Bible Talk : Back 2 Church Sunday

 

Luke 18:9-17

Exodus 34:1-9

 

3 February 2019

Roger Cunningham

 

 

We can’t earn a good judgement, only receive it

 

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 

                                                                                                Luke 18:9

 

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

                                                                                                Luke 18:14

 

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

                                                                                                Luke 18:13

 

But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

                                                                                                Luke 18:16

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

                                                                                                Luke 18:17

 

 

Be humble before God

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Bible Talk : Summer Psalms : Psalm 145 – In A Praise of Glory.

Psalm 145

John 17:1-5

 

27 January 2019

David Simmons

 

Praisebook

 

God is worthy of our praise 1-3

 

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 145:1-3

 

God’s glory revealed 4-13

 

God’s goodness to us 14-20

God’s glory revealed 4-13

1.     In his works

2.     In his word

 

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness

Exodus 34:6

 

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

Psalm 145:8

 

God’s goodness to all 14-20

1.     In his provision

2.     In his salvation

 

My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

            Let every creature praise his holy name

                        for ever and ever.

Psalm 145:21

 

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:21

 

exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Romans 1:23

 

I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

John 17:4, 1

 

Praise:

a reflex and a resolve

 

‘We praise not because the present is easy but because the future is glorious. Praise is not the outpouring of a heart made happy by present circumstances, but the expression of faith in hearts made glad, in the midst of suffering, by the assurance of future glory.’ - Christopher Ash

 

Bible Talk: Summer Psalms: Psalm 72

Psalm 72

Luke 4:14-21

20th January 2019

Neil Atwood

David’s Prayer

  • True Justice and Hope, Prayer for the entire world

  • David’s hope - injustice to be undone completely

Psalm 72: 2 - May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice

Psalm 72: 4 - May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.

God’s own Justice

Psalm 72: 1 - Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.

  • David asks that his son Solomon would rule with God’s justice

Psalm 72: 19 - Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds.

No Limits

David doesn’t want rivals and enemies to limit justice and the reign of the king.

Justice that Attracts

The world conquers with might but… David’s wish and hope is that all will willingly come and submit.

Psalm 72: 11-14 - All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. for he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He'll take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He'll rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.

Solomon’s Failure

1 Kings: Solomon’s Reign - wisdom leads to justice

Human nature- sinful humanity mislead him from God leading to exploitation of his people

The people ask and wait for an eternal ruler of Justice - 900 years later through Jesus the peoples prayers answered.

Mary speaks and praises about baby Jesus

Luke 4:18 - Jesus speaks the Psalms -

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

... liberty to the captives,

... recovering of sight to the blind,

... liberty [for] those who are oppressed.

Jesus: Heals, Frees, helps others to Walk again, Gives life - And He has the power to make it happen.

How You Serve

Psalm 72: 4, 9

Jesus’ mercy is giving us time to repent and willingly come and follow Him. Serve and Show others a glimpse of His Justice, power and mercy, so they will want to join and live in and for Christ.

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Bible Talk: Summer Psalms: Psalm 41

Psalm 41

John 13:12 - 27

13th January 2019

Neil Atwood

Regarding the weak - Psalm 41: 1-3

  • Blessed is he who has regard for the weak.

  • The Lord will protect him and preserve his life.

Disregarding the weak - Psalm 41: 4-9

  • Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one shared my bread, has turned against me. v9

Trusting God

Psalm 41 - in light of Jesus

  • But this is to fulfill the scripture: He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me. John 13: 18

Implication for us…

“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:22

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8

God’s Grace… Made perfect in your weakness.

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Bible Talk : Summer Psalms : Psalm 63 – Fully Satisfied

Psalm 63

Philippians 3:4b-14

 

6 January 2019

David Simmons

 

1.     Exercise

2.      Eat Healthy

3.      Quit Smoking

4.      Quit Drinking

5.      Learn a new skill

 

Satisfaction

David’s Desire v1

David’s Satisfaction v2-8

David’s Joy v9-11

 

What do we do with this psalm?

 Psalm of Jesus

 

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ

Philippians 3:8-9

 

I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:10-11

 

‘Seeing lives transformed through Jesus’

 

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Bible Talk : I Am Second  ( Zechariah's Song ): Christmas Songs.

1:57-80 Luke

23 December 2018

Neil Atwood

 

I Am Second

“…it’s not about you.”

 

Zechariah

not about him

not about the baby(!)

 

Celebrating
someone else

 

Jesus

 

Not about John. It’s about Jesus

 

“Praise be to the Lord the God of Israel because he has come to his people and redeemed them, he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.”

Luke 1:68

 

Promise fulfilled


Rescue from our enemies   v74

 

His plan of reversal

His promises are kept

Responding to God’s glory

 

“And you my child will be called a prophet of the most high. For you... will go on before the Lord. To prepare the way for him.” 

Luke 1:76

 

“You, my child... will go before the Lord.
To prepare the way for him.”

 

Salvation from our enemies

Salvation from our sin

 

Not. About. Me.

All about Him

 

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Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 7-8, Celebrating Certainty

Romans 8:1-17

Romans 8:18-39

 

2 December 2018

David Simmons

 

If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Daniel 3:17-18

 

God gave his Son for us, so God will give us all things

 

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?

Who then is the one who condemns?

 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

 

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Romans 6:5

 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 7-8, Assurance in Suffering

 

Daniel 7: 1-4

Romans 8:18-30

 

25 November 2018

Josh Wheeler

 

GOD IS ALL POWERFUL

GOD HAS OUR GOOD AT HEART

so

SUFFERING SHOULD NOT EXIST

 

From our perspective

GOD’S WORD and OUR EXPERIENCE sometimes seem to clash

 

1). God is all powerful

He FORKNEW us and PREDESTINED us.

 

2). God does everything for our good

We are CONFORMED to

the image of Jesus

 

GOD IS ALL POWERFUL

GOD HAS OUR GOOD AT HEART

so

EVERYTHING IS WORKING FOR OUR GOOD

 

We can depend on God

We can long for Jesus return

Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 7-8, Suffering with the Hope of Glory

 Romans 8:14-27

Revelation 21:1-5 & 22:1-5

11 November 2018

David Simmons

 

‘I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea…I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked’

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

 

Creation waits in eager expectation (19)

Creation is in a state of frustration (20)

 

Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

Genesis 3:17-18

 

Creation groans (22)

Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 7-8, The Spirit of Sonship

1 John 4:16b – 5:5

Romans 8:5-22

 

4 November 2018

Roger Cunningham

 

I’d love our children to be like me

We are members of God’s family

We take on the family likeness

We take courage, not fear

 

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-2

 

We are heirs of God

Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 7-8, Set Free from Sin

Romans 7:14-25

Romans 8:1-13

 

21 October 2018

David Simmons

 

1.      Problem

2.      Solution

3.      Application

 

1.      Problem

We can not free ourselves from sin

‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes’

Romans 1:16

Law + flesh = sin and death

 

2.      Solution

God sets us free from sin

 

God sent his own son

in the likeness of sinful flesh

to be a sin offering

he condemned sin in the flesh

 

“the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Romans 13:8

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

Mark 12:30–31

 

3.      Application

Set free in the struggle with sin

 

Christ for us

The Spirit in us

 

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

 

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Bible Talk : From Here to Eternity : Romans 1-4 : Saved for Sure

Romans 1:1-17

Romans 3:19-31

 

14 October 2018

Roger Cunningham

 

Can we be sure

Looking back

 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.

Romans 1:16-17

 

This claim of salvation

 Our common problem

 

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:22-26

 God’s common grace

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Romans 5:1

 

The benefits and call to obedience

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:1

 

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Bible Talk : Proverbs : Wisdom for Life : Wisdom & Money

Proverbs 3: 1- 18

Luke 12 : 13- 21

 

7 October 2018

David Simmons

 

1.       Proverbs are wisdom

2.        Proverbs are principles not promises

3.        Proverbs assumes a worldview

 

3.       Proverbs assumes a worldview

1.        God owns everything

2.        God gives us everything

3.        Therefore, we are stewards

 

How to be a wise steward

Keeping and Giving

 

Wise stewards

know how much to keep

 

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,

give careful attention to your herds;

for riches do not endure forever,

and a crown is not secure for all generations.

Proverbs 27:23-24

 

the lambs will provide you with clothing,

and the goats with the price of a field.

You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family

and to nourish your female servants.

Proverbs 27:26-27

 

The greedy bring ruin to their household’

Proverbs 15:27

‘The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them…

The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper’

Proverbs 28:22, 25

 

 

Wise stewards

know how much to keep

are careful of greed

give generously

‘Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed’

Proverbs 19:17

‘Honour the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing

and your vats will brim over with new wine’

Proverbs 3:9-10

Wise stewards

know how much to keep

are careful of greed

give generously

trust God will provide

 

Better a little with fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.’

Proverbs 15:16

‘Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice’

Proverbs 16:8

Better a little with fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.’

Proverbs 15:16

‘Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice’

Proverbs 16:8

How much better to get wisdom than gold,

to get insight rather than silver’

Proverbs 16:16

‘Blessed are those who find wisdom,

those who gain understanding,

for she is more profitable than silver

and yields better returns than gold. ’

Proverbs 3:13-14

‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’

Romans 8:32

'God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’

2 Corinthians 9:8

‘In your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’

Psalms 16:11

‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.’

2 Corinthians 8:9

Treasure Principle

“You can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead”

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Bible Talk : Mark 1-8 : Who Is This Man? : The Suffering Lord

Daniel 7:13-28

Mark 8:27 – 9:1

 

30 September 2018

Roger Cunningham

 

Expecting the conquering Lord

Getting the suffering Lord

 

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:1-3

 

Following the saving Lord

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