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This week at Riverside during our time of worship our band will be playing a song titled, “All Things New” by Elevation Worship. I love this song so much. The message is so simple yet so impactful. Jesus says in Revelation 21:5 “Behold, I am making all things new.” Every time I hear these words or think about the message of this song, I am reminded of one of the many scenes from Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” film that caused me to just breakdown and cry.

In this scene from the movie, Mary the Mother of Jesus asks to be taken to where Jesus is as He walks the Via Delarosa carrying the cross to be crucified. In this “station of the cross” Mary sees Jesus fall and she flashes back to the memory of Christ as her little child running and falling and crying to his mother for help. As she flashes back to this memory in her head where she is running towards her little boy, she finds herself running towards Christ now, beaten, battered, bruised and ready to carry out the sentence of death.

Jesus and Mary lock eyes and He says to her, “See Mother, I am making all things new.” Gibson and his writers certainly take some creative license here but there’s a major ring of truth to this scene as we view Revelation 21:5 and the teachings of Christ in regard to the sacrifice of His own life that had to be made so that we could be made like new in Christ Jesus Himself.

all_things_new_ws

The lyrics to this song are as follows:

Peace be still, You are near
There’s nowhere we can go
That You won’t shine redemption’s light
Our guilt withdrawn

As You rise, we come alive
The grave has lost, the old is gone

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

Hope is found, You are here
Our hearts forever sealed
By this love that came for us
Now we are Yours

As You rise, we come alive
The grave has lost, the old is gone

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

Your love never ending
Your grace never failing
Redemption is calling us home

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

DAVE

Last night I had the awesome opportunity as I do each week to lead worship for kids. I enjoy the unlimited energy that they have week in and week out. I enjoy that my 7-year old daughter Kylie stands there each week worshiping. I am filled up as I pour out!

Last night we sang a song from Hillsong’s Cornerstone album titled “Grace Abounds” and I didn’t want to take for granted that we adults understand what grace is all about when most of the kids probably have no clue. So I asked the group to raise their hands if they knew what the word meant. Very few hands raised.

In summary – I defined to them why we sing about grace. We have ALL done wrong. We have ALL made bad decisions, acted inappropriately at times, been mean to others or disobedient when we should have listened. We have ALL sinned. We have ALL made mistakes. And we ALL make mistakes daily. We ALL need to be forgiven. We ALL need to be made clean from the ugly things we do, say or think.

Through the cross

Grace through a cross

Then I explained that God who made all things is PERFECT. That He sent His PERFECT Son. That for the 33 years that He walked this earth, Jesus lived a PERFECT life. That he NEVER did wrong. He NEVER made a bad decision, acted inappropriately or disobeyed. God NEVER sinned. He NEVER made a mistake.

Grace is that place where in spite of our IMPERFECTION a PERFECT God paid an awful price through His Son to make us PERFECT in His eyes. It is in that place where we are FORGIVEN. We are made CLEAN. We are set FREE. We are made PERFECT.

And daily we must go to that place where GRACE meets us in our SIN.

Because of Jesus Christ we get to call ourselves Christians.

Sometimes our outward lives seem to reflect that we leave Christ out of the label Christian.

It’s all because of Jesus that I’m alive. He alone is worthy of every part of me.

Jesus Christ.

Say His name today… Jesus Christ…

I invite You in Lord Jesus.

I claim Christ!

You loved me before I even knew you.

I had no idea who you were. I never heard of you yet. There I was, chilling out in my mother’s womb, growing and becoming a human, but you already knew me.

You loved me even then.

You loved me when you created the universe and since you dwell outside of our understanding of time – you knew when I would be here on earth. Even then you loved me.

You sent your Son to die for me. He saved me. He rescued me.

Thank you God for loving me! Thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you Holy Spirit for whispering the Father’s love to me every day!

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

(Jeremiah 1:5)

Copyright © 2013 Dave Longstreth. All rights reserved.

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