Series: Committed
Message: Adventure
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 59:1-7.
Read: John 11:1-27 — As you read in the New International Version, note 1-3 insights that arise.
Reflect: The Seventh-day Adventist Church currently holds to 28 fundamental beliefs. The more we discover about Jesus, the more we develop these statements of understanding. Number 26 is aptly called ‘Death and Resurrection.” Here is a brief summary:
The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.)
I have always grasped this truth embedded throughout the Bible. I see it in our lives, through our conversations, and in examining our history. Death is not final. Our lives—however short or long—are not over when death arrives. Our joys and memories are not ended. This short life on earth is just the start. God, in His infinite wisdom, has limited our time on earth. He asks one thing only—that we consider and accept the greatest gift of all time—salvation leading to eternal life.
Recalibrate:
Respond: Pray for acceptance.
Research: Online you can watch Pastor Raewyn Hankins share a quick summary of this fundamental belief - #26. But you can also explore all the others.