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What does it mean to say that God is holy? Isaiah 6 shows us that holiness is, at its root, difference: God is separate from his creation, both in his being as Creator and in his moral perfection. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, with the seraphim crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” he was undone. A vision of God’s holiness exposed his own sin and the sin of his people. But the passage doesn’t stop there. The God who is different is not indifferent. He dwells with his creation and atones for the sin of his people.

Romans 8:31–39 is, without doubt, the literary highlight of this wonderful epistle. Its beautiful prose is poetic in its effect as it powerfully highlights God’s favour to his people. Its message is simple: Christian, you can personally claim, “God is for me.” In this study we will dig into vv. 31–34, examining the loving work of God for us in Christ—how this produces confidence that God is for us.

What does it mean to say God is almighty, and why does it matter for everyday life? In this message, we turn to Isaiah 40 to see the power of our God. We begin by asking what God’s omnipotence actually is. Rather than settle for a philosophical definition, we look at how Scripture shows God’s power: in redeeming his people, in creating by his word alone, in sustaining all creation, in his right over life and death, and in his rule over nations and rulers. We also see that God’s power is never separated from his other attributes. He is not a brute, a madman, or a tyrant, because his power is always joined to his love, knowledge, and righteousness. Then we ask why it matters, with three reflections: 1. God’s omnipotence makes us feel small in all the right ways. Looking up at the stars and hearing God’s words to Job puts us in our place and fixes our eyes on him instead of on ourselves or our circumstances. 2. It heals our misunderstandings of power. In a world where power is so often abused, Isaiah 40:10-11 shows a God whose might is expressed in tending his flock like a shepherd. 3. It means we can trust God. Unlike us, God can never overpromise or fall short of what he says. His promises are sure, and the gospel is good news we can stake our lives on. We close at the cross, the clearest display of God’s power, where the Lord who “comes with might” cried “It is finished.”

According to Romans 8 creation groans, Christians groan, and the Spirit groans. And this occurs in a world that moans. Though moaning might be culturally acceptable, it is unacceptable for the Christian. Romans 8:28–30 provide us with two ”musts” that keeps godly moaning from morphing into hopeless moaning: 1. What We Must Know (vv. 28–29) 2. What We Must Believe (v. 30)

The belief most central to a church is often the one in greatest danger of being neglected. What begins as central becomes assumed, and what is merely assumed is eventually abandoned. Drawing on D. A. Carson’s reflections on 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, we are challenged to examine whether we understand the Lord’s Supper or simply observe it without thought. From this text, we see four things the Lord’s Supper does: 1. It reunites us (vv. 17–24) 2. It reorients us (vv. 23–25) 3. It reminds us (vv. 23–32) 4. It renews and restores us (vv. 33–34)

When suffering leaves us speechless, we are not prayerless. Romans 8:26–28 reveals that the Spirit groans and intercedes for us, the Father hears, and the triune God works all things for our good and his glory. In this sermon, we trace how creation groans, Christians groan, and even the Spirit groans, all for the glory God has promised. We see that: 1. The Spirit prays (v. 26) 2. The Father listens (v. 27) 3. The Trinity answers (v. 28)

In this study, we continue our series on the attributes of God by exploring his immutability—his divine unchangeableness. Unlike everything else in creation, God is completely rock-solid and unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises. He never grows weak, alters his sovereign plans, or revokes his commitments to us. Because his character and offer of salvation in Christ are absolute and unbreakable, we can face an ever-changing world with complete confidence and stand firm, knowing that his people “shall dwell secure.”

“All good things come to those who wait” well summarises this passage (as well as those that follow). Christians need this conviction as they experience the various sufferings God has ordained for life. The only way to make sense of sufferings is by embracing the conviction that the future is as bright as the promises of God—as bright as the glory of God. This conviction requires: 1. an accurate calculation (v. 18), 2. an understanding of creation’s expectation (vv. 19–22), and 3. a nurturing of our own anticipation (vv. 23–25).

What is grace? What do you receive when you ask God for it? And how amazed are you by it?   In this sermon on John 1:16–17, we consider the grace of God as an attribute of the triune God himself. Beginning with a biblical foundation (grace is undeserved, excludes all human merit, and originates in God’s sovereign will), we see three reasons why grace is amazing:   1. A Trinitarian glory: The Father purposes grace, the Son purchases it, and the Holy Spirit applies it. 2. A covenantal security: Grace was given in Christ before the ages began, so it is no afterthought, and it cannot fail. 3. An incarnational beauty: From the fullness of Christ we have received grace upon grace, wave upon wave, and we never receive the last wave.

The Spirit assures our sanctification—and ultimate glorification—by assuring us of our sonship. Christians are children of God, and they will look like the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit guarantees this. The Spirit of God assures believers of this by: 1. animating us (v. 14) 2. adopting us (v. 15) 3. affirming us (vv. 16–17)

God's glory is the core attribute from which all other divine characteristics emanate. We see in 1 Chronicles 16 that God's glory is not only intrinsic but also displayed and depicted in creation, in Scripture, and ultimately through Jesus Christ. Understanding God‘s glory helps us to recognise and declare his glory as a central purpose of existence. We consider three things relating to divine glory: 1. The description of God's glory 2. The display of God's glory 3. the depiction of God's glory

As Christians, we struggle with our spiritual vision. Though we aspire to holy living, we are sometimes blinded to the glories of Christ. Is this abnormal? Do other disciples of Jesus struggle with the same thing? Mark 8 answers such questions while providing hope of doing better. It puts flesh and bones on the teaching about sanctification in Romans 8. Some observations and applications from this account will help us in our quest to follow Jesus as we commit ourselves to putting to death the deeds of the body.

Does God really know everything? And what difference does that make to your daily life? Isaiah 40:28 highlights God’s omniscience: the biblical truth that his understanding is unsearchable. Set in Isaiah’s words of comfort to God’s people, we consider the most important thing God knows: who he will save, and how. From there, we see the breadth of his knowledge, from history, our deeds, our words, and our thoughts to every truth in creation. The truth shapes daily Christian living in at least three ways: 1. Our pursuit of knowledge should produce humility and praise. All truth is God’s truth, so every discovery is his work. 2. Our regrets and anxieties belong in the hands of the God who knows. We can’t know how life might have gone, but he does. 3. God’s knowledge of us in Christ brings comfort in loneliness. Loneliness is not just being alone, but feeling unknown. Yet we are fully known and fully loved.

In Romans 8:5–13, Paul argues that there are only two ways to live: according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. There is no middle ground. How one lives is also how one will die, for how we live reveals whether we have been justified before God and united to Christ (v. 4). Having seen that those united to Jesus Christ are characterised by the Spirit’s purposeful orientation (vv. 5–8), we now see that they also experience: 1. The Spirit’s personal habitation (vv. 9–10) 2. The Spirit’s powerful resurrection (v. 11) 3. The Spirit’s progressive glorification (vv. 12–13)

When the rich young ruler called Jesus “good teacher,” Jesus stopped him in his tracks: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” What does it mean that God alone is good? While we tend to define goodness on our own terms, God’s law reveals that none of us measures up—and this makes the goodness of God ultimately good news for sinners. We consider three big truths from this text: 1. We naturally presume we know what is good—and we’re wrong. 2. God’s law defines true goodness, and by that standard, we fall short. 3. God is good, and that goodness is good for us.