ORBIT

ORBIT – DAY SIXTY THREE

Hello and welcome to another Orbit – the daily devotional thought from the youth team at St Mary’s Reigate. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying this experiment over the last thirteen weeks – please get in touch and let us know what you think of it. We’re creating a new Orbit every weekday – our hope is that it will help you to establish just a small daily rhythm of time with God each day.

BIBLE READING – 1 Corinthians 15: 1-6
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

THOUGHTS

What would you say, if someone asked you to explain the gospel of Jesus to them? Would you find it easy to explain the essence of the Christian faith in a few sentences… or would the idea fill you with dread and tie your tongue up in knots?

As he comes to the end of his long letter to the Corinthians, Paul sums up the message of the cross for them in a form that will be easy enough for them to learn and pass on. “I want to remind you” – he says – because this is the message that will save your life. The same thing is true for us too: God offers us eternal life with him, because we’ve chosen to believe this story, and act on it.

Here’s what Paul says is really important. First, that Jesus died, second that he did so in order to pay for our sins, and third, that he did that as part of the ongoing story of God and humanity which started way back in the Old Testament. Fourth – that he rose from the dead after three days, just like the Scriptures said he would, and fifth, that he went on to appear alive in front of more than 500 people, many of whom had watched him die.

This, in essence, in the whole gospel – the good news about Jesus Christ, which he calls us to shout from the rooftops. We don’t need to add anything to it in order to improve it, and you can’t take anything away from it.

It’s amazing how simple the gospel is – and yet it has the power to completely transform the lives of people who hear it. That’s why it’s really important that we know the story for ourselves, because this is incredibly good news, and the world around us is full of people who need to hear it.

Sometimes we find it difficult to share this message, and for a whole host of reasons. One of those reasons though, is that we simply don’t know it well enough. That’s why Paul wants to encourage the church in Corinth to remind themselves of the gospel – and if he was writing to our church, he’d encourage the same thing in us today. So… let’s always make sure we are able to articulate the reason we have for our hope in Jesus – we never know when we might meet someone who really needs to know it too.

You might want to join me in praying this prayer.

PRAYER

Lord God, I thank you for the incredible message of the Cross – that you sent your Son to die for my sin, just like you planned, so that I could know you personally, and eternally. I pray that you would help me to know the truth of this story deep in my heart, and that you would help me to share it with anyone who will listen. Amen

SILENCE

There’s now a chance for you to pray, or listen to God, or simply be still for a few moments.

CHALLENGE

Each day we will provide you with a simple challenge; something to do which helps you put this little thought into action. Here’s today’s challenge:

Read the passage again – 1 Corinthians 15: 1-6 – and then put it out of sight. See if you can remember all the key points from Paul’s retelling of the gospel, and write them down, before checking to see if you missed anything important. If you’re feeling confident, why not then share that amazing story with someone else – perhaps even someone who doesn’t know it, and see how they respond. 

If you want to get in touch, you can always email martin.saunders@stmaryreigate.org, or message us on Instagram – we’re @stmarys_satellites. Let us know what you think of this daily reflection – please – we’d love your feedback.

We’ll be back with another edition of Orbit on Monday. Thanks for taking part today!