ecclēsia

Are we to be blamed if our heart does not desire the Lord? Hosea writes to Israel and to us all that we remain responsible for reciprocating God's love and commitment to us.

What are you investing in your future? Hosea has some home truths for Israel who believe their future is looking bright. Their investment in the idol calves and king and military will come to nothing as they have not looked to the Lord first.

Has anyone made a comparison of your behaviour with something less than flattering? Hosea gives Israel an uncompromising view of their behaviour towards the Lord in the hope that it will correct them. Maybe we might also identify some of our own behaviour towards the Lord in this striking text.

Have you ever noticed how someone can plead their undying love one moment only for it to come to a short end the next moment. Hosea exposes the shallowness of Israel's love for the Lord. For all their outward display of loyalty to the Lord they are inwardly despising him

Gods judgement is discipline and His desire is to correct us. The discipline of God is so that we can return to the Lord. This is what Hosea 5 is all about - Actions have consequences.

Why speak of a future with those who grievously offend us? God demonstrated His unrelenting love in declaring His resolve to rekindle the love of his unfaithful people Israel.

Did you ever hear the song 'In Love with a Stripper?' This could have been the soundtrack to Hosea's marriage, but worse. As we begin this new series we learn of God's relentless, rescuing love in the face of persistent rejection.

Is the resurrection of Christ Jesus a historic event that just gives us hope for the future? Paul reminds us that the resurrection of Jesus has freed us now from the power of sin.

Can you afford to pay for your own sin? Someone has to. Imagine that God's word shows he has always demonstrated his love by paying the ultimate price for our sin.

I am Barabbas .. can you say it? It may feel like a negative confession, but the spirit of the age may cause us to be robbed of seeing how Barabbas truly represents us, therefore dimming our view of God's grace in Jesus as our substitute.

Does the eschatological end of the gospel register with your Christian walk? The apostle John challenges us to establish our Christian witness by our looking forward to the Lord's return and by living faithfully until that day.

What will it be like to live with God literally? God reveals His purpose to personally sustain His own in the eternally peaceful new heaven and earth where nothing evil can be found.

God has vindicated himself and his people by finally judging the World for its rebellion against him and his people. Victory for believers, devastation for the lost.

What do you believe defines a good or bad person? Morality, from a biblical perspective, is not primarily centred on how well I treat other people but on acknowledging and loving God. In this chapter John captures this struggle of Good Vs Evil in the symbolism of the woman and her children being pursued by the dragon.

Series: Apocalypse Now Are we really to expect that the world will only drastically deteriorate in the last seven years of history? When considered, in the light of Jesus' own teaching, are the trumpet plagues already effecting the world?

How comfortable would you be in a place where the worship of God was central to every mode of life? The sovereign triune God is coming to reclaim the world but only the faithful will be able to abide his presence.

To whom do you think John wrote the letters to seven churches in Asia? We can easily banish an ancient letter to history without realising that it has a prophetic effect as a pastoral message for us today.

Is John's revelation just about the end of the world? It's easy to miss the purpose of the last book in the Bible when numerous non-biblical sources have confused our understanding of it. With a more careful reading of the book we will find it was as relevant to John's first readers as it will be for his last.

Jesus and the wise men moved on from the manger towards their future mission and calling. So should every believer have a similar mindset as we move into 2022, in full assurance that God's promises to us can never fail?

After Christmas it is a good time to reflect on what you have just seen and heard. A time to ponder as Mary did, a time to worship as the wise men did and a time to praise and proclaim as the shepherd's did.

In the third of our sermons, we will be examining the third gift given to Jesus: Myrrh. God gave his gift to the Church - His son, to die so that we might live and give our gifts to Jesus, our King, our sacrificial Saviour.

Frankincense in the ancient world was often used to worship a divine being. The wise men travel hundreds of miles to deliver this gift to the new born King. Jesus is more than mortal king. He is the true God worthy of our worship.

Gold is a gift given to a king in recognition of His royalty and His right to rule. The wise men gave Jesus their gold. They gave Him their best. Do we give our best to Jesus? He doesn't just want bits of us. He wants our all. Do we see Jesus as being worthy of our gold?

What are you to do when you are caught between two warring dynasties? Daniel with the aid of the Lord foresees a time of trouble for God's people. We are to take courage that the Lord sees the needs of his people, way before we do, even looking past the seemingly bigger events of history.

Is what we can see all that there is? As God’s people face opposition from human kingdoms, Daniel 10 lets us in on the secret that God’s people also face spiritual opposition, and it is overwhelming. But God hears, comforts and fights for His people.