Nehemiah 12:27-47 The people of God come together to celebrate the walls completion, and to commit to the people building. The repopulation of the city (11–12:26) means that the people of God are finally in the place of God, trusting the promises of God. Their joyful celebration reflects this. This chapter sets us up with a picture of celebration which helps us to look forward to the ultimate celebration
Mark 10:1-31 Perhaps we think of a disciple as a follower, but in the first place to be a disciple is to be a learner with Jesus as our Teacher. He is the Teacher sent from heaven. If Jesus is not my Teacher, then I am not his disciple.
Mark 9:30-50 What does true discipleship look like? What’s the difference between someone who just says they’re a Christian and a true disciple of Jesus? That is what Jesus starts to unpack in this section as he heads to Jerusalem.
Mark 9:1-29 ‘If you’re lucky, you’ll be shot. If you’re unlucky, you’ll be sent to a political prison camp’. To follow Christ in North Korea, you need to be convinced it’s worth it eternally. But even in our much easier context, there is a cost to true discipleship, and so we need to be convinced too. We need proof of future life. And that is what the Transfiguration is all about.
Mark 8:31-38 The cross is a symbol of barbaric oppression, torture, execution. Isn’t it time for the church to have a rebrand and to change its logo to something more…
As a Christian who has spent many years working in the Wharf, Robert Frazer (Formerly Senior Vice President, Northern Trust) will begin by telling his story of how he came to faith in Christ, and then he will share how, over the course of a 31-year career in finance, he has sought to live out his faith in the workplace.
Mark 8:10-30 Imagine a global pandemic not of a virus but of blindness – and everyone went blind. That, the Bible tells us, is the true state of humanity. We are spiritually blind; groping around in the dark. The good news is that Jesus can give us sight – but he’s the only one who can.
1 Peter 1:3 Many during the pandemic have felt an increasing sense of hopelessness. But even before then there has been a growing crisis of hope in society, with people no longer believing in a better world for their children – because of tribalism and division, climate change, the rise of religious extremism. Where can we find hope? To have hope for the future we need to turn to the past – to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, through which we are born again to a living hope.
We would all love peace, with others, and with ourselves. Yet we so often look in the wrong place. Only the beautiful cross of Christ, which brings us peace with God, can therefore bring us into peace with ourselves and with others.
