City Church Sheffield Podcast

Without Jesus, there is only judgement. We are called to persevere by remembering God's faithfulness in the past, by looking forward to what is coming, and by holding on to what is true.

When we follow Jesus, we get a new identity. We get caught up into God's plans rather than catching him up into our plans. Without always knowing precisely where God is leading us, God transforms our character in community and through trials.

Paul knows Timothy is facing significant challenges but encourages him, and us, to remind ourselves of the glorious gospel of Christ and allow worship and gratitude to flow.

Jesus is the new and living way - he is the way to the Father, and the only way.

The Law is good at warning us, convicting us, pointing us to Jesus and teaching us what holiness looks like. But unlike the glorious Gospel, it can never change our hearts, never save us, nor make us more like Jesus.

Dan talks us through the importance of water baptism for believers and follows of Jesus.

This is spring, a time for new life. It is also a time for those who have been pressed down to spring up, and for springs of living water to flow through us. We are to live as Spirit-filled Christians not just on Sundays but wherever we are and however dry we feel.

We have confidence to enter the most holy place, but are we confident when we come before God? Let's draw near to him, hold unswervingly to the faith we profess, and spur each other on.

Prophets engage with God face to face, but Jonah fled from God's face, and fell asleep instead of calling on God. But the turning point comes when he acknowledges his identity as a Hebrew who worships the Lord. God is calling us back to face to face fellowship with him.

The Law is good, but it is a shadow pointing to Christ. It cannot make us perfect but Jesus does; it reminds us of sins, but now God remembers our sins no longer; sacrifices don't please God, but Christ does, and they have to be repeated but the work of Christ is finished.

The Law is good, but it is a shadow pointing to Christ. It cannot make us perfect but Jesus does; it reminds us of sins, but now God remembers our sins no longer; sacrifices don't please God, but Christ does, and they have to be repeated but the work of Christ is finished.

Our goal is love, and we can grow in love by cultivating a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Paul is passionate both about the glorious gospel of grace, which is received by faith, and also about the church, and so he urges Timothy to remain where he is to ensure that the church doesn't move on from the gospel. [Download Dan's slides](https://d2lpchbt6qg0df.cloudfront.net/uploads/1_Timothy_intro.pptx)

Jesus commissions his followers to take the message of hope to the world, but he doesn't just leave us to get on with it. He gives us his Holy Spirit and so we can expect him to work through us.

Mary didn't believe initially, and neither did the two on the Emmaus Road or the eleven apostles. But Jesus doesn't start again with a new group of disciples, he gently rebukes them. When God rebukes us for our disbelief, this should lead to repentance not discouragement.

Without Easter Sunday, Good Friday would have been a disaster, but we see the power of God over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus changes everything, and the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us

We are encouraged to be convinced that Jesus really did die on the cross, to be faithful like the women who stood by Jesus at the cross and to be bold like Joseph of Arimathea.

We see the most awful and also the most awesome moment in history, as our sin is transferred to Jesus and he is forsaken by God. But when he dies the darkness disappears and the centurion recognises who Jesus really is.

We are all partners together. It's God's heart to bring revival to Sheffield. Our task is praying, prophesying, receiving, giving, travelling and sending.

When we think about Jesus on the cross, we can ask ourselves who he is. He is the suffering servant, the glorious king and our wonderful saviour.

The religious leaders wanted Jesus killed out of self-interest, the crowds just followed the leaders without examining the facts, and Pilate chose to serve the crowd rather than his conscience or justice. They all deserved to die, and we can often be like them. But even those who deserve to die can be forgiven.

Peter had given up everything to follow Jesus. He had witnessed his miracles and confessed Jesus to be Son of God. Yet he disowns Jesus after boldly declaring that he would never do this. This helps us to recognise our own weaknesses and it reminds us of the power of prayer and it helps us to be amazed by the grace of God.

We can learn what it means to live by faith from Elijah. It means learning to rely on God, to obey him and to work with him. God frequently provides for us in mundane ways at the last minute so that we can learn to trust him.

Jesus was not the freedom fighter that the Jewish leaders feared he was, though he does fight and he wins the victory over death. He was not a blasphemer, but really is the Son of God. He is not a helpless victim, but courageously submits to God's will.

The disciples want Jesus to stay where he is, where he is popular, but he knows it's time to move on to the next town. Is it time for us to move on?