2013 Only one gospel
Galatians is a challenging letter.
It was written to gentile Christians who were being encouraged to add Jewish practices to their faith. The letter reminds us that there is only one gospel and one way of salvation through what Christ has done for us. We will take a trip through the letter and see how important it is that we hold to the gospel of grace.
Put right with God (10:30am), Galatians 3:1-14
Featuring: Ian Bentley
Date: Sunday, 6 October, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospelWe need often to come back to the cross and be gripped by the love of God and then allow that love to direct and motivate our living.
This is why as a spiritual father my concern is to help those who have begun this journey of faith to continue on that journey and to do it focussed on Jesus and his cross.
To that extent I teach the Bible and encourage people to read it for themselves, we run homegroups, we run courses, we encourage prayer and so on. If you are a Christian are you continuing and are you continuing in the grace of God rather than by your own efforts?
Paul asked this question, “Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” That is did they come to faith by God’s action or their own efforts? The answer is by God’s work and the point is then continue that way – then we’re sucking diesel.
Attachments:
gal_0301_2a.doc
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Put right with God (9am), Galatians 3:1-14
Featuring: Ian Bentley
Date: Sunday, 6 October, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospelThe whole point of this passage is to help these Christians and us see the importance of continuing our Christian journey in the same way that we began.
The Christian life begins in faith and continues in faith and its central focus is the cross of Christ.
We need regularly to come to the cross and renew our vision of what God has done for us that his love and grace may so rule our hearts that we live the life of Christ by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Attachments: gal_0301a.doc
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All or Nothing, Gal 2:11-21
Featuring: Ian Bentley
Date: Sunday, 29 September, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospelSo how are we living? Are we showing in our lives that God is real to us?
Is there in us that desire to serve and honour God which is to obey his law?
Yes of course we will get it wrong and we will sin and over again we will need to come and seek forgiveness. But in Christ there is forgiveness and in Christ our eternal future in heaven is secure but only through his death on the cross.
Peter was encouraged by Paul to live what he believed and we are encouraged to do the same and, as Paul did, to be willing to stand up for what we believe, the truth of the gospel.
May God gives us strength and courage to do that.
Attachments:
db20130929.pdf
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Truth at stake, Gal 2:1-10
Featuring: Ian Bentley
Date: Sunday, 22 September, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospelFriends as we have been recognising especially over the last 12 months we are called to share the gospel, the good news of what God the Father has done for us in God the son, with those around us, our contact people. We recognise, as we saw at the beginning, that the gospel is God’s power for salvation and he uses it to bring people to faith. The gospel is God’s gospel and we are called to share it but not to alter it, not to adapt it, not to smother it in a cultural cloak so the gospel becomes unclear.
I am here today because someone shared that gospel with me and I’m sure many others of us could testify the same. May it be that, unless Jesus returns, in 30 years time there are people here saying I am here because someone in the congregation of Christ Church shared the gospel with me and through that I came to faith.
Paul stood up for the gospel so that as he says in v5 “the truth of the gospel might remain with you”. It does but having that gospel let us maintain it and pass it on.
db20130922.pdf
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No Other Gospel, Galations 1:1-10
Featuring: Ian Bentley
Date: Sunday, 1 September, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospelWe live in a world where we are taught to be suspicious of people and of any authority they claim. I was listening to the radio in the week and hearing that there is now another scam whereby people are trying to get access to people’s bank accounts either by phone calls or even sending a messenger to ask for your bank card. We rightly ask by what authority?
So here is Paul who said to these Galatian Christians listen to me and we ask by what authority? Paul replies by God’s authority, who called me to be an apostle and gave me the message of salvation. Paul says I speak from God and for God. If that is so then we are not in a position to say as some do “I agree with Paul on this but I disagree with him on that”. No instead we say this is God’s word through Paul and we must listen, accept and obey his word.
What does God say through Paul for us to listen to, accept and obey? He says that there is only one gospel. It is the message from God that there is salvation only in Jesus Christ. We must trust that gospel for our own salvation and we must hold out that gospel unchanged to others that they too may be saved.
144_db20130901.pdf
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Called by God, Galations 1:11-24
Featuring: Tim Hedgecock
Date: Sunday, 8 September, 2013
Media tags: 2013 Only one gospel
Changed Lives
Continuing our series on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians we look at Galatians 1:11-24 and see that Paul emphasises the importance of the gospel he had brought to the Galatian churches – its source is from God; in its nature it is a gospel of grace and its consequences are changed lives.
We realise that this remains the gospel for us today too. In contrast with those who were trying to change the gospel, it remains a matter of Jesus plus nothing equals everything.
christ_church_130908_gal_1.docx
Attachments: christ_church_130908_gal_1.docx
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