Home - GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH CAMBRIDGESHIRE

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 2008 | A New Song

Speaking Of Life 2008 | A New Song

Even when the “new song” is an old song, the gospel still rings out.

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

Hello,
I woke up on Friday 3rd of January and the world had changed.

This week the repercussions of the US drone assassination of General Qasem Soleimani continue to rumble on.

American officials have defended President Trump’s decision to kill the Iranian commander, Iranian leaders have stepped up calls for revenge against the United States.

Missiles have been fired in retaliation and, at time of writing, it looks possible that the Ukrainian airline tragedy could now be related to the crisis.

This is a very serious situation and there is speculation that it could escalate into a full blown war. If you were Donald Trump or the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, what would your next move be?

How about forgiveness? That’s a strategy my leader, Jesus Christ, used when standing at an equally dangerous crossroad. When he was being crucified to satisfy the demands of an angry mob, instead of calling on his followers to seek revenge he cried out “Forgive them for they know not what they do”.

It takes courage to forgive. Why is that? Maybe because forgiveness can seem the weakest weapon in our human armoury. Or, perhaps, because it’s the most powerful.

All the very best,

Peter Mill

Pete Mill is a member of the National Ministry Team for Grace Communion International in the UK

10th January 2020

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

Friday Bible Study

10th January 2020

Follow Me

“As [Jesus]walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”
Mark 2:14 (ESV UK)

Officials of HMRC are not popular today, but in Jesus’ day tax collectors were hated. They worked for Rome administering a heavy tax burden on the people, and to make matters worse they made their living by adding an extra amount for themselves.

That was bad enough, but if one of these tax collectors happened to be a Jew, as Levi was, he was thought of as the ultimate turncoat, a collaborator with the occupying force of Rome, a traitor, a man who had betrayed his own people. Even more than a traitor Levi would have been viewed as a backslider. Someone who had abandoned his faith, roots and people. His only other friends would have been other tax collectors. This is who Levi was.

But one day along came Jesus and he saw Levi sitting in his tax booth. The word used here for ‘saw’ means ‘to gaze intently upon’, ‘to stare’, ‘to fix one’s eyes constantly upon an object.’ Have you ever had someone stare at you? You feel as if they are boring a hole through the back of your head. It makes you uncomfortable, especially if you have done something wrong. Levi must have wondered why Jesus was staring at him in this way. Was he going to be told off for siding with the enemy?

Was there going to be a dramatic confrontation that would expose Levi for who he was?
To Levi’s surprise that’s not what happened at all. Following the stare Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ Two words Levi never thought he would hear—after all, who would want him as a follower? Evidently, Jesus does. This phrase ‘Follow me’ means ‘walk the same road.’ Jesus is saying to Levi, ‘let’s walk the same road together.’ It’s an imperative, which means it is not just an invitation but also a command, and it is in the present tense meaning the beginning of an action which continues. Putting that together, Jesus is saying, ‘Levi, I am asking you, even commanding you, to follow me now and every day,’ and his response was to get up, leave everything (Luke 5:28) and follow Jesus.

Jesus is looking at us and saying the same thing to you and me today. No matter what our situation, what we may have done or not done, how we are viewed by other people, or whether we feel we have backslidden or let God down, Jesus says to us, ‘Let’s walk the same road together. Let’s take this journey through life together. I want to be your companion. I want to develop a relationship with you.’ Can you take up this commanded invitation and follow him? It might just be the best thing you ever do.

Prayer
Father, teach us to follow Jesus without fear, knowing that he is always with us, leading the way.
Amen

Study by Barry Robinson - member of the National Ministry Team for Grace Communion International in the UK

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

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!