Cardiff City Church Sermons
Web Site: Cardiff City Church
Total Sermons: 6
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Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
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When you fall
When you became a Christian, you died to your old life and were raised, as it were, with Christ to a new kind of life. This is your new life of discipleship in which you follow Christ. But this new life is not automatic. Your life does not automatically start showing the “fruits of the Spirit.” When God places the desire in your heart, you still must carry through, take the next step, and do what God has asked you to do. The bad news is that we do not always take this next step; we stumble and fall by doing what God has asked us not to do. The good news is that God is ready to help. We believe that God is our Creator and that he is all-wise and all-good. This means that he determines what is right and what is wrong, and that his judgments are always for our good.
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A New Creation
When you became a Christian, you were aware that certain things were happening. Formerly you had been separated from God, not in relationship with him, but then you repented. Formerly you were dead but now you are alive. But much more happened, even if you were not aware of it. Before conversion, did you know that it was God drawing you to himself, helping you understand your guilt and emptiness? In conversion God rescued you from the kingdom of darkness and brought you into his kingdom of light, forgave your sins, acquitted you from all guilt, freed you from all condemnation, redeemed you from the tyranny of sin, made you holy, made you into a new creation, adopted you into his family, made you a citizen of heaven and gave you the gift of his Holy Spirit to live within you forever as a helper and a guarantee that you would receive the inheritance that God has promised. With all this, it should come as no surprise that changed people will live in a changed way. Of course your life is going to be different; it cannot possibly be the same because you are not the same. The Bible uses many different ways of discussing this new life. Jesus says that we become his disciples, which means that we are his followers and learn from him. Conversion is an important first step in this new life. The Bible also talks about the “fruits of the Spirit.” “Fruits” stands for the changes that God’s Spirit is going to accomplish in your life, changes like love, joy, peace, patience, etc. Do not be frightened about these changes. God is not standing there with a frown, demanding that you be perfect. But he will give you the desire to change and then the ability to do so. This change is not automatic; you can fight him, but why would you want to do that? Another metaphor that the Bible uses to describe followers of Jesus is that we are the “salt of the earth.” Life is going to be different; you are going to be different. Things are about to change in your life.
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The Gospel
The most famous passage in the Bible is in the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16. This is how God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life and not really die. Let us look at the different parts of this verse. “This is how God loved the world.” God is the starting point. He created the world, loved the world, but the people he created decided to rebel against him (which the Bible calls “sin”), and the consequence of that decision was separation from God and eventually death. “He gave his one and only Son.” The good news is that God gave his Son to die on the cross so that his death would pay the penalty for your sins and forgiveness could be made available.
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