Equip 2023/24
Equipping you to grow into all God has for you
Foundations: Introduction
April 1, 2023 • Christopher Alton
In this EQUIP module we will consider together our foundations as believers. The book of Hebrews describes our foundation in Christ - Hebrews 6:1-3 (NJKV). These verses serve as an exhortation for us to progress to maturity in Christ, warning us against remaining like newly-born Christians. We are also given a description of the elementary principles of Christ, which is an interesting phrase, which we will need to explore in this introduction.
Repentance
May 2, 2023 • David Lyon
The author of Hebrews lists six “elementary teaching/s”, “elementary principles” or “basic teaching/s”, which are “the elementary doctrine” or “elementary message” about Christ. His list begins with “repentance from dead works” or “from acts that lead to death” or “from evil deeds”. The immediate context is the preceding passage, in which the author expresses concern at his readers’ slowness to understand ‘meaty issues’: they should be able to teach others, but are still struggling to understand “the basic principles of God’s revelation”; they need the “milk” of distinguishing good from evil, not yet being ready for the “solid food” associated with (eg) teachings about Christ’s high-priestly ministry. The author wants them to gain a solid grasp of these basic things, so they can “go on to maturity” or “perfection”... Maturity is our goal also, so in this session we will consider what repentance is and why it is so foundational in our lives.
Foundations: Faith Toward God
May 2, 2023 • Christopher Alton
We start this section with a clear theme, which is that repentance from dead works is partnered with faith toward God. We turn away from one thing toward another; from our old lives with their dead works, and toward God as His new creations. Faith is what enables us to do the turning! It’s the only way we can make the turn. It is well beyond the scope of our studies to examine this great subject in detail and therefore we shall focus our thoughts on how faith enables Christ the Cornerstone to be laid properly in our lives.
Hebrews 6 Baptisms
June 13, 2023 • Richard Jones
In this session we’ll look at the foundational significance of baptisms. This relates to baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit. Our water baptism and Spirit baptism are to follow once we’re born again, and they are part of the ‘normal Christian birth’ for every believer.
Resurrection Of The Dead & Eternal Judgement
July 8, 2023 • Matthew Ling
At first glance 'foundations' seems to speak of beginnings while resurrection of the dead and 'eternal judgment' seem to speak of the end. So why are they presented as foundations of the faith in Hebrews 6? One answer is that knowing our destiny as believers, and indeed the destiny of the world, is a foundational matter. Knowing our destiny grounds us in our new spiritual reality and orientates our lives towards the goal of Christ's return. Knowing the destiny of the world helps us see how we should relate to it and what our mission in it is. But in an important way resurrection and judgment are also very much part of the beginning, and the ongoing outworking, of the Christian life. This is illustrated in one of the visions of the book of Revelation.
Fruit of The Spirit: Joy
July 8, 2023 • Christopher Alton
The word joy conjures up a multitude of meanings and images for us all. It's a word which we all probably use from time to time to describe a past memory, and something we like to regularly enjoy in the present. The word occurs hundreds of times in the Scriptures in different forms, and has a number of different source words behind our English words for joy or rejoice.
The Bible’s Big Picture
September 23, 2023 • Richard Jones • Genesis 1
In this Equip session Richard Jones gives us a whistle-stop tour of the Old Testament; from Genesis right through to Malachi we look at the key people, events, buildings and books across a 2000 year timeline and how it all fits together as we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Jesus!
Leadership: Introduction
October 24, 2023 • David Lyon
Having now spent some time considering aspects of CHARACTER (who we are) and CREED (what we believe) we can now begin to look at what we mean by the CRAFT of leadership and ministry. Our focus will be on the way God’s people set the pace, provide an example, give direction and have influence either in the church or (more commonly for many) in the workplace, family, community, etc. Whilst we will inevitably take our references from Scripture (where the focus is primarily on ministry and leadership by and amongst God’s people) we will seek to apply these biblical principles so that they become relevant in whatever setting you are in.