Sermon “Being Born Anew” Rev Amiri B. Hooker 3rd Sunday of Easter WCUMC

Third Sunday of Easter  April 26, 2020 Sermon Text 1 Peter 1:17-23. Sermon “Being Born Anew”   Gathering Prayer God, you call us out of our fear and distress and into the light of a new day and a new hope. Through their encounter with the risen Christ, the apostles found their voice and proclaimed your truth even at the risk of their very lives. Let us never forget their commitment and courage. May we stand for the right of all people of faith to worship safely as they choose. For we know that we are truly free when all are free. Our faith should not be taken for granted. We have decided to follow Jesus. There is no turning back. Amen You have been born anew, Your new life is not like your old life, For you have been born again, I want to spend a little time on this 1 Peter text while most of the church will be reading the Acts Text This morning and celebrating the Sermon of Peter I wanted to take a very obscure text and unpack one of the most powerful Christian doctrines. New Birth, Being Born Again, Being Born Anew and it became apparent that this concept and Doctrine would need to be stretched over more than one Sunday so I looking to develop a three-part presentation of the New Birth. So, this morning I want to deal with the first few verses of the small preoccupy 1 Peter 1:17-25 and focus on verse 17, 18 Peter, the apostle of Jesus, writes a letter to Christians facing persecution to comfort them with the truth of who they are in Christ—children of God with every reason to rejoice in their salvation and future glory in eternity. Next, he urges them to live like the holy ones of God they already are by obeying God now, loving each other earnestly, and placing all of their hope in the endless life to come. Move 1: Our choices matter. Move 2: Our God placed a high value on our lives, paying for them with the blood of Christ. Move 3: Since God has made us New, we must now strive to earnestly give love to each other.