Citygate Church: Recent Episodes
Citygate Church
Welcome to Citygate Church! We’re a multisite church in Dorset, UK, who love to see lives transformed by Jesus every day across the bay! Each week we upload our Sunday talks to Apple Podcasts for you to enjoy and share. We hope that they help you understand more about the Word and deepen your relationship with God.
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About this series:The title of our teaching series throughout 2023 is The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Teaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.The second part of our teaching on the Kingdom is called “Kingdom Priorities.” Here we look at some familiar biblical themes, and bring an emphasis on how they are a feature of God’s kingly reign.About this talk:Scripture: Micah 6:6-8Micah prophesied during the reigns of three of the kings of Judah (1:1). The shame and disgrace of both northern and southern kingdoms are made clear in 1:3-2:11, with the nations’ leaders then coming in for special rebuke in 3:1-12. As so often in Old Testament prophecy, these words of rebuke and judgement are interspersed with hope - God will, in the end, forgive and restore his people because he has covenanted himself to them and will not break his promises.The most famous of these words of hope is chapter 5 where Micah prophesies, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times…He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth” (5:2,4). It was this prophecy that led the chief priests and teachers of the law to inform Herod that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, when Herod was visited by the Magi (Matthew 2:1-6).In chapter 6 God repeats many of his charges against Israel and Judah, with Micah now asking a number of rhetorical questions (vs 6-7), asking what God would be pleased for Micah to bring to him. Micah’s reply is, v 8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” In essence, what God requires is that we love him (by walking humbly before him) and love our neighbour (by acting justly and mercifully) - see Mark 12:28-31.Because God is perfectly just, it follows that his kingly reign is one of justice and that the people who acknowledge him as king should, likewise, be characterised by justice in their way of life. This is exactly what the nations’ leaders and prophets have been criticised for: “Should you not embrace justice, you who hate good and love evil…you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right” (3:1-2, 9). How can the people who claim allegiance to the God of justice despise justice?!What God expects justice to look like in practice can be discerned from some of his criticisms of his people in Micah’s letter and also from passages such as Isaiah 1:17, Isaiah 58:6-7 and Jeremiah 5:26-28. It’s absolutely clear in the New Testament that justice is a particular characteristic of Jesus (Matthew 12:17-21; Hebrews 1:8), that injustice is an evidence of ungodly religion (Matthew 23:23-24) and that God’s people are to judge rightly and conduct themselves according justly (James 1:27).-Can you give some examples of where you’ve seen both injustice and justice being practised? What does justice look like in practice in our world?-Each of us has an area of influence. Where is God asking you to be concerned about justice or act justly more than you currently are?-What are some of the barriers we experience to being concerned for justice?
About this talk:“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” - Acts 2:24'You can’t keep a good man down!' We often think that if we work hard and are generally good we will rise up, but this isn't quite the case in the bible. The people of Jesus' day saw his kingdom as a threat and so wanted to take him down. Yet God’s plan meant his death and resurrection would pave the way for all the righteous to live forever - if they put their trust in Christ.
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:18One of the basic points about the kingdom of God is that it is both here and not yet here. God has always been the king, his kingdom is here; and he ruled through a particular people in Old Testament times, the people of Israel; and then Jesus comes saying the kingdom has now come, in a new way through him. But the kingdom is also future because not until Jesus returns and renews all things will we see everything enjoying and recognising his kingship; only then will all his enemies be banished forever.So Jesus regularly spoke of the kingdom as being present, as having arrived (come near) in his actions:- Matthew 4:17: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”- Luke 10:9: “Heal those there who are ill and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”- Luke 11:20: “if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”And he just as regularly spoke of the kingdom as being future, as having not yet arrived:- Matthew 7: 21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”- Matthew 8:11: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”- Mark 14:25: “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”When he speaks of the future kingdom, he is envisaging what Revelation tells us: “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ (Revelation 21:3-4). In this magnificent vision the reign of God is no longer challenged but is perfectly expressed by the total presence of God and the total absence of evil. This is the goal of salvation that Paul looks forward to: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”Until then we work and pray to bring as much of the future into the present as God will allow - “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” - until the day when the new earth is the new heaven, the dwelling place of God.Application ideas:- How do you hold in balance the kingdom being both now and not yet?- If the full revelation of God’s reign in the future is our ultimate destiny, why do we so often remain firmly attached to this world? Can you help us to become less attached?- In what ways does the future kingdom most excite you?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14The kingdom of God is broader than the church - God rules over everything. And yet the church - a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession - are a very important part of the kingdom because they are those God has specially chosen to reign in / through and who, in turn, have chosen to submit to his reign.So the kingdom of God is especially expressed in and through the church because those are the people God has brought under his reign in calling them to himself. And the Bible is clear that at the end of the day there are only two kingdoms - “the dominion of darkness and…the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:13). And it is only by God’s activity in any one of us that we have been rescued from the one and brought into the other.The question then becomes: how does the church enjoy and express the reign / kingdom of God? The answer is found throughout the New Testament, the main message of which is concerned with how people live now that God is their king. Hence the teaching of Jesus addresses that, as probably did the 40 days of teaching we don’t have (Acts 1:3), as do the New Testament letters, which explain both the good news of what God has done for us in bringing us into his kingdom.Just as Jesus has made the invisible God visible, John Calvin said it is the task of the church to make the invisible kingdom visible. Or to put it another way, the role of the church is to pray, “Your kingdom come” and to live in such a way that his reign is on display in our lives - to work and pray that God’s dynamic reign may be increasingly manifest in our lives, families, churches and communities until it is fully and finally known in the new heaven on the new earth.At times the church has been guilty of hindering the display of God’s kingdom either by a) becoming entangled in sin and in allegiance to the kingdom of this world or b) by withdrawing from the world or sitting in judgement on it while having little salt and light effect upon it.Application ideas:- In what ways are you (and others) in danger of hindering the display of God’s kingdom by either a) or b) above?- How could we make progress in making the invisible kingdom visible?- What would a church enjoying the reign of God look like?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Matthew 13:1-52The word parable is a translation of the Greek word παραβολην (parabolēn) from παρα (beside) and βαλλω (to cast) meaning to cast beside: it is, therefore, ‘a teaching aid cast alongside the truth being taught’ (biblehub.com). Some definitions of the biblical genre of parable:- Klyne Snodgrass: ‘Stories with intent’ and ‘an expanded analogy.’- William Mounce: ‘A story from everyday life used to illustrate a moral or religious truth.’- C. H. Dodd: ‘At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.’Jesus’ parables usually involve a number of elements as he uses a situation familiar to his hearers to bring out a truth about God and life in his kingdom. However, parables do not need to be extended stories. In Luke 4:23, for example, the same word is used for a short saying - “Physician, heal yourself!” (though the NIV translates παραβολην here as “proverb”).Most of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God was given in parables - “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?” (Luke 13:20) and he spoke in parables for a variety of complementary reasons:- To make truths about God’s kingdom plain to his disciples, while keeping them hidden from those outside: “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”’” (Mark 4:10-12). However, a quick reading of Mark 4 shows that, by using parables, Jesus was not trying to be mysterious, but was speaking in relatable language that yet required a sincere, humble heart if the spiritual truth was to be understood. The meaning of some parables evaded the understanding of even his disciples: “His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’” (Matthew 13:36; see also Matthew 15:15).- To fulfill prophecy: “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’” (Matthew 13:34-35).- To answer a question or illustrate a principle related to life in the kingdom of God: for example, Jesus’ telling of the parable of the good Samaritan was to illustrate, “Who is my neighbour?” (see Luke 10:29ff) and, “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1ff).- To make his teaching both accessible and memorable.Matthew 13 contains seven parables of varying length and meaning, in all of which he is teaching about the kingdom of God which he terms “kingdom of heaven”), especially about some aspects of God’s reign. Two of the seven - the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds - are explained by Jesus. The first parable describes different responses to, “the message about the kingdom” (v 19), while the others all describe what, “the kingdom of heaven is like” (vs 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47).It’s important not to impose on these parables ideas about the kingdom of God they do not contain. Rather, they each tell us about one or two key things:- The parable of the sower: different responses to the message of the kingdom.- The parable of the weeds: alongside the good seed of the kingdom, Satan sows weeds, both of which will grow until the day of judgement.- The parable of the mustard seed and the yeast: the kingdom of God has very small beginnings but grows to become, “the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree” and until, “it worked all through the dough.”- The parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl: the kingdom of God is the greatest treasure imaginable, worth selling everything for.- The parable of the net: not until the day of judgement will the wicked finally be separated from the righteous.In short, these parables tell us that having God as king is the greatest possible treasure, that his reign is growing (though not everyone responds positively to it) and that both God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom coexist until the day of judgement.Application ideas:- Focus on applying one or two of the parables in Matthew 13 or focus on applying their common themes.- What does Jesus mean by, “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (v 11)?- In what ways do these parables encourage you about the expansion / multiplication of God’s kingdom?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Matthew 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount)Having recorded that Jesus was travelling throughout Galilee, “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,” Matthew then proceeds to give the most famous explanation of life in that kingdom, of the culture Jesus is establishing in his kingdom, of the demands God makes on those who are living under his reign. ‘The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete delineation anywhere in the New Testament of the Christian counter-culture’ (John Stott). In it Jesus turns upside down who it is that God considers to be blessed and turns inside out both Jewish and pagan ideas of how to relate to God and to people. The good life, as defined by the majority of Jews in Jesus’ day, was seen as the prosperous life, the life honoured by the rest of one’s community, the life kept ‘pure’ by remaining separate from the unclean, the outcast and the Gentile. One’s positive outward circumstances were believed to be evidence of God’s blessing and it was clear to all that God’s blessing had been withdrawn from those whose circumstances were negative. In fact, such negative situations were often seen as evidence of God’s judgement. All of which Jesus challenges as he calls blessed those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, are meek and are persecuted because they follow him.And Jesus brings fresh teaching, with authority that amazed the crowds (Matthew 7:28-29), about what it means to live righteously. In his kingdom it is heart attitude that matters, not just outward actions; in his kingdom purity is an internal matter, not an external one; and spiritual actions that God accepts are those done with him in mind, not those done to gain reputation among people. Above all, in the kingdom of God he demands to be at the centre of people’s lives, with anyone not trusting him completely and not putting his words into action being branded as foolish and destined for eternal ruin (Matthew 7:26).The culture of the kingdom of God is defined by the fact that God reigns; and Jesus embodies uniquely and completely. So as we think about what this looks like in practice we always come back to the questions: what did Jesus say and what would Jesus do?Application ideas:- Can you give some current examples of how the culture of God’s kingdom is different from the culture of other human kingdoms (bearing different national / racial cultures in mind)?- Which parts of the Sermon on the Mount are most challenging / shocking.- Mahatma Gandhi: ‘They (the Beatitudes) contain a message that would save the world. What a pity that Christians have been listening to the message for two thousand years, but they (the Christians) are like stones lying in the water for centuries, never soaking up a single drop.’ Can you help us to soak some of it up?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Matthew 4:12-17What John the Baptist announced (Matthew 3:2), Jesus now announces in exactly the same words; but in a new way because the king himself has come. While the fullness of God’s kingdom awaits Jesus’ return, a decisive unveiling of his kingdom and demonstration of it has now arrived in the ministry of Jesus. The enormity of this cannot be overstated - after centuries of waiting, God’s decisive reign in history is about to be revealed. Which is exactly what the angel had said to Mary: “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33).The particular point is that Jesus is the bringer of God’s kingdom in a unique way; as the Son of God he reveals the king like no other; as the Son of God he expresses the king’s rule like no other; as the Son of God he has the anointing and authority to bring into being what had been long-promised.After calling his first disciples, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people.” This is his central announcement - the kingdom of God is now here as never before and evidence for his reign is being displayed as he heals “every disease and illness.”And he then sent his disciples out in the same way - “he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who were ill” (Luke 9:2; cf John 20:21). And this is still what Jesus is doing - bringing the kingdom of God near by his Spirit and through his people.The one thing Jesus calls people to do in response to the arrival of the kingdom is to repent (v 17; or in Mark 1:15, “Repent and believe the good news”). In order to enter under the reign of God, a person needs to turn from their current direction in life and turn to him in faith and obedience.Application ideas:- In what ways did the ministry of Jesus mark a decisive departure with the reign of God among people in previous times?- If Jesus still sends his people to, “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who [are] ill” how can we take up that challenge?- What does Jesus’ call to repent and believe actually mean in practice?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Isaiah 61The king reigns everywhere, over everything and everyone. And yet, until he returns and eliminates Satan and evil we do not see every place, thing or person submitted to him. Hence Vaughan Roberts writes, ‘That is what is meant by ‘the kingdom of God’; not the area where he rules (for he always rules everywhere) but the sphere where his rule is gladly accepted.’ And Isaiah 61, along with many Old Testament passages depicts what life looks like where his rule is gladly accepted.’Isaiah 61 is part of Isaiah’s vision of a post-exilic future for God’s people, a new Jerusalem headed by the Servant-Messiah-King on whom Isaiah’s prophecies are focussed. Isaiah 60 has just spoken of the blessings that God’s people will enjoy and chapter 61 now brings into focus the one who will deliver those blessings.“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor,” v 1. The anointed servant brings freedom, favour and comfort (vs 1-2); he changes the fortunes of his people for his own name’s sake (v 3); he sets his people to work in rebuilding what has been broken down and to minister to him (vs 4-6); shame and disgrace will become instead a joyful double-portion inheritance (v 7); his covenant will be marked by faithfulness and justice, with his people being renowned among the nations (vs 8-9); the result is both delight in God and delight in what he has done (vs 10-11).This is what life is like under the reign of king Jesus, who announces his manifesto in Nazareth by quoting Isaiah 61. Kevin de Young: ‘When Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll in Luke 4:16-21, his simple message was, in effect, “I am jubilee.” “I am good news for the poor because I can meet their needs,” Jesus was saying, “and good news for the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I am good news for the captives in chains because I can them free (sic), and good news for those in spiritual bondage because I can be their deliverer. I am good news for the physically blind because I can restore their sight, and good news for the spiritually blind because I will open their eyes to the glory of God. I am good news for the oppressed because I hear their cries for justice, and good news for the spiritually oppressed because I will conquer sin, self, and Satan.”’While we know that the fulness of all this will not be seen until Jesus returns, it is clearly his expectation that we will enjoy and demonstrate the foretaste of it now.Application ideas:- Which parts of Isaiah 61 excite you most?- What are some of our hopes and vision for life under the rule of God (in your family, workplace, neighbourhood, Citygate)?- Why is Jesus the answer to all this?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:So how are God’s people to live in these in between times, when the kingdom of God has come but not fully, when the clash of kingdoms continues? There are three basic options: quietly withdraw, aggressively oppose, or positively integrate. In Jeremiah 29 the prophet writes to the Jewish exiles in Babylon with God’s advice about how they should live, given that God’s deliverance of them was still going to be 70 years in the future. And what he advises may have been a great surprise - it was not to quietly withdraw or to aggressively oppose, but to positively integrate while retaining their distinctive identity.After God reminds them that it was he who took them into exile, he says they are to settle down and embrace Babylon as their physical home; to increase through marriage; and to work and pray for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. The dangers and temptations involved in integrating were not to stop them being a positive influence and force for good where God had placed them.The same remains absolutely true for us, as is made clear in the New Testament:- We are in the world, but not of it (John 17:14-19).- We are to love our neighbours (Mark 12:31).- We are to “let [our] light shine before others, that they may see [our] good deeds and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).- We are not expected to remove ourselves from the rest of the world (1 Corinthians 5:9-10).- Jesus has sent us into the world as witnesses (John 20:21), as salt and light in the world (Matthew5:13-16).But the challenge remains too. The challenge to be a blessing to those around us without falling in love with their values; to be fully involved with our neighbours without losing sight of who the true king is; to become neither isolated nor compromised.Application ideas:- Give some examples of times when you’ve quietly withdrawn or aggressively opposed rather than positively integrated.- What does it mean to be in the world but not of it? What bearing do James 4:4-5 and 1 John 2:15-17 have on this?- What would it look like for you to positively integrate; to “seek the peace and prosperity” of the place (neighbourhood, workplace, social settings) where God has placed you?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:In calling a people to specially belong to him, God set his people on a collision course with the surrounding nations. Israel’s job was to stand firm in loyalty to God in the face of every other god; to not conform to the other kingdoms but retain their distinctiveness as the people of God. And yet they consistently failed to do so, either forgetting God altogether or mixing their loyalties.Daniel, deported to Babylon around 600BC, stands out as one who stood up for the kingdom of God under enormous pressure from king Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom. Given a new name, Belteshazzar, he refused to eat or live as the people of the kingdom he’d been taken to, refused to bow down to the gold image of Nebuchadnezzar, refused to give up praying to God - all under extreme pressure to conform to the ways of the Babylonians and the word of their king. He remains a magnificent example of living under the reign of God in the clash of kingdoms we too experience.Old Testament expectation was that when the Messiah came he would transform everything and establish the people of God under the reign of God once and for all, banishing evil in the process. And yet, in one of so many ways in which he confounded expectations, Jesus the Messiah did not banish evil and the kingdom of the world when he came. He decisively defeated Satan, but did not banish him - not yet!So the parables about the kingdom in Matthew 13 (the parables of the sower, the weeds, the yeast, the mustard seed and the net) show two kingdoms living side-by-side until a future decisive elimination of evil. The clash of kingdoms was not ended by the Messiah’s coming, but continues until his return. Until then, God’s people are engaged in a battle to remain loyal to the King and committed to establishing his kingdom above all others.This clash and ultimate defeat of other kingdoms is expressed prophetically in Daniel 2 with God’s reign ultimately triumphing over all others - “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever” (v 44).Application ideas:- What lessons can we learn from Daniel’s courageous example?- In what ways does the kingdom of this world seek to reign in our lives?- Give some examples (including personal ones) of where you’ve found this clash of kingdoms to be most challenging.
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Exodus 19:4-6, 1 Peter 2:4-5Exodus 19 records God’s encounter with Moses on Mount Sinai just ahead of the giving of the ten commandments in Exodus 20. Exodus 19:6 contains a biblical theme that began with the call of Abraham and continues through to the end of Revelation: “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. Out of everything that belongs to him, God had graciously chosen a particular people to belong to him and through whom his reign would be expressed as that people lived in submission and obedience to him.So from the earliest times, while the tribe of Levi were specifically called to function as priests, everyone was, in a very real sense, a priest - everyone served God and ministered to him; knowing him, loving him, obeying him. And while every nation belonged to God, this one nation was called out to specially belong to him as his chosen people.As we move from the Old Testament to the New, we find that this kingdom of priests, this holy nation is no longer an ethnic people, but all people who put their faith in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. So:- 1 Peter 2:9: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.”- Revelation 1:5-6: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”- Revelation 5:10: “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God.”This has huge practical implications for those who follow Jesus: we have been decisively called out from the world and called to belong to God - called “out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6). Being his “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” we are therefore called to a distinctive trust and a distinctive lifestyle in obedience to his Word. And especially for this series, we are the people who have been transferred from one kingdom to another - “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:13).We look at:- How this theme of God having a particular people in whom he reigns runs through the Bible.- What does it mean to be a holy people, those called out from the world to belong to God?- How can we live as those called out from the world while we still live in the world? What does that look like?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Scripture: Genesis 1&2While much in the early chapters of Genesis is debated, certain things are agreed: that God is creator; that his acts in creation were intentional and ordered; that mankind is the pinnacle of his creation; that the world inhabited by Adam and Eve was beautiful and untouched by sin and that they had the perfect opportunity to enjoy unhindered fellowship with God, with each other and nature.Adam and Eve were also mandated with the task of ruling the physical creation for God. There is a clear connection in Genesis 1:26 between being made in God’s image and ruling over creation, which the NIV translation brings out: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over…’”In regard to our rule over creation on God’s behalf, John Stott helpfully says, ‘We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’ And though that mandate to rule for God and witness to the King has been tainted and spoiled by sin, it has never been withdrawn, our ‘tenant’ responsibilities remain:- After the flood, God reiterates his commission to, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1), establishing his covenant, “between me and you (Noah) and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come” (Genesis 9:12).- Through Abraham God would bless all nations (Genesis 12:2-3).- This promise and covenant is repeated again in Genesis (15:4-5; 22:17-18; 26:3-5).But the mandate is more than to rule for God, it’s to express his rule through mankind. Adam and Eve were called to rule for him like him and in that way to enjoy the blessings of his rule and to show to all the world the greatness of God. This mandate affected every single area of life where God had delegated responsibility to Adam and Eve - ruling over the created world for him like him.Application ideas:- What might life in the Garden of Eden have been like in terms of enjoying the presence / reign of God?- What are some of the limits of the kingdom mandate and what aspects of it do we retain to this day?- What does some of this look like for you in your time and place?
About this series:Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.About this talk:Matthew 4:23There has been much debate about whether the Bible has a single, unifying theme. Vaughan Roberts argues that the kingdom of God is that theme: ‘Any unifying theme that is used to help us to see how the Bible fits together must arise out of Scripture itself, rather than being imposed upon it; and it must be broad enough to allow each part to make its own distinct contribution. The theme of the kingdom of God satisfies both requirements.’Graham Goldsworthy agrees: ‘the Bible speaks of the reality of the kingdom as its central issue. Other perspectives are simply that: other perspectives on the kingdom of God…The kingdom, then, functions as a hermeneutical grid for the whole of Scripture.’It can be argued then, that the Bible’s message finds its focus in the kingdom of God - both as a present reality and a future prospect. God is king, he is actively reigning and he is redeeming a people from all nations who recognise his kingship in preparation for the day when everything will be perfectly submitted to him.The Old Testament repeatedly makes it clear that God is king: “The Lord is King for ever and ever” (Psalm 10:16), “For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth” (Psalm 47:2), “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations” (Psalm 145:13).He calls his people to live under his reign, according to his word and as a witness to the nations. This is good news to all who are called to belong to him. Jesus then comes announcing, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” and Matthew then records that Jesus, “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people” (Matthew 4:17, 23).The announcement of good news is that Jesus has come to bring what was promised into being. To be in God’s kingdom is to acknowledge his divine rule, to submit to his rule and to enjoy the blessings of his rule. This is the salvation Jesus came to bring. Salvation is often defined too narrowly, as the forgiveness of sins so we can go to heaven. Rather, the NT uses a range of terms to describe what God has done for us in Jesus, all of which is to bring us into his kingdom, enjoying his reign.With all the competing agendas and concerns of life, it is this we are to seek above all else. As Jesus said, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).Application:- We show how this good news announcement of the kingdom is the central message of the Bible?- We warn against a too narrow view of salvation, but one that encompasses the idea of being saved into the kingdom of God.- What would it look like for God to reign in every area of our lives and our church?
About this talk:This year we want to cultivate more of a kingdom mentality to ‘making disciples’ and impacting our community. God’s kingdom at heart is about the enlargement, spread and multiplication of God’s rule and reign (Luke 13:18-21). We are at the point where we need to multiply every aspect of church life in order to be able to hold the mighty harvest we are believing God is leading us into. This means creating and having a multiplication mindset so that we can multiply elders, leaders, disciples, life groups, ministries and congregations! Equipping and releasing will become the norm as an entire army of disciples rise up and step into the challenge, with the gifts he has given us being utilised to the full - all for his glory!Of course a vital component to seeing God’s kingdom multiply, and us to playing our part, is continuing to abide in the king of this kingdom. Being with Jesus, hearing him, being obedient to him and helping others to do the same are all essential! Personal and corporate prayer are keys to this to underpin and fuel our desire to see his kingdom come, every day across the bay.
About this series:The plan for Christmas 2022 is to look at the famous passage in Isaiah 9 where the prophet speaks of the child who will be born as a result of God’s promise. Through the gift of this son, the people who are in darkness will experience the dawning of light (vs 1-5), will have God himself manifest among them (v 6), and will begin to enjoy his reign (v 7).About this talk:Isaiah 9:1-7250 children are born every minute! Each one is special in the eyes of their parents. So what was it that made this one extra special?This is Jesus. He came into the world at the first Christmas. He came as a counsellor for the broken, a father for the fatherless and peace for the anxious. He was born to die for every generation. He came to save us from judgement and to offer life and love with God forever.To us a child was born. He continues to live - and so can we.
About this series:The plan for Christmas 2022 is to look at the famous passage in Isaiah 9 where the prophet speaks of the child who will be born as a result of God’s promise. Through the gift of this son, the people who are in darkness will experience the dawning of light (vs 1-5), will have God himself manifest among them (v 6), and will begin to enjoy his reign (v 7).About this talk:Isaiah 9:1-5“Nevertheless” (v 1), connects what he’s about to say with what has just been saying. So, after mention of, “darkness and fearful gloom” in 8 v 22, Isaiah announces, “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress” and then proceeds to explain what that will look like. He describes a light that will dawn upon them (v 2) and the joy and victory that will be theirs (vs 3-5). All of which are themes the New Testament picks up in reference to Jesus.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 8:1-4, 5-13, 28-34
Matthew 8 immediately follows the Sermon on the mount along with Jesus highlighting the cost of following him. This chapter shows Jesus having authority over sickness, over nature and over demonic powers. Chapter 7 finished with, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” and now he is seen to have wide ranging authority in his actions of power too. All three of these actions are things Jews knew only God could perform, so Jesus is doing more than performing miracles - he’s also disclosing who he is as the Son of God.
Central to these miraculous actions in chapter 8 is his compassion for those who are suffering. Jesus is often recorded by the gospel writers as having compassion. For example in Matthew’s gospel:
- 9:36: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
- 14:14: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed those who were ill.”
- 20:34: “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
In each case the word translated “compassion” means ‘to be moved in the inward parts,’ just as we might say today, ‘his heart goes out to her.’ And in each case, Jesus not only feels for people, he does something for them. As we see frequently in the gospels, and here in Matthew 8, Jesus seems to especially have compassion for those who were outcast, marginalised. So here we see Jesus:
- vs 1-4: healing a man with a disease that made him a social and religious outcast, touching him in the process.
- vs 5-13: healing the servant of a Gentile, an officer in the occupying force.
- vs 28-34: healing two demon-possessed men, who were living in tombs, where others had tried to chain them many times (see the parallel passage in Mark 5:1-17).
In Jesus’ day: Church historian Philip Schaff says, ‘The old Roman world was a world without charity.’ And William Lecky, an Irish politician and writer, in the 19th century commented: ‘The active, habitual, and detailed charity of private persons, which is such a conspicuous feature in all Christian societies, was scarcely known in antiquity.’ Compassion wasn’t much known in the ancient world.
Judaism certainly held the concept of compassion to be a good one, as it reflected what the Scriptures taught about God. Because he was compassionate toward people, they should be too. However, that didn’t extend into practice too widely - the outcasts were still left out, the unclean were still kept at a distance and Gentiles were to be avoided.
In our day: There is a sense in which compassion has gained some credibility in our day. From crowdfunding platforms to regular appeals for those who are suffering, including for example, in the UK, the annual Red Nose Day, raising money for good causes has become a positive part of modern life. And yet compassion is lacking in so many other areas: how the homeless are regarded and treated; how people express criticism and judgement in online platforms; how little care is given to neighbours in our individualistic society; how the unborn and elderly are often regarded.
Because every person is created in the image of God and because of God’s compassionate love for us, the challenge is to reflect this in our daily interactions with both friends and strangers.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 7:24-29; cf Matt 16:13-17
The Jews were monotheists - they believed there was only one God. Christianity, arising from Jewish roots, is also a monotheistic faith. Which means that in both Jesus’ day and our day, what he stood for and taught clashed head-on with much of the surrounding culture.
At so many points Jesus was unequivocal on the matter of his identity, that he was the full and final revelation from God and that faith in him alone was required. For example, just in Matthew’s gospel:
- Matthew 7: it is only by building our lives on his teaching that we will stand.
- Matthew 9:2-8: he forgives sins, something everyone knew only God could do.
- Matthew 12:2-8: he is Lord of the Sabbath, equating himself with God who established the Sabbath.
- Matthew 8:23-27 & 14:22-32: acts that Jews would associate with God who alone is in control of the wind and waves.
- Matthew 24:30 & 26:64: quoting a familiar Messianic passage and attributing it to himself.
The challenge of this to every culture in every time is that exclusivity is not a popular message. For anyone to claim the truth, rather than just a part of the truth or a version of the truth is deeply uncomfortable. The more tolerant, palatable version of these things is often pictured as a mountain or an elephant:
- Mountain: different belief systems are the various routes up a mountain, all of which reach the same goal, the summit.
- Elephant: each faith is represented by a blind man, all of whom are interpreting the part of the elephant they can feel.
The inconsistencies of such views are obvious, as is their own exclusivity (their view of things is said to be the truth). Yet they represent the way the majority of the world has seen - and sees - things.
In Jesus’ day There were no atheists in the ancient world. In the Old Testament, Abraham was called out from a polytheistic world and monotheistic Israel lived as neighbours of many polytheistic nations. In the New Testament the Romans and Greeks had many gods, each responsible for different aspects of life and the natural world. While Caesar claimed primary allegiance, any number of gods could be worshipped and sacrificed to as well.
Into this world Jesus’ message of primacy and exclusivity was very jarring - both to the Jews, most of whom could not believe he was God-in-flesh, and to the pagans, for whom his call was to give up their other gods.
In our day Today, exclusive beliefs are seen as bigotted, narrow-minded and arrogant. And yet, every belief system is by necessity exclusive - even those who claim to be completely inclusive, such as the Bahai’i faith, exclude anyone who doesn’t accept their position. So, given that Jesus was so clear about his identity and that trust in him alone is the way to salvation, the big question is whether the Bible’s record of his life and teaching is credible - which is a whole other subject.
While tolerance is the order of the modern day, Christians can show a confidence in their beliefs that is clothed with humility and compassion. It is entirely possible to listen openly, to respectfully disagree and to befriend people of other faiths without any hint of arrogance or judgmentalism. Sadly, the world has not seen enough of that in the church.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 6:1-18 Craig Blomberg: ‘The vast majority of Jews in Israel were not aligned with any special group…The special groups probably comprise no more than five percent of the population.’ But that five percent - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes and the Zealots - feature disproportionately in the gospels because it was they who were the religious authorities with whom Jesus clashed.
So when he calls out these hypocrites in Matthew 6 he is quite likely referring to the religious elites, especially as it was they who set the religious tone of that day. And what he highlights is their motive for performing these three acts - “to be honoured by others”; “to be seen by others”; and “to show others”. Well, they’ve chosen their audience and their only reward will be from that audience. It is interesting that rather than dismissing the abused practices of Matthew 6:1-18 he reinforces a right use of them. Jesus says that your Father will reward you when you give, pray and fast without announcement but with humility and faith.
In addition, the religious leaders in Judaism invented all manner of minor commands to ensure people didn’t come close to breaking the major commands. And here Jesus tackles those who abuse good, God-commanded practices - giving to the needy, prayer and fasting - to promote their self-image and standing in the religious community. This is what hypocrites - those who present a false impression of who they really are - commonly do. And Jesus will have none of it, instead frequently commending those who come to God humbly and who know their need for mercy.
While the New Testament uses the term ‘religion’ positively, what is meant in this title - Jesus on Religion - are those man-made practices that attempt to control people’s way of relating with God that has nothing to do with the heart of his commands.
In Jesus’ day Many of the Jews Jesus clashed with were, in many ways, pious, God-fearing and seeking to be obedient. But their approach to God descended into a performance-based religion. Obeying laws while missing the intent of them; obeying the minor laws at the expense of the greater ones; maintaining purity while lacking love and compassion for the unclean; being one thing externally but another internally.
In our day The instinct to trust our own work rather than Jesus’ work is alive and well today in the many religions of the world. Every other belief system is based, one way or another, on reassuring the person that their ‘good works’ will bring them favour. And sadly, such thinking is not uncommon in the church too. The counter-cultural way of Jesus, in stark contrast, says that the only way to receive his favour is to humbly admit our poverty, nakedness and utter lack of credentials.
The church is at her best and shines most brightly in an instinctively religious world, when she remembers that Jesus offers grace to those who recognise their need of him rather than in their ability to please him. ‘Christianity is the unreligion. It turns all our religious instincts on their head’ (Dane Ortlund).
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 5:38-48; cf. Luke 6:27-36
Jesus turns so many expectations upside down. In his kingdom that even extends to how we relate to those who cause us people tremendous trouble. In v 38 he quotes the Old Testament command, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,” which was given to ensure proportionate, rather than indiscriminate, punishment - in other words, a punishment should fit the crime, not exceed it through anger and vengeance. Jesus upends that principle with a call to his disciples to allow the person who mistreats them to make further requests and even dish out further mistreatment - it doesn’t get much more counter-cultural than that!
In v 43 he quotes another Old Testament command - “Love your neighbour” - and adds something commonly believed but not based in Scripture - “hate your enemy.” Instead, he calls his disciples to, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
But how difficult it is to have such an attitude! Our natural response is to want to get equal, to seek pay back for the offender - “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” All of which tells us that to love our enemies will only be possible if there is a super-natural power available to us - which is part of the wider message of the Sermon on the Mount, along with the fact that because we are incapable of being all that Jesus taught, we need one (Jesus) who has lived for us the righteous life that God requires.
The reasons Jesus gives for this counter-cultural attitude of love instead of hate are:
i) v 45: “that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” If your Father treats all people with grace, so should you. Hence, he adds, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
ii) vs 46-47: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” His kingdom is a sacrificial, gracious one and his people must therefore do more than simply love those who love them.
iii) Plus the implicit example of Jesus himself who loved his enemies (see Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21).
In Jesus’ day: Keeping a distance from those who were not like you was a basic part of life for the privileged. The famous prayer of a pious Jew - “Blessed are you O God, King of the Universe, who has not made me a Gentile, a slave or a woman” - highlights the contempt with which male Jews viewed others in God’s creation.
In our day: We live in a very judgmental age. For all the talk of tolerance, critical attitudes seem to be more abundant than ever, especially through the channel of social media. Every detail of the lives of public figures are scrutinised in great detail; popular news reports about politicians, sports stars and celebrities are filled with gossip; the average person feels increasingly emboldened to publish their judgements from the distance of their online accounts.
So what a contrast the counter-cultural people of God can be. To love instead of hate; to welcome those who are not like us and who disagree with us; to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” seeking, by the power of the Spirit, to respond graciously even when we are criticised and mistreated.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 20:20-28
While there are some remarkable exceptions, there’s something in the human condition that wants to be served, appreciated, recognised. Having just said to his disciples that he would be “delivered over,” “condemn[ed] to death,” “mocked and flogged and crucified”, James and John come to Jesus with their mother who asks an audacious and ill-thought-out question because she wants them to be served, appreciated and recognised: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
In one sense, they could be praised for the faith they have in him - they clearly believe that Jesus was going to be a king of some sort. In their thinking presumably that would be a renewed kingdom of Israel, based in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 1:6). But they’ve completely misunderstood the nature of Jesus the king and of the kingdom Jesus is inaugurating. His reply - “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” - is met with more confidence, “Yes we can,” which simply serves to underline their lack of understanding.
Not surprisingly, the other disciples are indignant with James and John, but that only betrays the fact that they were not so dissimilar. Jesus uses this as the perfect teaching opportunity: “You’ve seen how the Gentile rulers and high officials make the most of their position; well, I do it differently. I measure greatness through service; things are reversed in this kingdom. And you know that has to be the way, because that’s how I, the king in this kingdom, live and die.”
In Jesus’ day: Status, power and a good reputation were of great importance to the religious elites of Jesus’ day. It wasn’t only the rulers of the Gentiles and their high officials who loved to exercise their positions of influence for selfish reasons; the Jewish leaders were guilty of the same and Jesus had strong words for them too.
In the background were many Old Testament instances of power being misused and abused. One might think of David using his position to seduce Bathsheeba, Solomon breaking God’s command and gaining 700 wives and 300 concubines or the many kings of Israel and Judah who led the people astray, using their power for their own shortsighted benefit.
In our day: ‘Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ It remains as difficult today as it ever has to use power with humility, to use position and influence for the benefit of others. Whether it’s politicians, business leaders, church leaders or any other person of influence, the challenge to serve rather than be served continues. Power may be a dangerous thing, but Jesus shows a way of using it selflessly, setting the pattern for us, as is clear from his words in Matthew 20.
To a world who sees everyone, including the church, being out to get something for their own benefit, our challenge is to use our wealth, possessions, time and talents for the benefit of others. If we could practise what Peter instructs - to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others” - it would have an immense impact on the people around us and demonstrate that the counter-cultural life in God’s kingdom is one of using our advantages to benefit others and where greatness is redefined as servanthood.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 5:27-30
The Old Testament sexual ethic said that marriage (a one man, one woman covenant) is the sole God-given context for a sexual relationship. So when Jesus says here, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’” he’s referring to the creation narrative and to the seventh commandment (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) - and all the subsequent teaching.
There are many stories of sexual activity outside the boundaries set by God in the Old Testament - from David’s adultery with Bathsheeba to the rape of Tamar to Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concubines. All of which shows that adhering to those boundaries has been an age-old challenge.
So why was this command given? For at least three inter-related reasons: because sexual intimacy is a serious thing in a way unlike other human contact; because it expresses a unity that only makes sense in marriage; and because it pictures the exclusive relationship between God and his people.
Sexual intimacy with someone who is not your spouse unites that person to someone other than their spouse (see 1 Corinthians 6:16) and thus breaks the marriage covenant. Far from downplaying sex, the Christian faith elevates it. In a world that sees sex as little more than the satisfying of a physical appetite, God, who designed us a sexual beings, sees it as an intimate, covenantal act.
The action he recommends in order to avoid committing adultery in the heart sounds extreme indeed! But out of love for us, he warns us to do whatever is necessary to avoid the dire consequences of adultery. Although v 28 is addressed to men, it is clear that the command applies to both men and women. Whether the entrance of sin is through the eye with which you see or the hand with which you touch, the best course of action is to ruthlessly “gouge it out” or “cut it off.”
In Jesus’ day:
The Rabbis gave a limited, narrow interpretation of the seventh commandment - as long as one avoided the physical act of adultery, one had kept that law. But as Jesus so often did, he here exposes their convenient interpretation and raises the stakes to include the attitude God wants and the intent behind the original command. “Do not commit adultery” was always meant to be a heart matter, not simply a physical matter; it is surely true that if people keep adultery from their hearts, they will certainly keep it from their conduct.
In our day:
We could sum up our day as suffering from sexual saturation and sexual confusion:
Sexual saturation. Huge businesses are ploughing vast sums of money into shaping our view of sex and sexuality. From tv to adverts to news to the easy availability of pornography, we are bombarded with the message that sexual fulfilment is one of the key points of life.
Sexual confusion. A crisis of epidemic proportions is currently being experienced by people of all ages, but especially the young. While much progress has been made in helping people to be open and authentic, the encouragement to question one’s gender and sexuality has led to immense confusion.
In that context, Jesus’ instruction that, “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” is probably one of his most counter-cultural statements which calls us to radical purity that may seem strange to the world around us, but may increasingly be attractive too.
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 6:19-24
Jesus spoke frequently about the place of money, wealth and treasure. He applauded the faith of a widow who gave her last resources into the offering in the temple; he called the rich ruler to “sell all that you have and distribute to the poor”; he said we should pay our taxes (even to the oppressive Roman regime!); he warned people that it’s foolish to store up treasure for ourselves, while not being rich towards God. And at the end of this passage Jesus puts it very clearly: “You cannot serve both God and Money.” Why? Simply because, “no one can serve two masters.” Our wholehearted allegiance to one will mean we cannot possibly have the same allegiance to the other.
There’s no question that Jesus’ teaching on money, possessions and comfort is hugely challenging to the selfish instincts in every person. But Jesus gives good reason for serving God rather than Money - in contrast to the temporary, insecure nature of “treasures on earth,” Jesus commends the pursuit of “treasures in heaven” because they are eternal and secure. At the core, the question of who we will serve - God or Money - is a heart issue: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus is never simply challenging people to modify their behaviour so as to become more moral; rather he wants hearts that are God-first, focussed on eternal, rather than earthly, treasure.
In Jesus’ day: Whether Jesus has in mind the religious hypocrites he’s just been talking about (vs 1-18) or the secular, pagan people who he will soon refer to (v 32) is not clear. In Jewish thinking, the blessed life was believed to be the one that was healthy and wealthy, very much like it is in our day. The obedient life was surely evidenced by God’s physical and material blessing (see the Old Testament promises). And in the rest of pagan society, the natural desire for comfort and to trust in one’s resources could equally be in view. Either way, Jesus warned people not to calculate things materially. Moths, vermin and thieves were very real problems in Jesus’ day!
In our day: Money, possessions and material comfort have undoubtedly become an idol in our day. While many do still live in poverty, it is true that the higher living standards generally become, the more we desire and feel we are entitled to. We’re all chasing that bit more. This idol, just like any other, leads us to trust in and find joy and meaning in the measure of our material assets rather than in God. Our challenges may come less from moths, vermin and thieves, but other ‘enemies’ equally mean that our earthly resources are insecure - inflation, scams, our own greed.
What is “treasure in heaven?” Certainly not any sort of good works by which we accumulate heavenly merit. Stott argues that Jesus likely means, ‘anything on earth whose effects last for eternity,’ such as growth in Christlike character, introducing others to Jesus, growing in love for God and others. What Jesus is certainly commending is an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one. God’s people are counter-cultural because they’ve made their choice to set their hearts and minds on the things of God, “where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor during the Second World War, wrote, ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’ Bonhoeffer was hanged in 1945 for his part in plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The idea of cost is rarely communicated when Christians talk of following Jesus. We tend to speak of benefits, blessings and gain - all of which is absolutely true, of course. We follow Jesus because of what he gives. Yet Jesus was unafraid to speak of the cost of following him - to the rich ruler in Luke 18, to his 12 disciples in Matthew 10 & 16 or to a teacher of the law in Matthew 8. In each case, Jesus confronts people’s confidence to follow him with the cost of doing so.
The account of Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:21-27 come immediately after the high point of Peter’s confession (vs 13-20). Peter cannot comprehend that Jesus will suffer and be killed (v 21) so he rebukes Jesus - for which he receives a far greater rebuke in return (v 23). Then comes the teaching about the cost of following him:
v 24: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
v 25: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
This counter-cultural logic is set in the context of the time when, “the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels.” What we may have left behind for him in this life will be far surpassed by the wonderful rewards of that life.
In Jesus’ day: The Romans crucified tens of thousands of people who they saw as trouble, or a danger to, the Roman state. But to take up a cross voluntarily would have been a bit of a mystery.
Being a pious Jew brought respect, honour and a good reputation; now Jesus is calling his disciples to leave all that behind in favour of a cross, self-denial and losing the life they had known. For them, following Jesus meant literally leaving their fishing business or their tax collector’s booth!
In our day: It’s perhaps not surprising that most of us prefer the cheapest, easiest and most comfortable options. And that can be true today in matters of faith just as in any other area of life. However, in the Luke 14 passage it’s very interesting that Jesus encourages the “large crowds” who were travelling with him to face up to the cost. He insists that it is only logical to count the cost before embarking on being his disciple. This is in stark contrast to many modern invitations to follow Jesus in which our need for Jesus and the benefits he brings are laid out, but the challenges, costs and sacrifices are rarely mentioned.
While most of us are not facing imminent persecution for following Jesus, the cost to us will surely be greatly felt if we are truly submitted to following him above all else. What does denying ourselves, taking up our cross and losing our lives for Jesus look like today?
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 5:3-12
‘The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete delineation anywhere in the New Testament of the
Christian counter-culture’ (John Stott). This famous sermon begins with Jesus issuing nine statements about the blessed life. It is crucial to rightly understand what it means to be “blessed.” Stott says, `It is seriously misleading to render ‘blessed’ to mean ‘happy’. For happiness is a subjective state, whereas Jesus is making an objective judgement about these people. He is declaring not what they may feel like (‘happy’), but what God thinks of them and what on that account they are: they are ‘blessed’.’
The nine characteristics are not so much a list of things to do to be blessed, but the types of people who are blessed. However, they represent essential attitudes expected of the person whose life is submitted to God.
It is clear that God is the one who bestows the blessings. Each of the first eight statements (vs 3-10) have a corresponding promise. The ninth statement also has a corresponding promise: “because great is your reward in heaven.” It is likely that all of these promises have both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ dimensions, as is prominent in NT teaching.
In Jesus’ day
The good life, as defined by the majority of Jews, was seen as the prosperous life, the life honoured by the rest of one’s community, the life kept ‘pure’ by remaining separate from the unclean. Positive outward circumstances were believed to be evidence of God’s blessing and it was clear to all that God’s blessing had been withdrawn from those whose circumstances were negative. To understand this prevailing mindset, consider Job’s ‘comforters’ or the question asked by Jesus’ disciples in John 9:2: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus is saying in his statements that the blessed life is so much more than outward circumstances: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, etc are those who will know God’s presence and provision (both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’). The blessed life as Jesus sees it is defined purely in relation to how God views a person.
In our day
It doesn’t take much analysis of our 21st century culture to conclude that the good life is believed to be the full, prosperous life free from trouble or need. We’re trained to believe that more is better, that popularity is where significance comes from, that the blessed life is the comfortable one.
But Jesus’ words are a head-on challenge to a hedonistic world that promotes ease and self-fulfilment. He finishes with the counter-cultural statement: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” The promise attached to this blessing is also counter-cultural: “great is your reward in heaven.” It’s a future-oriented reward in contrast to our culture that believes you must get what you can now.
About this talk: Scripture: Matthew 15v21-28
It’s part of human nature to want to belong; we all want to fit in. By definition, society is made up of people who connect - who fit in with one another - that’s what makes up a society; the sense that we ‘belong’ to one another; the sense of a common identity.
This desire to belong is Biblical. When God created human beings, first he made Adam who was a perfect example of humanity: He was healthy, he was sinless, and he had unbroken fellowship with God. And yet God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2v18) … which led to the creation of woman. That happened while there was no sin in the world; Adam wasn’t lacking a relationship with God; everything was perfect and sinless in the world and his relationship with God was perfect when God said, “It is not good for man to be alone”.
Without human relationships, we get lonely. God is looking to have a relationship with every one of us, and without a relationship with God there will always be something missing in your life, but our relationship with God doesn’t mean we don’t need good human relationships too!
This desire to belong is why in some recent surveys done in the UK asking about the challenges people faced, the biggest issue identified was “Loneliness”. So what is God’s cure for loneliness? Psalm 68v6, “God sets the lonely in families.” Family is important; it’s part of God’s plan for us ... and the church is God’s family; his household. The church is intended to be a community, a family, where lonely people can find a place to belong. So why are lonely people not flocking to churches to find family and a place to belong? Could it be because most people don’t think of church as a place where they could belong? Could it be that people think they will feel excluded and judged?
About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise.
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture.
About this talk: Matthew 22:34-40
This famous encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees comes towards the end of a series of similar encounters, where various groups are seen questioning Jesus. Chapter 21 ends, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”
Jesus has entered Jerusalem on a donkey (21:1-11) and is now less than a week from his crucifixion. The tension is high and the religious authorities are plotting how to arrange for him to be killed. All of this is the immediate setting for the question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” On the face of it, this is a perfectly reasonable question, but it should be noted that the expert in the Law was seeking to test Jesus.
Rather than give one of the 10 commandments, Jesus answers with the commandment recited every day by faithful Jews, from Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. To which he adds, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (from Leviticus 19:18). In other words, love for God, which is first, is intimately connected to love for others.
In Jesus’ day: In a very God-conscious culture, the Jewish Rabbis had found 613 commandments in the law and added many other restrictions to ensure they didn’t break any of them. They liked to put another level of ‘fencing’ around the commandments so that people would be in no danger of breaking any of the laws. The Pharisees’ priority had been to obey God by keeping all the commandments; Jesus says the priority is to love God and others. If they focus on that, they will obey find that they are in fact obeying God and keeping the intent of all his commandments.
In our day: In our God-unconscious culture the continual message is that your priority is to your own happiness, to realise your own potential and express the ‘real you.’ And so, from a very different angle, Jesus’ words challenge the core narrative of our day. He strips away all the nonsense about self-actualisation (loving oneself as the central point of life) and refocusses us on loving God with all we have; which, if genuine, then flows to loving and caring for others with the same intensity we love and care for ourselves (cf. James 2:14-26).
About this talk: Russ reminds us of how God has been speaking to Citygate about ‘pruning for fruitfulness’ - by continually abiding in him. We also celebrate some of the high points of the year so far and look ahead to this next term, where we will be focusing on equipping ourselves to be the Lord’s harvesters.
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him -Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers -Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:12-17
As we come to the end of this passage, the ‘vertical’ meets the ‘horizontal,’ as it always does in the Bible. Loving God - because we are intimately connected to the vine - will result in loving people. Reference can be made again to Mark 12:28-34, to the many NT commands, to the ethics outlined in the OT and so on - loving people cannot be separated from claiming to love God or to having received his love.
The command to love one another was not a new one (see Leviticus 19:18); but Jesus redefines it because now it is his love for his disciples that is their model for loving others - “love each other as I have loved you.” He’s already loved them despite their mistakes, he’s served them wholeheartedly, even washing their feet.
But he now qualifies the depth of his love by looking ahead to what he knows is coming in a few hours’ time in agony on the cross: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And the love he has for them has led him to call them his friends, not only servants (though elsewhere in the NT we are referred to as servants of God). His friends do what he commands and have been brought into very close fellowship with him such that, “everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” and that, “whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
With a final encouragement that all this has come about through his own initiative and that he has appointed them to bear fruit (it’s a promise, not just a possibility), Jesus says, “This is my command: love each other.” There really is no greater expression of the life of the vine flowing through the branches than that they love one another - that is, in large part, what it means to be fruitful.
Brain Edgar: ‘Love becomes an indispensable quality of life for the believer precisely because it is the essential dynamic of the divine life. Christians are to live in love because God is love. Love is not just a good idea, a useful expediency or a noble virtue, it is a participation in the life of God.’
We look at: - What the pattern of Jesus’ love for us shows to us, practically, about how to love others. - Some of the real-life ways we’ve been challenged in living out the command to “love each other”? - What practical encouragement can we give to help people with some ideas about how to love as Jesus has loved us?
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him - Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers - Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:9-11
Such was his closeness to Jesus and so infused were his gospel and his letters with love that John became known in the church as ‘the apostle of love.’ Here he records Jesus proceeding to show what is the primary element in abiding - remaining in him means remaining in his love. It is the life of his love flowing through us that will lead us to be fruitful in loving both God and people.
Verse 9 affirms the extraordinary quality and measure of love that Jesus has for his disciples - the same love that his Father has for him. This is restated in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:26: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Our part is to “remain in my love.” The privilege of what we have been brought into is truly mind-blowing. The life and love shared by the Father and the Son is so closely paralleled to the life and love we share with the Father, the Son and the Spirit. No wonder Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” He has done everything for us; our part is to make sure our connection to the life and love of Jesus is not hindered. And the route to doing so is perhaps surprising - obedience. “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.” What he surely doesn’t mean is that he will love us if / when we keep his commands - that would be to make his love dependent on our behaviour. What he means is that our experience of his love and of his life flowing to us, the branches, will depend on us staying obedient to him and thus connected to him. Which is exactly how he says he has remained in his Father’s love.
All of which works for our joy, v 11. But just as it is his life flowing through us, it will be his joy flowing through us - “so that my joy may be in you.” And if his joy fills us then our joy really will be complete. Obedience to Jesus keeps us in his love, the result of which is joy in him, which works to motivate us to be obedient - and so the cycle continues.
We look at: - The extraordinary nature of Jesus’ love for us. - The reality that knowing God’s love leads to obedience, which leads further into a desire to be obedient. - How we can keep ourselves conscious of God’s love for us?
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him -Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers - Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:8
Why does anything exist? Or more personally: Why do we exist? Here’s that question famously phrased as a ‘what?’ in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (17th century): ‘What is the chief end of man?’ Answer: ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’
The glory of God is the answer to most ‘Why?’ questions. The great point of life is that God might be known and loved and magnified for the beautiful, awesome, supreme being that he is. Which is the point Jesus makes here in v 8: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The ESV translation - “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” - makes the connection even clearer: bearing much fruit glorifies the Father as we demonstrate that we are Jesus’ disciples.
One of the tragedies of the church through the centuries has been its inability or unwillingness to bear fruit that shows the greatness of God to the world. Some examples could be cited. And yet God’s intention has always been that the people he calls to himself will be a witness of his greatness to a watching world - see, for example, Deuteronomy 4:1-8; Isaiah 49:5-7; 1 Peter 2:9-10;
Just as the Son brings glory to the Father (John 13:31; 14:13; 17:4), so those through whom the life of the Son flows will bring glory to the Father because the fruit of their lives will reflect that of the Son, the true vine and truly fruitful one. Hence, the imagery of pruning and cutting (v 2) is part of the process by which the gardener works to ensure that he is increasingly glorified in his people’s increasingly Christlike lives.
We look at: - Help people to grasp the concept of God’s glory, using NT teaching and illustrations. - Give some examples of how bearing fruit brings glory to God. - Help people to see abiding in Jesus not as a self-centered goal in itself, but as being filled with the life of Jesus so as to know God’s greatness more and to make his greatness known more.
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him -Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers - Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:4-7
It will be important here to work through what Jesus means by “fruit,” as people may otherwise make various assumptions - see notes in the Introduction, above. Having spoken about who he is - the true vine - and who his Father is - the gardener - Jesus now explains the route to fruitfulness. “Remain” (NIV, used 11 times in vs 1-10) and “abide” (ESV, used 10 times in vs 1 - 10) are a translation of Gk. meno, μενω, meaning to remain in him, abide in him, stay intimately connected to him, be faithful to him.
The dynamic relationship shared by Jesus and the disciple is highlighted by the double “in” - “remain in me, as I also remain in you” (v 4, cf. 14:20). Becoming a follower of Jesus means so many things - forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption, justification, etc - and includes this dual sharing of life. The believer is like a sponge dipped in water - the sponge is in the water and the water is also in the sponge. The fruit produced by a vine comes from connection, not primarily from effort - it is a drawing on the vine’s life that then flows through the branch to produce the fruit (see Galatians 5 vs 22 - 23).
Jesus remains in us because he is faithful and has promised to never leave. But our remaining in him is something we are personally responsible for (though that needs balancing with the assurance that as much as we are to be at work keeping ourselves in him, he is at work to keep us in him - see 1 John 5:18; Jude 21 & 24).
It’s worth noting that, while modern westerners will instinctively hear Jesus’ words as having an individual application, the commands are mostly plural in the original language. While this clearly has individual implications, the thrust, as usual in the Bible, is on living the life of following Jesus together - including remaining/abiding and being fruitful.
The language Jesus uses is stark - “Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…apart from me you can do nothing.” He does not say we will be less fruitful or not as fruitful as we could be, but that we can bear no fruit apart from remaining in him. And yet those words are a promise, too, filled with hope - “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
Verse 6 appears to elaborate on the gardener’s task in v 2, of “cut[ting] off every branch in me that bears no fruit” by stating here, “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” These are branches that were said to be “in me,” but the language suggests the gardener is doing more than only cutting away the dead wood (see notes on v 2 in no. 3, above). Rather, it appears to be the decisive destruction of the fruitless, lifeless branch, with the mention of fire and burning leading us to think that eternal judgment is in mind. In that reading, these would be people who appeared to be disciples, but by their lack of fruit have ultimately shown that they never were connected to the vine.
Again, as in the notes on v 2, above, we should be careful not to push the metaphor to answer questions it was not intended to. In commenting on this issue in this verse, Gary Burge puts it this way: ‘The principle is simple: Jesus (and the vine) are the source of life; to fail to have him is to fail to have life. To refuse to “remain in Jesus” (15:6a) is to refuse the gift of life he offers.’
We certainly should not interpret this in a way that leads to anyone losing the assurance of salvation. The genuine believer will persevere to the end because they are righteous in Christ and will be kept by him.
We look at: - What does it look like in practice to remain/abide in Jesus? What unhelpful preconceptions might people have that need deconstructing? - Given the privilege and mystery of prayer, what are we to make of, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”? - How does being in the community help us to remain/abide and be fruitful?
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him -Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers - Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:2
Much would have been understood by Jesus’ disciples and by those who heard this teaching passed on which escapes us in our largely non-agricultural society. The gardener does many things - planting, watering, digging, protecting - but Jesus mentions only two here: “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Essentially he removes dead wood (in winter) and prunes healthy branches (in spring), both of which involve taking his knife to the vine, but with different aims.
We can make some sense of pruning - most of us understand the concept and have made an attempt at trimming plants, however unskilled, to remove unwanted growth and to encourage further growth. It is sometimes amazing to watch an experienced gardener seemingly come close to destroying a plant with severe pruning. But they know what they’re doing and are not indiscriminately hacking at the plant, but are enabling the plant to focus its energy where it is most needed to maximize fruitfulness.
For the disciple, pruning is most likely to be a painful experience: restricting in some ways or removing aspects of their experience. Other passages that come to mind in connection with the idea of pruning might be the story of Joseph; Psalm 119:65-80; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Hebrews 12:4-13.
But what are we to make of, “He cuts off (or takes away, cuts out) every branch in me that bears no fruit”? There’s plenty of debate about who such branches are. While we should be cautious about pushing the analogy too far or trying to be overly precise, here are some of the options proposed for who these fruitless branches are:
i) These are people who have only appeared to be among his people. They are fruitless, nominal believers who are shown in the end not to have had his life flowing through them after all; they never were true believers connected to the vine. If so, this could be a reference to Judas (who has left the group to betray Jesus) in contrast to the 11 others who, v 3, “are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” The issue with this view is that these are branches who are “in me” and that elsewhere in John, the phrase “in me” refers almost always to those who are positively connected to Jesus, not those who only appear to be.
ii) They are people who were genuine disciples, but have failed to remain in Jesus, have drifted away from him, and thus have lost their salvation. However, this would be contrary to Jesus’ teaching in, for example, John 10:28-29 and to the assurance of salvation (based on Jesus alone) that runs throughout the NT.
iii) They are genuine disciples. Here, the clue is in the fact that they are branches “in me.” These are disciples who belong to him, from whom the Father is cutting out those parts that are dead wood so that the fruitful parts can grow unhindered to bear more fruit. However, v 6 goes on to say, “If you do not remain in me (note “in me” again), you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned,” which seems, in the language Jesus used elsewhere, to speak of eternal judgment. See notes on v 6 in no. 4, below.
It is certainly a difficult verse (as is verse 6, which appears related to this one) but we can at least say that we should expect the Father to lovingly and graciously work in us to make us more fruitful for his glory, pruning us where Christ’s life is already flowing through us and even removing unhelpful things from us.
We look at: - What might pruning look and feel like in our lives? Can we give some personal illustrations of where we have experienced this? -How can we be sure to maintain a humble submissive attitude to the Father’s pruning work? - And how can we discern when the pain we are feeling is his pruning work, as opposed to just the toughness of life or the opposition from the devil? Or can they at times be one and the same thing?
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him -Keeping his glory as the goal Connecting to fellow believers
Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc)
Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:1b
This is the only “I am” saying where Jesus also states who God the Father is within the same imagery - the gardener. Though the focus of the extended metaphor is Jesus, the Father is not incidental to it - it is he who “cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (v 2); the goal is the Father’s glory (v 8), and the Father’s love is central (v9).
Jesus calls God his Father frequently - four times in this passage and 32 times in total in John (eg. 2:15; 5:16; 10:17). He is describing the uniqueness of his relationship with God - he is uniquely the Father’s Son. But wonderfully, he then brings his disciples into that Father-son relationship by virtue of adoption into his family. The very same God is our Father! When Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, he says to her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17). While he is the unique Son, we are all sons and daughters of the same Father.
In OT references Israel being God’s vineyard, it is God himself who planted and cared for it. And here the Father is described as the gardener (a Greek word meaning farmer generally and vinedresser specifically in this context). The beauty of the Trinity’s work in our lives is explained at different times as being the work of the Father (here), the Son (eg. Matthew 28:20), and the Holy Spirit (see John 14 & 16). They are so one and united that they are all at work in our lives, but here it is the Father who is said to be tending to the branches of the vines. How he does that - by removing dead wood and pruning healthy branches - will be described in v 2.
We look at: - How does this term - gardener - fit with other terms used to describe God throughout the Bible? -What images and ideas does God as the gardener bring to mind? What does a gardener or vinedresser actually do? -If the Father is the gardener, he is the owner of the vineyard and the one whose reputation is bound up with the vineyard. How do we abide in such a way that he remains our focus and whose glory we seek?
About this talk: Scripture: Matthew 15v21-28
It’s part of human nature to want to belong; we all want to fit in. By definition, society is made up of people who connect - who fit in with one another - that’s what makes up a society; the sense that we ‘belong’ to one another; the sense of a common identity.
This desire to belong is Biblical. When God created human beings, first he made Adam who was a perfect example of humanity: He was healthy, he was sinless, and he had unbroken fellowship with God. And yet God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2v18) … which led to the creation of woman. That happened while there was no sin in the world; Adam wasn’t lacking a relationship with God; everything was perfect and sinless in the world and his relationship with God was perfect when God said, “It is not good for man to be alone”.
Without human relationships, we get lonely. God is looking to have a relationship with every one of us, and without a relationship with God there will always be something missing in your life, but our relationship with God doesn’t mean we don’t need good human relationships too!
This desire to belong is why in some recent surveys done in the UK asking about the challenges people faced, the biggest issue identified was “Loneliness”. So what is God’s cure for loneliness? Psalm 68v6, “God sets the lonely in families.” Family is important; it’s part of God’s plan for us ... and the church is God’s family; his household. The church is intended to be a community, a family, where lonely people can find a place to belong. So why are lonely people not flocking to churches to find family and a place to belong? Could it be because most people don’t think of church as a place where they could belong? Could it be that people think they will feel excluded and judged?
About this series: At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example: - Through staying conscious of him at all times - Submitting our decisions to him - Keeping his glory as the goal - Connecting to fellow believers - Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc) - Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk: Scripture: John 15:1a
In the agricultural context of Israel’s life - in which fig, olive and vine trees were widely grown - he is doing more than simply making use of an Old Testament image. As with all of his “I am” sayings (of which this is the last), Jesus is saying he is the fulfillment of what came before, so much better than all that came before. He is not only another vine; he is the vine.
And only in this “I am” saying does Jesus take an image used for God’s people and apply it to himself. He’s saying that in contrast to Israel - God’s chosen people, called to be fruitful, but who were not - he is the chosen Son who will truly be fruitful. Where all others have fallen short, he will be faithful and fruitful.
As the true vine, Jesus is the one in whom God’s mission will be realised. Israel’s call to faithfulness to God was a call to be fruitful for him - living in a way that honoured him and showed the world he is the one true God. That mission has ended because of Israel’s continual unfaithfulness, but will be accomplished through Jesus and all who are united to him.
And Jesus is the one through whom we ourselves will be fruitful. Once again we cannot avoid the fact that Jesus is pointing to himself as the end-goal and focal point of God’s story. All that went before leads to him and finds its fulfilment in him; all that comes after flows from him and finds its meaning in him. If he is the true vine, it is only in connection to him that any of the branches can hope to bear any fruit themselves.
We look at: - Given the Bible’s storyline, in what ways has Jesus fulfilled the role of the fruitful vine? What was it about him that made him so fruitful? How did he live in a way that was faithful to the Father’s call/mission, and was therefore fruitful? - Though this anticipates later parts of the series if he is the true, fruitful vine, how can we, the branches (see v 5), stay connected to him so that we ourselves are fruitful? - What can we do, in practical terms, to remain connected to the vine and ensure his life is flowing through us?
About this series:
This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Genesis 2:15, Romans 8:18-23
According to NASA, climate change, “encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.”
Likewise, NASA describes global warming as “the long-term heating of the Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in the Earth’s atmosphere.”
It is perhaps inevitable that in filling the earth, subduing it, working it and taking care of it (Genesis 1:28 and 2:15), it was that some changes would always have happened to the earth. However, it is the lack of care taken over mankind’s impact on the climate that is at issue here. Climate change is leading to mass migration and is disproportionately affecting poorer and more vulnerable peoples, where unstable government, conflict and poverty.
Climate change is a ‘threat multiplier’ (a term coined by the US Military) - the effects of the usual weather threats such as flooding, heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, ‘The warmer it gets, the more frequent or the stronger and more damaging these events are getting’ (Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist, Texas Tech University).
And then there are long-term changes, such as rising sea level, directly endangering the two-thirds of the world’s cities, many in developing countries which lie within a metre of current sea level (Katharine Hayhoe).
We look at: - Giving some examples of the way climate change is a hunger issue, a poverty issue, an inequality issue, an issue disproportionately affecting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. - What are some achievable steps we can suggest people consider to make a small contribution to tackling climate change?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Psalm 24:1 One of the central tenets of the Bible is that God is creator, sustainer and owner of all that exists - “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). As Abraham Kuyper said, ‘There is not a square inch over the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign of all, does not cry: “Mine!”’
Clearly, a crucial part of this belief is that God has called mankind to care for the earth, the planet on which we live. The two pairs of instructions given to Adam were:
- Genesis 1:28: “fill the earth (bring it to fulness, abundance) and subdue it (bring it into order, submission).”
- Genesis 2:15: “work it” (serve, cultivate) and take care of it (keep, preserve, guard).”
In fact, there is a clear connection in Genesis 1:26 between being made in God’s image and ruling over creation, which the NIV translation brings out: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over…’”
Much of history has demonstrated mankind working this out in harmony with the earth’s resources - God, after all, has ensured we have all the resources we need for sustainable life on earth. But in more recent centuries and decades, when we have gained the knowledge to exploit the earth’s resources and when population growth has given the need to do so, our care of the earth could not be described so favourably in the terms used in Genesis 1 & 2.
From deforestation to the pollution of water sources, from use of fossil fuels to loss of biodiversity, from poor waste management to over-harvesting we have failed to take care of the earth that belongs to God and which he called us to be caretakers of.
All of which calls for repentance over our wrongdoing and courageous decisions to reverse this trend.
We look at: - What does “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” mean for each of us in practice? - How mankind is and is not stewarding the earth? - How do we balance our responsibility to take care of God’s earth with the belief that, “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” as we look forward “to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10,13)?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a
Dame Cicely Saunders, Founder of the Hospice Movement, famously said, ‘You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.’
The way old age is viewed in the modern, western world is different from how it has historically been and still is in many parts of the world. While the elderly can be led to feel they are a burden in our society, many eastern societies honour, protect and value their elders. In China, for example, the requirement to respect the elderly is enshrined in law.
In one sense, the statement in Ecclesiastes 3, “There is…a time to be born and a time to die” is a statement of the obvious. But it is also a statement recognising God’s sovereignty over the time of our birth and our death. It is therefore dangerous for us to impose ourselves on his timing.
A lack of general awareness of God’s place in life, combined with huge medical advances, has led to many changes in our world; one of which is the way many people now view options around the end of life, especially given our ageing population. Pressure to change the laws on ethanasia, in particular, is strong. Before reacting too quickly against that, it is worth listening to the stories of some who are suffering terribly with incurable and distressing illnesses.
We take a look at: - How does the Bible (and other cultures) encourage us to view older age? - Given that we will all die, how can we help people prepare for facing the difficulties of old age and the end of life in a healthy, faith-filled way? - Are there some practical steps we can encourage people to take to stand up for those facing the end of life or caring for those at the end of life?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Psalm 139:13-18
American writer Pearl Buck: ‘Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.’ Hubert Humphrey, U.S. Vice President from 1965 to 1969, spoke about the treatment of the weakest members of society as a reflection of its government: ‘The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped.’
Theology, of course, informs how we view the whole of life, including, crucially, the beginning and the end points. The Bible speaks about human beings as people before birth on many occasions, for example: Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 1:39-45; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 51:5-6; Galatians 1:15. This has huge implications for our belief about the unborn. In addressing this, we need to be hugely sensitive towards those for whom that is a sensitive subject - those who knew they were not wanted by their parents or who have experienced miscarriage or had an abortion.
The fact that we are all equally made in God’s image means we are all equally valuable: ‘People are equal in the same way pennies are equal. Some are bright, others are dull; some are worn smooth, others are sharp and fresh. But all are equal in value for each for each penny bears the image of the sovereign; each person bears the image of the King of kings’ (Vaughan Roberts). This has great meaning for our beliefs:
- About the inherent value of every single human being.
- That it can never be said of someone that they are a ‘mistake.’
- That as Christians we have a responsibility to speak up for, and care for, those who cannot speak up for themselves.
- About those born with special needs, along with the truths of Psalm 139:13-16. Again, great sensitivity will be needed here.
We look at: - How do attitudes to the beginning of life differ across times and cultures? - What does Psalm 139:13-16 have to say, in practical terms to our attitudes to the beginning of life? - Are there some practical steps we can encourage people to take to stand up for those at the beginning of life and those affected by issues they’ve encountered regarding the beginning of life?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Human beings are integrated wholes, unities of body, mind and spirit. Understanding the part that our mind plays in life and in our overall wellbeing has grown enormously over the last few decades; and yet mental health challenges have risen to levels never seen before.
It may be helpful to explore some of the ways our minds develop and how different people’s mental processes differ - without drawing any simplistic or hard-and-fast rules - as well as highlighting some of the remarkable things our minds can do.
It is true, as Paul says in Romans 12:2 that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds - the often used phrase ‘the battle for the mind’ is a very real arena of warfare. And here in Philippians 4 we are given various encouragements and instructions: to rejoice, to not be anxious but to take our prayers and petitions to God (with the promise that his peace will guard our hearts and minds), to think about certain things and to follow Paul’s example.
Some of the mind-challenges we all face centre on fears and anxieties, which would be worth identifying and facing up to, along with bringing some biblical help, particularly with regard to replacing liew with truth.
Application could include: - Maintaining a healthy mind is a challenge for every one of us. How does Paul’s teaching on “Do not be anxious about anything” equip us for the battle? - What help can we give for people who have developed unhealthy patterns of thinking and how can we encourage them to practise v 8 instead? - If there are areas of your own life where you can be appropriately authentic, that could be extremely helpful.
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
In a world where there is often division between spiritual and physical, the Christian faith affirms the value of both. Most of the modern, western world emphasises physical over spiritual - experiencing all the physical pleasure you can is what matters. In contrast, much of the eastern world has traditionally emphasised spiritual over physical, seeing the physical as unimportant, even illusory.
However, physical matter matters - which we see in God’s physical creation being repeatedly declared as “good” in Genesis 1. We also see this in Jesus taking on flesh and his resurrection to physical life, as we will be raised too. It is in a physical body and in the physical world that we see and experience the spiritual life of God - we are physical temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6).
The body is a remarkable thing, displaying the wisdom of an almighty creator. It could be helpful to give some physical facts about the body to illustrate this.
We will also want to address the twin errors that people can fall into with regard to the body: - Overvaluing the body: focussing on it more than we should, finding our identity in appearance, working too hard to shape it, etc. - Undervaluing the body: neglecting the physical gift God has given us, eating poorly, failing to exercise, etc.
We look at: - How can we steward the gift of our body, neither neglecting it or becoming enslaved to it, especially in our image-obsessed culture? - What help can we offer to those who suffer ill-health, whose body is a source of distress and frustration? - What does 1 Corinthians 6 teach us: “your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit”?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Genesis 2:1-3
‘If you rest you rust,’ wrote American actress Helen Hayes. Virgin Media’s most recent advert uses the line ‘Faster brings us closer’ (a previous strapline was ‘Faster, faster, faster). The pressure to be do more, whether physically or digitally, is relentless. The result, according to a 2018 article in the Independent newspaper, is that, ‘Millions of Brits are ‘overwhelmed’ by mounting work pressures, busy social calendars and financial worries…Research revealed two thirds feel a constant sense of dread caused by the stress of their day-to-day lives.’
Many of us are very poor at resting because we fear missing out, we feel guilty when not being ‘productive’ and we see being busy as a positive reflection on our self worth - when did you last hear a working person confidently say they were getting plenty of rest or happy to say they weren’t very busy. However: - God built the need for regular rest into his creation - Sabbath (how does this command apply to us today?) and sleep. - The discipline of rest is an indicator of being able to trust God. - The positive effects of rest are considerable in terms of physical, mental and relational wellbeing.
Rest, and feeling refreshed, looks very different for different people. For one person, it may be an evening in front of the television, for another it’s an energetic session at the gym. Reading a book may refresh some, while for others reading could be extremely frustrating and stressful! Though many people feel they have too many demands to be able to rest, it is a discipline we all need to take responsibility for. Knowing what refreshes you and finding ways to engage with that is very important.
We look at: - Most people will say they can’t find the time to rest as much as they should? What are some of the reasons we struggle to get sufficient rest (and refreshing) and what do those things say about us? - Different people rest and feel refreshed in different ways. And different people have different limitations. Can we make some suggestions and help people to understand themselves better? - What does it mean to find rest in God (Psalm 62:1, 5)? How do we do that?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Genesis 2:15
By work we mean someone’s primary occupation, whether that is being a businessman, a hairdresser or a parent. Mankind was formed with the capacity to be creative (in the image of a creative God), with the task of ruling, working and taking care of God’s creation. Work is therefore not part of the curse of the Fall; it is a foundational part of God’s good creation, as is clear from Genesis 1 & 2. God intended that Adam and Eve be fruitful in that task and it is only after the Fall that work becomes “toil” (Genesis 3:17) - laborious, wearisome, painful. Not that work wouldn’t have been hard, but that it would not have been characterised by curse, painful toil (v 17), opposition (v 18) and sweat (v 19).
We could say that we all tend to see our work either as treasure or toil. For some it is their treasure - people who live-to-work, finding their life’s central meaning in their work. For others, it’s just toil - those who work-to-live - seeing the purpose for the toil of work as being to pay the bills and help them enjoy the rest of their lives. Others talk of a work-life balance, as though working is not really living.
Both of these ways of viewing work are flawed. Instead, God gives us reasons for working, without making it the reason. Work, then, becomes an avenue for using the creative opportunities God has given, to serve other people and to love him - all of which we do for his glory (see 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23).
We look at: - In what ways are we tempted to adopt an ungodly, unbalanced view of work: living-to-work or working-to-live. In what ways does the concept of stewardship help to redeem the gift of work? - Which elements of our primary occupation do we find rewarding and which are full of toil? How does a healthy theology of work address these? - How can we find the God-given opportunities in our work, especially those we may easily miss?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Genesis 2:15
By work we mean someone’s primary occupation, whether that is being a businessman, a hairdresser or a parent. Mankind was formed with the capacity to be creative (in the image of a creative God), with the task of ruling, working and taking care of God’s creation. Work is therefore not part of the curse of the Fall; it is a foundational part of God’s good creation, as is clear from Genesis 1 & 2. God intended that Adam and Eve be fruitful in that task and it is only after the Fall that work becomes “toil” (Genesis 3:17) - laborious, wearisome, painful. Not that work wouldn’t have been hard, but that it would not have been characterised by curse, painful toil (v 17), opposition (v 18) and sweat (v 19).
We could say that we all tend to see our work either as treasure or toil. For some it is their treasure - people who live-to-work, finding their life’s central meaning in their work. For others, it’s just toil - those who work-to-live - seeing the purpose for the toil of work as being to pay the bills and help them enjoy the rest of their lives. Others talk of a work-life balance, as though working is not really living.
Both of these ways of viewing work are flawed. Instead, God gives us reasons for working, without making it the reason. Work, then, becomes an avenue for using the creative opportunities God has given, to serve other people and to love him - all of which we do for his glory (see 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23).
We look at: - In what ways are we tempted to adopt an ungodly, unbalanced view of work: living-to-work or working-to-live. In what ways does the concept of stewardship help to redeem the gift of work? - Which elements of our primary occupation do we find rewarding and which are full of toil? How does a healthy theology of work address these? - How can we find the God-given opportunities in our work, especially those we may easily miss?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11
There are certain things that are true of every single person - they are created in God’s image, they are mortal until God breathes his life into them, they are loved by God, etc. And every single person has been created with abilities and capacities for the good of other people.
Paul makes this clear in terms of the church family when he writes, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7) and here Peter tells us that, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” In both passages it is clear that what God has given to us is not for us, but for the purpose of serving others, for the common good.
We can apply this to all that we’ve received by God’s common grace, including our time, talents and treasure. Peter encourages us that it is God who provides the gift, the grace and the goal of serving others.
We look at: - Time: all of us use what has given us to serve people in a variety of ways. How can we ensure that our ‘work’ In a time-poor culture like ours. - Talents: how can we identify and deploy our talents for the benefit of others? - Treasure: in a treasure-rich society like ours, how can we grow in generosity towards other people through understanding that we are stewards of those treasures, not owners of them?
About this series: This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk: Scripture: Genesis 1 & 2 This will be an introduction to the series and help to set the scene for all that’s to come within the framework of the mandate outlined above. It is important to note that in giving this mandate, God was blessing Adam & Eve. This is part of what it means to be made in God’s image and to be blessed by him. In order to fulfil God’s intention for humanity and for his creation we need to take hold of this calling.
Essentially, three things are commanded: - “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth” - “Subdue it” - “Work it and take care of it”
We should beware any division of spiritual and physical, a distinction not made by the Bible or the Judaism of Jesus’ time. He declared his physical creation good; Jesus was/is a fully physical human; it is on a newly created earth in resurrected bodies that we will enjoy the new heaven - God’s presence will finally and fully inhabit the physical, as Isaiah and Revelation picture for us.
God is the Lord of all of life; his blessings include both spiritual and physical; we serve and worship him in our physical bodies and the call remains on us to do all we can to appreciate his gifts and to care for them to the best of our ability. Hence in this series we’ll look at various areas related to that.
We look at: - What does it mean to be a steward? - What do the three commands (above) actually mean (check words in the original language). - In what ways might we be in danger of counting the spiritual ahead of the physical?
About this talk: Scripture: Acts 2
We look at what it means to belong in a Christian community. The book of Acts tells us about the early Christian church, how the believers were in community with each other, and what held them together after Jesus ascended to heaven. Our passage in Acts 2 will hopefully teach us how we all have an equally important part to play.
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3 As we celebrate Easter Sunday we hear stories of lives transformed, and how future hope can be found in Jesus - no matter our current circumstances.
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: Revelation 5:1-14 In Revelation 1, John sees a magnificent vision of Jesus. In chapters 2&3 he receives messages from the risen Jesus for seven churches in Asia Minor. Then in chapter 4, John is told, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” He’s being allowed to see the king who reigns and what the king will do to defeat his enemies.
And now in chapter 5 John sees God holding in his right hand an unusual scroll: written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. It contains God’s plans for history and redemption, but it is perfectly secured (seven seals). His anguish, v 4, is because, “because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.” If God’s redemptive purposes in history for our salvation are to unfold, it must be opened, enacted, fulfilled. Without a Saviour who can open the scroll and bring about God’s redemptive purposes, there is only weeping.
But John is told, to his great relief, v 5, that Christ has triumphed and, “is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” First we’re told that the one who has triumphed is a Lion (v 5) and that he is a Lamb (vs 6-8) who is praised and worshipped by the four living creatures, the 24 elders, many angels and “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
He is praised because he is worthy, because of what he has accomplished in his death and because of what he has made his people to be. This chapter presents us with the magnificence of Jesus Christ - the Lion, the Lamb, the one of whom all in heaven and earth forever cry “Worthy.”
We look further into: - What does it mean that Jesus is, v 5, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, [who] has triumphed”? - What does it mean that he is the “Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne”? - Twice in this passage the Lamb is said to be worthy (cf. the need for one who is worthy in vs 2-5). What steps can we take to live in such a way that our lives declare that he is worthy?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk:
Scripture: Revelation 1:4-20
This vision comes to us, v 1, from God to Jesus to an angel and to John and its purpose is to communicate, v 19, “what is now and what will take place later.” To John’s readers, under great persecution, this was to be a hugely comforting set of messages and visions.
In anthropomorphic terms, vs 9-20 brings us a vision of the awesome person and power of Christ. What John heard is described in vs 10-11 and 17-20; what he saw is described in vs 12-16. Despite all he’s previously seen Jesus do and heard him say in the three years he spent with Jesus, there is something so overpowering about this vision that John collapses, v 17. There is always more of Jesus to know and experience - “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
There are so many descriptions of Jesus here. We spend time looking at just some of them to help us gain a greater view of who Jesus is. Above all, this vision is designed to give John, the seven churches and all who would read it, confidence in the ruler, the Alpha and the Omega, the one who holds the keys of people’s destinies and of history.
We look further into:
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To a people under the pressure of persecution because of their faith, what God gives is not solutions to their problems but a greater view of Jesus. What can we do to ensure we keep growing in what we see and hear of Jesus
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What difference does it make to know that Jesus is Lord of history and individual destiny?
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Can you give some personal examples of times when a clearer sight of Jesus has had an impact on your life?
About this series: The entire letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that a knowledge of the Old Testament is crucial to understanding the New Testament. And, in particular, to understanding the person and work of Jesus. Philip Yancey: ‘I can no more understand Jesus apart from his Jewishness than I can understand Gandhi apart from his Indianness. I need to go way back, and picture Jesus as a first-century Jew with a phylactery on his wrist and Palestinian dust on his sandals.’
None of this means that we need to restrict Jesus to his original physical context because, as Hebrews makes clear, Jesus came to do away with the law and the exclusive national identity of God’s people as Israelites. Vs 1-4 show us that the old covenant was “only a shadow” (v 1), could “never…make perfect those who draw near to worship” (v 2) and that it was impossible [for that covenant] to take away sins” (v 3) - God’s plan was always to establish a new covenant that would encompass all nations through Christ as priest and sacrifice.
Once again (see notes on Hebrews 1:1-3, above) there is significant continuity and discontinuity here as the work of Jesus is compared and contrasted to the old covenant. Jesus is at one and the same time both priest and sacrifice, but in a far greater order than anything that came before: - As a priest, he offers the sacrifice and mediates between God and man. - As the sacrifice, he offers himself as the means of our forgiveness and thus makes us holy (vs 10, 14).
We look further into: - Our tendencies to trust in other ‘priests’ to mediate between us and God: our good works, our behaviour, our service for God. - How can our confidence grow in the “once for all” triumph of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (v 10; cf v 2; Heb 7:27; 9:12 and “one sacrifice” in Heb 10:12&14)? - What does it mean to say that “we have been made holy” (v 10) and “are being made holy” (v 14)?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-3
Vs 1 & 2 highlight the continuity and discontinuity of the old and new covenants: - Continuity in that “In the past the God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways” - it’s not that, with the coming of Jesus, an entirely new story has begun, but that he is the continuation of the entire story of the Bible. And continuity also in that many of the terms used of Christ in v 3 have their origin in the old covenant. - Discontinuity in the NIV’s use of “But” at the start of v 2. Something connected to the past but decisively different has happened because he has now spoken to us by his Son.
This passage can be divided into two main sections: Christ’s glorious nature (who he is) and Christ’s glorious work (what he has done for us). Jesus Christ is not just another messenger, but the unique and decisive voice / word, as explained in the things said about him here: - His glorious nature: he is God’s Son; he is heir of all things and the one through whom everything was made; he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being; he sustains all things; he is now reigning at the Father’s right hand. - His glorious work: he provided purification for sins.
That Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” means that his work was completed and he is now reigning (he is ‘on the throne’).
We look further into: - What does it mean, v 3, that he is “the radiance (Gk. απαυγασμα, apaugasma) of God’s glory” and “the exact representation (Gk. χαρακτηρ, character) of his being”? - What practical difference does it / can it make - to our daily lives and our various circumstances - that Jesus is “sustaining all things” (v 3) and reigning? - Once again, the answer to our needs and difficulties is a truer and grander vision of Christ. Can you give some practical examples of how this passage does that?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk:
Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20
To counter some false teachers who have infiltrated the church in Colossae, Paul paints a picture of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. The false teachers have been promoting a Christ+ theology: that to really know fullness and freedom they must, in addition to faith in Christ, seek special wisdom/knowledge, enquire of angels and add in some special rituals. The answer to all this is a truer and grander vision of Christ - that he really is enough and that nothing needs to be added to wholehearted trust in him alone.
The number of ways in which Jesus is described here is astonishing. At least these 11 things are stated: he is the image of God; the firstborn over all creation; all things were created in him, through him and for him; he is before all things; all things are held together in/by him; he is the head of the church; the firstborn from the dead; he supreme in everything; all God’s fulness dwells in him; he is the means of God reconciling all things to himself; his death on the cross has brought us peace with God.
See also what Paul says about Christ and his achievements in 2:6-15 and about who we are and how we should live because of Christ in 3:1-17.
As there won’t be time to focus on all the descriptions of Jesus given here in detail, it may be helpful to focus on some of them, or to group some of them together - eg. Christ is supremely the image of God, he is supreme over creation, he is supreme over the church, he is supreme in salvation.
We look through the following questions: - What are some of the Christ+ dangers for us in our context? What are we tempted to trust in addition to Jesus? Can you give some personal examples/testimony? - What are the practical implications that Christ is the creator of all things and that he holds all things together (vs 16-17)? - What are the practical implications that Christ is the head of the church (v 18)?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11 This passage is widely believed to contain a hymn of the early church - vs 6-11 being a declaration of praise to God for the condescension and exaltation of Jesus. “Therefore” (v 1) means that Paul is making some sort of conclusion based on what he’s been saying up to that point. His four “if”s at the end of chapter 1 don’t mean, “if” as in “maybe you have these things, maybe you haven’t.” It’s “if” as in, “If you have breath in your lungs (which you obviously have), if you have reason to sing (which you clearly do), then praise the Lord” - ie. you have received all these blessings from being in Christ together, so be one in mind, in love, in spirit. And to then make his point all the more forcefully and powerfully Paul writes of the example of Jesus himself. If he, though in very nature God, lowered himself and exhibited the qualities mentioned in vs 3-4, then follow his example. But not only did Christ humble himself; he was then exalted to the highest place, as will be acknowledged fully when all confess him as Lord and bow before him - Paul employing this ancient hymn to express this so beautifully. This magnificent passage describes so much about who Jesus is and what he is like, leading us to worship and adore him both now and forever.
We look further into: - How does the example of Jesus lead us to, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit [but] in humility [to] value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”? Can you give some personal and practical examples? - What does it mean that Jesus was “in very nature (Gk. μορφη, morphe) God” and took “the very nature (Gk. μορφη, morphe) of a servant”? What does this tell us about him and what he came to do? - If he loved us to such an extraordinary extent, what might it look like for us to love him in return - bowing before him and acknowledging that he is Lord (vs 10-11)?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 This wonderful explanation of the gospel highlights both the dire predicament of those outside Christ and the remarkable position given to those who are now in Christ. Paul writes, “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (v 1; cf v 5) and “were by nature deserving of wrath” (v 3), but now God has “made us alive with Christ” (v 5) and “ seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (v 6). The contrast could not be greater! The staggering heights of the good news is always seen most clearly against the horrific depths of the bad. The hinge on which this transformation turns is, v 4, “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy.” It is clearly not of our own doing, not because we merited such treatment - “not from yourselves...not by works” (vs 8-9), but solely “love, mercy, grace, grace, kindness, grace, gift” (vs 4-7). His dealing with us is truly extraordinary! And this grace leads us then “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v 10) - we become, in Christ, part of the display of his glory to the world and the blessing of it.
We look further into: - The gospel is such amazingly good news because the bad news from which it rescues us is so exceedingly bad. - “Works” appears twice at the end of this passage. How do we balance not being saved by works (even good ones), v 9, with being “created in Christ Jesus to do good works,” v 10? - What does it mean, in practical terms, to be “made…alive with Christ” (v 5) and “raised…up with Christ and seated…with him” (v 6)?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 Paul’s favourite designation for Christians is those who are “in Christ” (used, along with similar phrases, over 100 times in his letters). John Stott says, ‘To be “in Christ” does not mean to be inside Christ, as tools are in a box or our clothes in a closet, but to be organically united to Christ, as a limb is in the body or a branch is in the tree. It is this personal relationship with Christ that is the distinctive mark of his authentic followers.’ It’s a profound term signifying so many things. It speaks of relationship with him; of being united with him and blessed because of that union; that what is true of him becomes, by faith, true of us; that he is in us because we are in him; that our status/identity is defined by Christ, even when our conduct is sinful. So in these verses we have 9 instances of this and related terms: “in Christ” (v 3); “in him” (v 4); “through Jesus Christ” (v 5); “in the One he loves” (v 6); “in him” (v 7); “in him” (v 11); “in Christ” (v 12); “in Christ” (v 13); “in him” (v 13). Cf. another five instances in Ephesians 2:4-10. All of which only serves to make much of God, rather than us. Sure, we have huge dignity as his children, as those in Christ, but all praise and glory goes to him (vs 3, 6, 12, 14).
We look into the following: - Why might this be Paul’s favourite way of describing followers of Jesus? - What ways can you think of that illustrate the truth of being ‘in Christ’? - What does all this say about our identity in a world full of identity crisis?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Building on his position to the end of v 11, Paul speaks of Adam, the representative head of humanity, and Christ, the representative head of a new humanity, in this section of ‘contrast and compare.’ He begins by explaining how it was that sin was in the world in the first place - through Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden being ‘passed down’ to future generations. But not only had sin entered the world, death, it’s natural consequence, had too (even before the law was given to Moses, vs 13-14).
From v 15 he starts his ‘contrast’ section, twice using the phrase, “how much more” (vs 15,17) to make his points. v 15: If many died through Adam’s sin, how much more did God’s grace overflow to many through Jesus. v 16: Judgement followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. v 17: If death reigned through Adam’s sin, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through Jesus Christ!
Secondly, his ‘compare’ section in which he states three times, “just as...so also”: v 18: Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. v 19: Just as through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous. v 21: just as sin reigned in death, so grace reigns through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We explore: - One of the glorious ways of looking at the gospel is seeing all that being ‘in Christ’ has saved us from, in contrast to all that was ours ‘in Adam.’ - Assurance: all this is secured for us by virtue of us now being ‘in Christ’ - not by our achievements, behaviour or merit. - This is how we reign in life, not by doing but by receiving: by “receiving God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness.”
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Paul’s “Therefore” at the start of v 1 is the conclusion of his argument to this point: - Ch 1: All are guilty - Ch 2: God is righteous in his judgement of Jew and Gentile alike - Ch 3: None are righteous according to the law, but God has made known a righteousness apart from the law - Ch 4: Abraham, the great father of the faith was himself justified by faith, not by observing the law (since it wasn’t given until Moses) - Ch 5: “Therefore...we have peace with God”
This is the great issue for guilty sinners - to have peace with God rather than enmity. And it’s all come about by grace (cf. Ephesians 2:1-10). The wonder of all this is spelled out in vs 4-6: Christ died for the ungodly. It would be rare for anyone to be willing to die for an honourable person, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Absolutely extraordinary! But there is more! Given that God has treated ungodly sinners this way, there can be no doubt left that we will be both “saved from God’s wrath through him” (v 9) and “saved through his life” (v 10) - ie. we will be saved on the Day of Judgement and saved ‘into’ resurrection life. In result, we can say that we have been saved (vs 1-2), we are being saved (vs 3-5) and we will be saved (vs 9-10); salvation is past, present and future.
We can look further into: - What does it mean (and what doesn’t it mean) to say that God loves us this much? (There is much misunderstanding about the love of God). - What does it mean to stand in grace (v 2)? - God has demonstrated his love for us and poured out his love “into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (v 5). - What does this mean for our experience of being loved by God? - What does this passage have to say about the important matter of assurance?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: Paul’s argument to this point has been, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (3:10). Whether Jew or Gentile, “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (3:12). The conclusion is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23) and therefore stand condemned before him with no means of rectifying this dire situation. Into this darkness Paul shines the light of one of the New Testament’s “But”s (3:21). But God has done something about our predicament, righteously made a way for the unrighteous to be made righteous. And in a break from theOld Testament, though to which it testifies, he has done so “apart from the law.” A righteous status is conferred upon those who put their “faith in Jesus Christ” (3:22). All (universally) have fallen short and all who put their trust in him “are justified freely by his grace.” The terms used here are rich and very important: righteousness, justified, grace, redemption, atonement. This is truly the gospel unpacked succinctly in six profound verses. And in case anyone should question whether God can be just in justifying the guilty (vs 25-26), there is no question that sin has truly been paid for in Christ’s atoning death and that God does indeed remain “just [in being] the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” What a glorious, remarkable, undeserved turnaround God works by grace through faith in Christ!
We look further into: - The gospel is such amazingly good news because the bad news from which it rescues us is so exceedingly bad. - How should followers of Jesus handle their experience of present sin? By going back to grace through faith in Christ. See also 1 John 1:8-2:1 and Psalm 51. - How does this truth help us defeat the lies of accusation and condemnation?
About this series: Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk: In this passage in Romans 1 Paul tells us the following things about the gospel (Gk. ευαγγελιον, euangelion), an announcement of good news): - It is the gospel of God - It was promised in the Old Testament - It is about his Son, Jesus Christ - Who was a descendant of David - Who, in the power of the Spirit, was raised to life and thereby declared as God’s chosen Son for all to see - It was through him that Paul received grace and apostleship for his mission to the Gentiles - His mission was to call the Gentiles to faith that leads to obedience for the sake of Jesus’ name - The gospel calls us to belong to Jesus and to be God’s holy people - Such people are given grace and peace from God
The gospel is essentially the announcement about what God has done for us in / through Jesus Christ. And it is not simply the way into the Christian life; it is the focal point for living the Christian life. Tim Keller says, ‘We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced.” The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s of Christianity, but it is the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we all make progress in the kingdom. We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience but the gospel is the way we grow (Gal. 3:1-3) and are renewed (Col 1:6). It is the solution to each problem, the key to each closed door, the power through every barrier.’ It is in Jesus that we know we are loved by God and called to belong to him (v 6-7a) and through him that we receive “grace and peace” (v 7b).
We look further into the questions: - In what ways do we tend to drift away from a reliance on the gospel? Eg. legalism, licence, pride, despair. - The gospel in contrast to ‘moralistic therapeutic deism’ (you may have to search for that, but it’s helpful). - How, practically, can people ensure that the gospel remains their A to Z?
Our first service of the year reflects on the year just gone. Our elders spend some time talking through their highlights and challenges we've faced as a church this year, as well as speaking to various aspects of our church life.
About this talk: In this year's vision message we lean into a prophetic word that was spoken over us. We explore the phrase 'pruning for fruitfulness' with biblical and real life stories and how we can expect God to bring greater future fruitfulness for us personally and as a church family. We learn from John 15 that the fruit comes from abiding in him, remaining in his love and knowing the life of his spirit flowing through us everyday!
About our Christmas series: Come and celebrate the Good news story of Christmas with us! News is everywhere! News can be good and bad. Sometimes it's just for you, other times for a whole bunch of people, News can also be just ‘interesting’ or completely ‘life changing!’
At Christmas time we celebrate the best news ever! Good news that, as the angels said to the shepherds, can cause ‘great joy for all people.’ It was good for Mary (though scary), it was good for Joseph (though awkward) and it is good for you too! This news came not in the form of words in a paper or read aloud on the BBC but in the form of a person. A person as it turns out who is such good news he is able to save us from our sin (which is the bad news!) and bring us peace with God himself.
About this series: While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk: For the Christian, obedience to God is duty, logic and delight - as God’s children and servants, it is our duty to obey him, it is logical to obey him (see Romans 12:1) and it is our delight to obey him. So when Jesus says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18) we have plenty of motivation to obey.
But the Great Commission must be seen as more than just an instruction, though. It is the logical movement of people who have seen the gospel for themselves and who have understood each of the previous ‘Why?s’ that we’re looking at.
Why should we engage in mission? Because Jesus has instructed us to go and make disciples of all nations.
We look into:
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Encouraging faith for each person’s part in the Great Commission; all of us are included.
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What does “Go” look like in your circumstances and your personality?
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Some encouraging stories of your involvement in obeying the Great Commission
About this series: While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk: The good news is not only that we can be rescued from sin, death and hell, but that God has made a way for us to enjoy him, the greatest, most beautiful treasure. Salvation is not only a wiping clean of our past, but a future in which we are fully satisfied in God because he is fully satisfying.
Many years ago I read, ‘God is beautiful - and not many people know that.’ One of the great tragedies of life is that men and women, if they have any conception of God at all, do not know him for the beautiful being he is; and that every attribute he has is beautiful.
Why should we engage in mission? Because we desire to share with people the most beautiful of all treasures, God.
Why not explore further:
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In what ways is God beautiful?
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What other ideas of God do people tend to have?
About this series: While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk: C. S. Lewis wrote of his conversion, ‘You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.’ He tells how he felt pursued by God until he finally surrendered.
However, for most people, their experience of becoming a follower of Jesus invariably feels like a personal decision. Which it is. And yet, behind and before our decision is God’s decision to save us - not simply his foreknowledge that we will make that choice, but his initiative in leading us to that choice, as Lewis wrote about.
Hence Paul writes in Ephesians 1 that God “chose us” (vs 4, 11), “predestined us” (vs 5, 11) and “made known to us the mystery of his will” (v 9), all of which remind us that followers of Jesus have been ‘moved upon’ (though often unaware of that reality) before and as they make their ‘move’ for Christ. 3
Why should we be engaged in mission? Because God has chosen many for salvation and we are part of his means to help them hear.
We will look at:
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All of which also raises the question: what about those who are not chosen / predestined for salvation!
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How does election provide a motivation for mission?
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How might the truth about election make us view our friends, etc?
About this series: While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk: The reality of heaven is glorious beyond our imagining; the reality of hell is ghastly beyond our imagining. Heaven is the glorious reward for all whose sin has been atoned for; hell is the ghastly prospect for all who remain condemned in their sin.
The future that awaits the believer - a new heaven on a new (or renewed) earth - is the great goal of salvation. While we rightly celebrate the present benefits of salvation, they are a foretaste of all that is yet to come, a deposit of the great inheritance awaiting us.
The future that awaits the unbeliever - whatever the various evangelical views on hell - is a major reason for the gospel. It is a mission to persuade people not to be condemned eternally because of their guilt, shame and sin.
Why should we be engaged in mission? Because every individual’s eternal destiny is at stake, either in heaven or in hell.
We will look at: - How can a God of love ‘send’ people to hell? - So how will I enjoy heaven? - What practical effect does belief in hell have on our day-to-day lives?
About this talk: Citygate Youth, Kingdom Generation take over! The young people of Citygate church help us to focus on Kingdom Kindness and the fact that we're motivated by God's extravagant love he has towards us. Jesus challenged those around Him with the famous story of the good Samaritan, With the young people of Citygate unpacking this passage, they help us to understand what it means to have a mindset of Kingdom Kindness in our present day.
About this series: While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk: The famous question from the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, ‘What is the chief end of man?’ The answer given is, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’ It would be fair to say that everything and everyone exists for God’s glory - to proclaim his greatness, to recognise his worth, to live with him as the great treasure in life.
And it is therefore true that one reason for mission, one ‘Why?’ of the gospel is the glory of God. God’s glory is seen in creation, in his Word and in the church, but it is in the gospel that his glory is supremely seen. And God is greatly glorified when people come to know him and love through the gospel - ‘Our great goal of glorifying God is to be mainly achieved by the winning of souls’ (C. H. Spurgeon).
Hence this gospel-passage in Philippians 2 ends, “to the glory of God the Father.” Why should we be engaged in mission? Because God is greatly glorified when people turn from sin and trust him.
We look at:
- What does it mean in practice to glorify God?
- How does Jesus most perfectly show us the glory of God (see John 1:14 and elsewhere in John)?
About this series:
While we regularly encourage people to be engaged in mission and give some ideas about what that could look like, our next series looks at the reasons and motivations for mission.
After the first week - What Is The Good News? - we’re going to spend five Sundays looking at the Why? of the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? What biblical reasons do we have to engage in mission?
About this talk:
Paul states, very succinctly, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel”. Essentially, Jesus is the good news, the gospel is the announcement of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
The gospel is not just the starting message of the Christian faith, though; it is the whole message. All the blessings that come to us are the result of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Tim Keller said: ‘We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced.” The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s of Christianity, but it is the A to Z of Christianity.’
We look at: - How can we be people who remain centred on the good news - The dangers of trusting in other things: effort, duty, performance, etc. - How can I grow to love the good news, such that I am compelled to help others know about it (see 2 Corinthians 5:14)?
About this series: The aim of this series is to present some of the Bible’s teaching about The Holy Spirit in order to raise expectations of life in the new covenant. If Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7), we want to ask: In what ways do these Scriptures show that The Holy Spirit being with us is “for your good”? Our expectations should certainly be raised!
Hopefully this series will help us grow in both our understanding and our experience of The Holy Spirit - personal, powerful presence of God with his people.
About this talk: There are various lists of God-given gifts in the New Testament - Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 (cf. 1 Peter 4:10). Though these lists differ, they contain some common elements: gifts are, by definition, given; gifts are for service; everyone is gifted; different people are gifted differently; gifts are to be faithfully used and stewarded; a multiplicity of gifts is needed for the body to function effectively.
Though some people need to hear Paul’s words - “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought” (Romans 12:3) - most people are prone to thinking so little of themselves that they disqualify their contribution. Given the guidelines stated above, it will do good to encourage people to seek to advance their gifts for the glory of God and the good of others.
We look at: - How can we identify our gifts? - How can we grow in our gifts? - How does serving wherever help is needed work alongside serving in my gifting?
About this series: The aim of this series is to present some of the Bible’s teaching about The Holy Spirit in order to raise expectations of life in the new covenant. If Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7), we want to ask: In what ways do these Scriptures show that The Holy Spirit being with us is “for your good”? Our expectations should certainly be raised!
Hopefully this series will help us grow in both our understanding and our experience of The Holy Spirit - personal, powerful presence of God with his people.
About this talk: Jesus promised that faithful disciples will be fruitful disciples, which means evidencing a Christ-like lifestyle. Our part is to “remain” in him (John 15:1-17); his life flowing through us will then ensure that we are empowered to be like him. It is the life of the vine itself that is the fruit produced by the branches connected to the vine. The ethical qualities spoken of in Galatians 5 are certainly not simply good characteristics that we must try hard to exhibit. Rather, they are the result of living by the Spirit; they are spirit-produced qualities. It is to this that we need to continually point people in their desire to be fruitful - to a focus on both Jesus as our model and on the Spirit’s power to make us more like Jesus.
Counterintuitively, this session on fruit therefore needs to be careful not to concentrate too much on the fruit itself, but on remaining in Christ and living by the Spirit.
Application could include: - What does it mean, in practice, to “remain” in Christ? What practical habits can we try to grow in?
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What does it mean to “live by the Spirit”? What does it not mean?
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The practical battle not to live by the Spirit (fruit listed in vs 22-23), and not by the flesh (fruit listed in v 17)
About this series: The aim of this series is to present some of the Bible’s teaching about The Holy Spirit in order to raise expectations of life in the new covenant. If Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7), we want to ask: In what ways do these Scriptures show that The Holy Spirit being with us is “for your good”? Our expectations should certainly be raised!
Hopefully this series will help us grow in both our understanding and our experience of The Holy Spirit - personal, powerful presence of God with his people.
About this talk: In the Book of Acts, Luke uses a host of phrases to record instances when people encountered the Holy Spirit: “poured out,” “received,” “came on,” “baptised with,” “filled with.” It is probably helpful that, with such a range of terms, we cannot ‘bottle’ or define too precisely what an encounter with the Spirit looks like.
The New Testament makes it clear that everyone can expect to produce various outcomes from encountering the Holy Spirit: power, fruit, gifts, love and assurance. Galatians 4:1-7 (cf. Romans 8:14-17) makes it clear that assurance of God being our Father and of us being his children is a significant aspect of the Christian experience. We could add to this: assurance that our sins are forgiven, assurance that we are righteous in Christ and assurance that we have an inheritance (see Ephesians 1:13-14), but they could all be wrapped up in the idea of assurance of adoption.
The New Testament uses a range of terms to describe what it means to be “in Christ” - we have been forgiven, redeemed, justified, reconciled and regenerated. All of these terms are crucial for understanding who we now are, It could be argued that the pinnacle of Christian identity is adoption. J. I Packer writes, ‘To be right with God the judge is a great thing. But to loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.’
And while what Packer sates is a fact to be known, it is also an experience to be felt - at our deepest level the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are loved, wanted, adopted children and that nothing we do will undo that status. We look at the following:
- How is that God has adopted us?
- What practical difference does adoption make to everyday life?
- How can we deal with some of the lies that fight against this true?
About this series: The aim of this series is to present some of the Bible’s teaching about the Holy Spirit in order to raise expectations of life in the new covenant. If Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7), we want to ask: In what ways do these Scriptures show that the Holy Spirit being with us is “for your good”? Our expectations should certainly be raised! Hopefully this series will help us grow in both our understanding and our experience of the Holy Spirit - personal, powerful presence of God with his people.
About this talk: God’s people are now those who have power within to live for God and to live as he calls us to. We are those “who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4), “who live in accordance with the Spirit” (Romans 8:5), whose minds are “governed by the Spirit” (Romans 8:6), “who are led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14), who are empowered to “live by, be led by and keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25).
Acts 1:8 makes explicit what is demonstrated through the rest of the book - God’s people will be empowered by the Spirit to live the new life to which they’d been called, being witnesses to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection life. While the story of the early church is not perfect, the whole of Acts is an account of living by, being led by and keeping in step with the Spirit.
The power they knew among them led to, for example: speaking tongues, miracles, generosity, salvation, prophecy, guidance, mission, endurance in suffering, physical manifestations of God’s presence (eg. “the place where they were meeting was shaken,” Acts 4:31). So notable are the effects of the coming of the Spirit that at one point, Simon the sorcerer offers Peter and John money so that he could have “this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-19). Oh that we may know God’s power among us that it might cause people to be desperate to experience that power for themselves! We look at the following:
- What does power in the Christian life look like?
- How can we grow in our expectation of being empowered by the Spirit?
- How does it look like for us to experience the missional impulse of the Spirit?
About this series: The aim of this series is to present some of the Bible’s teaching about the Holy Spirit in order to raise expectations of life in the new covenant. If Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7), we want to ask: In what ways do these Scriptures show that the Holy Spirit being with us is “for your good”? Our expectations should certainly be raised!
Hopefully this series will help us grow in both our understanding and our experience of the Holy Spirit - personal, powerful presence of God with his people.
About this talk: There is a short talk below about how we can be filled with The Holy Spirit from our Lead Elder, Russ. On our Sunday morning this was a wonderful opportunity for people to be baptised in The Holy Spirit, and we encourage you wherever you are to say come and fill us with Your presence and Your power to live out this life You have called us into!
About this series: We take an in-depth look at Isaiah 61. We hope that this will be powerful series that looks at the prophecy in its immediate context, then sees it fulfilled in Jesus and finally moves to equipping us as we see Jesus’ mission being continued through His people - yet always being rooted in Him.
About this talk: Scripture: Isaiah 61:4 These verses are a remarkable picture of hope to Israel who had for so long been oppressed, then exiled and now struggling to rebuild. However ruined and devastated things may appear to be, God can rebuild, restore & renew. That goes for churches, individuals and for communities impacted by God’s people as a result of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension.
About this talk: Scripture: Ezekiel and his vision of a valley of dry bones, Ezekiel 37v1-14Right now we’re in the middle of a third Lockdown. We’ll hopefully see things start to unlock as the vaccination programme takes effect, but right now we’re still a long way from normal. The pandemic has taken a huge toll on people spiritually and emotionally. We’ve been cut off from one another and from many of the things that sustain our faith. In time we’ll return to in person meetings again, but even as they restart it will be a while before we can ALL be together again; we’ll still be living with restrictions. So what encouragement would God bring us in this time of waiting? We hope this message will encourage people, lift hearts, and impart faith for the future.
About this series: We take an in-depth look at Isaiah 61. We hope that this will be powerful series that looks at the prophecy in its immediate context, then sees it fulfilled in Jesus and finally moves to equipping us as we see Jesus’ mission being continued through His people - yet always being rooted in Him.
About this talk: Scripture - Isaiah 61:3 God redefines us when he calls us to himself. He transforms our identity, granting dignity and worth on those who are God’s children. This favour from God will mean stability, permanence and fruitfulness for his people, in contrast to the “oak with fading leaves” of 1:29-31. What does it mean to be an “oak of righteousness”? As the poor rely solely on the Messiah for his blessing, they find themselves declared righteous by him. And by our lives we demonstrate his righteousness - his power to save and to enable a righteous life. This is all for the display of God’s splendour because it is all of his doing and should result in praise to him.
Tim reminds us that we need others in our lives to help us become more like Jesus - sharing our lives with other believers helps to smooth our 'rough edges'.
About this series: We take an in-depth look at Isaiah 61. We hope that this will be powerful series that looks at the prophecy in its immediate context, then sees it fulfilled in Jesus and finally moves to equipping us as we see Jesus’ mission being continued through His people - yet always being rooted in Him.
About this talk: Scripture - Isaiah 61:3 The transformation that the good news brings is expressed in three ‘insteads’: beauty, joy and praise instead of ashes, mourning and despair. The picture of the mourner, with ashes on the head, wrapped in sackcloth, with a spirit crushed by despair, is replaced by the picture of a party goer with a beautiful headdress, smelling of costly oil and wearing a garment of praise.’ We explore what this looks like in spiritual terms - and also in physical terms.
The Holy Spirit guides us and speaks to us, convicts us of sin, gives us peace and courage to walk in Jesus ways and become more like him.
About this series: We take an in-depth look at Isaiah 61. We hope that this will be powerful series that looks at the prophecy in its immediate context, then sees it fulfilled in Jesus and finally moves to equipping us as we see Jesus’ mission being continued through His people - yet always being rooted in Him.
About this talk: Scripture - Isaiah 61:1-3 Jesus is able to deliver what he was sent to proclaim because he himself is the good news. Entering into all the blessings described in this passage is the result of receiving him. We look at: - What is the good news? - Who are the poor? - How is Jesus good news to them and how does his church bring that news to them? - How do we share and represent this remarkable good news, expressed in these verses by the eight things the anointed one is sent to do/proclaim?
If we are followers of Jesus then The Bible is our timeless manual, our guide to life, and Jesus asks us to know what's written inside it and be obedient to it.
About this series: We take an in-depth look at Isaiah 61. We hope that this will be powerful series that looks at the prophecy in its immediate context, then sees it fulfilled in Jesus and finally moves to equipping us as we see Jesus’ mission being continued through His people - yet always being rooted in Him.
About this talk: Isaiah 61 is and foremost about Jesus (Luke 4) and the liberation he brings, which is primarily spiritual and then also material, relational, physical, because He has made us as integrated beings and because the future in the new heaven on the new earth is spiritual, material, relational, physical. We look at the way Jesus was anointed, and how that idea connects to the rest of Isaiah and the Old Testament. Then we look at how this text applies to us. How do we, as His body, live full of the Spirit so we can fulfil His mission?
Our vision is to see lives transformed, every day, across the bay.
Russ kicks off the year with thoughts about the challenging and changing times we find ourselves in as a result of COVID 19, and how the church is the hope to restore all that is broken through the Good News of Jesus.
We will be looking back in 2020 as we were called to be a blessing and also looking forward to 2021 as we take another step forward in making disciples that make disciples. We'll be sharing our theme for the year - Restoring the Broken- and Russ uses the ancient art of Kintsugi to illustrate that through our weakness God uses us to help restore others. Our new Community Hub will help us to work this out amongst our local community this year.
What a year 2020 has been! A year of real highs and lows, but despite all the change and confusion around the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen God’s faithfulness throughout.
Our leadership team spend some time looking back on 2020, and discuss what God might want to say to our church. What if he wrote us a letter? What encouragement He might give, and what guidance He might want to give us as we head into 2021...
About this series: We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.
The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.
About this talk: Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 The goal of salvation is not only forgiveness; it’s adoption, whereby God accepts us as his children and puts his own life in us. It's the Spirit who leads us, confirms our adoption and is the guarantee of our inheritance - pointing to the new heaven and earth, our ultimate home.
About this series: We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.
The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.
About this talk: We will be exploring what we think of as 'home', particularly in this covid year!
We’ll be looking at our first home and how our sin banished us from the Garden of Eden, and exploring what longing for home entails - love that lasts and a life that counts - and how we attempt to create this with our 'Grand Designs'.
The Christmas story is about one who left his heavenly home to come and dwell with us. Jesus was a homeless wanderer, himself exiled and banished to a cross so we could be brought home to the Father. He went there to prepare a place for us, our final destination and 'home at last' forever in heaven.
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” - John 14:2,3
About this series: We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.
The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.
About this talk: Scripture: Romans 8:2-4 The way God has rescued us and the reason he can now announce "no condemnation" is through sending his Son to be born, live, die, rise and ascend. As one of us - "in the likeness of sinful flesh" - he can represent us, and as God - "his own Son" - he can pay the penalty of sin, bear God's wrath and rise again. Yet this is a costly thing - "to be a sin offering." As Immanuel (Matthew 1:23) he came to be with us and remains with us.
About this series: We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.
The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.
About this talk: Scripture: Romans 8:1; cf. 31-39 Outside Christ, we are under condemnation because of our sin - the beauty of the gospel and what God has done for us is seen most brightly against the darkness of sin. The Christmas message is so wonderful because we were in such a terrible situation - condemned, subject to God's wrath - and because in it God has demonstrated just how far he will go for us!
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Acts 2:22-33 Being a witness is to bear testimony to what we have experienced. It is that way that the early disciples made more disciples - speaking of what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20, 22:15). Being a witness is about living a Spirit-saturated life (personally and corporately) in the world that demonstrates to all that we have encountered the risen Jesus and are submitting all of life to him. We are witnesses not only to historic events in the life of Jesus, but to our own personal experience of his life-changing power as Lord and Saviour.
It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us for witness (Luke 24:45-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8), so keeping full of his presence and connected to the vine is vital for effective witness.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 At Citygate we talk about ‘Seeing lives transformed every day across the Bay.’ By which we mean seeing lives transformed to become disciples of Jesus and then to go on being transformed as disciples of Jesus. It is this mission that Jesus gave to his first followers: "Go and make disciples of all nations." It's a clear and concise statement to those who are already engaged in the dynamic process of following Jesus, calling them to make him known to others, helping them to become disciples too. The purpose is to make disciples; the plan is to witness to what we have seen and heard; the power comes from the Holy Spirit.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Acts 11:26 The term ‘disciple’ means follower, trainee, apprentice, someone in the process of learning to become more like their teacher. It is disciples that Jesus has called us to go and make - a quality of follower, not simply a believer or attender. Today, the usual term for a follower of Jesus is ‘Christian,’ but the original term ‘disciple’ has a far greater dynamism about it - bearing in mind that Acts 11:26 records the use of ‘Christian’ originally as a bit of a nickname, even a mickey-taking term, in wider society. Disciples take personal responsibility, under their teacher’s instruction, for their own growth and for doing life together as a community of disciples. For each of us the question then becomes: How well am I pursuing Jesus? What do I need to do to become more like him?
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 The image of the body is not just an analogy; it’s a theological fact. We are not just like a body, we are his body. This means, of course, that though we are a diverse group of people, each playing our unique part, we are essentially a unity; which also touches on the things we looked at in our Many Nations, One Family mini- series. And also that we, the body, are carrying out his (the head’s) will in the earth, just as Jesus said that his food was to do the Father’s will (John 4:32,34).
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: John 17:20-26 Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is reflected in various NT passages, such as Ephesians 4, where our unity in practice comes out of the fact that we are already united in Christ - unity is a fact before it is a feeling. The practical questions that then arise include: What does unity look like? How do we keep the unity of the Spirit? What do I do when I am wronged? How can I promote unity? We also talk about multisite, as an expression of being one church, though in multiple locations - touching on multisite principles such as one leadership and evangelism and Life Groups happening locally while other things (training, Connect, prayer) happen centrally.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-22 The tabernacle/temple was the place where God manifested his presence and met with mankind through sacrifice. Jesus then said that he was the new temple where God and man meet through his sacrifice (John 2:18-22). The church, and each believer, is now the dwelling place of God, declaring his sacrifice for sin, making him known to the world and enjoying life together in his presence. This is both a privilege - God with/in us - and a responsibility - the holy God himself dwells with us and therefore our conduct should reflect this. Our life of worship has both corporate and personal aspects, the personal side having become all the more important during this time when we are unable to praise God in song together. Creative ways to still declare God’s praise need to be found.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 & Acts 4:32-37 These two famous passages (along with the rest of the NT!) are a challenging reminder that new life in Christ leads to new life with one another. For all the individualism in UK culture (though there are many others represented in Citygate too) and the way church has developed online, we are built for community and will only grow to maturity in community. God is looking for a people to be glorified in and it’s in the church that people will see what community can truly look like. How do we balance the Bible’s value of every individual life (a feature of early Christianity in comparison to other worldviews) with one’s primary identity not arising from individuality. What does it mean, in the UK today, to express the principles found in Acts 2 and 4? What does it look like for our faith to be personal, but not private.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-18 The most common word the New Testament writers use (over 100 times) to refer to fellow Christians is "brothers” (meaning “brothers and sisters"). Because God is our Father, all his children are therefore siblings in his family. Being a child of God, his son (or daughter) is the primary mark of our new identity as God’s adopted children. Jesus, the perfect Son, is the way we enter the family and the model for relationships in the family. This radically affects how we see ourselves, God’s people collectively and each individual we are in the family with. For Jesus not to be ashamed to call us brothers and sisters is a remarkable thing. What does it mean, in practice, to be family? What does it not mean (some of the unbiblical ideas we may have)? What does it mean to people from different cultural backgrounds?
Our guest speaker, Ed Mellish - from Gateway Church, Basingstoke - brings a talk with the provoking title 'Can Anything Good Come from Christianity? It's an invitation to the sceptical, searching and hurting to explore the claims of Christianity, and a fantastic talk for anyone who might be interested in finding out more about the Christian faith.
About this series: In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk: Scripture: 1 Peter 2:3-10 The Bible’s story can be described in many ways; one of which is as the story of God creating a people for himself. From Adam & Eve, through Abraham, Exodus and the gospels to the picture of Revelation 21:3: “They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” This has always been God’s intention - not only to rescue individual people, but to have a people who know him and through whom he is made known to the world. If Jesus is the image of the invisible God, making God visible and known to us, there is a real sense in which the church, too, makes God visible and known in the world.
Russ revisits our theme for 2020 - ‘Blessed to Bless’ - and encourages us to continue to be a blessing as we 're-form' church by drawing on Zechariah's phrase of being a church without walls. He talks of the fire around and the glory within as God's protection and presence that enables us to open our gates and expand with faith toward new sites, meetings and a Community Hub.
In this talk Tim speaks to us about Psalm 33 and God's faithfulness. The Bible frequently encourages us to remember that God is faithful. This unshakable truth serves as an anchor for faith through the stormy seas of life.
Guy Miller reminds us that the Covid 19 crisis was a moment to wake the church to her purpose and mission - to restore first love, restore the gospel, restore the gifts of the Holy Spirit and restore the kingdom.
Citygate Youth lead us in some awesome worship, give us an insight into what they get up to during their youth life group, and bring us a talk on the Kingdom of God.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter. About this talk: In this talk we hear about Jesus' encounter with Lazarus, raising him from the dead and giving us hope about life after death.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter.
About this talk: In this talk we hear about Jesus' encounter with a blind man, and how Jesus has power to heal.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter.
About this talk: In this talk we explore Jesus' encounter with the woman caught in adultery and the Pharisees who accused her - and how Jesus responded with grace.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter.
About this talk: In this talk we explore Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well - and how Jesus is our living water.
About this series: Citygate Church has a congregation made up of people from all across the globe! This series of videos, entitled 'Many Nations, One Family' is a celebration of how we see diversity within Citygate, and the start of us collectively thinking more about how we can celebrate and honour both our sameness and our difference in positive ways.
About this talk: This talk explores how we can make steps within our own church to ensure we reflect the Gospel in how we love one another and embrace people of every nation, tribe, people and language!
About this series: Citygate Church has a congregation made up of people from all across the globe! This series of videos, entitled 'Many Nations, One Family' is a celebration of how we see diversity within Citygate, and the start of us collectively thinking more about how we can celebrate and honour both our sameness and our difference in positive ways.
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible says about race. We gain a Biblical understanding of design, and we learn how every life matters, regardless of nation, tribe, people and language!
About this series: Citygate Church has a congregation made up of people from all across the globe! This series of videos, entitled 'Many Nations, One Family' is a celebration of how we see diversity within Citygate, and the start of us collectively thinking more about how we can celebrate and honour both our sameness and our difference in positive ways.
About this talk: In this talk we celebrate cultural diversity, explore what the bible says about diversity - and thank God for the people from many nations that form part of our Citygate congregation.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter.
About this talk: In this talk we explore Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus' and how, through Jesus, we can have eternal life.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Encountering Jesus’. We take a look through the Gospel of John at different interactions people had with Jesus, discovering more about His character with each encounter.
About this talk: In this talk we explore Jesus’ encounter with John the Baptist and how Jesus is our salvation.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible says about heaven, what it will we like, and how we should live our lives on earth knowing this isn’t our final home.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: We explore what the Bible says about illness and how we should respond.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible says about temptation and how we should respond.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible teaches us about dealing with anxiety and how we should respond.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible says about disappointment and how we should respond.
About this series: This is part of a series of broadcasts called ‘Faith in the Fire’ - a healthy, God-focused response to crisis. We explore topics such as suffering, anxiety and disappointment, and how God is good all the time - not just when good things happen!
About this talk: In this talk we explore what the Bible says about suffering, and how it helps us to develop a healthy response to times of hardship.
About this series: In light of the 2020 circumstances around COVID-19 we put together a series of talks called ‘For Times Like This’ where we explored how Biblical heroes responded to times of crisis.
About this talk: In this talk we hear the story of Daniel and his journey from ‘Favour to Fire’.
About this series: In light of the 2020 circumstances around COVID-19 we put together a series of talks called ‘For Times Like This’ where we explored how Biblical heroes responded to times of crisis.
About this talk: In this talk we hear Joseph’s story and his journey from ‘Isolation to Influence’.
About this series: In light of the 2020 circumstances around COVID-19 we put together a series of talks called ‘For Times Like This’ where we explore how Biblical heroes responded to times of crisis.
About this talk: In this talk we hear Esther’s story and her journey from ‘Fear to Faith’.
During our church gift weeks, Sean Theunissen shares his own personal testimony of God’s provision, and teaches how God's command to give is a blessing to us, for our hearts and our future eternity!
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: In the final section of the letter, Paul gives thanks for the financial gift which the Philippians have given him. Although the purpose of this passage is to commend the church rather than to teach on money, it is a text which gives a number of clear principles relating to our stewardship of finances.
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: As Paul closes his letter to the Philippians, he has some very clear lessons that he wants them to learn, particularly in the challenging circumstances in which they find themselves. Despite their difficulties, he calls them to stand, unite and rejoice.
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: In this section of the book, Paul urges the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord amidst the challenges. The knowledge that our righteousness comes through faith in Christ, for Paul, far outweighs any attempt to hold onto human privileges or achievements. It calls for a rejection of false doctrine, and a joyful response to God.
We explore Paul's letter to the Philippians and how it helps us to become better disciples of Christ. This section comes after Paul’s wonderful description of Christ Jesus’ servant attitude and the call to live out your salvation as God works in you. The relationships between Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus illustrate the way they lived sacrificially so that others might hear the good news. We see Paul’s vulnerable side here, as he shares his feelings about his friends, but he also calls the Philippians to rejoice, even alongside sorrow and anxiety.
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: We’ve looked at our partnership together in the Gospel, and suffering for the sake of the Gospel. This week we’ll be exploring the Lordship of Christ. In the light of who Jesus is and all he has done for us, how then should we live?
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: This week’s section of the letter focuses on suffering and hardship, as Paul reflects on the possibility of his own death, as well as on the opposition that the Philippians face, and the most powerful response to it.
About this series: What makes a follower of Jesus? How do we learn to be like Him? We want to imitate Jesus, and obey what He commanded, but how does that actually happen? That’s where Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us. Philippians is a wonderful letter from which to learn about discipleship. It isn’t written to correct behaviour or doctrine (like many of Paul’s letters), but simply to express friendship, thank the church in Philippi for a gift, and talk about how Jesus shapes the ordinary Christian life. This makes it a happy letter, and a very practical one. It also includes a wide range of experiences – success and failure, hardship and victory, past and future, abundance and poverty – and considers how to find joy in Jesus in each of them.
About this talk: As Paul opens the letter to the Philippians, he greets them all, thanks God for them, encourages them, and begins to tell them how his imprisonment has actually – despite appearances! – been a good thing for the gospel.