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God is the ruler that we need – WSC #11

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Who’s really in charge of the world? In this session we look at something called God’s providence, which means not only that God is in charge but that he’s a good ruler – the ruler we really need.

More Thought for the Week…

This is part of the weekly Thought for the Week series. This series is designed to give a short, 10-15 minute ‘thought’, including a Bible reading and a prayer. Currently I am working through the Westminster Shorter Catechism. You can see all videos on the catechism on this playlist.

Do subscribe to the mailing list if you want to get these delivered in a weekly email, or subscribe directly on YouTube or the podcast if you want to see them there.

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The Cross makes us family – John 19:17-27 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

When we think about the cross, we often think about it in individual terms: “God forgives my sin”. But the cross has important implications for how we relate to others as well.

Note – unlike previous weeks, the video goes straight into the sermon and doesn’t start with the reading. If you’d like to read the passage online you can do so via Bible Gateway.

This is the second of a short, three-part series in the run-up to Easter looking at the passion narrative in John’s Gospel. Watch the previous one here.

Enjoyed this sermon? See more on the sermons page.

Sermons are also available on the podcast.

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Authentic Religion – Matthew 6:1-18

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Jesus’ words here are appropriate for a social media generation! He warns us against hypocritical religion, and shows us what we should be like instead.

The previous Sermon on the Mount video on “Misusing the Law (Matthew 5:33-48)” is available here.

In due course this series will replace the existing Sermon on the Mount series.

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Mental Health Support: When we’re going through the valley

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Psalm 84 was written to encourage us when we’re going through a difficult time – a valley. In these sessions we spend a few minutes reading the Bible, thinking about what it means for us and the current situation, and then praying.

Last week’s session was on 1 Peter 5 – “Cast your anxiety on him”. All previous sessions are available on this playlist.

There will be one more session next week before a two-week break over Easter!

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Do you have to go to Church to be a Christian?

Posted on by Phill Sacre

People often say that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. But this is a misunderstanding: church in the Bible is not something that you can actually go to.

This session is part of the Your Questions Answered series.

Key Points

  • Church is NOT…
    • A building. In the New Testament, a building is NEVER called a church.
    • A meeting. Again, in the New Testament, church is never called an event (like a service).
  • Church is always the people. A building or an event is only church inasmuch as it’s about the people.
  • In a sense, you can’t go to church. If you’re a Christian, you ARE church.
  • A lot of people seem to think of church like a social club, or something which we can dip in and out of. But actually we should see church like seeing our family.
  • When we come to Christ, God puts us in a family of believers. He gives us a whole new family. In fact, in Mark 3:31-35, Jesus says that anyone who does God’s will is in his family.
  • So asking “Can I be a Christian without going to church?” is like saying, “Can I be in a family without seeing my family?”
  • We need to change our mindset! Being a Christian means loving others, especially loving our church. It’s not about “going to church” – it’s about being with our families.

Explore further

There’s a whole session on church as part of the How to live as a Christian course.

You might also like Heidelberg session #21 on The Church.

Your questions answered

This is part of the Your questions answered feature. See that page for more videos in the series.

If you have a question about Christianity or the Bible, please send them in or comment below.

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What it means to be human – WSC #10

Posted on by Phill Sacre

One of the most basic questions of all we can ask is, what does it mean to be human? This is often explored in Sci-Fi stories such as Blade Runner. In this session we see what the Bible says about human beings with the help of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Explore Further

I didn’t mention any links in the video but if you’d like a short book dealing with transgender issues, Vaughan Roberts little book is worth reading as a short introduction: Talking Points – Transgender.

More Thought for the Week…

This is part of the weekly Thought for the Week series. This series is designed to give a short, 10-15 minute ‘thought’, including a Bible reading and a prayer. Currently I am working through the Westminster Shorter Catechism. You can see all videos on the catechism on this playlist.

Do subscribe to the mailing list if you want to get these delivered in a weekly email, or subscribe directly on YouTube if you want to see them there.

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Who has true authority? – John 19:1-16 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Who has true authority and power in the world? And who has true authority and power over us? This passage from John’s gospel challenges us to put our trust where true power can be found.

This is the first of a short, three-part series in the run-up to Easter looking at the passion narrative in John’s Gospel.

Enjoyed this sermon? See more on the sermons page.

Sermons are also available on the podcast.

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Misusing the Law – Matthew 5:33-48

Posted on by Phill Sacre

In this session we look at some of Jesus’ most famous sayings – “eye for an eye”, “love your enemies”. These are actually three examples of how people were misusing the Law. We finish by looking at a summary of what the Law is all about.

The previous Sermon on the Mount video on “Marriage & Sex” is available here.

In due course this series will replace the existing Sermon on the Mount series.

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Mental Health Support: Cast your anxiety on him

Posted on by Phill Sacre

1 Peter 5v7 says: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” But what does that mean, and how do we do it? Let’s spend a little while thinking about these wonderful words.

Last week’s session was on Proverbs 3:-12 – “Wisdom & Well-Being”. All previous sessions are available on this playlist.

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Changes to the weekly schedule

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Hi everyone, a bit of site news: there are going to be some changes to the weekly schedule. Back in September I decided to start up a couple of new features – Thought for the Week and Learn to read the Bible. This meant that I was publishing things regularly through the week – in fact, some weeks I’ve published a new video every day. I’ve also started a mental health livestream during the lockdown (which will be continuing post-lockdown).

All that seemed like a good idea back in September last year, but the schedule of creating videos has been pretty relentless. It’s hard to achieve the quality level you want with so little time for each video. Also, with lockdown restrictions easing in the UK, I will have a bit less time for video creation.

So, what I’ve decided to do is take a step back, and focus more on quality instead of quantity. This is what I’m hoping the new schedule will look like:

  • Monday / Tuesday – a course video – at the moment I am re-doing the Sermon on the Mount course;
  • Wednesday / Thursday – thought for the week. After Easter I am planning to do a series on the book of Galatians in the New Testament, looking at how the gospel works.
  • Friday – mental health support

Thank you everyone who has supported Understand the Bible over these past few months. I feel like I have learned a lot in this time, and I hope that the new schedule will mean I am able to focus more on producing better quality videos. Do let me know in the comments below if you have any comments or ideas for any future series here on UTB!

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