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Lent 2022

Mar 04
Love0

Friday, March 4 – I Will Be With You

By Lent 2022 2 Comments

The central promise, the most repeated promise of the Bible is “I will be with you.”

Here are seven examples:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1.9

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23.4

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41.10

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means ‘God with us’). Matthew 1.23

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1.14

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28.20

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14.16-17

The astounding progression is God for us, God with us, and then God dwelling within us. Incredible.

God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” But when you erupt in anger at your daughter, when you compare yourself to another, when you secretly change the settings on your computer so no one will see your search history, when you habitually worry, when you ignore a former friend, or when you…

And yet, the God who is with us, is with us there too. He’s with us in the depth of our anger, the joyless comparison, the loneliness of secrecy, the deepest hurt, and the darkest sin. He’s Immanuel in all of those places too. He’s as present in our darkness as He is in the light.

Can you imagine living with God in the darkest dark? Can you imagine inviting Him to meet you in that place of brokenness?  What if you lived as if this truth were true?

Our “With You” God has come to remind you of His grace, of His life, and of His love. He’s with you in your moments of spiritual strength, and at your absolute worst. He’s God with us. Always. Everywhere. In everything. And His message is always one of Good News.

Reflection:

  1. How do you experience “God with you” when you sense you are at your best?
  2. How do you experience “God with you” when you sense you are at your worst?
  3. “I will be with you.” How might you fully live into this truth today?

Pray through the truth of John 20.24-28

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Mar 03
Love0

Thursday, March 3 – It is Finished

By Lent 2022 No Comments

It is finished. As we begin this Lenten season, let’s skip ahead to the end. The end gives us perspective as we begin.

From the cross, Jesus declared victory over sin and death.

Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

What was finished? What did Jesus finish on the cross? A better question may be, “What didn’t Jesus finish?” Or maybe an even better question is, “What started—what began—after Jesus finished paying our penalty, resulting in the ultimate end of sin and death?”

It is finished.

“Finished”—téleios—meaning “fully finished” or “accomplished to the uttermost.”

Jesus made atonement for our sin. His whole life pointed to this one moment, the moment of atonement. It was in this moment, the moment when the wrath of God was poured upon Jesus instead of us—His body fully broken, His blood fully shed— that it was accomplished to the uttermost. In the words of John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner, when he saw the Savior coming toward him: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Around the church, we get used to talking about the cross. But friend, what happened on the cross is the single most important event in redemptive history. What God did on the cross is treat Jesus Christ as if He had committed every single sin ever committed by every single person. The full wrath of God was placed on His Son instead of on you and me.

God the Father is treating His Son as if He had lived your life. And in return, He is able to treat you as if you had lived Jesus’ perfect life.

It is finished.

The work of reconciling your relationship with God is finished. What Jesus did completely justifies you. What Jesus accomplished completely redeems you because He is your perfect sacrifice. And because of that, God is completely and utterly pleased with you. On the cross, Jesus declared a complete victory on your behalf, covering all your sins.

What if it’s true? What if God is completely and utterly pleased with you, just as you are, right where you are? What if you lived as if these truths were true?

All your sin. It has all been redeemed.

It is finished.

Reflection:

  • What is finished?
  • Reflect on this statement: “God is completely and utterly pleased with you.” How are you learning to rest in this truth? What causes you to push back from fully embracing this truth?
  • “It is finished.” How might you fully live into this truth today?

Pray through the truth of Isaiah 43.1-7.

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Feb 21
Love0

Introduction

By Lent 2022 No Comments

Ash Wednesday begins the Church’s observance of the Lenten season. It is a space in time in which we are called to return to the Lord. The prophet Joel declares, “Yet even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me with all your heart” Joel 2:13.

Traditionally, this season focuses on ways we can more intentionally enter into the disciplines of prayer, self-examination and repentance. Many Christians choose to include some sort of fast, or even a withdrawal from a portion of regular daily life. The Lenten season is also marked by celebration in remembering the compassion of Jesus, the servanthood of Jesus and the indescribable sacrifice of Jesus – Himself becoming our sin, paying our debt and making atonement for our sins and then overcoming sin and death through His victorious resurrection.

This year at Sanctuary, instead of focusing on self-examination and withdrawal we are going to lean in, we are going to move toward, the truth that we believe.

We believe the truth of God’s Word. We believe Jesus made atonement for our sins. We believe He suffered, died, and was buried, and we believe He was resurrected from the dead. We believe these truths and stake our lives their foundation.

This season we want to live more fully into what we believe.

To help us journey through this season together Sonny, Matt, Brent and Heather have joined me in creating a daily text devotional. The devotional will follow along with the Lenten sermon series and give you daily encouragement to live as if these truths were true.

Our hope is that you’d lean in with us this season and participate in the daily devotional personally, and with a small group of people, either at Sanctuary or maybe even in your office, classroom, or neighborhood.

Each devotional will include a portion of Scripture, a short reflection on the text, a few questions for reflection, and a prayer offered to bring rest. Devotionals on Saturdays will be prayers from Scripture or from our staff team. We trust these devotionals will be another way of being transformed by the Gospel to live and love like Jesus.

Honored to celebrate this season with you. “May it begin in me. Right here, Jesus. Right now, Jesus.”

Craig Bowler

Feb 21
Love0

How to Get Daily Push Notifications

By Lent 2022 No Comments

If you would like to opt-in to receive a daily push notification from the Sanctuary App as a reminder of this Lenten devotional, you can follow the instructions below.

If you do not already have the Sanctuary App, you can download the app by texting “Sanctuary” to 770-691-1140 or click HERE to download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

If you do already have the Sanctuary App, be sure that you have the most updated version. You can do this by checking your app store for updates to the Sanctuary App.

Turn On App Notifications:

Once you have the app downloaded or updated, go to your phone settings & find your notification settings. Look for the Sanctuary App and then click “allow notifications.” Each Android phone and iPhone may have a slightly different variation of how to turn on notifications for the Sanctuary App, so please contact the church office at 770-884-1963 for any assistance needed. You can view any past push notification messages at any time in the side menu of the Sanctuary App. Look for the three horizontal bars at the top right corner of the app home screen to find your messages.

Android Phones:

Some android phones may have an additional place to enable app notifications beyond your phone settings. When you open your app home screen, click on the three horizontal bars in the top right corner. If you are logged into your profile on the app, you will see your name appear at the top of this side menu. You may have a gear icon at the bottom of this side menu. If so, click on the gear icon to find the “enable notifications” option and turn that on. You are good to go!

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