What do you hope for? Is it based on wishful thinking or an absolute certainty? As we continue in our series looking at the Armour of God, we unpack together the Shield of Faith and see that in order to stand strong, we need a hope based on the assurance of God’s word.

How is your heart? In need of protection? As we continue our Stand Strong talk series looking at the Armor of God, we arrive at verse 14b and the Breastplate of Righteousness. Seeing how it is designed to protect our hearts, we look at why our hearts need protecting and how the breastplate of righteousness does this in our lives.

What is ‘Truth’ to you? Is it an absolute, something that doesn’t change, or is it relative, something that can be different for different people? As we look at the second part of the Belt of Truth in the armour of God, we see that the truth of who God is, and who we are in Him, isn’t defined by us, but rather by God himself. Mark then does a fact check on some common deviations from God’s truth.

As we continue our talk series ‘Stand Strong’, looking at how we put on the full armour of God, we discuss the first item in the armour, the Belt of Truth and ask the questions, Why a belt and what truth?

Imagine if you could wear a special armor which enabled you to stand strong in the face of opposition. Would you wear it? As we start a new talk series, Stand Strong, we look at the armor which God provides for each of us and how we can use it to stand strong.

As we continue looking at our purpose in a ‘Christ-First’ world, we realise that our purpose is more than ‘doing’, that our ultimate purpose is about our response to what Christ has done for us. Looking at Romans 12:1, we see that while Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins, we are called to offer ourselves as a sacrifice of praise.

Which world do you live in? Do you live in a ‘Me-First’ world or a ‘Christ-First’ world? Understanding and answering this question will determine how we fulfil the purposes God has for us. Looking at John 12:20-27 and Jesus’ own words, this first part of a two-part talk challenges us to assess which world we truly live in and what our purpose should be.

God promises to provide for all our needs and yet we find that often we look to others before Him. Why is this? Mark looks at 5 common blocks we experience when it comes to God’s promise of provision and gives us some practical ways in which we can rightly respond.

In a time where being protected from the virus is top of mind for us all, we recognise that our hearts and minds are also in need of protecting. As we look at the Bible, we see that not only is the Lord our protection in these current difficult times but that we are also protected for all eternity.