No.19 - Christ is King

Praise the LORD he has set Christ as King of the World.

Verse of the Week

'The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs.'

Psalm 2:2-4

It's a scary picture. All the rulers of the world united together against God, seeking to over power his rule and put themselves in charge. But God is not afraid. All the world unites against him and he laughs. They are no match for him. We do not need to fear the world, we are on God's side and nothing can stand against him.

Encouragements

We had a really encouraging time thinking about John 18:15-27. Although it was devastating to see Peter letting Jesus down, it was wonderful to be reminded that that wasn't the end of Peter's story. Christ forgave him and welcomed Peter back into his family and then used him to build the church. It was encouraging to remember when we mess up, we are not without hope. We can confess our sins and know that we have been forgiven.

I have been feeling really privileged to get to spend lots of time in Psalm 2, preparing my sermon this week. It has been a challenge, but God has graciously given me the strength to persevere with it and it has been wonderful to see the confidence we can have that honouring Christ really is how to live the best life.

It was a real joy to give my first sermon this Sunday. I enjoyed getting to meditate more on Christ's glory, and I think, through God's strength, I was able to help the congregation be more motivated to honour Christ with their lives. Thank you so much for your prayers!

A Little Update

Here are a few of the things we've been up to and some of what we've got coming up.

The Past Week

The Next Few Weeks

Prayer Requests

We would love prayer that:

• God would help us to see our lives from the perspective of the new creation and rejoice.

• God would help us to be able to empathise well with each other when things are harder.

• God would help me to have a clear mind to be able to prepare well for leading my bible study and kids' talk.

  
  

Christ the king reigns in power, who shall we fear? In him, we have life and life to the full. A hope that will not perish spoil or fade, kept in heaven for us.

Father God, we praise you for your wonderful grace.

We are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers, thank you so much for the love and support you've shown to us both.

Love and prayers to you all,

Joshua & Luci :)

P.S. - Here's another video where I share some of the ways I have been delighted by Christ over the last week or two. I find it really encouraging to think back over the week and delight in all the different things I've learned about God. So I thought I'd share my reflections here with you :)

P.P.S - If you would like to view some of the notes I've taken from my TEAM bible training course click the arrow below.

TEAM Notes - Coming soon

Bible overview - The southern kingdom

Summary

• God promised that a king from David’s line would rule forever

• We see God being faithful when some of the kings are not

• We see lots of writing prophets - Isaiah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah

• The prophets brought a message of judgment and restoration - New covenant + New King

Two high points

• Hezekiah and the Assyrians

• Joel rediscovering the Law

The southern kingdom get exiled by Babylon

• They committed the same sins as the Northern kingdom

• They got a lighter judgment - lesser exile + promised return

Biblical counselling

LOVE, KNOW, SPEAK, DO

LOVE

• Enter their world

• Identify with their suffering

• Act as Christ’s ambassador

KNOW

• Know the person

• Know scripture

SPEAK

Aims - Use words to help them see themselves and their situation biblically (God’s words)

• See the good (Saint)

• See the hard (Sufferer)

• See the sin (Sinner)

DO

• We help them live out what they have learned

• We provide accountability

• We draw in others

PRAY

• In everything

• For everything

Preparing a bible talk

The point of a sermon

• Cause the congregation to glorify God more

• For them to live more like christ

• For their hearts to be transformed

• For them to hear, understand and be moved to change by God’s word

Points to remember

• It’s God’s message we want to change them with

• People’s hearts are stuck in sin, only the holy spirit can change them - So pray

Method for teaching from the bible

• State - the idea

• Demonstrate - where the bible says it

• Explain - what the idea means

• Illustrate - the idea in context

Tips

• Grab people’s attention - Present the problem this sermon will solve

• Taylor what your saying to your audience

• Speak up - don’t mumble (but don’t shout)

• Don’t rush - you loose the clarity

• Repetition is good - repeat, recap, sign post ahead

• Pauses are good - especially after a big point

• Appropriate emotion and action - change voice / body language

• Pray before you speak

• You’re sharing the very words of God

Love and prayers,

Joshua