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Jesus the Bread of Life

29/11/2020

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John 6:25-59

​Jesus made six statements about his divinity in verses 25-59 when he said that he came down from heaven. 

In this passage we are invited to recognize the spiritual hunger in all human beings, a hunger that only spiritual bread from heaven can satisfy. 

Imagine that someone found you during the week and asked you, "Who is Jesus that you celebrate this Christmas?" The answer is here in this passage: He is the Son of God, who came from heaven to offer his life to pay for my sins and give me eternal life.
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King David’s Broken Yet Repentant Heart

22/11/2020

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Psalm 51:1-10

​Why is it that King David is held up in Scripture as the ideal king? The kings after David are all measured by his standard. It wasn't because he was without sin. It was because he was humble and repentant.

David's humility is evidenced when he inquired of the Lord and also through his prevailing attitude that God is the true king and he is God's viceroy, or representative who acts in the king's name.

Examples of David's broken humanity
  1. David's implied brokenness and weakness: Though we're not told it directly, at times it appears that David was uninvolved, naïve, vulnerable, or morally ambiguous. 
  2. David's overt brokenness and sin: David's sin with Bathsheba and when David took a census of Israel. In both instances David humbly repented from what he did. 

To ponder in light of David's story
  • John 7:18: Even the sinless, spotless Son of God came as a viceroy to his Father. 
  • "The Christian who has stopped repenting has stopped growing" (A.W. Pink).
  • "It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors" (A.W. Pink).
  • Psalm 51: David's song of repentance.

Questions for personal reflection or for group discussion
  1. What most stood out to you from the message this morning?
  2. Which of King David's characteristics are most challenging to you personally?
  3. Can you identify specific actions, thoughts, habits, feelings, words, or attitudes that you need to repent from? 
  4. Right at the end, Pastor Marcus mentioned that two things are needed to truly repent: (1) Humility and (2) a confidence that God is good and welcomes sinners. As you read through Psalm 51, which phrases indicate David's humility, and which phrases indicate David's confidence that God would forgive and receive him?
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King David's Humble Heart

15/11/2020

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​2 Samuel 2:1-7; 5:17-25

Two incidents in David's life in which he inquired of the Lord:
  1. After Saul's and Jonathan's deaths, David asked what he should do next (2 Samuel 2:1-2). As David comes to power, he did so in humility, showing kindness even to those who had honored Saul by burying him (2 Samuel 2:4-7).
  2. David asked God what to do on two occasions when the Philistines came up to attack him (2 Samuel 5:17-25). Both times, the threat came, David inquired of the Lord, God answered, and David obeyed. See Paul's summary of King David in Acts 13:22.

A summary of David's actions: 
  1. "Inquiring of the Lord" is an attitude of heart, not simply an action in a moment of crisis.
  2. "Inquiring of the Lord" is a habit for David (1 Samuel 22:3-5; 30:7-8).

What can we learn from David's humble heart?
  1. Avoid the thirst for power or revenge (see Philippians 2:5-7).
  2. Cultivate a heart that is attentive to God in everyday life. How do we inquire of the Lord? (1) Through daily habits of devotional time with God. (2) By consciously involving your loving Father in your ongoing internal conversation throughout the day. (3) By involving God in our day-to-day conversations with each other.
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David And God's House: Who is Going to Build Whom a House?

8/11/2020

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2 Samuel 7:1-17

Some Bible commentators have said that this is one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible.

3 Observations
  1. David's desire to build a house for God comes from a good heart (verses 1-2).
  2. God turns David's request around and promises to make a house out of David and his descendants (verse 11).
  3. The house of David is to be God's everlasting house and kingdom (verse 16).
  • Kingdom: Solomon is the immediate fulfillment of the prophecy given in 2 Sam. 7. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus is given "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32-33). In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says that he is the Root and Offspring of David, meaning he is the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy in 2 Sam. 7.
  • House: Where does God live? Psalm 33:13-15 (God is above in heaven looking down on his creation), Exodus 40:34-38 (God comes to live among his people, the family of Abraham, in the tabernacle), John 1:14 (God became flesh and "tabernacled" among us), John 14:23 (The Father and the Son make their home within their followers), 1 Cor. 3:16 (believers are God's temple), 1 Peter 2:5 (believers are being built into a spiritual house), Rev. 21:22 (the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the future eternal temple).

3 Takeaways
  1. Worship - God is the one who fills the whole earth with his glory, and he is the one who chooses to dwell close with his people.
  2. Thanksgiving - We thank him for what he's done for us.
  3. Responding with humble obedience - As we look at the contrast between Saul and David and between Saul's hard heart and David's soft heart, let's challenge our own hearts to walk humbly before our God all our days.

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Saul: A Doing Test

1/11/2020

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1 Samuel 15:1-23

From the message this morning
Saul seemed to start so well at the beginning of his reign, but he didn't finish well.
First, Saul disobeyed a clear command from God (v. 9).
Second, Saul searched for his own glory (v. 12).
Third, Saul rationalized his sin (vv. 15-21).


What do we learn?
  1. Obedience is vital. Partial obedience is not enough.
  2. Only God deserves the glory.
  3. What God wants from us when we sin is that we recognize our sin, confess it, repent from it, and ask for forgiveness.
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