SPEAKING OF LIFE
A weekly web programme from GCI providing a biblical perspective on how we live in the light of God's love.
Again and again, God reveals to us how much he cares about us. Jesus’ sacrifice and devotion to the marginalized people, should inspire us to give praise and make a joyful noise. When we praise and give thanks, we celebrate God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.​
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
1st December 2023

When you see these things happening

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
Mark 13:28-29 (NIV)
In my down time I love nothing better than reading a detective story or watching a ‘Whodunnit?’ movie. It is fun trying to figure out who committed the crime. As human beings our brains are wired to seek out patterns and connections which allow us to make sense of our world. This is true for all ages. 

Just recently I was looking after two of my younger grandsons and they spent hours doing jigsaw puzzles over and over. Even the younger boy, not yet two years old, cried out in pleasure when he managed to fit some puzzle pieces together. Of course, while the pieces fitted, the picture didn’t yet make sense, so he still has things to figure out.

If we are not careful, we can view some passages in the Bible in a similar vein. We try to apply that problem-solving skill to certain biblical texts, especially apocalyptic texts, but they are not there like a puzzle to be figured out. So, why are they there? What is the lesson we can learn from the fig tree?

In chapter 13, Mark is talking about the end times, just before Jesus Christ’s second coming. He reminds us in verse 32 that no one will know exactly when that will be: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” His purpose in mentioning it is not a scary end-time timetable, but to call us to habits and practises of wakefulness which will encourage us to keep going. He admonishes us three times to ‘keep watch’ and ‘be alert’. This is the lesson we have to learn from the fig tree.

The good news is not that we will figure out the clues and know when Jesus will come again. Neither is it so we can escape from the world and its problems. Instead, the real good news is that even though we may feel overwhelmed by the events we see happening in the world: the suffering and despair facing humanity, we can rest in the hope-filled promise that Christ’s return is certain. When we feel our own suffering is more than we can bear, we have hope that Jesus will return at the appointed time. 

He loves us so much that he chose, through the incarnation, to be with us in our pain and sorrow and he will return to usher in a world with no more death and no more tears. Today, and every day, we need to hold on to this sure and certain hope and never let it go.
Prayer
Our heavenly Father, help us to look to you and to the return of your son Jesus Christ. Help us to be alert and to watch for those signs of his imminent return so that we may be all the more diligent, putting you first in our lives, having the determination  to keep on going, and sharing the good news with others. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Jackie Mill  -  a minister in Grace Communion International and Co-Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England.

Across Peterborough

https://www.acrosspeterborough.org.uk/​
Across Peterborough is a web based communication tool managed by the charity Light Project Peterborough. Across Peterborough services the city by sharing the good news of Christian and community work and activities, and by building bridges across different communities.

Wherever you are on your life journey we hope you will find something useful here.​  Their aim is to showcase some of the amazing work done in our city and provide resources that will help improve across the Peterborough community.
Across Peterborough aims to:
  • Share good news of activities in Peterborough
  • To help create unity and peace
  • To serve the Christian church and community

Advent Reflection Day

Churches Together in central Peterborough are holding an Advent Reflection Day on Saturday 2nd December between 10am and 3:30pm in the Knight’s Chamber at Peterborough Cathedral.
The event will be facilitated by Revd. John Rackley, who is a former President of the Baptist Union and Chair of the Retreat Association*. His theme will be “In Darkness there is Light”. This will be a very stimulating day as we prepare for Advent and is well worth attending. There is a charge of £3 per person to cover the cost of tea and coffee, which are served throughout the day. However, please bring your own packed lunch. To book a place, either contact St Mary’s Parish Office on 01733 834736 or email office@peterborough-stmarys.org.uk.

Across Peterborough Magazine

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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