NewLife Goals: Belong

From Pastor Andy​

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
 Rom. 8:16

I feel like it's safe to say that many of us know the Louis Armstrong song, "It's a Wonderful World". It truly is a beautiful and wonderful world. The change of the seasons, the majestic outdoor landscapes and the many wondrous things of life can be great. Yet, this world can be isolating and lonely. It's been marked by sin and we now live in the tension of living here presently and waiting for Christ to return. That's why one of our goals at NewLife is to Belong. Our goal is to belong to Jesus in a meaningful way and be transformed by Him. Alongside that goal we want folks to belong at NewLife, as members of one another (Rom. 12:5). 

As Christians, everything is based on the death of Jesus which was the payment of our sin and through which now the Father has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his Beloved Son. We now have a place at His table! We now belong! The Holy Spirit testifies to our spirit (as the verse notes above) that we are children of God. So then, we are His. In my sermon on Sunday, I used the example of Buzz and Woody from Toy Story and  how Andy, their owner, had written his name on their foot to show they belonged to Him. This example always comes to my mind when I think of how we belong to Jesus. He’s put His name on us because we are His and He loves us. And because of that, we belong to Him. 

What great blessings we have in belonging to Jesus!
Pastor Andy

Questions for Reflection:

• Share a time you felt like you really belonged. 
• Was there ever a time in your life you felt like you didn't belong?
• How does belonging to Jesus impact your life? How could knowing that we belong to Jesus by faith change someone's life in a meaningful way?

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