THE CITY GATES Podcast: Recent Episodes
City Gates Church London
Welcome to our new audio stream! Here you'll find recordings of our Sunday talks, along with shorter reflections such as our TAKE 5 series. We'll also be using this channel to broadcast news and announcements - so subscribe and stay in touch!
Ruth’s life of tragedy unfolds into a life of triumph. Ruth was a poor woman and on top of all, she was as well a foreigner which made her life more difficult. The story reveals God’s character in His faithfulness in regard to people who turn to Him. Ruth is an example of God’s instrument to bless the nations.
What was the driving force behind Ruth’s determination? Why was Ruth’s life so important? How does someone with no social standing or respect somehow made into the pages of God’s word? What can we draw from these four chapters little book for our lives today?
What defined Ruth's character? Ruth is a virtuous woman a woman of excellence and this is who she chooses to be, to do what was right not what was right in her own eyes.
Ruth in her dark night of the soul decided to follow God. She chose to sit and move close to God. As Ruth moves on from mourning to joy we will see how she found favour in both men and God’s eyes.
Disaster and famine in the land leading to dislocation of a man and his wife and two sons from their home in Bethlehem, cross a river and a border, and seek refuge in a foreign country. Today we start a journey with Ruth and Naomi in their path from tragedy to triumph.
Times of retreat and discipline are often necessary for healthy lives. The past few months gave us an opportunity to reflect, to change, to be challenged and to grow as human beings. And just like Joshua, let us “Be strong and courageous” even when the odds are against us.
Those who are in Christ Jesus no longer live in sin. Our environment has drastically changed with COVID-19 pandemic, but the environment of those who are in Christ Jesus has changed from living in sin to not living in sin. We live in Christ.
First, fear is, in many ways, the antithesis of faith. Courage is rooted in God’s promise. Jesus reminds them not to fear because while their opponents may be able to hurt them physically, they can do them no spiritual harm. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In a season of great expectations and equally great disappointments, minutes are enough to create doubt. It has been two millennia since the first reports of the empty tomb. Many have been blessed by believing without seeing. Still, waiting for God’s next promise to be fulfilled leaves us not knowing what to do. It seems a viable option to go back to a way of living that isn’t dependent on the hope and hype.
In Isaiah 55, we see God's act of redeeming a small group of exiles will transform the entire world. God's desire to bless and re-create is immense and powerful. The time has come not only for us but for all of God's creation to engage in compassion and understanding and help rebuild a world that still feels the ripples of a devastating pandemic.
"Walking humbly with God" is knowing and acknowledging our bent to self-righteousness.
The life of faith is indeed a walk that reorients heart and life. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.” - CS Lewis
To enact justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God, are not single acts that can be checked off the list and left behind. On an individual and social scale, in ways large and small, this is a way of life. Rather than offer God thousands of rams, Micah calls us to offer a thousand daily acts of love for each other and the world God loves.
Micah stands in a line of prophets who have reminded the people, over and over, of God’s path. Micah offers a summation of what God requires, at once more simple and more difficult than keeping ritual practices: "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
How can we even the scoreboard? The go-to response of Israel is to appease God through a form of score-keeping that tries to put a price tag on God's mercy. What payment will it take to get God off our backs? Burnt offerings? Thousands of rams? My firstborn?
In Micah the prophet contrasts a knee-jerk score-keeping to the path God has already given, "He has told you, O mortal, what is good”. He stands in a line of prophets who have reminded the people, over and over, of God's path. Micah means, “Who is like Yahweh”.
When you tell a story from the point of view of scarcity, it will make you throw some elbows and punches and outdo everybody so you can get your slice of the pie. But what you want most in life there is shortage of.
Jesus oftentimes would teach the law of Moses saying, "You have heard it said, but I tell you". I know everybody is saying this is how it works. But I tell you that God is not playing that game.
Paul talks about a Christ who was crucified. And to speak of a Christ who was crucified is to speak of a savior who failed. Crucifixion was something that happened to people who were enemies of the state. Christ who was crucified was showing them that the only way to live is through sacrificial love.
The Gospel wisdom is good news about our nothingness. Is the announcement that we are loved, rescued, saved, validated and affirmed not in all of the long lists of good things we have accomplished and all of the ways in which we have shown that we are better than other people. All that we’ve always longed for meets us exactly in our nothingness.
The followers of Jesus in the beginning were known as people who belonged to the Way. Meaning a way of being in the world, a way of non violent resistance and sacrificial love and generosity and forgiveness and love of enemies. They had another vision of what it means to be human, what it means to be alive and live in solidarity with each other and they were threatened for it.
The desert stories tend to be critical toward the Israelites, emphasizing their disagreeableness and anger, their bitterness toward Moses. Yet God has created the world in such a way that it has healing capacities in and through which God can work in positive ways on behalf of its creatures.
This narrative has been understood as a rejection of child sacrifice, which was apparently practiced at some points in Israelite history. Abraham's naming of the mountain of averted child sacrifice as "The LORD will provide” expresses his gratitude for the ram caught in the thicket that he sacrifices in place of his son.
Israel cried to God for a deliverer, and he sent them a prophet to teach them. When God furnishes a land with faithful ministers, it is a token that he has mercy in store for it. Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great.
Today we explore another one of Jesus' I AM statements, draw the parallel with God’s revelation to Moses of who He was and declare that all things are subjected to the powerful name of Jesus.
Who Do You Say I Am? I AM Statements Revisited
In today’s episode we’re going to revisit Jesus’ I AM statements and meditate on them.
Jesus calls the disciples back to this fundamental relationship of trust and assures them that he is not abandoning them. His response to their anxiety is: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me”. Today we’ll explore Jesus’ promises and words of comfort to his disciples.
In the 15th chapter of John's gospel, Jesus uses the beautiful symbol of the vine and its branches. Without a doubt the disciples were struggling to apprehend the magnificent truths that Jesus had been teaching them in the Upper Room. So, in a wonderful way Jesus uses whatever was at hand to illustrate truth, he picked up a vine. "I am the vine," he says, ''the true one."
Where were you, Jesus? How could you have let this happen? Couldn’t you have prevented all this horrible pain and heartache? Aren’t these exactly the kinds of questions we ask, or would like to ask, when tragedy strikes? Yet Jesus answer to all those questions is: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”
Through the centuries there have been many false shepherds. Even today there are many false views of Jesus. Many people are asking, "Who is the true Jesus? Who is the true Shepherd of the sheep? And what does he mean by this figure, "I am the door of the sheep"?
Light is a universal religious image. Jesus' revelation of himself as the light of the world is the ultimate claim that the divine presence that saves God's people from their bondage is here. He is the saving presence for the whole world, not just for the Jews and remind us of the role of the suffering servant, who was to be a "light to the nations”.
The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John is the setting for one of the great discourses of our Lord, his word on the "bread of life." Bread, of course, is the symbol for that which sustains and maintains life. At that time also a political statement. Why does Jesus say he is the bread of life?
It had been a busy season among the hills and valleys of northern Palestine. Jesus of Nazareth had reproved a group of Pharisees for hypocrisy, rid a Syrophenecian girl of unclean spirits, restored a deaf man's hearing, and fed a multitude of four thousand with seven loaves of bread and a few small fishes, healed a blind man. Afterward, according to the Gospel of Matthew, as he walked north toward Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?” Even after a few disciples’ answers, Jesus insists: "But who do you say that I am?"
The fifth and final Psalm of this series is Psalm 139. This psalm speaks of the pervasive presence of God, and his intimate knowledge of us, which offer us an outsized measure of hope and comfort in the face of adversity and trial, but also insight into the fullness of God’s presence in the world.
Psalm 136, a song of thanksgiving, is known in some traditions as the Great Hallel (or "Praise") on its own, while others reckon the psalm as the last of the Great Hallel collection. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever."
David feels abandoned by the Lord, but he still acknowledges that the Lord is his God. We do not know what circumstances caused David to feel this way, but we do know Jesus spoke these same words from the cross. Psalm 22 "explodes the limits" of poetic expression and thus expands the Old Testament understanding of God, human life, and death.
How does it feel to lose? Do you like that feeling? How do you feel about your enemies – especially when they seem to be winning? Are you wondering if you have the right attitude about them and about your situation? In Psalm 13, we see the king of Israel struggling with the same questions in prayer. What is happening to him is unpleasant. It’s hard. He wants to be done with it. And so he asks, “how long?” He addresses this to the Lord. It’s a desperate miserable plea for the Lord to intervene for him but even when it hurts, David chooses to rejoice.
The Psalms have served as the central prayer and hymnbook for God's people since its beginning. They are a steady, vital component of healthy Christian living. Reading, studying, and praying the Psalms is God's means for teaching us what it means to be human: how to express our emotions and yearnings, how to reconcile our anger and our compassion, how to see our story in light of God's sweeping narrative of salvation. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, let the love and faithfulness of God overwhelm you.
Paul wraps up explaining why godly, self-sacrificing love is required to fully express spiritual gifts. He concludes by mentioning love again with two other virtues often listed with it: faith and hope. Faith is essential to Christianity. Only by faith in Christ is it possible to come into relationship with God, at all. Without faith and hope, Christianity does not make sense. They are built in. Still, Paul insists that love is greater even than these two bedrock virtues. It will abide, in a sense, even after our faith has become sight and our hope in eternity has been fully realised. Spiritual gifts are essential for the church to grow, but the Corinthians had put too much emphasis on them as evidence of personal glory or achievement. The gifts must be applied with love, or they become meaningless or even destructive.
Paul has been describing our knowledge of God and His ways as incomplete or partial. The use of spiritual gifts, specifically gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, gives only a glimpse of what may be known of God. Paul now describes this partial knowledge of God as seeing a reflection in a dim mirror. Some scholars suggest that he had in mind Corinth's famous bronze mirrors, known for their imperfect reflections. But one day when the church is fully mature as Jesus is, however, we will see God face to face, knowing Him in person instead of through partial revelation.
One reason God gives spiritual gifts to believers now is for us to build each other up. Those abilities are meant to "grow up" the church. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:11–12: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." That passage shows that, eventually, the church will mature to the point that we reach the "fullness of Christ." This will happen only after He arrives, but it is the course we are currently on. To illustrate this idea, Paul refers to himself as first a child, who lived in childish ways, and then as an adult who put away that childish understanding of the world when he became a man. The same will happen for believers when Christ returns. Our partial understanding about God will become full, mature "knowing."
Paul begins a thought in verse 9 that he will conclude in verse 10. For now, "we know in part and we prophesy in part." He is referring to the spiritual gifts of knowledge and prophecy and showing that they are only partially effective. Any knowledge given to the church by God through someone with the gift of knowledge is just a tiny slice of all there is to know of God. For now, we know only "in part”. That will change one day. When the perfect comes, Paul writes, the partial will pass away. We will no longer need to work to understand and wonder over the bit of knowledge we have about God and His ways. The perfect, which is Jesus Christ, will bring about the day when all is revealed to God's children. When Christ returns, we will "know fully".
Paul ends his description of God's kind of love, using the Greek term agape. This is an unselfish, sacrificial, active love, different from romantic or brotherly love, which use the terms eros and phileo, respectively. Wrapping up this section, Paul introduces a statement that may make believers feel it is truly impossible to love as God does, after all: Love never fails. The other way in which love never fails is that love is eternal. Selfless love will continue in the Lord and in His people forever. It is absolutely the way we will live in relationship with each other in eternity. Examples of selfless love in the present are glimpses of the normal state of things in eternity. Love never fails.
Paul is coming to the end of his concise description of what true love looks like and as he piles on descriptors to show what Christian love does and does not do, it has become clear that love sets itself aside for the good of others. More precisely, those who love as Christ does set themselves aside to meet the needs of other Christians. It turns out, loving as Jesus loves is hard. Now Paul shows that God's love is, in a sense, inexhaustible. It places no limits on its commitment to others."It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
PATIENCE - Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t pay to be good! When the evil prosper and the good suffer, you can be tempted to doubt God, especially if you’re a good person! If you’re not careful to cultivate the right perspective, you can be tempted to say “Forget it!” and join the evildoers. David had been there. We’ve all been there. This morning Barney Skrentny shares stories and thoughts on Psalm 37:1-9
Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, or unrighteousness or injustice. In short, love does not delight in evil. Anytime we find ourselves tempted to root for or enjoy injustice or wrong choices, we can know we are not motivated by love for God or for each other. Love does rejoice with the truth, however. The truth, no matter how difficult it may be, is always the best path through any situation. It is the way of and to Christ, who is the Truth. "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” Wanting what is true to be understood and accepted by others is one way we express love.
Paul responds to the Corinthians' over-emphasis on certain spiritual gifts by showing them that all gifts are worthless if not practiced through godly love. Paul provides descriptors of love, all action verbs, all choices made out of a commitment to set self aside and serve others. Choosing to love each other in this way would solve many of the problems Paul has confronted in this letter. The spiritual gifts provide a glimpse of what is knowable, but when the perfect comes, we will know all. Love is the greatest of all the virtues. "It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
The "love" Paul speaks of is from the Greek term agape. This is a selfless love. Godly love, from a godly perspective, is defined by what Christians do or do not do. It is not primarily about feelings; nor is it mostly the words which describe them. Love is action. It actively waits for others without resentment. This would include being patient in the face of being hurt or mistreated. The spiritual gifts provide a glimpse of what is knowable, but when the perfect comes, we will know all. Love is the greatest of all the virtues. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Now Paul moves beyond spiritual gifts to the most profound acts of spiritual self-sacrifice a Christian may make. Jesus told a rich young ruler to sell all he had and give the money to the poor. Surely anyone who would actually do such a thing would have reached the height of Christian spirituality. And yet, Paul insists, to do so without love for others gains the giver nothing at all. Then he moves to the ultimate sacrifice. What if a person gives his own body to be burned to death for the Lord? Again, Paul describes this sacrifice as meaningless if made without love for others. Why would someone give away all their money or even their life if not out of love for Christ and others? Perhaps a person might do such a thing for pride or glory or in a foolish attempt to earn God's favor. Love, though, is the only motive that makes such sacrifices worthwhile.
Paul is demonstrating just how worthless the spiritual gifts are when attempted without love for others. The Corinthians valued these gifts highly, apparently elevating those among them with the gifts of tongues and prophecy as the most spiritual. Paul has declared that this is not true. All the gifts are needed in the church. Imagine a person, Paul writes, with the gift of prophecy and a full understanding of all the mysteries of God and an iron-clad faith that allowed him or her to move actual mountains. Jesus told his disciples they could move mountains with the amount of faith that would fit in a tiny mustard seed. Even this imaginary person Paul describes, without love, is nothing. All those gifts become worthless when exercised without concern, compassion, and empathy for others.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul emphasises that even if we received the greatest gifts in the world, it’s worth nothing if we don’t share them or use them for the sake of others. Or in other words, if we use them without love. True love is made up of decisions and actions, sacrificing from ourselves for the good of others, just like Jesus did. If we want to know what love is, and how to love, then we should carefully examine the life and character of Jesus.
PEACE - “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you.” - Those were some of the last words Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper. He echoes them when He sees them next after rising from the dead: “Peace be with you”. Before their darkest hour, as they are caught in the grips of terror and confusion, peace is the gift Christ gives to His disciples. The Hebrew word for "peace" is shalom. "Shalom" is still used today as a traditional greeting among many Jewish people, and it can be used to convey a wish for prosperity, well-being, success, harmony amongst friends and family, unity among the nations, and many other blessings. Literally, however, "shalom" means “to be complete [or whole].” To grow in peace, you must have complete trust in God. Scripture is full of God's promises. This morning Washington will unpack the passage in John 14:23-31.
Two people on a journey had only one subject on their minds. They had put their hope in Jesus, only to see him arrested, put on trial, and crucified. Then earlier that day, women who had believed like them had burst into where they were meeting with a story that Jesus had risen from the dead. Now they were walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem, and nothing but nothing else was on their minds. The events of the last three days were what they thought about at every single moment, and the only subject they talked about as they travelled down the road. As we travel through the journey of life, we will undoubtedly experience many disappointments but even in our darkest night, the dawn of God’s goodness is only a short distance away. Our journey is not yet finished, and the best is yet to come.
It’s in your family where you will usually experience your greatest joys and also your greatest heartaches. Watching children grow, knowing the love of a spouse that is steady and sure, and sharing milestones and celebrations are certainly among life’s greatest joys. On the other side, divorce, conflict, disease and death in a family are among life’s most painful times. In 2 Samuel chapter 12 we read Nathan's rebuke and the sorrowful lament of the Lord’s anointed, David. Having reconciled the moments of destruction in Saul’s and Jonathan’s lives, David is bereft of anything but the bitterest grief for the death of his son. But his attitude toward it is a lesson to everyone in dealing with the worst of personal circumstances. In our age we much more readily deny the reality of our pain, we never enjoy meeting it full on. We can be sure that neither did David. But David had the wisdom to know that a full reconciliation of healing is dependent upon a full reconciliation of the situation’s pain.
"Doubting Thomas." It is a common expression even in our modern English. It refers to one of the disciples of Jesus who is often associated with one word: doubting. He is seen as a natural pessimist, a man very liable to take the despondent hopeless view of the future and see the darker side of everything. Spiritual wilderness is not a joyful time. It is a time when we feel alone, deserted, and dying of spiritual thirst in the midst of a debilitating spiritual draught. If you are living in the wilderness today, rejoice in that fact, because God is doing a transforming work in your life — He is making you more like Jesus, that you might be a choice servant of His by being His hands and feet and eyes and ears and mouth in this world.
Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, are somewhat well-known characters from the Gospels. However, many focus mainly on Mary and Lazarus and push Martha aside as the frazzled housekeeper who was not wise enough to sit and listen to Jesus like her sister. No one wants to admit, but most people only wish to be like Mary, sitting quietly and listening attentively to Jesus’ every word, but actually they act as Martha did. More often than not Christians are worrying just like Martha and not trusting in the words of Christ. Jesus understood this about Martha and loved her so much that He made a personal effort to persuade Martha to put her trust in Him and have faith. Jesus understands this about us as well and is just as eager to see all men put their faith in Him.
It’s a safe bet that Elijah wasn’t just feeling alone but was feeling downright lonely when he hid for a night in a cave on Mount Horeb. He had defeated the prophets of Baal in one of the most memorable showdowns ever, and instead of being celebrated, he was being hunted by Jezebel. He left his servant behind, went into the wilderness alone, and prayed he would die. He then journeyed 40 days and 40 nights and sat in a deep funk wondering what difference any of his work made. He was depressed and dejected. Loneliness doesn’t come from being alone; loneliness comes from thinking you are alone—thinking you are the only one who feels a certain way when in fact thousands of others feel the same way. Elijah was never alone. Are you like Elijah? Perhaps it is time to reassess how alone you really are.
JOY - Jesus warns His disciples of the difficulties and persecution ahead, but He also promises a different kind of joy that surpasses any understanding of joy that we have. As the disciples request to know more, and the reality of the cross is unavoidable, Jesus' response brings the hope of salvation and a deeper sense of joy that will be available to His people through His Holy Spirit. The scripture of today’s talk is from John 16:16-24. This morning Deniz Carey is speaking from God’s heart directly to ours.
The idea of God leading His people is a main theme of Scripture. The book of Psalms especially is filled with pleas for God to lead us in His ways, by His truth and righteousness, and in “the way everlasting”. Our prayer to God to "lead us not into temptation" is a plea for God to protect us, to guide us around situations and circumstances that may lure us into ungodly action. Jesus instructed us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil” or “deliver us from the evil one” in many translations. In the conditions we find ourselves living in today’s world, we can certainly see the wisdom to include this statement in our prayers. We need the protection and deliverance from evils in this increasingly unsafe, lawless, and violent world that only an all-powerful God can provide.
Jesus in his prayer expounds on the importance of forgiveness. And to really drive home what he meant, he purposefully chose a different word for sin with a different nuance than the one he used in the prayer. Matthew chose the Greek word paraptōma to capture Jesus’s intention in these verses, which in the context means a kind of sin that oversteps prescribed limits or boundaries — what we call a “trespass.” Jesus wanted us to understand sin in both the sense of owing a debt and the sense of trespassing into territory that doesn’t belong to us.
Jesus teaches us to pray that God would give us daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Obviously Jesus was not telling His disciples to pray only for bread. But bread was a staple in the diet of the Jews, and had been so for many years. Furthermore, bread was a powerful symbol of God’s provision for His people in the Old Testament. We remember how God cared for the Israelites when they were in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. As we enter into prayer, this conversation and communion with God, and put our petitions before Him, pouring out our souls and our needs specifically, we see specific answers to our prayers. Our Father has invited us to go to Him and ask Him for our daily bread. He will not fail to provide it.
Your kingdom come. Historically, the prayer had its origin in the Messianic expectations embodied in the picture of the ideal king in Isaiah 11:1-6; Isaiah 42:1-7, Daniel 7:14. It had long been familiar to all who looked for the consolation of Israel. The Teacher of the prayer knew Himself to be the Head of that kingdom. But it was not, like the kingdoms of the world, one that rested on the despotism of might, but on the acknowledgment of righteousness. And therefore when we pray that it may “come” in its fulness, we are asking God’s kingdom to come in us so that all created beings may bring their wills into harmony with God’s will.
Our relationship with God the Father is in some way to be a mirror image of the relationship that Jesus has with Him. This is a prayer for all times and seasons, for all situations, and for all people. Above all, it draws us into the prayer of Christ himself, because we address (as he did) our prayers to our loving Father in heaven. As we pray that prayer we are being invited to grow in awareness of who the Father is as Jesus did even when nailed to the cross.
The Lord’s prayer is designed to shape our lives. It is clear that the very word “Abba” (father) uttered by our Lord here, as in Matthew 6:9-13, so impressed itself on the minds of men that, like “Amen” and “Hallelujah” and “Hosanna,” it was used in the prayers even of converts from heathenism and Hellenistic Judaism. Our heavenly Father is intimately connected with us right here and right now and the Lord of all.
Jesus taught us to address God where he is, that is, in heaven and not yet here on earth. The Father wants to be here and will be here when heaven and earth unite. In the act of prayer God unveils himself to us and so we are to unveil ourselves to God. We begin prayer where we are. If we are sad, we begin sad. If we are angry, we begin angry. There is no use trying to pretend we are not these things and to begin by adoration if we are not in that place. Prayer is not trying to get God to agree with us or to provide for our selfish desires. Prayer is affirming God’s sovereignty, righteousness, and majesty and seeking to conform our desires and our purposes to His will and glory. The Lord’s prayer is a masterpiece of the infinite mind of God
Love grows by receiving, by seeing and by serving. Jesus loved his disciples to the very end of his earthly life and ministry, and he loved them fully and completely, without condition or reservation, for this was the fulfilment of his mission. Jesus’ commandment to love one another is not a commandment to feel affection, but a commandment to act in a loving way, even when we would rather do otherwise. This morning, Anna Chamberlain unpacks the passage in John 13:1-5.
Selfishness is always odious and out of place. The greatest need of Jonah’s life was to die to Jonah, when he thought he was able to control the outcome of his journey and expected the result to be different. God's closing declaration of compassion on those who seem irredeemably terrible give us a stark theological source for radical non-violent enemy love, as well as for equality and universal human rights.
Jonah did everything he could to resist the first call of God, after he repented God called him again, though God was under no obligation to do it. He did it out of mercy and grace. God was determined to do the work through Jonah, so He did not give up on the reluctant prophet. God is often just this committed to doing His work through a man. God speaks and His word won’t return to Him empty but it will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which he sent it.
Torn between his love for Israel and his prophetic insight into God’s love for all men, Jonah ran away to escape his responsibility as God’s spokesman. Being kept alive by miracle he prayed. Jonah reflects on the earnestness of his prayer, and God's readiness to hear and answer. He reflects on the favour of God to him, when he sought to God, and trusted in him in his distress.
The purpose of a call from God is to serve other people. Jonah’s call is for the benefit of Nineveh. The more powerful our gifts and talents, the greater the harm we are apt to do if we reject God’s guidance in our work. Undoubtedly we can all bring to mind people whose prodigious abilities enabled them to do great harm in fields of business, government, society, science, religion, and all the rest. Imagine the good they could have done, the evil they could have avoided, if they had submitted their skills first to the service of the Lord. Our gifts may seem puny in comparison, yet imagine the good we could do and the evil we could avert if we did our work in service to God over the course of a lifetime.
Jonah is portrayed as a recalcitrant prophet who flees from God’s summons to prophesy against the wickedness of the city of Nineveh. Like the Book of Ruth, which was written at about the same period, it opposes the narrow Jewish nationalism characteristic of the period following the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah with their emphasis on Jewish exclusivity. Thus the prophet Jonah, like the Jews of the day, abhors even the idea of salvation for the Gentiles. God chastises him for his attitude, and the book affirms that God’s mercy extends even to the inhabitants of a hated foreign city.
Today we start a new series on being fruitful. ‘The fruit of the Spirit,’ says Paul, not the fruits, as we might more naturally have expected, all this rich variety of graces, of conduct and character, is thought of as one. How can we nurture the different aspects of the fruit even in times of isolation? Richard Glazier is going introduce this new series on Galatians 5:22-23 for us this morning!
“Be still and know that I am God”, the first half of Psalms 46:10, is a popular verse used to encourage believers to be still and silent before the Lord. While this interpretation promotes a healthy rest in the presence of the Lord, it should further be understood as a command to wake up, stop striving, and acknowledge God for who He is, allowing Him to do what only He can do. Be still.
The character of Jacob is one of the standing difficulties of the Old Testament, because of the interest and love God cherished for him. David offers to us much the same difficulty: "the man after God's own heart," and yet so base and vile in his great sin. God chose Jacob, and chooses to be called the God of Jacob, just because he was a man so full of human infirmity and littleness, mingled with those higher and nobler qualities without which the spiritual culture of mankind becomes impossible. What God was to him, we can believe that He may be, He will be, to us; thus the name "God of Jacob" has a sound hill of comfort, full of assurance to our ears. Because grace comes and meet us where we are.
Sometimes when we’re going through times of trouble all that’s left to compare and explain how hard things are metaphors. The Psalmist uses natural disasters to picture life’s hardships on verses 2 to 5. But regardless of all that might be going on, there is a rescue plan.
The deeper the revelation of who God is the greater our faith will be specially in times of trouble. Today we will examine verse 1 of Psalm 64 that reads: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. As we try to come to terms with our present situation, with this new way of life that has come upon us, let us constantly remember that we can stand on God’s words and His love and promises never fail.
Today Washington introduces a new TAKE 5 mini-series, in which we'll be unpacking the powerful words of Psalm 46. What do we do when life as we know it is completely shaken down? What do we do when our lives are turned upside down? What do we do when the unthinkable becomes reality? This week we’ll explore those questions and more looking at the ancient wisdom of the scriptures.
Richard Glazier reminds us this Easter Sunday to keep on keeping on and not to grow weary despite circumstances. Hebrews 12:1-3 poses the challenge before us to fix our eyes on Jesus and not to lose the breath of life! We are the ones who chose to live in this age by faith but not by sight. What is your motivation to keep going? What narrative are you living by?
In the last few days we have thought about the parts of God’s armour in verses 14 to 17 of Ephesians chapter 6. In our final episode we’ll be exploring verses 17 to 18. A sword is a weapon consisting of a long, straight or slightly curved blade. It is sharp edged on one or both sides. One end is pointed and the other is fixed in a handle. It is a symbol of military power, justice and authority. This is a time God is calling His people not to live in bondage, anxiety, fear, confusion, discomfort or hopelessness, but to be those who rise up to put on the full armour in protection and readiness to fight back during these dark times.
Today we’ll be looking at verse 16 and part of verse 17. The shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. This faith is not something that comes from within us. It is God’s gift to us. The helmet protects the head perhaps the most vital part of the body since it is the seat of thought and the mind. It is a constant reminder that we are saved by no other name but the name of Jesus.
Even though we’ve been living in dark and difficult times we can, because of Jesus continue to live free from oppression and anxiety. The second half of the verse 14 of Ephesians chapter 6 talks about the breastplate of righteousness and verse 15 about peace. We have been set free and therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We have been made righteous by following the living Son of God and His peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
We can be overwhelmed with our own circumstances if we look inwards and outwards looking can be tiring and draining. Speaking truth into our situation is key to fight against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. In the first half of Ephesians 6 verse 14 we are instructed by Paul to “Stand firm and to buckle up the belt of truth around our waist”.
This week's TAKE 5 series will be taking a closer look at Ephesians 6 and thinking about how putting on the armour of God can help us focus on the author and finisher of our faith. On this introductory episode our beloved Deniz Carey talks about on how to become a breakthrough people in a time of darkness, limitations and restrictions.
This morning Barney unpacks Isaiah 61:7-11, where we are invited to delight in the Lord and acknowledge God’s goodness and blessings both material and spiritual as signs of His faithfulness to us. Engaging with the Lord will helps us to be growing seeds that display all the goodness of God. A double portion of joy is available to us let us constantly remember what He has done for us!
Episode 7 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 6: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” God's goodness and love are chasing us down... he is in pursuit of us and will never give up! What should our response be? And how can this best be expressed at a time of social lockdown?
Episode 6 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” We may be engaged in spiritual battle, but God invites us to a feast in the middle of the fight! How can we find space to celebrate amid difficulty, and also offer this sort of hospitality to others?
Episode 5 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” Global pandemic or not, there will always be times of struggle and suffering. How can we walk a non-anxious path and experience the Lord's comfort along the way?
Episode 4 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 3: “He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake” In an age of countless voices and conflicting opinions, how do we know what is 'right' or 'good'? And why should we follow that path when it is difficult or costly?
Episode 3 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 2: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters”. Just as a shepherd provides for his sheep, the Lord knows all our needs. He wants to lead us to the clearest 'waters' and the freshest 'pastures' – to eat until satisfied. How can we step into the reality of this verse right now?
Episode 2 of this TAKE 5 mini-series, unpacking Psalm 23. Today we examine verse 1: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” In this climate of global anxiety, how can we cultivate a sense that God is looking after us? What could this mean for the way we relate to those around us?
The most familiar parts of the Bible are sometimes the hardest to truly understand. And so it is with Psalm 23 - perhaps the most famous of all scripture passages.
Today Barney introduces a new TAKE 5 mini-series, in which we'll be unpacking the riches of Psalm 23 verse by verse; What can we learn about God's attentiveness at this time of global anxiety?
Psalm 23 A psalm of David
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [1] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Andy White takes us on a whistle-stop tour through Isaiah 53:1-6 – a famous passage of scripture which foretells the gospel story. Although written 500 years before Jesus, it describes perfectly his birth, death and resurrection.
Next week: Barney Skrentny
Against the backdrop of an unfolding coronavirus pandemic, Dawn brings a message of hope and urges us to remain rooted in God's love.
There is a worksheet to accompany this episode, which you can download here.
Dawn also mentions a link to this article by Sister Mary Catharine Perry, a Dominican nun.
Next week: Andy White