For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. – from Colossians 1

Looking back, it’s apparent my Monday morning posts often cover Sunday’s events at church. It’s no surprise, really, considering the focus of this blog is living as a disciple. Well, it turns out that the community of faith known as WFPC is exactly where I find encouragement, inspiration, and power.

This week Rebekah shared the third message in her Apostle’s Creed series. The creed is the most ancient extant statement of faith in The Church. It dates to the mid-late second century AD, and is an affirmed element of the creedal foundation for every imaginable Christian denomination.

The creed begins, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth…” then continues, “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord….” This week she preached about Jesus – which she does, in a sense, every week – laying out the essential foundation of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done (and is doing).

It was a powerful and encouraging message, built on the context of a world in desperate need of some saving, and brimming with the kind of hope Jesus came to offer.

Essentially, she preached Colossians 1 (read it, it’s a wonderful text). In particular, she kept returning to this passage:  “[God] has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

Here’s what’s interesting… providential… miraculous, beyond our understanding: A few weeks ago our director of music ministries asked me to sing October 8th. I didn’t know what Rebekah would be preaching on. Anyway, I chose the Chris Rice song, “Untitled Hymn” (Hans helped me out with bass guitar) Here’s the first verse:

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Come to Jesus and live!

You can watch and listen to both the message and the song by clicking here, on the WFPC Live-Feed. Rebekah’s sermon begins at the 18:30 time-stamp and my song get’s going right at 45:00. The song is not bad – the sermon is awesome!

Peace, joy, promise, and love – always – Derek