Alive - by Dave Smith

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know how much, in Christ, we are ‘loved’. This directly impacts on our need for belonging too. Again, Mary’s pre-conversion state may well have caused her to withdraw from ‘normal’ human society, with others probably choosing to withdraw from her, too. All that changed when she met Jesus and became included as a valued member of his discipling community. This was stunningly reaffirmed in the garden, where Jesus not only redefined her relationship with him, but <strong>by</strong> implication with the other male disciples – now ‘brothers’, with Jesus as her ‘older brother’ and God as their Father. The same can be true for us. When we come to know Jesus, we get welcomed into the family of God, his Father and our Father. The primary hallmark of this new spiritual community is to love and be loved. And it’s only when we know how loved we are (<strong>by</strong> God), that we can love others in a faithful, sacrificial way. Hence, the love of God is not only the key to transforming our own lives, but all our relationships, too! This leads to our ultimate purpose. For Mary, having encountered the love of Jesus, she dedicated her life to loving and serving him and helping him reach others with his love. Clearly a woman of some means, she chose to use some of her wealth to support Jesus and his life-changing, world-changing ministry. After the resurrection, her loving service was broadened, as she was given the huge privilege of being the first to proclaim the good news that Jesus was alive. This is remarkable: a previously broken, ostracised woman was tasked with being the first to tell the male disciples the news that would shape the rest of history! So, too for us, we’re called to love God and to let his love overflow from our hearts to other people, with our actions and with our words.
This is what makes life truly worth living! As one author puts it: ‘To live is to let love well up and stream through us the beat, pulse and rhythm of our lives, connecting us to ourselves, our neighbours, the whole family of earth’s creatures and God, the alpha and omega of love…Loving is of the essence of being human, the connective tissue of reality, the oxygen of life.’ 16 PAUSE AND PONDER As we conclude this chapter, take a few moments to consider how clear you are in your sense of identity, purpose and belonging. You might like to, in your own words, ask the Lord to reveal his love to you in a deep or deeper way. Invite him to fill or re-fill you with his love in such a way that you can begin to live a life of love – transforming your relationships with others both near and far.
Page 2 and 3: Dave Smith invites us on a journey
Page 4 and 5: and fulfilled. A life where it’s
Page 6 and 7: I want to say a huge thanks to a nu
Page 8 and 9: Instagram a while back: ‘You wake
Page 10 and 11: eyond our physical and psychologica
Page 12 and 13: 4. A future life in heaven Widely a
Page 14 and 15: only £150?’ The wife replied,
Page 16 and 17: 3. On the first Easter morning, the
Page 18 and 19: second question of how Jesus’ res
Page 20 and 21: At 2.20pm, 5 April 1982, I ‘fell
Page 22 and 23: used to refer to romantic or sexual
Page 24 and 25: and controversial biblical characte
Page 26 and 27: teach us about the seeming absence
Page 28 and 29: testimony of female witnesses would
Page 30 and 31: 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ S
Page 32 and 33: What’s clear is that this was not
Page 34 and 35: THE ETERNAL DIMENSION OF LOVE One o
Page 38 and 39: FURTHER REFLECTION 1. In the light
Page 40 and 41: It was a day not to be forgotten in
Page 42 and 43: group that didn’t survive: ‘The
Page 44 and 45: an all-loving, all-powerful God who
Page 46 and 47: 25 He said to them, ‘How foolish
Page 48 and 49: By the end of the journey, their
Page 50 and 51: deliverer had just suffered the mos
Page 52 and 53: of Paul’s conversion on the road
Page 54 and 55: HE’S WELCOMED Despite Jesus being
Page 56 and 57: Presumably there was something abou
Page 58 and 59: FURTHER REFLECTION 1. Take a moment
Page 60 and 61: The longing for inner peace is univ
Page 62 and 63: For example, it may be that as you
Page 64 and 65: True peace was at the heart of God
Page 66 and 67: sense of release, turn your palms u
Page 68 and 69: esponse to a perceived threat or po
Page 70 and 71: Spirit.’ The word ‘righteousnes
Page 72 and 73: To fulfil this new purpose, we must
Page 74 and 75: encounter may be of special encoura
Page 76 and 77: Spirit) when his followers are meet
Page 78 and 79: prospect of our long-lost peace and
Page 80 and 81: CHAPTER FOUR LIVING IN FREEDOM
Page 82 and 83: • Sweetheart died in 1835. • Ha
Page 84 and 85: est predictor of future behaviour i
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completely implausible to think tha
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FISH Afterward Jesus appeared again
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PAUSE AND PONDER If you are current
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Bible, he also speaks specifically
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vital that we don’t let it stop u
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‘own’ the problem. Outwardly, P
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ock on which he would build his Chu
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Peter clearly took Jesus’ advice
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FURTHER REFLECTION 1. Are you strug
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I’ve always been a bit of a dream
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Neither - Emmons had hit the wrong
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our meaning, our purpose, our signi
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1. A TRANSFORMED MOTIVATION Saul’
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you may be aware of the Lord drawin
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that was going on in his mind or he
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living life as if there was no eter
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fallen asleep in Christ are lost. I
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of what that this will look like. T
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PATHWAY So far we’ve established
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sanctified by faith in me’ (Acts
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just that we can meet with the rise
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CONCLUSION FULLY ALIVE, FOR THE RES
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utilise the prayer of invitation th
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Even if you are convinced in the re
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his death under Pilate and his gath
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APPENDIX B: HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT
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to the fact he was about to suffer
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TOMB As we look at the accounts of
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• To groups of men and groups of
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them by others. The apostles died f
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ENDNOTES INTRODUCTION: FULLY ALIVE
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The book is also the basis for a sm
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Demands a Verdict (Nashville, Tenne
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FURTHER ALIVE RESOURCES Now you hav
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Alive - by Dave Smith

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