Section 1
The reading for the Sunday services was the lengthy passage from Matthew 6: 19-34. This passage is very rich in its content and difficult in its application but the application provides an excellent overview of some core aspects[…]
Section 1
Given that it is the half way point of the eight week journey it is useful to reflect on the journey so far. As an exercise in group sharing, try to identify the following:
What you have learned[…]
Part 1:
One way of thinking about the Christian small group is to see it as a church within a church. It is a church because its members are the Body of Christ. Part of the process of discipleship then[…]
If you like, you can draw upon some of last week’s activities and see if people have had some new thoughts about some of last issues. You could consider the following:
Understanding and definitions of discipleship as a lifelong process[…]
October 10: Pastor Robin Stelzer
In first world countries leprosy has largely disappeared; modern medicine has allowed us to treat the illness so that the social stigma of the disease no longer exists. Yet, like many bygone issues, the language[…]
October 24: Pastor Robin Stelzer
Amongst cricketers these days there is a catchphrase: “form is temporary, class is permanent”. It is used when a batsman suffers a run of low scores and his place in the side is threatened.[…]
October 17: Pastor Matthew Thomas
When your scribe’s children were very young (they are still young), they would be collected at roughly 4.00pm from day care. My son soon became very skilled at knowing exactly when 4.00pm would occur[…]
Study for September 26: Kerry Groch
Towards the end of her message about the rich man and the beggar (Lazarus) Kerry made a remark that this is one of Jesus’ ‘disruptive parables’. It is an excellent description because of[…]
Message for September 19: Tim Kelly
Study Overview
Very few Christians these days use the phrase ‘born again’ to describe their faith. The phrase is now in the domain of other areas such as the health industry (born again trainer)[…]
Message from September 5: Robin Stelzer
Every now and again teachers in a school emerge a little surprised at some knowledge that their students lack. Your scribe recalls the time that a class confused Elton John with Bob Dylan (it[…]
Because Paul has grasped the immensity of our human need, and the parallel deep, costly and comprehensive nature of the salvation we have in Jesus Christ, he is totally overwhelmed by the grace of God by which we are saved.
God’s grace is ‘glorious’ (1:6). That God should plan from before creation to adopt us as his children through Jesus Christ is, Paul states, to the praise of God’s glorious grace. Even before He created us, God knew that we would fall into sin, and that He would send Jesus to save us. Who but a God of incredible grace would proceed with such a project?
Grace is ‘freely given us in the One He loves’ (1:6). God’s grace is free, without cost to us, without qualifying conditions, totally regardless of anything we are or have or do. It is a sheer undeserved gift.
The redemption and forgiveness we have through Christ’s blood is ‘in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us’ (1:7, 8). How big is our redemption? How big is our forgiveness? As big as God’s grace! Far more grace than we will ever need has been lavished upon us. God’s complete wisdom and understanding made sure of that.
God’s grace is incomparably rich (2:7). There is nothing like it, nothing that comes anywhere near it in size and generosity. By this grace boasting is silenced. Only God’s glorious, incomparable, immeasurable grace, not our goodness, has saved us (2:8).
*From the NIV Holy Bible Women’s Devotional and Study Edition.