Philippians 3:1-11 Counterfeiting is one of the world’s biggest growth industries and now accounts for 5-7% of all global trade. Counterfeiting is big business, with much of it used to finance terrorism and organised crime. But counterfeit religion is an even bigger probl. How can we tell genuine from fake?
Luke 2:14 At the birth of Jesus, angels appeared to shepherds and declared, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace”. 2000 years and two World Wars later, you can’t help but think, “Those angels sure got that one wrong. Peace on earth? Who were they kidding?” In what sense is the Christian message “good news of peace through Jesus Christ”?
Luke 2:14 At the birth of Jesus, angels appeared to shepherds and declared, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace”. 2000 years and two World Wars later, you can’t help but think, “Those angels sure got that one wrong. Peace on earth? Who were they kidding?” In what sense is the Christian message “good news of peace through Jesus Christ”?
2 Timothy 4:1-18 Fast-forward in your mind. You’ve just been told you’ve got a few months to live. You’re lying in bed in the hospice. Will you look back with regret, realising you pursued things of no lasting value, or will you look back on a life invested for eternity? Will you look forward with fear, or with just a vague hope of some hereafter, or with certain expectation of an eternal future with God?
Joshua 1:1-18Sometimes life feels rather mundane. Going to work, paying the bills, pushing the trolley round the supermarket, going to church. We long to do something heroic. But the Christian life is heroic. It demands that we be strong and courageous. It’s certainly not for wimps or those who just need a crutch in life!
Revelation 12-13 Do you find the Christian life often feels like a battle? A battle to resist temptation and pursue godliness; a battle to keep going in faith and love and hope; a battle to read the Bible and pray and serve others in the church? It feels like a battle because it is a battle. We are at war. This passage gives us the perspective we need to keep going.
Isaiah 59-63“A dangerous monster threatens a community. One man takes it on himself to kill the beast and restore happiness to the kingdom”. This basic plotline of so many stories and films expresses one of the deepest longings of the human heart in a messed-up world. It finds its fulfilment in the coming conqueror of the final section of Isaiah’s prophecy.
James 3:13-4:10In sport we witness and experience the joy of victory and the sorrow of defeat. But in the end it’s only a game. The Christian life however is not a game. How can we make sure we are living victorious Christian lives rather than defeated ones? This passage tells us.
Ephesians 6:10-23 For many Christians spiritual warfare is about the sensational world of deliverance ministries and naming demons and driving them out of believers. But that is not the spiritual warfare we find in the New Testament letters. Instead it’s about putting on the armour God has provided for everyday Christian living. That is how we stand firm against the forces of evil.
2 Timothy 4:1-18 You’re lying in bed in a hospice. You’ve just been told you’ve only weeks left to live. What will your perspective be as you look back on your life and look ahead to death? Will you be able to say with the apostle Paul that you have fought the good fight and finished the race and are longing to meet the Lord?
