Taking the Gospel for Granted
Familiarity breeds contempt… or so they say. Basically the longer you have something or someone in your life, the easier it is to take them for granted. As John writes to the churches who are probably a few generations old now, he desperately wants them to recognise that it is very easy to take Jesus for granted… to get bored of Jesus and chase after something else. So John takes a moment to remind the people just how powerful the…
The Gospel and Obedience
I am just going to say it, most of us don’t like being told to obey. It cuts against our preconceived idea that we know what is best for ourselves. In many ways it is one of the big reasons that people steer clear of Christianity, because they feel like they will be forced to obey rules and regulations rather than determine their own direction. So when John calls for radical obedience as evidence for our faith it could reinforce…
God is Light
When we are convicted of our sin it can often feel painful… this is mainly because our sin is pretty much always driven by our pride and so when we get ourselves into trouble it is a slap in the face to our pride as we realise we are not as good as we thought we were. As John continues to unpack the implications of the gospel we are going to wrestle with how we should deal with this conviction.
The Real Jesus
Late in the first century it was likely that John was the last remaining Apostle… the last eye-witness to the ministry of Jesus. So when teaching began to rise in the churches that called into question the message of the gospel that John and the other Apostles had proclaimed he responded by writing a letter. This letter still stands as one of the most confident and passionate cases for the certainty of Jesus Christ and the salvation we can have in…
Small God Syndrome
It is great that Psalm 23 and 24 are paired together in Israel’s song book because they add a much needed balance to our image of God. Where 23 gave us the image of an intimate, caring, protecting and guiding shepherd God, Psalm 24 gives us an altogether different picture. Pastor Joe traces the events surrounding the writing of this Psalm and how they contribute to a vision of God that breaks through the limitations we often place around Him and challenges…
Where the grass is greener
No matter how many good things that we have in life just about all of us suffer from a deep feeling that we could do with just a little bit more. Sometimes our dissatisfaction in life can flow over to our understanding of faith… we feel we want just a little bit more than Jesus can offer. Pastor Joe looks at the most famous Psalm and highlights two stunning images of God that heal our “grass is always greener” hearts…
Future Perfection
Last week we saw that while we often fail to reach our resolutions due to our own weakness and failures, there is hope in the gospel. Because the gospel provides full and perfect forgiveness. But what if our failures were not due to our weaknesses or sins… what if our failures were due to the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of people around us? Pastor Joe walks us through John’s vision of the coming Kingdom to show us…
Power for Change
Every year we get past Christmas and suddenly our attention turns to the New Year and everything that we hope it will bring for us. Just about all of us view the 1st of January as a new start… an opportunity to make good. Whether we call them “New Year’s resolutions” or not we all have ambitions for the year to come. But each year we know all too well the crushing feeling of failure. So where in this cycle…
He Surrendered Perfection
Perfectionists can be infuriating to be around… especially if you are happy with a less-than-perfect way of living… BUT if we think about it there is a little bit of the perfectionist in all of us; we all like things to be just the way we want them. So when we get things just the way we want them, (the perfect house, car, marriage, children, job), the last thing we would dream of doing would be giving it up. But…
The Rejected God
The story of the crowded inn and the stable has always sat squarely in the middle of the Christmas narrative. We have this picture of Joseph scouring the streets of Bethlehem for a hotel only to find “No Vacancy” signs everywhere. But the reality is that it wouldn’t have been like this at all. Our cliched picture of Christmas has hidden from us another scandal… a scandal that changes everything.