Unity: Building Relationships that can Handle the Truth

Unity: Building Relationships that can

Handle the Truth

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As we understand the need for people to be able to share the truth in love so we can grow to maturity in Christ, we also recognise that our attempts to share the truth with each other often don’t go well.  How can we build our relationships to the point where they can handle the truth, even if we don’t always get it right?  

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?
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To make any sense of the book of Ephesians – in fact the entire Bible – it’s important to clearly understand your identity.  As Paul opens the letter, he clearly addresses the “saints”, and offers them grace & peace.  What’s the difference between a saint & a sinner?  And what does it mean to be “In Christ”?

From Idolatry to Worship

From Idolatry to Worship 

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When a person receives the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus they go from being an idolater to a worshiper. Instead of living for the stuff of this world - whatever that may be - they now live for God. They go from being citizens of this world to being citizens of Heaven. Instead of satisfying 'the flesh' they begin to keep in step with the Spirit. The Bible uses lots of different language to describe that one basic idea.

In Acts 19 we read about what that looked like for new believers in Ephesus, which sets a fantastic example for us to follow. Is the gospel radiating widely from us as it did in Acts 19? The message Paul brought was taken from Ephesus and spread through the whole region as people took it with them. Does the gospel leave our church buildings and spread to our workplaces, homes, sports clubs, cafe's etc as we take it with us? Secondly, do we purify our lives from the contamination of evil as the Ephesian Christians did? Do we take inventory of the things we have taken into our homes and into our minds that may be giving the devil a foothold of influence? Like the Ephesians, we may need to be prepared to pay the price of getting rid of that stuff, no matter how much it appeals to our 'flesh' or helps us to fit with 'the world'. Finally, we see Paul making strategic plans for how he can advance the spread of the gospel. We briefly share some of the ways that our church is being called by God to spread the gospel by equipping the saints to do the work of ministry.

EOFYS - End Of Financial Year Stocktake!

EOFYS – End of Financial Year Stocktake 
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We all want to serve God to the best of our ability. But sometimes it seems that we don’t have many resources to do it with. At the end of the financial year, we take stock of the spiritual blessings God has already granted us, as outlined in Ephesians 1:1-14. It’s great to be reminded that God has already filled the tank with such rich spiritual blessings, in order to equip us for the good works He has planned for us (Eph.2:8-10).

Finding God's Will

Finding God's Will
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As we move through the journey of life there are moments when followers of Jesus face key decisions. At these times we want to do what God wants for us, but what is that? In this message we explore the basic biblical framework for knowing and doing the will of God. We discover that very often it's the everyday decisions that make the biggest impact on how our lives turn out and the impact we will have on others for eternity. We look at the ways that God has chosen to reveal His will to us for big decisions and small ones; and we are reassured that while we are rightly concerned with our obedience to His will, we can also rely on His sovereignty to achieve His good purposes despite our failures.