Glorifying the Body

Sermon by Francis Chan:


1 Corinthians 6 (Avoiding Sexual Sin):

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”[d] 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

One Solitary Life

"HERE IS A MAN who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book... He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His Divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a Cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while he was dying- and that His Coat. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Such was His human life- He rises from the dead. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the Centerpiece of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress. I am within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that One Solitary Life."

- Rev. James Allen Francis

Our Great High Priest

A compilation of images by Simon Smith attempting to illustrate Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness:

The Temptation of Jesus is in Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13 and Mark 1:12-13

Approaching this weekend, I’m reflecting more on the lasting impact Jesus’ ministry had before his death and resurrection. While watching this video and reading about his temptation, a verse in Hebrews kept coming to mind:

“ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:15-16

Longing for Holiness

"For I am the LORD your God;
sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy."- Lev 11:44

God continues to be my teacher revealing insights and reiterating his will within scripture, through prayer and through conversations with godly men and woman. In particular, God is stressing the need to continually strive for holiness. Undeniably, He sets a high standard for his followers to attain; however we should not regard this as an impossible feat but rather, this should make us continually reexamine our lives keeping this command in mind, repenting from the things distancing us from God. In everything, we should strive to please Him through our thoughts, words, and actions (1 Cor 10:31).

I say this knowing that striving for this standard comes with difficulty because I am a person who is a continual subject to process of sanctification, but Jesus doesn’t promise that following him is free of hardship, but that we are subject to our own unique difficulties (Matthew 16:24-25). And without bearing these difficulties, it is impossible to attain what God desires (Heb 12:14). So the question is: how can I attempt to reach this high standard?

Quite simply: love. I find myself continually asking: am I loving God and people through my thoughts, words and actions? And thinking back, there are many times where I haven't done so, but Peter writes that by loving we cover a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8). By showing love, we are not only able please God by bettering ourselves but also this causes us to change the world.

Of course, knowing that we are unable to achieve holiness under our own strength, God promises the Helper (John 14:26), and through only relying on the Holy Spirit is God’s love perfected, because the Spirit is the imprint of God's loving nature (Gal 5:22-23) and His Spirit also convicts us by making apparent the desires of our flesh. Then, only through the reliance on the Holy Spirit are we able to reexamine our lives and strive for holiness.

Life's tough, but God is Faithful

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

This passage in James reveals how God puts us through trials so that we may remain steadfast to him through the difficult moments in our lives, and this is a source of immense growth. God puts us through these trials knowing that we are able to overcome them with a reliance on him that arises from our desire to glorify him in everything.

There are times where I am anxious about what the future holds; however, I feel blessed that God chooses to place me in situations where I'm able to rely on his incredible faithfulness (1 Peter 5:7).

I don't know what future holds for me, but God continues to reveal, step by step, his plans for me to prosper as I try to humbly walk with him on my journey (Jeremiah 29:11).

Encounter with Christ (A blog about the Campus for Christ Winter Conference)

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures”—Luke 24:32 (ESV)

The Synopsis:

The Campus for Christ Winter Conference (Encounter) is a five-day annual event that allows students from across Eastern Canada to gather and give glory to God in an intense way. Throughout the Conference, there were multiple seminars and sessions that intend to strengthen a newer generation of Christians in their faith. Moreover, students had an opportunity to devote an entire day to evangelism in the city of Toronto.

The Impact:

Encounter gave me an opportunity to devote all my efforts towards God. Like most people, I have distractions in my life like problems at home, friends or worrying about school (or the lack there of for York University students) that prevent me from adequately worshiping God. Encounter simply provided an atmosphere free from distractions, allowing me to continually worship God (Hebrews 13:15) in a way that is pleasing to Him (John 4:24).

Also incredible, was witnessing the power of prayer in a hall with 600 university students from across Eastern Canada as we prayed to live a life more like Christ, as people prayed for boldness to speak the word of God to the nations— and things were shaken (Acts 4:31).

Apart from all the intense large-scale sessions, God was also present in the quiet times as we broke into fellowship to have fun, pray, and build up one another in our faith (Hebrews 10:25).

There was an encounter.

Christ loved the Outcasts

Mark 2: 13-17:

Jesus Calls Levi
13He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

15And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat[b] with tax collectors and sinners?" 17And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

The preceding is a compelling passage in Mark where Jesus carries out a seemingly ordinary task that has powerful implications regarding how to live as followers of Christ. In this passage, Jesus shares a meal with the outcasts of society (the tax collectors and sinners), surprising the holy people, who couldn’t believe that Jesus was in their company.

In this society, sharing a meal was how people welcomed guests into their homes, allowing one another to engage in conversation—or that’s what I’m assuming. In fact, Jesus commands his disciples to eat with those who receive them (Luke 10:7-8). Considering this, Jesus is stating that he shows no partiality as he shares a meal with the outcasts of this society, and others reiterate His impartiality in perusing a relationship with those who seek him throughout scripture (Acts 10: 34-35, Romans 2:11 and James 2:9).

The passage about the Levi highlights the importance of reaching the outcast, broken and lost people in our society and loving them as ourselves. Because it is impossible to love God and not people because these commandments go hand in hand (1 John 4:7), and this is true in my life because my compassion for those lost in darkness grows as I fall more in love with Jesus.

I am greatly humbled knowing that we have the privilege of being instruments of righteousness in the darkness that the Holy Spirit can use to draw those searching for the knowledge of truth.

Also, I feel great love from a savior who is preparing us in our short time in this world so that we may live eternally with Him (Matthew 25:31-46).

Tears of the Saints- A song by Leeland: