July 15, 2019
It’s one of the “be ... attitudes” – “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). Mercy it seems isn’t a one-way street. It’s not just that God is merciful to us. We’re to be merciful to others.
One definition of mercy is – “love in action”.
It’s illustrated in Jesus’ healing the leper who came to Him and said – “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Mark tells us that Jesus was “filled with compassion … reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said, ‘be clean’” (Mark 1:40-45).
Here, mercy is more than talk, emotions, feelings, pity … mercy is compassionate.
We’re called into mercy by entering into people’s pain and helping to lift them out of it.
May you be blessed as you live a merciful life.
Led To The Lost song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBPn1GzXR4s
July 1, 2019
Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV
Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
Most of us in church are aware of the need to avoid sin & to live lives which are pleasing in God’s sight by confessing and repenting of our sins. ie. sins of “commission”.
Generally we are not so aware that we shall also be judged by God for the things He requires of us that we have left undone. ie. sins of “omission”.
Chief among these sins of “omission” is His requirement throughout scripture that we minister to the orphans, widows, the poor and the oppressed.
How are you, how am I, how is our church being responsible before God for these ministries?
This morning we will look at scriptures in both the Old and New Testament which enjoin us to carry out this ministry & at our possible response.
June 17, 2019
Romans 12:9-21
We all wear masks for so many different things in life. We can often be afraid to really let people know where we are at, so we just default to the "I’m all good" when really we could be dying on the inside.
Paul challenges us to take off those masks and not pretend. He challenges us to a genuine love that is much deeper than the masks we can often hide behind.
June 5, 2019
Six hundred years ago, in The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis said - “Be not surprised that you cannot make others act as you wish them to act because you can’t make yourself act as you wish yourself to act.”
We’ve all, at some point, struggled to make changes in our lives. One of the most powerful choices we can make is to show gratitude and to be thankful. Giving thanks has the power to help us see things from God’s perspective. And that can change everything.
The Bible reminds us that we can give thanks in the words we say, the songs that we sing, the gifts that we give and the prayers that we pray. Philippians 4:6 reminds us - “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”
May 26, 2019
The Roman Empire was the all conquering force in the 1st Century AD with territories throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Roman infrastructure - roads, water supplies, legal system - spread throughout the Empire.
Paul says that Jesus followers are "more than conquerors" - that they were more than the might of Rome. He reassured the Christians in Rome that despite the problems they were experiencing, nothing earthly or spiritual could separate them from the love that God has for them in Jesus. We are more than conquerors. We are not victims. Our place in the kingdom of God is not measured by our power or wealth but how we respond to whatever life throws at us.
May 19, 2019
Romans 8:26 – 31
We are called and chosen by God and made right with Him through Jesus. We not only are made righteous, but we now have His glory.
We have nothing to fear because God is with us and even though we may go through some bumpy times in life we have the promises of God to hold onto. He is for us, and always brings us through the toughest seasons in life, so that we can shine brighter with His glory.
May 13, 2019
The letter to the Romans is sometimes difficult to understand & appears to be more of a lecture rather than a letter.
This is reflected in this week’s message from Chapter 8 v5-17 as we continue our series in Romans.
We will look at how we should use our words, how we should think & how we should live by the Spirit to become & continue on as God’s children.
Word, thought & deed (Spirit)
