Do I Desire To Keep God’s Commands?

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Update From Your Pastors

Dear Welling Church family,

When we made the decision to close the church on 18 March we knew that the day we reopen would be an exciting one. Back in March, we didn’t know that the next time we would get to say “welcome back” would be 23 weeks later! That being said, we are excited to finally reopen our church, even if it is only as a trial Sunday for volunteers only.

This Sunday will be both a great day and a challenging one. As we make the shift from an online only service to a hybrid model, there are bound to be many hiccups and obstacles to overcome. Please know we are doing our best this week to try an eliminate all the bugs and problems. We thank you in advance for all the patience and grace that you will show us.

For those who are coming to church this Sunday as either a volunteer during the 11:00 service or as a guest to the 17:00 Davis Celebration here are some important things to know:

  1. Read the key points for in-person gatherings

  2. Volunteers need to read our risk assessment

  3. Please pre-book you and/or your family group

We are excited to be able to host you all this Sunday at either our Sunday service or the Davis celebration, and we hope that you are able to make it out. We apologise that during the trial Sunday services on the 23 and 30 August, we will not be able to accommodate any toddlers, kids, or teens. However, we will welcome all ages to the Davis celebration.

While we are excited to be able to host people again and even more excited to reopen to the public on 6 September, we are aware that many in our church will still not be able to attend. For those who will have to continue with online church, we will continue to do everything we have been doing over the past 6 months. The Sunday service will continue to be live on our website, YouTube, and Facebook. Our toddler, kids, and teens videos with parent guides and daily devotions will continue to be posted every week. Lastly, we will continue to publish our Wednesday update and hold our Bible study on Zoom.

If you have any questions please call Justin 07375 700198.

The Elders:
Tarl Reeves, Justin Rhoades & Joshua Bell

Subscribe to Welling Church’s YouTube Channel: YouTube

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Prayer Points

  1. Sean as he is in hospital recovering from surgery and healing to get back to full health.

  2. Diana and her family as they are dealing with difficult situations.

  3. That God will bring us one new visiter each week to our church once we reopen.

 

Ministry Opportunity

We will be opening the church building for a special goodbye celebration for the Davis family 23 August at 5PM. We pray that you will be able to attend and show your support for this lovely family. We also would like to give them a personal gift as a thank you from our church for all the time they spent ministering in Welling. If you would like to contribute, you can do so by giving online through Welling Church. Please feel free to give any amount, but if possible, would you consider contributing £20 - £50 or more to be a blessing to them?

If you wish to contribute to the Davis family, please give via the church at:

Welling Church (HSBC)
Sort Code: 40-19-04 
Account Number: 02171236
Memo: Davis Family

 

Weekly Devotional

Vital Signs.jpg

Vital Signs of Saving Faith

Question 7: Do I desire to keep God’s commands?

Every true believer has a hunger for God's Word. Jesus says in John 15:7, 8, ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you . . . you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.’ All who have been born of God, long to know and obey His Word.

I. We Have Help in the War Against Sin (v.1)

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

a. A Child of God will strive to not sin. (Heb. 12:3, 4)

b. When a Child of God sins, Jesus is our advocate. (Heb. 7:25)

II. Christ has Satisfied God’s Requirements for Sin (v.2)

2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

a. Jesus’ sacrifice appeased the wrath of God against our sin. *propitiation - means “appeasement” or “satisfaction” 

Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

“Christ’s work of propitiation is related to His high-priestly ministry. By His partaking of a human nature, Christ demonstrated His mercy to mankind and His faithfulness to God by satisfying God’s requirement for sin and thus obtaining for his people full forgiveness.” John MacArthur

b. A Child of God specifically partakes in the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice and the world generally reaps the temporary benefit of His sacrifice. 

III. If We Know Him, We Will Obey Him (v.3) (Eph. 2:1, 2; 1 Peter 1:14, 15)

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

a. Faithful obedience to God’s Word is an assurance of our salvation. 

  • John uses the word “know” 40 times and “keep” 10 times in this epistle.

IV. If We Don’t Obey Him, We Don’t Know Him (v.4)

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him

a. Habitual disobedience to God’s Word is a mark of unbelief. 

Questions:

  1. Am I spending time each day in the Word of God?

  2. Am I committed to obeying what God commands me to do in His Word?

  3. Am I praying for the Holy Spirit to both give me assistance in understanding and help in obedience?