Our fourth taste of this year’s Bible Week teaching
Thursday 4 September – How far are we from the Kingdom?
If the Kingdom of God is near or some even say is already here – to a certain degree – what does that mean for me and for the community where I live? Why do I not see this new and wonderful Kingdom break into my everyday life? Could it be that I am looking in the wrong places or maybe I am looking for the wrong signs? Jesus’ message about the Kingdom of God speaks powerfully about this Kingdom being within reach, being not far away at all. If this mystical and powerful Kingdom life and living is available for us right here and now – if that is true – it changes everything.
Wednesday 3 September – Loving others as we love ourselves
Living Dangerously as a follower of Jesus also means loving dangerously. Jesus said that loving God and loving other people are two sides of the same coin. So how do we live out this dangerous love in a Facebook world where superficial relationships abound? What does it mean to love someone beyond just sentiment and feeling? We will look at the story of the Paralytic in Mark 2 and explore what dangerous love looked like for those who carried their friend to Jesus, and also see it demonstrated from Jesus’ perspective as he showed healing grace to this man on his mat. We will be challenged to have a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude, as we seek to bring others into the presence of Jesus in our daily lives.
Tuesday 2 September – Loving God with everything
The claim of many people inside and outside the Church is that we love God…but exactly what do we mean by that? Do we simply agree with some of the principles advocated in the Bible? Do we favour Jesus’ inclusive attitude to the outcasts?
The call of Mark chapter 12 to “love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy” seems intensely more committed than the passing approval most 21st century people seem to give to God.
On Tuesday night, we will think about this call to passionately love God, and think about some practical ways that we can cultivate a depth of intimacy with Him in our day to day lives.
Monday 1 September –The Lord our God, the Lord is One
Why should Jesus use these words to introduce the greatest command to ‘love God’? And why the importance on the word ‘one’? Can we boil things down to ‘one’ in a society of multiple choices and even when our own minds take us in different directions daily? These are good reasons to focus and learn about God’s ‘oneness’ and on Monday we will look at God’s singularity, integrity, identity and priority – and what this means for our mission to those around us.