Recalibrate your expectation of Christ of Christmas

 Throughout the centuries Christians have celebrated Advent as a way to set their expectations on the Christ of Christmas. What are your expectations this year?

O wretched man

Who’s your master?

 Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Life in the Spirit

 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

The bride of Christ

Palingenesia

 God saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth (Palingenesia)  and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Presence and Practise

 This week we step back and look at how Paul frames Romans 6,7, and 8 to better understand his overall approach to applying the gospel before we unpack these chapters in the coming weeks.

Consider the superabundance of grace

 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

How much more

 Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

Rejoice

 We rejoice in our position in Christ, we rejoice in our pain, and we rejoice in our reconciliation to our heavenly Father.

Heartbeat of God

 The posture most natural to Jesus is not a pointed finger, but open arms.

The Soundtrack of Heaven

 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.

Righteousness

 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

Romans

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Audience room

 Come into the room to receive God's presence, and get to know Him, only then can we go out into the world

The power and importance of encouragement

 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them

The dusty road

 This week we look at Acts 8,9 and 10 and see how God changes the lives of his people, turning dusty roads into runways.

Beautiful

 As we explore the book of Acts everyone can find their place in the Church that is not confined to a building but is unleashed and turns the world upside down.

The church Jesus prayed for

 God is going to build a community on this earth that looks like this prayer. Full of truth, glory, power, love, forgiveness, holiness, and that’s how we overcome the world. That’s the church we pray for.

I am the vine

 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Bread from Heaven

 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

The right to become children of God

 To all who receive him, to those who believe in His name, he brings all that He is and all that He has - the entire arsenal of the power and presence of God to bear on your life, so that you can be His and live as a child of God.

The fishermen and the fish gate

 The Word of God activates His purposes in our lives, allowing a change in the atmosphere around us, putting His glory on display.

Understanding the Bible

 God’s word is given to us to feed us, fight for us and make us fruitful. But where do we even start?

The word of God came a second time

 Looking back at Luke before lock-down it is evident that God used 2019 to prepare us for what was to come in 2020. Though much of what He said was lost on us, the word of God always comes a second time.

Kingdom Culture Shock

 Jesus built a radically different, counterintuitive culture that shocked people – and set them free – and we get to be part of it.

God flavours and God colours

 God intended you to live on a mantel piece, a trophy of his grace, on a lamp-stand bringing light in a crooked and perverse world. Don’t let anything compromise your saltiness, your bright shining light, bring God-flavour to your world!

The least of these

Jesus summarises all that we are called to with the command to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. So it should come as no surprise that Jesus ends his ministry in Matthew 25 with a deep dive into what this looks like practically for us today.

ONE33

 Introduction to ONE33

Success, Success

 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the LORD your God.” So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD

Indescribable gift

 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Building and Blessing

 Wisdom has built her house, and she invites us to a feast of fruitfulness, rather than a battle for balance.

God cannot be mocked

 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Invest in dynamite

 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Open hands

 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

The road to Emmaus

 Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

A Better Resurrection

 The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is so strong that even secular sceptics, if they try to do honest history, have no way of explaining the missing body on Sunday morning besides an actual resurrection.

Peace be with you

Good Friday 2021

Tender and Flexible

 Running through all five of these Old Testament books is the truth that freedom and fruit come through abiding in Jesus: living tenderly and flexibly, no matter where we are, and what we face.

Ruth’s Return

Between the Dead Sea and dead sand, God says return to me, return to my people, return to my promises, return to my presence.

Stay free, keep moving

 Step into the story of the kinsman-redeemer who saves you and sets you free

I am Ruth

 Run to your true Boaz - Jesus Christ

Purim: it’s time to celebrate

Celebrating the eternal miracle of the survival of God’s people

Esther

 Rediscovering the power and presence of God in the book of Esther

The Rose of Sharon

Finding love, freedom, adventure and most importantly, finding Christ in the Song of Solomon.

Ecclesiastes

 In the midst of the storms of life the book of Ecclesiastes asks the question - ‘Is God’s presence enough?’

The God of Ecclesiastes

Time to return to the maker! To the God of prayer, to the God who answers prayer, to the God who makes sense of things

Bring your jar to Jesus

 In 2 Kings 4 we have a story that helps us understand how God invites us to trust Him in the midst of our lamentations.

MegaCry

 The book of Lamentations helps us connect our cries to the greatest cry in History

The God of lamentation and blessing

The Megilloth is a group of books in the Old Testament; Lamentations, Ruth, the Song of Solomon, Esther, and Ecclesiastes. These are five books which the Hebrews would read every year, and they would learn about God. Our commitment this year is to follow in their footsteps as we learn about our incredible Father.