Miraculous Provision - 2 Kings 4:1 - 7

Like the fishermen following Jesus, Elisha gave up his prize belongings and work as a farmer to follow closely Elijah who called him. He stuck close to Elijah, and would not let him out of his sight. At the end of the day he wanted a double portion of the Spirit he saw on Elijah's life, and this was no bad thing.

New Series - Stories of Elisha

We will be telling some of the incredible stories of Elisha between now and Christmas - each week understanding how God powerfully moved through this servant.

Suggested reading is 2 chapters a week, starting in 1 Kings 17 (Elijah), continuing to 2 Kings 13 (the death of Elisha). See how Elisha started as a mentee of Elijah, and clung to him closely as a disciple - eager for a double portion of the Spirit to fall on him. Do we have the same kind of attitude in our discipleship?

Elisha then lived by the Spirit with God working remarkably through his life, giving rise to the various stories that make up this series.

New Life, New Lifestyle - Mini-summary

A graphical mini-summary for the New Life, New Lifestyle series.

New Life, New Lifestyle 5 - 2 Cor 13:5 - 10

Paul draws his second letter to a close with the simple instruction: 'Test yourselves'. How do you measure up? How is your own faith in Jesus?

[OUT] Does your discipleship help bring others towards Jesus Christ?

Key Challenge: Talk through your own discipleship with another person

New Life, New Lifestyle 4 - 1 Cor 6:12 - 20 and 2 Cor 5:11 - 6:2

We love new stuff, and society relentlessly urges us to buy even more new stuff. That programs us to think that existing things lose their value, that the old has no purpose.

New Life, New Lifestyle 3 - 1 Cor 5:1 - 8 and 1 Cor 6:12 - 20 - Part 2

We have to ask are these lines of morality just about our sexual behaviour? Churches can seem so pre-occupied with sexual sins, do they become blind to other issues? Does God have different 'levels' of sin?

New Life, New Lifestyle 3 - 1 Cor 5:1 - 8 and 1 Cor 6:12 - 20 - Part 1

Any group standing for a cause will inevitably have to sanction one of their own if a member's behaviour contradicts that cause. The Corinthians had such a case, and an extreme one at that. The bottom line is that our behaviour matters - if we are no different to those around us then we show no obvious signs that we have been saved from anything, and we set no contrast to society.

[IN] Is God calling you to greater purity?

Challenge: Name one area of your life to 'live better' going forward

New Life, New Lifestyle 2 - 1 Cor 10:23 - 11:1

We all know the pressure to conform - people or things vying for our attention. The problem is of course that things done wrong leave us entangled, caught up, potentially in lifelong patterns that we cannot break. We end up like a puppet on a string.

The good news is that Jesus can set us free. Free to say no, free to be who we are truly intended to be. This freedom is a wonderful thing, theoretically it gives us the right to do anything, but as Paul says not everything is helpful - either to ourselves or those around us.

There are some things we obviously will want to steer clear of. Yet there might well be 'grey areas', or things that are more subtle. A mobile phone is good to use ... but do we end up letting our technology control our lives? Maybe some things we have to intentionally abstain from because they are an issue for someone we are with. That 'helpful to others' aspect can be more important than we might think.

So our freedom comes with responsibility, a choice to avoid things unhelpful, to be discerning of things that might affect us, and to deliberately self-limit for the good of others. In crude terms this all means setting ourselves 'rules', either individually or maybe as a family or group to help ourselves live better together.

Such rules are not imposed from on high, but us limiting our own freedom to enable ourselves and others to thrive.