The Death of Death - Fellowship

The Death of Death - Week One

April 5, 2019

Some of us fear thinking about it. Others refuse to speak its name. Most of us simply want to put it off as long as possible. Death. We lose a loved one too early. We fear the doctor’s diagnosis. Even if we don’t stare death face to face, worrying about the future robs us of truly living. Even though we live in an imperfect world, there is a fundamental reality that infuses us with hope. A profound fact that awakens us to a life-changing event that breathes life into a world of death. A certainty that brings light bursting through the darkness. This God-given miracle that shapes us so profoundly is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We begin to explore the simple and life-changing truth that Jesus has put death to death through his resurrection.

The Death of Death - Week Two

April 12, 2019

REUTERS NEWS – DATELINE JERUSALEM (01-04-2019) – BONES OF JESUS HAVE BEEN FOUND “In a hastily convened press conference today, the Israeli Antiquity Authority has confirmed the discovery of what is believed to be the 2,000-year-old skeleton remains of Jesus of Nazareth. Found in an ossuary in a tomb near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – and dated to the time of the first century – the bones are of a crucified man approximately 30 years of age. This finding is expected to call into question the faith of millions of Christians worldwide.” STOP – This is not a real news story… but, what if it was? What would such a story mean to us who follow Jesus? Would the Christian faith survive? Would your faith survive? And, if it did survive, why? (I’ll tell you a secret... if the story were true, mine would not.) As we continue in our series “The Death of Death,” a study of 1 Corinthians 15, we’ll take a look at a real-life news story which claims Jesus’ remains have been found, and see what the Bible has to say about it.

The Death of Death - Week Three

April 19, 2019

Dubai can seem like a diverse place. We come from countries all over the globe, have a myriad of unique cultural traditions, and are all in different stages of life. As diverse as we are, we do share some basic commonalities. We all have hopes and heartaches. We look forward to the future yet worry about what might be. We all experience disappointment and loss. And no matter how hard we try, we will all die at one time or another. But what if we also had hope in common? What if we all experienced a deep joy that triumphs over any disappointment? What if we possessed unwavering certainty rather than always wondering or worrying? As we continue to unpack the powerful reality of Jesus’ resurrection. The good news for us is that his resurrection that happened over 2000 years ago still has profound impact on our lives in 2019 and beyond. We don’t need to fear death anymore, but instead can truly live!

The Death of Death - Week Four

April 26, 2019

At 55 years old, it is pretty clear to me that I can no longer kid myself that I have the body of a 25-year-old. The hair has gone, the eyebrows appeared, and things just don’t work like they used to. Then there is watching my father age – that experience has given me a pretty clear picture of what is ahead. In our “Death of Death” series over the past few weeks, we’ve come to understand the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection and, therefore, of our own. That leaves some very important questions for me… What will my new body be like? Will I have hair again? Will I be 10 kg lighter? What will be different? We remember Jesus’ death and resurrection. As we do, we’re going to be discovering just what God’s Word says about our new resurrection bodies.

The Death of Death - Week Five

May 10, 2019

Victory is sweet. Triumph is thrilling. Everyone likes being a winner! We celebrate the success of a friend or family member. We cheer when our favourite sports team wins. We rally for a political figure back home or a favourite contestant on TV… we want to be a part of the winning team! But sometimes we don’t feel like winners; we realize that we aren’t always victorious. We run at the pace of life and faceplant in our problems. We cry when we are let down by others around us. Even when life seems to be going just fine, fear of losing money, health, respect, or friends can rob us of really living. We will be exploring the vastness of Jesus’ triumph over death through the resurrection. Come and hear of Jesus' victory that trumps our failures and attempts at success and pumps us up for living here and now.

The Death of Death - Week Six

May 17, 2019

“I wish I’d spent more time in the office…” are words that no one has ever spoken on their deathbed. And yet, for most of us, work is where we invest so much of our time, energy, creativity, and selves. This is especially true in Dubai with its long hours, high demands, and crazy pace of life. What’s the alternative? As we come to the final week of our “Death of Death” series, we’re going to begin to see that the fact of Jesus’ resurrection (and, in turn, our own resurrection) changes everything about where we should be investing now - our time, energy, creativity, and selves. We’ll see that the resurrection changes the value of everything that we do, radically rearranging the currency of time.