Christ my Life

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

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THEME: Rich meaning of life in Christ

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AIM: Philippians 1:21 gives us the hope of seeing Christ. It teaches us the advances of our faith where the Lord is the center of our lives. Dying in Him means to be united with Christ in a deeper sense.

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INTRO: In the prospects of Christian martyrdom and missionary labor, this makes our overall and final expectation with Christ.

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LIVING IN CHRIST’S GRACE  

Our hope is rooted in Christ, our reason for living

a.  The Christian is crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and the power of the old self is destroyed (Romans 6:6). From then, we live the rest of our earthly lives controlled by God’s will and not by human desires (1 Peter 4:2). We are completely one with Christ (John 17:23).

b.  The Christian forgets everything and refrains from being self-important of self but only boasts about the cross of Christ for by means of His cross, the world is dead to us and we also are dead to the world (Galatians 6:14 ).

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DYING IN CHRIST’S PEACE

God’s assurance gives us wonderful joy and encouragement

a.  The Christian believes that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who died believing in Him (1 Thessalonians 4:14 ). We will possess glorious bodies in exchange of our weak, mortal bodies (Philippians 3:21). We will be gathered together (2 Thessalonians 2:1) and will rule with Christ (Revelations 20:4).

b.  A victory prize of being put right with God awaits every Christian (2 Timothy 4:8), those who submitted to God’s strict discipline (1 Corinthians 9:25) and those who remained faithful under trials (James 1:2).

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CONCLUSION:

The hope of seeing Christ must give us a good meaning every moment. It must give us reason to live in behalf of Christ. Our death is not merely a relief from suffering but something more. Happy are those who die in the service of the Lord. (Revelations 14:13). We may be dead but our life is hidden with God (Colossians 3:3).

The true message of true love for the true Christian valentine .

1 Corinthians 13:6

“Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth.”

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INTRO: God is love. Our best efforts, if bereft of love, ring hollow. We can all strive to love others as God loved them for all our achievements then or ever will do, only love endures.

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AIM: The love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) teaches us the warmth of Christ’s love when we obey his commandment of loving one another and serve them. There is an incentive when we focus on others.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S LOVE

God’s love has a reputation

a.  Merciful, gracious, long suffering, abounding in goodness and truth. (Exodus 34:6)

b.  Pardons iniquity, does not retain anger forever and delights in mercy. (Micah 7:18)

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Dynamics OF GOD’S LOVE

Our love for God has a driving force

a.  He who does not love does not know God, for is love. (1 John 4:8)

b.  We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:12)

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CONCLUSION:

Loving sets a good example. True compassion is love in action. Let us remember the words of Romans 13:10, which says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Let us also imitate God’s characteristics of love and ask the Holy Spirit to help us love the unloveable and so doing, value life, protect and enrich it as a good gift from God.

Powerful with God’s strength

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (NKJV)

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INTRO: The church in Philippi is the first Christian community in Europe. Paul, in this letter, exhorted the church in growth, joy and peace in life together. He also sent his brief appreciation for their help to him in prison.

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AIM: Philippians 4:13 teaches us to rejoice in faith based on the understanding of Christ’s unique role in the salvation of all. This verse reveals insight on our sensitivity, tenderness and enthusiasm for Christ.

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GOD STRAIGHTENS ME WITH DELIGHT

a. “God is my savior, I am confident and will not be afraid. He is my strength and courage.” (ISAIAH 12:2) The assurances that God makes to us. No height, however bare, nor depth, however profound, can separate us from His love.

b. “He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength.” (ISAIAH 40:29) Another bible version put this verse as “He gives strength to the fainting, for the weak He makes vigor abound. Weakness, limitation, disadvantages, flaws, difficulties and any of our weak points should never give way to discouragement.

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GOD STRETCHES ME WITH DELIGHT

a. “My grace is sufficient for you formy strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 CORINTHIANS 12:9) The Lord always hears and answers his people sooner or later, in one form or another, though not always in the way and manner they desire; but yet in such a way as is most for his glory and their good. Sometimes, realease and healing are denied for a higher purpose.the grace of Christ is given most fully to the sufferer which manifest itself also most fully.

b. “But we have this treasue in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 CORINTHIANS 4:7) God's power Is made known through ministerial hardships. Our difficulties of this present existence may not seem glorious at all as it is marked by sffering and death. But we must affirm our faith in the presence and ultimate triumph of life. We, as instruments whom God uses are human (soul creature) and fragile (weak and delicate).

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GOD STRENGTHENS ME WITH DELIGHT

a. “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.” (JOHN 15:5) This describes our union with the Lord. Nothing is to be done "without Christ"; his Spirit, grace, strength, and presence. For the branches that are truly in him and be removed, they could not produce fruits of good works.

b. “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” (2 TIMOTHY 4:17) Paul having an inward strength in his soul, with might in his inward man, unto all longsuffering with joyfulness, he was able to preach the gospel by his personal ministry, at least by his epistles he afterwards wrote in prison with divine assistance.

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CONCLUSION: This sermon reminds us that personal strength and talent only makes us inadequate for this life and its challenges. If we rest in Christ’s trength the we will find his provision. Let us admit our frailty and dependence in him so that Christ will empower us for the troubles life throws our way.