allows us to live patiently. The gospel makes us generous as we patiently wait Jesus’ good kingdom.

Arrogance distorts how we see ourselves and our relationship with God. James reminds us that a life with Jesus is a life of dependence. 

The first ten verses of chapter 4 are a master class on desire. How do we direct our desire? How do we heal our desires? James shows us how.

Some people say James is the New Testament version of the book of Proverbs. If James has some wisdom to share with us, what does he mean when he talks about two kinds of wisdom, and how does that apply to life? Let’s find out.