When we live our lives aware of who we are by virtue of our bearing the Image of the Creator AND bearing His Spirit within us, we live transformed lives. The Apostle Paul urges us to begin that journey with the renewing of our minds, toward which there are many paths that can be pursued. Colossians 3:1-17.

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Our identity is derived from our relationship with the Trinity through the Holy Spirit. We are each fashioned in the image of God, wonderfully made, and bearers of the news of the King. The Holy Spirit empowers our walk when we choose the way of Christ, and we live in partnership with the Eternal One who dwells within us. Romans 8:1-11.

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In Christianity, the Feast of Pentecost is shifted from the Hebrew themes of wheat harvest and the giving of Torah to the arrival of the Creator Himself in the form of His Holy Spirit descending in power. This follows 10 days after King Jesus ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, having been handed even more authority than He had before. The Spirit's work in and through us defies description but we take a crack at it in today's lesson on Acts 2.

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The Apostle Paul quotes an ancient Christian hymn that encapsulates Jesus' mission in a few lines of poetry in his letter to the Philippians. Philippians 2:5-11 marks Jesus' descent from glory to mortality in order to begin and fulfill His rescue mission. Luke ends his gospel with the ascension and begins the Book of the Acts of the Apostles with it. In this sermon we mark the completion of that mission, with the Father taking Jesus to sit at His right hand in glory. The King has died, the King has risen, the King has ascended. Long live the King!

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We hear from "Mrs. Noah" and Sarai as they tell their stories of patient faith on Mother's Day at The Barn.

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A great number of God's promises made since the beginning of time are fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are many other promises that are still in force in our lives here and now. Since we know He kept earlier promises, we know He will keep these, even (and especially) when that truth feels far away.

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We will be resurrected to a new body that synthesizes spiritual and physical just like Jesus’. This captures Paul’s (and our) imagination and gives us certain hope. Jesus’ return coincides with the coming of the similarly synthesized “new heaven and new earth” and “new Jerusalem” that straddle physical and spiritual reality. We are linked to Jesus’ resurrection from the beginning of our walk with Jesus through our baptism. The power that raised Jesus repeatedly raises us from the dead in everyday struggles in our everyday lives. Grounded and powered in our resurrection identity, we replace our old self with an ever-growing new. Romans 6

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We are still celebrating resurrection in this Season of Easter. Paul refers to the Resurrected Christ as the "firstfruits" of a massive resurrection harvest. Firstfruits are the first, best portion of the annual harvest that signal a bounteous crop to follow. We will be resurrected in the bounteous kingdom that comes finally and fully at the Second Coming. Until that happens, Paul describes what will happen as a way of encouraging us to remain faithful, because it is all going to be worth the wait and effort!

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