Your Identity in Christ
• In Christ, I am born of God, and cared for as his beloved child.
Pondering Point
In last week’s identity, we described ourselves as being “borne of God,” that is, carried weight-wise by Jesus Christ our Savior who bears the weight of our sin.
By His bearing that weight, we are freed from sin and welcomed into the kingdom of God. Through baptism, a spiritual birth, we are also born of God, another descriptor of how we are borne by Jesus to the Father. For there is no other way to come to the Father than through Jesus.
Prayer Prompt
Build a prayer of thanksgiving or a prayer of help (for yourself or someone else) around the concept of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. For an example, look ahead to Sunday's prayer of the day.
Micro-Meditation
Psalm 150:1-6
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
- Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens. - Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness. - Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre, - praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe, - praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals. - Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Read the versus of the Psalm.
Mark the words or phrases that catch your attention.
Meditate: talk (or better, write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect responses.
Teaching or Command of God
1 Peter 1:3-4a
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
The Promise
1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Pondering Point
Though you may not reflect on it as particularly powerful, any time someone is baptized, God acts in His power by putting a person to death and bringing them to life – through Jesus’ death and resurrection generations ago.