Victoria Point Baptist Church

Food 4 Thought - Josh Grice

Jesus made two things very clear about his ministry. First, he was going to prioritise the poor and needy and struggling. He hadn’t come to tell religious people how to be more godly, but to set free the poor and imprisoned and blind and oppressed. But what really upset a number was that Jesus went on to say that there would be no favourites. This good news was for everyone.

What are we supposed to be doing on earth? God has given us work to do and has uniquely equipped us to do it. At its most basic, that work comes down to one word, SERVE. But God is looking for a particular type of serving. There are a whole lot of selfish motivations that can drive serving. We see this in the workplace, or in politics, or in our own lives. But for Christians there is only one vali...

People didn’t like foot washing in Jesus’ day but it had nothing to do with their concerns about touching people. Their problem was that feet were regarded as disgusting and only the least important person in the room, usually a slave, would do the necessary washing of dusty and sweaty feet. When the disciples gathered for their last meal with Jesus before his death, there was no slave present, so...

Let's take a breath and take stock of our discipleship challenge with a reminder that it's all from relationship and love for our heavenly father, and love for our Christian brothers and sisters, and then love for the lost out of that

The transformative power of the good news of Jesus in our lives makes us different and stand out. This is not a IF but a WHEN. It’s not a maybe. When we faithfully follow Jesus, and subscribe to his spirits leading, we discover the uniqueness of ourselves and the calling to bring our unique skills, gifts and talents to the collective goal of glorifying God and encouraging people to encounter this...

The Disciples changed. They were courageous. They were strong. They were outspoken. They were faith-filled. And the world began to be turned upside down through the gospel of Jesus. Ordinary people saturated in the power of the Spirit are spiritually unstoppable. The same Spirit is living in you. You are no longer a slave to fear or weakness or sin or shame or condemnation. You are not trapped by...

Bearing Fruit You are in the process of change from doing your own thing to following Jesus. It’s sometimes called “sanctification” or being made holy like Jesus. It takes a lifetime. As God’sSpirit works in your life, change does happen. He brings beautiful fruit to your life - you become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. Give God’s Spirit t...

Giving Life Romans 8 is an incredible passage of Scripture. We’ve already looked at some readings from this great chapter. When you get a chance, read the whole thing. In this section, Paul (the author) is outlining the ways in which God’s Spirit, who lives in all believers, brings them life. We have a dad who welcomes us with open arms and promises us all that he gives Jesus. The Spirit (who is G...

Bringing Truth You may have already experienced this work of the Spirit in coming to faith in Jesus. But particularly, he guides Christians into truth. He helps us understand what God is saying. We don’t have to work it all out ourselves. This doesn’t mean that every time you get an idea or feeling it’s from the Holy Spirit. It could just be an overactive imagination or indigestion. But you will f...

So now all believers have God’s Spirit living in them. That includes you. God breathed on you when you believed and gave you his Spirit to fill you and helpyou. You are never alone. God is living in you. You may or may not have seen fire or heard a mighty wind or be able to speak in other languages, but this has happened to you. God’s Spirit has been poured into your life to help you do all that G...

Church The New Testament never tolerates the idea of a Christian without a church family. It’s together that Christians are forged into the likeness of Jesus. It’s together that Christians impact their world. It’s together that Christians are able to use their gifts collaboratively. If you want a picture of this - Christians are meant to be like a choir, they are not soloists. You may not always l...

Mediocrity does not produce Christian growth. Significant effort is required. Effort to trust God when the chips are down. Effort to loves others when they treat you badly. Effort to keep serving when no-one cares. Effort to read your Bible and pray when God doesn’t seem close. Effort to resist temptation when your old nature is crying out for satisfaction. Effort to focus on God and his future wh...

Prayer God wants your prayer to be directed to him and filled with trust in him. Notice that the first half of Jesus’ prayer is all about God and his power and plans. Ultimately prayer is not about our dreams and desires but about God’s plans. We’re looking for God to be honoured and God’s will to be done. We want what he wants. We long for God to be pleased and obeyed. Our honour of him and trust...

2 Tim 3:10-17 Scripture You may have had a long history learning about the Bible (like Timothy), or this may all be brand new to you. Whichever way, the Bible is going to become your guide for Christian growth. Reading the Bible will help you to understand God and to learn how God relates to his people and his broken creation. Scripture will be vital for your continuing spiritual growth, and its p...

Legacy of Faith – Joshua Ch 4 It is important for us to remember God’s faithfulness in the past, because it gives us the confidence to face the future. It’s good for us to go back to the riverbed occasionally and remember how God delivered us. For that mental memorial will be a great encouragement the next time we have to cross a river. God doesn’t change. God cannot change. Therefore, just as he...

Like Joshua, we too live out the experience of faith. As an act of obedience, humility and total dependence we live in the joy of the empty tomb.

Good Friday – Like Joshua, we too believe and exercise faith and rest in God. We rest on the promises that were empowered by the cross.

The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. Thus God was asking them to commit to these things. Be obedient, be humble and be totally dependent on me. Things of importance require attention to detail If we want God’s touch upon our life in a significant way, our focus must be entirely on Him. If God is to bring positive changes in my life, then it will never happen according to what I...

When we take steps of faith, we can be assured that God will go before us preparing the way. Often in ways that we could never imagine but He always provides for us according to our need. In this way God carries us. We are never meant to be heroes in our own strength, but rather, we rest in God, trusting that He goes ahead of us and sorts’ things out before we even get there. By faith we believe t...

Baptism for You and Me

Most Jewish people presumed that they were right with God because they were Jews. But John’s message was that God was about to do a new thing (“the kingdom of heaven is near”) and that “having Abraham as your father” (making you an ethnic Jew) was not enough. Jesus’ baptism was not about repentance. He had nothing to repent of. But it was about commencement and inauguration. It was like the appoin...

The bad news is that you are still going to fight against sin while you live in this world. One day when God finally intervenes, this will not be the case. However, while God will continue to shape you and grow you here, you won’t completely escape the temptation and pressure of your broken human condition. It will feel like a battle at times, but every Christian is in the same boat. But when we c...

Jesus has already taken our sin and he keeps reminding God of this, so there is just no charge to consider, the case has already been thrown out of court. Jesus just keeps on loving us. We go through some very difficult times. Jesus keeps loving us. We are weak and broken, Jesus keeps loving us. We are worried about the future. Jesus keeps loving us. We feel worthless. Jesus keeps loving us. No ma...

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