Mountain Springs Church

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  —Colossians 3:1a-2, ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. —Colossians 2:16-17, ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  —Colossians 2:6-7, ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. - Colossians 1:15-16, NASB95

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  —Colossians 1:13, ESV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. - Colossians 1:1-2

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  —Matthew 16:18, ESV

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.  —Luke 15:22-24, NIV

If we live with the underlying assumption that our responsibility is to demonstrate change and close the gap through human effort, we can begin to relate to God as if the hope of the gospel is self-remedy, rather than God-redemption! Many of us spend much spiritual energy trying to do demonstrate something to God rather than open our souls to an encounter where we can become someone in God.

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” - Matthew 14:26-27

We believe God is with us, but we don’t always feel it. Anxiety gets loud, control creeps in, and rest feels out of reach. There’s another way. 

The Gospel turns everything upside down: not a path you strive to walk or a price you have to pay, but a promise already secured for you in Christ.

Have you ever noticed a gap between what you believe about God and what you experience from God?  One of the great challenges of being a follower of Jesus is navigating the gap between our belief and our experience.

The same power that raised Jesus is the power that brings us near, and awakens the dead, and begins something new in us all.

On Good Friday, we don’t come to celebrate. We come to remember the Son of God as He laid down His life for mankind.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” - Revelation 22:13

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  —Revelation 21:1-2, ESV

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must b...

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. —Revelation 19:11-13, NASB95

Pay attention to what is shaping you. Pay attention to where your loyalty lies. In the middle of judgment and intensity, Jesus gives a pastoral word: stay awake. The greatest danger to the church isn’t persecution, it’s drowsiness. Babylon looks powerful and permanent, but it is a false hope. This message is a call to remain faithful to the Lamb, to come out from what competes for our allegiance,...

What we’re looking at this weekend is the most significant turning point in the history of the local church – all involving ordinary people like you and me!

Here is the moment when the waiting gives way to fulfillment, and what God has been doing quietly comes to completion. The now and the future belongs to the Lamb!

The question isn’t, “when is judgment coming?” It’s “whose mark is on our life when it arrives?”

God covers his people when setting the world right.  At the appointed time, the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will rise, and the saints who remain alive will be gathered to welcome their coming King!

They never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,  who was and is and is to come!”  —Revelation 4:6-8, ESV