Day 282

Pray (ACts)

Read - Ephesians 2v1-10

Message - Scott Woodburn
The covenant of works died in the garden of Eden. It once offered eternal life to Adam and those who came after him based on Adam's perfect and personal obedience. But after Adam's sin the covenant of works could only condemn. What was needed was another Adam who would be completely obedient and offer a perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins. Christ would be the second Adam whose works are righteous in the sight of God.

Wonderful. Christ has done it all and therefore we're all okay! Sadly no. Broadly speaking "universalism" teaches that God is love and therefore everyone will one day get to heaven. Needless to say I reject universalism in all of its forms. Christ died for His people alone and it is as Paul says "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." (v4-5) This is why we speak of the covenant of grace. Salvation is not dependent upon our works, instead it depends upon the grace of God.

Grace is God's unmerited favour to those who deserve His wrath. Let's simplify that statement. Grace is unmerited or in other words we have done nothing to deserve it. Grace is God's unmerited favour or in other words He loves us and approves of us. Grace is extended to those who deserve God's wrath or in other words we deserve God's righteous and holy anger but instead we receive His grace. This is what we mean when we speak of God's grace.

Christ's sacrifice is all of grace. When we were weak, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5v6) and to know the benefits of His sacrifice we must receive Him by faith. Faith is a receiving and resting in Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. It is a gift of God so that no one may boast (v8). It is the means by which we enjoy the covenant of grace and saving faith is worked in us by the Holy Spirit who makes us willing and able to believe (John 6v44).

Even as the covenant of works lay destroyed in Eden, the covenant of grace was proclaimed by God Himself. Weak, sinful humanity could not save themselves. By their own works they had been faced with a sinful chasm that no amount of time or progress or human advancement could bridge. But God, at the right time, sent His only begotten Son who would pay the price for our sin. Salvation is all of God and, praise be, it is all of grace. 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q54 What is required in the third commandment? The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.

Day 281

Pray (ACts)

Read - Exodus 1:8-14

Message - Alan Burke 
Remember that word, ‘providence’ that we thought about on Monday, the protective care of God. Well God had led his people to Egypt according to his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, as God was continuing his great plan of salvation. While there they had increased greatly in number, no longer were there just sixty (5) but “the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (7). Everything seems to be going well. 

But then comes a new king and things change (9). Before it the people of God were seeing God’s wonderful answering of his purposes, they were experiencing prosperity, they had grown numerous, but there is something much more ominous to come. Even though for a time Egypt had been good for the people of God while they were there it would no longer be the case. To the new king it didn’t matter what happened in the past, it didn’t matter to him who Joseph was, or his family. No longer were the people of God welcomed in the Land of Egypt, instead they were feared for how they had become too numerous (9-10). Pharaoh was shrewd ruler, proposing an ingenious political solution that would keep the threat of the Israelites at bay and economically benefit the land. 

Enslave them. Slave labour allowing their own people to enjoy life on the pigs back, while at the same time solving any immigration problems that would see a people rise up and try to rebel because they would be so down trodden and oppressed that they wouldn’t have any fight in them, having their spirit crushed. The result of their enslavement was two great cities, Pithom and Rameses. The barbarism of the Egyptians towards the people of God, in how they were treated at the hands of their oppressors was as the passage makes clear ruthless, but that sanitises the stark reality for they were treated in ways that wouldn’t be allowed to be shown on television or in films today. 

The people of God had gone from prospering in the Land of Egypt to being suffered and were oppressed. All of this at first glance may just seem like a terrible account of one peoples oppression of another, like that which has happened in many places across this world and continues to happen this day. Yet there is much more to it than that. For this wasn’t about civil defence, political ideals, economic stability. There in the midst of what was going on a spiritual battle that was being played out. 

Pharaoh was not a ruler like our Michelle or Arlene, or Boris or Queen Elizabeth or even Kim Jong-un, Pharaoh was believed by his people to be the incarnate Son of Re the sun god, he represented the entire nation and their gods. Pharaoh as he made the people of God his slaves, it was that they would serve him and not their God, they would not be free to go to worship the Lord God, they were pharaohs and behind pharaoh was Satan! 

Look though to what happened in the midst of it all, in spite of how Satan was using Pharaoh in his oppositions to God’s plans and purposes, as he sought to thwart the God’s great plan of salvation, to rescue, to redeem his people from their sin ultimately would lead to failure. He sought to wipe out the people of God in their slavery, in how they were treated, breaking their spirit so that they would die, but God continued to be with his people and more that they were oppressed the more that they multiplied and the more that they spread abroad (12). No matter how hard Satan tries to thwart the purposes of God he will always fail. God by his providential care was and is at work in what Pharaoh was doing just as today and every day, in all that we face, in the highs and lows, even in our darkest hour. 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q52 What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?
The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God’ s sovereignty over us, (Ps. 95:2–3) his propriety in us, (Ps. 45:11) and the zeal he hath to his own worship. (Exod. 34:13–14)

Day 279

Pray (ACts)

Read - Exodus 1:1-7

Message - Alan Burke 
Favouritism, jealously, stupidity! They are but some of the words that may come to mind when you think of Jospeh. Maybe not when he is prime minister in Egypt but in the saga that let him to be sold into slavery. Favouritism of Jesse towards one of his sons, the jealously that it spawned as a result among his brothers and Joseph’s stupidity at telling his dreams to his bothers just fanned the flames of their hatred towards him. Yet there is one word that we must remember in the midst of it all, ‘providence’. It may not be a word that we use very often but for the believer it is a word that should give us much comfort in the midst of all that we face. Providence is the protective care of God and what we are reminded of in the story of Jospeh is that God was at work in at all, even though there were some dark days for Joseph he understood this to be the case. Joseph made this clear when his brothers were gathered before him and he told them… You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Gen 50:20). 

God had brought his people to Egypt, led them their according to his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, as God was continuing his great plan of salvation. That’s what we need to remember, that these events that are now retold, take place not in some unconnected story but all relate to the work of God that began in the very beginning, when Adam and Eve first sinned, God, had been pointing his people to how one day there would be one to come to save them from their sin, the offspring of Eve, a son that would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15), God’s people were look to him, knowing that he would bring his great plan of salvation to it fulfilment, for the Exodus is a continuation of that great plan of salvation, to rescue, to redeem his people from their sin though Jesus Christ. 

This opening chapter of the book lay the setting for all that will follow, how the sons of Jacob came and dwelt in the land. When they entered there were a mere seventy of them or seventy five if you include the children of Ephraim and Manasseh (1:7, Acts 7:14). Seventy, seventy five if you consider the children of Ephraim and Manasseh, and when you consider the promises of God that he had given to Abraham, Issac (Gen 26:3-4), and Jacob (Gen 28:13-15) there is some way to go. After all God had promised to Abraham that he would greatly increase your numbers (Gen 17:2), that Abraham would be the father of many nations (Gen 17:4,5), he would be very fruitful, nations would come from Abraham, kings would come from Abraham (Gen 17:6). Remember what makes the promise of God to Abraham even more remarkable is that when the promise came, when Abraham was yet without an heir through Sarah, he had one son Ishmael but God was pointing to how something great was going to happen, something miraculous, for from Abraham there would come many, as numerous as the sand on the sea shore or the stars in the night (Gen 15:5, 17:1-8, 22:17). 

How was this all going to happen, it was going to happen by the work of God. His great work of salvation was progressing with this population explosion in Egypt. The land was now filled with them, this is more than a hind of the miraculous, it was God beginning to fulfil his promises to Abraham, Issac and Jacob, God’s covenant promises were being fulfilled there in Egypt accordion to his purposes that would one day bring about the saviour Jesus Christ. 

Providence, the protective care of God. We will think about this more in the coming week and weeks but for now remember that God is still at work, God’s works of providence are, his most holy, (Ps. 145:17) wise, (Ps. 104:24, Isa. 28:29) and powerful preserving, (Heb. 1:3) and governing all his creatures, and all their actions. (Ps. 103:19, Matt. 10:29–31) (WSC11). God by his providential care is at work, today and every day, in all that we face, in the highs and lows, even in our darkest hour. 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q50 What is required in the second commandment?
The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. (Deut. 32:46, Matt. 28:20, Acts 2:42)
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Day 280

Pray (ACts)

Read - Genesis 3v14-15

Message - Scott Woodburn
If someone ever wrongs you then common wisdom says that you learn your lesson and never allow that person to get the better of you again. "Fool me once" we say "then shame on you. Fool me twice, then shame on me." Today we can be thankful that the Lord did not adopt this approach.

We have spoken over these Christmas weeks of promise and specifically God's promises. He willingly lowers Himself and deals with us by way of covenant. The covenant of redemption is a promise made in eternity past between the three persons of the Trinity. The Father chooses a people, the Son dies for them and the Spirit draws them to the Son. The covenant of works was made between God and man whereby eternal life was promised on the basis of Adam's obedience. With those foundations, this week we speak of the covenant of grace.

Amazingly the covenant of grace is proclaimed in the aftermath of the fall. The covenant of works lies in tatters and Adam and Eve's relationship with God is broken. Soon they will be put out of the garden and soon murder will enter their family dynamic. Sin and death have entered the world and God's perfect creation has been utterly marred as a result.

None of us could argue if at this stage, the Lord decreed "We're finished. I'll never be fooled again. I will have nothing further to do with sinful humanity." but thanks be to God because His response to our fall was a proclamation of grace. In today's passage we meet the covenant of grace and stunningly it is first preached to the devil himself.

God tells the liar and father of lies that there will be constant trouble (enmity) between the children of God and the children of the devil. In just a few short words the rest of history is mapped out. We shouldn't be surprised when the world wages war against the church. In the world today Christianity is the world's most persecuted religion. We may not yet see it in the West, but ask a Christian in Saudi Arabia how easy life is and you will see the scale of enmity between the offspring of the woman and the devil.

This enmity would continue until a child would arrive. Jesus was the offspring promised and would would wage war against Satan and his minions. The Lord would be beaten and bruised and would ultimately lose His life, but in victory He would stand again on the earth. Christ's heel would be bruised or in other words a non-fatal blow would be struck against Him. Not so for Satan. The Lord describes his wound as having his head crushed.

At Calvary the offsrping of the woman, Jesus Christ, would utterly destroy the enemy. Today Satan still rages for he knows his time is short but he is not and will not be victorious - he is a bound and defeated foe who will know the punishment of eternal hell. 

The covenant of grace was declared in Genesis 3 and in Jesus Christ it was fulfilled. All those who believe in Jesus will be set free from Satan's chains and the one who Christ sets free is free indeed.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q52 What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment? The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God’s sovereignty over us, his propriety in us, and the zeal he hath to his own worship.
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Day 277

Pray (ACts)

Read - Genesis 3v21

Message - Scott Woodburn
What became of Adam & Eve? Despite them playing a fundamental part in human history they very quickly disappear from the pages of Scripture. In Genesis 4 we read about how they are blessed with a family. Cain arrived first and Eve understands the Lord's help in providing her with a son (Genesis 4v1). Cain and his brother Abel worship the Lord with offerings and so it is reasonable to assume that Adam and Eve would have done the same. Eve is thankful again with the arrival of her third son Seth (Genesis 4v25) but very quickly the Genesis account moves to Noah and our attention shifts to his great big boat.

So what should we think of Adam and Eve? Some might argue that because of their sin, Adam and Eve are lost. But here is what I think - Adam and Eve were the first members of the church of Jesus Christ. That might seem like a bold claim but I promise I haven't just plucked it from thin air. In today's reading we see an extraordinary act of grace from almighty God. His perfect creation now sees the enemy of death running rampant, sin has entered the world and the shadow of the cross looms large over Eden. The Lord would have been perfectly justified if He had decreed the immediate death of the first couple.

Soon Adam and Eve would be driven from the garden. Their relationship with a holy God had been ripped asunder by their sin, but before they go, the Lord clothes them with animal skins (v21). We should be familiar with this imagery. God covers our sinful shame with spotless white garments. We have our nakedness covered by the actions of another. Christ's righteousness is credited to our account by faith and so the same grace filled action is carried out by the Lord in Eden. Blood is shed and animal skins are given to the first people as a covering.

I believe this verse gives us reason to believe that Adam and Eve were saved. Notice that by this stage the covenant of works is over. Adam has ripped it up and eternal life is no longer in reach via his own works. Instead Adam and Eve are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. I know some struggle with such a statement but look at chapter four once again. How do we explain Eve's reaction to the birth of Cain and later the birth of Seth? She delights in the birth of her sons, her offspring, for she knows and understands that the Lord will bring redemption to His people with the coming of a child.   

She has heard the promise of God as outlined in Genesis 3v15. We call this the covenant of grace and will consider it more fully next week, but already Eve and her husband know that without the grace of God and the perfect sacrifice of a coming Redeemer, they have no hope. Instead, with eyes of faith, Adam and Eve in their own offspring see the promises of God being fulfilled. The road is not without its bumps, Adam and Eve soon will have to bury their own son Abel, but the road will certainly see God's promises fulfilled.

So what became of Adam and Eve? Today they are in glory with all the saints of God who have gone on before. Some died before Christ's coming and some died after, but all of them received Christ by faith. Their sins are remembered no more, they have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and they are clothed in sparkling white robes. Even in the dark days of humanity's rebellion the Lord was still extending His strong hand of grace. Today it is still extended and this Christmas there is no sinner too sinful beyond the reach of His hand. Christian, rest in that grace, you stand forgiven! Sinner, receive that grace, call upon the Lord today and be saved.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q50 What is required in the second commandment? The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word.
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Day 276

Pray (ACts)

Read - Luke 2:1-7 - 1 Tim 3:16

Message - Alan Burke 
Today many of you will be unwrapping presents surrounded by family, for other you are alone and all you have are memories of days that have gone by when the wains were all excited, or maybe for you this day is a day just like any other. Where ever you are this day and what ever you are doing I want to draw your attention to the reality of what happened in the incarnation, how the eternal Son of God became Man. It was what God had promised long ago that he would do, by sending one to crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). And it is this promise came to fruition in the coming of Jesus Christ the Son of the Most High God. He was born of the virgin Mary, made flesh and blood and yet was without sin. 

Remember though the setting of the announcement, Nazareth a nothing town that was unimportant and of no consequence, the Status of Mary who was a nobody, how Jesus came into this world in the humblest of circumstance laid in a feeding trough, wrapped in swaddling cloths. What a way for the King of kings to enter the world. Martin Luther makes the point that God might well “have gone to Jerusalem and picked out Caiaphas’s daughter, who was fair, rich, clad in gold embroidered raiment and attend by a retinue of maids in waiting. But God preferred a lowly maid from a mean town”. Our Saviour came in the humblest of circumstances, he left the splendour of Glory to become one of us to be lifted upon a cross for sinners like us, he suffered as the divine Son of God, giving his life for us. This is the humiliation of Christ, In his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross (WSC 27).

In the wonder of humility, the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, Jesus Christ humbled himself for us, made in the likeness of men (Phil 2:2). He who was equal with God, who being in the very form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:6). He stripped himself of the robes of his glory, and covered himself with the rags of our humanity so that he could deal with the sins of many (Heb 9:7). He traded his riches for our poverty, so that we could know Grace, it is a mystery that we can never fully understand until we come to heaven that God manifested in the flesh, born into the world, so that we who are by nature enemies of God might be called the children of God. He loved us enough to come to save us, he humbled himself for us. 

Don’t loose sight of this, what Christ has done for us, that we might be reconciled to God. In the midst of what ever  has happened or lies ahead of you this day and every day, don’t loose sight of what the incarnation, the humiliation of Christ means, for it is the way that we might be saved. Let praise rise within you whether you are surround by people you know and love or are isolated and alone, know the joy of sins forgiven through Christ the Saviour. For God is not aloof, removed from those whom he has created and the incarnation proves this. We have a Lord who was willing to take our humanity for the sake of our salvation (1 Tim 3:16). 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q49 Which is the second commandment?
The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thy self to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exod. 20:4–6)
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Day 275

Pray (ACts)

Read - Genesis 2v15-17

Message - Scott Woodburn
At a certain age the main question we want to ask is "Why?"..."Why do we have to go to school?"..."Why do I have to brush my teeth?"...then as the years roll on perhaps the question becomes "Why me?" Thankfully our Lord never stopped to ask "Why?", He didn't come reluctantly, He didn't drag His feet. Jesus came willingly into that which He created. But why did He come? Jesus came because sinful humanity had fallen and were in dire need of a Redeemer.

We spoke last week of the covenant of redemption and this week we speak of the covenant of works. This was the covenant made with Adam which promised everlasting life and was dependent on Adam's perfect and personal obedience. We find it outlined in Genesis 2 with God commanding Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (v17). This was Adam's work. He could eat of any other tree (v16) but not this one. If Adam had met God's command with obedience then He would have enjoyed everlasting life.

Sadly this isn't a story with a happy ending. God was clear that the day Adam disobeyed would be the day that death would enter the world, Adam would surely die if he chose the road of rebellion (v17). The promise of everlasting life would be gone, the covenant of works would lie in tatters and humanity would fall from a place of bliss and joy. Adam did indeed disobey and in Adam all have sinned and deserve the wrath of God (Romans 5v12). It is here that we find the "why" of Christmas.

You and I are descendants of the first man Adam. We speak of him as the "federal head" of humanity and because we are part of the human race we share in disobedient and sinful Adam's fall. If we remain in Adam, then surely we will die (1 Corinthians 15v22). What we need is another Adam. A perfect Adam. An Adam who would perfectly and personally obey God. Jesus is the second Adam. The greater Adam. The first Adam is called "a type of the one who was to come" (Romans 5v14) with Jesus being the promised one.

Why did Christ take on flesh? Because of the fall, because of sin and because God had in eternity past decreed that He would have a people for His own possession. Without Christ's arrival and his subsequent perfect obedience and sacrifice at Calvary we would be undone. But Jesus has come and "while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5v6)

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q48 What are we specially taught by these words, before me,” in the first commandment? These words, before me,” in the first commandment teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God.

Day 274

Pray (ACts)

Read - Isaiah 9:6-7 

Message - Alan Burke 
Today we come ultimately before the true King, the King of kings (Rev 17:14), the one who sits enthroned over all earthly rules, over all people everywhere. One of the best known prophecies of the coming of Christ is from Isaiah 9. It comes in a time that the people were under the discipline of God, yet in the midst of it all, God is speaking through Isaiah to point his people to how this King would come. 

But before we think of this prophecy we think to David. David was the greatest king of God’s people, he was responsible for what was the golden age of Israel under (1 Chron 18:4). Remember how it all began, how he was left in the field as the youngest and least important son of Jesse, yet he became king and was a shepherd king who led God’s people. Even though Israel experienced a golden age, David was not a perfect king. He was one who demonstrated a heart that sometimes rebelled, at times he put what he wanted for himself before the will of God. He did some foolish, sinful things that put his people in danger to get what he wanted for himself.

The kings that followed went from bad to worse, the kingdom was split into two, the people were faithless, the were conquered by other nations who ruled over them and in a time such as this God speaks through Isaiah. In Isaiah 9:6-7 we are told “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

God was giving his people the promise of his divine grace to his people. This child has now come, the Son of God. This son and this promise of the incarnation is the invincible figure striding across the world stage. He is the Wonderful Counsellor one who is able to make wise plans. He is a ruler whose wisdom is beyond merely human capabilities, he is Mighty God. Everlasting Father as in king who is our benevolent protector, which is the task of the ideal king and is also the way God himself cares for his people. The Prince of Peace, whose reign will bring about peace, this king is the king that is divine. 

Isaiah focuses the messianic hope on an heir of David who would extend his rule from Israel to include all the Gentiles, and thus finally to bring to them the blessing of knowing the true God. Of the increase … no end. The empire of grace will forever expand, and every moment will be better than the last. Jesus has been given the throne of David (Lk 1:32), and rules with justice and with righteousness. This is the King that we have, this is the King we know through faith and this is the King who will return and take his people to himself. 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment?
The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, (Ps. 14:1) or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, (Rom. 1:21) and our God; (Ps. 81:10–11) and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone. (Rom. 1:25–26)
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Day 273

Pray (ACts)

Read - Matthew 1v18-25

Message - Scott Woodburn
Christmas couldn't be more miraculous and yet we are so familiar with the story that it has become quite run of the mill. When I was a child one of the great delights around this time of the year was getting the Christmas edition of the Radio Times. In those glossy pages all the specials, all the shows and all the movies that would be shown at Christmas were highlighted. Usually though, there would be very few big surprises and more often than not you would end up watching Star Wars or Indiana Jones for the seventeenth time. The Christmas story can be like that. It has lost some of it's allure.

If this week seems routine and Friday is going to be just another day, lets take some time to recall just what happened in Bethlehem. The omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God...the God who made the universe and everything in it...the God who knows no sin or weakness...the God who doesn't slumber of sleep...the God who is eternally three yet one...the God whose name is "I am who I am"...this God...the one true God...this God...He stepped into what He had created and became like us in every way, except sin. Simply miraculously extraordinary.

We shouldn't make any images of Christ and this season teaches us why. Every Christmas picture I've ever seen shows a quiet, gentle scene with a little child who has a halo around his head. Yet it wasn't like this. Mary knew the agony of childbirth, she would have strained with exertion, cried with pain and spilt her own blood. The head that would wear a crown of thorns would soon crown and be pushed into the world and finally, with labour over, the Lord Jesus would take his first deep breath of oxygen. Oxygen is made up of two atoms and in the form of oxides makes up about half of the earth's crust. Jesus made every inch. In creation all things were made by Jesus and for Jesus and here was Jesus gasping for His first breath outside His mother's womb.

Later He would know hunger and cry out so that His mother would hold Him to her breast. Soon tiredness would grip Him and He would be laid down to sleep. In just the first few moments of His life, He would experience everything that you and I once experienced. God had become like us in every way, yet without sin. In the weeks to come the Lord would have almost certainly known sickness. Perhaps he endured colic. Perhaps he woke in the night with pains and cried for His mother. Perhaps as new teeth pushed through His gums He chewed on something to ease His discomfort. Eventually he would speak a first word and later still He would take His first step and almost certainly, there would be tumbles before Christ became steady on His feet.

I don't exaggerate any of this. Christmas has become "gentle Jesus meek and mild" and has encouraged us to buy into the snow covered Christmas card image of the season. May we not miss the reality. The Christ had come down from His heavenly home because humanity had fallen from their original estate. His arrival had been planned in eternity and proclaimed for centuries and here, finally, it was time. His name would be Jesus, for He had come to save His people from their sins.   

Pray (acTS)

Sing

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Q46 What is required in the first commandment? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly.

Day 272

Pray (ACts)

Read - John 1:1-18

Message - Alan Burke 
I want you to think to how each of the Gospel accounts begin. If you are familiar with them you will already know that they are so very different, they have different emphases, the Gospel of Mark begins with the baptism of Jesus (Mk 1:1-11), whereas Luke at some length give us the account of his birth in Bethlehem and Matthew’s account begins with the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham. Matthew and Luke’s Gospel explain to us how the Holy Spirit conceived within the virgin Mary, Jesus, who would come to save the people from their sins (Matt 1:20-21). In the Gospel of Luke we are told of how Mary would in her womb conceive and bear a son, his name would be Jesus and that his kingdom would have no end (Luke 1:31-33). Whereas John’s focus, is not on Jesus baptism, or on his birth or lineage, rather John goes back, long before the other Gospel accounts begin, back to before the creation of the world there to the very beginning.

John wants to draw our attention to the preexisting Jesus as well as his absolute deity, how he was and is divine, that Jesus is God and posses every attribute that God possesses in His divine nature. John tells us of how the Word (speaking of Jesus), the same word that was with God in the beginning, that was God became incarnate as a human being and manifested the Glory of God (14). What love that God has for sinners that he would condescend in humility to our impoverished and lowly estate to exalt us and make us rich in Him though his death on the Cross! (2 Cor. 8:9, Phil. 2:8).

The Eternal Son of God took upon Himself in permanent, personal, union and subsistence unto Himself, he took on our nature! From the moment of his incarnation onwards, throughout his life on earth, he was God and man in two distinct natures, and now at the right hand of the Father in heaven enthroned at God’s right hand as King of kings and Lord of lords, is God Himself in the flesh, and a faithful and powerful and good and compassionate mediator for sinners (Heb. 2:14-18; 4:14-16). All of this so that we who do not deserve God’s grace, can know his grace, that we might be saved. For it is by grace that we have been saved, his free and unmerited favour towards us that was manifested though God the Son, the redeemer who did what we could not do so that we could be saved from our sin and shown the unmerited favour of God. 

Salvation is not because of what we have done that God loves us, it is not because of who we are that God loves us, it is not because of anything we can hope to do that God loves us, it is not our own work, it is not the result of a choice we made. Rather, this is the sovereign will of God being worked out in our lives, resurrecting us from the dead so that we can call on Christ as our saviour and be brought into God's covenant family, this is what the incarnation of the word of God this day means for us who have received the grace of God, that we are his. 

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q45 Which is the first commandment?
The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exod. 20:3)
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