SPEAKING OF LIFE
A weekly web programme from GCI providing a biblical perspective on how we live in the light of God's love.
“Don’t settle for less!” A phrase that we usually hear when we try to aim for the best. But the question is, are we settling for what we think is best for us? Or do we entirely trust the One who has created everything in existence? Jeremiah tells us that Christ is the fountain of living water. The water from which all blessings flow. The water that quenches every thirst. If you ever think that you’re not living the best of life, know that in Christ we have every spiritual blessing.
https://www.gci.org/videos/media-spea...

JESUS' RESURRECTION: ​OUR HOPE OF SALVATION

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“If Christ has not been raised,” the apostle Paul taught, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is of momentous importance for every Christian, indeed for everyone on this planet. Because Jesus Christ conquered death, we, too, will live again — and so will our friends and relatives who have already died. That is why the most exhilarating message human ears have yet heard was the one announced to some astonished women outside a rock tomb in first-century Jerusalem: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6).

A foundational teaching
The resurrection of Christ has always been the central teaching of Christianity. “If the resurrection is not historic fact, then the power of death remains unbroken, and with it the effect of sin” (James Hastings, A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. 2, page 514).

Michael Green in Man Alive is emphatic: “Without faith in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all.” W. Robertson Nicolls, quoting another writer, puts it plainly: “The empty tomb of Christ has been the cradle of the church” (The Church’s One Foundation, page 150).

Anchored to history
To mention Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection is to get to the root of the Christian faith, for Christianity claims a basis in historical fact. “There are ancient myths in pagan literature about dying gods who attained some form of resurrection,” writes Philip Rosenbaum, “but no other sacred writing intersects human history the way the Bible does. For it is the historical fact of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that separate God’s Word from all others” (How to Enjoy the Boring Parts of the Bible, page 116).

“This thing was not done in a corner,” Paul argued before King Agrippa, the most influential Jewish official of his day (Acts 26:26, New King James Version). How right he was. Jesus Christ’s mortal enemies — the leadership elite of his nation — were on the scene. They were watchfully determined to stamp out the Jesus movement (John 11:46-53). That is why they schemed behind closed doors to carry out their plot, at risk to their own standing among the people (John 7:25-52). It had to be the perfect crime.

A question of faith
Christianity is more than a series of clever arguments. It is more than a list of intellectual debating points that can be argued back and forth. This is why the validity of the Gospel testimony does not remain at the mercy of the latest “debunking” best-seller or archaeological find in the Middle East. In the end, Christianity rests on faith, faith based on a living and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ, a living Saviour!

Thomas wanted the strongest form of proof: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were…I will not believe it” (John 20:25). Thomas saw, he tested, and then he believed (verses 26-28). Yet Jesus followed this dramatic encounter with the words: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (verse 29).

As Oliver Barclay wrote: “The historical Jesus Christ was an amazing power in the lives of men years after his death. It is not so much the fact that a miracle happened…. The chief reason that the disciples spoke so often about it was that Jesus was alive and with them again” (Reasons for Faith, page 115). This is why the disciples came storming out of Jerusalem and so influenced the world with their message (Acts 17:6). The living Christ had changed their lives. He can do the same for you.​
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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
26th August 2022

Speedy boarding

“But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.”
Luke 4:10 (NIV )
Recently I was returning from a church convention and the queues at the airport were horrendous. We stood for a long, long time in the corridors leading to the security hall. The atmosphere was becoming more tense with each passing minute. People were getting worried about catching their flights and wanting to know how much longer they would have to wait. 

Things were made worse by the fact that those in the fast-track check-in lane sailed through while we were stuck going nowhere, adding insult to injury. We endured watching those with priority tickets go ahead of us, then had to walk through the spacious first-class accommodation before finally reaching the more cramped conditions of coach class.

The message came across loud and clear: people with money are of more value and treated better than those without.

This is nothing new. There have always been the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Those with social status or financial resources are seen to be of more value than those without. People clamour to be part of the ‘in crowd’ and to be seen as important, having the best of everything.

Jesus, however, dealt a staggering blow to the accepted judgements of the day by turning this on its head. He told us not to take ‘the place of honour’, instead we should humble ourselves and seek the lowest place. Luke 14:11 tells us, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

We need to learn to see as Christ sees, looking to the inward man and not judging by outward appearances. Our social status or financial resources should not establish our significance in the eyes of others or in our own minds. God’s kingdom is not built on displays of wealth, prestige or political influence, but on love of neighbour. We should be lifting up the marginalised and those who are socially or economically humbled. We are all of significance and value to God.
Prayer
Great God our Father in heaven, help us to see others as you see them and not to seek the trappings of wealth and positions of importance in society. Let us have loving humility, not promoting self, but others, and always trusting you in everything. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Study by Jackie Mill - Minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Co-Pastor for Scotland and Ireland. 

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 out 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)​

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