Night 1: The Gospel - Key for Godliness

Hi everyone,

We had a great Welcome Weekend - it was good to welcome back so many of you and meet new people too!  We're going to try to keep this blog updated with some additional things to be thinking about or looking at after each night's teaching.

WHAT WE LOOKED AT ON SUNDAY:
- We considered what the gospel message is and its scope
- We also considered what real difference the gospel makes in our lives.

James 1:22-25 says:
²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

We need to be hearers, knowers and doers of the gospel.  How can we be doers of the gospel?

WHAT WE CAN NOW DO:
Let me suggest what I have to do - ask yourself questions each day and pray to God for help to live the gospel:
a) Even though I feel rubbish, will I choose to believe what the gospel says about my position with Christ rather than what my circumstances tell me? [Gospel: Our being united to Christ and having new life in Him]
b) When I am doing my work or serving in church, will I remember that I cannot do anything to make God love me any more or impress Him, rather I can only express my thankful love to Him? [Gospel: God's grace and justification by faith alone]
c) When I am worried, will I choose to trust and rely on my Heavenly Father who in giving us His Son will surely provide all that we need for day-to-day living? [Gospel: God's love and provision in Christ]
d) When I sin and fail, will I choose not to despair or pretend it's ok but instead realise that I have been set free from slavery to sin and through the help of the Holy Spirit can resist temptation through Him [Gospel: grace and the sealing of the Holy Spirit for sanctification]

The possible list goes on.  Maybe read one of the gospel's this week and try to read Ephesians or Colossians to think about the implications of the love of Jesus revealed in the gospel for your life.

Also the following link may be useful reading "The Centrality of the Gospel in Healthy Christianity": http://nathanmccavery.tumblr.com/post/1157487524/the-centrality-of-the-gospel-in-healthy-christianity

May the Lord bless you as you are believers in the gospel and doers of the gospel!