By Neil Earle
The social last night showed that we not only have a past, we have a future as well. Warmth, camaradarie, good feelings, the years melting away. What a night. One Susan and I will long long remember.
Then at my hotel I checked out the Canadian SEP web site on summer camp and was so impressed by all the work you are doing. That means the future may be in good hands. Nice web site and obviously a very competent staff which is the heart of every youth effort.
Our labor is not in vain in the Lord – that's 1 Corinthians 15:58 and I thought I'd give you a quickee summary of how I came to see the importance of not overvaluing some things we had placed much too much value on. One would be the Sabbath and the Holy Days. So here is my chance to try and save the church in 20 minutes. Here goes.
It was while doing my own reading of the book of Galatians I realzied that Paul refers to Circumcision in this book as the whole Jewish Way of Life. He says he was given the Uncircumcision and Peter the Circumcision in 1:7. Then at the end comes the clincher – Paul says neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision matters with God but a New Creation. That's 6:15. Neither Tabernacles nor Xmas. Neither Passover nor Easter. Systems don't cut it with God though we need some system in our lives. Now the New Creation is a distinct Paul theme as in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The old has passed away, he says. All things have become new. All things. Think about that.
Now the Saturday sabbath was indeed a big deal in the OT and still stands as a memorial of the old creation, the first creation. But Jesus has instituted not only the New Covenant but also the New Creation. Christians are already in the heavenly places in Christ it says in Ephesians 2. So that seems pretty exciting – we step into a brand new reality at conversion. The relationship established looks ahead, not backwards. That's why I thought this would be a timely message for us today. It's good to look back and draw strength from the past. But faith lives in the future and that's where we are headed even though – miraculously – we already experience some of the benefits of that New Age here and now.
What a teaching. What a hope. What a future. We'll see you there.
This sermon was given earlier this winter at the Calgary congregation’s 40th anniversary.