Gospel Meeting 22/04/2018

Romans ch3 vs23

1^st Timothy ch2 vs1 – 6

Psalm ch14 vs1

2^nd Corinthians ch5 vs21

“TWO PROBLEMS, ONE SOLUTION, TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE”.

a)      Every single one of us has two problems – both of which are clearly stated in our first reading. ALL have fallen way short of Holy God’s standards and ALL have sinned. 

This applies whatever gender, race or age you are.

The result of this created a mighty gulf between God and Man, because God is absolutely holy, pure and perfect in every way, detesting sin in its entirety.

We were all “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians ch2 vs1) and can do nothing at all of ourselves to change this awful situation. Whatever we may try, we are forever totally unable to reach anywhere near the standards that God requires. If anyone does not take the necessary action to change this, then God’s wrath abides upon us – resulting in eternal punishment for every unforgiven sin each of us has committed against Him.

Thankfully, there is a "however" ...

b)      God has provided the one solution!

 Our second reading plainly tells us that there is one God and one mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus.

“Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!"

(Words from hymn by William Reed Newell)

Contrary to the opinion of many in this world, there is only one true and living God – and in His great love He desires the salvation of all mankind!

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me…”

“That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else”.

-    Isaiah ch45 vs5 – 6.

“… but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”.

-    2^nd Peter ch3 vs9.

God is full of grace and mercy and sent His only Son – The Man Christ Jesus – to end the great separation between us!

The long – promised One came to save us from our sins by paying the price for them.

Also called Emmanuel – meaning “God with us”, He was both perfect Man and perfect God!

He alone never sinned, and was willing to give His life as a sacrifice for all our sins.

Our reading tells us that He “gave himself a ransom for all”.

ALL – and that includes you, dear friend! Again, whatever gender, race or age you are, Jesus Christ gave His life’s blood that you can be forgiven and spend eternity in Heaven with Him!

Jesus Christ was raised from the dead after three days – His sinless sacrifice fully accepted by His Father!

There are many mediators in this world for a whole host of issues, but none other than The Lord Jesus Christ can mediate between you and God The Father.

Friend, you have a way out of these two great problems! If you have never yet repented of your sins, I urge you this night to do so. Come in faith to this wonderful Man who loves you and accept Him as your Saviour.

All the work has been done… our part is to come in faith - accepting His work and receiving Jesus Christ.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.

-    Hebrews ch11 vs6.

c)      There are two types of people, and the Psalmist tells us that one of them are classed as fools… because they want nothing to do with God, or even acknowledge Him.

They are morally wrong.

They are heading for a lost eternity in that most horrendous place called hell.

Reader, I sincerely trust that you are not of this group and facing its consequences?

The speaker says he was one of the people in that group, but then gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ…, he has crossed from darkness into glorious light, and from death into life!

This is the other type -  those who belong to The Lord Jesus Christ! ...

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.

-     2^nd Corinthians ch5 vs21.

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man shall many be made righteous". 

- Romans ch5 vs19.

Jesus Christ makes us fit to enter into Heaven!

We are made righteous through Jesus Christ - completely forgiven, no longer facing God’s condemnation!

We may be mocked, persecuted and killed at present in this world, but in Christ we have the victory of life eternal with Him!

Friend, surely this is the type you want to be, and we pray you will make that decision for Christ tonight.

Gospel Meeting 15/04/2018

Luke’s Gospel ch4 vs14 -22.

Isaiah ch61 vs1 -2.

Here, at the synagogue in Nazareth, on reading aloud what was foretold hundreds of years earlier, Jesus Christ was telling them that He is the Messiah of God… I am here! I am the One – anointed by the Spirit!

The ministry of The Lord Jesus Christ covered 6 points:

1) Preach the gospel to the poor

2) Heal the broken – hearted

3) Preach deliverance to the captives

4) Recovering of sight to the blind

5) Set at liberty them that are bruised

6) Preach the acceptable year of our Lord

Tonight, the speaker gave a message on three of these points.

a)  Preaching the Gospel to the poor …

Many of the financially poor people did respond, but also particularly those of who were poor in spirit.

People who were at the end of themselves, not knowing where to turn, feeling worthless and inadequate, turned to The Lord and cried out to Him.

They repented and believed the Gospel!

Friend, maybe this is describing how you feel tonight? Perhaps your own life has long since ceased to have any real purpose or meaning? Many in this world are feeling despair, seeing little hope of a happy future or living without any peace in their hearts and minds.

Please take a little time to read the words of Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, to find what He offers to you personally. He loves you and wants you to come to Him, trusting Him as your Saviour. Why as your Saviour? ...because all of us are sinners, having broken His laws countless times in our lives. We face eternal punishment from Holy God because of this, but in His boundless, most wonderful love for us, God The Father sent His Son to us who lived a sinless, faultless life. He then gave His life to pay the great price of our sins so that we can be forgiven, being cruelly crucified at the place called Calvary.
 A full and free pardon can be yours tonight, and a place in Heaven absolutely secured!

“…repent and believe the gospel!”

- words of Jesus Christ from Mark’s Gospel ch1 vs15.

b) Healing the broken – hearted …

This One can heal!

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

- words of Jesus Christ from Matthew’s Gospel ch11 vs28.

-           

Truly, what a most compassionate and loving Saviour we have in The Lord Jesus Christ! There are so many things in this hurtful world that can cause our heart to be suffering to breaking point. We can turn many ways to try find peace and for someone to put the pieces back together again – but only Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour can altogether heal.

“He heals the broken - hearted and binds up their wounds”.

- Psalm ch147 vs3.

c) Preach deliverance to the captives …

This was not a wholesale release of criminals from prison, but of great spiritual significance. However, it is fantastic how many people at this time have come from being imprisoned in a life of crime into freedom, through repentance and trusting Jesus Christ as their own Saviour!

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new”.

- 2^nd Corinthians ch5 vs17.

He changes lives, hallelujah!

Jesus Christ can touch your life and transform you too. He will deliver you from your old life!

There is a worse imprisonment than a physical one – those who are slaves to sin and sinful habits. 

Sin totally wrecks lives- just look around you.

“Jesus, the name high over all,

In hell, or earth, or sky:

Angels and men before it fall,

And devils fear and fly.

Jesus, the prisoner’s fetters breaks,

And bruises Satan’s head;

power into strengthless souls He speaks,

and life into the dead.

(words from hymn by C.Wesley)

In Luke’s Gospel ch8 vs26 -39, The Lord Jesus Christ met a demon possessed maniac. By His power, He completely delivered him, ridding him of many demons and into freedom!  We read that the man was then found sitting and clothed, in his right mind!

Jesus Christ today is still setting many captives free from the power and domination of sin in peoples lives. Come to Him!

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness”.

- Romans ch6 vs17 -18.

All who accept Christ as Saviour are transferred from this one camp to the other!

Indeed, being a slave to Jesus Christ is a greatest blessing! –

- Paul, James and Jude are some of whom we read in God’s Word that gloried in it.

It gives us the greatest freedom in the world!

Friend, if you are still in bondage to sin tonight, accept the love that Jesus Christ freely offers you and He will bring you forgiveness, peace and freedom. 

Ask Him into your heart and life while there is still time -

“…behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”.

2^nd Corinthians ch6 vs2.

Gospel Meeting 08/04/2018

1^st Epistle of John ch4 vs7 – 21.

THE LOVE OF GOD.

There is no greater love!

In our society, the word “love” can be taken or used very lightly… every day people fall in and out of love so easily that it has to be questioned if they ever were really “in love” at all!

Is our love sometimes just a fondness? How strong is our love when troubles come along? Or if we feel wronged, how long does it last?

How far are we prepared to do something for another if it makes us feel uncomfortable?

However, God’s love is of a unique character. It is unconditional and unmeasurable.

God’s love is boundless and freely given.

He does not say “I love you, as long as you don’t do…”

There is no greater love and this was displayed at the place called Calvary, where God gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice for all our sins. He was crucified, dying in agony on the Cross.

Verses 9 and 10 tell us, that the scale and scope of His great love was “towards us” – that includes you and I too, dear reader!

Jesus Christ, the only One who has never sinned, suffered so terribly much for us all – spitting and mocked by wicked men, utterly beaten, a crown of thorns crushed upon His holy head, nails hammered into His hands and feet.

He then suffered even more than all of the physical brutality, when in the laying down of His life He was made sin for us and His Father punished Him in our stead.

WHY...?

Such was the depth of His love for us all, that He paid the price of our sins - something that we could never do anything about. We are all sinners and need a Saviour.

The holy, spotless Son of God came here and settled our sin debt once and for all.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed”.

-   1^st Peter ch2 vs24.

Dear friend, you might well ask the question – “why does a holy God love such a sinful person like me?” You are not alone, not a single one of us merits His love!

However, He Has proven His love for us all and desires each of us to be with Him for all Eternity in Heaven.

It may not be pleasant to the heart and mind, but consider for a while just how many wrong deeds and thoughts you have personally had in your life – and the one’s still to come… then multiply them by all the people that have ever lived in the world… Jesus Christ died and rose from the grave that every single one of us can be forgiven, and avoid being punished eternally ourselves in the real place called Hell.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

John’s Gospel ch3 vs16.

We are able to enter into a personal relationship with God, through accepting the Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ. We could never ever meet His holy standards, but Jesus Christ fully satisfied God in His sinless sacrifice for us.

Knowing Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we can all be forgiven and free from the guilt of our sins, and the power of sin in our daily lives!

So often when we say we have forgiven someone, we can store it up in our memory to use it against them in a future situation, but God is completely different –

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us”

 –Psalm ch103 vs12.

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” .

-   Hebrews ch10 vs17.

God’s forgiveness through His Son is absolute!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. – 1^st Epistle of John ch1 vs9.

Dear friend, why would you not want to accept such wonderful love and forgiveness?!

If you have never yet done so, why not take that step tonight?

Just a simple prayer to The Lord Jesus Christ, in genuine repentance acknowledging your sins and in faith believing that He paid it all at Calvary’s Cross.

“… repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”.

-  The Acts ch20 vs21.

“… and whoever comes to me I will never drive away”.

- John’s Gospel ch6 vs37. 

This world contaminates us so badly in many ways, but we can be cleansed and delivered from the domination of sin in our lives, through Jesus Christ.

Consider an eternal life in Heaven, face to face with the One who loved you with the greatest love of all… what greater joy could you ever have than this!

Gospel Meeting 01/04/2018

Luke’s Gospel ch23 vs33 – 34, ch24 vs1 – 9.

1^st Corinthians ch15 vs3 -4, 12 – 22.

Personal Question… What does Easter mean to you?

Is it a time for chocolates? Going on holiday? Perhaps a time for visiting family and friends?

What it means to the Speaker is summed up in fifteen words –

CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS… (1^st Corinthians ch15 vs3)

AND THAT HE WAS BURIED… (1^st Corinthians ch15 vs4)

AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN…  (1^st Corinthians ch15 vs4)

1) CHRIST died for our sins -

Dear reader, do you believe this?

Some say Jesus Christ was a good man, an example to follow – but just another man.

To some He means nothing, yet they often use His name as a swear word.

However, the facts are that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God, born of a virgin.

He grew up completely sinless – it was impossible for Him to sin, being God!

His entire life was apart from sin.

Who do you say that He is?

The Speaker trusted Jesus Christ in June 1968 and he fully commends this Man to you tonight. He loves The Lord Jesus Christ and knows Christ loves him.

How much does He mean to you tonight, dear friend?

What will you say about Him?

The Lord Jesus Christ having lived a perfect life without a single sin, then suffered an awful death on our behalf - to pay the full price of our sins that we could never pay.

He was crucified – a most barbaric and tortuous death. Later, the Roman Emperor abolished it, as being too horrific.

The Lord Jesus Christ allowed His own creation to take Him and nail Him to that Cross. This is how much He personally loves you and I!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

- John’s Gospel ch3 vs16.

He physically died for our sins, that we may be forgiven and not face eternal punishment in that most terrible place called Hell.

Every one of us has sinned and we all need to come in repentance and faith, accepting the only Saviour of sinners -  through His redeeming work on Calvary’s Cross.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”.

- Romans ch3 vs23.

The world loves to gloss over this and not mention our sin problem!

Some people left the scene of His crucifixion glad that He was dead. They were envious and jealous of Him, and now thought that was the end of it all.

Others were sad.

But what about you, reader? How do these things affect your heart tonight?

Is your heart not filled with gratitude and wonder, at such undeserved love towards you? No – one will ever love you more than this Man!

2) And that HE was buried –

Wicked hands nailed Jesus Christ to the Cross, but loving hands removed the cruel nails and took Him down after His death.

He was buried, with a great stone rolled across the tomb, and then sealed.

There has been some notable celebrity burials over the years, where millions have watched and thousands have attended. Great pomp and ceremony has taken place before, during and after the burials.

None of these things surrounded the burial of The Eternal Son of God…yet never was there One as precious! It is recorded in only a few verses, and only a few people were there.

However, it was most definitely not the end of this Man! We would not be gathered here tonight if it had been so!

3) And that HE rose again –

On the third day Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

His sacrifice for our sins fully accepted by God The Father.

A risen, justified Saviour!

Do you believe this, literally and physically?

If not dear friend, then you are still in your sins and facing a lost Eternity, separated from God.

The risen Christ was seen of many people during the following month. This included His own disciples, and then to over 500 people at once.

He is now ascended back to Heaven, to His Father’s right hand.

His work of redemption here is done – once for all!

Today, many others are worshipped – the likes of Karl Marx and Elvis Presley’s graves are regularly visited. If you ask anyone to take you to their leader, they all have one thing in common – they will take you to a cemetery or a shrine!

When the Speaker says “come and meet my Leader” – he points and looks upwards to living Saviour in Heaven! Christians look up, not down!

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…”

- The Revelation ch1 vs18.

Jesus Christ is soon returning – for those who have genuinely repented of their sins and in faith asked The Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them, making Him their personal Lord and Saviour.

“… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.

- John’s Gospel ch14 vs 2 – 3.

Do you want to know the only way to this real place of Heaven? ...

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the father, but by me.”

- John’s Gospel ch14 vs6.

It also needs to be made known, that Hell too, is a real place.

A place of eternal torment for those who have not accepted Christ’s atoning work.

One noted celebrity recently denied it’s existence… reader, do not be deceived!

But for those who have grasped this full and free Salvation through Jesus Christ – the best is yet to come… and forever!

Please do not reject the most wonderful love He has for you – it is beyond measure! Even though He knew exactly what He was going to suffer in taking our sins upon Himself at Calvary, He still came!

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

- Romans ch5 vs8.

Is Jesus Christ your own Lord and Saviour tonight?

Can you say “it is well with my soul?”

Come to Him without delay, and make that decision to know Him this very hour.

This IS Easter! -

1)      CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

2)      AND THAT HE WAS BURIED

3)      AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN…

A risen, glorified Saviour!

Are you ready for His return – not as The Judge, but as your Saviour?

Gospel Meeting 18/03/2018

1^st Epistle of John ch4 vs7 -19.

Psalm ch103 vs8 – 17.

LOVE!

These scriptures talk about love. There are many definitions and types of love, but God’s most wonderful love for you, me and all mankind cannot be compared to any other!

Some people think that because God is love, they are free to do whatever wrongs as they please in their lives and God will simply overlook them as he IS love. But not so for one moment! ...

It is written in this Psalm (vs11) that His great mercy is toward “them that fear him”.

Also, (vs13) The Lord’s compassion is “on those who fear him”.

Again, (vs17) The Lord’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting “upon them that fear him”.

Yes, he is indeed a God of great love, grace and mercy – to those who will genuinely repent of their sins. He is Holy and utterly offended by them.

But, God The Father in His incomparable love, has provided the only way of escaping our deserved punishment for our sins. Through sending His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into this world, He dealt with our sin problem once and for all.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us”.
 – Psalm ch103 vs12.

Holy God is just – he cannot be in the presence of sin. His love being beyond measure for us, has provided a full and free pardon for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His sinless Son. The only One who does not need a sacrifice, being without sin, was made sin for all of us, that we can be forgiven and have our eternity in Heaven with Him.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
- Romans ch5 vs8.

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son, to be the Saviour of the world.Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God”.
 –1^st Epistle of John ch4 vs14 -15

“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me”. – Hebrews ch10 vs5.

Jesus Christ – a man like any other in every way apart from being completely without  sin. It was impossible for Him to sin – He is God! He hungered, thirsted, wearied, wept, but never once sinned. He came and did what we could never do – live a holy, sinless life, and when He gave His life for us on Calvary’s Cross, God His Father fully accepted His blood as atonement for our sins.

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” – 2^nd Corinthians ch9 vs15.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”.

 – Romans ch5 vs6.

None of us deserved His love or His gift, but that never affected His wonderful love for each of us.We cannot help ourselves or save ourselves – it is all the work of Jesus Christ on The Cross! We were alienated and enemies to God, but Christ fully satisfied the demands of Holy God, being raised from the grave.

Such was Jesus Christ’s love for each of us, although He was the eternal Son of God -  “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”, (John’s Gospel ch1 vs3)  - He still allowed wicked men to take Him and treat Him so badly and cruelly in His crucifixion. 
All our judgement was placed on Him. It was all necessary, that we can be forgiven, escaping eternal punishment in Hell and being made fit to enter Heaven.
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed". - Isaiah ch53 vs5.

Dear reader, does this love for you not touch your heart?

Would you not be willing to have The Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour tonight?. Would you not like to be free from your burden of sin and make your peace with God tonight?. Would you not like to be assured that you have a home being prepared in Heaven, to forever live with this wonderful Man who loved you and gave Himself for you?

Simply come in faith, confessing your sins to Him. Ask Him to forgive you and to come into your heart and life as Lord and Saviour. Then with His help, turn away from your past sinful life and follow Him daily.

Real love is not found in modern “pop songs” – it is at Calvary’s Cross, where Jesus Christ died, that you may live!

1 We sing the praise of Him who died,
Of Him who died upon the Cross;
The sinner’s hope let men deride,
For this we count the world but loss

2 Inscribed upon the Cross we see
In shining letters, God is love!
He bears our sins upon the tree,
He brings us mercy from above.

3 The Cross: it takes our guilt away;
It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy day,
And sweetens every bitter cup.

4 The balm of life, the cure of woe,
The measure and the pledge of love,
The sinner’s refuge here below,
The angels’ theme in heav’n above.

- Hymn by Thomas Kelly (1769 -  1855))

Gospel Meeting 11/03/2018

2^nd Samuel ch12 vs1 – 15.

The build – up to this passage of scripture saw King David gaining great victories in battle, before losing control of his emotions and committing adultery.

Bath-sheba, the wife of Uriah, conceived as a result and King David then arranged for her husband to be sent to the front line of the current battle in order that he would be killed. After this happened, king David took Bath-sheba to be his wife and she bare him a son.

These things greatly displeased The Lord.

The Lord sent Nathan unto king David to make him aware of his great sin, through telling him a story.

Nathan reminds David how good The Lord had been to him, but he had despised the Laws of God and was going to be punished for doing those things secretly.

In the story, David’s anger was greatly kindled against the rich man for what he had done and wanted to kill him, until Nathan plainly said to David “Thou art the man”.

Immediately, David had repentance, saying “I have sinned against the Lord”.

Although The Lord forgave him, there is a message for us all that when we sin it has consequences, and like a pebble thrown into a pond, it ripples and affects other people. This applies whether we are a Christian or not.

It is such a sad story that a man of God, King David, should have done these terrible things.

Where did he go wrong? What lessons can be learnt? …

a)      David should have gone to battle, not stayed at home.

 A challenge – are you in the battle for The Lord, or at home? Perhaps become too occupied with the temporary things of this world?

David should never have seen Bath-sheba, but the devil finds work for idle hands… may our attitude be “don’t remove me from the battle, but draw me nearer to the Cross”!

b)      David was on the rooftop… he saw Bath-sheba bathing and should have left immediately. However, he stayed on and lust took over.

Never put yourself in temptations way! Get off the roof, for the devil is most cunning.

When we look all around us we can clearly see how sin ruins lives.

c)      David enquired as to who Beer-sheba was.

How often do we enquire about sinful things? Once we know, we are able to act in the wrong manner towards it. Never be tricked into “making enquiries”!

Sin is destructive and affects others.

d) “Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead…”

A horrible premeditated sin! Always think before we do any wrong deed.

God hates sin, but loves the sinner… even the very worst of us can be saved from our sins and their penalty.

This is the great and good news of the Gospel! – that God The Father sent His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, who never sinned, to be the sacrifice for yours and everyone's sins in the world. He is the only One who could ever do this because He is and ever was holy, pure and without sin. Love brought Him down into this sin – filled world, and led Him onto Calvary’s Cross, where in great agony He laid His life down, and gave His life’s blood that we may be forgiven and have eternal life in Heaven. To reject God’s most merciful offer of this full and free Salvation, means you are without repentance, and dying in your sins will bring you into an eternity separated from Holy God, forever to be punished in the place called Hell.

d)     King David took Bath-sheba to be his wife.

He tried to hide his sin, but we can never do that. God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves!

Our only way to have peace with God concerning our sins, is through being truly sorry for them, and in faith accepting The Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, who makes our peace with God, His Father.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”.

-   1^st Timothy ch2 vs5 – 6.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.

 – John’s Gospel ch14 vs6.

Reader, if your heart desires you to turn your life from sin and darkness into light, then receive Jesus Christ tonight. Begin a new life by turning away from a sinful life and turning towards God. He loves you and wants you to come to Him, without delaying it until it is too late…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. – 1^st John ch1 vs9.

You can have a clear conscience from this day on – what a tremendous and forgiving God!

Loving your sin more than God? Simply not worth it, dear friend…

“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”. – James ch1 vs15.

e)      The story Nathan told made King David furious.

We are very good at thinking ourselves to be better than others. It is easy to condemn others while we ignore our own many faults. However, none of us deserve the great mercy, grace and forgiveness provided by The Lord Jesus Christ!

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. – Romans ch3 vs23.

Let us not, like David, be pointing the finger! Let us all humbly repent and accept God’s wonderful Salvation.

God is not mocked, and we can never hide our sin.

If you are not a Christian and never asked forgiveness, are you still the guilty one in the story (vs7) “Thou art the man”…?

This can be your night with God! What a great opportunity to have your individual peace with God and a changed life! Have no more wasted years, but come to Christ this very hour!

Gospel Meeting 04/03/2018

Ephesians ch2 vs1 – 10.

Verses  1 – 3 concern our death and disobedience – negatives.

Verses 4 – 10 concern our deliverance and destiny – positives.

This letter was from the Apostle Paul, written to those who were believers at Ephesus. It begins by looking back at how they used to be, and the dead condition they were in, before going on to say how they now are – through being “in Christ”.

Friend and reader, where are you right now – are you still in verses 1 – 3?

 Have you never committed your life to The Lord Jesus Christ?

 By simply confessing your sins to Him tonight in repentance and faith, you can move into the blessings of verses 4 – 10!

We are all spiritually dead until trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Verse 1 tells us we were all “dead in trespasses and sins” – from the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden tree they became spiritually dead, and the process of  death in their bodies began.

We too have all broken God’s perfect rules…

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. – Romans ch3 vs23.

God made man perfect, but we all utterly failed Him through our sinful nature.

Why are we ALL sinners? –

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. – Romans ch5 vs12.

We are all sinners by descent… no-one has to ever teach a young child to lie, steal or cheat – it comes natural because we are all sinful by our nature!

Verse 5 – “But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us” – His mercy is in not giving us what we fully deserve as disobedient sinners…

“But God”!... we can never save ourselves from our due and right punishment of an eternal Hell – but in spite of our position and sinful nature God provided a way for all our sins to be forgiven… he is indeed rich in mercy!

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy”.

- Psalm ch103 vs8.

- “… but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. – 2^nd Peter ch3 vs9.

Reader, you may ask how then can God forgive sinners, being holy, righteous and unable to turn a blind eye to all our sins?

Yes, sin HAS to be paid for, and God sent the only One who could ever pay our debt in full – His Son, Jesus Christ. On the Cross, He gave His sinless life and body as the acceptable sacrifice for your sins and everyone’s. He paid for it in His own blood that flowed from many a wound. This alone can wash and cleanse us from all our sins, providing full forgiveness when we come to Jesus Christ in genuine repentance and faith. The grave could not hold Him, rising again after three days – justified!

When we trust Him and accept Him as our Saviour, our old life is dead and gone! – vs6 “And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.

We have new life in Christ, seeking eternal things!

- “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”.

- Colossians ch3 vs1 – 3.

So now we receive by His grace all the blessings which we do not deserve!

Vs8 & 9 - “For by grace are ye saved, through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”: Not of works, lest any man should boast”.

None of us can ever have eternal life in Heaven by good works. We can not earn it in any way, but God gives it to us free through His Son!

Faith is personally taking God at His word. Dear friend, if you have not yet done so, then throw yourself on God’s rich mercy… accept His Son and be saved! Jesus Christ died for YOU, and His great love is beckoning for you to come to Him this night!