Ben Gibbins's Sermons

It can sometimes look as if worldly powers are king, but the Bible says that we reign in life. Abraham recognised Melchizedek as greater than he himself was, and Melchizedek points to Jesus. Jesus is king. We say that with our mouths, but is he really king over our lives? Do we really submit our entire lives to him?

We should be trustworthy at all times, and therefore have no need to take oaths. If we feel the need to take oaths then it suggests that our word cannot be trusted otherwise.

Because God came as both Jesus (Saviour) and Immanuel (God with us) we can know him and be saved from our sins.

If we focus on other people’s faults, we don’t keep our eyes on what we should be doing. We shouldn’t judge others because when we do, we are looking in the wrong place with a wrong attitude, we are putting ourselves above the law, and we damage church unity. We should deal with our own faults, loving others instead of judging, and remembering that it’s up to God to judge.

There are four steps to dealing with our inner desires and temptations. We should keep our eye on the end goal; realise where the temptation comes from and where it leads; deal with our desire, not just our actions; and remember God’s goodness and good gifts to us.

Jesus is our foundation. We can build on this foundation using either stones or straw, and what we build will be tested on quality not quantity.

Jesus can calm our troubles. He tells us that we can trust in him, that he is preparing a room for us in Heaven, that he is coming back to take us to be with him, and that he is the underlying reality behind the appearance.

Joseph forgave his brothers with weeping and embraces, but years later they weren’t totally sure he’d truly forgiven them. We can find it hard to accept God’s forgiveness but he has truly forgiven us.

When we are struggling and our dreams are dying, God is still blessing us and he is still with us. So when we are tempted to self-pity we should recall all the blessing we’ve had and every answered prayer.

Even though the disciples have gone back to their old way of life, Jesus meets them where they are and blesses them. He knows we’re human, and he reinstates us when we fail.

Like Timothy, we are men and women of God, holy people and children of God, and so we are encouraged to live accordingly.

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.

God’s kingdom extended beyond Israel and it extends beyond our church. The kingdom extends when we have faith and are forgiving, like Naaman’s servant girl, when we are unimpressed with the things of this world and seek to heal the sick, like Elisha, and when we are obedient to God’s word, like Naaman.

Moses faced a big decision: should he merely accept God’s promises for Israel, or should he ask for something more, relationship with God himself?

The religious leaders wanted Jesus killed out of self-interest, the crowds just followed the leaders without examining the facts, and Pilate chose to serve the crowd rather than his conscience or justice. They all deserved to die, and we can often be like them. But even those who deserve to die can be forgiven.

Each disciple of Jesus is called to follow him and walk the way of the cross. This will involve hardship and will sometimes require the letting go of things to which we want to hold on.

We are in a battle for contentment which can only be found in God’s glory. In order to be content we need to set aside pride and deal with our reactions to things.

Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we can always find joy in what God has done, and wait patiently for what he is yet to do. The Psalmist gives us a lesson from farming.

In difficult and challenging times we can know that God is still at work and that he still loves us.

Learning from the story of Gideon how believing God’s word takes us from weak, fearful people to those who can do all things through Christ.

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