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Luke 10:1-37 Christ’s message – ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’(9) – calls for our response – hearing with faith or rejecting in unbelief (16). Where does this response of faith come from? – From God: He reveals Himself to us (21). Questions: Why do we ask them? – ‘to put Jesus to the test’(25), ‘to justify ourselves’(29)? You cannot come to Christ until you stop trying to justify yourself – Are you trying to test Him or learning to trust Him? (a) What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ (25): The law cannot save. It can only show us our need of the One who does save – Jesus (Romans 8:3-4). (b) ‘Who is my neighbour?’(29): ‘Passing by on the other side’(31-32) – This is not love. It’s nothing like the love of God for ‘sinners’(Romans 5:8). Jesus loves you. Let Him save you. Let His love change you.

Where do we see Jesus – and hear Him speaking to us? Does this only happen when we’re at Church or when we’re reading the Bible? Come to Church, read your Bible – and look for Jesus everywhere you go. He’ll give you glimpses of His love! “Open our eyes, Lord, We want to see Jesus … Open our ears, Lord, And help us to listen” (Songs of Fellowship”, 443). Let us celebrate the love of Jesus. May our hearts be filled with His love.

In the beginning, there is love, eternal love, the love of God. ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning’. These opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right – (a) The priority of God (Genesis 1:1). God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) The priority of God’s Word (Genesis 1:3). God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the Word of the Lord. (c) The priority of God’s Spirit (Genesis 1:2). All was ‘empty’, all was ‘darkness’, yet the ‘Spirit of God’ was at work, and transformation was set in motion. Here, we have God’s priorities, set out in the Bible’s first three verses – Putting God first and listening to His Word, we are to pray for the moving of God’s Spirit, ‘hovering over’ our lives to transform them. For those who make God’s priorities their own, there is a promise of great blessing (Psalm 1:1-2). It is the great blessing of knowing Jesus Christ, our Saviour, as ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). God speaks, and it

We stand between the past and the future. What kind of people will we be as we move out of our past and into God’s future? God calls us to be His people. He calls us to do His work. Let us commit ourselves to being His people and doing His work. Sometimes, in God’s work, we wonder what is going on. We wonder, “Where is God in all of this?” We need the encouragement of God’s Word: “He knows the way that I take” (Job 23:10). We need to be assured of the faithfulness of God (Lamentations 3:23). We need to look up – and see Jesus. He is our Saviour. He died for our sins. He gives us true and lasting joy. How does His joy fill our hearts? We return to Him. We are revived by Him. We rejoice in Him. His joy gives us strength for serving Him. God loves us – and He wants His Name to be glorified. Do we want God to be glorified among us? He will be glorified when we commit ourselves more fully to Him. May God help us to move His future – ready to be the kind of people upon whom H

"… so outstanding is His love …”(Psalm 103:11) "… overwhelming victory is ours …” (Romans 8:37). “The peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). This is the overflowing peace of God – The peace of God in our hearts is an overflow from the God of peace, who, in Jesus Christ, has come to live in our hearts.  * The overflowing peace of God comes to us from the outstanding love of God.  * The overflowing peace of God comes to us from the overwhelming victory of God.  – Let us receive the outstanding love of God.  – Let us rejoice in the overwhelming victory of God.  – Let us rest in the overflowing peace of God.

Psalms 89:38-90:17 ‘Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations… From everlasting to everlasting, You are God’( Psalm 90:1-2 ). The Bible begins with the words, ‘In the beginning, God…’. Before the world began, there was God – ‘the eternal God’. He is ‘the high and exalted One’. He is the God ‘who inhabits eternity’. He is the God ‘who lives for ever’. He has no beginning. He has no end. He is ‘the beginning and the end’. Our life on earth has a beginning. It has an end. Trusting in ‘the eternal God’, we rejoice in His precious promises – ‘The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’; ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’; ‘The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’( Genesis 1:1 ; Deuteronomy 33:27 ; Isaiah 57:15 ; Revelation 21:6 ; Jeremiah 31:3 ; Romans 6:23 ).

Malachi 1:1-2:17   –  God looks upon us in our sin. What does He see? He sees ‘the Wicked Land. He sees ‘a people always under the wrath of the Lord’ (1:4). He looks at what Christ has done for us – ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’; ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’; ‘Christ died for our sins’ (1 Timothy 1:15; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3). God looks upon us in Christ – and everything is so very different: ‘God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). There, at the Cross of Christ, we hear God’s Word of love – ‘I have loved you’; ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ (1:2; Jeremiah 31:3).       Malachi 3:1-4:6   –  God calls us to be His faithful people. He says, ‘Return to Me’. He promises to bless those who return to Him: ‘I will return to you’. God calls us to honour Him with our ‘tithes and offerings: ‘Bring the whole tithe (tenth) into the st

How do we know that God loves us? ‘Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). This is the greatest demonstration of God’s love for us. How can we doubt God’s love for us when we think of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross for us as our Saviour? When we think of God’s love for us, we must remember that He calls us to love Him. We are not to take God’s love for granted – ‘God loves me. I can do what I like’. We are to appreciate God’s love – ‘God loves me. I will love Him’. God loves us. Christ died for us. How can we say, ‘I’ll do what I like’? How can we refuse to be changed by His love? ‘Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us open our hearts to God’ (Lamentations 3:40-41). “O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” ‘I will exalt You, O Lord’(Psalm 30:1). God is not exalted because we exalt Him. We exalt Him because He is exalted: ‘He is exalted, for ever exalted, and I will praise His Name’(Church Hymnary, 437). How do we come to t

God loves us. He comes to us. He calls us to come to Him. The call of Samuel is a vivid example of what God can do in the lives of children. Samuel’s early response to God set in motion a whole process of events leading Samuel to become ‘a prophet of the Lord’ through whom ‘the Word of the Lord… came to all Israel’ (1 Samuel 3:10, 19-4:1). Let us ground our children in Christ, encouraging them to have great expectations of what God can do in and with their lives as they grow up, loving Him. The people of Israel were ‘defeated’ by the Philistines. The greatest tragedy of this defeat was the ‘capture’ of ‘the ark of God’: ‘The glory has departed from Israel , for the ark of God has been captured’ (1 Samuel 4:10 -11, 22). We may lose ‘goods, honour, children, wife’ ( Church Hymnary , 454). The glory of God among His people – We must not lose this!   God loves us. His love for us inspires our love for Him. Obedience is grounded in salvation. The Ten Commandments (Deuteronom

God is calling us to walk in the light with Him. * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His love . Go back to Genesis 1:3 – “Let there be light, and there was light.” Go back beyond the created light. Go back to the eternal God – “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1). What do we find when we go back to the eternal God. We find love, eternal love:  “He has loved us with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). This is light of God’s love. * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His Word . What is it that brings us out of darkness and into light? It’s the light of God’s Word – “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His Son . What a great Saviour we have! Jesus is His Name. He is “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). Let us walk with Jesus – in the light of God’s love, in the light of God’s Word. * He’s calling us to walk with God in the light of His Kingdom .

Let’s sing of God’s great love for us. ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness through all generations’(Psalm 89:1). Many years have passed since these words were written by the Psalmist. Many generations have come and gone since Jesus Christ came to our world. The years come and go. The centuries run their course. One generation gives way to another generation. Time moves on relentlessly. None of us can halt the march of time. Many changes have taken place over the course of time. There is something which must never change. The Lord is to be praised ‘for ever’. He is to be praised ‘through all generations’. We must look back and remember. Jesus Christ was crucified for us. Jesus Christ has risen for us. This is the Good News which inspires our praise: ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever…’ Let’s receive strength from the God of our salvation. By the grace of God we are called to salvation – ‘saved t

Couldn’t care less! Can’t be bothered! Many people have this attitude toward Jesus Christ and His Church. Perhaps, it’s your attitude right now as you begin to read this invitation. God’s attitude to you is exactly the opposite. He cares for you! He is bothered with you! God’s care ! God’s “being bothered”! Doesn’t that make you think, “What right have I to say to God, “Couldn’t care less! Can’t be bothered! Take time to read this invitation carefully. It may change your life.  * Perhaps, you’re thinking, ' Why should God care about me?' There is no answer to this question apart from the love of God . Look at yourself honestly. God should really have given up on all of us a long time ago – but He hasn’t! God sent His Son – Jesus Christ – to seek and to save the lost. God patiently waits for those who have lost their way in life (that’s all of us!) to come back to Him through trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour.  * Perhaps, you’re wondering, ' How do

Jesus was speaking to men who practised a a very high-brow kind of religion. As far as they were concerned, they did all the right things. They regarded themselves as the people of God. From this high vantage-point of religious observance, these men became proud and arrogant. They looked down on others. Rather than looking deeply into their own sinful hearts and confessing their own sin to God, these men were preoccupied with outward appearances and insisted on passing judgment on the lives of others. Although these men had plenty of religion, Jesus hit the nail on the head when He said to them: "But I know that you have not the love of God within you" (John 5:42). Jesus' words, in John 5:42, begin with the word, "But." Jesus is saying to these proud, religious men, "I know all about your religion, all about your religious traditions, all about the power and the glory of your religion, all about your knowledge of the Scriptures, but there is something els

Jesus Christ is God’s beloved Son – the Saviour sent to us by the God of love. ‘Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations’ (Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:15-21). These words turn our thoughts towards the Lord Jesus Christ. At His baptism, we hear the voice of the Father – ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ At His baptism, we see ‘the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on Him’ (Matthew 3:16 -17). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Word of prophecy: ‘All mankind shall see the Saviour sent from God’ (Luke 3:6). After His resurrection, we hear Jesus Himself speaking. He says, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…’ (Matthew 28:18-20). Let us bring Christ to the nations. Let us serve the Lord in the power of the Spirit. Never take God’s love for granted. Let us be deeply

Jesus tells us a story of God’s love. Jesus is the Story of God’s love. In the preaching of God’s Word – the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), we have a story told By Jesus. It’s a story of God’s love. In the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we have the Story of Jesus. It’s the story of the perfect Son. Jesus is the Story of God’s love.

Psalm 136:1-26   ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating – over and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love – ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ( Jeremiah 31:3 ). God’s love is an unfailing love – ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ ( Isaiah 54:10 ). Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love ( Psalm 136:1-3 , 26 ). In His love, the Lord has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will last for ever’ ( Isaiah 45:17 ; Isaiah 51:6 ). We must not be like those who refuse to love the Lord – ‘Pharaoh… great kings… mighty kings …’ ( Psalm 136:15 , 17-20 ). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different – the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ ( John 3:16-18 ; Hebrews 10:26-27 ).

Some people begin with their own idea of “love” and then say, “That’s what God is like.” They may dip into the Bible, reading their favourite passages. They will not take the trouble and make the time for reading the whole Bible. They say, “Why bother putting a lot of time and effort into studying the Bible. We already know what God is like.” They quote the words, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). What they really mean is, “Love is God.” When the Bible says, “God is love”, it doesn’t encourage us to start from our own idea of “love.” It encourages us to begin with God. We learn of Him as we read His Word. As we learn of His love, we learn that it is a holy love. God’s love is a holy love because God is a holy God. The difference between “love is God” and “God is love” cannot be overemphasized. To say “All you need is love. Love is all you need” is not the same as saying, “We need God.” When we say, “We need God”, we will not say, “all you need is love.” We will say, “We need G

We live in a world in which many people are trying to grab our attention. There is more interest in making a profit than listening to the prophet. We need to listen to what the prophet says to us: Emmanuel - God with us - has come to us (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). God has come to us. He has not left us - and He will not leave us! Jesus, our Saviour is always with us. Wherever we are, He is there. When everything seems to be changing, let us remember this:  God’s Son is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable . Often, we forget Jesus. He never forgets us. He always remembers us. Do you feel that the Lord is far away from you? When you feel like this, remember God's Word: Jesus is "God with us." When we feel like God has deserted us, what has changed? Has God changed? Has He stopped loving us? No! He has not changed. He still loves us. How do we know that God still loves us? How do we know that He keeps on loving us? God has given His answer to our question?