RENEW

We are to be known above all for the way we show the perfect love of God.

We are to be known for our willingness to love the unlovable, even our enemies.

Our lives are to be so unique that unbelievers, people who don’t know Jesus, would ask: why do you love me and sacrifice for me the way you do?  To which the only answer would be because of the reality of Jesus.

When we consider the constant change in which we live and what God’s plans are for our lives at the start of another new year, we would do well to ask these questions - What are we supposed to retain and renew? What are we supposed let go of and what are we supposed to add on?  

But when we ask ourselves these questions, we do it with a different goal in mind because we know we’re heading in a different direction to those whose trust is not in God.

No matter who you are, and no matter what you have done, God loves you. No matter how much you have resisted God’s will or pursued the way of this world, God still loves you. There is nothing you can do to cause God to stop loving you. That’s because God is love.

The biblical definition of joy says that joy is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God's presence and from hope in His word.

Advent is a time where Christians are reminded that the Messiah who came to us on that first Christmas morning will come again.

However bad things may get in life, however hopeless a situation seems, however despairing the state of humanity on the earth, Advent reminds us that it will not always be this way.

If we hold on to anger or resentment or bitterness, we give the devil a foothold. And Jesus knows this about us, so he teaches that there is only one right way to respond to anger and that is to get rid of it as soon as possible. He’s saying, "Don’t let this emotion fuel you it's dangerous."

We are different. Jesus calls us “salt and light”. when we make a choice to believe in Jesus, when we surrender our lives to him, Jesus calls us to leave a worldly way of living and join him on a new path. As a kingdom people, as Christians, as people who follow Jesus – we are fundamentally different. We love our enemies. We pray simply. We live simply. We give generously. We don’t judge others. We know our need for God. We are prepared to suffer for the sake of Jesus.

Let your light shine before others! God shines most brightly through us when there is no earthly reason for our responses. When we love our enemies, have peace in anxious times, rejoice in difficulties and give thanks in all circumstances, the power of Jesus becomes evident to all!

Hear testimonies of God's goodness as Renew celebrates its first year as a church community.

Jesus is teaching here about the blessed life. What it means to live the blessed life. Jesus talks about these ideas throughout his ministry. He tells parables about them. He challenges those who don’t live in this way. He gets close to those who do. He himself perfectly embodies this way of life and eventually gives his life as a sacrifice for all of us who fall short of them.

And then he gives us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit to empower us to live this way.