Church Anytime.
Invest time together this week in Scripture, Prayer, Worship and Serving. We’ve put together everything you need to have a Church gathering anywhere, anytime. It’s provided freely every week and is based on the broadcast Sunday message.
Thriving in Conspiracy Chaos
Do you find yourself engrossed in news media? Intrigued by conspiracy theories? Incited by social media? Are you anxious and wondering how we are going to face 2021 with all the chaos of pandemic, lock-down and everything else? In Matthew 24, Jesus prepared His disciples to thrive in suffering and unprecedented catastrophy. It worked for them and it will work for us, we have a solid hope and strategy to go forward boldly.
Come to His Table.
One of the most astonishing things about Scripture is it’s coherence, despite being recorded by so many different people over so many centuries. “The Lord is my Shepherd” is a well known and well loved Psalm, but in it, the Holy Spirit reveals more than just the thoughts of a young king (David) who depends deeply on God. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord’s Table as He instructed us to do, a far deeper meaning becomes apparent and the wonder of the Gospel is illuminated.
Looking for a hero.
The book of Hebrews, up to this point, has been trying to show that Jesus is greater than the angels, Moses, Aaron and Abraham all put together. Why couldn’t they see it? Didn’t Jesus raise the dead, didn’t He Himself rise from the dead? How much more powerful do you get than that?
The Sanitising Effect.
The Church in Corinth was extraordinary in the fact that it was full of new Christians, people who had recently turned their backs on pagan religions. They were concerned that they might have to separate from their husbands and wives who had not yet taken the same decision. Their fear was that their unbelieving spouse would somehow make them unclean.
Behind the curtain.
This is the curtain or veil that was torn the instant Jesus died. It’s tearing was a symbolic removal of the separation between man and God, a demonstration of the way Jesus had gone through the veil and secured our passage to follow Him. The image of the anchor is not just one of steady security through stormy times, but something that secures us into the very presence of God.
Safely Anchored.
A number of years ago I embarked on a wreck dive just off the coast of Umkomaas on the South Coast. The sea there is notoriously temperamental and our boat arrived at the dive site just as the current really began to pick up. It was a touch and go decision whether to continue with the dive, and some divers decided rather to spend the time in the boat on the surface.
Invited by Jesus.
Meals can be memorable, we’re probably all able to recall special meals that we’ve had with those we love. We remember these meals because of the way we felt sharing that meal. It’s about the company and the shared experience rather than what we consume.
Sure of better things.
Nobody likes uncertainty. Just look around at the current climate of the virus restricted world we’re trying to make sense of. It’s so difficult to build and plan in these times, knowing how drastically everything can change in a heartbeat. We’ve learned that the certainty that we used to bank on was never truly dependable. Where can we find real certainty?
Something Impossible.
Christians are compared to land. The passage says that people who have experienced the incredible power of the Word of God and His Holy Spirit in their lives, are expected to produce the fruit of faithful obedient lives. The more God reveals Himself to us, the more is expected from us. It is a challenging passage that cuts to the heart of the message of Hebrews. Don’t fall away from God.
What is God’s will for me?
What seldom gets the same attention is the amazing way that married couples get to know each other from years of shared experiences. The more we go through with those we love the better we get to understand what’s important to them. The same is true in our relationship with God.
If God permits,we will do.
Ever wanted anything so badly that you found it dominating all your thoughts and motivating all your actions? Intense passion is a common ingredient everywhere that we find outstanding achievement. It’s an ingredient that should be found in the Church too, but must always be anchored in humility or it will become destructive. If humility is the difference between commitment and unhealthy obsession, then what is that humility?
Chewing our own food.
Mothers chew and digest food and produce milk for their infants who have not yet developed the ability to gather, chew and digest their own solid foods. The author of Hebrews draws on this image in a blunt rebuke of spiritually immature members of the Church who have become dull to God’s word.
Fountain of Youth.
The recent pandemic has brought death into clearer focus for many of us, and consequently we’ve been brought to reevaluate the plans and purpose of our limited existence, and the unfathomable extents of God’s promise of eternity. While this can make us anxious, God has already provided the solution, to both life and death. His Name is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
Long Term Planning.
Vision, planning and the process of working towards our goals is important. We need to think deeply about why we are here, and what we should do with the limited time that we have. The problem is, that we can not know the future. We can plan and work towards that plan, but we know that everything can change in a heartbeat, and our plans could come to nothing. For many of us that’s happening right now. Wouldn’t it be great if we could plan together with someone who knows the future and even directs it?
God’s Story can’t be edited.
In Daniel 9:22-23 God still calls Daniel by his name, not the name the Babylonians enforced on him. God reminds Daniel that He is deeply loved by God. God does this almost 70 years after Daniel’s kidnapping. God doesn’t change, His love for us doesn’t change, and neither do His plans for us.
Stay in God’s Story.
God calls Jeremiah to speak His message to an obstinate and rebellious nation, and He calls him to speak to some powerful leaders who are shirking their responsibilities and rebelling against God’s word. Jeremiah’s reaction is to say “No Lord, I can’t deal with this, I’m too young”. Perhaps we can all identify, not necessarily with being too young, but with feeling overwhelmed by challenging circumstances and feeling incapable of doing God’s work in them?
God’s Patience Waits.
Patience is hard, especially when we feel powerless and in pain, when we feel persecuted or unjustly treated. Patience is harder still when we feel alone, or isolated in our struggle and suffering. When we face these challenges, it’s not enough to know that we are meant to be patient, not is our effort enough to realise the patience we pursue. The Apostle Peter wrote profoundly about God’s grace and the way that God patiently bears with us when we sin and fall short of His standard.
Turning Tables.
When the “tables are turned” the advantage is reversed. The saying is used to describe a reversal of position, situations where someone’s efforts against us are turned in our favour. What God does in Joseph’s life is a great example of tables being turned. His own brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery, but this put into motion a series of events which saw him ultimately elevated to second in command of the entire Egyptian empire spanning most of the middle east.
I Just can’t wait…
The disciples of Jesus tell us that David recorded the Holy Spirit’s words in Psalm 2. They prayed these words together on an occasion of persecution even stranger than we find ourselves in. These words are perfectly suited to David’s situation, the disciples of Jesus circumstances, and our lives today..
While we wait, again.
We dislike being made to wait, whether it is online to a call-centre, in a queue, or in a doctor’s waiting room (yes they actually call it a waiting room). In Scripture though, we find that God can use waiting to shape and restore us, to make us more like Jesus. Jesus waited - he waited 30 years before starting His public ministry. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, David, and many others have had their waiting periods preserved in Scripture for us to learn from and be encouraged by.