Campbell Street Church

There is a common perception that we can change the world either through education of legislation … that one of those 2 things can bring about effective change in our world. But genuine lasting change in our lives comes by the Holy Spirit being at work in our lives and us “keeping in step with the Spirit”.

One of the great hopes for people in our world is “freedom”. Freedom from oppression, tyranny, poverty … people are call out for freedom. But freedom can be a tricky thing to live with. Paul says we, as those who trust in Jesus, have been set free … but it is important to understand clearly what we have been set free from and what we have been set free for.

One of the things that we can often overlook or take for granted as Christians is the closeness of the relationship God has with his people. We are to call him “our father” and we can legitimately say that we are his children … not because we have done something, but because God has made it possible through Jesus.

Legalism abounds in churches today. We can see it institutionalised in many churches and subtly practised by others. But when we look at a passage like this we shouldn’t be pointing the finger at others. We should be taking a close look at ourselves and making sure that we have not set up our own subtle legalism.

The churches in the region of Galatia are being led astray by the “judiazers” … Jewish people who are saying “Faith in Jesus is great … but you need more. You can only be saved if you obey these laws." In these chapters Paul stresses that the message he preaches comes with the authority of Jesus.

In the final 3 petitions of the Lord's Prayer Jesus continues to encourage us to pray for big things ... probably bigger than we may have thought.

The Lord's Prayer is often associated with conservative churches ... churches that would prefer not to church. But this model for prayer is asking for radical changes in our world.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives his disciples a lesson on prayer (Matt 6:5-15). He starts by telling them hoe NOT to pray.

The Rich Young Ruler wants to know what he has to do to have eternal life. He seems to be committed to obeying the law … but when Jesus says he needs to give his money away he is not willing to do that.

Jesus tells a story of a man whom God considers to be a fool ... but probably would have been admired by his neighbours.

We should be like God, who wants to see people saved, and not like Jonah, who wants to see them punished because he doesn’t think they deserve to be saved.

God would always rather show compassion rather than punish people. We see it in the story of Jonah. But we see it most clearly in the death of Jesus on the cross.

There's a big difference between KNOWING IT and LIVING IT. Jonah could say “salvation comes from God”, but it didn’t have much impact on his life.

Mercy, love and eternal life come through Jesus Christ. But for those who reject Jesus, destruction awaits. So continue to build up your faith in Jesus.

Following Jesus’ commandment to walk in love strengthens our faith, so we will be able to resist deceivers and the devil.

Philemon is about being in God's family with other believers and that 'The Gospel is about love and grace, and we should treat others with love and grace.

The book of Judges closes with its darkest stories. The writer offers an editorial comment 4 times in this section: "In those days there was no king ...". This explains what is wrong with Israel ... and what they need.