Dear Friends,
Have you ever stopped to consider what life would be like if you had nothing to hope for?
Or to put it another way, how would your life be different if you had no hope for anything good in this life or in the life to come?
Back in 1957, a British author named Nevil Shute wrote a book called On The Beach (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=7da333a8c5&e=fbb0a4052b). His novel tells the story of a group of people living in Melbourne, Australia following World War III, after a full-scale nuclear war between the US, Europe, the Soviets and the Chinese has led to the complete destruction of all plant and animal life in the Northern Hemisphere.
In fact in the novel, the only parts of the earth that are still habitable are Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the southern parts of South America. And as the trade winds begin to blow the radiation to the south, these areas are all slowly succumbing to radiation poisoning.
Life in Melbourne, at the southern tip of Australia continues, as those who are alive monitor the reports of cities to the north being polluted by radiation and ultimately going dark.
As a matter of government policy, citizens are supplied with free suicide pills and injections so they can avoid the prolonged and painful death that awaits them from radiation poisoning.
What the author explores in the novel is how the characters who are awaiting their impending doom, with nowhere to run and nowhere on earth to hide, live out their last days. One couple plants a garden that will never grow. Another character takes lessons on shorthand, something she had always wanted to learn. A race car enthusiast in the book organizes a dangerous high-speed race where several drivers die.
You have probably asked yourself at some point “If I knew I was going to die in 30 days, how would I choose to live my remaining days?” But this novel asks the question “If you knew everyone was going to die in 30 days, how would you choose to live your last 30 days?”
Anyone who believes that this life is not all there is already has an answer. All of us live with eternity in view. We set our minds on things above. We prepare ourselves for what is coming next, and we urge everyone we know and anyone we love to be prepared for what’s next as well.
None of us has a date we can point to when we will die. And we don’t know the date when our world will die. But we do know each one of us will face death. And as we’re seeing in our study of Revelation, the Bible teaches there is a day coming when the world we know will die. That day will be the last day.
So in a sense, each one of us is already answering the question raised in On The Beach. All of us are living our lives in light of the fact that our lives will end. And what we believe about what happens when our life ends ultimately shapes the decisions we make about how we choose to live today.
As we reviewed last Sunday during our time in the Heidelberg Catechism, the Apostles Creed states that as Christians, we believe that on the last day our human bodies will be resurrected. By the way, we believe this is true for every human being, not just for those who trust in Jesus. Every human will one day receive a new body which our souls will inhabit for eternity.
The creed declares that while we believe our lives on earth will end, our existence will not end. Ever. Our souls will never die, and the resurrected bodies we will one day inhabit will also never die.
And here’s an important question for all of us to consider.
How does your belief that your bodies will one day be resurrected and that you will live with God eternally affect the choices you make today?
Let me suggest three things.
First, as Christians, our belief in resurrected bodies and everlasting life means that whatever sadness or pain we face today will one day pass. Peter said it this way in 1 Peter 1: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.
While you face trials and pain in this life, you can find joy and can rejoice in knowing that if you know and love Jesus, what God has for you in the future as His child will outweigh whatever pain you are experiencing in this life.
Second, our belief in resurrected bodies and eternal life should give us urgency to make sure we are ready for that coming day, and that all people we know and love are also ready for that day. It should give us an urgency to talk more with our friends about what really matters and to talk less about trivial things.
And third, as we read in Titus 2, waiting for our blessed hope should motivate us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, because our great God and Savior Jesus Christ… gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
This is how we live out whatever days we have left in this life. And it’s how we make ourselves ready to live with Him forever.
Just in case you weren’t able to be with us this evening – we had a great time enjoying burgers and fellowship and bouncy houses!
And finally, a hearty congratulations to our Cornhole Tournament winners!
Thanks to everyone who helped make our summer kick off event a big success!
Don’t forget, this Sunday 0ur NxtGen ministry for college aged students and young adults will be meeting for lunch right after church to discuss the book Knowing God by JI Packer and to spend time getting to know one another better. This will be the first of three lunchtime meetings this summer.
Pat Howell and Cole Perkins will be facilitating the gatherings. And lunch is on us!
If you’re planning to attend, click here to order a copy of the book (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=39c32b56fa&e=fbb0a4052b) so you can read the first section before you meet together for lunch 10 days from now!
Please remember to pray for the 40+ kids who, along with leaders and volunteers will be meeting each day next week for our Backyard Bible Club. Pray specifically for safety, good weather and for lots of gospel seeds to be planted in the hearts of our kids!
Have you been baptized since you trusted Christ?
On Sunday, June 23, we have some in our church family who have expressed a desire to honor and obey the Lord by presenting themselves for baptism. We’ll be hearing their testimonies and witnessing their baptisms at the end of our morning worship service that day.
If you have never been baptized as a follower of Jesus, can I encourage you to contact us and make plans to share your testimony with us and submit yourself to the Lord for this vital ordinance of the church? Contact Pastor Matt, Pastor Cole or me to set up a time where we can meet to talk about what’s involved in being baptized. Simply send an email to info@redeemerlr.org (mailto:info@redeemerlr.org) and we’ll make arrangements to meet with you.
And of course, as always, we will wrap up the morning with a celebration potluck where we can rejoice together in God’s goodness. We’ll also be praying for and commissioning some of our students and parents from the Roots Student Ministry who will be leaving right after lunch for their StreetReach week in Memphis.
Here’s your monthly update on our finances as a church.
May Giving: $33,649
May Expenses: $34,799
Year to Date Giving: $181,247
Year to Date Expenses: $253,584
Balance on Hand on 5/31/24 $163,448
Thank you, as always, for your generosity. If you’re not currently giving to support all that God is doing at Redeemer, please know that your financial support is greatly appreciated and carefully used to keep the ministry going. You can give by writing a check and bringing it to church, putting it the giving box, or by clicking here to give online (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=17fc3db9e2&e=fbb0a4052b).
There’s a pretty clear connection between what happens in Revelation 8 when the first of the four trumpets are sounded and what happened to God’s people 1500 years earlier when they were living in Egypt. We’ll look this Sunday at that connection and see what it tells us about how we understand the trumpet judgments in Revelation.
See you in church.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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