John 11:1-7; 17-27; 38-44 (NIV)

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Reflection

Deadline literally means a line beyond which you die and referred to a line a prisoner could not escape beyond. In this passage, there was also a deadline, the deadline to make it to Lazarus before his sickness turned to death. But as we read in the passage, Jesus stayed two more days before going to Lazarus, and by that time he made it to Judea, Lazarus had been dead in the tomb for four days! One thing is clear is that Jesus said that “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus takes a deadline and turns it into a lifeline. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus raises Lazarus to life, not where Lazarus needs to be awoken or someone needed to go in to retrieve him, but by Jesus’ command, Lazarus walks out by himself. This is God’s awesome display of resurrection power.

Responding to the Transmission

Jesus invites us to come out into his lifeline. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Let’s pray that by Jesus’ speaking into our lives through prayer, through ministry, through others, that we would live in Jesus’ resurrection power. Let’s live lifeline to lifeline, becoming a display of how awesome God is.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (NIV 2010)
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Reflection:
Paul pulls in the previous chapter’s concern for spiritual gifts and is ready to transition to the next chapter on what worship looks like. Everything is pulled together in love. Some things will be momentary (the gifts) to help encourage and build the church up; but faith, hope, and love will always be - and the greatest of these is love. Growing up or building up is knowing that our life story is now written with eternal expression, and the cross (the expressed love of God in Christ) is the central plot that in some sense begins eternity for us. When we hold this central plot and live in this love-centered/cross-centered way, eternal beginnings happen on earth. In our love for each other, we eternally affect one another for God’s glory.

Responding to the Transmission:
The acts of love, we will carry into eternity. How we affect one another for God’s glory, we will carry into eternity. Let us thank God for the family in Christ that He has provided for us. And let’s pray that we live in a greater measure of faith, of hope, and of love, as we live together in our communities and on our campuses. Let’s pray for an increase of God’s glory being revealed among us. Amen!

1 Corinthians 10:23-24; 10:31-11:1 (NIV 2010)
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Reflection:
What do we do with ‘the advantage’ (or our freedom) we have with being in Christ? How do we live out all that Christ has done? Paul not only invites us, but also challenges us to recognize again the blessing of our ‘eternal advantage’ in Christ and to examine what that looks like here among us in the way we relate to each other. As we follow the example of Christ, we can live in the humble way of Christ.

Responding to the Transmission:
As we follow Christ’s example, let us be mindful of one another and seek the good of others, once again taking upon ourselves the calling to be servants. Let’s pray for sensitivity and awareness so that we will not cause anyone to stumble; but rather, we will honor the Lord with our doings.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV 2010)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Reflection:
In this section of the chapter, Paul is revealing what the Corinthians ‘story’ was not. It is an invitation to once again look deep within and ask what truly is our plot for the story of our lives together as church? Christ loved the cross-way and excellently wrote out our lives within this reality. Each description of love we find here is actually a dynamic expression of the cross-centered life and story. We are invited to keep writing our church-story in this plot.

Responding to the Transmission:
Let’s look at each of these descriptions of love and think of how it applies to our lives right now. How does it speak to our hearts? As we receive and embrace this cross-way of love, may it re-shape us (as individuals and within our churches), deepen our missional groups, and transform our campus ministries into this story of God’s love in our time and our places.

1 Corinthians 8:1-6 (NIV 2010)
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Reflection:
Now there is a saying that strikes to the heart, “knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” The danger of ‘knowing much’ is that we can become dependent on what we know to get things done. Paul is not promoting a not knowing way of relating (i.e., just guessing at life); but rather, he is urging us to know love, this Christ-centered way of living together. We can know a lot about each other, but do we really know one another? This type of knowing is only gained through love, through the cross, which is foolishness to the world.

Responding to the Transmission:
This begs the question: the person who is close to you - do you really know him/her? As God’s people, let us pray that we will choose to know one another by choosing to love. This act of love will build up one another. It is about knowing from the heart, and thus shaping our knowledge about who we are and how we live together for God’s glory.

1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:3 (NIV 2010)
31b And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Reflection:
By mere definition, for something to be deemed excellent means that it is superlatively better than everything else around it, reserved for only the most extremely awesome of epic things. Paul describes the excellence of love, seen in the excellent work of Christ on the cross. Here is where we find the source of this excellence, whereby everything excellent flows from, reads from, and acts from there. Anything not rooted in this cross-centered life is simply not excellent. Noble and heroic deeds are deemed useless at the cross. We are invited to put down the heroics and nobility for a more excellent way to live and experience life. We are invited to love.

Responding to the Transmission:
Let us continue to strive to walk and live in the most excellent way, uprooting and discarding anything that is not cross-centered in our lives. As we move in response to this invitation to love, we will experience the awesome power of the cross - the power to break down strongholds, the power to rescue, and the power to give life. Let’s pray that we would grow in this most excellent way.

Psalm 145:13b-21 (NIV)

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
¹⁴ The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Reflection:

Our God is faithful and always keeps His promises.  He gives restoration and provision to every living thing, to all He has created.  How much more does He uphold and provide for His people – those who call on Him, fear Him, and love Him.  This is His promise to us that He fulfills and will continue to fulfill.  Let us call on Him and experience His faithfulness as He draws near to us.  As we enter into His presence, may we respond with exuberant worship and praise.

Responding to the message:
We serve an awesome God who is the creator of all things and faithful to all His promises.    No matter the circumstances, He’s always faithful. Are you in need of God’s restoration and provision? Let’s spend some time in prayer, drawing near to the Lord, calling upon Him for our needs and concerns, and experience His incredible presence and goodness.

Luke 1:39-45 (NIV)

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Reflection:

The beginning of Luke recounts the miraculous ways that John the Baptist and Jesus were conceived.  One was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth, an old couple well beyond the years of child bearing, and the other to Mary, a young virgin girl.  Both situations are considered impossible in this world, but they are possible to God and He accomplished them.  May we respond as Mary did, who believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises.  When we take hold and believe that the impossible is now possible with God, we enter into a life of incredible blessing.  This is a blessing that will overflow into the various lives around us as they see God moving in our own lives.

Responding to Transmission:
Mary trusted and believed that God would fulfill His promises, and God delivered on His promises.  Let’s spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to increase our faith to see the impossible things in life become possible in Christ.