What a great morning we had yesterday worshipping our great God together!

What a privilege to gather together and be reminded of God’s great work in the gospel for us, and of Christ our “once-for-all, never-to-be-repeated sacrifice of atonement”; to celebrate the gift of children to families in our church, and see the parents dedicate themselves to raising these little ones for the glory of God; and to sing God’s praises!

If you missed the bulletin (or have misplaced yours!) you can download this week’s edition from here.

The audio for the sermon entitled, “Blood, Guts & Sacrifice” from Leviticus 16 can be downloaded/listened to here.

In order to maximise benefit from the message, here’s a few review and application questions that can help us process the truths we heard:

1. What qualities of Christ enables him to be our perfect high priest?  Be sure to thank him for each attribute as you think of them.
2. How does the imagery of Leviticus 16 point to, and enrich our understanding of Christ’s death on our behalf?
3. “The world is not thy friend nor the world’s law.” – What impact should this have on our thinking as Christians?
4. What other things are you tempted to trust in for the atonement for your sins?  Why do you think you are tempted to do this?

The audio from the sermon on Sunday 24th August 2008 entitled: “The Cost of Discipleship” (Luke 14:25-35) is available to download or listen to here.

Saturday 24th May to Tuesday 27th May 2008. The New Attitude 2008 conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the annual Sovereign Grace-hosted conference for singles and young married couples.

This year, the focus of the conference was on the importance of God’s Word. The speaker line-up included NA conference usual suspects; men like John Piper, Mark Dever and Al Mohler, together with Eric Simmons, Joshua Harris and CJ Mahaney.

The audio for all 8 sessions is available to download from here and should be added to your iPod/mp3 player for essential holiday listening!

For your ease and comfort we’ve collated all the message from our recent series exploring the person and work of the Holy Spirit into one post.

Part 1: The Person & Broad Work of The Holy Spirit (John 16:5-15)

Part 2: Variety & Unity (1 Corinthians 12:1-31)

Part 3: Prophecy 101 – Answering 6 Essential Questions Regarding this Gift

Part 4: The Holy Spirit Brings Assurance (Romans 8:1-17)

Part 5: Tongues 101 – Answering 5 Essentials Questions Regarding this Gift

Part 6: Pursuing God

Just wanted to give you a head’s up of what you have to look forward to over the coming weeks at Grace Church!

This coming week – Sunday 8th June 2008 – we wrap up our 6-part series on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, entitled “Engaging with the Holy Spirit“.

We are planning on answering some more essential questions regarding the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Questions like: How does the Holy Spirit fill us? How should we pursue God?

Then, throughout June we’re hoping to dip into the Old Testament minor prophets!

On Sunday 15th June 2008, Matt Chapman will be preaching his second part of his short Hosea Series enitlted: “Can I Know God?”

If you missed the first part it is available to download or listen to here.

Even if you were here back in April and heard Matt preach part 1, I’d encourage you – if you get the chance – to revisit that message again, so as to maximize the benefit of part 2 on your soul.

Please pray for Matt as he continues to prepare his message.

On Sunday 22nd June 2008, we once again welcome my friend Dave Bish to Grace Church. I’ve really enjoyed the deepening relationship I have with Dave and count him a valued friend. It was great to have Dave travel with us to the “Together for the Gospel” conference recently. You can read some of his reflections here.

I’ve asked Dave to preach a message from the book of Micah, exploring the great theme of the incomparable grace of God. Should be a cracker!

Please pray for Dave as he prepares to serve us. And please be on the look out for him and his wife, Em, when they visit us that Sunday morning!

Finally, on Sunday 29th June 2008, we have the wonderful opportunity to once again be joined by Gareth Lloyd, and his family – all the way from the sunny climes of Merthyr Tydfil.

During our Sunday sermon series on Engaging the Holy Spirit I mentioned a couple of good resources that cover the topic. In case you didn’t manage to jot them down here they are:

“Showing the Spirit” by D.A Carson

An in-depth and brilliant study of chapters 12-14 of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, dealing with the critical issues at hand. More technical in nature (basically a commentary), but thorough and helpful.

The Beginners Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms

A very accessible look at the 9 gifts Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. Each chapter takes one of the gifts and Sam Storms leads us into a brief study of each and its place in the local church today. A helpful beginners guide!

Both books provide rich study material for digging deeper into this topic and are highly recommended.

If you are looking for a book recommendation following Peter’s message on the Holy Spirit’s role in our Assurance, you should look no further than this:

How Can I Be Sure I’m A Christian? by Donald Whitney