Thursday, December 30, 2010

Transformation 2011

Late Night Rendezvous
It was a late night rendezvous unlike any before or since.  Imagine Barrack Obama gathering late at night with a bunch of Republicans who would offer him advice on how to run the country, or imagine Alex Rodriguez from the NY Yankees, having a secret meeting at night with the Boston Red Sox players to get advice on how to be a better hitter.  Do you get the picture?  The Pharisees hated Jesus and everything He stood for.  Oh don’t get me wrong, they knew He was from God or at least some of them did, because Nicodemus said, “we know you are a teacher who comes from God”, that’s right the secret rendezvous between Nicodemus and Jesus happened because he was the only one who had the inner fortitude (guts) to approach this man who was a thorn in their side.
Was Jesus pleased that Nicodemus did the unthinkable and came to Him?  Sure, but Jesus wasn’t satisfied with head knowledge.  He quickly informed Nicodemus that his status, reputation, money, or good deeds meant nothing if he wasn’t Born Again.
At TSCC our theme for 2011 is “Transformation”, and it has to begin with being born again.  The Transformation Process begins at our new birth into Christ.  All of our righteous deeds, selfless acts, and good works mean nothing w/o the blood of Christ.  We will be spending nine weeks dealing with the elements of salvation discussed in John 3:16 and I will attempt to put some of these thoughts into my blog.  I’m afraid I’ve avoided this verse through many of my years of preaching because of the stigma that sometimes can be attached. (which by the way is completely ridiculous)
I hope that you will enjoy as I have, truly digging into this powerful verse and allowing it to transform you no matter where you are in life.  The unsaved desperately need to hear this message, and the saved need to be reminded of where they were and are w/o this sinner rescuing passage.  For God so loved…..................................................................................................................
In Christ,
Lance