Key Bible Passage(s):
Rom.6:1-14; Col.3:1-3
Tier 1:
In an utterly unique and unprecedented act of God, Jesus is raised from the dead. This is - at its most basic level - the vindication of Jesus as Christ. Everything He taught and claimed is stamped with the seal of truth and reality as He is raised.
The resurrection of Jesus is not simply a resuscitation, a coming back from the dead. Rather, Jesus has been taken through death and has inaugurated a New Creation humanity that is no longer overshadowed by death.
Tier 2:
The Bible teaches that when we become Christians, we are united to Christ by His Spirit. This idenitfication is sealed and represented when we meet our baptism with faith, and is so complete that our history (of sin) becomes His history; and our future (of judgment) becomes His future at the Cross. By contrast, His history (a life of righteousness) becomes our history, and His future (of New Creation) becomes our future.
Tier 3:
Our union with Christ means that spiritually we have died with Christ and have been taken with Him into a new creation life. But physically we remain deeply embedded in the old-creation reality of this fallen world – subject to death and frustration… Much of our experience of Christian Discipleship is explained as we understand this deep tension at work in us. Growing in our discipleship is the process of learning to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
It has never at any time been possible to fit the resurrection into any world view except the world view of which it is the basis.
Bishop Lesslie Newbigin
Group Activity:
How do I grow as a Christian?
Is it OK to go on sinning?
How can I stop sinning?
How can I become more obedient to Jesus?
And later in the session:
Over recent weeks we’ve been reading through Matthew’s Gospel, and isolating the commands of Jesus (remember DTP is aimed at helping us learn together how to obey everything He has commanded us). You will need that list!
Take a couple of those commands – ones that you know you struggle to keep, and see if, in your group, you can identify why you struggle with that command particularly.
Perhaps you don’t really understand what Jesus is saying? …or maybe you just don’t want ot do what He says? …or you don’t know how to? Perhaps there are circumstances, or people in your life that mean you don’t think you can follow His teaching? …or you don’t think you could do what Jesus says?
Think over all that we have been talking about the in regard to the resurrection in this session. How does that help me as I approach these specific commands… how does it change the game?
In as specific terms as possible, how can you ‘think of yourself as dead to sin’ in regard to these specific commands…? What does that ‘feel’ like? How does it change your thinking about His teaching?
Homework:
Continue to memorise the Apostles’ Creed
Over this half-term we will be working to memorise Matthew 5:11-26. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-10 whilst you do this.
(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the next 3 years)
To Be a Christian, Q&A 69-72
Invitation week: arrange a coffee or meal with someone else on DTP for invitation week.
Continuing to work with the list of commands you have isolated from Matthew’s Gospel:
3 commands where I am looking in the right direction?
How can I celebrate..? …give thanks? …worship?
How am I doing this? Why am I able to make progress on this particular teachings of Jesus?
3 commands where I am struggling?
Keep working through Rom.6:1-14
Why do I struggle with this particular command..?
What is there about what I believe as a Christian that would help me make a different decision?
