Faith and the Flesh

James 5:1-6


Our nature is selfish and hedonistic, desiring more and never being satisfied. The more we have stuff, the more we are encouraged to be self-indulgent. Money puts scales on our eyes, blinding us to its dangers. It can give us many things, but it can also incur God's judgement when we use our wealth for greedy and sinful desires.

Pure religion is about giving selflessly, and living a generous life. We are to use our wealth for God's glory and to make a difference in the lives of those around us, and those in need. This is mirrored best in Jesus, who had the greatest wealth as king of kings, but chose to step down from his throne to live as a poor, working-class, man and die a criminal's death on the cross, incurring the judgement we deserve to grant us free eternal life. We could never buy our way into heaven, but Christ has paid the debt for us, making us his glorious inheritance and treasure. There is no greater treasure than knowing Jesus, and making Jesus known.

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13 Jul 2015

Luke Nelson

Luke is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne West. He joined City on a Hill in its early days, serving as the Community Pastor in Melbourne, before being asked to lead a new church plant. Having grown up in Melbourne’s western suburbs, he has a deep knowledge of and passion for the area, and a great desire to see the gospel bring transformation. A gifted communicator, he loves the work of pastoring a church, opening God’s word each week and seeing the Spirit work. Luke graduated with a BA (Hons) from Melbourne University, has a Grad Dip in Divinity and a Masters of Ministry from Ridley College. He is an ordained Anglican minister in the Diocese of Melbourne.

12 Jul 2015

Andrew Grills

Andrew is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Geelong. He has spent most of his life as an officer in the Australian Army. Graduating with the Sword of Honour from the Australian Defence Force Academy, he served in Infantry and Intelligence, including operations in East Timor with the commandos. He holds a postgraduate degree in International Relations from Oxford University and an MDiv from Ridley College. Andrew later became an Army Chaplain at the Australian Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka, before leaving the full time Army in 2013 to plant City on a Hill Geelong. Andrew has been married to his beautiful wife Danna for over 20 years and has five young children. He loves the ocean, traveling, camping, playing with his kids (including attending their innumerable sporting matches), and reading military history.

7 Jul 2015

Luke Nelson

Luke is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne West. He joined City on a Hill in its early days, serving as the Community Pastor in Melbourne, before being asked to lead a new church plant. Having grown up in Melbourne’s western suburbs, he has a deep knowledge of and passion for the area, and a great desire to see the gospel bring transformation. A gifted communicator, he loves the work of pastoring a church, opening God’s word each week and seeing the Spirit work. Luke graduated with a BA (Hons) from Melbourne University, has a Grad Dip in Divinity and a Masters of Ministry from Ridley College. He is an ordained Anglican minister in the Diocese of Melbourne.