This week’s Bible study looked at the first part of Romans 1. In the introduction, Paul introduces himself and writes about the dual lineage of Jesus Christ, who is both a ‘descendant of David’ and ‘Son of God’. In discussing verse 4, we saw that the word ‘appointed’ acknowledged what was already true: Jesus did not become the Son of God at His resurrection, but His resurrection confirmed His identity.

The faith of the Roman church was being reported all over the world (vs 8) – a reflection of Jesus’s words in Luke 11:33 – “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” We are called to be different, not for the sake of it, but to be who God created us to be.

Christians are God’s ambassadors (2 Cor 5:18-21) and Peter urges us to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have when asked (1 Pet 3:15). We are all called to be witnesses to what God has done for us.

Romans 1:11 talks about the impartation of spiritual gifts, so we spent time discussing these (looking also at Acts 1:4, 2:28, 1 Cor 1:7, Romans 12:6-8 and 2 Cor 9:14-15).

In conclusion, we read that Paul was “not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). That kind of boldness and faith in the power of the gospel is what we all need to have.

On Remembrance Sunday, it is perhaps inevitable that our thoughts turn to war and peace. Stephen spoke from Micah 4:1-5 about the peace God ultimately promises us, that day of the Lord when ‘nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore’ (Micah 4:3)

Peace treaties after wars often fail to deliver all they promise, but the warfare Christians engage in is not the same as the wars of this world. The walls of Jericho fell with no weapons. The sound of praise is our battle cry.

Our security is not found in the weapons of war (often touted as a ‘deterrent’ and thus, ironically, as our means of peace). Our security is in God who will allow us one day to sit at peace; moreoever, in this life we live, let us live for God’s glory, not our own glory. Jesus is the route to perfect peace and the one of whom the angels said ‘Glory to God and peace on earth.’

Dave began today’s sermon by reminiscing on the joys (or otherwise) of Virol and cod-liver oil:

For those of you who are too young to remember these food supplements, Virol was a malt-based, thick, toffee-like substance packed with vitamins and guaranteed to do children good; cod-liver oil had an equally vile taste. Reading the Old Testament prophets can be a bit like taking those things: good for us, ultimately, but not necessarily a pleasant experience!

Nonetheless, the hope we find in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is good news indeed. Here, we see the new covenant promised. In order to understand the wonders of the New Covenant, we have to look at the old covenant, explained in Exodus 24:6-8. On the one hand, God promised to be Israel’s God, to cause them to prosper, to protect them and to deliver them. In turn, they were to be his people, to obey Him and to keep His law at all times.

But Israel, Jeremiah tells us, broke the covenant. Countless times this was the chief feature of the covenant – that it was broken. Similarly, Paul wrote in Romans 7 about the difficulties we face keeping the covenant, not only because of the wrong things we do, but because of the sin in our very natures.

The new covenant is a covenant of sovereign grace. It accomplished what the Law and the old covenant could never do. The new covenant will last throughout eternity and is based upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need to do more than ‘turn over a new leaf’; we need a new life, and that life is possible through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The new covenant is that covenant in His blood that we remember every time we celebrate Communion. By God’s grace we believe and experience the wonderful truth that our sins are forgiven and we have God’s law written on our hearts.

Garry was at the coffee morning today and was finding it quite hard to stop people hiding from the camera!

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Dave was happy to pose for the camera, though!

Last night, some of us from church attended the Worship Central UK Tour meeting in Bradford. Worship Central (http://www.worshipcentral.org/) is an organisation dedicated to teaching and resourcing the church about worship; its three key aims are to:

1) encounter God,
2) equip the worshipper
3) empower the local church.

The school of worship, which is part of Alpha International, is led by Tim Hughes and Al Gordon, and the evening was a time of teaching and worship, looking at John 6:63, where we are told that ‘the Spirit gives life’.

Using LIFE as an acrostic, we were exhorted to:
Look boldly with the eyes of faith at what God is already doing. John 3:8 reminds us that the Spirit’s work is like the wind: we may not be able to see Him, just as we cannot see the wind, but we see the effects of His work. Galatians 5:25 reminds us to keep in step with the Spirit. We need to hear God’s ‘marching orders’.

Invite daily the Holy Spirit into our lives (Ephesians 5:18), so that we are continually filled with the Spirit, acknowledging that we are not to live in our own strength, but in God’s. We were reminded that when we are pushed, only what is inside comes out… so we need God’s life within to flourish so that others may see Him in us.

Forgive freely (Mark 11:25), since forgiveness leads to freedom and release.

Expect greatly (Luke 24:49) Tim Hughes talked about how, in the Old Testament, circumstances and situations rendered people unclean (eg if you touched a dead body), yet Jesus, when on earth, touched all manner of unclean people (the woman with the issue of blood, the leper, the dead girl) and instead of Him becoming unclean, they became clean. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11). We can expect great things to happen because of who God is.

It was encouraging to worship with so many people of all ages, to learn new songs (Nikki Fletcher’s ‘All Glory’, Tim Hughes’s ‘Counting On Your Name’, Ben Cantelon’s ‘Not Ashamed’… (interesting to see how God is giving songs on the same theme to songwriters all over the world!)) and most of all, to understand afresh the power and purposes of God.

And just to prove we were there, some photos taken at the start. Some of you may have iPhones and want to download the free app… or you may want to go to London to be involved in the live album recording!

And if you’re interested, the set lists are given below (with apologies for any titles I’ve got wrong for new songs!)

1st set
Spirit of the Living God – Daniel Iverson
Holding Nothing Back – Tim Hughes, Martin Smith
Dance – Tim Hughes
Wake Up – Tim Hughes, Stu Garrard
Beautiful – Phil Wickham
All Glory – Nikki Fletcher, Tim Hughes, Martin Smith
Counting on Your Name – Tim Hughes, Nick Herbert
Happy Day – Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon

2nd set
Consuming Fire – Tim Hughes
Spirit Break Out – Luke Hellebronth, Myles Dhillon
Saviour of the World – Ben Cantelon
Because of Your Love – Al Gordon, Hanif Williams
For Your Glory – Ben Cantelon, Matt Redman
Not Ashamed (Remix) – Ben Cantelon, Nick Herbert
Hallelujah – Ben Cantelon

This week, we started Bible studies on the book of Romans, which will probably keep us occupied for at least 4 months! Garry gave an introductory overview, so we will be looking at Romans 1 next Thursday.

Romans is probably the most ‘theological’ of the New Testament letters. Written by Paul whilst he was in Corinth, it tells us of his plans to visit the church in Rome on his way to Spain (Romans 15:24) and there is a lot of personal reference in it, despite his never having visited the church (see Romans 16). In the letter, Paul systematically sets out his understanding of the Gospel and teaches us so much about the state of the world, the salvation God offers us, touching on mnay subjects which are as relevant today as when he wrote the ltter. Condemnation, God’s will, what to do when you have sinned, why bad things happen… all these things are dealt with in the book of Romans.

In Acts 18:1-3, we read how Priscilla and Aquila had been expelled from Rome and met Paul in Corinth. The early Roman church, it appears, was made up of converted Jews and Gentiles were added to it. Paul, therefore, has much to say to both groups in the letter.

One of the key verses in Romans is found in the first chapter:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” ” (Romans 1:16-17)

As Jeremy Camp says in his song ‘Not Ashamed’,
“I’m not ashamed of the Gospel
I’m not ashamed of Jesus Christ
I will stand and boldly say
This is my life.”

May we all learn to do this through our study of Romans.