A spirit of grace and supplication, and a fountain that cleanses and purifies; Jesus made a way to cleanse us and purify us by his blood and by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Christmas - a time for family to draw near and worship our Saviour
In the story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2 we see that the unseen realm of angels, and Holy Spirit play a big part in not only Jesus's birth but also in announcing His birth and then bringing people to bless and prophesy into Him not long after His birth.
Paul declares that, "what counts is the new creation." This is a key to understanding what happens when someone puts their hope and trust in Jesus Christ, in the power of his death and resurrection in which we are included by faith.
We are called to a life that is lived by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; to walk by the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25). But we have an ongoing choice to make room for the Spirit's work
Stewarding our freedom - crucifying the sinful nature and learning to order our lives in the Spirit day by day. By this we fulfill the second greater commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself.”
Galatians: Paul's deep understanding of the Law and his background in intense religious practices gave him a unique perspective that the only way to get right with God was through faith in Jesus and trusting in the power of His cross.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul uses the story of Hagar and Sarah (Genesis 12-21) to draw out our identity as sons of God's promise through faith in Jesus rather than sons who live as slaves under the Old Covenant Law.
The Law was our "guardian" until Christ came, but the main goal of the Law is to lead us to Jesus and show us why we need him. And if you belong to Christ, then you are part of Abraham’s promise.... you have been adopted, you are now heirs with Christ and everything in God’s kingdom has been made available to you.
The first in a series of messages from Galatians - the gospel is Jesus *plus nothing*! Paul is alarmed at how Jewish rules are being imposed on gentile Christians.