Rise Daily: March 3

Rise Daily: March 3

THIS WEEK’S THEME & PASSAGE

The Centrality of the Gospel – Galatians 2:11-21

This week’s sermon from the series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission“

 

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THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

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THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

Galatians 2:19-21
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

 

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MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

 

Christ’s mission to create a new kind of people means that each of us has to be changed at the very core that generates our thoughts and behavior. Paul describes this as a total rewiring of our minds: See Romans 12:1-2.

I takes the death of our old selves on the cross through Christ to allow for the resurrection of our new selves by his power: See 1 Corinthians 2:14, 16b.

 

When Jesus told his disciples on that final evening that he would be leaving them, he left them with a promise. He would be sending the Holy Spirit to his people, essentially replicating himself in multitudes beyond counting (Revelation 7:9), for the restoration of God’s glory in a darkened world.

A brand new people for a brand new world.

 

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THIS WEEK’S RISE REFLECTION

The vision of Rise will take more than a church- it will take a movement. The vision is not for ourselves, but for the entire city. You have a role in this movement. You are a culture maker. You make culture every day in the way you spend your money, use social media, treat your doorman, interact with friends, and perform at work. This gospel movement starts with you.

 

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TODAY’S PRAYER

For your Heart: Contemplate what you could do in the world with the mind of Christ! Pray for opportunity.

For your Church: Pray that you will see each of your brothers and sisters with the same glory Christ has given you, but reflected in various ways. Thank God for his gifts to his people.

For our City: Pray that the major institutions of our city (finance, government, the arts, etc.) would be populated with gospel-renewed minds, and that they would be given the grace to influence their industries in restorative ways.