Jesus is the great exchange
There has been a lot happening this week as our church and the churches in our region have partnered with Moore College students to run many Jesus is___. events.
Hundreds of people have attended the public sessions at the Civic Centre, over 1000 students have been at special SRE assemblies, and 2000 high-schoolers were at the Free To Be event.
At the heart of all this flurry of activity is one simple message: Jesus is the great exchange.
There were lots of events this week, but there is only one event that really matters: it is the moment where this great exchange takes place in your life.
No-one else will see this moment, for it takes place in your heart, and yet at the same time it is a cosmic event.
1 Peter 3:18 says “For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God”.
The great exchange is this: Jesus stands in our place; he swaps his life for ours and he does it so that he might brings us back home to God.
Ben Pfahlert, the speaker at the public sessions, put it like this: He took our place that we might reconnect with our spiritual old man.
This is the great exchange of love divine, as a recent song puts it:
Oh great exchange
Of love divine
My greatest gain
I leave behind
So turn my heart
And calm my fears
For you will bring
Me home again*
In this great exchange we are solely the receivers. We offer nothing as part of of the deal.
God himself, out of only love, offers us it all. Nothing can rival this offer, so we can leave all gain behind.
And nothing can take it away, so our heart is assured and our fears are calmed. His life for ours, that he might give take us home.
Simon Chaplin.
* Love Returns : Luke Woodhouse and Gav Perkins. Voyagesongs.com
Coming up this Sunday 25th March 2018
This Sunday we continue our series ‘Jesus is___’ as we have Moore College lecturer, Lionel Windsor preach on the topic ‘Jesus is… compassionate’ from Mark chapter 1 verses 29 to 45.
As part of the ‘Jesus Is__’, campaign we’re hosting Moore College students to help us connect with the community of Oak Flats and beyond. During our services, we will have an opportunity to meet them and to hear how Jesus has impacted their lives.
To celebrate the end of the ‘Jesus Is_’ mission week, we will be having two special food events on Sunday. Join us for a wonderful Pot-luck lunch after our 10am service. And then join us for church at 5pm and enjoy a fantastic Pizza and Paddle Pop night.
Our youth group, Refuge, meets at 4pm in the Neighbourhood Centre, and then head over to join us for church. Kids’ Club and Andy’s Club meets at our 5pm evening service for their program, followed by a great dinner together for the whole family.
As always, come along and visit us at 10am or 5pm at 35 Fisher Street Oak Flats, or if you can’t make it in person, jump online at www.oakflats.tv to watch a livestream of our services.
See you at 10am or 5pm this Sunday, God willing!
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