There’s certainly a lot of sex in the Bible. There are lists of don’ts as well as many bad examples to learn from, such as the dysfunctional family caused by Jacob’s polygamy, the mess caused by Abraham’s rape of Hagar, David’s adultery of Bathsheba. But there are also many positive stories about romance, relationships, weddings, pregnancies, and children. In fact, the Bible's mega narrative starts with a marriage between Adam and Eve and ends with a wedding between Jesus, the bridegroom, and his Church, the bride ..read more

Scripture is clear, my identity is not in my relational status, my sexuality, my gender, my profession, my ministry, or my position in society. My identity is in God. An identity based on my culture will always be flawed because every culture has been infected by the power and brokenness of sin. An identity based on my internal dialogue and emotion will always be flawed because I am flawed – loved by God but flawed – if I base my identity on my emotion and my thoughts, it will change with the tide. But an identity based on what God says about me is eternal ..read more

We are recapping and refreshing ourselves in the things that Paul tells us to eagerly desire; namely Spiritual Gifts. We spent time looking at this topic in our Eagerly Desire series and then in our series through 1 Corinthians. So we're going to recap by asking and answering a few questions: 1 - What is a spiritual gift and Why does God give them to the Church? 2 - What are the spiritual gifts (as seen in the New Testament)? 3 - How do we stir our desire for the gifts ..read more

When Jesus looks at His Church, He is able to view it in 3 ways – eternally, globally, and locally. The purposes and the promises of God will encourage us to have a growing hope and anticipation for the Church. But as we partake in something incredibly local and often ordinary looking; it can be very easy to overlook the greatness and beauty of it, because of its apparent simplicity. Belonging to a local Church connects us to something that is eternal and global ..read more

Church is the body of people who belong to Jesus. Church is not a building, contrary to what many people think. Your church family might have a building where you meet, but church is people, a body of people who belong to and follow Jesus. You might have heard it said that you're not a Christian just because you go to church. And that is true, and important to know - you're not automatically a Christian simply because you go to a church service on a Sunday ..read more

We live in two kingdoms – the Kingdom of God and the dominion of darkness ruled by Satan whom Jesus has defeated on the cross. We are engaged in a war as the army of God. We are advancing God’s Kingdom and taking territory. Don’t be fearful, the devil is powerful but nothing against the power of God. The devil can’t read our minds but can listen to what we say about ourselves, God, and others. He sows division. Deception by its nature is hard to spot ..read more

If you throw a stone into water, you see ripples starting at the centre of where the stone hits the water. That is how the Kingdom life works. Kingdom life starts with you and affects the way you think, talk, do, and live. Just imagine how this world would look if everywhere there is darkness, it is replaced with light, love, and righteousness. Don’t we all want to see that ..read more

Generosity reveals God's character. He is a generous God, doing more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 2). For God so loved the world that He GAVE. When we choose to be generous, we cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit as He transforms us from one degree of Glory into another. As believers, we know that the Holy Spirit is constantly at work within us, transforming us into the likeness of Christ. When we choose to be generous, we are keeping in step with the Holy Spirit in His work. We might say we want to be more like Jesus - being generous accelerates that process ..read more

Understand some wonderful, foundational truths about what it means to be a Christian: In Christ, you are a new creation (our dirty clothes exchanged for his clean clothes), you are a child of God (you have a new birth certificate). You are no longer under law (like a spirit level), but grace, and that grace can help you live victoriously (trophy). Grasp these truths, get them deep into your thinking – it may take some effort – and they will totally transform your life ..read more

Foundations are important. If we are going to build we need to pay a lot of attention to them. It is always tempting to rush on but you will regret it. This is the same with the Christian life. Some key principles are in place at the start. Been a Christian for a while? Sometimes a bit of underpinning is timely. In the Book of Acts, Peter’s answer is foundational for all of us. Just like a chair needs four legs, he identifies 4 things that need to be in place: 1. Repentance – I need saving. 2. Faith in Jesus – Jesus can save me. 3. Baptism in Water – Jesus is my Lord. 4. Receiving the Holy Spi ..read more