The Love Of God, The God Of Love

"You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You" (Psalm 86:5). Sometimes, we contrast 'the God of the Old Testament' and 'the God of the New Testament.'  We speak about 'the God of law' and 'the God of love.' If we think that 'love' only began with the start of …

God is carrying out His plan of salvation.

Genesis 20-21 In these chapters, the high point is the birth of Isaac (21:1-3). The great verse, which jumps out at us, is the first verse of chapter 21: "The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised." This is more than a human story. …

Give to us, Lord, the wisdom that is centred on Christ.

“The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). Give to us, Lord, the wisdom that is centred on Christ, the wisdom that receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”, the wisdom that leads us to become “mature in Christ”, the wisdom that is Christlike, the wisdom …

Let’s take our problems to the Lord.

Proverbs 5:1-14 Being married: There are many temptations - the 'loose woman' (3-6). Be positive: Through 'mutual love and respect', let's build 'strong and happy' marriages, in which 'the marriage bond is honoured'. Singles: Don't spoil everything by getting entangled with those who are 'loose' in their commitment to believing in and living for Jesus …

What does it mean to be holy?

"Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). What does it mean to be holy? Do we make ourselves holy? Are we to turn ourselves into modern-day Pharisees - people who regard ourselves as superior to other people? No! The way of true holiness is centred on Christ - not ourselves. It is centred …

Let us give thanks to our Saviour. Let us thank him for his great salvation.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). The crowds were "harassed and helpless." They were "like sheep without a shepherd." They were sinners without a Saviour/ Jesus, the Saviour, came to them. They came to him. He brought salvation to …

Statement of Christian Faith (2): We believe in one God (Part Two)

We believe in one God (Romans 5:1-11; Romans 10:9-13; Romans 15:7-13). The Statement is made up of five sections: (i) We believe in one God; (ii) We praise God the Father; (iii) We proclaim (or confess) Jesus Christ, God the Son; (iv) We trust God the Holy Spirit; (v) We rejoice in the gift of …

Full of joy through the Holy Spirit, let us boast in the Lord.

At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do" (Luke 10:21). Here we see "Jesus, full of …

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You.

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You. Jesus, Your Son, tells us that eternal profit is more important than personal profit. He says to us, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mark …

God’s wonderful grace changes everything!

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago (Isaiah 25:1). When we worship the Lord, we are to give thanks to him for all that he has done for us. Without his wonderful grace, we would be on …

Learning to worship the Lord and walk in his ways

 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3). A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and …

Filled with joy and peace, overflowing with hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). Joy, peace and hope: is this just about being positive people, or is there more than this here? It is so important that …

The peace of God that passes all understanding

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27). Here, Jesus speaks of "peace." What does he mean when he speaks of his peace? What does he mean when he says that …

From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are led from strength to strengh, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. (1) From strength to strength The phrase, "from strength to strength" is taken from the hymn, "Soldiers of …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year A: First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Awaiting Christ’s Return, let us worship God and walk in His ways. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3, 5). We are moving towards the …

Soon, it will be Christmas.

Soon, it will be Christmas. It’s a very special time of the year. What is it that makes Christmas special? It’s Jesus who makes Christmas special. Jesus is a very special Person. There’s no-one more special than Jesus. If Christmas is going to be special for us, we must see that it’s all about Jesus …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year C: First Sunday of Advent – Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Revised Common Lectionary – Year CFirst Sunday of Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.‘I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin …