Christopher Alton

Luke 10:38-42– In a few short verses, Luke has recorded an important encounter in the lives of two sister, Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus. At first glance Jesus seemed to be scolding Martha for her activity and praising Mary for her lack of it. But a closer look shows us that much more was taking place than at first glance. Mary had stopped to listen to Jesus and found that only one thing was necessary for her that day. Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”Are we prepared to sit at His feet each day, and wait on Him for the one thing that is necessary for us?

Acts 11:19ff & 13:1-3 – The church in Antioch, was expansive and outward looking from its beginnings. Aptly described as a ‘church bursting its banks’, Luke’s account gives us a clear picture of the prevailing culture and values that made this the epicentre of a gospel explosion across the Roman world. In this message we explore these features of such a vibrant, multi-gifted church to see what made them instinctively outward looking, Christ-centred and fruitfully nurtured – a place where ‘living stones’ had room to grow!

Over recent months the Lord has been drawing us further into His presence, around the throne, where there is everything we need. One of those essential things is God’s Promised Rest. In fact, we find in the letter to the Hebrews (3:7-4:11), that there is an ever-present invitation to join Him in ‘His’ rest. From here we take a journey through the Scriptures to see want this means, and how finding this rest will impact our past, present and future.

Hebrews 4:14-16 – Approaching the Throne of God is an awesome thing! Thankfully we can do so because we have One who has gone before us, securing our inheritance and our acceptance forever. As we approach we need to hold fast to a confession based on the Word of Truth about who He is, and who we now are (in Him). By embracing Jesus’ humanity, as well as knowing we are accepted we can also know we are fully ‘understood’. By a revelation of such things we can learn how to lay hold of the Grace of God, in its various forms, not only for ourselves, but also for the world He loves and came to save!

In these days the Lord is impressing upon us the importance of spending time around His throne together. The writer to the Hebrews (8:1-7) shows us the reality of what this means, whether we gather in twos or two-hundreds. It is a place of REVELATION – where the Lord wants to show us who He is and who we are in Him, of TRANSFORMATION – where our line of sight and our thinking comes into line with Spiritual realities, and COMMISSION – where the Lord wants to equip and instruct us, so that we can build according to the pattern He has shown us around His throne. From this place Mission becomes for us, simply an overflow of the Holy Spirit’s life within us.

The story of the Israelites is the story of ‘our forefathers’ says the Apostle Paul (1 Co 10), laden with warnings and promise. From God’s first promise to Abraham, the Apostle traces the history of his own people, including the ups and the downs, to show us God’s intended fulfilment through Abraham’s Seed, Christ Jesus. It is the story of a loving and faithful God whose GRACE to Jew and Gentile alike is displayed, and of RESTORATION, as Paul shows us God’s great plan to bring a future remnant from Israel back to Him, through Jesus.