Chris Chart's Sermons

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Jesus healed physically, and he still does it today. He focuses on the work of God. Even after being healed, the man would have remained spiritually blind if he hadn’t believed in Jesus.

A loving God might want to send us into rough waters, but we can find hope. We should take note of what God has already provided, remember that he is with us in our circumstances so that we can trust in his presence, and remember that change is possible and that God can intervene in our circumstances.

Jesus attended social events. He wants to be involved in the whole of our lives, whether good or bad. He knew that his first miracle would start the ball rolling and that it would lead inevitably to Calvary, and perhaps this is why he doesn’t want to be pressurised by his mother. Running out of wine would have been a social embarrassment, but Jesus takes away the shame of the host, just as he takes away the shame of us all.

Abraham makes plans for Isaac in line with the promises he received from God and has been living with. The first thing his servant does on arriving at his destination is to pray. Isaac’s love for Rebecca reflects Christ’s love for the church.

God makes specific promises to individuals. God provides for us whether we are like Hagar and Ishmael who have reached the end of their resources or whether we are like Abraham who is distressed for others. Abraham entrusts Ishmael’s life to God, just as he later entrusts Isaac’s life to God.

When God makes his covenant with Abraham, he makes his promises on his own terms, and he kept his promises when the Israelites came out of Egypt. We too have promises from God, and just as the promises to Abraham weren’t fulfilled for 400 years, we also have to wait for our promises to be fulfilled. In the meantime, what steps of faith is God calling us to take as individuals?

We are told to love one another, bear with one another and accept one another because God has first loved, accepted and forgiven us. Do we know that we are loved, accepted and forgiven by God every moment?

Many of our desires are good, but we are looking in the wrong place to satisfy them. We need to remember to ask God. God gives us his Spirit, and we are invited to humble ourselves and draw near to God.