Last week we heard of God’s plan and desire to have a people of his own who will abide with him, and he with them. This all began in the Garden of Eden. However, sin, guilt and shame now interrupt this true abiding. Fear and death now loom over us and over all creation. What’s more, we hear with Cain that ‘sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.’ We all know these dynamics in our own lives, and the restlessness that they bring. Is there any hope for true abiding […]

This week we commence a new series, ‘Abide In Me’. Whilst this phrase doesn’t appear in the Scriptures until John’s gospel, it has been God’s yearning from before the foundation of the world. As the great prophetic anthem declares, ‘I will be your God, and you will be my people’. God longs to have a people of his own who dwell with him, and he with them. Moreover, he has prepared and provided everything necessary, in Creation and in Redemption, for this mutual and eternal abiding to take place, and he is determined that it will. Into the pervading restlessness […]

Brian Arthur will be preaching this Sunday. He writes, “Three things have stirred my heart in coming to you this week and a fourth brought my theme into focus. I received a prophetic email from Ian Pennicook (from which I have taken my title); I read Ray’s précis for last week’s proclamation and over the last twelve months I have been immersed in Paul’s battle for life and love to flow in the Church at Galatia. Ian, Paul and Ray all applied themselves to the impact of the prophetic word. Each faced the issue that the life of God as […]

Early in Luke we read that he wrote his gospel to Theophilus so that he might have certainty concerning the things he had been taught. As we conclude our series through Luke’s gospel this week, we hear of Jesus speaking to his disciples saying that everything about him in the Scriptures must be fulfilled. This includes his suffering, death and resurrection, and “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” Whilst he declared, ‘It is finished!’ on the cross, and was soon to ascend to his Father’s right hand, the work of proclaiming […]

This weekend our nation will celebrate Easter. For some, this is a good opportunity to get away with the family for an extra long weekend. For others, there is a horse race to dress up for. For others still, it just means lots of chocolate. However, whilst these might all be good and enjoyable, there is a far greater reason to enjoy this long weekend. We will take some time to remember, proclaim and enjoy the love of God for the world as he gave his Son to die for us while we were still sinners. Continuing through Luke’s gospel, […]

In Luke 22, Jesus has arrived at his destination – Jerusalem, and now prepares himself and his disciples for what lies ahead – his betrayal, their confusion, their faltering egos and false hopes, and his own suffering and impending death. The meal which provides the context for these events is often called ‘The Last Supper’. However, Jesus is confident this is not a final farewell, but a penultimate feast. As he prepares both himself and his disciples for the end of his time among them in the flesh, he also establishes, not a memorial meal, but a new covenant… a […]

James Krieg will be preaching this Sunday from this chapter where Jesus foretells the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man. He writes, “Just days before his crucifixion, Jesus speaks to his disciples about an event within their lifetimes that will, in a starkly visible way, mark the end of the old age and the advancement of the new: the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD. Yet he not only predicts it, but lovingly prepares them for it, enabling them to face it with a confidence that He will be with them as […]

In days when authority is not only questioned without shame, but often ignored and denied all together, it is appropriate and helpful for us to consider how Jesus himself, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, responded to his authority being questioned in Luke 19:45-20:18. In light of this, we will see what riches there are for those who willingly submit to his authority with joy, and what tragic emptiness there is for those who do not. No-one can truly be ‘a law unto themselves’.

Bob Ricks will resume our series through the Gospel of Luke this week, picking up where we left off in chapter 19, at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He writes, “Christ had long set His face to Jerusalem and the cross and now that time has come. We see in the narrative of Luke 19: 28-44, Christ allowing His Kingship to be celebrated by the gathered crowd, He is, according to the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9, riding into the city on the foal of a donkey. The crowd and many of the followers saw in Him a temporal King, a […]

As we conclude our series through Philippians, Paul once again rejoices in the partnership he has with the saints at Philippi. He is extremely grateful for their kind and generous gift to him, delivered personally by Epaphroditus, and considers such a gift ‘a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.’ However, he also reminds them that his own contentment and strength come not from material possessions or favourable circumstances but from God himself who supplies all he needs in Christ Jesus. He is confident that the Philippians also will have every need of theirs supplied by God ‘according […]