Author: Philip
‘See the prophet who came before the Saviour’ (Luke 3:1-20)
Of the 4 gospels about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, Luke has his own themes unique to his writing style and presentation of Jesus. And while his gospel does not begin at chapter 3, at the very least Luke 3:1-20 marks a signficant moment in Jesus’ ministry, when John appeared preaching repentance and baptising the people in preapration for the immediate appearing of the One he served. John’s ministry was to be a signpost to Jesus, even though for him, it meant that he would become less!
Message
Outline
• Why Luke’s gospel?
• The story begins at ch.1 not ch.3
• John’s lone voice in a noisy world
• What stands out about John? See….
- The mission he prized (v.1-6)
- The message he preached (v.7-14)
- The Master he praised (v.15-20)
The courage of John
Seen less because we’re closer to heaven!
Who are you pointing to?
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: love through welcoming each other’ (Romans 15:1-13)
Romans 15:1-13 is the end part of a very long dissertation from the pen of the Apostle Paul. It brings to an end the section of Romans 12:1-15:13 that we have been following, but also concludes his series of applications in relation to love as the response believers should have to the overwhelming grace of God. Not only are we to love all people and one another, but all this culminates in accepting each other, welcoming each other (v.7) for this glorifies God. And the church, a multi-cultural people, must be able to get over this hurdle of ‘difference’ and so effectively show the love of Christ to the world.
Message
Outline
• The twelfth in this series
• Romans 1-14 in a nutshell…
• Chapter 14: the strong and the weak
• See how Paul tells us that welcoming each other…
- Is a principle that Jesus followed (v.1-4)
- Is a principle that glorifies God (v.5-7)
- Is a principle the church is built on (v.8-13)
‘A separated family living together’
Come with an agenda!
Be the church!
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: love despite differences of opinion’ (Romans 14:1-23)
Not all of us agree on everything. You may not even agree with your closest family member or spouse on some matters. But when Christians disagree, then what do we do? In Romans 14:1-23, Paul adressess what was a major source of disagreement in a church where two main cultural groups (Jews and Gentiles) had differing views over food and other minor matters. Paul addressed this head on, in the hope that both sides might understand the other and get along – in loving unity!
Message
Outline
• The eleventh in this series
• When disagreements come…
• ‘Protestants’
• See how Paul tells us that we are to love by…
- Welcoming each other without judgment (v.1-12)
- Accepting each other with understanding (v.13- 23)
Three things to be careful of
Christ is the Lord of conscience!
Generous hearts
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: living with the end in mind’ (Romans 13:11-14)
While Paul speaks about love being the mark of the Christian and his/her resp;onsibility to extend it to all men, he is also aware that there are times and circumstances that make ‘loving others’ difficult. In Romans 13;11-14, he outlines some of these difficulties while also calling believers to see ‘how’ love can flourish – irt’s by ‘putting on the Lord Jesus Christ’.
Message
Outline
• The tenth in this series
• Living a life of love…
• ‘To live below with saints we know…’
• See how Paul tells us that we are to live and love…
- Knowing that the end is near us (v.11-12a)
- Knowing that the fight is around us (v.12b)
- Knowing that the flesh is against us (v.13-14)
Augustine’s conversion
Delivered from the kingdom of darkness
Time is short!
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: debtors to love’ (Romans 13:8-10)
In Romans 13:8-10, Paul spoeaks again about love, but this time in the context of the Law of God. The Old and New Testaments are not enemies but friends, and love is a dominant theme of both the Old and the New Testaments, even though some would say otherwise. In presenting this call to love to the beleievers at Rome, Paul actually tells them that by ‘loving’ they will fulfill the requirements of the Law! In this way, love and Law intersect and belong together.
Message
Outline
• The ninth in this series
• The overarching response of love…
• Is Law opposed to love?
• See how Paul tells us that …
- Love is the greater debt we owe (v.8a)
- Love is the summary and fulfillment of the Law (v.8b,9, 10b)
- Love determines how we treat others (10a)
Take a self-inventory!
Why love? Because we were loved first…!
The debt paid for us!
‘Jesus’ Authority, Priority & Purity’ (Mark 1:21-45)
In Mark 1:21-45, we see Jesus demonstrate authority in teaching, over unclean spirits, and in healing the sick. As amazing as Jesus’ authority is (the spirits are terrified and fear Jesus destroying them) we also see what is important to Jesus and what he has come to do with this authority: He cares about relationship with God and proclaiming the good news of how to get right with God. Jesus is both willing, and able, to make the ‘unclean’ clean, including you and I. How will we respond to this Jesus?
Message
Outline
- Who am I?
- Jesus’ Authority (v.21-34)
- In Teaching
- Over Spirits
- Over Sickness
- Jesus’ Priority (v.35-39)
- Prayer
- Preaching
- Jesus’ Purity (v.40-45)
- Jesus’ willingness
- Making the ‘unclean’ clean
- Living sacrifices
‘Care Team’ launched…
“…through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)
This morning (18/5/25) we introduced our newest ‘ministry team’ to the rest of our Church family – the ‘Care Team’. Its purpose and function is to provide practical care and help for the church family and to do this for each other whenever difficult or unexpected circumstances arise. We praise God for this small step in the development of our ministries!
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: model citizens’ (Romans 13:1-7)
In Romans 13:1-7, Paul continues along in the same train of thought, but with a different application – that of how believers ought to relate to those who are in positions of authority over them. How should believers live as those wanting to give themselves as ‘living sacrifices’ to the God who showed us such great mercy and do this in relation to governments that do not believe in Him? They should be the best citizens they can be, by standing up for righteousness and by the way they pray for and submit to these governing authorities (with exceptions of course!)!
Message
Outline
• The eighth in this series
• Remembering our context…
• How to approach a text like this?
• See how Paul encourages us…
- How to consider our appointed leaders (v.1-2)
- How to pray for our appointed leaders (v.3-4)
- How to live under our appointed leaders (v.5-7)
How did Jesus approach this?
Where all this is heading….!
‘Responding to the wonder of grace: like Jesus (2)’ (Romans 12:17-21)
In Romans 12;17-21, Paul sets out the way in which the believer should respond to those who hate and mistreat them. Jesus promised that His followers would face persecution for His sake and this is certainly borne out in practise. Believers all around the world are mistreated in major ways, but also, many of us face offences, insults and bullying even if these are not due to anything related to our faith. It’s a hard, evil world that we live in. How do we respond?
Message
Outline
• The seventh in this series
• Facing a danger…
• First being ‘in Christ’…. then living this life…
• See how Paul teaches us to be like Jesus and …
- Reject the way of revenge (v.17, 19-20)
- Pursue the way of peace (v.17b-18)
- Overcome evil with the opposite (v.21)
‘Be’ something’ before ‘do’ something
This world!
Different weapons for the war…