Isaiah 1:10-20
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices - what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations - I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 18 Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

John 3:1-21
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him.”
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

I love the story of Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus in John 3. During this conversation we have the most famous verse in the entire Bible, but maybe even more importantly, as Jesus and Nicodemus talk to each other we find Jesus challenging human wisdom and understanding, as well as religion and ritual. It’s a common mistake that human beings make, and we’ve been doing it for a very long time – we approach God our way, and on our terms, and in John 3 Jesus shakes human traditions and religiousness to its very core. Nicodemus was the teacher, but now he meets the real Master.

We’re told that Nicodemus was ‘a man of the Pharisees.’ In those days the Pharisees were the religious leaders and the most prominent and influential men in Jewish society. They were the separatists, puritans and fundamentalists of their day. They believed in predestination, immortality, and in reward for their good works. They accepted the Old Testament Scriptures and believed in the Jewish messianic hope. Throughout the Old Testament they are promised that the Messiah would come. Of course, they refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but they did hold onto the promise that one day the Messiah would come. The word legalist best describes the Pharisees and how they lived and expected others to live. Nicodemus held a senior position, and was also a member of the Sanhedrin, which meant he held both religious and administrative authority. Apart from King Herod and Caiaphas the high priest, there were very few people who outranked Nicodemus. He was a ruler, a teacher and a theologian.
Interestingly enough, he is only mentioned on three different occasions in the Bible, and all of them in John’s gospel – in chapters 3, 7 and 19. And yet, we're able to learn a lot about his character and the kind of man he was, which is important, because we need to know about this very senior man in Jewish society that approached Jesus.

There are many things we learn about him. Firstly, he was a man of discernment and caution. John 3:2 tells us that he went to Jesus at night, under cover of darkness. The Pharisees despised Jesus, and had Nicodemus approached Him publicly it would have caused a huge scandal. Nicodemus though was driven to find out more about Jesus, so he did it discreetly. He was also eager to learn the truth. He was highly educated, yet when Jesus (who as far as the Pharisees were concerned was nothing more than a street preacher and a trouble maker), began talking about being born again, Nicodemus didn’t just dismiss Him and walk away, but kept asking questions. Nicodemus knew there was something different and something special about this man. He said so himself in verse 2: “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him.” He was not too proud to listen and learn the truth. Nicodemus, despite his lofty position of power, also had a sense of justice. In chapter 7 Jesus was being accused once more by the Pharisees of being an imposter and a false prophet, but Nicodemus in verse 51 says, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” And then we learn that Nicodemus was a man who learned to love Jesus. After Jesus’ death Joseph of Arimathea was given permission by Pilate take His body off of the cross and arrange a proper burial. The man who helped him and supplied the traditional spices for embalming was Nicodemus. A man as important as Nicodemus would never have lowered himself to do such a menial task unless if his heart was changed first.

So what was it that night we read about in chapter 3 that changed Nicodemus’ life so radically, and how can our lives be changed by an encounter with the Master?
Even though Nicodemus was highly educated, theologically trained, and a religious teacher, he simply could not grasp that a man must be born from above. Three times Jesus told him this, in verses 3, 5 and 7. Nicodemus was a theologian, and even recognised that Jesus (in his own words) was a teacher who has come from God. Yet this concept of second birth from above was beyond him. Why? Because he was trying to understand God his way. Natural man, regardless of how intelligent and educated we are will never understand the teachings of Jesus until we are born from above. Until the Spirit opens our eyes, the teachings of Jesus will never make sense. Go out into the secular world and tell people to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them and see how far you get. I’m the first to admit that it is hard to love my enemies, and trust me, I find it extremely challenging to pray for anyone who persecutes me, but I know that it is the right thing to do. And the reason I know it is the right thing to do is not because I’m educated or theologically trained. It is because by God’s grace and mercy, and because of what Jesus has done for me, I have been born from above. This is how Jesus puts it in verse 3: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

We can have all the intellect and all the knowledge we can possibly cram into our minds, but it takes the death of Jesus to bring us eternal life, and the only way we can have some kind of understanding of that deep mystery is when we are born from above. The non-believing world scoffs at the idea of the death of someone two thousand years ago on the other side of the world having any relevance to our lives here and now. It is illogical, it is ridiculous and just plain foolishness, but if you’re not born from above, why should the death of Jesus have any relevance? But when you’re born from above, the atoning death of Jesus Christ makes perfect sense. We certainly don’t understand everything about how His death pays the price of our sin, but because we’ve been born from above, God has given us enough spiritual insight to know firstly that it was necessary, and secondly that Jesus’ death secures our salvation. Believing that truth does not come from human wisdom and understanding. It only comes by the Spirit - from above.

So many people do not know the way of salvation. Even though Nicodemus was a rabbi and a teacher, he did not know how to be saved. Many people are offended by the harsh words spoken by God to the prophet Isaiah in our first reading this morning. The whole point though is that our rituals and religious traditions are empty when we feel we don’t need Jesus in order to gain God’s favour. You would think that Jesus would have taken sinners to task and would have spent time with the religious people. But He did the exact opposite. That’s the nature of the Kingdom of God. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record what happened when Jesus called Matthew (also known as Levi) to be one of His disciples. Matthew had been a tax collector, one of the most despised people in Jewish society, and as far as the Jews were concerned, he was everything a Pharisee was not. This is what we read in Luke 5:29-30: “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to His disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’”

Jesus was deeply concerned for the lost. They were, after all, the reason He came, but those who thought they had it all together – the religious Pharisees – He was particularly ruthless with.
So if you think the words of Isaiah 1 were harsh, just listen to what Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 23: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:13-30)

This is how offensive the religious elite was to Jesus. He had no time for their pomp and ceremony, not while they hindered the people’s walk with God. They were supposed to make God more accessible to the people. They were meant to teach them about the ways of God - His grace, mercy and forgiveness, but instead they did the opposite. They had become a stumbling block to grace of God, and this is exactly the kind of man that Nicodemus once was, but by God’s grace, He was born from above.
Jesus opened his heart to the truth. We know the words of John 3:16 so well, but verse 18 is just as important: “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” We are condemned already without Christ. He is our only hope of salvation – not our religious rituals.
We’re told that Nicodemus went to Jesus at night. We’ve already looked at the practical reasons for doing that: He wanted to avoid a scandal, but there is a spiritual message here too: Before Nicodemus met Jesus his heart was darkened to God’s truth. Before we turn to Jesus our hearts are darkened too, whether we are religious Church-goers or not. Jesus was certainly aware of the significance of the time of day that Nicodemus spoke to Him, and the condition of his heart before being born from above. This is why He said, “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Someone has said that the three R’s of religiousness and traditionalism are rote, rut, and rot. That’s the danger, although I do need to point out that traditions in the Church are good, so long as they remind us of Jesus and point us to Him. Next Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month is our regular Holy Communion service. So long as Christ remains at the centre of this sacrament, we are remembering Him and His promises. In fact, we’re instructed to celebrate Holy Communion by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11: “The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

The essential difference between doing things in the Church because we’ve always done them and doing them in order to be reminded about Jesus and His grace is being born from above.
Look again at the dramatic change we see in Nicodemus. He is only mentioned three times in the Bible. The first time he is talking to Jesus, but on the next two occasions he is serving Christ, and doing something for Him. Have you allowed the Spirit of God to transform you so dramatically? Have you been born from above? Until such time as you do, all the things you do week in week out and year in year out in the name of religion will do nothing to draw you to God. Seek Jesus with all your heart, just as Nicodemus did, and allow Him to transform you.

There’s a wonderful story I found of a shy and timid little girl who went to one of the elders in her Church before a prayer meeting and said, “Will you pray for me at the meeting, please, but don’t mention my name.” When every head was bowed and there was perfect silence, he prayed for her, saying, “O Lord, there is a little girl here who does not want her name known, but You know her. Please Lord, would you open her heart to you and save her precious soul?” There was silence for a moment, but then suddenly from the back of the Church a little girl stood up and pleaded loudly, “Please, it’s me, Jesus, it’s me.” She didn’t want to have any doubt. She wanted to be saved, and she wasn’t ashamed to say, “Jesus, it’s me.” At first she was like Nicodemus – unsure and in the dark, but God touched her life and brought her into a knowledge of the truth just like He did for Nicodemus, for countless others, and He can do the same for you too.


Homegroup Study Notes
Read the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.
Bearing in mind that Nicodemus was a highly educated man, a scholar of the Old Testament and an expert on Jewish customs and religion, why did he struggle to understand what Jesus was telling him?
Being born again is a term we are familiar with in the Church, but how do you understand this phrase?

Read Isaiah 1:10-20
There are many other passages of Scripture where God clearly condemns ritual and religious traditions, yet Jesus Himself commanded us to observe Holy Communion and also to practice Baptism.
Each year in the Church we remember (among others) Christmas, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
How are we able to do these things without slipping into empty ritual?
Is it even possible?
In which ways have you been going through the motions in your walk with God?

Read John 3:21 again.
How has Jesus enlightened you recently and given you a clearer understanding of the meaning behind some of the traditions we practice in the Christian Church?

Close by praying that God’s Spirit would protect us from empty ritual, and fill us with a deeper understanding of His love and grace as we approach Easter.

Romans 7:14-8:1
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

John 14:1-7
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

 
The Bible begins and ends with God. Last week we looked at Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning God.” These words form the basis and foundation of everything else we believe and stand for. If you have trouble believing the first 4 words of the Bible, you will struggle to believe the rest of God’s Word.
Now we move to Revelation 22:21, the very last verse in the Bible: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
What we know as the book of Revelation was written by the apostle John to Christians who were experiencing tremendous persecution for their faith in Asia. They needed to be encouraged and given hope.

The book of Revelation itself is very dramatic, and it tells the story of the triumph of good over evil. It speaks of the total victory over satan, and reminds us of the completion of our salvation. Jesus is proclaimed as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and it is in and through Him that our final and eternal triumph over sin and death is promised. Yes, much of what is written in Revelation is very difficult to understand. Countless books and commentaries have been written over the years as Biblical scholars have tried to grapple with the many mysterious prophecies in Revelation. Some scholars believe it to be a literal account of how the end times will unfold. Others see it more as a collection of word pictures and poetic writings that should not be taken literally, and there are many other interpretations that fit somewhere in between these two.

However, it is a mistake to become too caught up in all of the details and become embroiled in the debates and arguments, because when we do, we easily miss the real message of Revelation. Whether you view Revelation as an a, pre or post-millenniast, (and that’s another whole sermon series on it’s own!), the important thing to remember is what Revelation tells us: Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the grace of the Lord Jesus will be with God’s people. Amen.
John in fact, sets the scene with this truth in Revelation 1: “Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father - to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” In essence, the book of Revelation is no different to the other 65 books of the Bible – its prime purpose is to point us to Christ.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the world at large, in our own country and in our lives as individuals, but the Bible reminds us, in the beginning God, and the grace of the Lord Jesus is with God’s people. When we know and believe this, and we’re able to keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, we’re reminded that He is still on His throne, and the victory is still ours. That is the firm hope we have.
The last verse in the Bible is the final word from God to us. It is the note on which God wanted His word to end, and it’s the truth He wanted to leave with us until the end of the world.
There is in fact a remarkable synergy between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21, because the Bible ends by answering the question it begins with.
If it is obvious that the world exists, it is also obvious that something very serious is wrong with the world. Life is not easy, and we all have our share of heartaches and pain. Some more than others, but every single human being knows what it means to struggle with the challenges of life. Not only that, but when we take an honest, hard look at ourselves, we have to recognise and admit that we are not the people we would like to be. Something is seriously wrong with us as individuals, and something is seriously wrong with the world in which we live.
But if this was all we knew - that the world is not right - life would be very discouraging. We would have no hope.

What the first and last verses in the Bible do for us is put the problem of life into its proper perspective. Genesis 1:1 tells us that God made us, and this is the truth that makes the problem make sense…
The brokenness that we see in the world and all of the fallout from that brokenness can be traced right back to the very beginning. Everything that is corrupt and broken about the world is a direct result of our broken fellowship with the God who made us.

The Bible has a word for this thing that has gone wrong – sin. And the story we find between the first and last verses of the Bible is the story of God working out His plan to deal with this problem and save us from sin and the dreadful consequences of our sin. The mess that the world is in is not God’s fault. It’s our fault. I’m to blame, and so are you.
So long as the non-believing world continues to deny the reality of God as He is revealed in the Bible, there will be no peace on earth. Without God and His grace there is no answer. Sin is our problem, but thanks be to God – His grace is the answer to our problem. The secular world refuses to acknowledge God and His plan of salvation as revealed in Scripture, so it tries to sort out the problems and challenges of this broken world on its own, but always with disastrous results. Because of the arrogance and sheer bloody mindedness of the non-believing world, it will remain a broken world.

A solution that does not acknowledge God cannot deal adequately with the problem because it does not see the problem for what it really is. Revelation 22:21, the last verse in the Bible, tells us about the grace of God, and this is the truth that contains the ultimate solution to our sin problem. There are some belief systems that do acknowledge God in one form or another, but remove the grace given to us through Jesus Christ, and you are right back where you started.
Paul writes so eloquently about this struggle in Romans 7. Most people would accept and agree that there is much in our lives that needs to change, and in the closing verses of Romans 7 he hits the nail fairly and squarely on the head. I know what I should do, but I can’t. The things I shouldn’t be doing, I do, and the things should be doing, I don’t. That’s the quandary every sinner faces. My sin has warped the image of God within me so badly that at times it is hardly recognisable anymore. Because of who I have become, I have moved so far away from the God who created me that I have to agree with Paul – I am spiritually dead, and I cry out with him in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

But – grace. Thanks be to God that the Bible does not end with Romans 7:24! “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Without Christ all that awaits us is a hopeless end, but thanks be to God, because of Christ we have an endless hope.
So why then, do so many still reject Jesus and the forgiveness He brings? We looked at this question last week – when we do, it means are now accountable and answerable to Him, and many do not want this in their lives. Jesus challenges sinful human beings. He challenged the status quo in society 2000 years ago, and He does the same today. Many people avoid God at all costs. You’re all here this morning because you want to be here - at least I hope you all want to be here! My point is that you know you need God’s mercy and forgiveness, and that is one of the reasons you are here today. You are asking the big questions of life, and God’s Spirit has prompted you to seek out Jesus in your quest to find the answers. 
Weddings and funerals are completely different. Please don’t think I’m judging anyone, but the truth is that at every wedding and funeral there are people who clearly don’t want to be there – rather it is out of a sense of duty to their friends or family. You can see in their faces that sitting in a Church is the last place they want to be, because they know that somewhere during that service they’re going to hear about Jesus Christ, and they will be challenged to take a look at their real selves. To the non-believing world Jesus Christ and all that He stands for is offensive and an embarrassment. Paul put it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:23 – “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” The truth of Jesus Christ has always challenged sinful human beings. The question is, are we prepared to believe the truth about what God has done in Christ to deal with the problem of our sin? We have to accept our sin problem before God can deal with that problem by His grace.
But this is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus: Triumph over sin and its consequences is possible.

The Bible begins with God and it ends with Him, simply because the God of creation is also the God of our salvation. Hebrews 2:10 says, “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Some say they believe in God but do not believe in Jesus Christ. In John 14:1 He says, “Believe in God. Believe also in me.” Some people believe that Jesus Christ is one of many means of salvation, but this goes against the exclusivity of the Gospel. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 this message is proclaimed. In the words of the song we sang earlier this morning, “It’s all about you, Jesus.”

The victory that we have in Jesus is all the result of the victory of the grace God offers us. Without His grace we would be dead and lost in our sins forever, but now everything is different. Grace is His last word, and it is the end of the story of salvation.

We’ve heard the words of Ephesians 2:8-9 often enough, but they’re worth repeating because they’re so important: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Even in the Old Testament, before Jesus walked on this earth and died for human sin we see God’s grace at work. In Numbers 6 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:23-27)

To be a Christian is to experience all the blessings that come from God’s grace, not because we deserve it, but because He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. His unmerited favour and blessings are ours. We no longer need to fear Him because of Jesus. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Charles Wesley, in arguably his finest hymn combined this truth and the truth of Romans 8:1 when he wrote, “No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine, bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.”
All of eternity is not long enough to plumb the countless treasures in the Bible. All we have done during the past two Sundays is take a bird’s eye view of just two things it teaches us – God is, and His grace is available to all who put their trust in Christ.

But it is important for us to know all of God’s Word – not just the first and last verses, but the entire Word of God, including everything between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21. It is dangerous to limit our study to parts of the Bible that we like, which is why it is important to have some kind of methodical reading plan of the Bible. Our understanding of the truth proclaimed in Scripture needs to be both deep and broad.
Those who teach and lead Bible studies and homegroups should be able to say the same that Paul said to the Ephesians in Acts 20:27: “I have not avoided declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”
If we agree that God is who He claims to be, then we simply have to get to know Him better, and there is no better place to learn that than in His Word. 

Finally, we need to be able to say the last word of God’s word: “Amen.”
Often we don’t have the attitude of “let it be so” towards all that God has said in His word from Genesis to Revelation, and we pick and choose which bits to obey and which bits we decide do not apply to us. That’s a dangerous game to play.
There are only two options: We either believe all of God’s Word, or none of it. Either Jesus is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
The story of the Bible is the story of God saving us from our sin and the consequences of our sin.
Jesus is the answer, and He is the only answer. He has and He is the final word in God’s plan of grace and salvation.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

Homegroup Study Notes
Read the first and last verses of the Bible.
In which ways do these two sentences summarise the truth of God proclaimed throughout the Bible?

Read Ephesians 2:1-9
There are some remarkable contrasts in these words. Firstly the human condition without God is described in detail, followed by the dramatic change which takes place as a result of what Jesus has done for us.
The key to all of this is God’s grace.
How do you understand His grace?
How have you experienced it in your own life?
Why is the name Jesus Christ so offensive to the secular world?

The Bible tells us that the Lord is a God of wrath and a God of love and mercy.
These characteristics seem to be complete opposites, so how do you understand His nature?

The very last word in the Bible is ‘Amen.’  (So be it, or let it be)
In which ways have we read parts of God’s Word and not agreed with Him?
We often hear that the Bible was written thousands of years ago, and much of it is no longer relevant in the modern world.
How do you react to comments such as these?

Close by praying that we would believe all of God’s Word.
Pray that the grace of the Lord Jesus would continue to be with God’s people.

 

Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from His pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run His course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

Romans 1:18-25
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.

Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

Today and next Sunday we will be doing a two part sermon mini series with a bit of a difference. The focus of these two Sundays will be on just two verses in the Bible: Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21, the very first and very last verses in Scripture.
Today’s verse is “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and next Sunday is “the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” It is neither an expectation or a requirement, but if you do feel inspired to read the remaining 31,100 verses between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21 before next Sunday, that would be wonderful…
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

These words are far more than a mere introduction to God’s Word contained in what we know today as the Bible. It is no coincidence that the Bible begins where it does, and the truth contained in the first verse is the fundamental truth and foundation upon which the rest of God’s revelation to us is built.

A hot topic that has been debated for centuries, and especially in the world today is the existence of God. There is no shortage of books, internet sites, TV debates – you name it – you don’t have to look very far to find the question of whether God exists or not being debated in one form or another.
The Bible though, makes no attempt to argue the existence of God. It merely states it as fact. “In the beginning, God.” It is then up to us to decide whether or not we are going to believe the fact it proclaims in its opening verse.
Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music famously sang the words, “Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” Genesis 1:1 is an excellent starting point when it comes to tackling all the big questions of life – not only those that explore the meaning of life and the purpose of our existence, but also when it comes to trying to make sense of what is going on in our lives here and now.

Many of the challenges and problems we experience in our daily lives come from beginning at the wrong place. When we build our philosophies and belief systems on the wrong foundations, they inevitably produce bad results. A lot of the struggles and heartaches we go through in life are a direct result of underlying, fundamental issues.
This is why it is essential that our search for truth needs to begin at the right place. Proverbs 9:10 says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

The very first truth that the Bible proclaims is that God is real.
It’s obvious to us that the world exists – there is no debate that there is something rather than nothing, but the question we need to ask is, why is there something rather than nothing? And that then leads us to ask two further crucial questions: Who is responsible for the fact that we exist? And what should our response to this Creator be?
My purpose today is not to get involved in the creation versus evolution debate. I believe what Genesis 1:1 proclaims, so the theory of evolution is completely irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. What I’d like for us to do this morning is to look at what it means to have a Biblical worldview of God as the Creator of the Universe. I believe in the existence of God, and it’s on this foundation that we will be looking at the truths proclaimed in the opening verse of the Bible.

So who is responsible for the fact that we exist?
This is such an important question to ask, because life cannot be understood or explained if God did not create the world. An explanation for life is essential. Modern secular science assumes that a ‘what’ is responsible for the universe, rather than a ‘who’. In other words, most secular explanations of the universe are materialistic, but this is not really a reasonable alternative to what the Bible proclaims.
The mere fact that we are intelligent beings with individual personalities points towards a personal Creator with an individual personality. Acts 17:28-29 says, “In Him we live and move and have our being. We are His offspring. Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by man’s design and skill.” John’s Gospel opens with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

It is in God that we “live and move and have our being.” We depend completely on God for every breath, every heartbeat, and every moment of our lives.
Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” What this means is that Jesus, the eternal Creator God, continues to be active in our lives and in the world. “Sustaining all things” means exactly what it says – His work in His creation continues, and the existence of everything we can see and have yet to discover has always been, and remains under His authority. Colossians 1:17 says something very similar: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

If you believe in the God of the Bible, then Genesis 1:1 is the rock on which the rest of what you believe in and stand for is built. It speaks of the very beginning – ‘a very good place to start.’
In answer to the question, who is responsible for the fact we exist, as Christians we believe that the God of Creation as revealed in the Bible and in the first 2 chapters of Genesis in particular, is the one in whom we “live and move and have our being.”

So what then, should our response be to this person?
The Bible teaches us that God created us in His image. Life is the most precious gift He has given us, and it is a gift given in love. 1 John 4:16 says quite simply, “God is love.” We know the words of John 3:16 so well: “For God so loved the world.” So the Bible is very clear in proclaiming love as one of God’s most defining characteristics.
And if we are created in His image, then love is something we are too. One of the greatest gifts we have is people who love us, and who we can love in return. But do we respond to God in love? Do we acknowledge Him as the source of our lives and the source of love? The answer to that question hinges on how you respond to Genesis 1:1.

Sadly, there are many who refuse to respond to God in love. Paul writes about this in Romans 1:20-21 – “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him.” If you reject Genesis 1:1, then you cannot glorify God, nor can you give thanks to Him. Remember from last Sunday, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Romans 8:7-8 says, “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”
The evidence of a Creator God is there. There is something rather than nothing. In the words of Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” So why then, do so many people steadfastly refuse to acknowledge God and His existence, despite all the overwhelming evidence that is all around us?
The answer is because if we do acknowledge Him and His existence, there are huge implications for us.
It means we are now accountable to God. He has authority over us, and He is the one who determines our destiny, and sinful human beings don’t like that idea.
By God’s grace though, He has revealed His truth to us, and because of what Jesus has done for us, we are able to respond to Him as we should.

So if God is real, how should this truth affect our daily lives? This is another important question, because there is a difference between knowing something theoretically and knowing it experientially, or practically. Someone once said that God becomes very real to us when we’re lying on our deathbeds, but what about the rest of our lives?
Life is busy, and we become easily caught up in our routines and busyness, which means we don’t take time enough to contemplate the bigger questions of life, such as the meaning and purpose of our existence. The challenge we face in our everyday lives is to live right now in such a way that God is real to us. The truth that Genesis 1:1 proclaims should have a real impact on every aspect of our lives. This means that God should be real to us all of the time, and not just for an hour on a Sunday morning.

His existence is the most obvious fact in the universe. The evidence is crystal clear, so it’s ironic that the plainest of all truths is the one thing we struggle to apply in our lives.
So how then do we apply the truth of Genesis 1:1 on a personal level? What changes can we make in our own lives that will make God more real to us? Deuteronomy 4:39 says “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
It all begins by spending more time with Him – we need to get into His Word. God’s reality confronts us on every page of the Bible, so if you want to know Him better, get to know the Bible better. Paul prays for the Church in Ephesians 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.” Study the Bible and get to know it better, and you will get to know God better.
It’s a discipline, but we need to learn how to practice things like reflecting on His Word, and meditating on what it really means. It’s all very well to read the Bible (another very good place to start!), but the question we need to ask ourselves is, ‘Yes, but what does this mean to me, and how should what I have read and learned impact my life here and now?’ God’s Word must be read, and then applied on a personal level.

The first verse in the Bible teaches us that we came from God, and it is equally true that we will return to Him. He is our origin and He is also our destiny. When we die, our spirits will return to God. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Ever since sin entered our world there has been a denial of the one, true God, but the general move away from God seems to be even stronger today than it has ever been. Governments all over the world are systematically removing any reverence of and reference to God in all aspects of society. Atheism has become almost militant in its single-minded determination to deny the God of the Bible. And yes, we should be concerned about its effects on our world, our children and our grandchildren, but what about us?
Do we really believe Genesis 1:1 and all that follows this opening verse of the Bible, or do we merely profess to believe what it says? Our arguments against atheism will mean very little if the world sees little or no impact of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. If you believe in God, then you will also believe that He has authority over you, and that you are accountable to Him. This means you have to live your life for Him, and not for yourself.

The closing verses of Ecclesiastes puts it like this: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) In other words, the whole point of life and the reason for our very existence is to respect and obey God. I have mentioned this before – the opening question of the Westminster Catechism is “What is the chief and highest end of man?” And the answer is “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.” That’s the answer to the biggest question of all: What is the purpose of my life?
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, “We make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

The foundation of life itself is proclaimed in the opening words of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Next week we will be looking at the closing verse of Scripture: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” It ends with Jesus, but just as importantly, it starts with Jesus. Do you have that foundation for your own life of faith? Do you believe ‘In the beginning… God?’

Homegroup Study Notes
Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is one of the most profound and important verses in the entire Bible.
Discuss some of the fundamental statements in the Christian faith found in this verse.
In which ways do you think Genesis 1:1 provides a platform or foundation for the rest of the Bible?

Compare Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:19-20
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the God of Creation and His intelligent design we see throughout the universe, many people refuse to accept the existence of God. Instead they choose to believe that the universe and everything in it (including human beings) is the result of a cosmic accident, and everything has evolved as a result of this. Without getting into the usual creation v evolution debate, what do you believe is at the heart of disbelief in the God of the Bible?
In other words, why do so many deny the existence of God?

As Christians, we believe that God does exist. He is revealed in His Word (Scripture), and in His creation.
What are the implications for us when we believe that God is who He claims to be in the Bible? In which ways are we now responsible to Him?
Close by praying that Christians would not be swayed from their faith in the one true God.

 

 

John 13:1-17
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For He knew who was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not every one was clean. 12 When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

What do we mean when we say we are to serve like Jesus?
If we’re to follow His instructions in John 13:15 – “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you,” how do we actually do it?
This is more than simply doing things for other people. There are many organisations and individuals that do the most wonderful and generous things for the less fortunate, but how is the Church to be different? Quite simply, it is the attitudes of our hearts that make all the difference. We have been totally transformed by what Jesus has done for us, and this transformation should have an effect on every aspect of our lives, including a radical change in how we serve each other.
As Christians work together for the benefit of others, the right attitudes are necessary. All the talent in the world cannot make up for wrong attitudes. When our hearts are right, and we clearly understand our call to follow the example of Jesus, our efforts to serve are enhanced and they live up to their full potential.
So in what areas should we be concerned about our attitudes? There are three keys areas, and we’ll take a brief look at each of them.
Firstly, our attitude toward God, secondly toward ourselves, and finally our attitudes towards each other in the Church.

1. Our attitude to God
God loves us. We know that and we’ve heard it many times, but we need to return our love to Him. Jesus defined that kind of love in Matthew 22:37 – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Do we really love Him that much?
But it’s not just about loving Him. We need to learn to put our whole faith and trust in Him too. Faith is one of those things that is very difficult to explain or understand. Hebrews 11:1 puts it best: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” At the same time we need to understand the implications of verse 6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” So not only do we love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds, but do we have the kind of faith that pleases God? If we cannot please God without faith, it means that faith is not an optional extra – it’s a necessity.
We will never really know what it means to serve to God’s glory until we (in love and faith), place Him at the centre of all our serving. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” You see, it’s all about Jesus, and it has always been about Him.
Our serving, whether inside or outside of the Church has to begin with the right attitude towards the God who calls us to serve in the first place.

2. Secondly, we need to have the right attitudes towards ourselves.
Now what does that mean?
Again, look at the example given to us by Jesus. It starts with humility. One of the saddest things in the Church is seeing people who think they have some kind of authority, and then lording that alleged authority over others. This is why a humble attitude towards ourselves is so important. It’s all about the attitude of a serving heart. Romans 12:3 and 16 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Humility includes a willingness to serve, even if that means doing menial tasks that others might feel are below their station.
Lawrence Bell was a multimillionaire and the founder of the Bell Aircraft Corporation. He once wrote, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.” Are we humble enough to serve, regardless of what kind of service we’re called to?
Also, are we prepared to be taught? Being teachable is vital, because it means we’re prepared to accept that we actually don’t know it all. To be teachable is to be wise. Proverbs 15:31-32 says, “He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.”
Teachability includes an eagerness to learn and grow as well as the ability to learn from our mistakes, to profit from advice and even criticism. Our natural reaction when criticised is to fight back, regardless of whether the criticism is valid or not. But if we learn to practice humility in our lives, we’re able to learn from those times.
And this includes a willingness to admit our mistakes, and to learn from them. Everyone makes mistakes, but a Church that functions well and grows is one filled with people who use their mistakes as opportunities to learn.
An important point to remember when it comes to humility is that even though we’re to consider others better than ourselves, that doesn’t mean we have no worth or value. On the contrary, we are of infinite worth and value. You are so priceless that Jesus died for you. Your worth and your value is to be found in who you are in Christ. You are of infinite value to God, and when you have that healthy attitude towards yourself, it becomes so much easier to serve with a true servant heart.

3. Thirdly, our attitudes towards each other.
It is only when we love and trust God fully and are able to practice humility that we’re able to have a Godly, loving relationship with each other. Tension between people within the Church is a reality, for the simple reason that we’re sinners, but in and through Christ we’re able to rise above those things. Jesus taught us the necessity of loving each other in John 13:34-35. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Notice that this is not a request or a suggestion. It’s a command, and when we obey His command to love one another, how can we not work together for God’s glory? It’s hardly rocket science! We need to forget about our own little agendas, rise above what we want and love each other. That will free us to serve God, each other and the world to the glory of God.
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul uses the analogy of the human body to teach how we all form different functions and ministries in the Church. When we love each other and work together the way that God intended, there will be no resentment and envy. Christian love is not an emotion. It is a choice, and we all have to decide whether we are going to love one another or not. When we allow personal friction to hamper our ministries and work in the Church, they will not be effective, and they will certainly not glorify God – again, remember that God by His Spirit enables us to choose to love each other and to forgive as we have been forgiven.
A key word when it comes to our attitudes towards each other is submission. In the secular world, submission is a negative word. Those who submit are regarded as people who have no substance and no backbone. But in the life of a Christian, submission is a glorious thing. When Jesus wrestled in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before facing His execution, He submitted to His Father’s will. Was Jesus’ submission to the Father negative? Hardly. It was a glorious thing. In Ephesians 5 Paul is writing to the Christian Church when he says, “Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-21) Christian submission is not negative. Christian submission brings glory to God as we submit to and serve each other in love.
Peace and harmony within the Church can only be a good thing, as Paul urges us in Ephesians 4:1-3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
When we practice virtues like forgiveness, tolerance, patience and longsuffering in the Church they will help to smooth out the bumps and obstacles that satan can and does put in our way in his efforts to destroy the Church.

The mission statement of our congregation is that we will seek to “communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in service of God, each other and the world.” Our logo is based on Jesus’ words in John 13:15 – “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
These are the things we believe that God has called us to do as His Church, and this applies to all of our members, regardless of whether we are elders, leaders in our various ministries or not. The positions we may or may not hold are not important.
What is important is our attitudes – our attitudes towards God, ourselves, and each other. It is when we begin to cultivate an attitude of gratitude within our own hearts that we will do wonders for the Kingdom, and bring glory to God.
Are we developing the right kind of attitudes that prepare us for the work of the Lord?

Homegroup Study Notes 
Read John 13:1-17
These verses are particularly important to our own congregation, as they form the basis of both our logo and mission statement – “To communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in service of God, each other, and the world.”
Using Jesus’ example in John 13, how are we able to put this three-fold mission into action?

Read Philippians 2:5-8
Serving in humility is vital in the Church, whether it be in service to each other, or those outside of the Church.
How are we able to learn from Jesus’ example of humility?

On Sunday we considered three attitudes which are essential if we are to grasp the call to serve like Jesus: Our attitude to God, ourselves, and each other. Discuss these three attitudes in your group.
There is no denying that there are many secular organisations and individuals all over the world that do tremendous work among the poor and needy.
In which ways does (or at least, should) service done by the Church in the name of Jesus be different?
 
What is your understanding of the role of elders in the Presbyterian Church?

Close by praying that we would become more like Jesus in the way we serve. Pray also for the Session at Upper Umgeni, and in particular for our new elders.