Citygate Church

About this series:

This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.

The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11).  And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’

It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:

Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”

William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.

About this talk:

Scripture: Genesis 2:15

By work we mean someone’s primary occupation, whether that is being a businessman, a hairdresser or a parent. Mankind was formed with the capacity to be creative (in the image of a creative God), with the task of ruling, working and taking care of God’s creation. Work is therefore not part of the curse of the Fall; it is a foundational part of God’s good creation, as is clear from Genesis 1 & 2. God intended that Adam and Eve be fruitful in that task and it is only after the Fall that work becomes “toil” (Genesis 3:17) - laborious, wearisome, painful. Not that work wouldn’t have been hard, but that it would not have been characterised by curse, painful toil (v 17), opposition (v 18) and sweat (v 19).

We could say that we all tend to see our work either as treasure or toil. For some it is their treasure - people who live-to-work, finding their life’s central meaning in their work. For others, it’s just toil - those who work-to-live - seeing the purpose for the toil of work as being to pay the bills and help them enjoy the rest of their lives. Others talk of a work-life balance, as though working is not really living.

Both of these ways of viewing work are flawed. Instead, God gives us reasons for working, without making it the reason. Work, then, becomes an avenue for using the creative opportunities God has given, to serve other people and to love him - all of which we do for his glory (see 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23).

We look at:

- In what ways are we tempted to adopt an ungodly, unbalanced view of work: living-to-work or working-to-live. In what ways does the concept of stewardship help to redeem the gift of work?

- Which elements of our primary occupation do we find rewarding and which are full of toil? How does a healthy theology of work address these?

- How can we find the God-given opportunities in our work, especially those we may easily miss?

About this series:

This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.

The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11).  And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’

It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:

Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”

William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.

About this talk:

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11

There are certain things that are true of every single person - they are created in God’s image, they are mortal until God breathes his life into them, they are loved by God, etc. And every single person has been created with abilities and capacities for the good of other people.

Paul makes this clear in terms of the church family when he writes, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7) and here Peter tells us that, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” In both passages it is clear that what God has given to us is not for us, but for the purpose of serving others, for the common good.

We can apply this to all that we’ve received by God’s common grace, including our time, talents and treasure. Peter encourages us that it is God who provides the gift, the grace and the goal of serving others.

We look at:

- Time: all of us use what has given us to serve people in a variety of ways. How can we ensure that our ‘work’ In a time-poor culture like ours.

- Talents: how can we identify and deploy our talents for the benefit of others?

- Treasure: in a treasure-rich society like ours, how can we grow in generosity towards other people through understanding that we are stewards of those treasures, not owners of them?

About this series:

This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.

The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11).  And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’

It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:

Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”

William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.

About this talk:

Scripture: Genesis 1 & 2

This will be an introduction to the series and help to set the scene for all that’s to come within the framework of the mandate outlined above. It is important to note that in giving this mandate, God was blessing Adam & Eve. This is part of what it means to be made in God’s image and to be blessed by him. In order to fulfil God’s intention for humanity and for his creation we need to take hold of this calling.

Essentially, three things are commanded:

- “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth”

- “Subdue it”

- “Work it and take care of it”

We should beware any division of spiritual and physical, a distinction not made by the Bible or the Judaism of Jesus’ time. He declared his physical creation good; Jesus was/is a fully physical human; it is on a newly created earth in resurrected bodies that we will enjoy the new heaven - God’s presence will finally and fully inhabit the physical, as Isaiah and Revelation picture for us.

God is the Lord of all of life; his blessings include both spiritual and physical; we serve and worship him in our physical bodies and the call remains on us to do all we can to appreciate his gifts and to care for them to the best of our ability. Hence in this series we’ll look at various areas related to that.

We look at:

- What does it mean to be a steward?

- What do the three commands (above) actually mean (check words in the original language).

- In what ways might we be in danger of counting the spiritual ahead of the physical?

About this talk:

Scripture: Acts 2

We look at what it means to belong in a Christian community. The book of Acts tells us about the early Christian church, how the believers were in community with each other, and what held them together after Jesus ascended to heaven. Our passage in Acts 2 will hopefully teach us how we all have an equally important part to play.

About this series:

Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

About this talk:

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3

As we celebrate Easter Sunday we hear stories of lives transformed, and how future hope can be found in Jesus - no matter our current circumstances.

About this series:

Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

About this talk:

Scripture: Revelation 5:1-14

In Revelation 1, John sees a magnificent vision of Jesus. In chapters 2&3 he receives messages from the risen Jesus for seven churches in Asia Minor. Then in chapter 4, John is told, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” He’s being allowed to see the king who reigns and what the king will do to defeat his enemies.

And now in chapter 5 John sees God holding in his right hand an unusual scroll: written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. It contains God’s plans for history and redemption, but it is perfectly secured (seven seals). His anguish, v 4, is because, “because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.” If God’s redemptive purposes in history for our salvation are to unfold, it must be opened, enacted, fulfilled. Without a Saviour who can open the scroll and bring about God’s redemptive purposes, there is only weeping.

But John is told, to his great relief, v 5, that Christ has triumphed and, “is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” First we’re told that the one who has triumphed is a Lion (v 5) and that he is a Lamb (vs 6-8) who is praised and worshipped by the four living creatures, the 24 elders, many angels and “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

He is praised because he is worthy, because of what he has accomplished in his death and because of what he has made his people to be. This chapter presents us with the magnificence of Jesus Christ - the Lion, the Lamb, the one of whom all in heaven and earth forever cry “Worthy.”

We look further into:

- What does it mean that Jesus is, v 5, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, [who] has triumphed”?

- What does it mean that he is the “Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne”?

- Twice in this passage the Lamb is said to be worthy (cf. the need for one who is worthy in vs 2-5). What steps can we take to live in such a way that our lives declare that he is worthy?

About this series:

Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

About this talk:

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-20

This vision comes to us, v 1, from God to Jesus to an angel and to John and its purpose is to communicate, v 19, “what is now and what will take place later.” To John’s readers, under great persecution, this was to be a hugely comforting set of messages and visions.

In anthropomorphic terms, vs 9-20 brings us a vision of the awesome person and power of Christ. What John heard is described in vs 10-11 and 17-20; what he saw is described in vs 12-16. Despite all he’s previously seen Jesus do and heard him say in the three years he spent with Jesus, there is something so overpowering about this vision that John collapses, v 17. There is always more of Jesus to know and experience - “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).

There are so many descriptions of Jesus here. We spend time looking at just some of them to help us gain a greater view of who Jesus is. Above all, this vision is designed to give John, the seven churches and all who would read it, confidence in the ruler, the Alpha and the Omega, the one who holds the keys of people’s destinies and of history.

We look further into:

- To a people under the pressure of persecution because of their faith, what God gives is not solutions to their problems but a greater view of Jesus. What can we do to ensure we keep growing in what we see and hear of Jesus

- What difference does it make to know that Jesus is Lord of history and individual destiny?

- Can you give some personal examples of times when a clearer sight of Jesus has had an impact on your life?

About this series:

The entire letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that a knowledge of the Old Testament is crucial to understanding the New Testament. And, in particular, to understanding the person and work of Jesus. Philip Yancey: ‘I can no more understand Jesus apart from his Jewishness than I can understand Gandhi apart from his Indianness. I need to go way back, and picture Jesus as a first-century Jew with a phylactery on his wrist and Palestinian dust on his sandals.’

None of this means that we need to restrict Jesus to his original physical context because, as Hebrews makes clear, Jesus came to do away with the law and the exclusive national identity of God’s people as Israelites. Vs 1-4 show us that the old covenant was “only a shadow” (v 1), could “never…make perfect those who draw near to worship” (v 2) and that it was impossible [for that covenant] to take away sins” (v 3) - God’s plan was always to establish a new covenant that would encompass all nations through Christ as priest and sacrifice.

Once again (see notes on Hebrews 1:1-3, above) there is significant continuity and discontinuity here as the work of Jesus is compared and contrasted to the old covenant. Jesus is at one and the same time both priest and sacrifice, but in a far greater order than anything that came before:

- As a priest, he offers the sacrifice and mediates between God and man.

- As the sacrifice, he offers himself as the means of our forgiveness and thus makes us holy (vs 10, 14).

We look further into:

- Our tendencies to trust in other ‘priests’ to mediate between us and God: our good works, our behaviour, our service for God.

- How can our confidence grow in the “once for all” triumph of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (v 10; cf v 2; Heb 7:27; 9:12 and “one sacrifice” in Heb 10:12&14)?

- What does it mean to say that “we have been made holy” (v 10) and “are being made holy” (v 14)?

About this series:

Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

About this talk:

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-3

Vs 1 & 2 highlight the continuity and discontinuity of the old and new covenants:

- Continuity in that “In the past the God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways” - it’s not that, with the coming of Jesus, an entirely new story has begun, but that he is the continuation of the entire story of the Bible. And continuity also in that many of the terms used of Christ in v 3 have their origin in the old covenant.

- Discontinuity in the NIV’s use of “But” at the start of v 2. Something connected to the past but decisively different has happened because he has now spoken to us by his Son.

This passage can be divided into two main sections: Christ’s glorious nature (who he is) and Christ’s glorious work (what he has done for us). Jesus Christ is not just another messenger, but the unique and decisive voice / word, as explained in the things said about him here:

- His glorious nature: he is God’s Son; he is heir of all things and the one through whom everything was made; he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being; he sustains all things; he is now reigning at the Father’s right hand.

- His glorious work: he provided purification for sins.

That Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” means that his work was completed and he is now reigning (he is ‘on the throne’).

We look further into:

- What does it mean, v 3, that he is “the radiance (Gk. απαυγασμα, apaugasma) of God’s glory” and “the exact representation (Gk. χαρακτηρ, character) of his being”?

- What practical difference does it / can it make - to our daily lives and our various circumstances - that Jesus is “sustaining all things” (v 3) and reigning?

- Once again, the answer to our needs and difficulties is a truer and grander vision of Christ. Can you give some practical examples of how this passage does that?

About this series:

Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

About this talk:

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20

To counter some false teachers who have infiltrated the church in Colossae, Paul paints a picture of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. The false teachers have been promoting a Christ+ theology: that to really know fullness and freedom they must, in addition to faith in Christ, seek special wisdom/knowledge, enquire of angels and add in some special rituals. The answer to all this is a truer and grander vision of Christ - that he really is enough and that nothing needs to be added to wholehearted trust in him alone.

The number of ways in which Jesus is described here is astonishing. At least these 11 things are stated: he is the image of God; the firstborn over all creation; all things were created in him, through him and for him; he is before all things; all things are held together in/by him; he is the head of the church; the firstborn from the dead; he supreme in everything; all God’s fulness dwells in him; he is the means of God reconciling all things to himself; his death on the cross has brought us peace with God.

See also what Paul says about Christ and his achievements in 2:6-15 and about who we are and how we should live because of Christ in 3:1-17.

As there won’t be time to focus on all the descriptions of Jesus given here in detail, it may be helpful to focus on some of them, or to group some of them together - eg. Christ is supremely the image of God, he is supreme over creation, he is supreme over the church, he is supreme in salvation.

We look through the following questions:

- What are some of the Christ+ dangers for us in our context? What are we tempted to trust in addition to Jesus? Can you give some personal examples/testimony?

- What are the practical implications that Christ is the creator of all things and that he holds all things together (vs 16-17)?

- What are the practical implications that Christ is the head of the church (v 18)?