Real People, Real Plans, Real Grace
Sunday, 28 November 2021 by
Gathering Growing Going
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CloseLetters are remarkably personal pieces of literature. Academics mine them for information on topics of choice, knowing that information in letters is often personal and reflective. Fans treasure them for their insights into the lives of those they adore. And journalists love them for often salacious details that they reveal about writers and recipients. The letters we have in the New Testament are no different for their personal revelations. But we treasure them as God’s people because they are God’s word through the pens and lives of His people. Today we start one of those letters – Titus. It is deeply personal, a letter from an older Christian apostle to a younger protégé. It contains deeply personal exhortation from Paul to Titus, as Titus is left to do a difficult job. But the last line of the letter – in the plural – widens the scope of the letter’s significance to all God’s people, everywhere – and that includes us in Narrabri. This week, we will meet the writer and the recipient, and next week the context of this letter’s composition.
Scripture References: Titus 1:1-4, Acts 9:1-19, Psalms 81:1-16
Related Topics: Titus | More Messages from Bernard Gabbott | Download Audio
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The book of Esther recounts a period where God's people are in exile, aliens in a foreign land. Sounds like our time doesn't it? Even when God seems absent, He is at work. The great reversal of power at the heart of the universe has already taken place. Jesus won victory over death on the cross and in His resurrection. Satan the great enemy of God and His people, has been defeated. We wait in the now but not yet. Waiting for the Lord Jesus to return and give His people relief and rest. But as we wait, we share the good news of the gospel, call people to faith in Jesus, faithfully endure persecution, knowing that our deliverance is assured.
We love a turning point. Whether it is a story or a football game. Hope dawning at the darkest time. Where is the great turning point in Esther? It could be our memory verse, when Esther is persuaded by Mordecai to act to save her people. It could be when the king looks with favour upon Esther and holds out the golden scepter to her. It could be when Haman is forced to lead Mordecai through the city mounted on the king’s horse and proclaims that he is the man the king delights to honour. They are major events in the story of Esther. They are turning points of a sort. But the writer of Esther points us to another event. That looks so trivial.
Esther is such an exciting story! There are evil plots. There are interesting yet flawed characters. There is risk and sacrifice. There is heroism and villainy. Today, we are introduced to the villain of the plot, and what an evil scheming villain he is! He spins lies and concocts murderous plans to do away with the Jews, God’s covenant people. How will the people respond? Will he get away with his evil plan? Will God, who is not mentioned at all, intervene to protect His people, to live up to the promises He made to Abraham, the people at Mt Sinai, and to David?
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