Celebrate Jesus – part 2 - final

We believe that the Lord Jesus, anointed as God’s Messiah, came to us to set up, proclaim and make us one with the Kingdom of God. He is the Son of God, born as a man and now exalted in heaven as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Jesus is worth celebrating, simply because of who he is.

But we also celebrate Jesus for what he does for us and in our lives. What does he do?
1) Jesus loves us just as we are. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his son, his one and only son. And this is why: So that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16(The Message) Jesus loved us even before we loved him. Paul writes in Rom 5: 8:“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” (CEV)

2) Jesus forgives the wickedness of our past.
We read about a woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ … When they kept on questioning him, he said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ … Jesus asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.” While others condemned the guilty woman, Jesus restored her. What Jesus does is to restore condemned sinners and give them the right to be called children of God.

3) Jesus also makes our lives new.
We believe that Jesus Christ, being for our offences crucified, dead, and buried, his body never saw corruption, but he was raised again on the third day. In his risen life, we live anew, and receive the fruit of his resurrection. In heaven he continually intercedes for us as the Head of the Church, where he is honoured as Lord over all.

Paul writes: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Jesus makes us new, even if we broke and destroyed ourselves.

It is time to celebrate Jesus for what he does for us! And the best way to celebrate him is to turn from our world conforming lives and embrace the new life he gives as a result of his cross and his victory.
Our transformation into his image celebrates Jesus for what he does and for who he is!