Great time was had at BBTB10… plans are already pressing ahead for next year… speakers already confirmed: Archbishop Greg Venables and Kent & Barbara Hughes…

Sad times… it’s the final afternoon celebration at Bible by the Beach… where we welcome Michael Baughen, formerly Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, and Bishop of Chester.

2 Corinthians 5:9 – 6:2

At the end of a conference… there must be a commissioning message… sent out theologically fatter, and evangelically fitter!

The Corinthians wanted a ‘comfortable Christianity’… they had a ‘get get get’ attitude! We need a ‘give give give’ attitude!

The commitment to our crucified Lord – Whether home or away (5:9)

The compulsion of the cross – a controlling love (5:14)

The cross needs to be a the centre of all life – the the horizon on a plane… the message of the cross, his person and work brings reconciliation - a message our nation needs so desperately! We preach Jesus Christ AND Him Crucified!

May we lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore, his sacred name!

You can buy this talk online at the Bible by the Beach shop.

The final Bible reading from Alistair Begg at Bible by the Beach…

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Pastoral ministry – a ministry of reminding, reminding of the Gospel essentials

Paul says remember 3 things…. how I came, what I said, why I said it…

• Came in weakness, in fear, in trembling… it’s gonna be a miracle if anyone believes this guy – Exactly!
• Called to be a herald first, communicator second.

• Preached Christ and him crucified
• A weak message… but demonstrated in power by the work of the Spirit

“The cross has less than it’s proper place in teaching and theology”  -  James Denney

• So that… your faith my rest on God’s power… not man’s wisdom!

“Telling people the need for the gospel, both their felt need and real need, is plainly important, but it is not the gospel itself. … Whenever people’s sense of assurance of salvation is expressed in the first person, something is amiss. When the question ‘How do you know God will accept you?’ is answered by ‘I have Jesus in my heart,’ ‘I asked Jesus into my life,’ ‘The Holy Spirit is in me,’ and so on, the real gospel basis for assurance needs to be reviewed. We rejoice when the answer comes in the third person: ‘God gave his only Son to die on the cross for me,’ ‘Jesus died, rose, and is in heaven for me.’ When the focus is on the finished and perfect work of Christ, rather than on the yet unfinished work of the Spirit in me, the grounds for assurance are in place.”  -  Graeme Goldsworthy

We’re saved as a result of something done for us!

“To preach salvation by good works is to flatter people and so avoid opposition. This may seem to some to pose the alternative too starkly. But I do not think so. All Christian preachers have to face this issue. Either we preach that human beings are rebels against God, under his just judgment and (if left to themselves) lost, and that Christ crucified who bore their sin and curse is the only available Saviour. Or we emphasize human potential and human ability, with Christ brought in only to boost them, and with no necessity for the cross except to exhibit God’s love and so inspire us to greater endeavour.The former is the way to be faithful, the latter the way to be popular. It is not possible to be faithful and popular simultaneously.” – Cross of Christ, John Stott

You’ll be able to buy the full talk from the BBTB shop.

The Sunday night celebration at Bible by the Beach was packed out as the doors were opened for all who would come, to come for free… simultaneously there was a free youth event called Curious? with music from Simon Brading and Andrew Wilson speaking.

The Congress theatre was packed, apparently the last complete sell out event was ‘Hank Marvin and the Shadows’… maybe next year will be a complete sell out!

The Sunday night event always has a strong mission focus… last year we heard from Ben Kwashi, Archbishop of Jos (Northern Nigeria), this year we heard a video report from him, praising God for his faithfulness in the midst of great persecution. We also heard from Ray of Hope Amazon, a charity working to support the practical and spiritual needs of 80,000 untouched villages along the Amazon river.

We were encouraged to give generously to support these two projects and the on going work of Bible by the Beach – if you’d like to donate you can give online. Stuart Townend and Phatfish lead us in joyful praise to God.

Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes, and chairman of Bible by the Beach took us to John 18… the Garden of Gethsemane… showing us how John explains what the cross is all about… The King crossing the Kidron Valley, a scene in a garden, the cup… Wallace pointed us to the Biblical allusions, to the true meaning of the cross… loving explaining the doctrine of penal substitution.

This evening was head informing, heart warming and will changing… a great night celebrating the cross of Christ and his call to take the gospel to all nations.

You’ll be able to buy this talk in the Bible by the Beach shop.

1 Corinthians 1:25-31

Some thoughts from Alistair Begg…

Gideon  -  you have too many men to defeat Midian… cut down to 300! So that Israel may not boast in their own victory… Pride is a killer!

The wise and the powerful were notable by their absence from the church in Corinth… why? Because the message that Paul proclaimed was foolish! Surely the church needs to win these people to attract people to the gospel? So often we go after the rich, the powerful, the beautiful… don’t forget the words of James 2 about favouritism!

If dependence on God was the objective… wouldn’t weakness be an advantage?

The church is weak, because God designed it that way v.27-28 – “God chose”

Conversation between a fireman and a surgeon… very different in the eyes of the world… nothing in common… but, in Christ… everything in common!

There’s something powerful about seeing the insignificance of ourselves… but seeing to how God works in and through insignificant people, with great intention!  -  2 Kings 5… the unnamed slave girl, the unnamed servants… working for God!

Let the one who boasts… boast only in Jesus!

You’ll be able to buy this talk at the Bible by the Beach online store

2nd night at Bible by the Beach 2010…

3 things that help us to understand his situation:

• Lost his sense of God (v.2)  -  feels abandoned by God

‘If our deepest desires cannot be satisfied in this world, then we must have been made for another world’  - C.S. Lewis

• Lost his sense of community  -  you were made for communion with a relational God  -  v.4 used to be part of the community!  -  v.10 his community now mocks… “Where is your God?!”
• Lost his sense of purpose  -  a Son of Korah… used to have a job of leading God’s people

3 things he does to respond:

• Pours out his soul  -  43:2 “Why have you rejected me?!”
• Preaches to himself  -  v.11 “Why are you downcast O my soul… Hope in God, I shall again praise him”
• Considers his hope  -  the root issue is misplaced hope… “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12)

Jesus is the basis of our hope… he can help us when we feel abandoned… he was the only one who was truly abandoned by God! “Why have you forsaken me?!”

If you know Jesus… you will never be abandoned by God… because he was!

You’ll be able to purchase this talk at the Bible by the Beach online shop soon…