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No condemnation in Christ

Details: Published: Tuesday, 10 May 2016 13:52; Written by James Dean

I still get chills when I stop to remember all that Jesus won for me at Calvary. As we moved on Sunday from the cry of "Wretched man that I am!" at the end of Romans 7 to the "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" of Romans 8, it is just staggering to know for sure that my sins are completely forgiven.

Not only that, but as we read, since we know that God the Holy Spirit is working in us to make us like Jesus - the process called sanctification - that is all the assurance we need to know that we are safe in God's grip for eternity, adopted into his family as sons and will one day be raised to glory with him. What a message! What great news!

Is there anything that I do to make my situation any better? No, nothing - he has done it all. But I do owe him a debt of gratitude, to live as he would have me live; to live according to the Spirit, putting sin to death in my life every day. How is that looking for you today? What sins are you having to kill? How can we help each other do that while rejoicing together in what Christ has achieved?

Wretched man that I am

Details: Published: Friday, 22 April 2016 15:34; Written by James Dean

Sunday's sermon was a difficult one to preach and perhaps a difficult one to hear as well? But the wonderful thing about God's word is that it never comes back empty (Isaiah 55:11). God's word always achieves exactly what He intends it to do in our hearts - that's a great encouragement.

As we considered Paul's words we recognised ourselves in that same predicament: wanting to do the right thing, wanting to please God but all the while continuing to struggle against sin.

It is good to continue coming together to remind each other that we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to our heavenly Father. There will be times when sin will try to recapture us, ensnare us back into old habits or entice us with new ones, but we must always be on our guard because sin has our destruction and not our good in mind. Peters' words were well chosen:

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."
1 Peter 5:8-9

So we can stand against our adversary in God's strength but it's not going to be easy and we will suffer. But we suffer together and we suffer not for nothing but for God's glory. Peter continues:

"And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen." v.10-11

And so we shout our response with the same strength that Paul mustered: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Thanks be to God!

Details: Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2016 06:30; Written by James Dean

On Sunday, we focused on giving ourselves completely to God as we looked at Romans 6 & 7. The full sermon will be available from the church website soon but I just want to take a few moments to remind you of the four challenges I left you with:

Know who your master really is. This is the question we may try to avoid but your eternity depends on the answer. You can only have one master and it's either sin or God. There is no fence or third option!
Check your fruit. What do you see growing in your life? Is it the fruit of the Spirit? (Look them up in Galatians 5:22-23)
Commit to God completely. We need to be wholehearted in our commitment to our master. He has freed us from sin and will give us everything we need to serve him.
Make this it a daily habit. We won't suddenly become perfect overnight and will need to keep coming back to God and re-committing ourselves to him. This is going to be a lifelong commitment. But he is faithful and will complete the work he has started in us. To echo Paul's words, "thanks be to God"!

Let me sign off by reminding you of the first and fifth verses of Frances Ridley Havergal's hymn that we prayed together at the end of the service:

    Take my life, and let it be
    consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
    take my moments and my days,
    let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my will, and make it Thine;
    it shall be no longer mine:
    take my heart, it is Thine own;
    it shall be Thy royal throne.

Is that still your prayer today?