Grace Community

Sermon from Alan Raven

***Please note, the recording quality of this sermon is not good due to technical issues. We apologise and hope you are able to understand it the whole way through.***

Colossians 3:18-21
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

The central message of Colossians can be summed up with Col. 2:6 which says: “as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”. What does it involve for us to rely on Christ and let Him be Lord of our lives? Scan Colossians 2:6-3:17.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 teaches us about how the Lordship of Christ plays itself out in the home. Three relationships at home include: wife-husband, child-parent, and slave-master (part of the ancient household). Why are these relationships (especially the first two) so vitally important in our context and culture? What does it do to the church’s Gospel witness when Christians fail at home? Conversely, what does it say to the world when Christian homes are healthy and happy places?

Looking at Colossians 3:18-21, what is God’s will and role for each of the following: wives, husbands, children, and parents? Also read the parallel passage in Ephesians (5:22-6:4) for further insights. Focussing on what Colossians states rather than what Ephesians adds, what is the essence of each person’s role, and how do they complement one another?

In the sermon, two practical suggestions were made for each person/role:

• Wives: Accept/respect your husbands as heads. And be their helpers/companions to attend to their needs.
• Husbands: Be gentlemen who are attentive and listen to your wives. And do your part in the family.
• Children: Tell your parents what happens in your lives. And practice forgiveness toward your parents.
• Parents: Ask forgiveness for provoking your children. And have as your ultimate parenting goal to show your kids Christ in the Word and through your life.

Which of these suggestions do you think God is calling you to put into practice or improve on? Is there anything else that you feel convicted about? Commit these to the Lord in prayer. Follow through on what you have committed to the Lord, trusting Him to give you the grace to do it.

Ewen Lin preaching from Luke 8:4-18.

The Kingdom of God is built upon the Word of God​

The 4 Soils

1. Those who hear with a hard heart (v.5, 12)​
2. Those who hear with a shallow heart (v.6, 13)​
3. Those who hear with a divided heart (v.7, 14)​
4. Those who hear with an honest and good heart (v.8, 15)​​

This chapter graphically contrasts the different life-choices and ultimate outcome between people who cling to what their hands can hold on to, and those who let go of things in order to cling to God's chosen King - the Christ.

1. the fool in life and death, holds on to whatever his hands can grab
2. the wise person lets go of the things of this world and holds on to God's chosen King

Its only when we let go of whatever gives us a sense of status or significance that we can have open hands in order to grab hold of Christ and receive from Him our worth, dignity, status, comfort and joy.

The problem with entrusting your life into God's hand is that His hand is invisible. And we are proud. And we think we see things more clearly. And we think we have our own interests at heart more than God does. 

And so we 'carpe diem' - we reach out and seize, grab, grasp what God seems so reluctant to give. Just like Adam and Eve did.
But David wouldn't do that.
And Jesus didn't do that.

In this talk we see 1. David would not grab the Kingdom unless God gives it to him, and 2. God promises David the kingdom.

Then we see how this teaches us about Jesus and how this presents us with an option: either bite the hand that feeds, or entrust ourselves into the Lord's right hand and He will lift us up in due time.

If you gave Jesus a performance review based on His self-entitled job description, 'church builder', what would your appraisal of Him look like? From our perspective the 'church' is a colossal public relations disaster. Day after day the 'church' is plagued by sex abuse scandals, financial scandals, divisions, splits, fighting and apostasy. It sure looks like Jesus is doing badly.
But all of this misunderstands what Jesus means when He says 'I will build my church'. In this talk, on the occasion of  our first year anniversary, we pay close attention to what Jesus says and we end up seeing what the church really is; how much Jesus is personally invested in His church; what the foundation of the church is; and how Jesus promises to build His church.
When we take Jesus words seriously, we will end up in awe of the amazing job He has done as He continues to build His church.

The wicked rage against the righteous, the righteous sometimes suffer and even die at the hands of the wicked, but through it all, God remains totally in control. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that death is also under God's control.

1. Despite the Anti-Christ being powerful and having allies...
2. Despite the Anti-Christ raging against God's people...
3. God remains totally in control.
A remnmant will be saved - those who hide themselves in the life of the rejected Christ. 

No matter what kids do on a school bus - some will doze off, some will go nuts, some will be eager to get to the destination while others are very reluctant passengers - the bus driver decides the outcome. Sure, the kids have lots of freedom on the bus but the journey and destination is up to the Bus Driver. God is the Driver of History and though there is freedom within history and the choices we make are real, God alone steers it all and He does so in order to bring His people to Himself. This can be seen in the life of David and in particular in the chapters under consideration in this talk.

1. God saves His people through the love of the Crown Prince (ch 20)
2. God saves His people even though sometimes they distrust Him (ch 21-22:2)
THEREFORE - stay with His chosen King! (22:3-5)

Why is Jesus Christ so divisive? 
What does it look like to be subject to Him?
How does God protect His Chosen King and what does it all mean for us?
And what's Master Yoda got to do with all of this?
Explore these questions in 1 Samuel 18-19.

1. Faithful people love God's chosen King - it leads to great joy
2. Autonomous people hate God's chosen King - it leads to great suffering
3. No matter what we decide, God protects His Chosen King... and those who love Him.

We are not God's chosen King. We are not David. None of our problems are 'Goliaths' - most of our problems, however serious, are not there to kill us but to make us grow. We do not have to find a modern technique that equates to David's sling and his five stones. 

So how is the historical event of David vs Goliath relevant to us today?

1. God's people were overwhelmed
2. God's chosen King was mocked by God's people and the other nations
3. God won a decisive victory through His chosen King
4. God's people plundered their defeated enemy

This talk begins our series 'God's Beloved - the life of David'.
In this talk we see that God chooses His King.
1) God rejected the impressive but disobedient Saul
2) God chose the unimpressive but obedient David
3) God gave His Spirit to David
4) God's chosen servant served others

And all of this points us to David's Greatest Son - Jesus who was unimpressive but chosen by God to rule the Universe. Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father. Jesus served us by laying down His life for us in order to chase evil from us. And above all else, Jesus was perfectly obedient on our behalf!