Call to worship:
3 Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.Psalm 43:3-5
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
Why is the unity of Scripture a big deal?
How does “Father Abraham” end up getting many sons? What does that tell us about God? Ourselves?
Paul speaks of redemption, blessing, and gift of the Spirit. How does the gospel open all that up?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
We are grateful for your plan and provision. It is only by Jesus we are saved and sustained. We ask for the empowering of Your Spirit to ground us in truth, send us in love, and keep us aligned with your heart in the midst of the world.
In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
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Notes//Quotes//Slides:
Galatians 3:10-14
“If we allow the Bible to become fragmented, it is in danger of being absorbed into whatever other story is shaping our culture, and it will thus cease to shape our lives as it should. Idolatry has twisted the dominant cultural story of the secular Western world. If as believers we allow this story (rather than the Bible) to become the foundation of our thought and action, then our lives will manifest not the truths of Scripture, but the lies of an idolatrous culture. Hence, the unity of Scripture is no minor matter: a fragmented Bible may actually produce theologically orthodox, morally upright, warmly pious idol worshippers! - Mike Goheen
“These few verses offer a theological blueprint for the redemptive history of the world.” - William Dumbrell
Heb 11:8-16
The shocking fact of a crucified Messiah stands out. God’s purpose was fulfilled, not in a smooth line moving inch by inch forward from Abraham, through multiple developments, into covenant renewal and gentile inclusion, but in the previously unthinkable curse-bearing death of the Lord’s Anointed. Galatians 3:13 joins up with Paul’s other statements about Jesus’s death, in this letter and elsewhere, to form an overall picture in which the powerful divine love goes to the darkest possible depths to enable the rescue operation to take place. NT Wright
Exodus “Graphic and unmistakable experience of redemption from an alien power…it involves not only the release from slavery but also the shedding of blood as a means of escape from judgement” Graham Goldsworthy
In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross. - Thomas A Kempis
Thomas A. Kempis Picture (attached in files)
When I base my Christian life on my Christian experience, I become locked in the labyrinth of my own performance. I am only as sure of God as my current emotions and obedience allow. My eyes are fixed on myself. The gospel, the good news, is the way the Holy Spirit turns our eyes away from ourselves and onto Christ. The gospel brings you into union with Christ. Christ enters your heart and gives you faith. By that faith, you receive Christ and all his fullness. Faith fixes your eyes on Christ and rests in him. - Rankin Wilbourne, Union With Christ
Final screen(s) - A hymn - As many lines as can fit for a screen or two:
Nothing, either great or small— Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus died and paid it all, Long, long ago.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed, Finished, ev’ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need, Tell me, is it not?
When He, from His lofty throne, Stooped to do and die,
Ev’rything was fully done; Hearken to His cry!
Weary, working, burdened one, Wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done, Long, long ago.
Till to Jesus’ work you cling, By a simple faith,
“Doing” is a deadly thing— “Doing” ends in death.
Cast your deadly “doing” down— Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone, Gloriously complete.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed, Finished, ev’ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need, Tell me, is it not? - James Proctor