Richard Owen's Sermons

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Jesus is the light of the world. Just as God sent a pillar of fire to lead the Israelites, so now he has sent Jesus into the world. The light exposes darkness and sin, leads us to the Father, and gives life.

What do we see about Jesus in this passage? We see his compassionate care, even when it’s not convenient. How do we respond? We shouldn’t close our eyes and ignore the facts. We might be tempted to think we have nothing to offer, but Andrew speaks up. Jesus is not an answer, but the answer, and so we should trust our provider with everything.

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Will we respond to Jesus with worship as Elizabeth and John did? Will we be like the shepherds, realising that we are welcomed in and sharing the good news with others? Will we constantly seek God as Anna did? Or will we be proud and want to keep our positions like Herod did?

Jesus is not on a par with John the Baptist, but he is the Word made flesh. John is not jealous of Jesus but is pleased that his own disciples are leaving him to follow Jesus. John has an important role as the Best Man at the wedding, but it is not the Best Man’s role to end up with the bride at the end of the day.

John the Baptist is like a sign-post. He has great humility and points away from himself to Jesus. Jesus is the one who takes away the sin of the world. It doesn’t bother John that his disciples leave him to follow Jesus. Jesus doesn’t point to anyone - he is the one to be followed, and the invitation today is to come and know him.

Like the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, we need clarity on who Jesus was and what he has done. Jesus proves who he is from the Old Testament - he’s not just a prophet but the Mighty God, God With Us, whose suffering was prophesied. Nothing went wrong with God’s plan - the cross was part of the plan.

We live between pre-covid times and post-covid times, and in-between times can be difficult. But we can draw near to God because God is with us and he is faithful.

Abimelech saw that God was with Abraham. God is with us too, so let’s let our light shine, showing love and kindness to those around us, being open with one another and dealing with conflict well.

We can look at Lot’s life and think “Why did God save him?” But if we do that then we also need to ask “Why did God save me?” It was because of his grace and love. We need to live by faith rather than fear, and live God’s way rather than the ways of the world.

Like Abraham, as chosen people we can have a relationship with God. We can see Abraham’s heart for the strangers, the alien, the lost and the outsider, and we can see the mighty sovereignty and graciousness of God, and so we can trust him as Lord of all.

Abraham believed God, not just as a cold hard fact but in a personal relational sense. Like Abraham, we can trust God when we can’t see the way out of our situation and are tempted to try to find our own way out. We are considered righteous by God’s grace through faith, not through our works or our efforts.

Abraham and Sarah saw famine and there were hard decisions to be made, but they also saw the grace and sovereignty of God. Living in God’s promises doesn’t make us immune to hardship, and the grace and sovereignty of God doesn’t mean we are free from sin and bad choices. God’s grace can come through very strange means - it sees the vulnerable and covers over all sins.

We are encouraged to exalt and elevate God, to humble ourselves by seeking his will not our own, and to pray for a renewed spirit within us.

Like Abraham, we must face the facts - the facts make us more aware of our need for God. Yet we should continue to believe God, so let’s look up and be strengthened in our faith.

James encourages us to pray. He tells us to pray for ourselves and for one another, and the sick are to call for the elders to pray for them. We are to come to God in faith, in repentance, in honesty and in humility.

Join us as we look at why, despite all the restrictions and changes, Christmas can never really be cancelled.

To see the full Carol Service please go to: https://youtu.be/OwoV8BnRLRg.