Jesus always called His followers to resist the temptation to passively conform to the lifestyle and values of the culture in which we live. This peer pressure is no more apparent than in the area of consumerism and materialism. In an age of science, reason and skepticism, it’s not cool to believe in a God you cannot see and touch. So modern man has substituted the God of the Bible with the god of money (and the possessions and comforts that money can buy). Jesus powerfully shows how pathetically futile it is to worship and serve this god, who never ultimately delivers. How much better it is to reject the lure of “things”, and find our contentment in the One who knows our needs and fully provides for those who trust in Him.
Leviticus 19:9-18 has 5 groups of laws which tell Israel how they are to be holy like God is. They are to be holy by caring for the poor and needy, by dealing with others in honesty and integrity, by not abusing power they have over others, by ensuring justice, and ultimately by loving others. In fact, love sums up all these groups of laws and is to be the fundamental way that we relate to everyone else we come across. Jesus fulfilled these laws in his ministry and the way he fulfils them powerfully displays the gospel. As a response to Jesus person and works, Christians today are to be holy like God is by being like Jesus in the way that he fulfils the law.
What should we make of Mary, the mother of Jesus? She figures prominently in Roman Catholic teaching, worship and prayer, but what place and what emphasis does the Bible give to Mary? In this message Pastor Murray looks more closely at how Mary responded to the news about her pregnancy and the nature of the baby she would mother. What an impressive woman! But more than that, she grasped the bigger picture of what God was doing in setting up His great plan to save the world, and she was willing to get involved personally in it. Are we as keen to play our part in God’s great missionary plan?
Throughout the Bible, and especially in the Psalms, we often see God spoken of as our place of refuge. Psalm 16 is no exception. As we explore Psalm 16 today, let us consider what it looks like to live with God as our place of refuge.
Psalm 95 is an invitation for the people of God to join together and worship. But what does this mean? What, in particular, are we invited to do as we join together in worship?
Listen as we hear the invitation of Psalm 95. Let us consider what a wonderful privilege it is to meet each week as God’s people.
The grace of God is a beautiful gift. It is a gift that ought to be on display so that the world can know how precious it is to us. However, a divided church that is always fighting about silly issues makes the precious gift of grace look a whole lot less precious than it really is.
In tonight’s passage, Paul concludes his instructions to Titus with some advice on how to approach divisive issues and divisive people in the church. We see that grace demands unity and that our unity shows off grace.
National leadership dramas are nothing new! We’ve had our share here in Australia in recent years. As doubts about King Saul started to increase, the young shepherd-warrior David was attracting more and more attention. But did he have what it would take to lead a nation? Despite of his father’s jealousy of David, Jonathan saw a man to whom he wanted to pledge his absolute loyalty. David did not turn out to be the ideal king Israel was looking for, but 1000 years later a descendant of David did come who was the perfect King – Jesus Christ. He still reigns over His kingdom. Have you recognised Him? Why not pledge your loyalty to Him today?
Churches are vulnerable to rogue ideas and deceptive teachers. They need good leadership. They need sound teaching. Tonight’s passage stresses the importance of two vital aspects of this teaching …… firstly, what God expects of us in terms of Christian behaviour, and secondly, how God’s grace is the key to true and lasting change and growth in our lives. Not only are we saved by grace. We are also changed by grace. It is only with God’s help that we can really say “No” to ungodliness and “Yes” to godliness. When we really understand this enabling grace, then it not only makes the Christian life possible. It makes it necessary!