MCC - Sunday Talks

Friday...Jesus prays for his disciples John 17.6-19 —  6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent...

Return Matthew 6.33 —  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. The remaking of this world is why Jesus’s first messages began with “T’shuva, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The Hebrew word t’shuva means “to return.” Return to the people we were originally created to be. The people God is re- making us into. God makes us in h...

A renewed vision Matthew 6.33 —  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. On another occasion, Jesus is asked to mediate in a monetary dispute between two brothers. Jesus uses the moment to tell a story about a man whose crops do well and who becomes rich. He then decides not to share the bounty but to build bigger barns for storage an...

A new reality John 3.16 — 16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus tells a parable about a young son who leaves home, hits rock bottom, and returns in shame. His father sees him from far off, runs to him, embraces him, and announces a party in honour of his return. In this story, God is the God who stan...

Palm branches John 15.18-19 — 18 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. It would appear that Palm Sunday was a roaring success for Jesus. Probably at this time, more than any other, the crowds were po...

Jamie spoke briefly about three aspects of the cross, the cross as sign, the cross as a sacrifice and the cross as the victory.

A new destiny Colossians 3.16 — “Let us live up to what we have already attained.” Read these words from the letter to the Philippians: “Let us live up to what we have already attained.” God has declared who we are in His eyes. And we are learning to live like it is true. Essentially, it is letting what God says about us shape what we believe about ourselves. This is why shame has no place in the...

A new name Colossians 3.12 — “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved . . . “ Yesterday we considered our new identity in Christ, Paul continued in this vein when he wrote, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” These first Christians kept insisting that something so transformational was happening in the lives of followers of Jesus that they could refer to t...

A new name Colossians 3.3 — “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” The first century Christians insisted that when we become a follower of Jesus, a profound change occurs in our fundamental identity. In who we are at the very core of our being. In who we are first and fore- most, before we are anything else. In our awareness of ourselves. The first Christians were convince...

I send you Matthew 28.19—And as you go into all the world, baptise them in the name of the Father, Son and Ho- ly Spirit. At the end of his time with his disciples, after his death and resurrection, Jesus has some final words for them. He tells them to go to the ends of the earth and make more disciples. And then he leaves. He promises to send his Spirit to guide them and give them power, in fact...

I chose you John 15.16 — 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. At one point, Jesus’s disciples are in a boat and Jesus comes walking by on the water. And one of the disciples says, “If it’s you, let me come to you on the water.” It’s a fascinating story,...

Dusty feet Matthew 11.29-30— 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” To be a disciple ( talmidim ) essentially meant that you didn’t want to miss anything the rabbi might say or do. This kind of devotion is what it means to be a disciple. One of the earliest teachers of t...

The way of the Rabbi Matthew 11.29-30— 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” At the time of Jesus the position of rabbi was an important one. Moreover, to be a disciple of a rabbi was an incredible honour—in some way it was deemed ‘you’d made it!’ When the rabbi would a...

Tony Gray talks about eternal glory and what end times means and recognizing what god is up to and what god is doing and what is the meaning of that.

Go in peace Mark 5.34. — “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” A woman has had an illness for twelve years and no one can cure her. She pushes her way through a crowd to get to Jesus, and when she gets close to him, she grabs his cloak. Now remember, Jesus is a To- rah-observant Jewish rabbi who keeps the scripture commandments word for word, includin...

Walking on water John 6.20 — 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. Following the miracle of food and provision, John’s gospel immediately brings his reader’s attention to an- other miracle. Jesus himself stated that Moses pointed Israel to Him (John 5:46). John the...

Feeding to overflow Matthew 14.17— 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. The miracles of Jesus demonstrate his presence and power in many different circumstances and to differ- ent audiences. The feeding of the 5000 is no exception. Imagine the scene. The crowds had gathered around a spectacular teacher, words that seemed different from those delivered by the ave...

Magic spit? John 9.6— 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. Some of the miracles of Jesus raise some interesting questions. Why didn’t Jesus just heal the man? Why use spit? In the first century many Jews believed that the Rabbi (teacher) not only had special in- sight into religious ideas but also special powers. After all, if the...

The invitation John 7.37-39— 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let an- yone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been gi...

Open family Psalm 68.6—’He places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.’ Time after time, we see the image of family being described in the pages of the Bible. We see references to oneness, unity, a tree with branches, a vine, brothers and sisters amongst other images. It is one of the great themes running through the vein of the Old Testament into the New. But wha...

Open table Songs of Songs 2.4—He brought me to His banqueting table and His banner over me is love. There is something quite special when the people of God gather together. The union, the agreement, the shout of praise that rises up as we declare the truths of God through prayer, song and Bible study. Like any allegorical type of textual reading, there is a degree of interpretation and cultural un...

Joyce continues our series on the Finite and the Infinite.

Open door Matthew 25.40—Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. What did Jesus mean when he said ‘whatever you do’? Is it simply about loving and caring for one anoth- er in the same way Jesus did? Moreover, it is worth noting that here in Matthew’s gospel he has the words ’for the least of these’. Let us not forget where Matthew came from. A ta...

Open minds Romans 12.2—’Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ Paul’s letter to the Roman church is an incredible charge to be people of the Spirit. To have our mind re- newed is not simply to move from a  to-do list  of the flesh to a  to-do list  of a new moral Christian code. It is the all-sufficient transforming power of the Spirit that e...

Open ears Hebrews 3.15— ’Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’ Sometimes when we read stories from the Old Testament of the incredible and miraculous power of God, for example a pillar of fire and of smoke guiding the Israelites through the wilderness, we can not fathom that they still rebelled against God. Or, what about the disciples who witness fi...