The Bethel - Old Trafford Christadelphian Church

Comparing and contrasting two resurection stories form John's gospel, Martyn unpacks what Jesus says about 'eternal life'. The ancient Hebrew scriptures say very little about life after death, but Jesus says quite a lot. He modeled and described a state of being which he referred to as 'eternal life', something that was all about living fully now in a way that was life giving and self-sacrificial.

Illustrated by a couple of brushes with law enforcement officers, John explored how we are often caught up and distracted by the imitation substitutes that provide temporary, quick-fix satisfaction. Our challenge and encouragement was to focus on the real-deal, the firm rock of genuine flesh and blood reality that God and Jesus provide.

A fresh look at the account of the wedding in Cana where Jesus turned water into wine brings fresh lessons from the text. Jesus uses what's available as it is and uses us as we are, all we require is an openness to accept God. Jesus asks for the empty jars to be filled with water, just as we can be filled with living water. Jesus uses the containers that would have been associated with dirt and changes their association by willing them with living water and changing that into the best wine, a metaphor for our own transformations.

The Apostle Paul recognised Jesus as his messiah when he was confronted by Jesus. The change he went through in becoming blind forced him to become reliant on Jesus and not on himself. It is this coming to terms with the reality of a living Lord that changes us. Mike encouraged us to seek encounters with the living Lord and reassured us that our weaknesses won't disappear because they remind us that we are reliant on Christ and the grace of God and not on ourselves.

If we perform a 'life audit' - we will fail if we are truly honest with ourselves. The whole point is that this is not about Our Performance - it's about grace and forgiveness. Matthew 5:6 States 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled'. We have to get over ourselves, righteousness is unattainable, it is out-of-our-reach, it is not something we can achieve, only something we can accept. It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

We must honour Jesus Christ as He Is Now - exalt him as the Father has done: Philippians 2:9-11 If we give glory to Jesus we give glory to God! Jesus has done everything in order for us to be rescued and saved by grace - to be empowered; if we are not clear, we will fail. We need to talk about discipleship: if we try to be disciples we must talk about 'grace' and the connection between 'grace' and 'gratitude' - This pushes us to be sure of our motivation.

The children of Israel in the wilderness were set tasks to do to build a meeting place for the people with God. As Christians we get to be fellow builders, and, under Jesus’ leadership and by following biblical principles for spiritual growth, God will build his church.

And in that Day when the tabernable is complete. When Christ returns and the Glory of the Lord fills not just a small tent in the Sinai peninsula but fills the whole world. We will, by grace speak with God himself.

With the sacrifices made, the winters of our lives endured. His joy will be made complete in us.

1 Corinthians 13:12 says "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." Andrew explores similar themes around how we tend to see and approach things in a very blurred-vision way but when the Kingdom of God is fully realised, everything will come into sharp contrast. We long for and look forward to that day.

A look at Psalm 63 - a song for the seekers. What did this psalm mean to David when he first wrote it, and what does it mean for us now?

Based on Galatians 5 v 13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Malcolm looked at a couple of portraits of characters in the Bible who were portraits of servant and a couple who were not. We explored how Jesus gave his disciples and us the principle of servanthood and then looked at the practice of servanthood. What does a servant do? How does a servant behave? Servants shift their expectations from seeking to be served to volunteering to be a servant like Jesus, and that they know their unique assignments.

With that in mind, we are called to serve in such a way that people look at us and wonder if they have seen the presence of God. The God given blessing for us being that by making people happy as we serve them, we can make ourselves happy too.