City South Presbyterian

Don't be a Nimrod. 

Noah's Ark is a re-creation story; and an Exodus story — where the ark, then the dove, hover above the waters as God acts to judge and save. 

The story of the Nephilim starts a thread of Sons of God, and giant enemies in league with the serpent, who oppose God's plans for fruitfulness. The Old Testament sets us up to expect a serpent-killing son of God who'll defeat this opposition and marry heaven and earth together. 

Cain and Abel both make bloody sacrifices at an eastern gate, hoping to find their way back to life with God. Jesus enters an eastern gate to lead the way back to Eden like life with God forever. 

Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden becomes a pattern repeated by humans everywhere. The hope of a seed who'll crush the serpent flows through Isaiah's promise of a 'branch of Jesse', to Jesus, who is arrested in a garden — where people come wielding tree-clubs — crowned in thorns, and nailed to a tree. It's treason against the tree-son; who becomes a new tree of Life and a new tree of knowl...

Genesis 2 introduces us to God's heaven on earth place, the Garden in Eden, and God's earthlings — his image bearing gardeners. 

The story of the origins of the world is the beginning of the Bible's big story about God bringing the heavens and earth together through his image bearing son Jesus. This big story becomes an origin story that shapes how we understand who we are and what fruitful life in the world looks like.

In the Great Commission, Jesus — who now has all authority in heaven and on earth — sends his disciples to bring heaven with them to the ends of the earth as we join his kingdom of life, teaching and obeying all he commands.

In his words on the cross, Jesus evokes not just the cry of Israel's Messiah — David — as he suffered — but the whole of Psalm 22, as he fulfils its picture of God's kingdom being restored from.

The words from Jesus on the night he is betrayed and in his trial invite us to find life in his kingdom where he rules as king.

Jesus brings judgment and salvation in a new passover. 

Jesus comes to create a new family tree that brings life — replacing Adam's family tree of death, violence, and vengeance with a pattern of love, forgiveness and life. 

The transfiguration reveals that Jesus is the Christ, and God's beloved son, who brings heaven and earth together and so we should listen to him. Also there's some super fun stuff about mountains and what they mean going on here, but mostly we should listen to Jesus and get on board with his mission. 

Jesus' parables reveal the kingdom of God will be a return to fruitful life brought about by God's people faithfully listening to him. Jesus models what listening to God's word looks like, even as he speaks in parables.

Jesus calls those of us who are weary and burden to come to him and receive rest for our souls. He comes to bring the 'kingdom of heaven' — the kingdom of Sabbath — to earth and invites us to join him in having our lives shaped by receiving God's rest.

Jesus has been on a mountain talking about the kingdom of heaven he came to bring to earth, now he comes down the mountain and speaks with the authority of heaven to start giving pictures of what he has come to do.

What would it look like if you prayed the Lord's Prayer and God answered? 

We get to the heart of Jesus message about what the kingdom of heaven looks like, as we see how Jesus fulfils the law and the prophets.

Jesus, a new Moses, goes up a mountain — a meeting place between heaven and earth, to invite us to join him in the kingdom of heaven.

We start our series on the words of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel with the essence of his message — that the kingdom of God has arrived with him, exploring the way Matthew presents Jesus as leading a new exodus and a moment where God's image bearing representative does not fall to temptation and sin, but instead speaks God's word to bring life. 

Wise life in God's world reflects God's character; and God's character is revealed in the upside-down power and wisdom of the Cross. 

We shift into the New Testament's 'wisdom literature' with the book of James. 

Nathan is joined by Robyn and Kamina to unpack how the Song presents wise love as intimate and mutual, in contrast to a selfish approach to relationships that commodifies and dehumanises the other. 

Nathan is joined by Robyn and Kamina to examine more of how the Song of Songs contrasts Solomon's approach to love and sex, and the damage that creates, with the love desired by God for his people, and by the Song's Beloved.

Nathan is joined by Robyn, and the soon to be Dr Kamina Wust, to unpack how Song of Songs teaches us about wise love in contrast to Solomon's folly. Wise love is love grounded in exclusive, covenantal commitment — as people in covenant relationship with God.