Christmas Chilli

What do you have to eat on Christmas Day?

Perhaps turkey, or duck or goose, or maybe something less expensive. I wonder if it should be a bowl of Chilli Con Carne!

The madness of St Paul and the uniqueness of Jesus

When St Paul was on trial before King Agrippa and Governor Festus in Caesarea the King said to Paul that he could speak for himself. 

The Bible says that Paul motioned with his hand and began his defence and he began to explain the gospel, how he had experienced the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus and what he had been doing as a result of the encounter.

The power of the Spirit

Luke 24:45-49

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Good News of repentance and forgiveness will be preached to all nations.

Preached - told - proclaimed – in whose name – in the name of Jesus.

You see this is the Good News that Jesus died and rose again.

And that when we repent of our sins we can have forgiveness because of what Jesus has done.

Palm Sunday Quiz

You can read about the events of the first "Palm Sunday" in all four gospels.

Matthew 21:1-11

Mark 11:1-11

Luke 19:28-40

John 12:12-19

Follow me

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:27-28)

Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi and said follow me. It was truly outrageous.

Levi wasn’t looking for Jesus. He was in this tax booth going about his day to day business.

Jesus went out and found Levi!

The Kingdom of Heaven is like...amazing!

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)

Jesus told these parables nearly 2000 years ago and I read them for the first time about 33 years ago!

You see for the first 28 years of my life I wasn't a Christian. I never went to Sunday school or a Christian youth group or anything like that. In fact I had never ever been to a church Sunday service!

Oh yes I’d been to church – to some weddings. Actually 4 weddings and a funeral!

But I’d never ever been to an ordinary service.

And then one evening some people knocked on our door and invited us to go to church!

And amazingly - we went!

Children of God

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! - 1 John 3 v1

John is flowing along in his letter then he puts a marker down “see”. In the King James Version it says, "Behold"

See - Behold – sit up – take notice - a really really big signpost that says take note - what I am about to say is really really important.

What great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Now I appreciate that there is a sense in which all humankind are children of God in that He is our creator, our maker. But, and it’s a big but….

Christians are Children of God in a special, more profound, more fuller sense unlike and distinct from all other people!

John put it this way in chapter 1 of his gospel:

"to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."

And Jesus said that we have to be born again. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

This is something we must never ever ever ever forget!