What is God calling us towards for 2021? In the midst of a long, difficult season, we can be tempted to focus on the wrong things or to give up altogether. Acts 2 gives us a clear picture of what church is meant to be, and Romans 14-15 reminds us to stay focused on the most important things.

If we want to be devoted followers of Jesus with fruitful churches, it makes sense to carefully consider the earliest Christians. The book of Acts does just this, chronicling the time from Jesus resurrection, to Pentecost, through the very first stages of the Christian movement. Through Acts, we see that Biblical truth, Holy Spirit power and authentic conversations are all important components of being faithful witnesses for Jesus.

Everyone needs to be rescued, and a rescuer has come for everyone. Exploring the Messianic titles from Isaiah 9, we see clearly a number of the ways that Jesus offers us precisely what we need.

The Gospel of John begins with one of the Bible’s most elaborate and powerful explanations of Jesus’ identity, examining Jesus’ preexistence, his role in creation and redemption, and the nature of the incarnation with what one commentator calls “deceptive simplicity.” This poetic passage mines the depths of the eternal plan of God as revealed in Jesus, and calls each person to believe and find life in Jesus’ name.

The gospel of Luke portrays Jesus as the promised Son of Man, one who radically transforms our expectations about God's plan for humankind. This message identifies key themes arising from Luke 2:1-21 and explores the prominent role that these themes play throughout the entirety of this gospel.

The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus as the great servant—the Son of God who came not to rule through power but to show greatness and conquer death through humbly laying down his life. While this may not be the saviour some hoped for, he is the Saviour who is. Jesus is very good news and our example to follow.

The Gospel of Matthew was the most widely-read account of Jesus’ life in the earliest days of the church. Written just a few decades after Jesus’ resurrection, this account of his life contains five lengthy chunks of teaching, emphasizing the truth that Jesus is Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, and instructing followers in the ways of living under Jesus’ Kingship. This Gospel specifically invites Jews to receive Jesus as Lord, and it invites everyone to recognize that Israel’s Messiah is the Saviour for all people. Each person who encounters this text is invited to respond by receiving Jesus as King.

What broke our world and how can we fix it? There are many opposing viewpoints—perhaps wealth is distributed unequally, or we need better education, or the oppressors need to be stopped. But the gospel is unflinching in it’s “divine diagnosis” of the human condition. The world is broken because of our sin. Every person guilty, and every person is stuck—enslaved to selfishness and heading towards judgment.

Paul has been talking about different groups of people and their need for the gospel. In this passage, he talks about the Jews, and through them challenges the listener to recognize true faith. Bad religion, Paul points out, is hypocritical, makes people misunderstand God, is human-powered, is all for show, devalues God’s word and expects special treatment.

We think of ourselves as better than others. This is a statistically-proven fact, and consistent with the Bible’s teaching that pride is the first and most basic human sin that we all share. In this passage, Paul continues to explain our need for the gospel by writing to those who think of themselves as better.