Joy

My name is Tom Noser, and I have been a member of Living Hope for several years. I first visited when the worship center was what we now call the Fellowship Hall, would attend the worship service, receive good teaching, and then leave. In a large church, anonymity is easy to achieve. God (gently) worked on my reticence and stubbornness, such that I eventually became more involved in small groups and ABF classes. What a blessing that has been. Though I can’t tell you the exact date I became a member, I was baptized on Christmas Eve, 2003.



The day of worship, teaching, and service was one of emotions. Given my choice, I’ll deal with those bringing joy.

I knew that Kay (Edwards) would be sharing her testimony regarding the Singles Ministry, and how God is using that to work in her life and the lives of others. I can confirm everything she shared. In my time of involvement in our ABF Singles class and small groups, I have witnessed God caring for us in amazing ways. Many of us (not all!) have come from broken situations, where marriages and families have been torn apart. Please understand; we believe in marriage. In spite of our shortcomings, we believe in God’s sovereignty and His love for us. God is growing our numbers, and more importantly, God is restoring, teaching, nurturing, and growing us. It is a genuine treat to be part of a group of people who care so much for one another.

Jason welcomed us this morning with something like “Thanks for bringing the church here this morning.” While I know we are in a series of sermons about our faith, it is good & affirming to again hear that we are the church. I look forward to learning more this year about simply being the church – being the people God has ordained us to be, walking in the good works which God has prepared beforehand (see Ephesians 2:10). When Christ returns to claim His church, He will not be here for the building and the bus, but for us, and the Bride of Christ needs to be spotless and perfect.

As Jason dealt with the uniqueness of the Christian faith this morning, I was reminded of something we covered in our ABF class recently. It is quite common that topics we cover in our class closely dovetail with Jason’s teachings. Matt Haste, substituting for Sean Latham while he was on a two week mission trip to South Africa (I told you our ABF was a good place to be; next week Trenda Wilcox is off to Honduras), was dealing with the topic of salvation. My understanding of what Jason said this morning is that New Testament Christianity teaches that God is holy, and became one of us to make us holy, and to save us. That is unique. Jesus is the only one who is both God and man; Jesus paid the price to save us. My understanding – for us to be acceptable in God’s sight, we must be perfect, and that can only occur if we are 1) forgiven, and 2) covered by Christ’s righteousness. Accepting Christ’s sacrifice in our place removes our sin guilt, and replaces it with the righteousness of Christ. Wow, what a gift, and only Jesus, the only one who was God & man, can do that.

Jason’s discussion of two seeming conflicts – that God is in complete control, and yet we are responsible for our choices – also struck a chord with me. We live in a world of “it’s not my fault; it’s not my responsibility”, but that’s not God’s view, as I understand it. God is in control, complete control. God is sovereign, but once saved we have a responsibility to walk in the good works which God has prepared beforehand. Ephesians 2:10 does not tell us to “sit” in those good works. Things will happen, bad things – cancers, deaths, divorce, unemployment … the list goes on – but Romans 8:35-39 tells us that in spite of all those things, essentially, nothing will separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Are we sure God will see us through? Philippians 1:6 answers that – “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

One more thought of the joy-bringing nature that Jason brought to us – for those in Christ, we have the promise of life now and eternally. Only Christ rose from the dead; our Savior is alive! Our Christian faith teaches that truth, as I understand it, but that gift of everlasting life must be accepted personally.

What I have discovered is that I don’t have to wait until I am called home to enjoy life to the full. In the ABF and small group “family”, I have people who genuinely care for and love me, who are concerned about my temporal & eternal welfare, and that of others. Perhaps that is what “simply being the church” is all about.