Printable Sermon Notes HERE
April 4, 2021
EASTER AT DISCOVERY
The Way
(Ephesians 4:18 LB) Many are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against Him, so they can’t understand His ways.
(2 Corinthians 3:7-17 NLT/NCV) The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom….Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The Old Way
_____________________.
(Psalm 69:3) I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
_____________________.
(Proverbs 27:17 MSG) You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.
_____________________.
(Romans 6:16 MSG) You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do.
The New Way
(John 11:25-26) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 14:6) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
My past __________________________.
(Colossians 3:14 JB) He has forgiven all our sins…and canceled every record of the debt we owed; Christ has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.
(Romans 8:1 LB) There is no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ.
2. My present ___________________________.
(Ephesians 1:20 LB) How incredibly great is his power to help those who believe Him…the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead!
(Philippians 3:10 GN) All I want to know is Christ and experience the power of His resurrection.
3. My future ________________________.
(John 17:3 LB) This is the way to have eternal life – by knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one he sent to earth!
(1 Peter 1:3) We have been born again into a life full of hope through Christ’s rising from the dead.
The Invitation
(Mark 8:34-35 MSG) Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself.
A – I’m already a Christian
B – I’m believing today
C – I’d like to consider it a bit more
D – I don’t ever intend to make that decision
Easter Survey –
EASTER SURVEY