Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................3Meeting Outline................................................................................................4

The Soldier’s Covenant...................................................................................6Bible Reading: John 11:1-44...........................................................................7

Meeting Content...............................................................................................91. Meeting Introduction.................................................................................92. Children’s content information................................................................103. Founders’ Day Ideas.................................................................................114. Sermon.....................................................................................................125. Response..................................................................................................186. Benediction..............................................................................................20

Content: Mission Resources Team, 2019

We trust you find this resource useful. We are always keen to receive feedback so that we can improve our service to you. If you have feedback, please send it to

missionteam@salvationarmy.org.nz

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan

Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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Introduction

Covenant Renewal & Founders’ DayThe first Sunday in July is traditionally Founders Day and Covenant Renewal – a day to

remember our history, commit to the future, and encourage people to consider their covenant. At the same time, we want to provide covenant renewal resources each year to promote soldiership and offer everyone (soldier or not) the chance to re-affirm their commitment to God.

This pack contains a theme, introduction, children’s slot, kids’ church lesson, sermon outline, and meeting lead ideas, plus renewal cards are being sent to you via your divisional headquarters.

The theme for the service is ‘Your story for His glory.’ The Bible passage is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The message explores how we are never ‘too far gone’ for God, that God calls us to leave our old way of living behind and live our lives for his glory. If you would like to encourage people to consider soldiership, please include this in the response as you see fit or interview someone about what soldiership means for them.

The Children’s Story and Kids Church lesson also focuses on the story of Lazarus, with an emphasis on Jesus as a trusted friend.

We recognise that this date may not suit everyone, and you may feel the combined focus will make this a busy day. You are of course welcome to adapt everything in the pack to suit your local context, e.g. to change the date, use what you like. We just hope you find these resources useful and if you use them, please personalise the sermon to reflect your own style and experiences.

Resources AvailableWith this booklet, you should expect to receive a set of Covenant Renewal Cards

distributed by your divisional headquarters.The Territorial website contains the electronic resources to support this day. Head to

https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/church-community/resources. Resources available include:

Electronic copy of the sermon for editing (from this document) Themed PowerPoint with Bible message (both standard and wide-screen) Social media image Electronic copy of the children’s story and kids church lesson Family Time resource for families.

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Supporting Resources

Meeting OutlineTo assist with your meeting planning, we are suggesting a meeting in sections,

interspersed with songs, prayer, offering, etc. as you choose.Potential scripts for each section follow.

Section Suggested Content

1. Introduction Potential script below

2. Children’s story / kids church lesson

All kids Covenant Renewal material can be found in separate files – this includes a Children’s story, Kids Church lesson, info about the Family Time resource and printable Family Home resource.

3. Video Kid-friendly videos of the bible passage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dca8SSxXCmMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmI2nmV5_Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct6whNNApmA

4. Founders’ Day We have included potential stories and video clips to celebrate Founders’ Day below.

5. Sermon Potential script below

6. Response Potential script below. Follow with appropriate response music

7. Benediction Idea below

Preparation1. Read through this document2. Choose someone to tell the children’s story or pass the kids’ church material to your

leaders3. Print out Family Time cards for the families in your congregation 4. Gather your response cards and provide pens5. Personalise the sermon.

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Ideas for Songs

Songs/Congregational Great Things - Phil Wickham Run - Hillsong Chapel Glorious Day - Passion Grace Alone - The Modern Post Yet Not I but Christ in Me - CityAlight New Wine - Hillsong Worship God Is For Us - CityAlight Who You Say I Am - Hillsong Worship This I Believe (The Creed) – Hillsong Worship SASB 687/SASB 960 (new ed.) I’ll Stand for Christ SASB 696/SASB 980 (new ed.) Storm the Forts of Darkness (Soldiers of Our God

Arise) SASB 707/SASB 992 (new ed.) Who is on the Lord’s Side?

Response / Reflection No Longer Slaves - Bethel Music Seasons - Hillsong Worship Let It Be Jesus - Christy Nockles Yes and Amen - Chris Tomlin More Like Jesus - Passion Daily Bread - Strahan Do It Again - Elevation Worship Surrender – Lincoln Brewster Resurrecting – Elevation Worship Christ Is Enough - Hillsong Worship We Fall Down - Chris Tomlin I Surrender – Hillsong Miracles – Bethel SASB C53 / SASB 312 (new ed.) Spirit of the living God SASB 474/ SASB 636 (new ed.) All to Jesus, I surrender SASB 487/ SASB 705 (new ed.) Have thine own way Lord SASB 525/ SASB 623 (new ed.) Take my life and let it be

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The Soldier’s Covenant

Having accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord, and desiring to fulfil my membership of His Church on earth as a soldier of The Salvation Army, I now by God's grace enter into a sacred covenant.

I believe and will live by the truths of the word of God expressed in The Salvation Army's eleven articles of faith …

I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work and obedient to His leading in my life, growing in grace through worship, prayer, service and the reading of the Bible. I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.

I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life, allowing nothing in thought, word or deed that is unworthy, unclean, untrue, profane, dishonest or immoral.

I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships with others; my family and neighbours, my colleagues and fellow salvationists, those to whom and for whom I am responsible, and the wider community.

I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life. I will be a faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and possessions, my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.

I will abstain from alcoholic drink, tobacco, the non-medical use of addictive drugs, gambling, pornography, the occult and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.

I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up The Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and the disadvantaged.

I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps, giving as large a proportion of my income as possible to support its ministries and the worldwide work of the Army.

I will be true to the principles and practices of The Salvation Army, loyal to its leaders, and I will show the spirit of salvationism whether in times of popularity or persecution.

I now call upon all present to witness that I enter into this covenant and sign these articles of war of my own free will, convinced that the love of Christ, who died and now lives to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life to His service for the salvation of the whole world; and therefore do here declare my full determination, by God's help, to be a true soldier of The Salvation Army.

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Bible Reading: John 11:1-44As the passage is quite long, you may want to only highlight the key parts of the

passage the sermon focuses on (verses 1-7, 17-27 and 38-44). The parts that are less referred to in the sermon are included in a smaller font size.

The Death of Lazarus – John 11:1-16 1 Now 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.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”4 When 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.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus – John 11:17-3717 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18

Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When 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. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and 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.”

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28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.35 Jesus wept.36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead – John 11:38-4438 Jesus, 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 odour, for he has been there four days.”40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I 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.”43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The 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.”

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Meeting ContentScripture: John 11:1-44

Subject: Your story for His glory

Aim: To have the congregation choose to (re)commit to offering what’s in their hands to God

1. Meeting IntroductionToday is a special day in The Salvation Army calendar year – it’s our Founders’ Day

and Covenant Renewal Day. Founders’ Day is a day to acknowledge and honour the Salvation Army founders, Catherine and William Booth. What great examples of living in covenant with God and going after all he has called and asked of them.

Founders’ Day is a great day for us to consider our own covenants, so today we also celebrate Covenant Renewal day. We we each have the chance today to consider the various commitments we’ve made to God. For some of us, this is in the form of a covenant that we signed when we became a soldier, adherent or officer in The Salvation Army. For others, it may be a commitment you’ve made in another church to follow Christ, or when you were in a desperate situation and you cried out to God promising that you’d change the world if He saved you. And for some of you, you’re simply here today because you’re wondering what this Christian thing is all about.

Today we’re exploring what it really looks like to live fully alive for Christ, leaving our old way of living and running the race marked out for us. God wants to use our whole lives for his glory.

There’s a great quote from Catherine Booth, one of the founders of The Salvation Army, “God is raising up a people who know how to testify what God has done for them.” God is at work in each of our lives, bringing hope, life and light to every part of our lives. This is our testimony and God calls each of us to use our story for his glory – the challenge is to fully offer our lives to Christ and allow every action, relationship, decision and priority to point to God.

Catherine and William Booth’s lives are an incredible testimony to how God uses ordinary people to bring honour to his name when we choose to live fully for him. What a great encouragement for us today as we each consider our own covenant or commitments we have made and what God is asking of us today.

No matter your situation, we pray that you will feel very welcome and that you will encounter God during this service, as we look at our commitment to living fully alive.

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2. Children’s MaterialA children’s message, kids church lesson, and Family Time resource can be found

separately online.Please download these and use the material that best suits your context.

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3. Ideas for Founders’ Day

Here are some ideas for creative elements to include in your service to highlight Founders’ Day. You could include one of the stories below as part of your sermon, you could share about it during a segment in your service or you could have one of your corps members research one of the stories and share about it.

Video about different creative Army endeavours:Various short stories around creative Salvation Army endeavours over the years, created by our Creative Ministries Department.

https://youtu.be/jlLInPi5TMg

Making matches safe:The Salvation Army encouraged the change from dangerous phosphorous matches to safety matches by opening their own factory, employing people in a safe environment and for a fair wage.

https://glynnharrison.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/when-william-booth-took-on- the-big-manufacturers-of-safety-matches-and-won/

Raising the age of consent:The Salvation was pivotal in raising the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16.

https://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/1C9CE9592331AC2F802575CA004EF0A2

Opening Men’s homes:A story around William and Bramwell’s response to the large number of homeless men in London.

https://www.gospeltruth.net/booth/boothbiovol2/boothbiovol2ch7.htm https://goo.gl/KSAvqy

Lowering the cost of bread:In 1914, in Britain there was a grain shortage because many of the ships were being sunk by German U-boats. In one town, the bakers raised the price of bread so high that poor people could not afford it. Twice General Bramwell Booth asked the bakers to reduce their prices and they refused.Booth wrote to the bakers saying that if the prices did not come down and the poor could eat, the Salvation Army would establish bakeries in the town and undercut the prices. The prices came down.

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4. Sermon

Introduction

[We’ve added the symbol for where you should change slides if using the PowerPoint]

Introduction

[We have provided a few different options to start this sermon – adapt one of these, or find your own, that best suits your setting.]

Bible passage – you could start this sermon by reading the Bible passage if you haven’t earlier in your meeting.

Personal story or illustration – you could start the sermon with a personal story or illustration that fits with the theme of this message.

All-in service – if this sermon is part of an all-in, all-ages services, you might want to use an interactive way to start the message. This might be presenting the Bible story in a fun way (acting, using a video, Godly Play) or having a ‘mummy’ race (use toilet paper to make Lazarus’ – who is the quickest to make their mummy or have a running race as ‘Lazarus’).

Humorous story – you could start the sermon with a joke or funny story. Here is an example:

On their way to get married, a young couple were involved in an accident. The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to greet them and process them into Heaven.

While waiting they began to wonder; could they possibly get married in Heaven?They approached St. Peter and asked him if they could get married in Heaven.St. Peter said, "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find

out," and he left.The couple sat and waited for an answer.A couple of months later St. Peter came back and said to the young couple, “Yes, you

can be married. It’s taken me a couple of months to set things up, but you can be married.”

"Great!" said the couple. "But we were just wondering; what if things don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?"

St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground."What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple."Oh, come on!” St. Peter shouted. "It took me 3 months to find a minister up here! Do

you have ANY idea how long it'll take to find a lawyer?"

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Lead into Bible Passage…

The Bible passage we’ll be exploring today is John 11 – when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. We’ll be focusing on the events surrounding Lazarus being raised to life again and what that means for us today.

First some context for the passage:At this point in the book of John, Jesus has been travelling around with the 12

disciples (his students and followers), teaching and sharing with the people he encountered and changing lives. When we get to this point of the story, there have been 6 other recorded miracles in the book of John including changing water to wine, physical healing and walking on water and word had got out about this Jesus guy and the amazing things he could do.

Jesus was starting to get a reputation, and the Jewish leaders were growing more suspicious and frustrated with him. The events surrounding Lazarus are the final straw for the religious leaders at the time…

[Read Bible passage here if you haven’t read earlier] The story of Lazarus is incredible. It’s so incredible, it’s almost unbelievable to our

earthly, 2019 comprehension. But God is in the business of bringing dead things back to life. He is a God of hope, of resurrection and new creation.

And he is calling each of us to ‘wake up’ and leave the tomb.So if Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb 2,000 years ago, what does it mean for us to

be raised to life and leave the tomb today? What can we learn from Lazarus?

God’s delays are not God’s denials

The story of Lazarus is a great example of God’s timing. We read in the first few verses that Lazarus had become unwell and word was sent to

Jesus. Jesus responds to the news by proclaiming that the sickness would not end in death, and then he does, well… nothing.

The passage goes on to say ‘Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days…’

This does not seem like the kind of behaviour of someone that loved Lazarus. Surely his first response would be to rush to the side of his anxious friends who were reaching out to him for help. Yet, he delays.

When we continue the story, we find out that Lazarus does pass away and Jesus eventually comes to visit the family. The first thing both Martha and Mary say to Jesus is, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ They are both amazing declarations of faith; suggesting that both women believed Jesus’ presence would have made a difference in Lazarus’ life and death, and so you can tell they are confused, frustrated and hurt by Jesus choosing to delay his arrival.

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The timing of Jesus’ arrival is significant. In Jewish tradition at the time, it was believed that it took four days for the soul to leave the body. It was customary for a person to die and be buried on the same day (due to the heat etc.) and family and friends would stay hopeful for the next 3 days, believing the soul hovered over the body until decomposing set in on the fourth day. On the fourth day, there was no hope.

In this story, Jesus’ delay means he arrives on the fourth day – the day of no hope. Mourning was well and truly underway, and friends and family had come to terms that Lazarus was now truly dead. You can understand the confusion and frustration of Mary and Martha. You can imagine them repeating to themselves over those first few days, ‘Where is Jesus?’, ‘Why isn’t he coming?’ ‘If he was here, things would be different!’.

Even when Jesus arrives, weeps with them, and goes to the tomb with them, they are still confused and hurt. When Jesus asks for the stone to be removed from the entrance of the tomb, Martha responds, ‘But Lord, by this time there is a bad odour for he has been there four days.’

They can see no hope of resurrection. They believe Lazarus to be beyond help and cannot see why Jesus would be doing what he’s doing. They know decomposing has set in, they saw Lazarus die, they buried him. Why would Jesus want to enter the tomb now?

The story of Lazarus shows us there is always hope.In Elisabeth Johnson’s commentary on John, she puts it this way, ‘Jesus had seemed

so slow in coming. It seemed as if he was too late. But with Jesus, we find out, it is never too late. Even when we are convinced that all is lost, even when we are ready to concede to the power of death, Jesus demonstrates that there is no loss, no tragedy, no power in heaven or on earth or under the earth, that can place us beyond the reach of his infinite love and abundant life.’

Jesus still comes. It may seem like his delay was a denial of Martha and Mary’s cry for help. It may seem like his choosing not to come was ignoring his friends’ anxiety and hurt.

But Jesus still comes. And he changes things. He brings hope to hopeless situations. He brings life and light to death and darkness. You are never beyond help, you are never beyond hope. We need to have faith in God’s timing and trust Him despite disappointment. God hears us and answers us – we just need to trust that his delays are not denials.

Do you think you are too far ‘gone’ for God to do a miraculous work in your life? Have you been asking God for something and you don’t feel he’s listening, responding, or at work already? Are you losing hope that God can redeem certain situations in your life right now?

God’s delays are not denials.

You are meant to run, not shuffle

The story of Lazarus doesn’t just end with the miraculous raising to life of Lazarus – it ends with Jesus asking for the grave clothes to be removed. So what’s that all about?

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Jesus arrives at the tomb with Martha, Mary and a large group of mourners. He asks for the stone to be removed from the entrance, and after some questioning, this happens. He then thanks God for hearing him, and then asks Lazarus to come out.

Incredibly, Lazarus comes out of the grave. Imagine that! God wants to raise us to life again. When we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and

Saviour and follow him, we are called to die to our old selves and be raised to life with Christ Jesus. This means letting go of all the things of this world and choosing to embrace all the good things of the Kingdom.

And this is the freedom that we see Jesus offer Lazarus. Lazarus came out of the grave still wrapped in the cloths he was buried in. As was customary at the time of his death, Lazarus would have been wrapped in large linen cloths, similar to how you may swaddle or wrap a child. Wrapping his arms, legs and torso, and a cloth around his head. So when Lazarus came out, he would have shuffled his way, struggling to take steps, as well as see and sense where he was going. Jesus asks for these to be loosened so he can walk freely.

And that’s the hope we are offered in Jesus. We are no longer slaves to our old lives. We no longer have to be bound to the things of this world, the things of our past, our earthly hurts and pains, our struggles with sin and selfish desires, the things holding us back from truly living – we can let these all go and embrace the freedom found in Christ.

Because we are meant to run, not shuffle. When we die to our old selves, we are a new creation. Like the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’

But how easy it is to slip back into those grave clothes! It’s so easy for us to slip back into old habits, to become comfortable or apathetic again and resort back to our old way of living before we met Jesus. It can be as simple as slowly forgetting the commitments or covenant you’ve made with God and choosing (consciously or not) to pick up some of the behaviours, attitudes or thoughts you used to have. Maybe you became a soldier or adherent years ago, and you’ve forgotten parts of the covenant you agreed to live out. Maybe you made a commitment to follow Jesus when you were a lot younger, or you made a commitment with God to live in a certain way when you had a dramatic encounter, and you’ve slowly slipped into old patterns and behaviour.

Theologian, William Barclay, describes it like this, ‘It does not need to be so dramatic as that. A man can become so selfish that he is dead to the needs of others. A man can become so insensitive that he is dead to the feelings of others. A man can become so involved in the petty dishonesties and the petty disloyalties of life, that he is dead to honour. A man can become so hopeless that he is filled with an inertia, which is spiritual death. Jesus Christ can resurrect these men. The witness of history is that he has resurrected millions and millions of people like them and his touch has not lost its ancient power.’

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Maybe it’s as simple as falling out of your prayer or Bible reading habits or choosing to not react when a friend reaches out for help or becoming desensitised to the hurt we see in the news. It could be letting your weekly tithe fall behind or slowly choosing other commitments over helpful spiritual habits like church or small group. It could be allowing your thought life to become harsh and judgemental, or avoiding conversations with people when you know it might turn to faith or Christianity.

We are called to throw off everything that hinders us and run the race marked out for us – a race that would be so much easier without stopping occasionally to put our grave clothes back on.

Do you remember how your life was transformed when you first met Jesus? Have you slipped back into old habits? Do you feel stuck or held back by things in your life?

Jesus wants us to run, not shuffle.

Your story for his glory

Another important part of the story of Lazarus was the crowd of people that had gathered with the family.

It was customary for large gatherings to come together for several days at the time of death, sitting and mourning with the family. There were even professional mourners who travelled around to wail and mourn, sometimes not even knowing the person who had passed away!

Martha and Mary were from a prominent family in Bethany and were well known in Jerusalem. This meant a lot of people knew the family and came to mourn the loss of Lazarus. A large group of mourners had gathered at the family home to wail and mourn together.

When Jesus arrives and ushers the family to the graveside, a large crowd comes with them. This is another key moment in the story – the miracle was witnessed by a large crowd and verse 45 says, ‘Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.’

Yes – this miracle directly benefited Lazarus and Mary and Martha, but the side effect from God working in their lives, was many people witnessed this and came to faith.

God is at work in all of our lives, and many of us have chosen to follow him and had a transformative work happen in our lives so what’s the side effect?

Jesus says in verse 4, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son can be glorified through it.’

Our lives are meant for God’s glory – God is at work in our lives and everything we do should give glory to God. People should be able to look at our lives, how we interact with others, our decisions, families and priorities and see them pointing back to God. The people around us should be able to look at us and say, there’s something different about them, something’s changed.

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Maybe you don’t think your life is that exciting, impactful or dramatic. Maybe you don’t think your story is as surprising or amazing as Lazarus’, maybe you think your life has been pretty ordinary. God uses each of us to bring glory to his name, we don’t need anything more than our story.

Pastor and Author, Louie Giglio says this about our testimony, ‘People say all the time 'I don't have a good testimony' because they think their story has to involve some dramatic story of change from 'bad' to 'good'. But Jesus didn't come to save people this way. Sin doesn't make us bad it makes us dead. Jesus came to save by bringing the dead to life. And that's an amazing testimony.’

If we’ve chosen Christ as our saviour, we have each been transformed from death to life. When we chose to become a soldier or adherent or made another type of covenant or commitment with God, we chose a new way of living, of leaving the old behind. And we all have a crowd of witnesses around us – our friends and families, our colleagues or our uni friends, the guy at the petrol station, your neighbour, the teacher at your kid’s school, the lady you sit next to on the bus, your gym buddy, that frustrating in-law, your barista, your dentist, your lawyer and your mechanic.

So how you choose to live each day is the best witness you have. All we need to do is offer our lives as our witness, allowing God to work through our actions, decisions, relationships to bring glory to his name. That is our purpose.

So what do people see when they look at your life? Can people see the difference God makes in your life? Are you choosing to use your story for God’s glory?Your story, for his glory.

Summary We’ve looked at three key takeaways we can learn from the story of Lazarus and

what that means in our own lives.1. God’s delays are not denials2. You are meant to run, not shuffle3. Your story is for God’s glory

The story of Lazarus is a powerful reminder of how we’re called to live in this world.It is said that death is a departure from a world we cannot return to. It’s final. This is

what dying to our old selves and being raised with Christ is all about – that old, unfulfilling, shameful, boring, selfish, easy, comfortable way of life is done. And we can’t go back to it.

There are stories about explorers travelling to new lands. These explorers were all about discovering new places, conquering and taking new ground, always advancing. They would decide where they were going, get on their ships and sail there. When they arrived, they would get ready to take the land, and then burn their ships.

Burn their ships? It seems ridiculous. But what if they needed something from the ship? What if they needed to retreat and head back? How would they get home?

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No, they burned their ships because they were committed to win. Burning their ship means there was no way of turning back. It was a powerful encouragement to themselves, and a bold statement to the people around them. There was no way of retreating back to the ships and heading home to comfort, this was their land now.

Imagine if we had that mindset. That our old way of living was done – that the Kingdom was our home now. And we want to show that to everyone around us.

Imagine if every soldier or adherent fully lived out their covenant. And if every Christ follower lived fully in the freedom Christ offers us and threw off everything that hinders us.

Imagine what God could do if we fully trusted him despite disappointment and held onto unswerving faith that God’s delays are not denials.

Imagine if we each lived in a way that pointed to Jesus in all we do. That our lives were for the glory of God, and each interaction, decision and action was a testimony to Christ’s work in our lives.

And imagine how God would move in our lives and in our community if we burned our ships, threw off the grave wraps and cloths, and ran toward all that God is asking and calling us to.

So what are we going to do with that? How will we respond?

5. ResponseAs we’ve reflected on the story of Lazarus, maybe it’s challenged you about your own

life.

God is calling each of us out of the grave and into freedom with Him. So what would

that look like if you fully lived it out?

Perhaps you’ve never said yes to God and the freedom that comes with that. Maybe you feel you’re ‘too far gone’ or out of reach of God’s help. Do you need to trust God is able to do the impossible in your life? Do you want to be a new creation?

Maybe you felt called to become a soldier or adherent years ago and want to re-affirm your covenant today. Maybe there are specific parts of the covenant that you’ve been neglecting, and you’ve realised you’ve been shuffling not running.

Maybe you have made a commitment or covenant with Christ but have slipped into old ways of living. Maybe you’ve been living in a way that is easy, comfortable or doesn’t spark questions from people. Do people see Christ at work in your life? Maybe you want to commit to living in a way that always points to Jesus.

Or maybe today you want to thank and praise Jesus again for the work he has done in your life and commit again to leaving the grave behind and continue to live to bring glory to God.

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Today, we have some covenant renewal cards available. The card simply Your story for His glory and includes the words ‘today I choose to leave the old behind and live fully for Christ, offering my story for his glory’

If you would like to respond and make a commitment today to live fully for God, we invite you to come forward, and sign the card. Maybe you want to make this commitment for the first time today, or you want to reaffirm this covenant again – we invite you to come forward.

If you’d like prayer, please come forward and someone would love to pray for you.

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6. Benediction

Jude 24-25“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his

glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

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