You're listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City, Whitehorse, UConn. Here's this week's message. Hello, Mountain View. We made it. I'm so happy that you're able to be here with me for the conclusion of our Story of the Gospel preaching series. This has been a blessing for me to share with you something that I feel is so important. In fact, important doesn't even seem like a strong enough word. The gospel is paramount.
both for the already believing Christian to reflect on, but also it's the most important thing for the person who does not yet know Christ to come to understand. It is literally a matter of life and death. It's the bridge for a soul to cross from the desolation of eternal darkness and separation from God to the glory of eternal light and reunification with God. Remember way back in week one when we talked about humans being whole and fulfilled and able to bask in the presence of God in the garden? That is the condition and existence that Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, makes possible for us to have again.
By no means do we deserve this, and by no means can we enact it. It is holy by the grace of Christ that we are able to be restored, that all creation is able to be restored, and all that is wrong be made right again. As I said in week one, this is the greatest love story in history, the present, and the future. It is ongoing, and more Christians are brought into it every day, all over the world. What a blessing it is to know that the things that are broken will be fixed, wounds will be healed, and hearts will be made new. They will be, and they already are. If you're a Christian, this process has already begun in you.
God is right now at work in each of his own, restoring and fixing and healing and making new. This plays out in each of us in a process we call sanctification. It is a long process. It's a lifelong process. For there's a very long way back from the self-serving rebellious nature that we all once shared to the self-forgetting servant nature that we had back in the garden and we'll have again in glory. There's a preacher I really like by the name of Votie Bauckham. He speaks of sanctification this way. He says, I'm not who I want to be. I'm not who I ought to be. I'm not who I will be. But hallelujah.
I'm not who I was. On the cross, Jesus justified us before the Father, paying our debt for sin that we ourselves could not pay. And in what remains of our lives in the here and now, we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, being molded into who we are intended to be in the very beginning. All three persons of the Godhead are at work in the salvation, redemption, and overall rescue of those who love Christ. The Father wills our redemption, the Son makes it possible, and the Holy Spirit makes it a reality.
We are born again and made new. We are covered in the righteousness of Jesus and can now appear before the Father worthy of being in his presence because of that covering. Even now, before sanctification is complete, while we still struggle with sin, while we still long for the completedness of glory, we can approach God on his throne and petition him. And we know that he hears us. And furthermore, he wants to hear from us. We don't need to go seek out a priest and make our petition to him. For we are made priests ourselves and can again directly commune with God as we once were able to in the garden.
As I've said so many times throughout this series, the gospel shows us that he is God, we are his creatures. He gives us a voice and he gives us life. Praise God. Welcome to Mountain View Church. We're so glad you could join us for this preaching series called The Story of the Gospel. We'd love to connect with you. So if you're watching online and you'd like to reach out to us with any thoughts or questions or prayer requests, click on the connect tab at our website, mountainview.church, or text connect to the number on your screen. For those listening on the radio or the podcast, that number is 867-322-8001.
On Sunday mornings in-house, we offer a full base camp program for our kids. But if you're watching online and you want to access the teaching materials or activities at home, again, go to our website, mountainview.church slash children, and you can find them all there. Or text children to 867-322-8001. We also have a youth program running for the month of July. That's every Sunday evening in July, so this will be the last one. And then I believe we're taking a break for August to come back in September. But for more info on youth, go to our website, mountainview.church slash youth, or text youth to 867-322-8001.
My name is Rachel, and today we are reading from 1 Peter 3, verse 15. So, over the last three weeks we've covered a ton of material. And I want to remind us that this is first and foremost God's story, and we get to be a part of it. We talked about His creation of us in His image, making us imagers of Himself. Our purpose of serving and worshiping Him and bringing glory to His name.
We talked about sin and our fall and our hopeless condition facing an eternity without him. We looked at the history of Israel, his chosen people, and the purpose of the law and the priests and the sacrificial system and the tabernacle. Then, after showing how all of this sets the stage for the good news of Jesus, we got into how Jesus fulfills all that we could not, and he became our rescuer. He came first to the Jews, the physical descendants of Abraham, but in his wonderful grace, he's opened up the door for everyone. People from all tribes and tongues and nations can be included in the salvation provided by Jesus and be heirs to the kingdom of God with Christ.
So what do we do with that? What do we do now that we have received all of this from him? Well, we proclaim Christ's glory. And there's a few ways in which we do that. This week, I want to tie it all together in the best way that I know how. So I'm going to take us through a series of Bible verses that, in my opinion, make up the story of the gospel quite well. These are all verses that we should know and understand. And as I said, it is God's story, but we also get to see how we fit in this story. And so I think it's fitting that we do this together, that we share the gospel with each other.
We're given instructions to share our faith with the world and to be able to articulate what we believe to others. In Matthew 28, 19, and 20, Jesus says, So there's one motivation to share our faith, Jesus' instruction. Furthermore, Peter in 1 Peter 3.15 says, Yet do it with gentleness and respect. Are you ready to do this? Are you equipped to do this? Now, if you're watching at home, I want you to take note of the following verses as we go through the components of the gospel together. There are many verses to choose from in the Bible, and I've selected only seven. And there's no one combination to learn. There's no structured, you must learn these verses in order to share the gospel. But I believe in these seven, we get a good picture of the things that we need to know and understand to share our faith and the reason for the hope that is in us. In these seven verses, we proclaim the glory of Jesus and give those around us a good picture of what they need to know to come to know Jesus themselves.
So let's share the gospel together. The first verse that I want to go through is Genesis 127. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. This tells us that we were made intentionally and for a purpose. For a purpose of reflecting and representing God as people made in his image. And we were made to serve him. The next verse is Romans 3.23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We've all missed the mark and failed in our own ways to uphold the standard given to us as God's imagers. We're all in this position together. We have all sinned and rebelled against God.
The next verse is Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The price for our rebellion for our sin is death and eternal separation from God in hell. However, through Jesus, God has made a way for us to be saved from death and brought to life. The next verse is Romans 5, 8. But God shows us his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. See, Jesus does not wait for us to be good enough for him. He does not come to save the good. He comes to save sinners.
He died for the worst version of who you've ever been. That's who he saves. Romans 8.1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. We are covered in Christ's righteousness. Our sin became his and he was condemned for it. And we are free and declared innocent before God because of Christ's righteousness. Romans 8.34 says, Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised. Who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
He died for us, was raised to new life, and he includes us in that new life, and he is now our advocate in heaven, our high priest interceding for us. The last verse is John 1, 12. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. If you've believed in who Christ is, in who he says he is, and what he's done for you, and you've submitted yourself to him, made him your Lord and King, you're adopted as a child of God, a citizen in the kingdom of God because of his grace. As I said before, Jesus came first to the Jews, but in his great generosity and mercy, he opened up the kingdom to anyone who would be saved. He's created a body of believers who transcends all lines of race and culture and geography. He's created his church, and we are all equal within it. By putting those verses together, we get to know the message of the gospel. Now, we know the Bible is the place where we can find this truth, but we should not just stop at understanding it. By sharing this message, we proclaim Christ and bring glory to his name.
Now, let's think about how to do this maybe a bit more simply, because often you don't have a chance to just lay out a bunch of Bible verses all nice. And honestly, if someone doesn't believe in the primacy of Scripture, quoting Scripture may not be the best way to begin the conversation. Scripture is a great place to end up, and we should all be ready to show someone where in the Bible we can go to confirm the gospel message. But I want us to be able to begin the conversation, or to be able to answer the question if somebody ever asks, what is it that you're putting your hope in? In this crazy world, a lot of people are looking for hope. So if they ask you where your hope is, here's a pretty simple way to answer it. If somebody asked me that, I would say something like,
I believe that we're all created by God and God has a moral standard by which he will judge every one of us. It is his standard, not ours. As our creator, he has every right to do this. And one day we will all stand before the judge. Now, I know that I had a record as I have moral failures in my life. A judge must be just and therefore justly I deserve punishment for my crimes. A good judge must uphold justice. And my record indicated I have not upheld God's moral standard.
However, before a sentence was handed down to me, the judge left his seat, came down to me, and asked me if I would like to be declared innocent. I said, yes, please, because I know that there's no way that I could wipe my own record, and I owed a debt that meant my life was forfeit. But the judge looked at me with love, and in a merciful tone says to me, believe in me. I will take your sin as my own, and you can have my righteousness as a covering. The judge then took my place in the defendant's seat, and my punishment was laid on him.
Before I was sentenced, another took my place, paid my debt, so that justice would be done, yet I would be free and declared innocent. This is what I believe. This is why I'm a follower of Jesus. This is what I put my hope in. He saved me. He offers the same to you. Remember, it is not up to you as a Christian to change anyone's mind or convince them of anything. It is up to us to share what we believe and the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus. Now, preaching the gospel to ourselves can be a good reminder of the grace we've been giving, and we will still struggle in this life.
However, our sin has been washed away, our debt has been paid, and Jesus loves us just as much in our struggle as he did when he went to the cross on our behalf. There's a verse that brings me great comfort at times when I feel like I'm struggling, and I encourage each of you to memorize it. And when you are doubting or upset with yourself, when you feel absolutely unlovable, remember this verse. Romans 8, 38 and 39. For I'm sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation.
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I want us to take a minute and soak in how wonderful this is for us. It is truly good news. And not only do we have the perpetual assurance that we're loved, but God has made us the place where he has his presence dwell. People used to have to go to the tabernacle or the temple to seek out the presence of God, to be near him. How blessed are we that he's chosen to dwell in us, in the Christian, in the church, and is with us all the time. As his church, we are the new temple under the new covenant, and God is with us wherever we are in whatever circumstances we face.
Now, as Christ's beloved and redeemed, we're now a single body of believers. We are the church. And as the church, not only do we share the gospel, but we also have a couple ordinances that we maintain as ways to declare ourselves to others that we are set apart by Christ and we are His. Today, as we close out this series, I want to take a look at both of those and how they bring us together and how through them we bring glory to the name of Jesus. The first one is baptism.
In being baptized, we are publicly declaring our death to ourself and are being made alive, a new creation in Christ. We declare we are His and we will follow Him. We declare that He is our Lord and Savior. Now, at Mountain View, we regularly offer the opportunity for baptism, and it is a joyful event where God and the person being baptized and the church kind of all come together. In his book, Truth We Can Touch, which is a great book about baptism and communion, author Tim Chester beautifully explains this moment in this way. He says, in baptism and in communion, there's like a three-way conversation. God says, I've saved you by uniting you with Christ and his people. The church says, we are united in Christ and committed to one another. I say, I'm committed to Christ and his people. Now, baptism without the right heart condition can be just getting wet. And communion without the right heart condition can be just eating and drinking. But when the Christian knows what they're doing,
and why they're partaking in either ordinance, it can be so much more, as both of them reinforce and invigorate our hope and what God has set our future holds. Now, if you're just watching online, but you want to declare yourself a follower of Christ through baptism, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can reach out to us at our website, mountainview.church, and email us to begin the process. We can make arrangements from there. Now we're going to move to the second ordinance, which is called communion.
We've gone through in depth during this preaching series what Christ has done for us. In sharing communion, we join together with every Christian who is alive now and every Christian who's ever walked the earth to partake in remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ's body and his blood for us. In his broken body on the cross and in his blood poured out for us, we are given forgiveness and are justified before a holy God. Jesus shared a last meal with his disciples before going to the cross, and it is in the reverence of that moment that we place ourselves now. If you're not yet a Christian, please just observe and feel free to ask questions afterwards. But if you are a follower of Jesus, we invite you to declare again and again this fact and join us now. If you're watching at home, just hit pause and go and grab a little wine or juice and a piece of bread or cracker and join with us. I'll be reading from the account of the Last Supper found in the book of Matthew. But first, let me pray for the bread and the cup and then we'll partake. Father, thank you for making us a part of this story. Jesus, thank you for laying aside everything for us.
your life poured out for us, your body broken on a cross, your blood poured out so that we may be a part of this story, so that we can be brought out from this world so that we can be set apart and so that we can have an eternal future with you, Lord. Let it never escape us, the seriousness of what you did. Let us always be able to reflect on the gratitude we have for such a selfless sacrifice on our behalf. Lord, I ask that you're with each one of us in this moment and that you draw us closer together as a result, Lord, as your church. just remembering the sacrifice that you made for each of us and for us as a whole. I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to start with Matthew 26, 26. It says, Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat. This is my body. You may take the bread. Moving on to the cup. In Matthew 26, verses 27 and 28, it says, And then he took a cup.
And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink of it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. You may take the cup. There's one more verse that kind of ends this passage. It's Matthew 26, 29. It says, I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of this vine until the day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. That's Jesus.
That's Jesus speaking about something he's going to deprive himself of on our behalf. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful things about communion. It's not just about our inclusion in him, but what he's given up to and for us. He drinks his last wine at the last supper and then receives for himself the cup of God's wrath, a cup that he does not share with us, but one that he bears on our behalf on the cross. In the meantime, we continue to partake in the fruit of the vine, but he will not partake in that again until we are whole and reunited with him in glory.
He gave up himself for us that day and he continues to give up the pleasure of partaking in the fruit of the vine with his friends via a meal eaten together until we can all be there with him to share it. He is abstaining on our behalf because the meal wouldn't be whole without us. He not only gave his everything for us, but he also continues to deprive himself until we are all with him in glory. Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for...
Again, including us in this story, this story of the gospel. Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible. Thank you for giving us the full story in print that so many of these people that we read about just didn't have this picture, didn't have the full picture, and yet believed in Jesus, believed in what he was doing, and believed in the truth of the gospel. Lord, I pray that you would help us understand it more and more throughout our lives, that we would never become complacent in it. and that you would grow in us a fire to share that with others, Lord. Create in us such a strong desire to see other people come to Christ that we cannot keep our mouths shut, Lord. That we will not keep our mouths shut. That we will tell others about the hope that we have in your Son. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy. And I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. That brings us to the end of the story of the gospel series, but the story is not over.
Each of us, no matter how new you are to Christianity, no matter how old you are in age, no matter how shy you are around others, or no matter how much wisdom you feel that you lack, we all have a part to play before the curtain falls on this earthly life. So in sharing the gospel, if you feel inadequate, good. If you feel you're not articulate enough, good. If you feel you're not smart enough, brave enough, or ready enough, good. Where we lack, Christ does not. And he chooses the most unlikely of characters to do his work in this world. Consider yourself chosen. And don't look to your own will or abilities to bring people to Christ.
Consider yourself a humble gardener called to plant and water seeds. God will take care of the growth as he sees fit. For us, be humble, be gentle, be kind, and see nothing in yourself to boast about. Let us look once more to Scripture to Paul for instruction and encouragement in this. For the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1, 26-31, Paul says this, For consider your calling, brothers.
As we conclude this series, Let us take leave boasting in the Lord. He is God and we are not. I thank God for that. As we have in the past and as we continue to do, we always have a discussion question that we want you to take with you to discuss. And this week, it's about what we talked about. So my question to you is, what barriers do you feel might hold you back from sharing the gospel? And then a prayer focus to follow that up. I would ask that we would all pray that God would give us each the opportunity and the courage to share the good news. Thank you for tuning in and God bless you.
If you prayed to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church. Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City, Whitehorse, UConn.