Queen's Road Cell

I was sharing about my realization that God really, really loves us (For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him - Ps 103:11). He cannot love us any more than he does, and His electing love for us does not change when we are foolish and sinful. And I thought of how we are meant to love one another as Jesus loves us (Jn 11:35). I feel ashamed to think of how my love for people around is conditional on how they behave. We are to live a life shaped by the grace of the gospel - the grace we ourselves have received. We talked about the pastoral issue of Christians who have depression and anxiety. I was asking how we resolve the issue of the Bible commanding us "Do not fear" or "be anxious for nothing" (Phil 4:6) or  "My grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9). My thought is that some of us do not have perfect mental health from genetic or environmental factors, and that we sometimes need not only prayer, Scriptural en...

We studied Luke 15, a chapter with 3 parables (The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son). These parables have in common something that was lost, then found, followed by rejoicing. Jesus taught the parables in response to the charge by the scribes and Pharisees that He "received (= eagerly awaited", c.f. Lk 2:25, 2:38, 12:36). sinners and ate (= had fellowship, cf. Rev 3:20) with them. "Sinners" refers to those on the fringes of respectable society - the outcasts and despised because of their lifestyle. Tax collectors and prostitutes were the usual sinners of gospel times, but we should be looking at our own society and context to ask where we would find 'sinners' to identify with and seek to save. I mentioned that the story of Tony Campolo and the prostitute's birthday is worth reading (http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Bible/Agnes.htm). The Kingdom of God is a party where we invite others to join in true joy and celebration! Jesus teaches in the parab...