Greyfriars Church

The final dispute between God and his people focuses on whether there’s even any point in following God at all. They are concerned that it’s futile to serve God, and their worship comes with no benefits since the evil prosper anyway. God responds by telling them about a remnant who love to gather and talk together about God, and he listens and hears them. Those who are faithful, who seek righteous...

God calls the Israelites to return to him by once again bringing the rights tithes and offerings. The Israelites had neglected their duty to honour God with their money and their possessions, keeping as much as possible for themselves. God wants to bless his people with great abundance, and even challenges them to test him in this, but he won’t do that until they honour him by bringing what is req...

David speaks on baptism while we celebrate individuals getting baptised at our 9:30 service.

The Israelites complain to God that the world seems like an unfair and unjust place to live. The evil seem to get away from it and God doesn’t seem to intervene; corruption and wickedness are abounding and God seems to do nothing. God responds by promising to send a messenger who will prepare the way for God himself to come and bring justice, purifying with fire to remove the idolatry, sinfulness...

The Israelites have been unfaithful to God (first 2 weeks), and this impacts their relationships with one another. Just as they’ve been unfaithful to God, they’ve become unfaithful to one another (v.10). The men have been unfaithful to their wives, marrying women from other nations and letting their idols infiltrate their households, their worship and their hearts. In doing so, they have broken tw...

The second dispute between God and his people focuses on worship at the temple. The people are bringing offerings that are blemished or defiled in the temple, going against the Levitical Law and demonstrating that they don’t truly honour God. Their half-hearted, duty-bound devotion even prompts God to wish the Temple doors would be shut so they’d stop bringing these offerings. To make things worse...

The Israelites begin by doubting God’s love for them, setting the scene for the whole book. God’s response is to remind them that he chose the family of Jacob their ancestor, not Esau, to show his love and faithfulness. By questioning God’s love for them in the present, they are questioning his faithfulness to his covenant and promises, and therefore his very character. Throughout the generations,...

Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. In a world that is all about consuming and individualism, how is God calling us as individuals and as a church to live this life of denial and obedience? It impacts who we are, how we serve and what we give.

Many people give to church as a last resort, having paid off all their other bills and commitments. God is asking us to give first and to give faithfully – or, full of faith. The widow models this by giving out of her poverty, not her wealth. Jesus doesn’t commend her for giving large sums, but instead for the trust in her heart as she looks to God to provide. However much we can afford, Jesus see...

Jesus appears to the disciples on the beach of Lake Galilee and repeats the miracle catch of fish (see last week), to remind them of who He is. He then reinstates Peter, calling him to serve and to follow Jesus in all His ways. Jesus is clear that this call on Peter’s life will involve sacrifice, which for Peter involves the ultimate cost. As we hear the Lord’s declaration of love over us and see...

Jesus calls the disciples to “put out into deep water” (vs 4). Despite the fact they had already done this, Simon obeys Jesus and as a result their nets are filled with fish. At this, Simon Peter falls on his knees and repents. Jesus calls them to follow Him and fish for people. How might God be calling us to go into deeper water? To enter a greater place of trust as we follow Him. What might be t...

Elijah is called by God to stand on mount Horeb, as the Lord passed by. A powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire pass by but God was not in any of them. Instead, God spoke in a gentle whisper. It involved Elijah listening and being still before God. As we seek God for our future and His call upon our lives, we need to take time to stop, to listen and to seek God for His gently whisper.

God calls Abram and leads him away from his country, his people and his family (vs 1). Following God’s call on our lives often involves sacrifice and a move away from our places of comfort. As Abram receives the promise of God that through him God’s blessing will be passed on through the generations, Abram’s is obedient to God (vs 4) and reverent before God (vs 7&8). How might God be calling us to...

David gives thanks for God’s goodness (verse 2), for God’s provision (verse 5), for God’s guidance (verse 7) and God’s strength given to him (verse 8). This psalm also has the hope of eternity in it (like last week). David gives thanks that God will not abandon him to the grave but fill him with joy and eternal pleasures (verse 11).

The psalmist contrasts life with God and life without God. Many trust in wealth, their own ability or status, but it leads to nothing. The wisdom of this psalm points to trusting in God, who paid your ransom and who saves (verse 15). There is even a hint of eternal life here in the psalm (verses 9 and 15). This psalm is an example of God’s wisdom passed down through His Word, showing us two ways t...

In times of trouble, David cried out to God for help. As he prays to God, our king, he acknowledges that God protects us (verse 1), helps us (verse 2), remembers (verse 3), provides (verse 4) and answers our prayers (verse 5). The key is to trust in God as we read in verse 7.

There are times in life when we all feel faint, in agony, worried or weak with sorrow. This Psalm is an honest outpouring from the heart about the struggles in life. David cries out to God for mercy and is brutally honest with God as he prays “how long, Lord, how long?” (verse 3). The Psalm ends with David acknowledging that God has heard his prayer and granted him mercy.

The psalmist begins with praise in verse 1, and then goes on to remember why it is right to praise God. God’s people have a history of sinning (verse 6), acting wickedly (verse 6) and forgetting God’s kindness (verse 7). And yet God led them out of Egypt and miraculously provided for them parting the Red Sea. Remembering God’s goodness and kindness to us is part of what we are called to do.

David had plenty of reasons to be afraid, as he was surrounded by enemies and wickedness, but he said in verse 3 “I will be confident”. In the face of opposition and difficulty, David focuses on praising God, which gives him confidence. In verse 13 he writes “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”, which comes from seeking His face and waiting on...

The series opens with one of the psalms of praise, in which David describes the awesome power, majesty and authority of God. This psalm focuses on God’s voice and in our lives we hear His voice through Scripture. God also shares his authority, power and strength with us as we read in verse 11, “The Lord gives strength to his people” and “blesses his people with peace”.

The Bible has so much to say about our relationships as the people of God. Hebrews 10 starts with God, not us. It starts with the good news of Jesus Christ and that seems a fitting conclusion to the series. Our lives are lived in response to that which God has first done for us through Christ. We gather to encourage one another, to remind one another about the full story of the gospel we have been...

Peter, the one who denied Jesus, who was reinstated and who is the rock on which the church is built, writes this letter to remind us of who we are in Christ. Whoever we are – however insignificant we feel – we make all the difference in the world because we are on our frontlines, first as a son or daughter of the King; a child of God. Our value, our worth, our significance, and our life on the fr...

Paul’s letter to the Colossians describes the kind of community God was calling them to be. But he makes clear that this was not inward-focused. Their daily lives were to be marked by love, kindness, and compassion in their places of work or activity, and in their relationships. The social conditions assumed in the passage aren’t the same social conditions that most of us face today. However, the...

David Walker speaks from Mark 1: 1-11 about God's great plan to redeem us: through repentance and baptism, we are a new creation, God's children. We join in with God's redeeming plan and experience his faithfulness and his love for us.

God can turn up anywhere! Encounters with God are transformative, and they happen in the course of life with all its ups and downs. They happen in the places we find ourselves in regularly. They happen, too, in the places that we find ourselves unexpectedly. This particular encounter with God happens when Jacob is in serious conflict with his brother. Esau wants to kill him (Genesis 27:41). Jacob,...