Adoption

…He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…(Ephesians 1:5)

Adoption is such a wonderful thing. When you think about it, if you have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is because God has adopted you through Him. But what does this mean? After all, many believe that they became adopted when they chose salvation through Christ. However, the Bible says something different. You can look at the caption of the picture and see what Paul the apostle was teaching the Christians in Ephesus. God is the One who is choosing to adopt you. Now this rubs us raw sometimes because we want to have something to do with His infiltration of our lives. Again, God has adopted us even before we trusted Him. And think about this: if one adopts someone else, the one doing the adopting is the one that is doing the choosing. Adoption of children is by the choosing of the parents that are doing the adoption!

Now this should not be a distasteful thing to us. More than anything, we ought to be thankful of the fact that God has loved us with an everlasting love and has taken interest in us that we have been adopted by God the Father in order that we might be saved by Jesus Christ. This is a love that passes all understanding. Quite frankly, I am not so lovable! But before you start laughing (or crying), none of us really are that lovable. We sin. We hurt each other with words and with deeds. We do stupid stuff all of the time. We are people and we need someone to love us. What greater love can we have but the love of the One who created us? There is no greater love.

So what should we do with this idea of adoption? I met a man this afternoon by the name of Dale. He has a 10-year-old daughter. He’s 59 years old. His daughter is adopted. She has been with Dale and his wife for over nine years now and to her, Dale and his wife are Dad and Mom. She knows that she was adopted. She also knows that Dale and his wife chose her to adopt. They did not just choose adoption, they chose her! What greater love can this girl have but the love of parents who chose her to be their very own?

I tell you that short story to say this: It matters not what age you are. If you are compelled by the Lord to adopt a child or sibling group, GO FOR IT! God through His Son Jesus Christ has saved us from sin, death and law because He has adopted us — He has chosen us. There is not a greater example of what He has done when we turn to those in need and love them as we love ourselves. There is no greater example than adopting a little one, or a teenager, or a sibling group. God is gracious! God is loving! God has adopted us in order that we might be holy and blameless through Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 1:4). God is the God of adoption!

Sunday Review, December 9, 2012

Fruit of the Spirit

Sunday was a great day in the Lord! We continued our study through the Book of Galatians and we discussed Galatians 5:22-23. Paul had just described what we used to be like in the previous verses prior to salvation in Jesus Christ. Now if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The way to carry out the desires of the Lord is to see what it is that He has given us by and through His Holy Spirit. There is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against any of these traits that we have in Christ. And notice that this is a singular piece of fruit that has all of these parts! It speaks of the unity of the Spirit with the Father and with the Son. It also speaks of the unity that we have with the Spirit and the Son and the Father. (You can listen to the sermon by clicking here!)

Reach Out to Others

Sunday evening marked another great time with our Annual Missions’ Banquet. We heard from Dr. Aaron Meraz of Bridgeway Baptist Church of Prosper. He is a local church planter who is doing it right! Vinod John and Jun Shim are two others that we heard. These two men are being supported in ministry through Dr. Meraz’s ministry. These men are reaching out to others right where they are. All three of them are training others to do the work of the ministry and are reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through apartment ministries, college and university ministries, and church ministries, people are learning to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We finished our time together with a special offering for these three men and their prospective ministries. As usual, our Fellowship blessed them as we were blessed to hear them and what it is that they are doing in ministry.

Glory to God!

To God be the glory, honor, power and blessing!

Sunday Review, December 2, 2012

Galatians 5:13-21
Galatians 5:13-21

Sunday was a great day as we continued our sermon series in Galatians: Freedom in the Sufficiency of Christ. We focused our attention on Galatians 5:13-21. Paul the apostle is very clear that we have been freed from the Law, sin, and death. Because we are freed in Jesus Christ, we can live our lives and fulfill this one thing: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The Law — the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament — was reduced to two laws by Jesus Christ. He said that the first greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (cf. Matthew 22:37-41). Paul reduces these two commands to one command: Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Galatians 5:14). If a person is living by faith in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, then that person expresses his love for his Lord and Savior by loving his neighbor. This is the key to understanding the first four chapters of Galatians. Paul identifies what we are to believe then he gives us the application of those beliefs. The question for us today is: Are we loving our neighbors like we love ourselves? (You can listen to the sermon audio here: http://deniliojgorena.sermon.net/da/1199902970/play)