100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:10,780Jesus said it this way. Greater love has no other this than that someone200:00:10,780 –> 00:00:19,959laid down his life for his friends. Love always involves sacrifice.300:00:19,959 –> 00:00:25,320Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, I’m glad you could400:00:25,320 –> 00:00:29,959join us today. And Colin I suppose some might think that doesn’t sound all that500:00:29,959 –> 00:00:36,619attractive it sounds like a lifetime of loss. Yes, sacrifice. If that was the final600:00:36,619 –> 00:00:42,779word that would be a final and an ultimate loss but you know when the Lord700:00:42,779 –> 00:00:47,459Jesus laid down his life the Bible tells us that he did this and that’s a huge800:00:47,459 –> 00:00:51,900sacrifice. He did this for the joy that lay before him. There was something900:00:52,320 –> 00:00:57,200it? When Jesus said to the rich young ruler, you’ve got to sell everything1000:00:57,200 –> 00:01:02,500that you have and give to the poor and he thought he, I can’t do that,1100:01:02,500 –> 00:01:07,260that’s far too big a sacrifice. What he missed was that Jesus said, and you will1200:01:07,260 –> 00:01:12,120have treasure in heaven so the sacrifices that we make are never the1300:01:12,120 –> 00:01:18,019ultimate thing. We make sacrifices because we have our eye on the ultimate1400:01:18,279 –> 00:01:21,500thing and whatever it costs you to live1500:01:21,500 –> 00:01:26,099a life of love, whatever it costs you to say no to yourself in order to give1600:01:26,099 –> 00:01:31,220yourself to the service of others and to the service supremely of God, whatever it1700:01:31,220 –> 00:01:35,980costs you, what you gain will make it gloriously worth it. That’s an1800:01:35,980 –> 00:01:40,699encouraging way to begin our time together, so join us, if you can, in1900:01:40,699 –> 00:01:46,339Romans chapter 12 as we begin the message. Love involves sacrifice, here is2000:01:46,559 –> 00:01:52,220Pastor Colin. Please open your Bible at Romans, chapter 12. This is the last2100:01:52,220 –> 00:01:59,419week in our series Growing In Love. We have set a priority to intentionally2200:01:59,419 –> 00:02:06,300pursue individually and together, growing in love. We began2300:02:06,300 –> 00:02:12,740the question, why should we grow in love, and we saw that we must grow in love2400:02:12,820 –> 00:02:19,160because love is our distinct calling. Jesus said, by this, all people will know2500:02:19,160 –> 00:02:26,339that you are my disciples, if you love one another. The natural response to2600:02:26,339 –> 00:02:31,580growing anger and hostility in the world, is going to be growing anger and2700:02:31,580 –> 00:02:37,160hostility in churches. That’s the natural response. But you see, Jesus calls us to2800:02:37,160 –> 00:02:41,720something very, very different. This is our distinct calling, that we will be2900:02:41,820 –> 00:02:49,679marked as those who belong to Jesus, because we love, by this, all people will3000:02:49,679 –> 00:02:54,740know that you are my disciples, that you love one another. So, we must grow in love3100:02:54,740 –> 00:02:58,960because it is our distinct calling. And then we saw that we must grow in love3200:02:58,960 –> 00:03:06,479because love is our greatest need. Without love, all of our gifts, all of our3300:03:06,479 –> 00:03:14,160achievements and all of our sacrifices would be of no value at all. And we saw3400:03:14,160 –> 00:03:21,539that love is like a tree that’s just bursting with good fruit. Grow in love3500:03:21,539 –> 00:03:27,880and you will be more patient and more kind. And you won’t envy, you’ll grow in3600:03:27,880 –> 00:03:33,800emotional intelligence and wisdom and in discernment. And we saw that growing in3700:03:33,940 –> 00:03:40,020love is of supreme value because love endures forever. When everything else3800:03:40,020 –> 00:03:45,839passes away faith, hope and love will remain.3900:03:45,839 –> 00:03:54,960So a desire has been stirred in our hearts. We want to grow in love, love for4000:03:54,960 –> 00:04:01,600God, love for family, love for God’s people love for neighbors and for4100:04:01,639 –> 00:04:08,039friends and for colleagues love even for enemies those with whom we most deeply4200:04:08,039 –> 00:04:16,679disagree. And then we ask the question how, how can I grow in love? And we looked4300:04:16,679 –> 00:04:22,559at the first answer to that question last week. You can grow in love because4400:04:22,559 –> 00:04:28,959you are loved. And this is wonderful good news that love is not something that we4500:04:28,959 –> 00:04:37,019need to find in ourselves and sort of pull up from within. No, God is love and4600:04:37,019 –> 00:04:47,079love comes, John says, from God. And we love, because he first loved us. God4700:04:47,079 –> 00:04:52,700poured out his love for us in and through his Son, who he sent to be the4800:04:52,700 –> 00:04:57,640propitiation for our sins. That’s how God’s love was poured out. And then we4900:04:57,640 –> 00:05:03,019saw that God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the presence of the Holy5000:05:03,019 –> 00:05:09,079Spirit. When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the spirit of God Himself5100:05:09,079 –> 00:05:18,119comes to live in you. And we laughed at the incongruous thought of what it would5200:05:18,119 –> 00:05:24,940be like if the spirit of Mick Jagger lived in me. But think about how amazing5300:05:25,420 –> 00:05:35,920this is. The Holy Spirit of God himself, the God who is love, lives in sinners5400:05:35,920 –> 00:05:47,140like us. That is astonishing, marvelous, glorious. The presence of the Spirit of5500:05:47,140 –> 00:05:53,880God who is love makes it possible for you to grow in love. It is as God’s love5600:05:54,119 –> 00:06:00,559flows into us that it then flows out from us, and if you are a believer in the5700:06:00,559 –> 00:06:06,119Lord Jesus Christ today, you really can grow in love because of the Spirit of5800:06:06,119 –> 00:06:15,000God who lives, who dwells in you. So the first answer to the question how can I5900:06:15,000 –> 00:06:21,220grow in love? You can grow in love because you are loved and you are6000:06:21,260 –> 00:06:28,779more deeply loved than you will ever be able to fathom. We love because he first6100:06:28,779 –> 00:06:36,779loved us. Now today we’re going to look at two further answers to the question6200:06:36,779 –> 00:06:41,399how can I grow in love. We’re going to look at several different6300:06:41,399 –> 00:06:48,040Scriptures today, but we’re going to begin in Romans and chapter 12. And this6400:06:48,119 –> 00:06:53,779chapter rather like first Corinthians 13 and 1 John and chapter 4 that we looked6500:06:53,779 –> 00:06:59,940at at last time it is an exposition of love. Love is the theme that runs all the6600:06:59,940 –> 00:07:07,480way through. So for example in verses 3 to 8, the Apostle lays out how we serve6700:07:07,480 –> 00:07:13,760with our gifts and how this is a wonderful expression of love. Then in6800:07:14,000 –> 00:07:21,9809 Paul says let love be genuine. Verse 10 love one another with brotherly6900:07:21,980 –> 00:07:28,480affection. Then he lays out what a life of love looks like. Verse 13 it involves7000:07:28,480 –> 00:07:35,420contributing to the needs of the Saints or practicing hospitality. Verse 147100:07:35,420 –> 00:07:42,679blessing those who persecute you. Verse 15 weeping with those who weep rejoicing7200:07:42,839 –> 00:07:50,420with those who rejoice. Verse 16 living in harmony with one another or Verse 207300:07:50,420 –> 00:07:54,739feeding your enemy when he is hungry and giving him something to drink when he is7400:07:54,739 –> 00:08:01,959thirsty. This is what a life of love looks like but here’s the question where7500:08:01,959 –> 00:08:07,480does it begin? And so if you look at the very beginning of this chapter verse 17600:08:07,480 –> 00:08:12,059you have the answer, I appeal to you therefore brothers by the7700:08:12,799 –> 00:08:18,619mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice7800:08:18,619 –> 00:08:26,880holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. And you see what7900:08:26,880 –> 00:08:30,880he’s telling us right from the beginning, love that is the theme of this whole8000:08:30,880 –> 00:08:40,960chapter involves sacrifice. If you want to grow in love you have to lay down8100:08:40,960 –> 00:08:51,400your life on the altar of God that is what he’s saying. Jesus said it this way8200:08:51,400 –> 00:08:59,880greater love has no one than this then that someone laid down his life for his8300:08:59,880 –> 00:09:06,900friends love, always involves sacrifice. And a8400:09:06,940 –> 00:09:14,219life of love is a life in which we learn to say no to ourselves so that we can8500:09:14,219 –> 00:09:21,219bring help and blessing to others. Now this of course is what our Lord Jesus8600:09:21,219 –> 00:09:26,900Christ so wonderfully did. By far the easiest and by far the most comfortable8700:09:26,900 –> 00:09:31,679choice for the Lord Jesus Christ would have been to remain in heaven and to8800:09:31,700 –> 00:09:38,099enjoy the love he had always enjoyed there with the Father. But if he had done8900:09:38,099 –> 00:09:42,739that we would have lived and died without hope. We would have been utterly9000:09:42,739 –> 00:09:51,859lost forever and forever. And so Jesus did not grasp on to what was easiest and9100:09:51,859 –> 00:09:57,479most comfortable for him. He took the form of a servant. The Bible9200:09:57,520 –> 00:10:05,020tells us. He was made in the likeness of men. He left heaven. He came to earth. He9300:10:05,020 –> 00:10:14,719loved us and he gave himself for us. Jesus said no to his own comfort, in9400:10:14,719 –> 00:10:24,219order to bring blessing and life to us. Love involved a cross for the Lord Jesus9500:10:24,219 –> 00:10:30,140Christ. And love will involve a cross for us too. You remember that Jesus said,9600:10:30,140 –> 00:10:35,619if anyone would come after me, if you’re going to be my disciple, he said, let him9700:10:35,619 –> 00:10:45,119deny himself. And take up his cross and follow me. Love always involves sacrifice.9800:10:45,119 –> 00:10:52,419It always involves saying no to self, in order to bring help and blessing to9900:10:52,820 –> 00:10:58,260others. And, you know, this can happen in the simplest of ways, in the most10000:10:58,260 –> 00:11:04,760ordinary things of life. Love chooses to get up and help, rather than simply to10100:11:04,760 –> 00:11:14,020sit on the couch. Love gives more weight to the needs, and even the feelings of10200:11:14,020 –> 00:11:20,900other people, than it gives to our own. Love is always putting itself in another10300:11:21,059 –> 00:11:26,460person’s shoes and asking the question, how can I bring help and blessing to him10400:11:26,460 –> 00:11:32,219or to her? We’ve got to pause the message briefly, there, but we’ll be back very10500:11:32,219 –> 00:11:38,179shortly, so do stay with us. Our message today is called Love Involves Sacrifice,10600:11:38,179 –> 00:11:42,280and it’s part of our series Grow in Love. The message today comes from10700:11:42,280 –> 00:11:46,599Romans chapter 12. Don’t forget if you ever miss one of the messages, or if you10800:11:46,599 –> 00:11:49,820want to go back and listen to any of them again after they’ve been broadcast,10900:11:49,840 –> 00:11:55,679you can easily do that by coming online to our website. That’s at open-the-bible.org.uk11000:11:55,679 –> 00:11:59,320or by going to your favourite podcast site, and there searching for11100:11:59,320 –> 00:12:04,359open-the-bible.uk. You can also follow a link from our website. Back11200:12:04,359 –> 00:12:09,320to the message now, here again is Pastor Colin. Now, when the apostle Paul11300:12:09,320 –> 00:12:15,799describes a life of love in Romans and chapter 12, this is where he begins,11400:12:15,799 –> 00:12:19,900I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to11500:12:19,900 –> 00:12:25,380present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God,11600:12:25,380 –> 00:12:31,239which is your spiritual worship. Now you read a verse like that and of11700:12:31,239 –> 00:12:37,979course, you say, we all say, how am I to do that? I want you to notice that11800:12:37,979 –> 00:12:43,140the key word in this verse is the word therefore.11900:12:43,140 –> 00:12:47,760I appeal to you, therefore, brothers,12000:12:47,760 –> 00:12:53,559by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.12100:12:53,559 –> 00:12:58,059Clearly, the therefore refers back to something that was said before.12200:12:58,059 –> 00:13:03,059In the earlier chapters of Romans, we are to present ourselves as12300:13:03,059 –> 00:13:08,099living sacrifices in the light of something.12400:13:08,099 –> 00:13:12,760There’s something, then, in the earlier chapters of Romans that,12500:13:12,760 –> 00:13:17,440when fully grasped and fully embraced,12600:13:17,440 –> 00:13:22,599makes it possible for you to give yourself,12700:13:22,599 –> 00:13:27,960for the blessing of others, to present yourself as a living sacrifice to God.12800:13:28,219 –> 00:13:29,760Now, what is it?12900:13:29,760 –> 00:13:33,700What is it that makes this possible?13000:13:33,700 –> 00:13:37,940Well, there is, of course, a sense in which what Paul is referring to here13100:13:37,940 –> 00:13:43,320is everything that is in Romans 1-11.13200:13:43,320 –> 00:13:47,460But there is one truth in these chapters13300:13:47,460 –> 00:13:52,179that is repeatedly presented in the New Testament13400:13:52,179 –> 00:13:56,080as the key to growing in love,13500:13:56,359 –> 00:14:00,260and that is that in Christ,13600:14:00,260 –> 00:14:05,039you have already died and risen.13700:14:05,039 –> 00:14:09,219This is stated most clearly in Romans chapter six13800:14:09,219 –> 00:14:11,700and verses three and four.13900:14:11,700 –> 00:14:16,179Do you not know that all of us14000:14:16,179 –> 00:14:19,380who have been baptized into Christ Jesus14100:14:19,380 –> 00:14:23,080were baptized into his death?14200:14:23,080 –> 00:14:26,000We were buried therefore,14300:14:26,039 –> 00:14:30,559with him by baptism into death14400:14:30,559 –> 00:14:34,719in order that just as Christ was raised14500:14:34,719 –> 00:14:37,280from the dead by the glory of the Father,14600:14:37,280 –> 00:14:42,280we too might walk in newness of life.14700:14:45,159 –> 00:14:46,159Now, very simply,14800:14:46,159 –> 00:14:49,340when you became a Christian,14900:14:49,340 –> 00:14:52,539you came to be in Christ.15000:14:53,419 –> 00:14:56,219And because you are in Christ,15100:14:57,200 –> 00:15:01,539what was true of Jesus is also true of you.15200:15:02,580 –> 00:15:07,020Jesus died and Jesus rose again.15300:15:07,020 –> 00:15:09,299And when you’re in Christ,15400:15:09,299 –> 00:15:12,219the same is true of you as well.15500:15:12,219 –> 00:15:14,419The person that you were before,15600:15:14,419 –> 00:15:18,859the person living for himself or herself died15700:15:18,960 –> 00:15:22,580and you have been raised to a whole new life.15800:15:22,580 –> 00:15:24,739That’s what Paul is referring to here.15900:15:24,739 –> 00:15:29,580That you might walk in newness of life.16000:15:29,580 –> 00:15:32,099And of course, all of this is beautifully16100:15:32,099 –> 00:15:34,659expressed in baptism.16200:15:34,659 –> 00:15:38,419Going down into the water is a sign16300:15:38,419 –> 00:15:42,659that the person you were has died.16400:15:42,659 –> 00:15:46,500And coming up out of the water is a sign16500:15:46,539 –> 00:15:51,479that you are now walking in newness of life.16600:15:51,479 –> 00:15:56,200In Christ, you have already died and risen.16700:15:56,200 –> 00:15:58,280Now that’s the principle.16800:15:58,280 –> 00:16:00,719And what I want us to see today16900:16:00,719 –> 00:16:04,119is how it works out in practise.17000:16:05,599 –> 00:16:10,080First, you can grow in love17100:16:10,080 –> 00:16:12,559because having died,17200:16:12,559 –> 00:16:17,479you are no longer a slave to yourself.17300:16:17,479 –> 00:16:19,979Now what a wonderful truth this is.17400:16:19,979 –> 00:16:22,400Because in Christ you have died already,17500:16:22,400 –> 00:16:26,159you are no longer a slave to yourself17600:16:26,159 –> 00:16:29,859and that is why and how you can love.17700:16:30,960 –> 00:16:33,239You see this very clearly in 2 Corinthians,17800:16:33,239 –> 00:16:36,500chapter 5 and verses 14 and 15.17900:16:36,500 –> 00:16:38,840Notice how Paul speaks about love here.18000:16:38,840 –> 00:16:43,340For the love of Christ controls us.18100:16:44,679 –> 00:16:47,239Because we have concluded this,18200:16:47,239 –> 00:16:50,500that one has died for all, therefore all have died18300:16:50,500 –> 00:16:53,859and he died for all that those who live18400:16:53,859 –> 00:16:57,500might no longer live for themselves18500:16:57,500 –> 00:17:02,500but for him who for their sake died and was raised.18600:17:02,799 –> 00:17:04,780Now what a marvelous statement this is.18700:17:04,819 –> 00:17:09,540The love of Christ controls us.18800:17:09,540 –> 00:17:12,979Who would not want to be able to say that?18900:17:13,939 –> 00:17:17,459The love of Christ controls me.19000:17:18,420 –> 00:17:20,380What would that mean?19100:17:20,380 –> 00:17:25,380Well, it would mean that the love of Christ restrains me19200:17:26,020 –> 00:17:29,339from speaking a harsh or a hurtful word.19300:17:29,339 –> 00:17:32,939It would mean that the love of Christ moves me19400:17:32,939 –> 00:17:36,579to care and to bless and to support others.19500:17:38,099 –> 00:17:43,099A life controlled by the love of Christ would be energized,19600:17:43,579 –> 00:17:48,119moved, directed, active.19700:17:49,699 –> 00:17:54,239Love would reach into and touch the lives of other people19800:17:54,239 –> 00:17:59,239in as much as we are controlled by the love of Christ.19900:17:59,859 –> 00:18:04,599The joy of happiness, the enjoyment of peace.20000:18:06,560 –> 00:18:08,920Now, how does this come about?20100:18:08,920 –> 00:18:11,760That’s Paul’s purpose in these verses.20200:18:11,760 –> 00:18:15,020How is it that a person comes to be controlled20300:18:15,020 –> 00:18:16,959by the love of Christ?20400:18:16,959 –> 00:18:19,260Well, not just what he says.20500:18:19,260 –> 00:18:21,199The love of Christ controls us20600:18:21,199 –> 00:18:23,680because we have concluded this that,20700:18:23,680 –> 00:18:28,680one has died for all and therefore all have died.20800:18:29,239 –> 00:18:33,939Romans chapter six, that if you are in Christ,20900:18:33,939 –> 00:18:36,839you have already died.21000:18:38,020 –> 00:18:40,900And what is the effect of the person21100:18:40,900 –> 00:18:45,020you were already having died?21200:18:45,020 –> 00:18:46,339Well, he says this.21300:18:47,180 –> 00:18:52,180That having died, they might no longer live for themselves.21400:18:53,800 –> 00:18:56,859No longer live for themselves.21500:18:56,859 –> 00:18:57,699No longer.21600:18:58,380 –> 00:19:01,459So, you see, living for yourself21700:19:01,459 –> 00:19:03,359is actually the default life.21800:19:03,359 –> 00:19:04,939That’s just how we all start out.21900:19:04,939 –> 00:19:06,939That’s what we are by nature.22000:19:06,939 –> 00:19:08,459The Bible says this quite clearly22100:19:08,459 –> 00:19:11,079in Philippians in chapter two, in verse 21.22200:19:11,079 –> 00:19:15,040All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.22300:19:16,479 –> 00:19:18,699Everyone seeks their own interest.22400:19:19,680 –> 00:19:23,859And unless something changes,22500:19:23,880 –> 00:19:28,400we all default to living for ourselves.22600:19:29,640 –> 00:19:33,819Now, living for yourself might sound attractive.22700:19:33,819 –> 00:19:36,319But actually, if you think about it,22800:19:36,319 –> 00:19:38,939nothing could ever be more miserable.22900:19:39,880 –> 00:19:44,880Think about this, to live for yourself.23000:19:46,479 –> 00:19:48,400If you live for yourself,23100:19:48,400 –> 00:19:49,900you’re the one that’s doing the living23200:19:49,900 –> 00:19:52,119and you’re the one that’s being lived for.23300:19:53,040 –> 00:19:56,780So if you live for yourself,23400:19:57,599 –> 00:20:00,839you are actually both the boss and the servant.23500:20:00,839 –> 00:20:04,260You’re kind of both sides of the ledger, so to speak.23600:20:04,260 –> 00:20:06,920The demands that you set23700:20:06,920 –> 00:20:09,920are the demands that you must meet.23800:20:09,920 –> 00:20:13,160And so, you’re always in conflict with yourself.23900:20:13,160 –> 00:20:15,800If you live for yourself,24000:20:15,800 –> 00:20:17,680you’re gonna find yourself constantly24100:20:17,680 –> 00:20:19,640in this very strange position24200:20:19,640 –> 00:20:22,140of beating up on yourself.24300:20:22,140 –> 00:20:24,439You’re gonna look at your life24400:20:24,439 –> 00:20:26,160and self, the boss is going to say,24500:20:26,160 –> 00:20:27,880well, you should have accomplished more24600:20:27,880 –> 00:20:32,040and then self, the servant, gets beat up on24700:20:32,040 –> 00:20:34,500because of underperforming.24800:20:35,640 –> 00:20:39,339And that goes on until at some point you say,24900:20:39,339 –> 00:20:42,439well, I’m not happy, this isn’t working,25000:20:42,439 –> 00:20:44,479I need to lighten up on myself.25100:20:44,479 –> 00:20:46,959And that thought will occur to you.25200:20:46,959 –> 00:20:48,520I’m being too hard on myself.25300:20:48,520 –> 00:20:50,119I need to give myself a break.25400:20:50,119 –> 00:20:53,359And so now you lighten up on yourself25500:20:54,579 –> 00:20:56,380except you’ve still got a problem25600:20:57,819 –> 00:21:01,119because self, the servant gets let off the hook25700:21:01,119 –> 00:21:03,640and now self, the master25800:21:03,640 –> 00:21:06,060doesn’t get what he or she wants.25900:21:07,560 –> 00:21:11,959Living for yourself is an absolute nightmare.26000:21:14,079 –> 00:21:16,520When you lay it out as the master,26100:21:17,439 –> 00:21:20,660you end up crushing yourself as the servant.26200:21:21,959 –> 00:21:24,839And when you lighten up on yourself as the servant,26300:21:24,839 –> 00:21:29,500you end up being shortchanged as self, the master.26400:21:29,500 –> 00:21:33,000You can never, never win.26500:21:35,300 –> 00:21:38,859Now what Paul is saying in this marvelous verse26600:21:38,859 –> 00:21:42,599is that when you come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,26700:21:42,599 –> 00:21:44,300you are actually delivered26800:21:44,319 –> 00:21:49,300from the miserable existence of living for yourself.26900:21:50,300 –> 00:21:52,560You’re now a new creation in Christ.27000:21:53,680 –> 00:21:56,640You’ve been set free from this misery,27100:21:56,640 –> 00:22:00,079you’ve been brought into a new liberty27200:22:00,079 –> 00:22:02,900of living for Christ who loved you,27300:22:02,900 –> 00:22:05,400and gave himself for you.27400:22:05,400 –> 00:22:07,079Well, we’ve got to pause the message there27500:22:07,079 –> 00:22:08,680but we’ll be back with the second half27600:22:08,680 –> 00:22:12,280of this message tomorrow so do join us for that.27700:22:13,000 –> 00:22:16,119This next message is called Love Involves Sacrifice27800:22:16,119 –> 00:22:19,020and it’s the final part of our series, Grow in Love.27900:22:19,020 –> 00:22:21,239If you’ve missed any of the series so far,28000:22:21,239 –> 00:22:23,680you can easily catch up or go back and listen again28100:22:23,680 –> 00:22:25,160by coming to our website.28200:22:25,160 –> 00:22:28,599That’s at openthebible.org.uk.28300:22:28,599 –> 00:22:30,959Also, you can find us on all the main podcast sites28400:22:30,959 –> 00:22:34,599by searching for Open the Bible UK.28500:22:34,599 –> 00:22:37,880Also on our website you’ll find our Bible study course,28600:22:37,880 –> 00:22:39,640Fly Through the Bible.28700:22:39,680 –> 00:22:42,400This short, simple journey through the Bible story28800:22:42,400 –> 00:22:46,199can be enjoyed on your own, with a friend or as a group.28900:22:46,199 –> 00:22:50,060For each of the 15 sessions you can watch a short video,29000:22:50,060 –> 00:22:52,280then work through the questions.29100:22:52,280 –> 00:22:54,719If you want to do a more detailed Bible study,29200:22:54,719 –> 00:22:57,719a guide is available for you to use in small groups29300:22:57,719 –> 00:22:59,479or one to one.29400:22:59,479 –> 00:23:01,420To make the most of Fly Through the Bible,29500:23:01,420 –> 00:23:03,640we recommend buying the book.29600:23:03,640 –> 00:23:05,839There is also a free app that can be used29700:23:05,839 –> 00:23:07,979alongside all the materials.29800:23:07,979 –> 00:23:09,900To find Fly through the Bible,29900:23:09,900 –> 00:23:13,660go to our website, openthebible.org.uk30000:23:13,660 –> 00:23:16,160and click on courses.30100:23:16,160 –> 00:23:18,579Open the Bible is able to be on this station30200:23:18,579 –> 00:23:21,319as well as our website and the podcasts30300:23:21,319 –> 00:23:23,979because listeners like you give generously30400:23:23,979 –> 00:23:25,540to support our work.30500:23:25,540 –> 00:23:28,199So if you already support Open the Bible in this way,30600:23:28,199 –> 00:23:30,020thank you so much.30700:23:30,020 –> 00:23:31,619If supporting Open the Bible30800:23:31,619 –> 00:23:34,180is something you want to start doing this month,30900:23:34,180 –> 00:23:35,500we’d love to say thank you31000:23:35,500 –> 00:23:38,239by sending you Pastor Colin’s brand new book,31100:23:38,239 –> 00:23:39,640Grow In Hope.31200:23:39,640 –> 00:23:42,260It’s a 30 day devotional study31300:23:42,260 –> 00:23:46,819drawing on scripture and years of pastoral experience.31400:23:46,819 –> 00:23:49,800Colin, why did you write this book?31500:23:49,800 –> 00:23:53,500Well, Grow In Hope is the second of three books31600:23:53,500 –> 00:23:56,719that we are putting out from Open The Bible this year,31700:23:56,719 –> 00:24:00,420Grow In Faith, Grow In Hope and Grow In Love31800:24:00,420 –> 00:24:03,459and the reason for all three is that as Paul says31900:24:03,459 –> 00:24:05,900in 1 Corinthians chapter 13,32000:24:05,900 –> 00:24:08,420everything else will pass away,32100:24:08,420 –> 00:24:10,520I mean, that’s quite a statement, isn’t it?32200:24:10,520 –> 00:24:12,660Everything else will pass away32300:24:12,660 –> 00:24:16,920but these things will remain, faith, hope and love.32400:24:18,400 –> 00:24:21,000So these are things of supreme importance,32500:24:21,000 –> 00:24:24,920I’m absolutely persuaded that our greatest need32600:24:26,000 –> 00:24:27,800is to have a stronger faith,32700:24:27,800 –> 00:24:29,760to have a more certain hope32800:24:29,760 –> 00:24:32,540and to be renewed in a resilient kind of love.32900:24:32,780 –> 00:24:35,219If that happens in the lives of Christian believers,33000:24:35,219 –> 00:24:37,619some very, very good things will follow.33100:24:37,619 –> 00:24:39,160So, Pastor Colin’s book,33200:24:39,160 –> 00:24:41,160Grow in Hope is our gift to you33300:24:41,160 –> 00:24:43,180when you set up a new direct debit33400:24:43,180 –> 00:24:45,719of five pounds per month or more33500:24:45,719 –> 00:24:48,459or a one-off gift of 60 pounds or more33600:24:48,459 –> 00:24:51,439to support the work of Open the Bible this month.33700:24:51,439 –> 00:24:53,819Full terms and conditions are on our website33800:24:53,819 –> 00:24:56,439at openthebible.org.uk33900:24:56,439 –> 00:24:58,439and you can give online.34000:24:58,439 –> 00:25:00,479Don’t forget though to leave your full name34100:25:00,479 –> 00:25:02,099and address when you donate.34200:25:02,160 –> 00:25:04,939So, we’ll be able to send you your gift.34300:25:04,939 –> 00:25:07,380For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,34400:25:07,380 –> 00:25:08,780I’m David Pick.34500:25:08,780 –> 00:25:10,239Thanks for being with us today34600:25:10,239 –> 00:25:12,579and we look forward to having you join us again34700:25:12,579 –> 00:25:13,439next time.34800:25:18,479 –> 00:25:20,859If you’re able to say no to yourself34900:25:20,859 –> 00:25:23,099in order to bring blessing to others,35000:25:23,099 –> 00:25:25,660you’ll discover peace and joy.35100:25:25,660 –> 00:25:28,619Find out why next time on Open the Bible.