Last week we commenced our series, ‘The Things That Make For Peace’. This week we consider the promises of God concerning peace. The peace of God we enjoy today is not some ethereal notion of tranquility, or a delicate balancing act of work, rest and play, but is secure and full of substance. Our present peace is based upon the past promises of God fulfilled in Christ, and is known together with the hope and assurance of the full and future peace to come through him. We can be as sure and certain of this as the name of the […]

This week we commence a new series entitled The Things That Make For Peace. Peace is a much sought after, but elusive, goal in the world. Whether it be on a personal level, among families, within a nation, or across the globe, we all want peace. However, no matter how much we fight for it, or how long we lay down our guns, we never seem to achieve the goal of peace… or if we do, it doesn’t last very long. God sent his Son into this ‘peace’ seeking world at war within itself, and with God himself, declaring “Peace […]

Wayne Lines is preaching this Sunday and writes, “In this section of Paul’s letter he engages in a little boasting, which he calls foolishness, to show up the foolishness of the Corinthians in esteeming the ‘super apostles’. On closer look, we see that his boasting is not of the same ilk as his opponents. Whereas they trumpet their successes and accomplishments, his resume consists of beatings, shipwrecks and humiliations. Even when he might have been able to boast about the exclusive revelations and visions he had received from the Lord, he insists on highlighting his weaknesses and even confesses that […]

This week we return to our series through 2 Corinthians. In Chapter 11 Paul expresses both his love and his fear for the Corinthian believers as they are in danger of being led astray by the ‘super-apostles’. He has preached nothing but Christ crucified to them, and in this, they lack nothing, as it came to them in a demonstration of the power of God. Yet, they are being distracted and deceived by the empty promises and the facade of glory the false teachers present as they belittle Paul and his ministry. In his ‘divine jealousy’ Paul names these imposters […]

As Jesus breathed his last, the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. By the shedding of his blood, and the tearing of the curtain, that is “his flesh”, as the writer of Hebrews puts it, Jesus opened ‘a new and living way’ to approach, worship and dwell with God. We can now draw near to him, “with a true heart… in full assurance of faith… with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience… and our bodies washed with pure water.” Rejoice with us in this glorious truth as we gather to remember and worship our […]

We take a break from our series through 2 Corinthians this week and Brian Arthur will be preaching. He has entitled the message, ‘Rising Fear’ and writes, “On top of the universal fear that God says enslaves every human being there are seasons of fear. Like the bush fire that moves from the understory into the canopy and then develops a life of its own, fear can feed off terrible, unexplainable and unstoppable events and flare into an all consuming conflagration. As Christians we can find ourselves shrinking back from a clear and assuring understanding of how the Gospel deals […]

Money may not grow on trees, but in 2 Corinthians 9 Paul speaks of ‘fields of gold’ growing in the lives of those who willingly confess to the gospel of Christ and submit to the grace of God. These are fields of righteousness and grace, sown in joy with seeds supplied by God, producing grain which is grown and harvested by God, and then multiplied and increased further by God. All of it, producing more and more, harvest after bountiful harvest of joy and righteousness, so that we might give and sow all the more in order that we will […]

At the heart of our passage this week (2 Corinthians 7:5-16), Paul writes, “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” The grief he is speaking of refers to what one feels when they have been ‘found out’ or reprimanded for their poor behaviour or sin. None of us like to be ‘found out’ or ‘told off’, but really, who are we kidding? God sees all things, and he disciplines those he loves. Often, this correction comes from those he has given to care for us and teach us such as a […]

This week, among the many great gospel truths contained in our passage (2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2), we will hear Paul urge the Corinthian believers, “Do not receive the grace of God in vain.” What a terrible thing it would be to hear and receive the gospel of Christ, and there be no fruit of it in our lives. It seems almost impossible that this would be the case. Yet, the potential for this to happen is the reason for Paul’s appeal. On the other hand, Paul and his fellow workers, convinced of the gospel – that Jesus died for all and […]

We find in 2 Corinthians 4 that, not only is Paul ‘very bold’ because of the sure hope of the new covenant in Christ, no matter what is thrown his way, he does not lose heart. He refuses to compromise the gospel or his integrity, and instead, persists in speaking the truth openly, commending it to everyone’s conscience. When one believes and knows that ‘he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us into his presence’, everything else is put in its true perspective. The trials and sufferings of this life, experienced in our […]