Sunday Teaching - Bobbin Head Anglican Church

How do we know if we're living in line with the truth of the gospel of grace?

In this last part of Paul's autobiographical section of his letter we see how the gospel of God's grace confronts and corrects all of us, from church leadership down, when we fall to social pressures to step out of line from the truth of the gospel. The key is a personal relationship with the One "who loved me and gave himself for me."

How do we know we have the right gospel?

God himself authenticated his gospel to, in and through Saul of Tarsus, once persecutor of the church, whom the risen Jesus converted and called to be the apostle Paul, to preach the gospel and grow God's church! It was not the church which authenticated the gospel but the gospel which authenticated the church's unity and integrity on mission.

What unique and powerful ingredient lies at the heart of the Christian message? Grace.

In these opening verses of Galatians the apostle Paul introduces us to the main themes of his letter and describes the centrality of grace to the Christian gospel.

How does hope in Jesus speak to our worries and anxieties about housing and the question of whether we, or the generations following us, will ever afford our own place to live?

In John 14 Jesus teaches us that what he has in store for all who trust in him far outweighs the biggest earthly mansion and is secure in eternity with God. We need to let the ultimate impact the immediate when it comes to our understanding of our 'forever home'.

What hope does the gospel provide for us when we're worried about, or experiencing, the pain of loneliness?

In the book of Revelation Jesus Christ meets John in the obscurity and isolation of exile and gives him a glorious vision of eternity with God, in God's place, enjoying God's presence in pure joy.

Equipped with this vision, disciples of Jesus are able to trust in the God who dwells with us even now and even be the presence of God to another person experiencing the pain of loneliness.

As disciples of Jesus we want God's church to grow, we want the kingdom to grow, we want more people to hear and receive the good news of Jesus. But we may not know that such gospel ministry requires partnership and the stewardship of all our resources; not just time and talents, but our treasure (money) as well.

But why and how can disciples of Jesus give cheerfully, and not out of a sense of fear, guilt or compulsion? The apostle Paul's letter to the cosmopolitan church of Corinth in the First Century can help us find out!

Why are disciples of Jesus encouraged, even urged, to be generous?

Here in 1 Timothy chapter 6 we find the motivation for biblical generosity and the meaning behind it. Within the command to be generous we also find the surprising invitation to enjoy the gifts God gives us and the truth that selfishness is poverty but generosity is true wealth.

What makes your heart sing?

For people who know they have been rescued from slavery by a mighty Redeemer it's their newfound salvation that makes their hearts sing for joy.

It's for good reason that the first thing the Israelites do following the extraordinary crossing of the Red Sea and destruction of their oppressors is to break out in praise to their warrior God who has fought for them and brought about their freedom.

How should this remarkable song impact us today?

Do you feel more like a soldier or a slave?

The parting of the Red Sea is perhaps a well known episode in the Exodus narrative, of the LORD's deliverance of his people from slavery under Pharaoh to serve Him, the true and living God. But as we delve more deeply into the narrative we begin to see how while they left Egypt feeling like soldiers they were still escaping their life as slaves. The Red Sea episode shows us how the LORD's deliverance involved not only trust in the LORD to lead them through the Red Sea but how closing the sea behind them showed them they were now free from their former lives and that they were about to embark on their journey as the LORD's redeemed people. Through the waters of judgment and salvation the LORD shows us the way to the cross of Jesus Christ.

Off the back of last week's nine signs and wonders against Egypt we would be tempted to think the greatest barrier to freedom for the Israelites was an earthly despotic dictator, poverty or oppression.

But chapters 12-13 of Exodus show us that the greatest threat to Israel's freedom was the sin that would need to be dealt with if they were to enjoy the life with the just and holy Creator. The wave of death was poised to sweep through all of Egypt. What would protect them from the onslaught of destruction? The blood of the Passover Lamb.