So, is the resurrection just a nice story? Well, we’ll do our best to consider the resurrection and allow you to decide for yourselves about whether the scriptural accounts are resu-fiction, or resu-fact. My prayer is that as we delve into these questions it at least puts us on a path of finding the unshakable hope that the resurrection provides.

I think some of the richness of our faith is lost when we lose touch with how we got to where we are. One way to understand who we are and why we do and believe some of the things we do, is if we delve into the history of the wider Christian journey.

We as Reformed Presbyterians believe that the children of believers are part of God's covenant community. This isn't a new idea as we recognise this in scripture with Abraham in the Old Testament. The idea or concept of a covenant community is important to understand when we consider the children of believers.

Last week we began to explore the significance of what baptism is in our lives as Christians. We had viewed this from a Reformed Presbyterian perspective which is something that is important for us to recognise because it should help us to understand why we baptise the way that we do. Hopefully we saw last week that baptism is more than just a ritual, that it is deeply rooted in theology which our forebears had wrestled with for centuries, and that it represents a profound spiritual reality of what God has done in our lives.

This week, we will delve deeper into some of the fundamental ideas that shape our Reformed Presbyterian view of baptism.

Why do Presbyterians baptise infants? What about the Great Commission to baptise everyone? Do we have to be baptised to be saved? How much water do we actually need to be baptised? Well, I was Christened as a baby, do I have to be fully immersed now that I’m older and believe? Don’t we have to believe before we are baptised?

There’s a lot there to cover, so it might take two or three Sundays (at least) to cover it, but I’ll do my best to keep it “concise!”

2025 presents a fresh opportunity to embrace our identity as being "in Christ,” and to take this profound perspective into the new year. It's a call to live out the holiness and blamelessness to which we are called, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who is our seal and guarantee of the inheritance to come.

As we begin this journey through 2025, let us hold to these truths from our passage in Ephesians to guide our steps, reminding us of the unchanging love and faithfulness of our God. Happy New Year family!

It makes me wonder however, whether setting spiritually shaped new year resolutions might be a useful exercise for us as Christians to engage in?

I suppose any opportunity for us as Christians to reflect on who we are, our purpose, and God’s plan for us moving into the new year is beneficial.

During this fourth Sunday of Advent, this candle represents the unending love of God that found its perfect embodiment in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This should serve as a poignant reminder of the divine love, the ongoing compassion and goodwill of God.

Love is our mission. Jesus challenges us to extend grace to everyone—even those who oppose us. As Christmas approaches, let’s embody His love, creating spaces where all feel valued and cared for. Let’s live out His command, making His love visible in our daily lives.

Right throughout scripture we find that peace is on offer to us, Jesus himself said, "In me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). This is a peace that allows us to trust in God's promises, to maintain a tranquil faith despite the chaos around us. What our beautiful bible tells us is that the peace of God, or "shalom," is more than an absence of conflict; it is a slice of heaven given to us now, it is a glimpse of how things are meant to be.

This Sunday we will light the first candle of Hope, also known as the ‘Prophet’s Candle,’ and our reading from Isaiah this week is therefore quite appropriate, because Isaiah is quoted in the gospel of Mark, who speaks of the one who will prepare the way (John the Baptist), and who is he preparing the way for?

For our LORD, Jesus Christ, our beacon of hope.

Prayer is a strange thing for us as Christians, we have so many different ideas about how prayer works, we have different ways of how we might pray, and we believe different things about prayer. But we are called to pray, no, actually we are commanded to pray, and yet almost every one of us would probably admit that we do not pray as we should.

James as he usually does, helps us to consider a few important ideas in this short passage which are practical for us. One of these ideas is patience, a word that is repeated a number of times, so James is obviously highlighting this as one of the main ideas he is hoping to convey. But what are we to be patient for? Well it seems quite explicit in this passage that we are to wait patiently for our Lord.

What’s God’s mission for the church? What’s God’s mission for St George’s? What’s God’s mission for each one of us individually? Something for us to take time to carefully think about, because I think we all realise that the older we get, the less material wealth means, we certainly don’t take it with us. So again, what or who are we stewarding resources for?

…it is easy to have a plan in mind, thinking, ‘well yep, it’s taking a bit of time, I’ve got to set some goals to reach my goals faster,’ but we do this without really stopping to consider, is this what God wills in this situation?

You might find from your experience of reality, as I have, that it is far more reasonable to submit to the God scripture, than to submit to the ‘world.’

James speaks of two kinds of Wisdom. A Wisdom that comes from heaven, and a wisdom that comes from the world.

I picture a church that’s more like street food—simple, approachable, where anyone can come just as they are, see the goodness for themselves, and freely taste what’s offered.

The tongue is to be tamed and kept in check, not always easy for us to do especially in the heat of the moment, but for our own sake and those around us, let’s pray for help to steward our tongues well. 

…the idea of sola fide (faith alone), we will be exploring this on Sunday in our journey through the book of James. This is the idea that God’s salvation is a free gift offered to humanity and is not in any way secured by any effort on our part.