MCC - Sunday Talks

Open arms Galatians 3.28—There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and fe- male, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. As we make our way to Holy week, this movement will act as a bridge between the life of Paul, into a fo- cus on the church and then onto Christ. The verse that aids our focus today epitomizes God’s wel- coming attitude. In the first century,...

Open hearts 2 Corinthians 6.13—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also. Just prior to this verse, Paul again, spends some time defending his work and ministry to the church of Corinth and wider afield. He bares his soul to them and therefore places himself in a vulnerable position. Sometimes we can allow culture to shape us in such a way that to wear your heart on your sleeve is seen as...

Fashioned for grace 2 Corinthians 6.1— As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. Culture is a hugely shaping force in many people’s lives. We have to be honest and admit that sometimes even church culture can have a not so dissimilar affect or impact. Paul was concerned for the church in Corinth that the pursuit of power, influence and pride, which was endemic in the firs...

Fashioned for righteousness 2 Corinthians 5.21—  21 God For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. In the final verses of this chapter, Paul creates a summation of all his thoughts so far and centres them around the act of God that is crucial for our salvation—the cross. Paul declares that we are ambas- sadors for Christ. It is imp...

Samuel continues our series on the Finite and the Infinite.

Fashioned for creation 2 Corinthians 5.17— 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! As Paul was writing in a society where there were clear and distinct roles and a hierarchy, he purposefully chooses to use the word ‘anyone’. This same inclusive language was used to describe the outpour- ing of the Spirit on all flesh in Joel’s prophecy. H...

Fashioned for hope 2 Corinthians 5.14-15 —  14 For Christ’s love urges us on, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. At the heart of who Paul is and what he is about is the strong sense that he has been gripped by the grace and love o...

Fashioned for faith 2 Corinthians 5.7—  7 For we live by faith, not by sight. I’m sure you have heard the phrase ‘I know them, but not by sight’. Often referring to someone we have a connection with but no real relationship. In the same way, when we begin the journey of faith in God it takes on a similar nature. As we grow in our knowledge of Him, our understanding of His ways and our deepening lo...

Fashioned for glory 2 Corinthians 5.5—  5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. One technique used in public speaking is the use of rhetorical questions. Those questions which don’t require an answer but cause you to internally respond. In these few verses, Paul commences with a rhetorical statement, ’...

Fashioned for expectation 2 Corinthians 4.16— 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Paul moves from discussing his own circumstances to now describing the situation for all Christians. There is a reality that there are days when we conclude that there is nothing much more the world could throw at us and yet still rema...

Great treasure 2 Corinthians 4.7—  7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Paul seemed to have a grasp on the gospel message in such a tangible way. He understood his past, he embraced his redemption and now in the face of suffering and trials, not only at Ephesus, but else- where too, he is still adamant that this message is...

Great proclamation 2 Corinthians 4.5— 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. Paul chose to describe himself as not simply a servant but as a ‘slave’. The Greek word [ doulos ] indicates not the type of slave where a master owned and abused them but a bond-servant. Therefore when Paul described himself as a being a bond serva...

Miles kicks off our new series looking at the Finite and the Infinite but exploring Death & Life.

Great heart 2 Corinthians 4.1—  1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Paul wrote this with his own personal experience in mind. He had just come from Ephesus, and things were not looking good. His friendships in tatters, the churches he led no longer wanted him and he felt like giving up. The mighty man that we know as Paul was pretty much reduced to a...

Great boldness 2 Corinthians 3.17—  17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Paul continues to explain to the church in Corinth the incredible greater glory that we have since the rev- elation of the Spirit has been given. You can recall in yesterday’s reading that Moses had to cover his face because the people were afraid of the reflection of God’s glo...

Greater glory 2 Corinthians 3.7-8—  7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glo- ry, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul attempted to explain to them something th...

Great expectations 2 Corinthians 3.5-6 — Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Not that we competent of ourselves...our competence is from is from God, who has made us competent to be min- isters of the new covenant. Paul had a difficult job in writing this letter to the church in Corinth. In many ways he was walking a tight-rope. There were expectations that Paul was nee...

The great aroma 2 Corinthians 2.14— 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. The sense of smell is one of the first senses to develop in human beings, the cells that enable us to smell, renew approximately every 30 days and 75% of our emotional responses are driven by smell. You might go into...

WaitingMalachi 4.2But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Imagine waiting for a whole year for something to happen. Or maybe 10 years. Or maybe 100 or 1000. Or more. The people of God were longing and waiting for a deliverer. There were those who wanted a warrior, those who wanted a ruler, those who wanted a supernatural figure. All made in thei...

Mystery Psalm 145.3 3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. The moment God is figured out with nice, neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. Are we comfortable with not knowing everything? I am sure we have heard people say things like ‘him upstairs’ or ‘if its God’s will’ as though we are forgetting that the extraordinary mystery of t...

Ross finishes off our series looking at the book of Ephesians.

The coronation I am who You say I am Psalm 8.5 1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour. It is incredible to reflect upon Psalm 8 that commences with the greatness of God, his splendour, majesty, authority and combine this with the fact that God has chosen to crown you and I with glo- ry...

Holy ground Take off your shoes - this is holy ground Exodus 3.4-5 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.  5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” God heard the cry of his people to be liberated from slavery. God chose Moses,...

His breath: When dirt becomes life Genesis 2.7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the mud of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being Every day we take around 26,000 breaths. 4-6 breaths per minute. In the rhythm of life do we ever think about the act of breathing. When God made the first person we read in Hebrew that the word for dirt is the...

And God spoke: We continue our journey by considering the evocation in Genesis Genesis 1.2ff 2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.  3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. What does it mean when we read, ‘ and God said ’? In Hebrew the word,  davar  (word) is so muc...