If you grew up hearing the Christmas story, decorating a Christmas tree, or setting up a Nativity scene, you probably know about the star. The one that the wise men followed to find the boy Jesus. But you might not know just how much we can learn about God from that one heavenly body.
Jesus got His name because He came to save his people from their sin. The mission of the star shows us exactly how it all works. It's all about getting people from all walks of life to Jesus. Any one. Any time. By any means possible. God won't rest until every last one of his people is safely home with Him.
Christmas is full of familiar traditions and experiences of all sorts. Special songs, special food, special events, special catch phrases. Some things fit right into the vibe. Other things just don't. When Jesus first showed up on earth 2,000 years ago, in so many ways, he fit right in. Until He didn't.
Jesus is a human Saviour for humans who need saving. Those who know Him well call Him names like brother. Friend. The one who understands my pain. The one who helps me whenever I'm in need. But most importantly, He's the One--the only One-- who was the perfect fit to bear the wrath of God that we deserved in our place. That's the story behind the story of Christmas.
It's the time of year when most of us are starting to get stressed about all things Christmas--the baking, the buying, the bustle. Step back in time 1,000 years and you'd find Christians had different things on their minds: things like death, heaven, and hell. For them, Advent isn't just about remembering the first time Jesus came to earth. Advent is looking forward to the day when Jesus comes again to rescue His people and destroy His enemies once and for all.
Over the next four Sundays of Advent-- we won't be looking directly at the usual Christmas themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. We won't be meditating on death and the afterlife either. Instead, we're going to turn our eyes to Christ Jesus-- the One who came to earth and will come again. We'll turn to Scripture to see again who He is and why He is the greatest gift the world or any one of us could possibly receive.
So far in James we've seen that life is hard but time is short. Taking shortcuts to get through the hard bits can be deadly. So what hope do we have to make it to the end? We've got more than hope--we've got a lifeline. We can ask God for anything we need in prayer and be sure that He will answer us according to His good and perfect will.
This week we'll finish our journey through James with one final challenge: life is too short not to pray. In every season. Ordinary, earnest prayers can make a massive difference. Sometimes the difference is between life and death. So let's get busy praying!
James was convinced that Jesus was coming back very soon. Even though 2,000 years later, He still hasn't returned, James wasn't wrong. For all of us, the time from now until we see Him will be over in the blink of an eye.
So than why can't we just fast forward through all the hard stuff? What's the point of suffering when it will all be over soon anyway? A lot of us might be tempted to shortcut past the tough stuff, but when we do that, we actually end up declaring our independence from God. We even miss out on the joy that's found in our suffering, not just on the other side.
A wise young man once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." You'd hope, though, that when you do stop long enough to look around, that you find you're headed in the right direction. It's easy to get so busy with what's urgent or what's fun right now that we forget that life doesn't just move fast-- it's actually really short.
James doesn't want you to waste your life. To use what you've been given for evil purposes. Or fail to use it for God's good purposes. He wants us all to stop and take stock and find out how the grace that saved us makes us good stewards of our time, our money, and everything else.
Your besetting sins are those to which you are especially prone. For many of us, selfish pride and harsh judgment of others would rank high on the list. What hope do we have to heal from these diseases of the soul?
James knows the answer, and it has something to do with grace. Something to do with how close we are to the presence of God. Which means that if you are already united with Christ himself through faith, hope and healing are just around the corner.
Join us this Sunday at 10:00 at Christies Beach Primary School as we continue our journey through the book of James. As always, we'll sing, pray, and share the communion meal together. Come early, grab a coffee, and meet someone new. See you there!
I don't think there's a person on earth who doesn't regret at least one thing they've said. Or maybe something they didn't say but wish they did. All of us struggle to speak in a way that is consistently truthful, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind. And the consequences aren't always insignificant. Careers, marriages, friendships, even whole nations have been ruined by poorly chosen words.
How can we as followers of Jesus expect to fare any better? What hope is there for us in our own struggles? James has some ideas. There's at least one thing that can transform our tongues from flamethrowers to fountains of life and blessing. All you have to do is ask for it.
How do you know that you're a Christian? That's a serious question. One that if we ignore it, we could have false assurance based on our own feelings or misunderstanding. On the other hand, if we obsess over it, we could spiral down into fear and despair.
James wants you to know that if you have believed on the Lord Jesus, that. you are a Christian. But believing is more than just ticking a box. It's about giving up control of your life and putting all your trust in the Lord. It's about surrender. And wherever there is that kind of faith--saving faith--there is always fruit. The fruit of assurance.
Join us this Sunday at 10:00 at Christies Beach Primary School as we continue our journey through the book of James. As always, we'll sing, pray, and share the communion meal together. Come early, grab a coffee, and meet someone new. See you there!
According to James, favouritism is a sin. Favouritism doesn't just happen between siblings--it happens whenever we treat people differently based on some pre-determined criteria. Some of us favour people just like ourselves. Others of us favour people that we wish we could be (younger, smarter, faster than ourselves).
Favouritism isn't just a sin, it's a royal sin. But why? It's really because those who practice it let on that they really don't understand grace. Favouritism is a particularly heinous form of judgement. And for those of us who have received God's mercy, we ought to be the first to choose mercy over judgement. We need the wisdom of James to be agents of God's mercy in the world--now more than ever.
A seed is just a seed until it finds the right soil to grow in. The words of the Bible are just pixels or ink until they find their way into the human heart. And when they do, they grow. They change. They produce results in the owner of said heart.
If you are somebody who wants to grow and change (for the better), who wants to be blessed, who wants to be saved-- then you need God's word to be embedded in your soul. You need to hear it. Take it in. And then do what it says. It sounds simple enough, but it takes more than will power. It takes a humble heart knows it needs grace. James is just the right guide to help us know how to receive the word that produces results in us for God's glory and our joy.
We’re back in the book of James in this week to have a look at how both trials and the Gospel of grace level the playing field for us all no matter what our circumstances happen to be. It's important to remember that not everyone doing well has God's favour. And not everyone doing it tough is in God's bad books. All of us--no matter our circumstances--are in desperate need of grace and are loved more than we can imagine.
The book of James is one of the most compelling books of the Bible. Written only 10 years after Jesus rose from the dead, it's a book full of practical wisdom for how to live well in light of the Gospel.
But the message of James has always been appreciated. (Martin Luther wasn't a fan!) And sometimes it's been misunderstood. Join us over the next 10 weeks as we continue our series, Grace Works, through the book of James. You can't just hear it. You'll have to just do it.
The Gospel is more than about going to heaven when you die. The Gospel is the fulfilment of all the promises God made to His people from the moment we began to go our own way. One day, despite us continuing to run the other way, He would send a man who would crush the head of the serpent and reverse the curse of sin and death.
All those promises were yes and amen in Jesus. His perfect life. His miracles. His atoning death. His victory over the grave. And now, every time another person is reconciled to God through faith in Jesus, every time a relationship is restored, every time another stronghold of sin and injustice falls-- we celebrate the power of the Gospel of Jesus. Paul's shortest letter is one he wrote to his friend Philemon. He never mentions the cross or the Gospel. But it looms large in the background--just as it does in our everyday lives.
This week we're wrapping up mission month with a message for dads, mums, and anyone who wants to influence the younger generation for the glory of God. And here's the catch-- if you want to be a good parent, you first have to be a child. If you want to care well, you first have to know how much He cares for you.
Jesus last words to the church in the Gospel of Matthew are some of the most well known words in the Bible. Go. Make Disciples. Baptise. Teach. But have you ever wondered why Matthew chose to end his biography of Jesus's life with this? The mission of carrying the Gospel of Jesus to the nations didn't start with us. It didn't even begin with the church. It began in the heart of God and in the mission of Jesus himself.
On Sunday we'll look at Jesus the missionary and then we'll look at us. Do you have what it takes to be a part in God's global mission? The answer might surprise you.
This week, Michael Waskiel will be joining us from Flinders University Evangelical Students (ES) to share with us what's been happening on campus. He'll be opening the Word for us as well, so come ready to be encouraged and challenged.
Kicking off Mission Month with guest preacher Will Hall from Compassion Australia.
CityLight South partners with Compassion to see families and communities in the Philippines released from poverty and transformed for Christ—one child at a time. You can Sponsor A Child in the Philippines today.
https://www.compassion.com.au/sponsor-a-child?srsltid=AfmBOoqUGqPPd03LgDDjy5-FNomoUwcUS6UWsLVEO45LzewkhxyF5GS_
How does a person go from being spiritually dead to passionately devoted? If you're thinking it has something to do with the Gospel and the Spirit's power, you'd be right. But before we get to the Good News, we need the bad news.
God's law is more all encompassing that we realise. We are more incapable of being good than we'd like to admit. That's why we know that the Gospel is 100 percent God's work from first to last. The grace of God that saves us is the same grace that changes us. It's the grace that gets us off the sidelines and into the game. Grace works.
Grace works. It really does. But what does it actually do? The answer is more than you might think.
Grace doesn't just save us and fit us for heaven. Grace teaches us how to live now--how we can live in this world without succumbing to the pressures and temptations of this world. Grace is what makes us fit for good works. And grace has a Name.