Neac - Newtown: Erskineville Anglican Church

As we continue our look at Hebrews, we see this week that the cosmic Christ of chapter 1 is also the one who came among us to taste death, defeat the devil, cleanse our sin and become a great high priest for us. Jesus shared our humanity in order to be a faithful high priest for us and to call us his brother. Jesus' humanity does not diminish his glory, but is instead the reason for it.

This week, we begin our look at the book of Hebrews. In the opening passage, we get a summary of the book as a whole. We see the glory of Jesus Christ, in whom is the final word spoken by God, the revelation of God himself in human flesh. He is the one who sustains creation and provides purification for our sins. He is vastly superior to angels! Our great danger is in drifting away rather than paying close enough attention to him. We are summoned to 'pay the most careful attention' (2:1) to the word of the gospel.

At the heart of the passage is reopening the theme of 1 Samuel: finding a leader. Because David, as good as he is, is found wanting at the end. They needed, and we need, someone who both stands with us in our predicament and leads us through it into salvation.

NEAC - Newtown: Erskineville Anglican Church

David a Man Chosen by God's Own Heart has his heart shattered by the Word of God. David heart and motives are exposed

The golden thread that holds the whole Bible together, the central message that makes sense of all the details, is this: God has promised. Faith (in the Biblical sense) is not just believing the information the Bible contains. Faith is believing God’s promise.

How does this all actually work in a real life?

What does a transformed life look like?

What exactly is God up to in our lives?

Humility comes from finding mercy in the holiness of God.

While there is no doubt that David was the object of the people’s affection, their love for him was more than that. It was their response to him —the one whom the Lord was with, who was doing for them what their king had failed to do. Their love was “the kind of attachment people had to a king who would fight their battles for them.” It is important to see that this kind of love is required of God’s people for God himself.

God is the God of the unexpected. While he is all-powerful, and there is no power in all creation that comes close to matching his power, his power “is made perfect in weakness,”

When God sees, he does not just see things with the eyes, as we do, taking in only impressions. God sees according to his heart. That is, God’s point of view is determined by his own will and purpose. He sees according to his own intentions, his heart.

Israel is in a terrible state and as we start on our journey through 1 & 2 Samuel. In 1 Samuel we see "you cannot know God and live in disobedience to God. On the other hand, in the case of Samuel, we see that it is only possible to know God when God acts to make himself known."

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” - Mark 16:6-7 Hear the story of the risen Lord Jesus here.

NEAC - Newtown: Erskineville Anglican Church

Join us as we contemplate how compassion and justice come together in Jesus' death on the cross for us.

The people saw Jesus’ arrival as a king coming to assume his throne. Jesus saw his arrival as a dead man walking coming to be executed.

NEAC - Newtown: Erskineville Anglican Church

Galatians 6:6–10 - Turns to the theme of community responsibility, emphasizing, in particular, helping others financially, especially teachers and fellow believers. Part of what it means to march in step with the Spirit (5:25) is to care for the practical needs of other believers. Those who fulfil the law of Christ (6:2) are those who follow the example Christ set of self-giving love for others (5:14). Such love manifests itself in caring for the concrete needs of others.