Author: Philip

‘Responding to the wonder of grace: like Jesus (1)’ (Romans 12:14-16)

AudioPhilip

In Romans 12:14-16, Paul continues to explore the applications of what it means to be transformed from within by the Spirit of God. Having addressed the way we are to relate to each other within the body of Christ, his concern now is to apply some more principles in relating to others who are ‘outside’ of the people of God. A life lived in the way he teaches, does (not surprisingly!) remind us of the Lord Jesus, who was all that Paul taught!

Message

Outline

• The sixth in this series
• That ‘inside out’ transformation…
• Two sets of triplets
• See how Paul teaches us to be like Jesus in …

  1. The way we think of others (v.14-15)
  2. The way we think of ourselves (v.16)

1 John 3:17
That pair of army boots
Like Jesus who was all these things…

Book club begins!

Philip

The first meeting of our new ‘Book Club’ was held last night. The book we are reading and discussing (see image below) is R C Sproul’s, ‘The Holiness of God’….it’s deep and engaging (what else could it be on such a big topic?)!

Interested in joining in? It’s not too late. Contact us for details.

‘Vital facts that demand your urgent attention’ (Matthew 28:1-10)

AudioPhilip

The story of the resurrection of Jesus isn’t just a made up story to make us feel good about death or to give Jesus some more status that wasn’t meant for him. In Matthew 28:1-10, the facts are laid out for all to see and they must be wrestled with! For, if God did really raised Jesus from the dead, then everything changes – nothing is the same! And, following on from that, the claims Jesus makes must be examined and either believed or rejected. There’s no middle ground.

Message

Outline

• House fires!
• Facts that demand action
• Crisis moments & the claim of the gospel writers…
• Note that Matthew tells us of…

  1. One indisputable fact (v.1-6a)
  2. Two important commands (v.6b-7)
  3. One inescapable conclusion (v.8-10)

The verdict of the gospel writers
The challenge for all people!

‘Mrs Pilate’s crazy dream’ (Matthew 27:19)

AudioPhilip

When the gospel writer, Matthew, recorded the fact that Mrs Pilate (Claudia Procla) told her husband, Pontius Pilate, about her dream and her ill-feeling towards the situation her husband would soon be in, sentencing the Lord Jesus, we could ask the question, why? Why did Matthew record that incident? There might well be some suggestions that aren’t quite right and some (or at least one) that probably is. On this Good Friday, listen on to see!

Message

Outline

• The text! Mrs Pilate’s cameo…
• Why did Matthew include it?
• What does it mean? What can we learn? Think on…

  1. Three suggestions that are wrong
    Men

We

Not

  1. One suggestion that is right

The

“Innocent” and innocent
That goat!
The gospel: the innocent punished, the guilty go free!

‘Responding to the wonder of grace: thankful hearts’ (Romans 12:11-13)

AudioPhilip

Having laid the foundation of love as being the key character trait of the believer, in Romans 12:11-13, Paul adds more to the picture of what it means to live the Christian life. In these verses, Paul gives a set of commands that believers are to follow, not as a way of ‘putting on’ Christianity as an outward, external thing, but as an inward thing, something that comes from within, through the transformation Paul spoke of in Romans 12:2. Love is the beginning of the response but is only the beginning. Faithfulness and zeal and prayerfulness all need to be added on, as we grow in maturity and service to the Lord.

Message

Outline

• The fifth in this series
• That ‘inside out’ transformation…
• Triplets and doublets
• See how Paul points us toward these character traits …

  1. Wholehearted ministry (v.11)
  2. Faithful consistency (v.12)
  3. Shared generosity (v.13)

KPI’s
Time for a stocktake…
The thankful heart

‘Responding to the wonder of grace: genuine love’ (Romans 12:9-10)

AudioPhilip

The world often throws up the line or the comeback that ‘love is love’. Well, it is, and it isn’t. In Romans 12:9-10, the Apostle Paul, gives us some clear instructions as to how God’s people should ensure that ‘love’ is the key to the way we function as a church. He speaks of love, but not as the world understands it, rather as God defines it -and He has the right to define it – after all, we only love because ‘He loved us first’.

Message

Outline

• The fourth in this series
• A quick backtrack…
• From gifts to ‘graces’
• See how Paul points us to a kind of love that is …

  1. Free from hypocrisy (v.9a)
  2. Full of discernment (v.9b)
  3. Focused on others (v.10)

Have I ever truly loved another?
Where this all starts!

Good Friday service & an Easter reflection

Philip

The last words spoken by dying people can be sad, weird or anything in between. Elvis Presley said, “I’m going to the bathroom to read.” Joseph Wright was a linguist who edited the English Dialect Dictionary. His last word was “Dictionary.” Multimillionaire, Richard Mellon enjoyed a game of Tag with his brother through seven decades of his life. When dying, Richard whispered, “Last tag” to his brother who then was “It” for four years until his death. In John 19:30 we find read that the last words of Jesus were, ‘It is finished’. But what was it that was finished? His suffering? The drink he’d been offered?

The Apostle John wrote in the common Greek of the day and in that language, Jesus said just one word, which has this meaning, ‘It is finished, it stands finished and it will always be finished’. The death of Jesus was no accident. He willingly embraced the cross. His death was not an example either. His death was a payment. By saying ‘it is finished’, Jesus expressed that what he had come to do – to rescue God’s people – and that was now complete. He paid a debt that wasn’t his, leaving absolutely nothing to pay.

See, salvation is God’s work on our behalf. It is a gift from God that is received by faith. Everything hinges on what Jesus completed. And what’s more, this last word of Jesus is a lifeline to those who believe. Call on Him. He will save you. If you don’t, then He must speak that last word about you.

‘Responding to the wonder of grace: a healthy church’ (Romans 12:3-8)

AudioPhilip

After estabslising what believers should do in response to God’s grace with their lives (Romans 12:1) and their minds (Romans 12:2), Paul progresses the way that this response to grace should affect the way we treat each other in the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8). Here, Paul points out that we are one body with different gifts and that these gifts are gifts of grace (Greek: Charismata (gifts), Charis (grace)) for the building up of the body. The way we serve each other will indicate the way in which we have learned to give ourselves as living sacrifices and just how much our minds have been transformed by grace.

Message

Outline

• The third in this series
• What we’ve learned…
• Outward expression of inner transformation
• See how Paul points us to the character traits of …

  1. Walking in humility (v.3)
  2. Living in harmony (v.4-5)
  3. Serving with fidelity (v.6-8)

The parable of the tea bag
The healthy church….
You are the body of Christ

‘Responding to the wonder of grace: transformed minds’ (Romans 12:2)

AudioPhilip

In Romans 12:2, Paul continues the theme of how we ought to live in response to the wonder of God’s grace given to His people. After telling us that nothing less than offering ourselves as ‘living sacrifices’ to God will do in verse 1, he then rounds out the picture by telling us the ‘how in verse 2 and indeed, in the rest of the chapter. Verse 2 tells us that a right response to God in this way includes our minds. Why? Because right thinking and right theology ultimately leads to right living, just as bad thinking and bad theology ultimately reveals itself and ends up in wrong living!

Message

Outline

• The second in this series
• What we’ve learned…
• A high bar & cheap grace
• See what Paul says about responding to grace…

  1. What we ought not do (v.2a)
  2. What we ought to do (v.2b)
  3. Why we ought to do it (v.2c)

Can you spot the difference?
What’s the Lord’s end goal in this?