Pursuing Jesus

In Acts 1 we see the story of Jesus' ascension. What does that mean? What are the consequences?

Jesus reconciled us to God through his life, death, and resurrection. He also gives us this message of reconciliation to share with others.

2 Corinthians 5:17 points not only to the newness of a person in Christ, but the fact of the new creation we have in Christ. Jesus invites us to enter into and live out of that new creation. The testimony referred to in the message can be found at https://twitter.com/DavidSetFree/status/1248397351170891776?s=20

Visiting the disciples after his resurrection, Jesus gives them authority to forgive sins. We extend Jesus' peace to people by bringing them into his forgiveness.

After the crucifixion and before they knew Jesus was raised from the dead, the disciples needed peace. Jesus appeared among them and offered them peace. Jesus offers us peace in our time of need.

What did people - the women, the (male) disciples, the authorities, the bystanders - expect that first Easter Sunday? What do we expect? Jesus, crucified and risen, invites us to give him all our expectations so we can find life in him.

Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus could have chosen the way that led to the cross or to retreat to the safety and obscurity of the wilderness. He continued the pattern exhibited throughout his life of saying YES to the Father no matter what.

Sometimes in life our fortunes seem to turn on a dime: everything is going great, but then it's not. Jesus says that troubles will come, but that we can have peace in him because he has overcome the world.

When we encounter Abram in Genesis 15, he had reason to be afraid. Just returned from battle, he was feeling his mortality. God had promised him a child - and more, a family! And here he was around 85 (and his wife around 75), and no child. We too deal with many fears. Learning to fear the Lord - to take God into account - helps us deal with the other fears.

From the very beginning, Methodists have been a singing people. We sing because of the joy of Jesus; we also sing as a way to learn our theology.