I’m very excited to be kicking off a sermon series this Sunday. This will be the first sermon series we’ve ever done at Church of the Resurrection. Usually we follow the lectionary which assigns the readings for each Sunday. During the first half of the church year we follow the life of Jesus Christ from the anticipation of his birth (and return) during Advent, through the Christmas season, into the season after Epiphany where we see the manifestations of Jesus as the Christ. We then move into Lent where we spend 40 days in preparation to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. This 40 day season of preparation for Easter is followed by 50 days of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. We are still in this season. In his resurrection, as I say during our liturgy, he broke the bonds of death, trampling Hell and Satan under his feet.
So I generally like to follow the lectionary because it draws us near to Christ. It draws us near to Christ and near to our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are encountering the same Bible readings as us. There is a beauty in walking through the Word of God as a global body of believers. So why are we straying from that during this season?
This Sunday will kick off a sermon series on our values as a church. This will be an opportunity for me to preach about who we are as a people. Our values aren’t statements that have been written up only to be placed in a file somewhere. They’re statements that embody who we are as a body. So, what are our values as a church? Well, you can find them here, but I’ll save you a click. Our values are:
· Finding our identity in Christ
· Living with a new purpose in Christ
· Seeking renewal in our community
· The intentional nurturing of children
· Practicing hospitality
So as we explore each of these values I hope I can help to cultivate these values in you as we are transformed from glory into glory.