John van Rij

It is common to assume that what we need to flourish is total freedom to do whatever we want. The reality is humans will always serve someone or something, and it is far better for us to serve God rather than sin. Peter looked at Romans 6:15-23 this morning.

While we rightly emphasize sin and our inability to save ourselves as Christians, sometimes we make the mistake of believing that sin is more powerful than God. We can live like we are alive to sin and dead to God. But in Romans 6, Paul makes it clear that the opposite is true for those […]

Who do you perceive God to be? How does he relate to us as sinful humans? Jesus tells this parable from Luke 15:1to challenge the conceptions that many have of who God is. John explains.

This week we continue our series in Romans. It is so instinctive for us to try to justify ourselves to do good work so that God will count us as righteous. Paul explains in Romans 3-4 that this is not the case at all.

It is so common for us to be driven by fears and anxieties instead of faith in God. This week we looked at Psalm 27, that helps us with this problem.

As humans we are so prone to try to justify ourselves, to earn our place. But the bible teaches us that actually, no-one can be made acceptable in God’s sight by doing good things. It is made especially clear in Romans 3, as John explains.

We took a brief break from our series in Romans to consider what love really looks like. Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13, and we used this lense to consider the love of God in Christ.

There are aspects of the gospel that are looked down upon today, just as in first century. In Romans 1:16-17 Paul gives a clear summary of why he is not ashamed of the gospel, and the reasons are still true for us today. John explains.

Individualism is the default mode of thinking in the west today. We have a tendency to see ourselves more as individuals than as members of a group. While the gospel is personal, it is not individualistic. We see in Romans 1 that the Gospel works in community. John explains.

The closing words of the bible end with a promise for Jesus- that he is coming. This morning we look at the last words of the bible and think about how the return of Jesus should affect our life and faith now.