Isaiah 7 contains the incredible promise that God would send a child who would be “God With Us”. Matthew’s gospel confirms that this is the heart of the Christmas story: God made His home with us, so that we could find our home in Him. God gave more information to Isaiah about what this “God with us” would be like. In Isaiah 9:6 we’re told He would…

As we finish our study in Galatians we once again marvel at the free gift of God’s grace that we receive through faith in Jesus. As he closes the letter Paul tells us that what really counts – our salvation in Jesus – also really costs. The gift is not free. Jesus gave His life so we might have life. Paul himself bore the marks on his body that pro…

The letter to the Galatians was written to guard the salvation that had come to the people of Galatia through the gospel. The message of Jesus was under attack by false teachers and many Christians in Galatia hadn’t even realised! Some of them were being fooled into following Old Testament laws that were only ever intended to prepare the people of …

After arguing powerfully for the gospel of Grace against a religion of works, Paul now applies his message very practically in the lives of his readers. He contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit and calls us to the better path of keeping in step with the Spirit. Mike reminds us of what we’ve seen in the letter – that the work…

The Apostle Paul finishes his defence of the good news that we don’t have a list of laws to live up to, we have a new identity to live out of. This new identity is ours by God’s grace alone and is received through faith in Jesus Christ, not by any effort of our own. Having argued for the gospel from their personal experience, Scripture, history, re…

In his letter to the Galatians Paul is fighting a threat to the fellowship that Galatian Christians have with God and with each other; the freedom they have to live the life that Christ has given them; and the fruitfulness that comes as a result of God’s life welling up in us and overflowing through us. In chapter 3 Paul argues from the personal ex…

In our last 2 messages from the book of Galatians we’ve seen Paul rebuke Peter (2:11-14) and then the Galatians (3:1-5) for going back to obedience to the laws of Moses. Is this such a bad thing? According to Paul, absolutely! In between these rebukes (2:15-21) Paul sums up the message of this whole letter. In clarifying the purpose of the law he h…

The Galatian churches had fallen into a critical error by adding obedience to the mosaic law as an essential component of the Christian life. Paul explains why this is such a grave mistake and recalls how it has been dealt with elsewhere in chapters 1 & 2. In chapters 3 & 4 he goes on to present 6 arguments to convince the Galatians that they have …

As we celebrate Father’s Day we take some time to think about God’s design for Dads who make a difference in their families, churches and communities. Australian research published by the Fathering Project illustrates that all fathers are making a difference – it’s the type of difference they’re making that counts! We look at the top 5 risks for ch…

1 Timothy 6:18-19 describes a blessed life, where we are free to use what God has given us to overflow with good works, being generous and willing to share. This is not only a blessing in this life but it lays a great foundation for the life to come where God will reward every act of faith. These verses describe what we are free for, but not what w…