What Jesus Says to a Complacent Church

CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER

Passover and Good Friday are memorials of two very different and yet very similar moments in history. Passover is the story of God redeeming His chosen people from Egyptian slavery. Good Friday is 'good' because God sent His only Son to the world, and so that He would die for our sins on that special day.  Redemption is ours in Jesus, with deep harmonies with Passover. 

Bob Mendelsohn, Jews for Jesus national director, will explain many of the symbols of the Jewish Passover as he presides at a banquet at a Church in the Marketplace this Sunday.

THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING

What causes you to brag and boast and to be excited; to "rejoice" Paul would say in his letter to the church in Rome.  In Romans 5, Paul begins to explore all the tremendous benefits we have, through our relationship with Jesus ...
 
Romans 5:1 says - "Therefore since, we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom, we have gained access into this grace, in which, we now stand, and we rejoice ..."  
 
In the first 11 verses of Romans 5, Paul reminds us that -
We have peace with God and access to God ... we have hope in our lives and our problems take on a new purpose ... we're given God's loved and in that love we have security.
 
That's surely something to be excited about!

SALT OF THE EARTH

Salt of the Earth! When we use this phrase we mean that someone is a good, honest and reliable person. It is a compliment to be called salt of the Earth. Jesus tells His followers that they are salt of the earth. It seems that to be one of His followers there’s no alternative. What did He mean when He used the phrase? In His times salt was a preservative. Salt was also the name of a combination of minerals that was used as fertilizer.

Whether Jesus was talking about stopping things going rotten or helping things grow, when He said His disciples were salt of the Earth He was saying “Make a Difference!” That’s the message of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). In Matthew’s Gospel the Beatitudes come immediately before Jesus tells the disciples they are salt of the Earth. That’s no coincidence. At Church in the Market Place we’re committed to Making a Difference. Sometimes we can do this by being part of a group. Other times it’s up to us. How salty are you?

ACCEPTED BY GOD

How is it that we humans can be "accepted" by God?  It's a great question.  We ask it in a variety of ways - how do we get to heaven, or how can we be "right" with God, or how can we be "acceptable" so that we'll be included in God's family?
 
Sometimes we try to find that acceptance by earning it (if we just work hard enough and our "good" outweighs our "bad"), or by belonging to the right group (by affiliation).
 
Paul argues in Romans chapter 4, that God's acceptance of us comes through faith; through our belief and trust in Jesus Christ.  He sets up his argument in Romans 3:28 - "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law."
 
Faith alone, Paul says, saves us.  Nothing else. There is no "faith + something".  It's just faith.  God does the rest.

THE GOOD NEWS

Finally we get to talk about 'The Good News!' 

Join us this Sunday as Brodie shares from Romans 3:21-31 and talks about the righteousness of God and the Good News of the Gospel. 

GOD'S FINAL VERDICT

Paul's letter to the church in Rome explores the question - "... why do we need Jesus?" and in particular - "... why do we need Jesus as our Saviour?"
 
In the first 2 chapters, Paul has thought about how God is revealed to us through our nature, our consciences and to the Jews through the law.  He concludes that everybody is "responsible" and everyone is "without excuse".  He goes on to argue that it's not our place to judge people; that's a right that belongs only to God.
 
In the first part of Chapter 3, Paul sums up his previous arguments.  Like a prosecuting attorney, he concludes that "... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ..." (Romans 3:23) and therefore we all need a Saviour.

RELIGION CAN'T SAVE US

John 5:39-40 records Jesus speaking to a group of Pharisees, who thought they were going, to "make it" on their own -"You diligently study the Scriptures, because you think that, by them, you possess eternal life.  These are the scriptures, that testify about Me, and yet you refuse to come to Me, to have life."   

When Paul was writing to the Church in Rome he frames our need for God, the God we know in Jesus, in terms of 'sin' and 'salvation'.  We're all sinners (we all have a broken relationship with God) and God's purpose is salvation. 

Paul argues that none of us is exempt; we all need salvation.  In the second part of Chapter 2 Paul argues that, like the Pharisees Jesus spoke of, even the religious person needs forgiveness and salvation. 

THE DANGER OF JUDGING OTHERS

Jesus attacked one sin more severely and more directly than any other.  It was the sin of self-righteousness.  And, we can find it everywhere.  It’s the sin that we’ll have to deal with more often than any other in our lives. It’s so subtle, it often catches us by surprise … this sin of judging others.
 
Paul, writing to the church in Rome is clear that only God has the “right” to judge - "Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others ..." (Romans 2:1)
 
John’s gospel reminds us that our hope always remains in Jesus - “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.” 

THE BOOK OF ROMANS CHAPTER 1

Join us this Sunday as Brodie continues on the sermon series on the Book of Romans.

In Romans 1:18-32 Paul highlights the human condition and sin, addressing four main areas that humans often stumble in: the rejection of the truth, insincere worship, the worship of idols, and rejoicing in doing wrong.

THE GRACE THAT TRANSFORMS

What’s the most important letter (email, text) you’ve ever read; a proposal, a letter from the Tax Department, a job offer?  Some people think of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome as being the greatest letter ever written.
 
Romans has certainly influenced millions of people and changed history.  Martin Luther started the Reformation because of the book of Romans.  John Wesley started the Wesleyan revivals (the Methodist church has its origins there).
 
As we explore any of the Bible’s books it’s helpful to ask – who wrote it; who was it written to; when and why was it written; and what’s the main message?
 
In Romans 1:16-17, Paul says - "I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel, the righteousness from God is revealed, the righteousness that is by faith from first to last just as it is written `The righteous will live by faith.'"