Sermons

Discipline from God is seen in the context of family relationships. It is fundamental in the relationship between father and child. It is painful but fruitful. Parental discipline is just a poor imitation of God’s discipline.

God directs his people for a purpose, but we can easily become discouraged when things go wrong. Are we willing to step back and pray; obey him; step into the impossible; and worship even before we reach our destination?

We belong to God because he made us, bought us and won us. In what is an amazing exchange, God also gives himself to us.

Jesus is the pioneer of our faith. He didn’t just lead the way but he made the way. He is also the perfecter of our faith who finished the work of redemption on the cross.

The church is called to match the gospel. The church is God’s household, the dwelling place of the living God, and the pillar and foundation of the truth.

We need to get rid of sin, but also of anything else that hinders us running the race. We are not to focus on the cloud of witness, or their faith, but on the object of their faith.

Jesus came to serve, not to be served, and God’s people are called to be a community of servants, but some people have a specific calling as servants / deacons.

Jesus equipped his disciples by giving them peace, opening their minds to understand the Scriptures and promising them power. He equips us in the same way.

Phinehas was jealous for God’s honour. We should have the same attitude towards God’s honour. Sin does not honour God and so it needs to be killed.

Living by faith takes us out of our comfort zones, but the people of God in the Old Testament had their weaknesses turned to strength. We can trust God in all circumstances.

It was worth Satan’s while to discourage Elijah, and it is worth his while to discourage us as individuals and as a church. God overcomes Elijah’s discouragement by refreshing him, by restoring him with a still small voice, and by reinstating him.

God is a generous God who loves to give, and loves it when we give generously and cheerfully.

[A small section of the message at around 38 mins was not recorded due to technical difficulties]

As the two friends walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus two days after Jesus’s crucifixion, they encountered two surprises that would change their lives forever: that Jesus really was raised to life again, and that his resurrection changes everything. These are realities that have the power to change our lives too.

We need to remember and understand the resurrection of Jesus in order to believe it.

Jesus teaches us to approach God with personal reverence, addressing him as our father, and also with shameless persistence and childlike confidence.

It’s time to seek the Lord because God wants to bless his people and make us more fruitful and so we need to break up our unploughed ground. It’s good to sing his praises, confess our sin, ask things of him, fast and meditate on him.

It is easy to focus on ourselves rather than on Jesus, and make excuses why we can’t trust him. But it’s not about us, it’s about him, and we are called to trust and obey him.

There is still room for more people in the Jubilee Centre and in God’s Kingdom. God has blessed us all with wonderful gifts, so let’s cast out the nets for a fresh catch.

We need to recognise the danger of becoming conceited, and be careful to avoid sin by fleeing to God, so that we don’t fall into disgrace.

Moses’ parents were helpless to protect Moses against Pharaoh, but they trusted God. Moses could have remained a prince of Egypt but he trusted God and chose Christ over comfort.