What does it mean to be a Christian? When you say that you’re a Christian, what does that mean? What is it supposed to look like?
The theme of this blog is basically about that, walking through the Christian life and the cornerstone verse is Romans 6:4
. . . as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Being a Christian is not just thinking Jesus was a good guy and had some good ideas. It’s not even just about recognizing that he is the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, who redeemed us through his blood of atonement.
The Christian walk, the Kingdom of Heaven, is about being so sold out that we see his face above all else.
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. ~ Psalm 27:8 KJV
We are to be all in.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it! ~ Matthew 13:45-46
We are to be so excited about the Good News of the Gospel that we make it a part of us, sanctifying and transforming us.
Good News for Houston
Second is a big church. There are five campuses, soon to be seven, with over 60,000 people. The main pastor is Dr. Ed Young, but the sermons at the North campus are usually given by the main teaching pastor, Craig Reynolds with occasional guest teachers. Regardless of who is giving the message, each of the five campuses is going over the same topic and the topic schedule is set by Dr. Young.
This past week, the sermon was a videocast (which is not usual) from the Woodway campus by Dr. Young. Since I don’t go to the Woodway campus and they don’t often do the livecasts, I don’t think I had ever realized how fiery he is. He is not a pastor whose primary goal is not to ruffle feathers.
In the beginning of the sermon, he shares how he starts each day:
- Surrender to God
- Emptying of Self
- Loving God and praising him
- Asking to be Filled with the Holy Spirit
And he wraps up with Psalm 118:24:
This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
This sermon is a kick off to a series of the study of Romans from now until March. It’s about how to be a Christian and what the walk looks like.
- Chapters 1-8: What Christians believe.
- Chapters 9-11: The Christian worldview. The plan of salvation through history.
- Chapters 12-16: How Christians should behave. How Christians are to live.
If you have questions about what it means to be a Christian, what God expects of you and what the Christian life should look like, come to a Second service if you’re in the Houston area. If not, watch the sermons on the Second site.
