Made in His Image

Made in His Image

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Guest speaker Daniel Viljoen from the Bethanie Group shares with us some of the fundamental principles that undergird their ministry to the elderly. We are all made in the image of God, and when we serve others not only do we have the privilege of being Christ's ambassadors but we also discover something of God in others which can greatly enrich our own lives.

Continuing the Journey

Continuing the Journey

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As we wrap up our "One Step Closer" series we explore some very practical ways that we can take to make sure that we are continuing to move closer to maturity in Jesus, one step at a time. The Apostle Paul described his own ministry of preaching, teaching and praying for people as his earnest effort to help them move toward perfection in Christ. He also urged believers to "aim for perfection" (2 Cor 13:11).

What does it mean for us to aim for perfection, taking practical steps to make sure that we are not just hearing the Word but putting it into practice in our lives? We look at 6 simple things we can do to be faithful disciples of Christ who are receiving His truth, experiencing His life and following His way.

Walking the Walk

One Step Closer pt 3:

Walking the Walk

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In Luke 9:23-26 Jesus speaks some stern words of warning about judgement to come. They are not easy words to hear nor are they easy to repeat, but they are words of eternal life for those who will listen.

In these verses Jesus warns people who reject His lordship and try to live on their own terms that the end result will be judgement resulting in eternal separation from God - what the book of Revelation calls "the second death". 

As Jesus explained in Matthew 7, there are people who claim to be 'religious' and even do great things in His name but yet do not personally know Him and have not received eternal life from Him. They rely on their own works instead of trusting in what Jesus has done for us. They seek to control their own lives and pursue their own sinful desires instead of living a new life with Christ as Lord. Genuine followers of Jesus are people who have been converted - they have believed the truth about Jesus, received new life from Him and now live differently as a result. 

The second warning is to those who have received eternal life through faith in Him, yet have held back from living out that life and speaking about Jesus among those who do not yet believe. They are ones who are ashamed of Jesus and His words, even though by them they have received eternal life.

To these people Jesus says that while they will inherit eternal life they will do as ones of whom He is ashamed, ones who have selfishly kept their wonderful salvation to themselves instead of sharing it with others.

As we explore these passages we are again reminded that it is one thing to talk a good talk, but if we want to be sure of our salvation and if we want to be confident of how we will be received by Jesus when we stand before Him, the essential thing is to know that in this life we have also 'walked the walk'.

New Life Within

One Step Closer pt 2:
New Life Within
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2 Corinthians 5:1-21
8/7/2012

What does it mean to receive life from Jesus? 

In this message from 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 we look at the complete confidence we can have in our glorification - the new bodies and new existence we will enjoy for all eternity with Christ. 

We also discover that as we learn to live by the Spirit we experience an ever-increasing taste of what that glorious new reality will be like, because in this world we are becoming more like Him.  This not only grows our confidence in the certainty of our glorification, but also makes us effective ambassadors of Jesus to the world. The daily challenge for us then is to choose to live by the Spirit instead of by our sinful desires.

The Power of Godly Convictions

One Step Closer pt 1

The Power of Godly Convictions

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John 14:1-27

How can we be moving step by step closer to maturity in Jesus? How can we be helping people around us move closer to being fully alive in Jesus?

That is the central question of church life. It is the fulfilment of the Great Commission.

We begin by looking at Jesus' statement in John 14:6, which identifies three things we need to receive from Jesus in order to be growing in Him and helping others to do the same: we need to know Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life. As we look at the story behind this statement, we discover the tension felt by the disciples - Jesus is going back to the Father, so how are they going to receive these things from Him?

Jesus reassures them by explaining the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In this message we concentrate on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in enabling us to fix our eyes on Jesus and receive His truth. As we develop godly convictions we are transformed so that we are different and we live differently. Godly convictions produce godly character and godly conduct, enabling us to become more like Jesus and more effective in helping others do the same.