REDEEMED!

I have to tell you.....

I am really excited about the Fall study!

I mean, really excited!

Really.

Why am I so excited?

This Fall we will be WALKing through a study of redemption. We will be using a wonderful study guide by Jennifer Kennedy Dean called "The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Jesus Christ." We will also be using the books of Hebrews and Leviticus to supplement the study.

We will be focusing on the redemptive power of Christ's blood.

What does "redeemed" mean? When you think of "redemption", what comes to your mind? How about "atonement"?

What about the role of the Old Testament prophesies, rituals, feasts and sacrifices? What meaning do they have for us?

I'll be honest with you. There are so many feasts, sacrifices and rituals in the Old Testament that they make my head spin. It's so hard to keep up with them and to understand why they existed, let alone the significance that they have for us today. But the truth is that we MUST understand them to have a better understanding of the significance of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice. When we look back at the Old Testament we receive a fuller understanding of how Christ completes it.

In my humble opinion, the foundation of who we are in Christ lies in the atonement. The redemptive plan. Restoration. These words need to be upon our hearts and written in our minds. Yet I find that we don't have a good understanding of what they mean.

Well, no more! This Fall quarter, we will be WALKing through God's redemptive plan and focusing on how Christ's blood not only saves us, but purifies us daily, cleansing us and restoring us to the Father who loves us so much. We look at how God had a plan for redemption all along, even before the world was created! We have a better understanding of the freeing power that flows over and within us. We'll look at how God revealed his purpose through Old Testament ceremonies and rituals so that we could have an understanding of what they mean to us today.

We'll look at the difference between "shadow"living and living with power, freedom and purpose.

In the end, we'll have a better understanding of who we are in Christ!

Our prayer is that you will join us for this study and take this journey with us. Together. Arm in arm, as God intended His family to be.

I hope you'll join us!

Grace and peace to you all.
Michele

Under Construction

The other day I was singing the song "He's still working on me" to Kylie. I was explaining to her that God is actively working in her life, and will continue to do so for as long as she is alive. He has a plan to continue His work within her until the very end. Along the way, her reward is that she will get to experience many wonderful works of His Spirit in her life as she gets to know and love her Savior.

And He does all of that because He loves her so much. Not because she is so cute (she is), or because she has had it a little hard in her first 4 years (she has) or because she has awesome parents (I may be biased there). It is because God is love, and He has love for her.

As well as for all of us!

God is at work within each one of us. He is actively involved in our lives, transforming us into the image of His Son. He has placed His Spirit within us to guide us through this temporary existence to the eternal life that He created before the world was formed.

It would be life-changing if we only understood how great His love is for us!

So many times I hear Satan confusing women with lies which leave them broken-hearted and insecure. If we would only hold close the sword of truth proclaiming that, before the creation of the world, God loved us so much that He planned our redemption. Think about it, before Day One, before Eve bit the "apple", before the fall of man, God knew that we would need a Savior and had the plan in place. He loved us enough to go ahead and create us knowing the price that He would pay would be...... Himself.

That's amazing love!