1 John 3 Bible Study: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
The Sacrifice, the Temple, and the Kingdom
1 John 2 Bible Study: Chapter Two of John’s letter begins with a sense of danger, John is troubled: “My little children, I WRITE TO YOU THAT YOU SIN NOT.” He’s possibly writing even as much as 100 years after the birth of Christ, so he’s an old man – which entitles him to address his readers as ‘little children’… But maybe here he’s also addressing some who are still ‘spiritually children’. What he says relates to anyone of us today, but in this case I am sensing John is writing particularly to Jewish people who had become followers of Christ; Jews, who when they believed, had accepted something that had been ‘hidden’ from them in their Jewish Law/Scriptures, something so completely new to them, they are now finding it hard to fully accept, and that is: JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH HAS PAID THE FULL PRICE OF SIN!
Light and darkness, sin and forgiveness
1 John 1&2 Bible Study: We’re going through very difficult times worldwide; it needs much prayer. It’s even hard for us to look at the news. Why is there so much senseless violence and war? Satan is still in control, he’s still prince of this world – and that’s why God had to send His Son to die for us, to break the curse that’s on us. Thankfully, those of us who have come to Christ know that Peace which the world so desperately needs. Our world needs Jesus!
The Wonders of God
‘Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?’ (Deuteronomy 4:32-34, NIV)
Something so big - You'll be amazed
Habakkuk Bible Study: This is what God has put in my spirit – though there is violence and disturbance all over the world and we are threatened with a third world war. God sees and knows all these things… BUT He’s given us the vision: He is about to do something miraculous, that even those of us who know God could not anticipate or imagine. it’s going to be so big, so powerful…
The entire Power of God is in the Gospel we preach
The Apostle Paul said: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” (Romans 1.16). Why are we not ashamed of the Gospel? Because it is the greatest demonstration of the power of God on earth! – It is the power to deliver everyone who has faith to believe! What changes nations is not some new teaching or doctrine. No, it is the simplicity of God’s Word, the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Today we are in danger of underestimating the power of God, and that’s why Paul said, “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the power of God!”
The Power of Prayer
There’s a need for great power in prayer! Power, when we pray! I’m very specific when I pray, I bring very specific questions – and I get very strong answers. James 5.16 says the ‘effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails.’ This is the forceful, powerful prayer of an ‘ordinary’ righteous man! It works! The original Greek New Testament has two words for power: energeo and dunamis. Our praying HAS to be strong!
Let not your heart be troubled / John 13&14
John 13&14: The whole world is shaking, whether that is political division in UK, USA, Europe and elsewhere, or the wars in Ukraine and now Israel; we are living in turmoil. I believe we are closer to the return of Christ than many imagine. Jesus opens chapter 14 saying, "Let not your heart be troubled - believe in Me - I'm going to prepare a place for you."
God will pour out His Spirit
Acts Bible Study: The Church began in the Acts of the Apostles with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It’s the story of the birth of the Church, how it was formed, how it developed – and I believe it’s how the Church should be today. I believe we should live as they lived in the Acts of the Apostles, in the same Power of the Holy Spirit – it’s the Power behind my ministry of evangelism. In Joel 2 the prophet speaks of the first rain and the last rain. I believe, and many would agree, this refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when the church began, and now in these last days before Christ returns.