Bitterness only pumps lethal poison into the life in which it dwells. To be ruled by bitterness is to fail or come up short of the grace of God. In other words, you are not living up to the quality of life given to you by the forgiveness or unmerited favour God has bestowed upon you.

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; (Hebrews 12:15)

If you want to walk in victory and live in good spiritual and emotional health, free from the poison of bitterness, follow the clinical programme of the Great Physician. Trust Him and submit to His plan. Practice Biblical forgiveness.

The feast of Passover had always been a time of remembrance, for on that first Passover night God struck the final blow that delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was a memorial for their redemption and the celebration of the sacrificial lamb that paid the price for their salvation. (see Exodus 12:13)

Fifteen hundred years after that first Passover night Jesus Christ took that faithful tradition and brought it into this new dispensation, this new age of the new covenant. On the night He was betrayed, He broke bread and shared in the Passover feast with His disciples. As they passed the different elements around the table, Jesus took the bread and cup, and though the elements were a memorial to Israel’s redemption from Egypt, He established that they would now be a memorial to the redemption of the world found in Him.

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19–20)

From that point on the church has regularly committed to partaking of what is called the Lord’s table or as some have come to call it “communion”. A regular time the church could remember the Gospel. As you examine Scripture, you will find that God has provided a few different ways to help us remember, reflect, or recount the precious Gospel in our lives, and these are what we will focus on over the next few times we come around the Lord's Table. The first of these means of remembrance, reflection, or recounting is preaching to yourself.

The sea of life is hard, and high near impossible to navigate. Like the ocean, it can be calm one day, with a gentle, steady breeze providing beautiful and smooth sailing, while the next day you find yourself being lashed with a storm with squalls the size of skyscrapers or scorched by a harsh sun with no breeze to provide comfort and movement. From Psalm 77 we learn what will bring stability in such tyranny. It is to remember your redemption and preach this glorious message to yourself.

In the midst of the treachery of life we can easily find ourselves, of course, struggling along with Asaph, “Has God forgotten me? Where is His grace in my life?” Preaching the Gospel to yourself will help provide you with the stability you long for in such a volatile world. When you preach to yourself, you will find that God gives more grace.

Anxiety is an emotion that is growing at an increasing rate and will continue to grow as life seems to be getting more and more complex.

Mark 4:19 shows to experience anxiety can be debilitating, for it is the cares, deceits, and lusts that choke the power and hope of the Word in our lives. Early 20th-century American mystery thriller author, Arthur Somers Roche wrote:

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all others thoughts are drained. [i]

Catherine Haddow, in her book Emotions: Mirrors of the Heart, notes that in an anxious state you could experience the following:

All-or-nothing thinking: You have a rigid or extreme attitude (for example, “If I don’t pass this test, I’ll never cope.”).

Magnification of the situation: You look for evidence that overestimates the threat.

Faulty emotional reasoning: You feel a certain way, and therefore believe that to be the reality of the situation.

Fatal mind reading and fortune telling: You believe to know what people are thinking about you and that it will always be negative. You assume you know what will happen in a situation and that it will always be bad.

Debilitating mental filtering: You underestimate your ability to cope with the threat. [ii]

Uncontrolled anxiety can skew the priceless artefact of Great Promises. So the question we ask is, how do we move from being choked to growing?

[i] Retrieved from Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.

[ii] Haddow, Catherine. (2017). Emotions: Mirrors of the Heart. (pg. 82). 10Publishing. Leyland, England

Out of his personal testimony Brad helps us make sense of the challenging emotional struggle called depression. Brad opens up about the lessons he has learnt during a 4 to 5 year battle and encourages us to not quit on God for He will never quit on us.

Satan wants you to quit and believe you have no hope. Yet, rest assured there is hope and Jesus will get you through. Submit to the Great Physician and trust His plan.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

In chapters 4-5 you have a recurring word used, in our English translations you will find the word “walk” and this Greek word in our context is used to figuratively to describe the aspect of living. It is not just “a life” but it is everything that is part of that life, it describes what you do in that life. Five times within the chapters 4-5 Paul gives us directives about living life. He basically says, “As you do life, do it this way or don’t do it this way”:

·        4:1 – “walk worthy of the vocation...” (or “Do life worthy of the vocation”)

·        4:17 - “walk not as other Gentiles...” (or “Don’t do life as other Gentiles”)

·        5:2 - “walk in love...” (or “Do life in love”)

·        5:8 - “walk as children of light...” (or “Do life as children of light”)

In Ephesians 5:15 Paul challenges the body of Christ with one more “walk” or way to do life. He says since you are children of light, and you have clarity in your life, you should “walk (or do life) circumspectly”.

The English word “circumspectly” means “careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences”[i] or “wary and unwilling to take risks”[ii]. It comes from the Latin word which means “look around”, and some similar words would be “careful or cautious”. The Greek word we have translated as “circumspectly” has the meaning of accuracy and exactness. In newer English translations you will find this word translated as “careful” or “carefully”.

Throughout our English New Testaments, you will find the word translated in a wealth of different ways:

Luke 1:3 - "...having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first..." (Luke had an accurate or careful understanding of the events pertaining to the life of Christ.)

Matthew 2:8 - "And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently..." (Herod tells the wise men to accurately or carefully search for the baby.)

Acts 18:25 - "...he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord..." (Apollos sought to accurately or carefully teach the things of the Lord.)

Paul is calling the body of Christ those who are children of light and can see clearly to: Watch Your Step, as you do life it carefully. The Biblical Illustrator reads:

The phrase imports such a caution and exactness in our Christian conversation, as resembles that which men use when walking on the top of a precipice or the summit of a building, where a small misstep would endanger a fall, and a fall would be fatal.[iii]

Paul basically says there are two ways to live your life, carefully or carelessly. The lost world lives a life of reckless abandonment with no direction and is moved about like a sailboat stranded in a storm. As a child of God and one who is in Christ, our lives should not be that way. It should be properly guided with clear direction and purpose.

[i] Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circumspectly.

[ii] Oxford Dictionaries. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/circumspect.

[iii] Exell, J. S. (n.d.). The Biblical Illustrator: Ephesians (p. 523). New York; Chicago; Toronto; London; Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company.

As you read through Peter’s writings you notice a word that is consistently used to describe certain things. This word describes something that is “of a great price or especially dear”. In a secular sense, the term is sometimes used to describe certain ancient artefacts. They are things that are one of a kind and unique. They are of great value to the cultures they represent. They are priceless things that are often kept in a museum or cared under a national historical trust.

Our English versions translates this word as “precious”, and Peter uses it 5 times throughout his epistles to describe things that should be dear to those of us who have trusted Christ as our Saviour, for they are things that are unique to our culture. They help define us as the people of God. They are priceless artefacts.

Join us as we take a stroll through the museum of the people of God, and set our eyes upon these priceless artefacts that we may be both enriched and challenged in our walks with the Lord. For they are artefacts that define us as a people.

God’s Word is the source of inerrant and infallible truth, wisdom, and guidance. Inerrant meaning free from error, and infallible meaning incapable of error. The Word of God is pure truth, wisdom, and guidance from the very lips of God. (Psalm 19:7-8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

An unknown writer said,

"This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable."

"Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity." [i]

God’s Word is the divine mirror. It shows us what is right, where we are wrong, how to get right, and how to stay right. Do it and you will find liberty for it is the perfect law of liberty.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

[i] Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.

Every year it is easy to look back and struggle with regrets. God calls His people to overcome by thanking Him for the victories won and the mercy and grace they have received. With that same heart of thanksgiving, God's people are then called to look forward to what God has in store for them with the determination to redeem the time for His glory.

Enjoy the sermons by Mark Baulis and Matthew Ewers as they focus on looking back while also looking forward.

Though many are engrossed by the consumer mindset that runs rampant in this world, may we as the people of God choose a better path, a better reason to celebrate. It is not about me, it is not about what I have done, and it not about what I get. It is about what was given to me through He who is from everlasting and chose to be born in Bethlehem.

The popular carol that is sung throughout the world today known as “Hark! The Harold Angels Sing”, was originally called “Hymn for Christmas-Day” by the original author Charles Wesley in 1739. Through its history, it has gone through a few revisions the first by George Whitfield in 1754. Thirty years later this beloved carol would go through another revision which brought it to its structure we have before us, but “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” would not gain the familiar tune we sing today until 1855.[i]

And though it has gone through a few hands the theological message still resounds with us today. Just listen to the words of the third verse:

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn King!”

Even now in this 21st century, we rejoice with the shepherds to hear those “glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people”.

[i] Wikipedia contributors. (2018, December 9). Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:47, December 11, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hark!_The_Herald_Angels_Sing&oldid=872838400

Ahaz not only followed the pagans in their worship but also trusted completely in the works of men. Assyria was growing stronger, so Ahaz signed a treaty with them. This angered Syria and Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom), and they attacked Judah. They slaughter close to 150,000 people and captured almost 200,00.

During this very despairing time, God beckons Ahaz, “Trust in Me! In fact, I long for you to trust Me so much that I will give you the opportunity to test my trustworthiness, ask Me to give you a sign guaranteeing My promise.” (see Isaiah 7:10–11) Instead of trusting God this wicked king trusted in his alliance with Assyria. Therefore, Isaiah warns Ahaz that Assyria would turn on them and completely ravage the land. Judah would become a barren wasteland, as the people would choose a flood instead of a peaceful river. (see Isaiah 7:23; Isaiah 8:6–7)

Judah was never patient in waiting on God to work. Throughout Isaiah’s ministry at this time Judah had a cry of, “I want it now,” and because of that they were plunged into darkness.

And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. (Isaiah 8:22)

But despite the darkness, there was hope.

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation… (Isaiah 9:1a)

For those that would find themselves in darkness, they would see a Great Light. Despite the valley of despair, they found themselves in, there would be a Light that would shine. (See Isaiah 9:2) In midst of their great sorrow, joy and victory would come. (see Isaiah 9:3 and Isaiah 9:5)

As you look at these events, see the desperation, and see the hope and victory that would be won, you can’t help but ask the question, “What Child is This?”

What child could possibly be a Great Light in the darkness? What child could possibly be so great that He could turn a nation’s sorrow into joy? What child is this that could vanquish the enemies with “burning and fuel of fire”?