Brief Gospel Messages

Jesus the Saviour

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:45:09 GMT

… Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Timothy 1v15)

More than 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah prophesied: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7v14)

The virgin was Mary. Joseph was not Jesus’ natural father - rather Jesus was “.. conceived.. of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1v20).

This was necessary - for He needed to be both God and man, and without sin - in order to be the One who “shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1v21).

We would be delighted to see you at one of our services, where you will hear more about this greatest of all kings. Be assured of our continued prayers for the people of Bentley.

Gain the world?

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:44:56 GMT

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? … (Matthew 16v26)

What would you do if you had vast wealth? You could enjoy a life of great comfort, luxury, possessions, excitement and ease.

However, all these things are temporary, and when your life is over, will mean nothing to you. Far more valuable is your soul, which will live forever in one of two places - heaven or hell.

The only way to heaven is to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive that full and free salvation in Him, with an eternity of joy to come. “... in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16v11)

The alternative is an eternity of torment in the other place… “the fire that shall never be quenched” (Mark 9v43)

Do not set your heart upon the riches of this world, which will perish, but seek after the Lord Jesus Christ, who has all riches to bestow upon those who love Him.

We would be delighted to see you at one of our services, where you will hear more about this greatest of all kings. Be assured of our continued prayers for the people of Bentley.

Jesus the Bridegroom

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:56:06 GMT

“Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” Psalms 19:5

Many of us like the sunshine, and we enjoyed some very sunny days in September. The Bible, poetically, describes the sun as being “as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber” (Psalm 19v5)

This reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ (who is called the “Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4v2)) is the Bridegroom, and His Church, those people who believe and trust in Him, are His bride. Jesus loves His bride so much that He suffered, bled and died for her, that she may be presented perfect and beautiful to God, clothed in the garments of Christ’s own righteousness.

We would be delighted to see you at one of our services, where you will hear more about this greatest of all kings. Be assured of our continued prayers for the people of Bentley.

Jesus the Word

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Isaiah 55:6

The wonder of creation shows us that God is vastly powerful, wise and glorious. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” (Psalm 19v1)

Yet, we need the Word of God, the Bible, to show us that He is also perfectly holy, just and merciful, and that we are all sinners before Him.

In particular the bible points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, and the only Saviour of sinners. He, too, is called the Word of God - He is the very Truth and Wisdom of God, and the source of all light and life.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….. In him was life; and the life was the light of men…. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1v1, 4, 14)

We would be delighted to see you at one of our services, where you will hear more about this greatest of all kings. Be assured of our continued prayers for the people of Bentley.

King of Kings

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:53:49 GMT

Revelation 19:16

“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

We pray for King Charles III, that God may give him the strength and wisdom necessary to serve in this role.

The Bible describes Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, as “King of kings, and Lord of lords”. Yet, He was willingly born in poverty as a man, and lived the life of a servant here on earth, in humble obedience to His heavenly Father, ending in a terrible death upon the cross. This was in order to save sinners, such as we all are.

“Christ Jesus… made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8)

We would be delighted to see you at one of our services, where you will hear more about this greatest of all kings. Be assured of our continued prayers for the people of Bentley.

The debt we owe

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:39:24 GMT

Matthew 18:27

“Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”

The UK national debt currently stands at almost £2.5 trillion. This is a truly staggering amount of money.

The bible describes our sin as representing a debt - not of money, but of justice. This is because all of us, without exception, have sinned against a God who is infinite and perfectly holy. This is a debt that is impossible for us to pay.

However, Jesus paid this debt for those who believe and trust in Him, when He died upon the cross, taking the punishment of God the Father for His people, as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

He is thus said to “redeem” the believer by paying the ransom price of His own blood, which is far more precious than all the world’s riches.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ….; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 18-19)

Ultimate Power

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:35:50 GMT

Romans 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

In lists of the world’s most powerful people, the top names are mostly political leaders and super-rich business people. However, all of these have only limited power - there are many, many things they cannot do, and, like the rest of us, they will all eventually face death.

God, on the other hand, is of unlimited power. He created the whole universe from nothing, simply by speaking. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made” (Psalm 33v6). He also sustains and governs all things.

But the greatest demonstration of God’s power is the Gospel, by which sinners (as all of us are) are brought to salvation and new life in Jesus Christ by believing and trusting in Him. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;” (Romans 1v16)

God Save the King

caroline-kent@outlook.com — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 08:46:10 GMT

“....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31)

We are saddened at the death of our dearly beloved Queen, Elizabeth II. For most of us, she was the only monarch we have known in this country, and now having a King represents a huge change which will take a lot of getting used to. In fact, it rather overshadowed the change of Prime Minister which occurred in the same week.

However, God never changes, but is the same throughout all eternity. “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3v6)

God is unchangeable both in who He is, and what He has purposed to do. Therefore, we can trust Him, and trust what He has said in the Bible. He will not backtrack or fail in His promises, and what He has promised He has the power to do. This includes such great promises as these:

“....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31)

Jubilee

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 13:08:58 GMT

Acts 4:12

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

We are thankful for the 70 years of the dignified reign of Queen Elizabeth II. We understand that she reads her bible every day, and we are thankful for this too, and pray for her regularly.

David was a great king of Israel in Old Testament days, described in the bible as “a man after God’s own heart”. In particular he prayed for and knew God’s forgiveness of sin - thus he wrote, under God’s inspiration:

“Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51v2)

One of king David’s descendants was the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.

He is a much greater King, described in the book of Revelation as “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS”.

Jesus is not only a King, but also a Saviour for those who believe and trust in him. In fact the very name Jesus means “Saviour”.

Acts 4:12 “...for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Doubting Thomas

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 13:05:35 GMT

Romans 10:9

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Many will have heard of the expression "doubting Thomas".

This refers to the occasion when, after His death on the cross and resurrection, Jesus came to His disciples, but Thomas was not with them.

When the other disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, he said to them "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25)

When Jesus came again to the disciples he invited Thomas to do just this. Thomas then believed and said to Him "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28)

This incident shows the patience and compassion of Jesus towards Thomas, but it also demonstrates to us that Jesus, after suffering and dying upon the cross, truly and physically rose from the dead, and is indeed the very Son of God and the only Saviour of sinners:

“...if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Life is Uncertain

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 13:00:57 GMT

James 4:14

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we are reminded that life on this earth is short and uncertain. Even if we live to be 100 years old, in the light of eternity that is but a very short time.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)

However, our time on earth is not the end. We all have immortal souls, and the bible tells us that:

....we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10)

It doesn't matter how good we think we are, or what good things we think we have done, we will be condemned, unless we believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, (Acts 16:31)

If we believe and trust in Him, our sins will be forgiven, and we will receive His righteousness, as if it were our own. Then we will be able to stand before an Almighty and Holy God.

THE GOSPEL – GOOD NEWS FOR SINNERS

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 12:58:12 GMT

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)

God is holy, and all of us are sinners:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)

All of us deserve God’s eternal punishment because of our sin, but there is a way out:

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

For all those who believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there is the guarantee of forgiveness of sin and eternal life:

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 3:16)

And for these, the ultimate promise is this:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:4)