STAND FIRM: Introduction to 1 Corinthians

We're going to be working through 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings in 2016 under the title 'Stand Firm'.

The key verse of the book is 1 Corinthians 15:58 and this as our motto text for the year:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

If you want a helpful companion book to read alongside this series you won't get any more faithful, relevant or readable than Vaughan Roberts' book 'True Spirituality', which works through 1 Corinthians. You can order it from Monday on the e-bookstore on the church website HERE .

But if you want to get up to speed with what 1 Corinthians is all about, the following video introduction and overview of the book is quite simply brilliant...

DIRECT LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiHf8klCCc4

12 BLOGS of CHRISTMAS: Day 12

Hope you've enjoyed these 12 blogs of Christmas.

Want some inspiration for talking to others about Jesus in 2016? I found the following quote helpful.

Why not join with me in praying that we might see some 'unlikely converts' this coming year?

The next Billy Graham might be drunk right now. 

The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. 

The next Charles Wesley might currently be a misogynistic, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist. 

The next Charles Spurgeon might be managing an abortion clinic today. 

The next Mother Teresa might be a heroin-addicted porn star this week. 

The next Augustine of Hippo might be a sexually promiscuous cult member right now, just like, come to think of it, the first Augustine of Hippo was.  

But the Spirit of God can turn all that around. And seems to delight to do so. 

The new birth doesn't just transform lives, creating repentance and faith; it also provides new leadership to the church, and fulfils Jesus' promise to gift his church with everything needed for her onward march through space and time (Eph. 4:8-16). 

(Russell Moore)

12 BLOGS of CHRISTMAS: Day 11

According to an article on the website Statistic Brain, these were the top ten New Year's resolutions for 2015:

Lose weight
Get organized
Spend less, save more
Enjoy life to the fullest
Stay fit and healthy
Learn something new and exciting
Quit smoking
Help someone else achieve their dreams
Fall in love
Spend more time with family

But the most striking thing about the list was the statistics that followed it:  

Only 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolutions.

It's yet another reminder that while good intentions are good, they are not sufficient to bring the lasting and permanent change we crave because they lack the power that's needed!

And the same is true in the spiritual realm.

We can have all sorts of good intentions to read our Bibles more, pray more, serve more joyfully, witness more consistently. But without God's help - we're doomed to fail.

In 1738, the literary giant Samuel Johnson wrote in his diary: '

Oh Lord, enable me to redeem the time which I have spent in sloth.' 

Nineteen years later, he wrote,

'Oh mighty God, enable me to shake off sloth and redeem the time misspent in idleness and sin by diligent application of the days yet remaining.'

He wrote some variation of this prayer every year after that.

Finally, in 1775, 38 years after his first resolution, he wrote, 

'When I look back upon resolution of improvement and amendments which have, year after year, been made and broken, why do I yet try and resolve again? I try because reformation is necessary and despair is criminal.'

Good intentions are good, but what we need is God's help to turn short-term good intentions into long-term godliness of character.

And God's help comes as his Spirit applies his Word into our lives - renewing us in his image, reshaping the way we think, repairing wrong habits, desires and attitudes.

The Apostle Paul wrote: 

'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

If you want to be thoroughly equipped to put into practice your good spiritual intentions for 2016 the solution is not rocket science: read God's Word every day and submit to God's Spirit as he uses it to expose your sin and mould you to be more like Jesus.

And over time, the result will be growing godliness of character, rather than a recycle bin full of failed good intentions.

12 BLOGS of CHRISTMAS: Day 10

Came across this challenging article in the last few weeks...

If you had to summarize your life in six words, what would they be?

Several years ago an online magazine asked that question. It was inspired by the legendary challenge posed to Ernest Hemingway to write a six-word story that resulted in the classic 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.'

The magazine was flooded with so many responses that the site almost crashed, and the responses were eventually turned into a book. 'Not Quite What I Was Planning' is filled with six-word memoirs by writers famous and obscure.

Here are some of the memoirs that range from funny to ironic to inspiring to heartbreaking: 

"One tooth, one cavity; life's cruel.""Saviour complex makes for many disappointments.""Cursed with cancer. Blessed with friends." (This one was written by a nine-year-old boy with cancer)."The psychic said I'd be richer."This one was only five words: "One long train to darkness.""Tombstone won't say: 'Had health insurance.'""Not a good Christian, but trying.""Thought I would have more impact." 

The challenge of the six-word limitation is its demand to focus on what matters most, to capture briefly something of significance.
 

How would you summarize your life, or just last year, or maybe this upcoming year, in six words?

How would you sum up in six words what you're hoping for spiritually this coming year?

Adapted from John Ortberg, All the Places You'll Go ... Except When You Don't (Tyndale, 2015) pp. 1-2

12 BLOGS of CHRISTMAS: Day 9

If you're a Christian, why do you love Jesus?

If you're not a Christian, why bother with Jesus?

I discovered Emma Scrivener's blog this year. I was late to the party, because she won 'Blogger of the year' last year at the 'Christian New Media Awards'. I am invariably helped/encouraged/challenged/moved by  Emma's  posts. She is a brilliant writer and that helps. But she has also had her fair share of struggles, which is what makes what she writes so real.

The following blog is more like a poem. As we get used to being in 2016 it's a great reminder of why Jesus is worthy of being at the centre of our hearts and lives this year...

Why I love him

He loved me first.

He’s never too busy.

He treated men and women equally in a time when no-one else did.

Everything I love was made by Him.

He invited me into His family.

He will never abandon me or leave me or hurt me.

He knows me inside-out and still, He stays.

He hates injustice and abuse.

He is Lord over all creation – yet He made Himself a tiny dependent baby.

When the soldiers said, “If you’re God’s son, come down from the cross,” He stayed. For me.

He practised what He preached.

There is no-one like Him.

He was exhausted and persecuted yet He still had compassion on the people who crowded around Him.

Everything He has, He shares with us.

He loves His Dad and tells everyone how much.

He sees what we try to keep hidden and He says, “come into the light.”

He gives everything; including Himself.

'One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.' (Psalm 27:4)

Click HERE to get to Emma's blog.

Click HERE to see the original blog post 'Why I love him'

12 BLOGS of CHRISTMAS: Day 8

John Stott was one of the most influential evangelical Christian leaders of the 20th Century. He was a prolific writer, authoring over 50 books, including the bestselling 'Basic Christianity', which has sold over a million copies, and The Cross of Christ which was one of the great re-statements of the significance of the cross.

In his biography of John Stott, 'Basic Christian', Roger Steer shared the Trinitarian prayer Stott sought to start every day with.

You can see the original version HERE (it's a great way to start the day). However, I've adapted it to be a prayer to pray as we enter the new year. 

Why not join me today in praying this for 2016?

Happy new year heavenly Father,

Happy new year Lord Jesus,

Happy new year Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Lord Jesus, I worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world.

Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this year in your presence

and please you more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this year I may take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this year you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Amen.

Direct Link: http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2010/03/21/john-stotts-morning-trinitarian-prayer/