Hope in Focus: FACT

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Conquering Faith

This past Sunday I preached (at Fc3 - www.fc3.org ) from 1 John 5:1-5 and attempted to unpack this very powerful and tightly packed passage. You can listen to the sermon here. In these verses, John centers the entire Christian life and identity around a dynamic, active, and victorious faith placed in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.

John's argument could be laid out in the following formula:

Faith (produced by God's regeneration) = Love for Others & Love for God = Obedience to God's Command = Victory over the World = Faith.

The following is an image I made while exegeting this text and I think that it helps visualize the argument.

John's plea is simple. Place your faith in Jesus. Center your entire worldview around the fact of the cross and the resurrection. Love, obedience, and victory will flow naturally.

Love you guys! - - Feel free to join us at Fc3 for the last two parts of our 1 John series!!

Mike

Quote

Here is a quote that I have taken from a resource I am using for Fc3's 1 John series. It was found inside a discussion of 1 John 5:1. Think about it, pray over it, and enjoy! Oh, and be sure and comment to tell me what you think!

"Faith's tie to God is not grounded in its own tenacity, much less in a self-serving spiritual autism; it is rather a response to a saving message brought home by the grace of divine regeneration. The sublime authorship of saving Christian faith- for which John gives God primary credit- makes possible a sublime outcome: love for others." - Robert W. Yarbrough

Christians & The Scriptures

My plan for my devotional life in 2010 is to keep up with the ESV Daily Reading Plan (New Testament in morning, Old Testament and Psalms at night)- and so far it has been going well. Jesus is convicting the mess out of me in the sermon on the mount (via Matthew).. Anyway, I wanted to encourage all you guys to dig into your Scriptures with energy and hope this New Year!

Someone much smarter than me (Eugene Peterson) had this to say about the Scriptures:

"Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son.”

What is your plan to dig into the Scriptures this year? How is it going so far??

Dreaming Big in 2010!

I love celebrating the New Year- I have ever since I was a little kid. The chance to reflect on the past year, the prospect of new beginnings, and the potential of the coming year all come together to create a very unique and special time of the year. As a Jesus-lover, I think that the celebration of the New Year can be a very powerful time in the believer's life.

The normal way to express this would be to talk about the various sins that you would like to conquer through Christ's grace this next year or the various spiritual disciplines that you would like to put on this next year. Both of these things are great and life-giving- even possibly life-changing! But what I want to challenge you with this morning is a simple exhortation for the new year: Dream Big!

Let your imagination run completely wild with what God might accomplish in and through you during this next year! If there is one thing we can learn from our sacred Scriptures, it is that God seemingly relishes the chance to flex his muscles and display his glory beyond our wildest dreams. So I am dreaming. And I am dreaming big. I am dreaming about a new year with an unimaginable closeness to Christ. I am dreaming about a year in which Christ works in a ridiculously powerful way through Fc3. I am dreaming about a larger speaking ministry which would allow Christ to reach more people through me.

What have you been afraid to imagine? Are you dreaming big for 2010? Comment and share!

10 Things That Increase My Love for Christ: #6- Praying with Friends

In case you have forgotten the premise of this series- I am unpacking 10 of the things that historically stir up my affections for Jesus. I’ve talked so far about music, sermons, ministry, books, and even sleeping- but today I want to talk about a communal act that almost always increases the amount of joy I have in Christ: praying with dear friends.

I first experienced the power of corporate (2+) prayer when I was a new Christian in high school and would pray in the mornings with a teacher/mentor of mine, Tony Slate. Up until that point, my few attempts at praying throughout my life had always been individually- but there is something deep and stirring that occurs when you approach the throne of God with a loved brother or sister in Christ.

Not only am I personally benefited by the act of praying with a friend, but I have found that it is an incredibly effective community-builder. Deep relationships and committed friendships often have hours of prayer in the foundation. My encouragement to you: Pray with your family or friends this week! Seek Christ together- the journey will be richer and more fulfilling!

I'm back and better than ever!!

Hey friends!

Like Zechariah after the angle Gabriel sealed his mouth shut- I have had some time away from this blog to gather my thoughts, focus on Fc3 stuff, and finish a tough semester. But, I am back- and plan on finishing my series about the 10 things that increase my love for Christ!

Also coming in the future- some thoughts on my future sermon series at Fc3! Pictures of my awesome new apartment! Exciting plans for the summer (exotic traveling!!)!!!

Thanks for waiting for me. Love you all, my readers.

Mike