"Would you like to be an Ambassador?" (2 Corinthians 5:17-6:10)

Context

In these chapters of 2^nd Corinthians, the apostle Paul was establishing beyond doubt, that despite his past, he was now a true “ambassador” for Jesus, and that his was a ministry wholly in line with the serving ministry already lived by Jesus. This then sets a pattern for the rest of us.

Introduction

Would you, too, like to be an ambassador for Jesus? An “ambassador” is a diplomat sent by one sovereign state to another state … with a mission of representing their interests in that other state or nation. So this idea, from Paul, in verse 20 (of 2 Corinthians 5) of being an “ambassador”, is a very appropriate concept, concerning how followers of Jesus interact with their society. We, who are primarily ‘citizens of heaven’, or the ‘Kingdom of God’, are called to represent Jesus, or the interests of God, in the world.

It is interesting that an “ambassador” is a public servant also described as a ‘diplomat’ – meaning that, in representing the interests of another, we have to be ‘diplomatic’ … we need to use tact, wisdom and common sense. We also read here that, “God is making his appeal through us” – now that is something NOT to be trifled with. God speaks to the world through our ‘diplomatic’ life – all of our actions and words. This is, as if, Jesus is speaking through us!!

Being an “Ambassador”

Would you like to be an Ambassador?

The question I’m asking is slightly incorrect, because, when we decide to believe in, follow and accept Jesus, we are by definition “ambassadors” anyway (for good, or for ill)! Paul says simply, “we are ambassadors for Christ”. It is NOT a question of take it or leave it. So, my question is really directed towards being the type of “ambassador” that our nation state – the ‘Kingdom of God’ – requires us to be! How does that become possible? It starts with being reconciled to God in all ways. That means receiving the forgiveness God offers, determining to live in the right way, and adopting God-like attitudes to what is happening around us. {Or, as John put it last week, deciding to love.}

It is interesting … that before Jesus asks us to be his ambassadors, he was our ambassador. Jesus fully represented our interests by coming to earth and engaging in human life, and dealing with some of the best … but also a lot of the worst … that human life brings. Jesus empathised completely with the situation that we have become burdened and trapped in sin; and though sinless himself, took the total weight of this upon himself to the cross. And Jesus’ work did NOT stop with this act of mercy – he rose again to lead us into an experience of resurrected and re-created life.

In his death Jesus represented us; so, in his physical absence, we now represent him. Read verse 21. We are appointed “ambassadors” as a result of receiving grace, and this appointment is activated as we are in the process of being “reconciled to God” in all the aspects of our lives. In short, being “reconciled” means being brought back into harmony with God. If we want to be a good “ambassador”, then we have to ask ourselves questions about our level of ongoing reconciliation to God. Are we changing into the image of Jesus?

Are we open to the Holy Spirit’s transforming work in our lives? No matter how old we are, or how young we are?!? No matter what stage of life we’re in!?! We need to have our heart fully changed, so that we can be an effective channel of God’s restoring work for others. Like, and in connection with, our salvation, ‘reconciliation’ is an ongoing process that we need to engage with – everything “old” passing away, everything “new” emerging … more so each day (v 17)!

We need to live in a way worthy of Jesus! This includes the way in which we live, work and interact with each other (in the church and in the community). With all this in mind, an ”ambassador” for the Gospel promotes: honouring the Creator, loving our neighbour, serving the community, standing up for what is good and just, and bearing hope for the future.

What is then, the particular purpose, that Paul raises, of us being “ambassadors”??

The answer ...

Reconciling the world (v 18-19)

This is a mission of grace … to all those we can come into relational contact with. Let us never grow tired of drawing from the well of God’s mercy, so that we can bring it [God’s mercy] to the world. This is NOT about (moral) correction or judgment. This IS about … “not counting their trespasses against them” (v 19), and leading them into an experience of forgiveness. This is so that the lost and broken can be brought back into relationship with their Creator. This is also so that the presumably happy, yet purposeless, can be redirected into a ministry that really counts for something.

To “NOT count trespasses against them” is to get through and past our own reaction to what we see (what might even repel us), and consider what such a person might be like if Jesus was in their life!! This is about looking beyond past failure and present turmoil … toward future redemption. This is about … NOT being an obstacle, or putting up barriers, or making the pathway harder, but RATHER being channels of transformation and hope. If God can forgive {including us}, we can forgive, and we can promote forgiveness. There are big significant matters at hand – whole life outcomes!! Sometimes (common sense wise) boundary lines need to be established, because we don’t exist in an ideal world; but even these should NOT prohibit us from finding ways of loving people … toward others experiencing the Kingdom of God for themselves.

Paul says in chapter 6 verses 3-4, “We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way …”. We would need to consider what possible “obstacles” {or “stumbling blocks”} there are, that we may put in the way of people experiencing Jesus, appreciating the Holy Spirit, and being reconciled to God. If we are the “ambassadors” of Jesus, then people could be choosing for or against Jesus on the basis of what they see in us! Take a deep breath on that thought!! People may make their judgments about Jesus by what they observe in us!

What could be “obstacles” to people finding faith?? Unfair and uninformed criticism, ridiculing the views of others, judgmentalism and a sense of superiority, being dogmatic and closed to dialogue or seeing things in different ways, and, of course, hypocrisy – saying one thing while living another. We should ask ourselves, “In this situation, are we being a true ambassador of the Gospel”? {Jesus, whom we represent, when he disagreed strongly with the Pharisees and the like, usually told stories, allowing his opponents to discover the truth for themselves.} Yes, we need to confront darkness, but mostly this needs to be de-personalised, and seen as external to the person (especially in terms of their potential for change).

It is often how we knee-jerk react to things that lets our witness down, especially when we are tired! In the verses that follow in chapter 6 (4-10), Paul reflects on the sort of character traits that properly promote the gospel. These are: resilience, pure motives, honesty, patience, joy, kindness and love; and these traits are recommended no matter what crosses our path – through the whole varied experience of life, through thick and thin, good days and bad. We follow one who suffered, and wholeheartedly served all humanity … without prejudice. As Paul lived this way too, as a true representative of Jesus, he brought credit onto his ministry.

Challenges of Being an “Ambassador”

1. Balancing Grace and Truth. We need to stand firm with what we believe to be true about God. But we also need to be prepared to grow in our understandings, and appreciate where other people are coming from. People believe and live different to us for a reason – which is connected to their particular journey in life. We should never ridicule anyone. It’s actually possible to ‘stand firm’, but influence nothing or nobody for good. At the same time, there is the possibility of loving expansively, but never seeing sin dealt with. In all this, Jesus provided the perfect balance and the perfect example.

Basically, if you want to know how to be an authentic “ambassador” for Jesus … read about Jesus in the four Gospels. In John chapter 1 we read, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known (V 14, 16-18).

The ‘law’ of ‘Old Testament’ times concerning right living was a blunt instrument. Also, if people only see a religious institution, they will not be able to see the person of God. Jesus, on the other hand, as the perfect representative or “ambassador” of God, lived out his righteousness in relationship with others – balancing perfectly grace and truth, with “grace” always central and first.

I’m definitely NOT saying that we shouldn’t speak the truth, I’m saying that we need to speak the truth in a way that encourages someone towards a relationship with Jesus and NOT away from that! And anyway, we reveal 'truth' more through how we live (than what we say)!! And too, if our roots are deep into God, we can ably and graciously deal with conversations with people very different from ourselves. 

2. Being Seeker-friendly and Spirit-filled (at the same time). Sometimes, in an attempt to attract more people, the church has dumbed itself down to the extent that you could hardly recognise what it stood for. On the other hand, the church sometimes seems so strange (or irrelevant) as to be inaccessible to the honest spiritual-seeker. The only way to properly balance being seeker-friendly and Spirit-filled (at the same time), is for everyone to be totally honest as to where they are at – all … works in progress … worshipping a great God. In this way there will be relevant entry points of connection for most people, as they see faults being admitted and lives being transformed. It is being real – where our lives, our attitudes, our way of going through life … all become a concrete sign of the fact that God is truly close to us … redeeming us.

3. Engaging Culture to Create Spiritual Hunger. This is probably the more sophisticated way to say 'in the world but not of the world'. This involves being a normal person, involved in a variety of community activities, with authentic care for our neighbours, that at the same time causes people to wonder about their own lives and where they are going. If people actually see a true picture of God, especially in terms of the availability of forgiveness, then they would want this God! [God's love in us ... completely alters the way we treat people who are different to us.] 

David Fitch relates this incident:

I once heard Charles Galbreath, a pastor of Clarendon Road Church in Brooklyn, tell the story of a black man gunned down by police in his neighbourhood. Anger seethed in the neighbourhood. Frustration from years of racial oppression was about to erupt in violence. Many people lined up to march down the main street while police gathered, expecting violence. Charles and a group of pastors rushed to the gathering place and found themselves caught in the middle between the police and the people. Tensions were rising. Insults were being hurled across the divide. One side picked up rocks, the other side clutched their guns. The pastors feared for their lives; bullets could fly at any moment. Galbreath said that some of the pastors spontaneously walked into the middle of the street between the two warring parties, bowed their heads, and started to pray. They implored God to visit this place. As Charles tells it, slowly the tension died down, the people put down the rocks, and the police took their hands off their holsters. Those who cared stayed. And without a shot fired or rock thrown, conversations began and God's presence appeared that night in that community. It was the beginning of something new God was doing to bring justice and reconciliation to a street corner.

Living as ambassadors for Jesus!!

Conclusion

The first two verses of chapter six are remarkable! They excite me!! Four points to make:

1. We can work together with Jesus (verse 1a). While we are his “ambassador”, he goes before us, with us, and behind us. As we will discuss in two weeks time, Jesus also prays for us. This is a partnership we are invited into. We are being absorbed into the Holy Community of God … as an earthly representative of a heavenly reality. We also work together in partnership with each other – cooperating together in unity and oneness.

2. Our cry of need has been heard, and we are receiving the salvation our souls require (verse 2a). The beginning of Psalm 32 reads: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! (v 1-2, NLT).

3. This is the “day of salvation” for many people (verse 2b). We don’t want them to miss out. God is working – we need to get on board. Sometimes we will need to make, and repeat, a definitive (sometimes public) statement; something like: “I want to collaborate with God’s creative and redemptive work in the world” (from Mark Scandrette).

4. We should NOT accept the grace of God in vain (verse 1b). What does that mean? It means that we respond to God’s mercy for ourselves personally, but then do nothing with it, either in terms of discipleship – really following Jesus, and in terms of sharing it … indeed NOT sharing the good news of Jesus. God’s grace should bring visible change and obvious purpose. God’s grace is also given to us so that we can join in with bigger things – the ‘Kingdom of God’ and the ‘Body of Christ’.

So, would you like to be an ambassador? It’s NOT easy, but it is our calling! People are depending upon us. God is establishing us. Opportunities exist in great number. We should pray!

Why Pray?

Introduction

Prayer is much more than a shopping list full of requests, no matter how well intentioned. Prayer is an engagement with God – our Creator and Redeemer. Rather than being confined by our limited vision and perspectives, prayer enables us to move towards God’s big panoramic view of life in the world. We know that, sadly, because of poor human decision-making, and downright evil intent, the world is NOT the place it should be and could be. We understand the damage caused through the abuse of freewill and unrepentant behaviours.

So, we sense the need to pray, if we are to have the wisdom to go forward in God’s will. More than this! If a church is to be effective in its ministry to the community, it must commit to a strategy of prayer, that will prepare the hearts of people to receive and positively respond to the gospel message; as well as impact the spiritual soil of a whole town, thus creating an environment of new and renewed openness. Also, as churches bow to pray with integrity, and express a true heart for God and people, much of our lost credibility will likely be regained.

Reasons to Pray

1. (To) Develop our faith

It is through talking, sometimes out loud, to God, that we continually remind ourselves of God’s existence, immense love, close presence, and that God always has our best interests at heart. If we stop praying, we can easily forget about God’s place in our lives. Not only that, we start to rely more on ourselves (in an unhealthy way), forgetting about God’s willingness and capacity to guide us and strengthen us. Then, usually, more things than normal start to go wrong! And we tend to wonder what God has against us, rather than reflecting on how we have left God completely out of things.

As we share time with God, we can become more hopeful, even confident, that the broken and lost will come (or return) to Jesus. We pray for people we know, and we pray for openings of blessing and healing for them. We pray that such people will be able to look at life events a bit differently, with a new perspective – being more open to spiritual solutions. We pray for the removal of obstacles … that the blinds will come up; and in prayer we start to imagine how this will become a reality, and build confidence in how God can bring change.

Thus, prayer plays a critical role in preparing our heart for the future. In being totally focussed on the capacity of God to answer our prayers according to best possible case-scenarios, we are released to trust God completely – without fear, and without the need to over-react or over-reach, or to take things back into our own hands. We can therefore rebuke the enemy, acknowledging that the one who opposes us, has been well and truly defeated. The victory will come in God’s time, and in God’s way; and the faithful will quickly recognise when it happens.

2. (To) Deepen our relationship

It is only as we spend time with someone, and talk with them, and listen to them, that we grow in relationship together. It is the same with our relationship with God. We share all our confessions, joys, concerns, hopes and dreams, with a view to knowing God better. Prayer is two-way communication. Prayer is a conversation, in which there are no right words – just honest sincere words. Sometimes only heartfelt groans, that the Spirit interprets. And where this level of prayer happens in a group setting, there can be a multi-dimensional dynamic that staggers the room with new insight.

Sometimes we will hear God’s voice through the prayers of another person. Sometimes we will hear God’s voice coming out of our own mouth, with words never before thought of, nor prepared earlier. Sometimes there comes a deep conviction about the presence of God’s Spirit, such that everything that is said and heard has deep significance – as if it could just change everything. But to experience this, we have to be listening, truly engaging with God and others. I have come out of prayer meetings exhausted (yet inspired) having tried to hear everything that the Spirit is saying. If we don’t listen – we won’t hear!

Prayer is opening the space for God to speak. Prayer is engaging with what God wants to give us. In honest prayer we are being formed by God’s Spirit into the likeness of Jesus. We are learning about God’s mercy and developing a servant heart. We are becoming disciples who live authentic lives, representing Jesus in our town, workplaces, schools and places of recreation. We are bringing hope where hope is lacking, and peace to where peace has gone missing, and healing to where lives are broken. We become disciple-makers and change agents.

It is in the place of prayer that we become positive encouragers, leaving negative and critical spirits behind. In prayer we start to appreciate our spiritual gifts, and how these might be applied toward the common good. As we deeply engage with God in prayer, we come to weep over the things that God weeps over – just like Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem … that had moved their focus so far from God. And, as we deeply engage with God, we come to celebrate the things that God celebrates … and we know what all those heavenly parties are for – people coming (or returning) into relationship with Jesus.

3. (To) Discover God’s plans

It’s as we pray concerning the state of things, and the opportunities that may be present … while, at the same time, we consider how deeply God loves the world, and longs to be reconciled with all people, that we start to get inklings about how we should proceed. We go to prayer with our eyes, ears and senses attuned to the needs of others around us. The ultimate words here, come from Jesus himself: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done – on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6). We want people to experience the best, and the best surrounds uninhibited relationship with the Divine Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit.

For God’s Kingdom to come, means that the perfect future God has in store becomes evident, in certain ways, now! There are spaces and places in which we can experience the best of heaven now. This especially surrounds the quality of our relationships with God, others, and the rest of creation. For the sake of our friends, family and neighbours, we want to pray for that ‘Kingdom’ to be seen here. We want to worship like we mean it! When Jesus came, the Kingdom came with him. And, as we accept and follow the ways of Jesus, we become part of his Kingdom reign, and this renewed reality can become visible to others.

Although living in the world still means we suffer from illness, all sorts of trauma, and the consequences of sin – as part of Jesus’ reign, we are able to cope (and rise above) in knowing that ‘God is with us’! We can faithfully pray “according to God’s will” … acknowledging that only God knows what is ‘best’. We learn to accept God’s answers. Yet this best (of the ‘Kingdom’) always involves the freedom for us to grow; and also to see that any oppression or injustice that impedes life is always alien to God’s Kingdom (and needs to be defeated).

So, part of discovering God’s plans involves knowing what runs contrary to God’s plans. Once we have some level of understanding of God’s plans, and the problems to be addressed, we should adopt the attitude of being involved in the solution. Where are the open doors? Enable us, our God, to enter new fields of ministry, to embrace different people groups, to take on new adventures. Help us, loving God, to think bigger and broader … way beyond ourselves, to partner in growing the Kingdom of God.

So it is, that prayer aligns the hearts of people with the purposes of God. And the ultimate purpose of God is expressed in the ‘great commission’, again expressed by Jesus, in short: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising and teaching them” (Matt 28). If we love God, and sense how people are lost and broken, then this is what we will want to do. And we find our pathways to addressing this … in the place of prayer. Part of this will be discerning the (often hidden) hindrances that get in people’s way, understanding what to do about them, and ultimately turning defeats into victories.

4. (To) Dedicate our efforts

As we minister and work together, completely out of the resources that God has gifted to each of us (for the community good), we recognise that we need God’s blessing over all that we do! We are quite powerless in ourselves, but can be hugely effective with God working through us. We pray to ensure that what we do … will be clearly seen as the serving ministry of God to others, using us as channels (of this blessing). It is the Jesus in us recognising the Jesus in others, and providing the spiritual care that only God can bring.

We prayerfully share our life stories and testimonies of faith, in the hope that God’s Spirit will touch another individual at their point of need. We live out our life under the glare of the cameras (so to speak), praying that it triggers hope in another person. We want others to recognise how following Jesus works for us. We want to be released in our worship of God, exposing God’s presence and reality – that despite our weakness and vulnerability, we know SOMEONE who makes sense of life, gives us peace, and a reason to live well. We want to point to the primacy of the God who saves. This all starts with prayer.

Conclusion

It is in praying this way, that we will see untold breakthroughs. We have already seen many such breakthroughs – which if we analyse them carefully, would have had their origin in someone’s prayers (or in group prayer somewhere). It’s NOT that God depends on our prayers, it’s that God desires us to engage in prayer, and partner in the redemptive and transformative outcomes that God wants to bring.

If we pray like this, then we will no doubt fill the new worship centre, for there will be untold breakthroughs – with the opposition, the blockages, and the reservations all stripped away. As God's church is more faithful in prayer, then God's own stunning presence will be more observable and recognisable; and we will see transformation everywhere – in individual lives, and across whole communities.

Easter Sunday message (John 20:1-18)

Mary Magdalene was very dedicated to Jesus. She had seen in Jesus someone who was kind, honest; and when Jesus taught … life seemed to make more sense. Jesus had generally uplifted the status of women through the time in which he lived, sought to release them from cultural constraints, and taught that they should be treated with respect. Women like Mary Magdalene, and many others recorded in the Gospels, loved Jesus for the acceptance, friendship and freedom he brought to their lives. However, to their horror, Jesus had been crucified on a cross and was now dead.

These women who had been so devoted to Jesus … thought he was gone forever. In deep grief over their loss, women followers of Jesus had wrapped his body with spices within linen cloths (as was the burial custom). Jesus had talked about dying for his cause, dying for the salvation of all humankind, dying to bring in the Kingdom of God, dying to change the world – but this didn’t yet make any sense to them … how could anyone kill such a good man?!

Now, on Sunday, Mary Magdalene had returned to the tomb. This was at some personal risk and showed courage, because she was attending the grave of a condemned criminal. She would have been confused and upset enough already, but such feelings were intensified when she saw that the stone from the front of the tomb had been removed … who knows how!

Jesus had died because his message was rejected by some very powerful people. A religious elite, combined with Roman authoritarianism, rejected this Jesus … who was upsetting their little apple-cart, and putting their particular agendas under the microscope. Even though the poor were remaining poor, and the sick were remaining sick, these powerful gate-keepers did not appreciate the way Jesus taught and the change that he was championing. Humility and compassion were NOT words they easily responded to! They preferred to keep the peace; but peace is not really peace, if it is guarded by an iron hand!

So Jesus was executed on a Roman cross; yet Jesus didn’t resist – because something big was being achieved by all this. God decreed … that this was a sacrificial act of a ‘divine’ and perfect servant, bringing forgiveness for sin for anyone who accepted this act of mercy as something done for them. Many people here today have stood at the foot of the cross and accepted Jesus as their Saviour, for he has lifted the burden of sin off them and taken it upon himself. This cost Jesus his life. But this was also a perfect sacrifice, and we know that God would have the last word about all this. Jesus himself had said that death could NOT defeat God, and that he would rise again!

So, with this in mind, we should NOT be surprised that Mary, and the other women, and disciples like Peter and John, found themselves looking at an empty tomb! Whereas they found it hard to work all this out … at the time, as this was all new to them – over the 20 centuries that have followed … we have come to understand how this makes sense. The innocent One rose again! And how important is this for us right now! When things seem to hit rock bottom, where our disappointment in life is palpable, when we are hurting to the depths of our soul – things can turn dramatically around.

In our lives today, our hurts and fears can be relieved through new friendships, acts of kindness and encouraging community. Back then, what happened for Jesus’ followers was revolutionary. The One who they had seen die on a cross, and buried in a tomb … was alive! Yet, Mary Magdalene didn’t know what to make of this empty tomb – she was first worried that Jesus’ body had been moved (or perhaps stolen); and this turn of events was all too much for her – she just stood there weeping.

And then when a man appeared to her, Mary thought that this must be the gardener … tending to the various grave-sites. She didn’t recognise Jesus … perhaps simply because she wasn’t expecting this, possibly because of the tears engulfing her eyes, or maybe just because of the dim dawn light. We can sometimes miss the obvious because we’re just not ready for it! The reality of the best thing ever … has been dimmed to our view!! Mary thought this gardener may be able to explain where the body of Jesus had been taken, so therefore she made her enquiries.

And then, not a gardener, but Jesus himself, said to her, “Mary”. Wow! Firstly, this man knew her name; and not only did he know her name, but also, of great impact … was the way Jesus said her name – “Mary”! Mary not only recognised Jesus’ voice, but also the recent memories of their friendship came flooding back – their relationship was immediately recaptured. Mary was overjoyed, her hurts began to be healed, and even though she couldn’t understand everything of what was going on, she instinctively replied, in full recognition, “Teacher”! Jesus was re-established in her life.

One senses that in this (one-word) response from Mary to Jesus, there is deep joy, worship and fresh commitment. When all seemed completely lost, things turned around to the good after all! All Mary’s unanswered questions were overwhelmed by this personal relationship … seemingly lost forever … being re-established! We have to admit, that life is often full of difficulties and deep challenges to our spirit. Sometimes the hurt we have suffered has even made us walk away from what we have treasured in the past. When Jesus had died, many of Jesus’ disciples had felt their lives were done and dusted!

However, the reality of Jesus’ resurrection means that nothing is too far gone – there remains hope for the future. All seemed lost; but all of a sudden – God turns up! And that future could be well and truly better than any recent or past trauma would suggest. Jesus was dead, but now he is alive! All the garments of death and burial that Jesus had worn … the linen wrappings and head covering … were now thrown aside and left behind (unneeded anymore); and Jesus had walked out of the tomb to reconnect with his disciples (before he re-joined God in heaven)!

Weeping now gave way to joy, and joy will facilitate peace – God’s promises have been fulfilled!! Here is an invitation to see if the resurrected Jesus could make a difference in your life – how you think, how you feel (about yourself and others), how you relate, how you live – Jesus can bring a completely new perspective on life. Even if you have walked away from God (for whatever reason), here is an invitation to explore what a resurrected Jesus might mean for you … in whatever space your life is currently in. Mary was lost, but now she is found!

Billy Graham said that, “The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection [of Jesus]”. So Resurrection Sunday may be an opportunity to put past reservations aside, and allow new possibilities to emerge. We can let old habits die, and be raised into new spiritual endeavours. We can look beyond our hurts and engage with God afresh. We can reject the voice of negativity, and replace this with a voice of hope. The more we let ourselves be enveloped by the love of God, the more our lives are renewed.

Easter Sunday is a day of celebration, of worship and of commitment. In this beautiful setting, we can easily see how God wants to transform all of us into being part of His new creation. And, where things are not as they should be, we can participate in the re-making of this world. This is where we all encourage one another, together in community, toward the full potential and purpose God has created each of us to experience and appreciate. Let us celebrate, let us worship, and let us commit ourselves to the risen Jesus!