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We all know the blood is wonderful but why? This video is a full length service at Edinburgh Elim on the 22/08/21 but the sermon starts at about 22 minutes into the video. Below is a full transcript of the prepared message. What is so special about the blood of Jesus Christ? The bible is a book dripping with blood! It almost seems that if we squeezed our bible that blood would drip from it. There is something special about the blood of Jesus Christ. When we begin to talk about the blood of Jesus Christ, something dynamic happens in the spiritual realm, it is as though angels bow and demons tremble at the very thought of it. When we speak of the blood of Jesus Christ, we are walking on holy ground! Even as I begin today, something is happening. It is hard to say what exactly, but it is something good, something holy and true. The life is in the blood, and we when bring the blood today, so we bring life. The blood of Jesus is so special and central to the Christian faith. That is why when Jesus gave us Holy Communion, he said do this in remembrance of me. He specifically wants us to remember his body and his blood. Testimony Blood is a subject close to my heart in that in my past career as a biomedical scientist I specialized in immunohaematology i.e. the study of human blood groups from a medical perspective. Interestingly, I think I know what blood group Adam was (AB) and if you want to know the theological and scientific reasons I have for my theory. Please get in touch sometime. Having studied the blood scientifically for many years I read something in the bible, which no haematology textbook had taught me, which was that blood can talk! The blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Abel. What does Jesus’ blood say… it says, ' forgive them’! The relationship between the life and the blood Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. I find it interesting that where most people would describe the location of their spirit (i.e. the abdomen or belly) it is in the area with the most blood in it. Our physical blood is multi-functional and contains various cells and proteins that combat infectious microorganisms (another vital function is to permit our blood to clot to prevent excess bleeding). Likewise the blood of Jesus Christ covers and removes the infections of sin and guilt from our hearts and minds. What was blood used for in the Old Testament? In the Old Testament there were at least 6 major applications of blood. 1 Daily sacrifice found in Leviticus chapters 1-6, four of these sacrifices involve blood peace, burnt, sin, and trespass. 2 Consecration of priests Leviticus 8:22 applied to ear, thumb, big toe Aaron's sons. 3 Cleansing of defilement (red heifer) Numbers 19 4 Calendar sacrifices Passover, Tabernacles etc. 5. Cutting a covenant 6. Victory celebration sacrifices The New Testament sacrifice of blood and its applications 1. The Blood of Jesus is a weapon of our warfare! 2 Corinthians 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. God has given his church mighty weapons to war against the world, the flesh, and the devil. We need to be trained and ready to use the weapons that God has provided. Laser-guided weapons that defeat all our guilt, shame, and disgrace. Our mighty weapons include. i. Authority in the name of Jesus when we put our hand up and say stop in the name of Jesus, Satan’s juggernaut must come to a halt! ii. The sword of the spirit (and the whole armour of God). The sword of the spirit is the rhema word i.e. the living word energised by the Holy Spirit. iii. The cross to crucify our flesh, living sacrifice or even martyrdom! iv. The blood of Jesus Christ takes away all our sin, guilt, and shame which things Satan uses to paralyse us in our spiritual warfare against him and his demons. 2. The Blood of Jesus, what does it do? There are several scriptures in the New Testament that clearly describe the various wonderful things that Jesus’ blood achieved for us. These will give you an appreciation of why we call Jesus’ blood precious. (i) Purchased our salvation. (ii) Faith in Jesus’ blood turns away the wrath of God. (iii) We are justified by the blood. (iv) We are redeemed by his blood and have forgiveness of our sins. (v) The blood brings us who were far away, near to God. Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. The sacrifice of Jesus’ blood purchased his church, there was no other price that could have secured the church! Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God … faith in his blood turns away the wrath of God. We only escape the wrath of God for our sins because Jesus gave every drop of his blood to turn away God’s wrath (which we fully deserved) from us. Romans 5:8b But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! We are justified by Jesus’ blood i.e. we are made legally righteous before our Holy God, and God’s wrath is no longer directed towards us. Ephesians 1:7 in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. His blood brings us forgiveness of our sins i.e. this is called our redemption. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Jesus’ blood brings us (who were nowhere spiritually speaking) near to our Holy God. Wow! In conclusion the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood brings our salvation, turns away God’s wrath, justifies us (makes us righteous), redeems us by forgiving our sins, and brings us near to God. In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls, goats and lambs were only a shadow of the true blood, which would take away the sins of the world. For Christ our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed [1]. However just as the blood of the Passover Lamb was no use just sitting in the bucket but had to be applied to the doorpost and the lintels of the door (using a hyssop branch) to prevent the angel of death entering, so must we apply the blood of our Passover lamb to our lives. How do we apply the blood? 1 We apply the blood by faith, to cleanse us from sin to consecrate our lives etc. We must get the revelation of the blood of Jesus. We must ask God to reveal the importance of the blood to us so that we can apply it by faith to the various areas of our lives. 2. We can apply the blood by giving testimony, Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Where can we apply the blood: The trail of Jesus precious blood? First a bit of background. Jesus’ blood is effective against the curses of the fall. The curse of the fall of Adam and Eve is described in Genesis 3:14-19 [2] and includes. The curse on the serpent The curse of enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the serpent and the woman’s offspring The curse of pain in childbirth and the headship of the man over the woman. The curse on the soil producing thorns and thistles meaning that it will take hard work to get its produce all the days of Adam’s life. Man will sweat and toil to make a living an eventually return to the ground where he was taken from. Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel. Jesus’ blood was poured for forgiveness of our sins and sprinkled onto the mercy seat in heaven. But Jesus blood was shed in other places too. We can also follow the trail of Jesus blood and apply it specifically to situations. Jesus’ blood was not only sprinkled on the true mercy seat in heaven but was sprinkled on the fallen creation here on earth. The trail of where Jesus’ blood was spilled shows us where the blood of the new covenant can be applied. If you follow the trail of Jesus blood you will see that it was applied to various parts of the original curses that came upon Adam and the earth (Galatians 3:13). Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground. He sweated (sweat was one of the first effects of the curse on Adam) blood in the garden of Gethsemane (for our emotional agony, anguish, and toil). Doctors report some patients going through great emotional distress have reported sweating blood. Luke 22:63 And the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him. 64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? 65 And many other things blasphemously spoke they against him. His blood trickled through palace and barracks. They mocked him, his blood covers derision and mockery. John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. His blood flowed when his back was lashed (for healing). Isaiah 53:4 Surely, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and his wounds heal us. By his stripes we are healed, healed means literally 'sewed back together'. His wounds released the blood to heal sickness, physical healing is part of the covenant blessing he has purchased for us through his blood. His blood covers the pain and cruelty of man. His blood flowed when the crown of thorns pierced his scalp (could be for our mental suffering) His blood trickled on the streets of Jerusalem, one day it will be redeemed. Sin started at a tree and the blood of Jesus will eventually restore the creation. His blood flowed from his hands and feet. John 19:32 Then came the soldiers, and break the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And finally the water and the blood flowed from his pierced side, a ruptured heart, his heart burst for the love of sinful mankind. His blood flowed onto his dead body showing that the dead who receive his blood shall be resurrected. Receive the blood, apply the blood now. You are an able minister of the new covenant and a priest! In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls, goats and lambs were only a shadow of the true blood, which would take away the sins of the world. Blood Covenant God's new covenant with us- I shared this some weeks ago at communion. A blood covenant is the most sacred or solemn type, also the most significant and unbreakable. Marriage should be a blood covenant at consummation! In a blood covenant you promise to give your life, your love, and your protection forever. The New Covenant and You Anyone who will enter covenant with Jesus by accepting His death on your behalf, Jesus will give you the Holy Spirit and apply the blood covenant exchange and benefits to your life personally. The Holy Spirit will come and live inside you so that through Him you can partake of the divine nature of God. The Holy Spirit will be the divine scar on your heart that is God's personal seal and guarantee that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. You will be "born again" as a new person as the Holy Spirit joins you to Jesus in a spiritual union, filling you with His own glorious life. The Covenant Invitation God has provided for every human need through Jesus Christ by the sacred covenant in His blood. And now you can experience this for your own life. If you have not yet entered this wonderful covenant with God. You may do so right now. As an act of faith, pray the following prayer from your heart, and then find a group of fellow believers who can help you live in the fullness of God's covenant life. Your Blessings of the New Covenant We are now going to focus in on certain passages in the book of Hebrews, which pertain to the new covenant. The emphasis is on Jesus, the perfect High Priest, providing a new and better covenant which is not based on the peoples’ behaviour. When we enter the new covenant with God, he puts the fulfilled law [1] into our hearts. Jesus exchanged his life for ours and died for us on the cross. Because of this we ought to live holy lives and not use the grace of God to behave sinfully. Because Jesus completely fulfilled the Law, he swapped robes with us, we became righteous, and he dealt with our filthy rags. Because the fulfilled law is inside us, all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 apply to us; here is what Jesus left for us in his will! Jesus was the perfect Mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 9:15), providing an eternal inheritance in a way the old covenant could not (compare with Hebrews 12:24). The New Covenant is Everlasting Christ's blood established an everlasting covenant in Hebrews 12:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Conclusion As born-again believers we have been given a new spirit and God has written his law in our hearts. Even better is the fact that the law in our hearts is the fulfilled law, the Old Testament law that was completely fulfilled (all 613 parts) by Jesus Christ. We have an everlasting covenant with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our eternal life has already begun. Our sins have been completely forgiven, eternal judgement avoided, and we have been admitted into the royal family of God. We will rise from the dead and live with him forever. In this life all the blessings of Abraham are ours through Jesus Christ. Study the word of God, day by day to see all that you have been freely given through the blood covenant of Jesus Christ. We need to apply it into every situation, God wants and expects you to know the terms of the covenant. This will bring greater victory in your life and consequently more glory to God. David knew the old covenant and took on Goliath. How much more should we conquer the giants in our lives by knowing our covenant relationship with the living God. Let us always remember that we have been purchased by the blood of our Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Summary So what is so special about the blood of Jesus Christ? We can declare the truth about Jesus’ blood. Because Jesus’ blood is so special, we can declare these specific truths today… 1 John 1:7 Through the blood of Jesus, I am continually being cleansed from all sin. Romans 5:9 Through the blood of Jesus I am justified, made righteous, just-as-if-I had never sinned. Hebrews 13:12 Through the blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, made holy, set apart to God. Hebrews 10:19 Through the blood of Jesus, I have boldness to enter the presence of God. Hebrews 12:24 The blood of Jesus cries out continually to God in heaven on my behalf. The Covenant Prayer "God, I thank you for the covenant you have made for me through the blood of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of your forgiveness and salvation. I willingly turn from my sins and commit my life fully to you. I now accept and receive Jesus as my covenant Lord and Saviour. I ask You to forgive me of my sins and send the Holy Spirit to come and live inside me and fill me with Himself so that I can walk with You and enjoy the fullness of Your covenant life forever. Amen! Please contact us if you want references to study the blood in more depth.

Is your church boring? When churches stopped meeting together and resorted to online services as a result of the pandemic, I couldn't have been more relieved. I now had a very feasible reason for not going to church and better yet, I could do it free from the worry that I would be setting a bad example for my kids. Truth told, I hadn't had a truly enriching church experience in over 10 years, at home and abroad. It was clear it wasn't a denominational issue, a cultural or even leadership problem, because since I have been saved, I have attended a variety of churches in a number of countries and I found they all had things in common. I'm not talking about the pillars of the faith, I'm talking about the format of the service, the programs and 'kids work'. It seems no matter what church you attend, or where in the world it is, many churches have rigorous scheduling for all aspects of the service - notices, worship, teaching, prayer, coffee and biscuits. The order of which may change but that's the Christian experience on a Sunday by and large. And I now feel free to admit that it's boring and here's the daring part, I believe God finds it boring too. After all, wouldn't he show up in our services more often otherwise? I started praying earnestly and honestly about it. How can someone like myself who loves the Lord, is a relatively mature Christian who reads the bible and prays regularly find church so incredibly dull? What is wrong with me? Doesn't the book of Hebrew's warn about not meeting together as believers? It wasn't long before I received an answer and the answer is much bigger than me, that's for sure. I soon realised after confessing to friends how I felt about not going to church that I wasn't alone. It was startling to hear how many other strong believers shared the same relief that the pandemic brought in relation to attending church. They would say things like 'I will struggle to go back when the time comes' and 'I'm actually quite enjoying the break from church'. Who knew?! So it wasn't just me, it was a widespread sentiment and again, these folks were strong believers, people I admire in the faith. So what did God say. Well I need to speak prophetically here and of course I expect you to pray and use discernment as you read it. The Lord is shaking the world and all that can be shaken including His church. The church as we have made it has been redundant for many years, set in its ways, ineffectual and in self deception. Buildings and walls will no longer contain His people, who have become inward looking and occupied with their own activities and routines. Pastors and leaders have become salaried employees. Church has become a career option. Congregations will shrink massively because the pandemic has brought realisation to many that the way of doing church is not fulfilling them. Church leaders will need to find alternative means to support themselves financially. Believers who have been revitalised in their relationship with the Father because of the pandemic will never want to go backwards and sit in a pew; sing when it's time to sing, sit when it's time to sit and listen when it's time to listen and all of it done under the guise of Christian worship. I have called you to worship me in spirit and in truth. Church pastors have become obsessed with teaching. Pastoral care and Pentecost revivals have been replaced with incessant teaching because it is easy and safe. Pastors have for too long hidden behind pulpits to teach and in doing so disparaged my many gifts. Wake up. Believers do not need any more teaching. The world outside needs the power of God to save in these last days and for that all believers are responsible. The Lord will close many churches which have for too long served as bunkers and barricades, hiding you from the world and at the same time giving you a sense of religiosity. No sinner cares if you attend church, but when my children will go out into the world and seek to save the lost you will face opposition. Don't you see the enemy has had you where he wants you? In church, doing your own thing and all the while convincing yourself that I am being glorified because you have opened up a bible and given up some of your time? The lost do not care. People will continue to cling to the old ways of doing things and will speak of those who stop attending Sunday services as the fallen away. But for those who live and move and have their being in me, they will find revival of many kinds. The Lord is blowing through his church to scatter His people, will you let go and let God or cling to the former things? Pic 1. The church when effective Pic 2. The church as we made it Pic 3. The church now Please pray and share your comments. Guest Blogger Marcus Doherty

Romans 3:9-31 a short commentary Last time in Chapter 2 and the first 8 verses of Chapter 3 we saw firstly that the wrath of God was also coming upon the unrighteous Jews. These Jews thought that simply because of their race and the fact that they were the chosen people and were taught the Mosaic Law then because of these things then they were in right standing with God. They completely missed the point that they also had to obey God laws not just read them or listen to them. They were certainly in no position to look down on the pagan Gentiles. Paul then described two very large groups of mankind, one group who were faithful people and enjoy the approval of God. The other group was the disobedient people who prefer the praise of men. Paul reminded everyone that God will repay every human being according to the deeds done which reminds us as believers we are accountable to God. It is not the external things that make one a true Jew but rather it is those who have had an ‘internal’ circumcision of the heart that makes it sensitive to God. Paul continued that it was still a privilege to be born a Jew naturally speaking and even if some were unfaithful to God (both then and now). However God Himself always remains faithful to His covenant promises to Israel. Finally someone asked if our sin shows the glory of God more clearly then should not we sin all the more?.. Perish the thought. The doom and gloom of Chapter 3 continues until verse 20 when the glorious light comes flooding in. No One Is Righteous 3:9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. Whether we are from a privileged Jewish background or a Gentile background there is nothing to choose between our natures since we are all under the power of sin i.e. we are sinners. Surely not you say, well here is the evidence that all men are unrighteous and deserving the wrath of God; Welcome to human nature class 101 Man’s nature;. This is what human beings are really like naturally speaking. Paul quotes from numerous psalms, the prophets and even the writings 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”[b] Here is another cascade of evil (like those 21 evils in Chapter 1. This is what God thinks about the nature of man. Sin amongst men is universal and ubiquitous and there are no exceptions. No man is even really trying to search for God and His ways but we prefer to turn away in a different direction. No one understands , no one is even capable of doing good as God defines it. Paul continues and shows what he means by mankind being under the power of sin; 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”[c] “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d] 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e] Man’s organs of speech; the human throat is like a grave swallowing people alive in anger and spitefulness. The tongue is often used to lie and deceive or even to flatter for gain. The lips emit smooth speech but the deadly poison is behind them in the tongue. Our mouths are used to curse and abuse our fellow men and even commit perjury against them. 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[f] 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g] Man’s actions; men are prone to commit life threatening violence. They usually choose to live ruined and miserable lives. The concept of living in peace they neither know nor indeed want to know. They neither recognise nor acknowledge their Creator. If the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord then the large major since they have no fear of God lack any wisdom for living. (examples of what human nature is really like from Lord of the flies by W Golding and a story about the ordinariness of Adolf Eichman). 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. The law of God (probably meaning the whole OT in this case) will expose all that is wrong in the fallen human nature, the hard hearts and sinfulness and when the charges are read out against fallen mankind no one will be able to answer even one word in their defence. All men will keep silent before the Judge of all the earth. At this stage it is clear that mankind is absolutely doomed unless there is divine intervention there is no hope! Righteousness Through Faith (Here is the Good News) 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. Suddenly a brilliant white light is turned on dispelling the darkness, doom and gloom. It is the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. This glorious gospel message is the very one and the same as that the all the prophets of old foretold and that all the scriptures point towards. The fullness of time has indeed arrived in which God promised to bring a ‘new’ way of salvation through His messiah Jesus Christ. This ‘new’ way of salvation is a wonderful way to be in right standing with God through belief in Jesus Christ and is not based on keeping the laws (which nobody ever managed). Truly the light has shone in the darkness and the darkness could not comprehend it. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in [h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Paul returns to his major theme of the letter, we are brought into right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ and it is the same for all of fallen mankind whatever the ethnic background. We all miss the target. 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, [i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. All who believe in Jesus Christ receive the free gift of being made righteous before God through the sacrifice of Jesus’ life blood. This blood when we receive it turns away the wrath of God (propitiation) from us. The life is in the blood and Jesus’ life was poured out with His blood for you and for me. When we believe then God imputes our guilt to Jesus Christ and declares us to be righteous and all our sins are washed away in the holy, sinless blood of the Lamb of God. God has always shown tremendous long suffering with sinful man and held back His righteous judgement as long as possible to give fallen man time to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the “law” that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. There are no bragging rights here for any man or woman. This is the passage where Martin Luther inserted faith ‘alone’ in his translation. Although the word ‘alone’ is not in the text we can see where he was coming from. So if salvation is all about faith does that mean that the OT testament laws have been made redundant? Whatever our background there is but One Lord and access to Him by one faith which brings tremendous unity to the churches. Paul stresses that believers should uphold the law (OT scriptures) to make it clear that although our justification is by faith this does not mean we have a license to sin and break God’s commandments. Footnotes: b Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20 c Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9 d Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3 e Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint) f Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8 g Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1 h Romans 3:22 Or through the faithfulness of i Romans 3:25 The Greek for sacrifice of atonement refers to the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (see Lev. 16:15- 16).

Communion and Prayer Communion As we come to the Lord’s table today, our theme is that our God, the God of the bible, is a God of covenants. Our God is a Covenant making and a covenant keeping God. What is a covenant? A covenant is a formal and legally binding agreement between two parties. In modern life many important things are based on a covenant type agreement e.g. marriage is a covenant with vows taken. In sickness and in health…etc. Such an agreement promotes trust and stability. A covenant usually involves vows or promises made by both parties with mutual benefits and may also contain penalty clauses. Abram had the same dilemma he asked God how he could be sure that God would keep his promise to bless him with millions of descendants. You can read the story of Abram’s covenant with God in Genesis 15:1-18. God guaranteed to fulfil all his promises to Abram by cutting a covenant with him. What is a blood covenant? A blood covenant is the most sacred or solemn type of covenant, and the most significant and unbreakable. In a blood covenant both parties promise to give their life, their love, and their protection forever. God's new covenant with us In the same way as God cut a covenant with Abram so he also cut a blood covenant with his New Testament people (us) When the time came, the eternal, infinite Creator entered time and space through the person of Jesus Christ. Christ, the Son of God, exchanged names with us and became Jesus, the Son of Man. He was the God-Man who came to identify with us in our human condition and cut the covenant for us so that we might be one with God. Because Jesus lived a perfect life, He was able to cut a perfect covenant with God on our behalf. When it was time, Jesus gathered His disciples together to participate in the covenant meal. Jesus took the bread and wine and explained that they represented His own life which was to be offered in our place as the covenant sacrifice for our sins. He further explained that through His sacrifice, we could have our sins forgiven and receive eternal life through union with Him. Afterward, Jesus planted a memorial tree and stained it with His own blood. That blood- stained tree was the cross. There Jesus paid the judgment of sin for-us by "cutting the covenant" with Father God on our behalf. This is where the exchange of natures took place. Jesus took the coat or robe of our liabilities on Himself. He took our sins, our sorrows, and our sicknesses. In return, He gives us His garment of salvation and a robe of righteousness. Through Him, we can have right standing with God and become partakers of His divine nature. Because Jesus never sinned, death could not hold Him in the grave. Three days later, He was resurrected and ascended back to heaven where He now sits on the throne of God with all authority and power over sin, Satan, and death. And He promises to come back to earth to rule over a kingdom of righteousness and peace with His followers (us). As well as being a covenant meal, communion is more than just a memorial to remember Jesus' death and resurrection, the Lord's Supper is also an acknowledgement of each believer’s continual dependence upon Christ's life and a regular reminder of His soon return. The Lord’s Supper is described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Examine Yourself 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. As we examine ourselves, if you find any sin coming between you and the Lord, remember to invoke 1 John 1:9 and receive forgiveness by faith and then proceed with your covenant meal. Jesus always comes to His own table so let us commune with Him this morning and partake with Him and draw His life and strength into us as we partake of His covenant meal. Blessing the elements and prayer Amen. Prayer for Fathers Our prayer for our earthly fathers today is based on Ephesians 3:14-21 Please join in. 14 Today, we bow our knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, We bow our hearts before You Father God today on behalf of all the earthly fathers in our church. 15 from whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, Abba Father we acknowledge that the whole concept of Fatherhood and Family derives directly from you. 16 that You would grant us, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might by Your Spirit in the inner man. Heavenly Father strengthen each of us as earthly fathers with might by Your Spirit to be true fathers like you, full of grace, full of truth, and full of wisdom. 17 that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, As your love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we pray that we as earthly fathers might become established in your love. 18 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, Father we pray that we can know as a living and practical reality the full dimensions of your love in our roles as earthly fathers. 19 and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. That we earthly fathers might come to grasp the love of Christ as a living reality and be continually filled to overflowing with love. 20 Now unto You Father who are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Father God you can do much more for us and in us as earthly fathers because your power is at work in each one of us as an earthly father. 21 unto You Father God be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. May all the glory in your church return rightfully to you from the lives of your earthly fathers in each church family. Amen You can find the full father's day service on video at edinburghelim.online.church

Should Christians celebrate it? Halloween Should we celebrate it and call it a Light Party or Avoid it - Dress Up for it - Give out Sweets and Receive Sweets - Shout out Trick or Treat to people, decorate Pumpkins? Let us look at some of its origins. The word Halloween celebrated on the 31st October literally means the evening before (All Saints day which is on 1st November) also known as All Hallows’ Evening. The history of Halloween is linked to Samhain a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. On the 2nd November (All souls day) for instance the Celtic druids revered it as the biggest holiday of the year and emphasized that day as the time when the souls of the dead supposedly could mingle with the living. Hence the dressing up wearing costumes and disguising your face with a mask to mix with the dead, so they did not hurt you or plague you and scare you. The three days have all mingled together. When Christianity came and the people began to convert to Christianity and Halloween became “less” popular. The Church instead of getting rid of the pagan practices of Samhain altogether, used these holidays so the people would find it easier to convert to the state religion. Over the years Halloween has built up to become in England extremely popular with the carving out of pumpkins, dressing up as witches, ghosts, and everything in between which embraces darkness. Have you noticed how the Children’s and Adults Costumes recently have become more ghoulish and evil looking with masks to match, painted faces with black eyes and red paint to represent blood pouring out of the mouth and eyes? Doors then knocked on with the shout of Trick or Treat and then rewarded with sweets. So, do we see God in this celebration, does He see it as a bit of fun because it is good for children to have fun and be overindulged with sweets. What does God say in his word the Bible in Ephesians 5:11, it says “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” This text is calling us to not only have no association with any type of dark activity but for us to be His Light in a world because we have the light in us JESUS, in the power of the Holy Spirit Amen Guest blogger Jacky Wilson

Why is prayer important in your life? In Part 2 we saw that mostly we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, although sometimes we will pray to Jesus. Praying in Jesus name is a legal expression meaning we are praying on his behalf and there our prayer must reflect his will, character etc. In Part 3 we now consider what is the importance of prayer in your life? Prayer makes you feel connected with your creator and gives you a feeling of security that He's got your back and is always near you. Prayers help you stay grounded, have gratitude, and reminds you that you are a part of God’s family and living His values here on earth. Some Christians describe prayer as a conversation with God. In prayer, Christians lift their minds and hearts up to God. "Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." - Max Lucado According to the book of Ephesians, God's desire is for us to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). Still, people are most motivated to pray when they need something from God. But what does the Bible say is the reason God wants us to pray? There are many types or kinds of prayer, including these 5 main types. 1. Confession of sins; 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. "The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'" - Billy Graham. 2. Praise This where we acknowledge the Lord for who he is (many times in the psalms) 3. Thanksgiving This is where thank God for all that he has done including his provision, protection etc. 4. Intercession This is where pray for the needs of other people and it can be for an individual, a family or even a nation. 5. Petition This prayer is for the things we need in life. Philippians 4:6 instructs us to ‘not be anxious about anything but to give thanks for everything and through prayer and petitions make your requests known to God.’ Jesus used all these types of prayer (bar one) and we ought to have a balance in all the types of prayer we may use. "Rather than set aside daily time for prayer, I pray constantly and spontaneously about everything I encounter daily. When someone shares something with me, I will often simply say, 'let us pray about this right now.'" - Thomas Kinkade Amen Make your own Closing Prayer "Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty." - E.M. Bounds Resources consulted for this study; Pete Greig How to pray: A simple guide for normal people R Price audio teachings BBS097 and BBS098 (see additional resources section of this website). E M Bounds The complete collection on Prayer.

To whom do we pray? Do we kneel to pray? In Part 1 we saw that prayer is a communication to/with God. Many believe their prayers are answered and evidence of this is primarily reported in the Old and New Testaments and subsequently miracles and graces have been reported by the Church and beyond. Prayer can change things; your prayer can change things. We saw that we need to be persistent in prayer and saw examples of this including the domino effect, Queen Bertha of Kent, and the hacking cough. Who said this ‘The family that prays together stays together (answer Mother Theresa)? Today we consider some practical aspects of prayer such as to whom do we address our prayers and what position should our bodies be in when we pray? To whom do we pray? We come to the Father in Jesus’ name John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. In my name is a legal phrase like a lawyer speaking on someone’s behalf. So, it must reflect Jesus’ character, personality, opinions, and beliefs. In other words, we cannot ask anything in Jesus name that he would not ask for. So, prayer in the New Testament is usually addressed to the Father (Our Father which art in heaven) following Jesus’ example. Also, Paul prayed to the Father e.g. in Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father… Sometimes however is acceptable to pray to Jesus e.g. Stephen the martyr Acts 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Some people claim he prayed to Jesus because he could see him. However, it seems likely that Paul was addressing Jesus in the following scripture 2 Corinthians 12:8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Jesus addresses the Father in John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. What about the Holy Spirit? Jesus prayed to the Father not the Holy Spirit. Is there a correct posture or position for praying? No. However I do love this quotation; “The hinge of history is a bended knee” @PeteGreig#presencia #madrid14 The Bible does not command people to assume any particular position in talking with God. On the contrary there are various positions people assume when talking to God. In Scripture we find people praying in various ways: Here is a selection: 1. Kneeling, the martyr Stephen knelt as he prayed. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice. Lord do not charge them with this sin (Acts 7:60). When Simon Peter brought a woman back from the dead he knelt in prayer. But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed (Acts 9:40). Kneeling is a popular approach. 2.Standing, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself (Luke 18:11). 3.Eyes Open, In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed with his eyes open. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said (John 17:1). 4. Fall On Face, in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus fell upon His face when He prayed. He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying (Matthew 26:39). Hence, we see prayer to God is not so much the position of the body but the right attitude of the heart. The Bible says: But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) Make your own Closing Prayer

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? As we begin a new mini-series our topic will be 'Lord, teach us to pray. Have you ever prayed a crazy prayer? What was it? I once foolishly prayed asking him to give me a bit more difficulty in life, I will let you know when the difficulties stop! Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread.4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’’ "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie ten Boom. What is prayer? At a simple level it is communicating with God. Many of us believe that God answers prayer and that indeed situations can even be changed through prayer. Prayer changes things, there are many examples in the bible of prayers that appeared to be answered e.g. in Acts 27:10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Paul was told at first the ship was going to be wrecked and with loss of life, later in 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. Prayer changes things. Amen Luke 11:5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. This teaches us to be persistent in prayer. Pete Greig gives various examples of this … the domino effect… Queen Bertha of Kent prayed 17 years for her husband… Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing is like a hacking cough or a military assault on a castle wall [1]. Luke11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” When we pray things that are in the will of God, he hears and answers our prayers. Closing Prayer. Lord teach us to pray, teach us to know that believing prayer changes things, teach us to be persistent in prayer, teach us to realise that it is your will to give us every good thing which is in your will. Amen [1] Continual prayer is not prayer that goes on without any interruption, but prayer that continues whenever possible. The adverb for “continually” (adialeiptōs) was used in Greek to express a hacking cough. A persistent, ongoing cough that is constant. Paul was speaking of maintaining continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the course of daily living in which concentration and focus is often broken.

Evidence that the first believers really thought Jesus was God? Jesus is Lord! Christians are right to believe that the New Testament tells us the truth about Jesus. But what do we say to those who doubt it? There are plenty of skeptics who will claim that the original NT writings have been tampered with to fit church orthodoxy, that rival claims about Jesus were simply suppressed, and that the divine view of Jesus that we now take for granted was a late invention, instigated by Constantine and the Council of Nicea in AD325. When faced with this kind of skepticism, we can look at the contemporary records that exist from outside of the New Testament - and here's what we find. - the earliest Christian apology affirms Jesus as Messiah, the Son of God; - the earliest sermon says "think of Jesus Christ as of God" - probably the earliest Christian symbol, the ICHTHYS (Greek for fish) is an acronym used to represent the words "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour" - the earliest liturgical prayer, in use in the first century, says "come Lord!" - the earliest Roman letter discussing Christians reports that they worshipped "Christ, as to a god" - the earliest account of martyrdom has numerous references to Jesus as "eternal", "heavenly" and God's Son - even earlier than the written New Testament, the first Christian communities used oral creeds, which Paul later incorporated into his epistles, including Romans 10:9 - "that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (WEB). As a final point, for those that insist that the gospels were corrupted later to paint Jesus in new divine light, we have early manuscript evidence. Take papyrus 75 - it is the oldest manuscript we have that contains John 1, and could well have been written towards the end of the second century. It says just what your bible today tells you about Jesus: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (WEB). Jesus was Lord, the Son of God, in the first century. And so he remains in the twenty-first century! Amen by Guest Blogger Alan Scobie

The Blessings of the New Covenant In Part 3 we saw that our God is a God of covenants. A covenant is a formal binding agreement between two parties. A blood covenant is the most binding form of covenant. God entered a covenant with Abram as a way of convincing Abram that he would keep his promises to him, promises to give him a multitude of descendants, to give him the promised land and to bless him in it. God promised that he would bless those that blessed Abram and curse those who cursed him. We considered the actual covenant cut between Abram and God and then looked a typical covenant type ceremony performed by the ancient Hebrews. Finally we saw that the new covenant through the blood of the Lamb of God was eternally binding and forms the basis for us knowing that God will keep all his promises to us. The Blessings of the New Covenant We are now going to focus in on certain passages in the book of Hebrews, which pertain to the new covenant. The emphasis is on Jesus, the perfect High Priest, providing a new and better covenant which is not based on the peoples’ behaviour. Hebrews 7:20 and it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'" 22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23 Now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office. 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Jesus as the mediator of the new covenant represented the fulfilment of the new covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:31 “The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 10:15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." 17 Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." 18 And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. When we enter the new covenant with God, he puts the fulfilled law [1] into our hearts. Jesus exchanged his life for ours and died for us on the cross. Because of this we ought to live holy lives and not use the grace of God to behave sinfully. Because Jesus completely fulfilled the Law, he swapped robes with us, we became righteous, and he dealt with our filthy rags. Because the fulfilled law is inside us, all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 apply to us; here is what Jesus left for us in his will! 28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands, I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Jesus was the perfect Mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 9:15), providing an eternal inheritance in a way the old covenant could not (compare with Hebrews 12:24). 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Furthermore none of the curses apply to us because we have already been judged in Christ on the cross. The New Covenant is Everlasting Christ's blood established an everlasting covenant in Hebrews 12:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Conclusion As born-again believers we have been given a new spirit and God has written his law in our hearts. Even better is the fact that the law in our hearts is the fulfilled law, the Old Testament law that was completely fulfilled (all 613 parts) by Jesus Christ. We have an everlasting covenant with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our eternal life has already begun. Our sins have been completely forgiven, eternal judgement avoided, and we have been admitted into the royal family of God. We will rise from the dead and live with him forever. In this life all the blessings of Abraham are ours through Jesus Christ. Study the word of God day by day to see all that you have been freely given through the blood covenant of Jesus Christ. We need to apply it into every situation, God wants and expects you to know the terms of the covenant. This will bring greater victory in your life and consequently more glory to God. David knew the old covenant and took on Goliath. How much more should we conquer the giants in our lives by knowing our covenant relationship with the living God. Let us always remember that we have been purchased by the blood of our Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Footnotes [1] Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Part 3 Our God is a God of covenants In Part 2 we followed the trail of Jesus blood as it was shed starting in the garden of Gethsemane, then in the barracks and palace, when he was scourged, and the crown of thorns planted on his head. The blood trickled through the streets of Jerusalem, then from his hands and feet as he was sacrificed on the cross. Finally after he had dismissed his spirit in death, a soldier pierced our Lord's side and the blood and water flowed out onto his dead body and down onto the ground. We saw that the Jesus’ blood was shed to reverse the effects of the curse that Adam and Eve brought on the creation. Jesus blood was given to reverse the effects of the fall. Jesus blood was then poured out on the mercy seat in heaven to make atonement for the sins of fallen man. His holy sinless blood washed away our sins and sealed the new covenant. What is a covenant? Today we are going to consider the concept of covenant and then try to find out why the blood was necessary for the new covenant. If someone made you a promise or a deal, a promise or a deal that was very important to you. How could they convince you that they would definitely keep their end of the bargain? If they were a person of integrity you might just accept their word. Sad to say there is little evidence of integrity in today's society. In the marriage ceremony people make vows. In legal and business contracts people sign up after taking legal advice. Abram had the same dilemma he asked God how he could be sure that God would keep his promise to bless him with millions of descendants. See Genesis 15:1-18. Genesis 15:5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" 9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Jumping down to verse 17 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- A Covenant making and keeping God The bible is divided into the O.T. and the N.T. The word for testament derives from the Latin word testamentum, which translates into English as covenant or testament. Definition of a covenant; a formal and legally binding agreement between two parties. In modern life many important things are based on a covenant type agreement e.g. marriage is a covenant with vows taken. In sickness and in health…etc. Such an agreement promotes trust and stability. A covenant usually involves vows or promises made by both parties with mutual benefits and often contain penalty clauses. In Hebrew ‘covenant’ is the word berith and the equivalent in the Greek diatheke means to 'cut covenant'. Brooker[1] defines a covenant in terms of the Abrahamic covenant as an agreement to 'make a binding agreement by the shedding of blood and walking between the pieces of flesh. The God of the ancient Hebrews is a God who makes covenants. Blood Covenant A blood covenant is the most sacred or solemn type, also the most significant and unbreakable. Marriage should be a blood covenant at consummation! In a blood covenant you promise to give your life, your love, and your protection forever. Example of a Hebrew Covenant Two men entering into a blood covenant would go through nine steps; Each one would take off his robe or coat and give it to the other, symbolising a pledging of themselves to the other. Take off the belt and give it to the other, symbolising the giving of our strength for battle (swords and daggers were in belt) both parties do this. Cut the covenant; they took an animal and split it down the middle. The two parties then stand in between the split halves of the animal with their backs to each other. Each one walks a figure of eight around the two halves and both end up facing each other. This is saying two things. a) We are giving up our own rights and lives and beginning a new walk (life) with our covenant partner. The two halves figuratively represent the death of the participants. b) The participants can point to the shed blood on the ground and vow that God should split them and shed their blood in the same way if they were to break this solemn agreement. [1] R Brooker The miracle of the scarlet thread. 5. Raise the right arm and mix blood; raise right arms and cut palms and intermingle the blood. While the blood is mixing together they swear allegiance to one another. The mixing of the blood represents them becoming one blood and hence one life. The two become one. 6. Exchange names; they exchange surnames. 7. Make a scar; as the blood has mixed the wounds are rubbed together to make a scar that will be a permanent reminder of the covenant we made. When others see it they will know that if you mess with me then you are messing with my covenant partner as well. The scar seals the covenant. The missionary Henry Stanley received 50 such scars when travelling in Africa. Hostile chiefs would think twice before attacking him when they saw his ‘connections’ i.e covenant scars. 8. Give covenant terms; One says all my goods are yours, my money, my transport, and my house. If you need them don't ask they are yours for the taking. If I die I expect you to look after my family. But he also says that he expects the same privileges from the second party. They might then list their assets jointly and in a sense consider them as joint property (both assets and liabilities). 9. Eat a memorial meal; they took bread and wine, the bread representing animal flesh and the wine representing the blood of the covenant. They fed the bread to each other representing joined flesh, and the wine joint lives. 10. Plant a memorial tree; the covenant must always be remembered. They planted a tree and sprinkled it with the blood of the sacrifice and along with their scars this served as a memorial. The tree will always serve as a reminder to the covenant. From this point they are known as true friends. Friendship in ancient times, in a sense only applied between those who had cut a covenant. Their children both living and unborn were also included in this at least until they were of age to reject or accept the covenant themselves. The bible gives several examples of covenant; a particularly lovely one was the one between David and Jonathan (see 1 Samuel 18:1-9). God's new covenant with us In a similar manner, before God created the universe, He planned to make a blood covenant for you so that you might be one with Him. When the time came, the eternal, infinite Creator entered into time and space through the person of Jesus Christ. Christ, the Son of God, exchanges names with us and became Jesus, the Son of Man. He was the God-Man who came to identify with us in our human condition and cut the covenant for us so that we might be one with God. Because Jesus lived a perfect life, He was able to cut a perfect covenant with God on our behalf. When it was time, Jesus gathered His disciples together to participate in the covenant meal. Jesus took the bread and wine and explained that they represented His own life which was to be offered in our place as the covenant sacrifice for our sins. He further explained that through His sacrifice, we could have our sins forgiven and receive eternal life through union with Him. Afterward, Jesus planted a memorial tree and stained it with His own blood. That blood- stained tree was the cross. There Jesus paid the judgment of sin for-us by "cutting the covenant" with Father God on our behalf. This is where the exchange of natures took place. Jesus took the coat or robe of our liabilities on Himself He took our sins into His spirit, our sorrows into His soul and our sicknesses into His flesh. In return, He gives us the asset of His garment of salvation and robe of righteousness. Through Him, we can have right standing with God and become partakers of His divine nature. Because Jesus never sinned, death couldn't hold Him in the grave. Three days later, He was resurrected and ascended back to heaven where He now sits on the throne of God with all authority and power over sin, Satan, and death. And He promises to come back to earth to rule over a kingdom of righteousness and peace with His followers. The New Covenant and You Anyone who will enter covenant with Jesus by accepting His death on your behalf, Jesus will give you the Holy Spirit and apply the blood covenant exchange and benefits to your life personally. The Holy Spirit will come and live inside you so that through Him you can partake of the divine nature of God. The Holy Spirit will be the divine scar on your heart that is God's personal seal and guarantee that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. You will be "born again" as a new person as the Holy Spirit joins you to Jesus in a spiritual union, filling you with His own glorious life. The Covenant Terms Here now are the terms of the covenant. God says if you will turn from your sins and fully commit your life to Him through a personal relationship with Jesus, He will give you His life. He will forgive your sins and restore you to a right relationship with Himself. You will receive authority and power over sin, Satanic strongholds, and habits, which left to themselves will destroy you. God will fill you with His own wonderful life of love, joy, and peace. He will renew your mind, stabilize your emotions and empower your will. He will give real meaning and purpose to your life, and finally, He will resurrect you from the grave so that you may live with Him forever. The Covenant Invitation God has provided for every human need through Jesus Christ by the sacred covenant in His blood. And now you can experience this for your own life. If you have not yet entered into this wonderful covenant with God. You may do so right now. As an act of faith, pray the following prayer from your heart, and then find a group of fellow believers who can help you live in the fullness of God's covenant life. The Covenant Prayer "God, I thank you for the covenant you have made for me through the blood of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of your forgiveness and salvation. I willingly turn from my sins and commit my life fully to you. I now accept and receive Jesus as my covenant Lord and Saviour. I ask You to forgive me of my sins and send the Holy Spirit to come and live inside me and fill me with Himself so that I can walk with You and enjoy the fullness of Your covenant life forever. Amen!

Part 2 The trail of Jesus' blood In Part 1 We saw that the bible is a book dripping with blood! The blood of Jesus is so special and central to the Christian faith That is why when Jesus gave us Holy Communion, he said do this in remembrance of me. He specifically wants us to remember his body and his blood. In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls, goats and lambs were only a shadow of the true blood, which would take away the sins of the world. For Christ our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed[1]. However just as the blood of the Passover Lamb was no use just sitting in the bucket but had to be applied to the doorpost and the lintels of the door (using a hyssop branch) to prevent the angel of death entering, so must we apply the blood of our Passover lamb to our lives. How do we apply it? 1 We apply the blood by faith, to cleanse us from sin to consecrate our lives etc. We must get the revelation of the blood of Jesus. We must ask God to reveal the importance of the blood to us so that we can apply it by faith to the various areas of our lives. 2. We can apply the blood by giving testimony, Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Where can we apply the blood: The trail of Jesus precious blood? First a bit of background. Jesus’ blood is effective against the curses of the fall. The curse of the fall of Adam and Eve is described in Genesis 3:14-19[2] and includes. The curse on the serpent The curse of enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the serpent and the woman’s offspring The curse of pain in childbirth and the headship of the man over the woman. The curse on the soil producing thorns and thistles meaning that it will take hard work to get its produce all the days of Adam’s life. Man will sweat and toil to make a living an eventually return to the ground where he was taken from. Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel. Jesus’ blood was poured for forgiveness of our sins and sprinkled onto the mercy seat in heaven. But Jesus blood was shed in other places too. We can also follow the trail of Jesus blood and apply it specifically to situations. Jesus’ blood was not only sprinkled on the true mercy seat in heaven but was sprinkled on the fallen creation here on earth. The trail of where Jesus’ blood was spilled shows us where the blood of the new covenant can be applied. If you follow the trail of Jesus blood you will see that it was applied to various parts of the original curses that came upon Adam and the earth (Galatians 3:13). Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground. He sweated (sweat was one of the first effects of the curse on Adam) blood in the garden of Gethsemane (for our emotional agony, anguish, and toil). Doctors report some patients going through great emotional distress have reported sweating blood. Luke 22:63 And the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him. 64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? 65 And many other things blasphemously spoke they against him. His blood trickled through palace and barracks. They mocked him, his blood covers derision and mockery. John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. His blood flowed when his back was lashed (for healing). Isaiah 53:4 Surely, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and his wounds heal us. By his stripes we are healed, healed means literally 'sewed back together'. His wounds released the blood to heal sickness, physical healing is part of the covenant blessing he has purchased for us through his blood. His blood covers the pain and cruelty of man. His blood flowed when the crown of thorns pierced his scalp (could be for our mental suffering) His blood trickled on the streets of Jerusalem, one day it will be redeemed. Sin started at a tree and the blood of Jesus will eventually restore the creation. His blood flowed from his hands and feet. John 19:32 Then came the soldiers, and break the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And finally the water and the blood flowed from his pierced side, a ruptured heart, his heart burst for the love of sinful mankind. His blood flowed onto his dead body showing that the dead who receive his blood shall be resurrected. Receive the blood, apply the blood now. You are an able minister of the new covenant and a priest! In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls, goats and lambs were only a shadow of the true blood, which would take away the sins of the world. Declaring the truth about Jesus’ blood Because Jesus’ blood is so special, we can declare these specific truths today… 1 John 1:7 Through the blood of Jesus, I am continually being cleansed from all sin. Romans 5:9 Through the blood of Jesus I am justified, made righteous, just-as-if-I had never sinned. Hebrews 13:12 Through the blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, made holy, set apart to God. Hebrews 10:19 Through the blood of Jesus, I have boldness to enter the presence of God. Hebrews 12:24 The blood of Jesus cries out continually to God in heaven on my behalf. Amen [1] 1 Cor 5:7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. [2] Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."