God calls and invites us to follow Jesus but we are incapable of turning to God on our own. We need his grace and truth to open our eyes. As we respond to his call and receive God’s grace in Christ, we then extend that grace to others. God calls together his children to be salt and light in the world.

God created the world good but humanity turned away from him. God didn’t give up on us but promised to send a Savior. Those who are united through faith with Jesus Christ are fully forgiven from all our sin and declared justified as God’s adopted children because of God’s grace. Jesus Christ is the only way to this adoption, the sole path by which sinners become children of God. We can flourish as followers of Jesus as we rely on his grace and abide in him as his followers.

God came to be with us in Christ. He “moved into the neighborhood” and revealed who God is. Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly human. This is another great mystery of the Christian faith. Jesus, who was sent from the Father, has now ascended to the Father in his resurrected body and sits at His right hand, interceding for us based on his finished, atoning work.

We can only truly know someone at a deep level based on how that person shares about themselves. God has revealed himself as a triune God and this is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. God is both one essence and three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can know God as a relational God and a God who fulfills his promises through action as we consider the Trinity as revealed in descriptions about God in the Bible.

The clear declaration of God’s glory is found in His Word, both incarnate and written. The written Word proclaims the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and graciously teaches all that is necessary for faith and life. Our role is to seek to let God’s Word connect us more deeply with Jesus and let him shape our thoughts, attitudes and actions.

Our “true north” is summarized in the first question of the Westminster Shorter catechism. The chief end of humanity is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We can glorify him as we know him based on what he has shared about himself. As we worship God for who he is and what he has done, we can reorient our lives according to what is essential.

To share the life-transforming hope of Jesus is to share Jesus himself (the person and promises of Christ). How can we share this hope? 

To embrace the life-transforming hope of Jesus is to embrace Jesus himself (the person and promises of Christ). How can we embrace this hope together? A person initially embraces the life-transforming hope of Jesus as they believe in his name and receive the grace of God (John 1:12). They can then embrace this hope more and more as they continue to root their lives in his love, grace and truth. As they do, they will be built up in him and strengthened in the faith as they were taught (Colossians 2:6-7). Followers of Christ are exhorted to hold unswervingly to this hope they profess because he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). What does it mean to believe in his name and receive his grace? For those who have done this, how can they continue to live their lives in him so that they are strengthened in their faith? We will be considering how to embrace the life-transforming hope of Jesus together and how we can help others do the same. As we learn to trust in Christ, God will fill us with all joy and peace so that we may overflow with hope (Romans 15:13). Our church is seeking to help every person to embrace the life-transforming hope of Jesus through a fresh set of ways to connect and serve together with NPPC.

To discover the life-transforming hope of Jesus is to discover Jesus himself (the person and promises of Christ). What is the life-transforming hope of Jesus Christ and how can we discover this hope? The hope of Christ fills us with all joy and peace as we trust in him (Romans 15:13). The God of hope, revealed in Jesus Christ, will do this as we seek him in Scripture (Romans 15:4), in prayer (Ephesians 1:18) and in our shared life of trust/obedience (1 John 1:7). Overall, we can discover the life-transforming hope of Jesus Christ together as we make Jesus the starting point for how we see/understand all of life, both this one and the one to come (1 Peter 1:3). By faith, we are united to Christ and he lives within us. We are not alone and he will never leave us nor forsake us. Ultimately, Christ within us is the hope of glory and we can discover that life-transforming hope together. (Colossians 1:27).

God calls us to never be lacking in zeal but to keep our spiritual fervor. How can we do this in a world that is constantly pulling us away from Christ and trying to put out our spiritual fire? This passage provides practical step for how to live out our faith in light of God's mercy.