Tim Baldwin preaching on Song of Songs 25th Sep, 2011

Eph 5 tells us of the relationship between a man and a woman and compares it with the relationship between the Christ and the church. Song of Songs 5 talks about an intimate relationship which suffers a set back before being restored.

Marriage is more than ‘feeling in love’, it is to be modeled on Christ’s love for a church and built on covenant and commitment. Marriage is meant to show the world of Gods love of the church.

1. Lift our view of marriage – invest is marriage to put God and his goodness on display

2. Takes the pressure off – if you are a Christian, gathered into church (bride) for an unbreakable marriage with Christ. (see Rev 21). The intimacy of the best marriage is just a glimpse of the eternal marriage that we have in Christ.

Thank God for the gift of marriage

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Andrew Heard preaching on Song of Songs 18th Sep, 2011

Song of Songs - means the ultimate song and is poetry describing the emotions between a woman and a man. It contains wise insights about human love that is deep, physical and erotic.

- As humans we are physical and we ought not be ashamed of our physical appearance.

- sex is good and to be delighted in within loving marriage.

Sex isn’t the big thing, (see Mark 12:24) , and neither is marriage. Jesus is and we need to be careful not to make an idol of relationships.

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Andrew Heard preaching on Proverbs 31 11th Sep, 2011

Proverbs 31:10-31 is a Hebrew poem where each verse starts with a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The poem describes an inspirational woman, someone to aspire to be. This woman is a potrayal of Wisdom, a wisdom that brings good, works hard, has good humour and grows from a foundation of the fear of the Lord.

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Tim Baldwin preaching on Proverbs 27 – Friendship Father’s Day 4th Sep, 2011

Relationships impact us, because we were created for relationship.

• A friend is someone who is around when times are tough. Prov 18:24 See also Prov 25:19
• Friends rebuke in love. Prov 27:5,6
• Friends are gracious Prov 17:9
• Friends we have influence us. Chose your Friends wisely. Prov 13:20

What does Jesus say about friendship? John 15, Luke 14

• extreme friendship, he laid down his life for us
• to be a friend of Jesus, our love for him should be so great that our love for our closest earthly friends should appear like hate in comparison.
• loving Jesus above all gives us the security to love others in a way that brings glory to God.

The best thing we can do for our relationships is to love Jesus more.

Father’s day video

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Craig Dobbie preaching on Proverbs – Work 28th Aug, 2011

Creation
God himself is a worker, unlike the pagan gods. When God created humans, work was part of the blessing of life.

Fall
Lazy people lack discernment. The sluggard thinks that the small surrenders e.g ‘just a little more sleep’, won’t make any difference. Prov 26 tells us that laziness brings a whole family of other sins such as pride. Lack of discernment is a lack of spiritual discernment.

Restoration
1 Cor 15 – Jesus is the beginning of the restoration and his reserection the proof that Gods promises are true.
Who you are working for matters. Work to bring honour to God in your work.

It matters the way we work.
Whilst we often ask what does God want me to do? Instead we should first ask with what work character does God want me to exhibit.
There is a kind of work that always matters – 1 Cor 58 “Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because this work is never in vain”

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Andrew Heard preaching on Proverbs  – Control of the Tongue 21st Aug, 2011

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Andrew Heard preaching on Proverbs 10 14th Aug, 2011

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Andrew Heard preaching on Proverbs 8-9 7th Aug, 2011

James tells us that whoever wants wisdom can ask for it ? God gives wisdom by increasing your ability to think and exercise good judgement using the context of the Bible.
Wisdom is shaped by the following elements.

• Context
  • Created
  • Ordered
    Prov 8:22 The world is ordered, and what you see is perfection broken, rather than a random unordered collection of events.
    Life can be like a dislocated joint, and when you find true wisdom, you find God and this brings freedom, contentment.
    Col 1:28-29 Proclaim Jesus and perfect you through Jesus – through wisdom !
  • Fallen
    
    We live in a fallen world, and so this means
    Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
    1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asks for wisdom because he recognizes he needs it.
  • Cross / Resurrection
    We live this side of the cross, and those that follow Jesus follow a suffering servant, things won’t always be prosperous.  Through suffering our faith is refined so we can enjoy glimpses of the new world to come and gain a solid hope in eternal life.
• Choices in the light of
• Discipline to enact

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Craig Dobbie preaching on Proverbs 4-5  31st July, 2011

How do we live the ‘good life’?

1. Importance of listening. Wisdom is the pay off for having the discipline to listen rather than talking. Prov 4:10
2. The moral dimension to wisdom. Prov 4 explains the judgement required to chose right against wrong. Prov 5 advises to invest in marriage. Sin hardens our hearts and therefore makes it hard to see objectively.
3. The need to protect your heart.Prov 4:23 Above all else guard your heart. Recognise that you have a sinful nature and can easily fail if we rely on our own strength.
4. The wise man always takes the long view
5. The wise man comes to Jesus for mercy

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Andrew Heard preaching on Proverbs 1-3 24th July, 2011

Proverbs is a book of wise sayings written by Solomon and other wise authors.
The purpose is to provide & deepen wisdom. It’s an important book because we only get one life, before we are ushered into eternity.
One of the blessings of being human is that we are given the ability to learn what life is about and know and act in a way that brings success.
Prov 3:13 tells us that in wisdom and insight you are able to interpret life and make the most of it!

How to obtain wisdom? It calls out to you (Prov 1:20)

Life is not random, but rather ordered and structured and hence wise sayings have universal application. Proverbs offers wisdom on the patterns of life. Wisdom is worn like exterior clothing and should be visible. There are 3 aspects of wisdom.

1. Know where you are (the context of life)
2. Identifying right decisions to make
3. Having the discipline to make & continue to make right choices

Eph 5:15 commands us to continue to live for God, equip yourself to make wise choices
The world was created by God, is ordered and knowing him is the foundation of wisdom. Prov 1:7 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Jesus parable about the 2 men who built houses, one on sand, one on rock, reminds us that the right foundation is required for wisdom.
Give thanks for the wisdom of proverbs, pray for wisdom and for ongoing discipline to make right choices.

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