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 3035 | KING DAVID'S FOIL
4SPEAKING OF LIFE 3035 | KING DAVID'S FOIL

The word “foil” or literary foil is usually associated with a character in a story that brings out or challenges the protagonist’s character. This is what happened in 2 Samuel when Uriah continues to challenge David’s character, exposing his weaknesses. In the midst of any challenges, God continues to transform us to be more like Christ for our good and his glory.​
​
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

Picture
Hello, 

The outer rim of Japan’s National Stadium exploded in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games finally got underway at noon today GMT.
 
More than 11,300 athletes from 207 countries are scheduled to compete over the next two and a bit weeks, all I am sure hopeful of winning a medal.
 
When the Games were postponed in March 2020, organisers said the Olympic flame “could become the light at the end of the tunnel” a message of hope that the Pandemic which forced its adjournment was coming to an end.
 
But with infections continuing to rise in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, does the light symbolise hope or is it instead the sign of an impending train wreck?
 
Hope is a marvellous thing but human hope is little more than an optimistic state of mind. In the Christian Bible, hope means something else. The confident expectation of a promise made by God. The promise was Jesus. The fulfilment is a new life for all peoples, even those who have already died.
 
Jesus is the light at the end of the tunnel. More, he is the light of the world (John 8:12 NIV)
 
Best wishes
 
Pete
 
Pete Mill is a Minister and and the Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland and the North of England.​
​

Visit our website because.uk.com for more articles - 3 new posts every week.
23rd July 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
23rd July 2021

To Forgive is Divine

Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’…
Luke 23:34 (NIVUK)
​
It has always amazed me that these words from Jesus on the cross convey the idea of a continuous past action, which means that Jesus was continually saying, ‘Father, forgive them’. In other words, he prayed this over and over as he was being crucified. As the nails were driven through his wrists, then as his feet were nailed to the beam and the soldiers gambled for his clothes, he prayed again and again, ‘Father, forgive them’.

Who was Jesus speaking about when he repeatedly said those words? Certainly, the soldiers performing the actual act of crucifixion and the religious leaders who handed Jesus to Pilate. But in a broader sense, he was praying for the entire world. For you and me, because it was all of us, through our sin, who put Jesus on the cross, and all of us need forgiveness.

It was God in the flesh who was dying on the cross, and his words of forgiveness teach us some important truths. First, divine forgiveness knows no limits. Nothing is too wrong or too big for God to forgive. If he can, and he does, forgive humanity for killing his Son, he will forgive anything. And, he is the God who just keeps on forgiving, over and over, again and again, ‘seventy times seven’ as Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18:21-22.

Secondly, forgiveness is not selective. God doesn’t forgive some and not others. There are no boundaries to his forgiveness. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we should love our enemies and by doing so we show we are the children of our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:44,45). All of humanity became God’s enemies because of their sin (Colossians 1:21) and yet while we were still God’s enemies Jesus died, forgiving us all and reconciling us to the Father (Romans 5:10). All are included, all have been forgiven. Such is the extent of God’s forgiveness.

Yes, it is human to err, and we have all done so. But thank God, to forgive is divine and he has done that for all of us without limitation.
Prayer
Father, help us not to forget all your benefits, especially that you are the one who forgives all our sins no matter how extreme. Help us to receive your healing forgiveness from the inside out, through your love today and every day. Amen
Study by Barry Robinson - Minister in Grace Communion International and is Regional Pastor for Southern 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

Picture

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).
​
​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