Jubilee Church Hull

At advert we anticipate the arrival of the promised King and one of the descriptions used by Isaiah about who this king would be is ‘everlasting father. Jesus comes to be king and to look after his people. He would care for this children forever and prepare a place for them in heaven. (Isaiah 9:6)

At advert we anticipate the arrival of the promised King and one of the descriptions used by Isaiah about who this king would be is ‘wonderful counsellor’. Jesus would be a supernatural source of extraordinary wisdom. He would be good news to those in need and filled with the Holy Spirit would demonstrate the Kingdom at work through his wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength and knowledge. (Isaiah 9:6)

There is so much to say about the love of God but what is even more amazing, is that God is love. John shows us the love of God in His identity (‘God is love’), in His incarnation (‘God sent his only son into the world’), and in His initiation of relationship with us (‘not that we loved God, but that he loved us’). God is love. We get to enjoy that love today knowing the nothing can ever separate us from it. (1 John 4:8-10, Romans 8:31-39)

God is good by definition, and that means wherever you find goodness, you will God. Even with a good God, who is sovereign over everything and has the control over all things, bad things still happen, and good people still suffer. However, God is always good and that means if God has done something that it is good. We may not understand why God has done it, but we can be confident based on Scripture and our experience, that God is good, let us taste and see. (Psalm 34:8, Genesis 1:31, Mark 10:18)

When Jesus returns, He will no longer be the one who humbly rode a donkey into Jerusalem but triumphantly riding a horse. The world will encounter a sovereign King with a passion for righteousness and a desire to vindicate those who have suffered for His name. This is the king we follow and to who, one day every knee will bow. (Revelation 19:16, 1 Timothy 6:15, Philippians 2:10-11)

God is the one who both gives the law and administers judgement. The Bible makes it clear that the wage of our sin is death, and our judgement awaits us. Isaiah understands God is judge but also knows God is the king who will save us. We can run to our judge knowing that He is just, but that punishment has been poured on Jesus on the cross. (Isaiah 33:22, Psalm 50:6, James 4:12)

God throughout scripture shows us that despite our rebellion, He is relentless in His pursuit of us. God continually shows His people His mercy not because of our actions but despite our actions as He reveals His goodness, His gentleness and His tenderness to us. This mercy is ultimately shown through Jesus’ sacrifice, and we find that because of this mercy, we find forgiveness and grace poured into our lives. (Romans 9:15-16, Luke 1:78, Exodus 34:6-7, Philippians 2:7)

God is forever faithful. We can trust Him that he will always be faithful to His word and His promises. It means we can confidently await Christ’s return knowing He will achieve all He set out to accomplish. Even in the face of our unfaithfulness, God is always faithful. (Romans 3:3-4, Revelation 19:11)

God created all things is one of the most important but most contested teachings in the Bible. Believing God created all things means rejecting lots of common beliefs about the universe but leads us to worship our creator who is worthy of glory and honour and power. He is in total control, and we can confidently trust Him in all things. (Genesis 1:1, Revelation 4:11)

Two occasions, 800 years apart and we hear the angels declaring the same thing in both as they are overwhelmed by the staggering holiness of God. To say that God is holy is to say that He is other than you, separate from you, distinct, cut off, set apart, devoted to Himself and nothing else. In Isaiah, we are given a picture of God who is totally unlike us. It is no surprise that the angels were overwhelmed by such holiness. (Isaiah 6:1-3, Revelation 4:8)

In creation everything is changeable and yet God himself is unchanging. This means that we can have such confident in approaching Him. His commitment to His glory, His compassion for the broken, His anger at sin and His passion for justice remain constant. So, when we come to God, we will find He is always the same. (Psalm 102:25-27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8)

Exploring what church looks like in this next season. For more information visit www.notdull.org/gathering

Exploring what church looks like in this next season. For more information visit www.notdull.org/gathering

Exploring what church looks like in this next season. For more information visit www.notdull.org/gathering

Josh Davies shares from Joshua 13:1-7 on how as people of faith we walk into God's promises.

The church was always meant to be a gathered people. This has changed during COVID-19 but being together is a key element to being in this family. As we gather, God is with us and we demonstrate His kingdom to those around us (Hebrews 10:19-25).

In a culture gripped by greed, we choose to be people who live generously understanding that all we have is a gift from God for us to steward. That means we use our time, energy and resources to serve God, His church and our city (2 Corinthians 8 and 9).

In a culture which lives for the moment, we have our eyes fixed on eternity. We understand that we are living in the kingdom of God but we also await the return of Jesus and the new heavens and the new earth. We have expectancy that God will break in but we also understand we still live with the consequences of sin (Revelation 21).

We live in a world experiencing burn out. The constant need for more has led to striving and exhaustion. Jesus instead offers us rest for our souls. This is not a promise of an easy life but one where we find Jesus and the life he intends for us. We are invited to live a different way to the world around us (Matthew 11:25-30, Hebrews 4:1-11).

In a culture of compromise, we called to live with deep convictions knowing that life is found in following Jesus. This is contrary to the world around us that values autonomy and freedom. We are a holy people, set apart to demonstrate Jesus to the world. As we do that, we find a life not full of rules, guilt and shame but of joy (1 Peter 2: 9-12, Ephesians 2: 11-22).