Sermons@kingsley

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 helps us to understand the doctrine of sin, which is essential for us to understand if we are to appreciate the value of our Saviour. This message is far more than a correction for a group of people who were struggling to transition from Judaism to Christianity. It’s a message for every human being who needs to understand the root of our common problem and the source of our common hope.

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 made a foolish choice in turning away from a salvation that is by faith alone in Christ alone. The first of these arguments is a personal one. He reminds them of their own experience of salvation. He takes them back to the wonderful news of Christ’s death and resurrection and the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit who they received when they placed their trust in Christ. Why would we turn away from such a wonderful gift of grace and start placing conditions on God’s acceptance of us and on our acceptance of one another that are based on our worthiness instead of on Christ’s?

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 children with disengaged or dysfunctional dads to understand the importance of not neglecting our God-given roles; but also to encourage us that we’re probably making more of a positive difference than we realise! We also rejoice in God’s plan for community which means there’s always father-figures who can help us grow as Dads as well as providing fathering support for children.

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 we are free from. That came in verse 17, which also revealed what it is that frees us. In this message we spend some time exploring the power of the two “don’ts” and the one “do” of 1 Timothy 6:17. We examine how tempting it is to look for our identity and security in wealth, but how liberating it is when we find our identity and security in God. We conclude by recognising that religious leaders and institutions have not always done well in this area. The Bible is very realistic about that, so we take care to notice the way Paul addresses Timothy’s motives before his message and recognise that leaders and institutions need to be especially careful about the love of m

Guest speaker Peter Warren challenges us from the story of Moses in Exodus 3 & 4 about how we respond to God’s call.

The Church is amazing when it functions the way God designed it to, but as long as there are people in it there’s going to be dysfunction too! Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us that great picture of running the race of faith with our eyes on Jesus; and urges us to get rid of the things that hinder us and the sins that trip us up so we can run that race. But how do we do that? We take a closer look at Paul’s approach when his fellow Apostle Peter got caught up in dysfunction and tripped up others in the process. It’s a really helpful model for those times when we can either be part of the problem or part of the solution!

Whenever we cross from our own culture into another one there’s sure to be some challenges. After sharing some of his own experiences in unfamiliar cultures, Mike takes a look at the challenges the Early Church faced as the gospel spread beyond Jewish communities into Gentile regions. The hostility many Jews of the time felt toward Gentiles was deeply rooted in centuries of oppression. It caused the Jews of Jesus’ hometown to become furious with Him when He foretold the blessings that God wanted to bestow on Gentiles through the Messiah. When Jews and Gentiles were united through faith in Christ a new community began to take shape. Galatians 2 tells the story of how even the Apostles Peter and Paul, who were completely united in the gospel, came to be at odds while trying to navigate the new territory of how Jews and Gentiles come together as followers of Jesus. It’s a great lesson in discerning how our culture of origin is shaping our obedience to Christ; it highlights the subtle danger of “acceptable” sins

As Christians, what do we do with the fact that life doesn’t always feel fair? As we continue to look at the letter to the Galatians, we pause in Paul’s account of his own story to think about whether God was fair to the people that Paul mistreated before he met Jesus.   Why should a person who behaved so terribly become a leader in the Church while others (like Stephen) suffered for doing what was right?  This raises thoughts and feelings that we experience in life too. God in His wisdom has shown us in His word what to do when we are feeling that way.  The stories of both Stephen and Paul demonstrate the same truth: God doesn’t treat all His children the same way, but He always treats all of them with perfect love and generous goodness.  We discover a simple way of looking at our circumstances that helps us to see God’s perspective and to trust in His goodness. God isn’t fair, He is good – and that’s a whole lot better than fair!

As Paul writes to defend the good news about Jesus he must address the issue of trustworthiness. Why should the Galatians listen to him instead of to the false teachers who have come along more recently? As he begins to address this question Paul reminds us of what he was like before he met Jesus, back in the days when he was known as Saul. As we follow that story through Acts 7 to 9 we see an account of violent, hateful behaviour that caused a huge amount of suffering to others. How did Saul – a highly devoted student of God’s laws – end up doing these things? What can we learn about the trajectory of our own lives so that we don’t find ourselves behaving in ways we never wanted to behave?

The letter to the Galatians is one of God’s gifts to us in the way that it both promotes and protects the true Gospel – the good news that Jesus entrusted to His Apostles. As we unpack the first 10 verses we encounter a masterful summary of the gospel message; a passionate plea to the Galatians to not turn away from God by accepting a different gospel; and a resounding rebuke to those who are corrupting the Gospel of Grace by teaching that our salvation relies on our obedience. This is not just splitting theological hairs! Obedience always follows salvation, but we must never make salvation conditional on our obedience. That’s a false gospel that is robbed of its power to save completely, because our obedience is never complete! Paul will expand this theme over the course of the letter, but in his introduction this one resounding point is made: we are saved by Grace, and grace alone.