We begin our almost year-long study in Exodus by reading the opening verses of Exodus. But what is this book about? Is Exodus just an ancient fable of irrelevant people and characters? How is it relevant and why is it important for us to read?
Advent is about the coming of Jesus, and Luke 2 is part of the narrative surrounding His birth. When we read Luke 2, we notice that there're a lot of people hearing and telling things to each other. If we focus on Luke 2:18-19, we read that who heard the words of the shepherd wondered at what was told them. The shepherds were preachers, announcing things to even the parents of the child, and it had a profound effect on Mary. In this series, we have been treasuring up all that has been said about Christ and pondering it in our heart. Today, we will consider how the baby born in Bethlehem is also the Lord of Might.
Today’s passage is probably an unfamiliar for most of us. At a glance, it’s confusing. At two, you feel like skipping the chapter. At three, you ask if you need a Masters of Divinity to understand it. But this passage can be understood, especially when we read it in context! Read on to find out what this challenging passage has to tell us about Christ!
What does the name ‘Jesus Christ’ mean to you? A Saviour? The Son of God? The Lord of your life? We sometimes struggle to reach a definite conclusion, and we might even find ourselves thinking of Jesus in the abstract.
This study's text helps us to formulate a better understanding of who Christ is. Here, we encounter a baby that was born to a young woman by the name of Mary and her fiancé Joseph. Read on to learn what testimony was given about this child!
For this Advent series, the names of Jesus are taken from the hymn “O come O come Emmanuel”. In this study, well look at Jesus, the “root of Jesse”. The significance of this might be lost on many of us, and 1 Sam 16:1-13 shows us the root of Jesse, whose name is David. This is kind of like the origin story of David, thus if we don’t understand David, we will not be amaze or impressed when Jesus is repeatedly called “Son of David”. Let's spend time looking at the Root of Jesse, David, and see the relationship between kings and Christmas.
If you met someone who was really struggling in great pain and deep sense of personal loss, what would you do to comfort this person? Some of us might tell them that everything will be okay. Others might sit there and just feel their pain with them. But most of us honestly just don’t know what to do in these situations. In John 11, Jesus meets people like that. What did He do?
How would you describe a "bad person"? Perhaps you would even identify yourself as one, and think that you are "too bad" for God to save you? Tonight we’ll explore what it means to be a bad person and what it means when Jesus meets with someone like this!
Jesus meets the “seeker” Nicodemus. What it really means in this context is Jesus meeting someone who is looking for truth, meaning, enlightenment in this life. Many of us might actually find Nicodemus relatable! Despite all that we have, there could be a quiet (or loud) voice of discontent. What did Jesus have to tell him?
Last week we read of Jesus meeting a skeptic. This week we continue and see Jesus' encounter with another group of people -- people at a party, who weren't at the party to seek Jesus, but He found them. What can we learn from this encounter?
This new series is titled "Meeting Jesus", but you might ask, why would anyone want to meet Jesus Christ? For starters, Jesus Christ is the most influential human being to have ever walked the planet. In this passage, Jesus meets with Nathanael. Nathanael is a 21st century man - a skeptic - and he has all of these doubts, questions, and uncertainties. Jesus’ interaction with Nathanael reveals very important things about what belief in Jesus means, and we'll focus on this interaction today.
This question comes up quite frequently -- "Can a Christian lose his or her salvation?" The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints addresses this question.
We’ve been walking through components of TULIP acronym over the past 3 weeks, and we’ve learnt how each component reveals something challenging and comforting about God’s grace to us. Today, we'll see something of the attraction and beauty of Jesus and the grace He has shown to us!
This series looks at what is commonly referred to as the "5 points of Calvinism", but we're also mot interested in looking at each of these truths, and how they show 5 characteristics of grace. Today's study focuses on limited atonement. Our context and philosophical worldview could cause us to baulk at this topic and the thought that God’s atonement is limited. But limited atonement also means that grace is triumphant. As we unpack this passage in Hebrews 9, let's remember that both these things can be true -- that atonement is limited and also grace is triumphant.
The doctrine of election could be the doctrine of grace that is the most controversial or has a bad reputation. What is election? Many people equate this with predestination, and many avoid talking about it because God appears unjust and unfair by “choosing” one group over another. Today, we'll use Eph 1:3-10 to help us understand this doctrine as God intended for it to be.
Today, we'll begin looking at the first doctrine of grace -- total depravity. This is a study about understanding ourselves in our natural state before we knew God. To help us do so, we'll take a look at Ps 53, and also a corresponding passage in the letter to the Romans.
What is “Humble Orthodoxy”? We know that it comprises of humility and right thinking. But what else? This passage in 2 Tim is helpful for us. 2 Tim also tells us that it began all the way with Paul. In 2 Tim, Paul the good pastor is telling Tim to be a good Christian, and telling all of us what it means to be gospel-centered.
October 2017 marks the 500th year of the Protestant Reformation. The lessons from the Reformation are just as important for us today. The same question confronts us today: do we remember or keep the gospel? This whole series will focus on gospel-centredness. Gospel-centredness not only means keeping the gospel at the core, but it also means seeing gospel connections to everything in life.
We’ve listened to Paul state his claim to authority. We’ve heard him cement what the gospel is. We’ve received his pastoral care and exhortation to see the gospel dig deep and bear fruit in our lives. And now we’ve come to his concluding warning and benediction in Galatians.
The book of Galatians has been about one gospel. Paul has been trying to demonstrate how the gospel is a gospel of grace, and is so significant that it shapes and affects every area of life. This study continues to trace the effects of the gospel, this time in terms of the relationships of the Galatians.
Paul starts off this passage with a contrast using a “but”. In the immediate context, Paul was speaking about how the freedom of the gospel should not be used as an opportunity for the flesh but to serve one another. He cites Leviticus 19:18 and encourages one to love his neighbour as himself. So all of this talk in Galatians of law v.s. grace, works v.s. faith has brought us here. We are to love our neighbours as ourselves. We are to be as concerned about another's well-being as about our own. How is that possible? It seems like the very thing that I don’t want to do. How can we wake up each day thinking about someone else other than us? In fact, we are more than ready to bite and devour one another as Paul says in Gal 5:15.
So how then? Today's passage will hopefully provide some encouragement and practical insight into how this can be possible!