Ezra 4:1-3; Ezra 4:24-5:17

Opposition is a normal experience for the Chistian but we know that we must never give up. It's tragic when Christians let other things come before God and, as a result, lose their spritual edge and backslide.  Yet, Andrew Shrimpton reminds us from Ezra 5 that God is not the hard taskmaster that so many imagine him to be - looking to find fault at every opportunity. God responds to people who fail him with grace and rejoices when people return to him in repentance and faith because He delights to show mercy.

Romans 5; Isaiah 52:13-53:6

"For as by the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience [Christ] the many will be made righteous."  Rev Paul Gibson explains the different aspects of Christ's obedience to the law of God and why it is one of those essential teachings that Christians utterly depend on.

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

God's promise in Genesis 3, to overturn the curse of the fall and defeat Satan, was gloriously fulfilled in Christ in the New Testament. There were four times in the old Testament when God drew especially close to his people to not only re-affirm this overarching promise but also to reveal more fully different aspects of his promise. (Think of Noah, Abraham, Moses and David).  

Rev Paul Gibson explored some of the important aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant and how it works out in the lives of believers even today, before the congregation rejoiced in celebrating the sign and the seal of the covenant being given at the dual baptism of Skye and Eilah this morning.

Genesis 1:26-2:25

If persecution is to come in the West, it's not likely to be expressed as an intolerance towards faith in Jesus Christ. It's more likely to come because of the world's absolute outrage and fierce hostility against the moral and ethical teachings that we celebrate and live by.

Rev Paul Gibson explains three signicant implication of the bible's teaching about God's created order that the church must graciously and boldly defend and stand upon, irrespective of the cost.

1 John 2:18-27

Christians are warned to be careful about who they listen to and what they believe. The apostle John was warning believers to look out for people who were trying to deceive them, twisting God's word and denying it's truth, by proclaiming a Christ that was not the one God sent forth into the world.  Rev Paul Gibson preaches on the safeguards against false teaching and teachers that God has given believers in the church today.