Mark1:1-11
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Hope Fulfilled, Then and Now audio (6MB)
Mark 1:1-11
It's now just over 15 years since Mulder and Scully first appeared in the series 'The X-Files', asking "Could there be something out there?" Mulder believed that the 'Truth is out there' but Scully wasn't quite sure. Of course, although the questions they were raising echoed those of lots of people, they weren't new questions. People have always wondered about life beyond this material existence. There's too much in our experience that we can't explain without having some sort of supernatural or spiritual explanation. That's why 'The X-Files' seemed to strike a chord with so many people.
The people of John the Baptist's day were asking similar questions, wondering whether God was still with them, or whether he'd ever speak to them again. Today we're going to think about the similarities between Then and Now.
First the Longing, Then and Now then
A Message of Hope, Then and Now and finally
Its Promise, Then and Now
Isaiah 9:2-7
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Light in The Darkness - Christmas 2008 audio
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined." Not many of us today have any real concept of darkness. We probably think of it as dark right now, but in fact we live in a world where even in the dead of night light is everywhere. So much so that we tend to take light for granted. You get up in the middle of the night and your bedside clock is glowing, the streetlights are shining in the window, your neighbours have their lights on. You can see where you're going quite clearly. But it wasn't always the case. I remember when I was growing up, which wasn't that long ago, can I say, we regularly had blackouts: usually during electrical storms. So there was always a supply of candles and matches nearby and a hurricane lamp in the garage to light so you could see again, because when you have a blackout in the middle of a storm it really does get dark. Most of you are old enough to remember those days I think. If you are, do you also remember what a relief it was when the candle was first lit. That tiny light made such a difference didn't it? And when the power came back on it was even better.
Well that's the feeling God is trying to convey, only more so, as Isaiah presents this prophecy of a salvation that will reach to all people. He says God is planning a salvation that will reach to the farthest ends of the earth, a great light to shine on people who live in deep darkness.
Resignation or Abandonment
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- Written by: Garrett Edwards
Matt. 5:13-16;
Rom. 6:8-14 audio (3MB)
Mark 12:28-13:2
Clip - King Arthur, start: 30:55, finish 32:03.
'Abandonment or Resignation', I came across this topic in my devotions one morning and it hit me pretty hard.
The question God confronted me with was this: am I abandoned to Him and His will for me or am I simply resigned to Him, my life unchanged, knowing he's there?
And that's the question I want to ask us today, its a question that I don't want to ask because I know that you can all look at me and know what my answer was...is... And every time I ask myself this question I'm met with disappointment as my answer really doesn't reflect where I know I should be.
Series: 40: Parables of the Kingdom
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Parables of the Kingdom
|
The Sower |
Matt 13:1-9; 18-23 |
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The Weeds |
Matt 13:24-30;36-43 |
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The Mustard Seed and the Yeast |
Matt 13:31-35 |
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The Treasure & The Pearl & The Net |
Matt 13:44-52 |
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The Unmerciful Servant |
Matt 18:21-35 |
Eph6:10-24
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Be Strong in the Lord & in his Mighty Power audio Eph 6:10-24
Do you remember when we looked at Paul's prayer in Eph 3 that I commented how difficult it is to achieve the sort of unity that God wants from his church. In fact I pointed out that that's why Paul prays the way he does: because only by God's power can this miracle come about. Paul knows that apart from the problem of our own weakness, our hardness of heart, there are forces in the world that'll try everything they can to stop us showing God's wisdom and glory to the world. The reality of life for the Christian is that we face opposition from the spiritual forces around us every day. We have an enemy whose sole aim is to ruin our efforts at every point. So Paul warns us. He says "our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Eph5:21-6:9
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A New Way of Relating - Mutual Submission audio
God has instituted an amazing plan, a plan that involves you and me in showing the world how great is his wisdom and glory. Not only has he instituted this plan but he's carried it out and continues to carry it out generation after generation. He's restored our spiritual life. He's put us in churches where the gifts he's provided for growing those churches will build us into a unified body as we become mature in our faith. Those gifts will provide us with stability, he says in Eph 4, so that we can grow up into Christ and build up one another in love as we each do our part.
Over the last two weeks we've seen a little of how we can do our part. We can learn to speak the truth in love. We can learn to put away falsehood, wrath, anger and malice. We can earn a living so we can give money away. We can tame our tongues so that everything we say is gracious, uplifting, life giving. We can live lives that are counter-cultural, in that they shun immorality, obscenity and greed. Instead we can seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that others are blessed by our presence among them. And today we discover how we can do our part in the context of our household and work settings.
Eph5:3-20
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- Written by: Bill Stewart
From Darkness to Light
by Bill Stewart audio
1 LIGHT OR DARKNESS? (Let no one deceive you!)
"For once you were DARKNESS,
but now in the Lord you are LIGHT.
Live as children of LIGHT
– for the fruit of the LIGHT
is found in all that is
good and right and true." (Ephesians 5:8-9, NRSV)
Light or darkness? It couldn't be more appropriate to today's reading from Ephesians that overnight we've begun "daylight saving". Have you ever thought about how much light and darkness still influence our lives – even in the age of electricity, with sources of light being available 24-hours a day? One writer (Craig Koester) has this to say about it:
"…the interplay between light and darkness is a fundamental feature of human existence. Day and night, brightness and shadow, establish the contours of the world we see. … Light comes gently with the promise of dawn but glares down from the noonday sun; it gives the assurance of vision yet threatens exposure. Darkness may fall quietly around two lovers while cloaking the movements of the thief; it can lull the weary to sleep but also awaken the terror of the unknown.
