Watch again

Jesus said just a cup of cold water would make all the difference. What is the equivalent for us today? What is the small action that shows a heart of kindness in action?

The call to be as holy as God is holy sounds as odd now as it probably did when it was first written down in Leviticus. Is this even possible? And what would it look like on the school run, or handling finances, or dealing with the awkward colleagues or aging family?

Many people are good starters. Perseverance is the quality that ensures you finish well. Peter sees it as essential for those running this Christian race.

Self-control is one of the most underrated virtues. We can excuse ourselves too easily when we give into the temptations that surround us so often. How do we grow in self-control?

Today knowledge can feel just 2 clicks away on Google. But is that knowledge, information, what Peter meant? Sometimes it can feel like it is, and those who have this knowledge can feel superior to everyone else. That’s dangerous. But what if Peter meant there was a different way of growing in knowledge? What if it was about a growing relationship – both with God and others. What does it take to get that sort of knowledge?

Goodness can sound soft and prissy. No one wants to be called a goody-two shoes. Unless you have faced the opposite and been the victim of evil. Goodness is the authentic integrity that is creative and trustworthy. It may not be glamorous but it makes all the difference in the world.

I believe lots of things that make no real difference to my day to day life. New Testament faith is different. It was never a static acceptance but trust in a person who transformed everything. Faith was dynamic. And it was the bedrock for everything else that would be possible…

Why did Paul send Onesimus back? Was he encouraging slavery? How do we read the New Testament on these issues when we hold to different views of what is right?

Let’s not fool ourselves: forgiveness always costs something. Always did, always will. Relationships will occasionally rupture. Forgiveness is the way they can be repaired. How do we do this?

Faith in Jesus means nothing if you don’t love Jesus’ friends. And love means nothing if it isn’t accompanied by action. It’s what we do, not what we say.

This church lived at a time when everyone knew their place. Rank mattered and brought privileges. If you were at the top of the pile you could order people around. Paul modelled a different way. He chose to appeal rather than to order. He demonstrated how we subvert the natural hierarchies.

As we learn one another’s names and enter one another’s stories, we are given the opportunity to grow more than we might ever have imagined…