Alva Baptist Church

Does the way you face life, 

bear witness to the power of God to overcome?

Why does Jesus share truth in parables 

so that so that 'seeing they may not see, 

and hearing they may not understand' ?

Romans 11 

illustrating God's committment to correction 

and why he hides truth in parables

the parable of the sower and the soils

Leadership, hospitality and worship: 

What do you expect from the church when you think about those words.  

What are you looking for when you look to the church? 

Does that line-up with what God values?

Jesus knows the thoughts of His host Simon the Pharisee.  

God knows the ponderings of our hearts; 

and He still loves us and speaks the truth to us.

"Who is this, who even forgives sins?"

Isaiah 53 shares the description of the suffering servant:

"Stricken for the transgression of My people"

It is because of this that Jesus is able to say in Luke chapter 7: 

"Your sins are forgiven."

Simon the Pharisee, forgiven little, loves little.  

The sinful woman knows how deeply she needs a savior.  

But we all face the same deep need, whether we know it or not.  

Worship reflects how much we recognise our deep need and God's great provision.

This week we see Jesus speaking about His messengers. 

What do you look for in a spiritual leader?

Challenging unrighteousness doesn’t offer a way-out of guilt and shame.