St Mark’s Coptic Church Scotland March 2016

ONENEWLIFE

 Take a minute to think about the last few times you were on your own. In which direction did you spend your time?  St Macarius: ..wears the garment of the kingdom of darkness, the garment of blasphemy, unbelief, unconcern, vainglory, pride, avarice, lust….. put on the new and heavenly man, Jesus Christ, once more corresponding, eyes to eyes, ears to ears, head to head, to be all pure, and wearing the heavenly image.

1-Reflect on the past week.  To what extent are you satisfied with the way you performed? 0-10  How did you reach that conclusion? 2-What is the behaviour that you find unforgiveable?

 Source of justification influences: ◦ Self image ◦ Self acceptance ◦ Forgiveness ◦ Valuing others  for all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Rom 3:23

 These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. Deut 12  Do you give God/yourself excuses after making mistakes?  God is still giving you a second chance, what do you put that down to?  Irritated by Matthew 20?

..the saved man is a complete man as well as a spiritual man.. St Irenaeus  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess 5:23  In the same way the soul, which is clothed with the fair garment of the body for its vesture, possesses the faculty of discernment to direct the whole soul, together with the body, as it passes amidst the thickets and thorns of life. St Macarius

 What is least likely to participate in our worship?  What is the consequence of that?

 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins. Mark 2.  What concerns me the most? The inside or the outside?

 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Rom 5  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6  He took what is ours to give us what is His.

 'You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward. Deut 2:3  A change of direction.  Were you there last year?  Is my Life direction-driven?  What are the pros and cons of sticking to one direction?

Cost of Staying Where I amBenefit of Staying Where I am Cost of Making a ChangeBenefit of Making a Change

 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, …… Deut 12.  Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. Lev 20  How seriously do you take holiness?  In the battle, what do you take as your full responsibility?

 You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes– Deut 12.  then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you.  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Rom 8

 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. Deut 12

 Romans 5-8  Foundations of New Life  Grace of The Lord Jesus  Church’s view on the New Life  Linking with Sacraments.  Justification and righteousness  Meaning of Salvation through Rom 8