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What Grace Does
What Grace Does Titus chapter 2, verses 11 to 12 “Why do I have to do …?” Kids often say it. Adults too. Because God is concerned for our well-being, eternally. Grace, what is it? Merit is the almost universal answer, except for Biblical Christianity. There we find the way to reconciliation with God is all through what He has done, not the man-in-the-street’s “Just be good”. Grace saves us, verse 11 Grace trains us, verses 12 to 14 Grace…
A Grace Shaped Community
Titus chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, Grace shaping the church into a Grace-Shaped Community. A Christian asked a Hindu what he thought of the church. He replied “Your Christ is beautiful, glorious, but your church is despicable.” SAdly it is often true, and the church little different from the world. Three things:- God’s Word is to be the foundation. Honouring God before the world is to be the motivation. Learning to encourage other is to be the application.
Guarding against what is false
What to do about false teachers: Titus chapter 1, verses 10-16 Little Red Riding Hood teaches us to beware of appearances – a wolf can appear in Grandma’s clothes! Paul’s strategy for Crete – that the Cretan believers be in the Cretan society, but not like it. Salt and light: lives showing the grace of the Gospel. Church leaders are to Silence false teachers by teaching the truth, verses 10-11 Encourage sound teaching and godly living, verses 12-14 Understand how…
Leadership Shaped By Grace
Titus chapter 1, verses 5-9 What should leadership in the church look like in our culture? Leadership – Personal character and conduct. Titus 1:5-8 Leadership – Personal conviction and courage. Titus 1:9
Generosity
Generosity And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial.…
Why Do Grace and Truth Matter?
Titus chapter 1, verses 1 to 4 Christ-centred living in a self-centred world. Why do Grace and Truth Matter? The Messenger of God; verse1 The Message of God verses; 1-4
Confident prayer from the sick-bed of tears – Psalm 6
Psalm 6 Confident prayer from the sick-bed of tears Luther’s Tentatio It would’ve been around February. March. 2006. And a group of 25-30 students had just returned from their summer break to engage in their second year of classes at George Whitefield College. A Bible College located right on the beach at Muizenberg. In Cape Town, South Africa. As the students take their seats. And enjoy catching up on what each other had been up to over the holidays. The…
Hearts Filled With Thankfulness
90th Anniversary of Engadine Church Philippians 1:1-6 HEARTS FILLED WITH THANKFULNESS World events of 1928. Penicillin discovered. Kingsford-Smith flew across the Pacific. The Engadine Story – a church is born. The Philippi Story Acts 16, Philippians 1. God was at work there. He is still at work. What has been done at Engadine has been done by God. A mindset of thankfulness v1-4 Joyful thanks & prayer. Not always easy to be thankful! Paul the Apostle, a “serial offender” because…
The Grace Shaped Church
Titus chapter 1 A world of change. Faith in Jesus is in the margins. “I can live without God” is the common ethos. Information When? Where? How? Titus on Crete as the man of God. Cretans were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, when when Peter preached the first Christian sermon to thousands. Now some hear Paul describing what someone said of the Cretan character, and say “Yes, that’s what we were like!” Real people, real place, in real…
The Gate, the Shepherd and the Sheep
The Gate, the Shepherd, and the Sheep John 10 Leaders The figure of speech (vv. 1-6) The figure of speech expanded (vv 7-42) The gate (7-10) The shepherd (11-18) The sheep (19-42) Found: The Leader
What has Jesus done? God’s agent of salvation
What has Jesus done? God’s agent of salvation Hebrews 1:3c-4 Sacrifice and the gods Down through the centuries religion has been marked by. Or at least, closely associated with. The practice of sacrifice. Religion and sacrifice. Historically, they’ve gone together. The cultures and societies of the Ancient Near East. The area in which God’s people in the Old Testament. The Israelites. Lived. And the context in which the Old Testament was written. Those Ancient Near Eastern religions. They engaged in…
Who is Jesus? God’s Perfect Image
Who is Jesus? God’s perfect image Hebrews 1:3a The search for God Just talking to other people can reveal that many are on a search for God. They might not necessarily use the word, ‘God’, but the search is there for ‘The Great Being’, ‘Ultimate Reality’, ‘True Meaning’. Pick a term. Spiritual quests. In pursuit of the spiritual. A few years ago it was Julia Roberts’ trendy ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ movie that attracted such a following. Where Liz Gilbert. The…