Son or daughter is just the right word to describe the Christian’s experience of freedom; it speaks of relationship. We at our best do not have favourite children. God at His best (and he always is!) does not have favourite children - how freeing is that! Images from the poem can be found here: http://www.anchor-lines.com/anchorlines/2017/03/children-of-god/

Rules, like signposts, can keep you out of trouble and point you in the right direction, but they can't give life - only the life of faith in Jesus can do that. Abraham’s life gave a glimpse of what it means to live by faith, listening to God and daring to believe, trust & follow.

The Gospel isn’t just about solving our sin problem. It’s as we remain rooted in what Jesus did for us on the cross that we start to live as God intended, in the sure knowledge of His love, forgiveness and grace towards us - free indeed!

The Gospel is life-changing! But Paul wants us to understand that it’s only when we stop trying to earn God’s acceptance, when we die to all that and receive His unmerited acceptance of us - only then will we find true freedom!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for the whole world! God is wonderfully at work in all types of people, in every culture, gathering a beautiful, diverse yet unified family. Beware how you judge!

Being a Christian is not about being religious, or good for that matter. Paul’s testimony was that God had to set him free from a proud, arrogant, intolerant lifestyle that included putting Christians to death! Grace truly is amazing!

The Apostle Paul had a favourite word for the Christian message: Gospel, Good News, because that’s just what it is, the announcement of life & freedom in Jesus Christ! When he hears that people he loves are being told lies about how to please God, he becomes angry because he knows their Christian freedom is at stake.

If you've ever opened a Bible and read the Old Testament then it’s likely you've come across passages that are full of judgement and violence. God has been described by some as a bully in a playground who throws his weight around if he doesn't get his way. Are these ‘wars’ any different to ISIS and other extremist groups who use force to make you believe or murder you if you don’t? Does the God of the Old Testament really sanction war, violence and killing? How do we reconcile this with the words of Jesus who said ‘love your enemies’ not ‘kill them’?