SPEAKING OF LIFE
A weekly web programme from GCI commenting each week providing a biblical perspective on how we live in the light of God's love.
SPEAKING OF LIFE 3040 | GREETED WITH OPEN ARMS
4SPEAKING OF LIFE 3040 | GREETED WITH OPEN ARMS

Jesus Christ greets us with arms wide open, calling us his beloved, and offering us his embrace. How often do we have our hands full of all kinds of baggage that we believe we need to hold on to? Answer Jesus’ invitation to draw near to him, surrendering our burdens, and experience his full loving embrace.​
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Jesus says “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE…” – John 14:6

You can view other Speaking Of Life episodes here:
https://www.gci.org/videos/media-spea...

Thought for the Week

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Hello,
 
“Don’t panic” has been the UK government’s message this week.
 
And yet the more we heard “don’t panic” the more people went into panic mode and rushed to get petrol.
 
Jesus told his followers not to panic when they see the storms of life around them. At one point he was asleep on a boat while his disciples faced howling winds, tempestuous waves and lashing rain.

​The disciples woke him up and asked him to rescue them. Jesus told them not to panic. “Why are you gripped with fear? Where is your faith?” he said to them. Then Jesus commanded the storm to “Be still!” “And instantly it became perfectly calm” (Matthew 8:26, the Passion Translation).
 
Why not invite Jesus into the storms of your life?
 
Jesus calms us down and helps us not to panic.

​Best wishes
James
 
James Henderson is a Minister and the European Superintendent for Grace Communion International. 
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Visit our website because.uk.com for more articles - 3 new posts every week.
1st October 2021

Bible Study: Back to Bible Study

Back to Bible Study Series
​by James Henderson...

Taken from - Word of Life - Growing Together in Life and Faith                                     ​https://wordoflife.gracecom.church/

Friday Bible Study
1st October 2021

God's name is revealed

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites…and they ask me, ‘What is [God’s] name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”…“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
Exodus 3:13-15 (NIV)
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When God gave Moses the task of rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Moses told God that the people would ask him the name of the god who sent him to do this. God replied by calling himself ‘I AM’, a title which appears to indicate God’s eternal, self-existent and unchanging nature.

Thus, when Jesus used the phrase ‘I am’ to refer to himself (John 8:58), he was asserting, to his audience, that he was God. Similarly, at the end of Mark’s gospel, Jesus is asked if he is the Messiah, and he says, ‘I am’ (Mark 14:62).

The last time we are told that Jesus said ‘I am’ in the other gospels, he is not describing his nature. Rather, he is describing the work he wants us to be a part of: sharing the good news of his love and grace with others, and providing reassurance as we carry out this work.
  • ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20).
  • ‘I am going to send you what my father has promised’ – the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49).
  • ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20:21).

It all revolves around the great I AM. He is the one who has saved us, he is the one we want to worship and talk about with others, and he is the one who is with us as we do this.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we thank you for your inexpressible greatness, for your nature which is so amazing, all-encompassing and eternally constant that ‘I am’ is all you need to describe yourself. Thank you that as you invite us to share your greatness with others, you are with us, and in you we will find great peace forever more. Amen.
Study by Anthony Dady - minister in Grace Communion International and is the Regional Pastor for Wales, the Midlands, and
Northern England.

You're Included

https://www.gci.org/videos/youre-included/
Author William Paul Young is a friend of Grace Communion International whose book, The Shack, has sold over 20 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 2007, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.

Below are two interviews from the GCI web programme "You're Included" with writer Paul Young and theologian Dr. C Baxter Kruger.
​Dr. Kruger uses William Young's book The Shack to discuss the triune God's love for all humanity.
Dr. C. Baxter Kruger is the founder and the president of Perichoresis, Inc. and of Mediator Lures. He obtained his doctorate working with James Torrance in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is also the author of  "The Shack Revisited."
Copyright 2015 - Grace Communion International
All Rights Reserved
​Paul Young talks about how "The Shack" was written, and he discusses how the nature of relationship is embedded in the Trinitarian character and nature of God. William Paul Young is the author of the best-selling novel "The Shack" and "Cross Roads." Copyright 2015 - Grace Communion International All Rights Reserved

The God Revealed in Jesus Christ

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A collection of articles outlining Trinitarian theology

The series begins with Jesus Christ. As God in the flesh, he reveals to us what God is; he teaches us that the Father is in character just like Jesus. Other doctrines flow from that point. Jesus reveals that there was, even before time began, love between the Father and the Son.

There are relationships within God, yet there is only one God. Humanity was made in the image of God, and we are made for the purpose of having eternal relationships, based on God’s love, with him and with one another. Yet we fall short of this divine purpose; we are unable to qualify ourselves for the kingdom of God. This brings us back to Jesus, the incarnate God.

As our Creator, he could represent us all, and so he became human as our representative and substitute, to atone for the sins of all humanity and to reconcile all humanity to God. He extends unconditional love and grace to us. Humans, however, do not always return that favour, and so there is a growth process toward the goal God has established for us. It is tremendously good news, and the more we learn about the God revealed in Jesus Christ, the more that we desire a relationship with him. We have not earned his love, but he has earned ours. It is all built upon the unity of the Father and of Jesus. And yet the Bible says that there is only one God. How can we have plurality within one Being?

​The doctrine of the Trinity was formulated to say how Father and Son are one God: two Persons in one God. As we discuss in another book, the Holy Spirit is likewise a Person in the Triune God. God is love, and we are invited to join him for eternity!​

Gracelines

check our our new online church magazine...Gracelines

Gracelines is a new monthly magazine published by Grace Communion Church Cambridgeshire as a grace-driven, gospel-orientated, Christ-centred resource for believers and non-believers alike.
Mission Statement
Gracelines aims to provide regular Gospel related articles and resources, designed to encourage, edify and support believers in their daily Christian walk, and to introduce others, who don't yet believe, to the good news of how God has redeemed mankind through the vicarious humanity of his Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

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. (John 3:16 NIV).
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​The Gospel declares that because of Christ, all people are loved, forgiven and accepted by God—we all belong to God (Ephesians 1:4-6). Gracelines is dedicated to bringing home the truth of our belonging to God by means of the new humanity established in Jesus.

​Unless indicated otherwise, all scripture references on this site are from the Holy Bible,
​Authorised Version (KJV)​

Copyright © 2012 Grace Communion Church CAMBRIDGESHIRE: All Rights Reserved