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 2016 | Granny’s Lake
Speaking Of Life 2016 | Granny’s Lake

If you have grown weary and thirsty from trying to fill the empty craters in your own life, allow Jesus to give you that same living water that leaves you transformed and satisfied.

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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Prayer is about care.
 
In response to the Coronavirus outbreak, many religious groups, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, have called for a time of prayer.
 
Prayer is not so much about imploring God to do something as it is about joining in God’s love for those close to us and for the rest of humanity. When we pray for someone, we make a positive statement. It’s saying that we participate in God’s love for him or her.

​When we help someone, we put God’s gifts of love and compassion into action.
 
A simple prayer could be: “God, I’m new to all this prayer stuff, but help me please to pray for those caught up in the coronavirus pandemic. In particular help me to share in your love for (name some names). Thank you”.
 
Time to pray.
 
Best regards,
James

James Henderson is European Director for Grace Communion International
20th March 2020

Bible Study: Back to Bible Study

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

Taken from - Day by Day - Growing Together in Life and Faith                                      ​http://www.daybyday.org.uk/ 

Friday Bible Study
14th March 2020

Entrapment

“But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’…‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’”
Mark 12:15-17 (NIV UK)​
Sometimes we try to back others into a corner so that we can get the upper hand. It’s like a game of chess where, for example, you move a bishop or your queen in order to trap the king and thus win the game.  The Pharisees had no legal power to condemn Jesus, and so they hatched a plan which involved sending some of their disciples and some Herodians on a mission to entrap Jesus.

If only they could get Jesus to speak against Caesar, then they’d have him and there would be grounds for his arrest.
The Herodians were partisans of the Herod dynasty and they supported the Roman occupation of Judea. In reality, however, the Pharisees themselves resented Roman rule, and would have had some sympathy with the Zealots who cherished the idea of Jewish nationalism.

The Zealots claimed that Israel was a theocracy with God as the only rightful King, and therefore it would be unlawful to pay tax to a foreign ruler. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is that they would have at heart agreed with or at least admired the Zealots, and yet they were plotting to get Jesus arrested and put to death on a charge of supporting the Zealot view.

The Pharisees also objected to human faces on coins because, in their way of thinking, this was almost idolatry. So what was Jesus going to do to get out of this one? Jesus’ answer was perfect. Checkmate. Game over this time. And it infuriated and amazed the Pharisees, making them more determined than ever to find a way to have him executed by the Romans.
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Do we get involved in conspiring to hurt others or bring them down? Are we hypocrites, accusing others of the very things of which we are guilty? Peter, who was Jesus’ companion and disciple, gives us this instruction: “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (I Peter 2:1).
Prayer
Great and wonderful Father, help me please to get rid of all malice, hypocrisy and deceit, and teach me to follow Jesus in all that I think, do and say. In Jesus’ name.
​Amen
Study by James Henderson - European Director for Grace Communion International​​

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!​

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​Unless indicated otherwise, all scripture references on this site are from the Holy Bible,
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