FELLOWSHIP
FOOTNOTES
Newsletter of Hamilton Bible Fellowship
March
2008
Hope . . . . Change . . . . These words
have been tossed around a lot during the current political campaigns. It is
critically important that we seek to understand what they might mean in that
context, and what they do mean in the biblical context.
I declare to you that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Listen, I tell you a mystery:
We will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed - in a flash, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For the perishable must clothe
itself with the imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality. 1 Cor.15:50-53
Frankly, promises of change concerning the kingdom(s) of the world do not and
cannot offer real hope. It is a case of the perishable and the mortal offering
what only the imperishable and immortal can deliver. Hope, biblically, is not at
all about “wishful thinking” - it is about reality thinking. Hope is the
conviction of an absolute certainty, which has not yet happened. It involves
faith in the promises of God. For Christians, the ultimate hope is what Paul is
referring to in the above passage - the final change, the complete redemption of
our bodies and the whole of the created order:
The creation waits in eager expectation for the
sons of God to be revealed,
. . . in hope that the creation itself will be
liberated form its bondage to decay
and brought into the glorious freedom of
the children of God. . . . Not only so,
but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we
wait eagerly for our adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this
hope we were
saved. Romans 8:19-24a
This
hope is built on nothing less than the resurrection. This is the culmination of
Jesus’ work on earth - he died to fully satisfy the penalty for humanity’s sin,
and rose from the dead to demonstrate our final estate. He rose bodily, as will
we. The resurrection is not a mere metaphor for renewal or some kind of
rejuvenated life. If our final estate consisted merely of some sort of ethereal
existence beyond the grave, Jesus could have omitted the bodily part. But it was
a preview of the new heavens and earth - detailed a bit more in Revelation
21-22. We will then put on the imperishable, the immortal - we will be truly
changed and fully redeemed. That, is our blessed hope!
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR: (Good Friday, March
21st; Easter, March 23rd)
Good Friday HVAC Stations of the Cross:
beginning at 11:00 AM at First Baptist and processing to Park Methodist, St.
Thomas’, and finishing at St. Mary’s. Putter will give the (short) message at
First Baptist.
Good Friday Service and dinner following, 6:00 at
HBF.
Easter Sunrise Service, 7:00 on the Village Green with breakfast
following at Park Methodist (rain location).
HBF Easter Sunday Morning
Service, 10:00.
Sunday March 30th: Kids’ Sunday Service at HBF - with
“sermon” provided by Young Life!
THE
QUOTE CORNER
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then
not even Christ
has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our
preaching
is useless and so is your faith. . . . If only for this life we
have hope
in Christ, we are more pitiful than anyone else!
1
Corinthians 15:13,14,19
NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATE:
Continue to pray
for: those away for the semester: Jim & Gaye Andrews, Chris, Carolyn &
Lin Henke, Whitney Randolph; John Hubbard; Colgate seniors: Dan Chung, Dave
Jiang, Katy Fallows, Sarah Lee & Betty Jo Roby.
The Biblical Basics
class for teenagers is doing well, with about 10 students and Shannon Young
assisting. The Adult Class is also thriving, led by Michael Hayes. We are
planning a baptism service in July or August.
The classes meet Sundays 9:00
- 9:45; we’ll meet March 9th and 16th, and resume April 6th.
HBF Annual
Meeting: Sunday April 6th, during the morning worship service.
March
Birthdays: 1 Bob Pils; 19 Josh Hodge; 27 Meghan Schindler