Letters
Titus 3:1-15
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Good To Go audio (3MB)
The wait is over. Not the wait for the building to be finished. There’s still 61 sleeps to go for that. No, I’m talking about something else that some of us here have been waiting anxiously for. On Thursday the first round of university offers came out. Across the state students and their families have discovered if they’re good to go. Good to go to the university they wanted, good to go for the course they’d hoped to get into. I’m sure many here can remember that nervous wait, wondering if we, or our children, were good to go.
Titus 2:1-15
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Good Relations audio (3MB)
If someone asked how they could be good, what would you say? What does it take to be good? What do you need to do?
Last week, we saw that the foundation of being good is being pointed in the right direction. It comes from having leaders who are good models for us. Leaders who have a firm grasp on the word of God. Good leaders who faithfully ‘Teach the Bible’. It’s not just leaders, we all need a solid grasp on the Bible if we’re to be good. In the pew sheets are the Bible reading plans that I mentioned last week. I’ve been told that Jack Giles is the man to see if you want to get your hands on the Daily Bread reading plans. And here’s the chart that I said I’d be using, but had left at home. Being good starts with being pointed in the right direction, by leaders, by God’s word.
Titus 1:1-16
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Good Directions audio (2.6MB)
There are two words that Micah loves to hear. Two words make his day. These two words are, ‘Good boy.’ They’re words that we all love aren’t they. We want someone say that we’re a ‘good person’, a ‘good man’ or a ‘good woman’. We love to be told, ‘Good job’ or ‘good work.’ We all have a desire to be good, to do good.
Phil 4:1-9
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Rejoice in the Lord audio (4MB)
You’ve probably noticed that there’s been a resurgence lately of vocal opponents to belief in God. And it’s especially obvious in Melbourne where the new atheists seem to think it’s a great place to hold their annual international convention. Do you think that means it’s becoming harder to be a Christian in our world? Is this rise of atheism something we should be worried about? Well, you’d have to say it’s not anything new. In this letter to the Philippians Paul has just finished warning that there are many in the world who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. And that’s not only in the world outside the church. There are plenty inside the church. So he says: “Therefore stand firm in the Lord.” Don’t give way to the forces that oppose you. Remain steady in your love and devotion to Christ.
Well today I want us to think briefly about what that means in practice? How are we to do this?
1 John 5:13-21
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Believing with Assurance audio (5MB)
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Mind you, he probably hadn’t imagined the industry that’s sprung up around tax avoidance these days. But he was certainly correct about death. You can’t live with it. You can’t live without it. Of course if you ever want to kill a conversation, just start talking about death. It’s inevitable, but none of us seems to want to face it. It’s almost as though we’re scared of it. For some there’s even a superstitious fear that if you talk about death someone might die. I was talking to someone about our funeral request forms last week and I was saying how hard it is to get people to fill them out. Why is that? Is that because people here don't want to think about death? I know one person whose daughter doesn’t want to talk about it. But why? Do they think that not thinking about it will put it off? Well, I’m afraid that’s a vain hope. None of us knows the day or the hour when God will call us to him.
For the people of the new Testament death was often in their thoughts. They were a persecuted Church for whom the next day, the next hour even, could signal arrest and possible death. So we find some 200 odd references to death or dying in the letters of the New Testament. But notice that death was never referred to as a thing to fear. Rather the message of the gospel was that the fear of death has been removed. In the place of death is eternal life. Far from fearing death, the Christian can see death as a necessary step that leads to new life, to release from all the ravages of this world.
