Weekly sermons from the pulpit of Erindale Bible Chapel.
Scripture: Acts 8:26-39Guest Speaker: Greg BrownThe book of Acts is often called the Acts of the Apostles, but a better title might be The Acts of the Holy Spirit. Time and time again, we see the Spirit stirring, prompting, and empowering Christ's followers to witness and serve. In Acts 8:26–39, the Holy Spirit is undeniably in motion—leading Philip into an unexpected place, to an unexpected person, for an unexpected conversation that brings about an unexpected heavenly result.
Series: Encouragement for Pilgrims on the WayScripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13Speaker: Pastor David HallettHave you ever been separated from someone you love deeply—maybe a child, a close friend, or a fellow believer—and found yourself anxiously wondering how they're doing? That's the kind of love Paul expresses for the Thessalonian believers in today's passage. His heart is like that of a parent torn away from a beloved child. He longs to see them, worries about their spiritual well-being, and even fears that his ministry among them might have been in vain. But then comes the good news: Timothy returns with a joyful report of their steadfast faith and love. Paul's anxious heart overflows with thanksgiving and relief. Yet Paul doesn't stop there. He prays earnestly that their love for one another would increase, and that their holiness would deepen—so they would be ready to stand blameless before Jesus at His return. This is love that longs, rejoices, and grows. We, too, need to ask God to shape our hearts with the same Christlike love for one another, to be ready for the day Jesus comes again.
Series: Encouragement for Pilgrims on the Way Title: Pleasing God TogetherScripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Ministry is not just about activity—it's about aim and approach. In 1 Thessalonians 2:1–16, Paul reminds us that there is a right way and a wrong way to do ministry. The wrong way seeks approval from people, uses flattery, and avoids suffering. The right way—God's way—centers on bold Gospel proclamation, genuine love, and unwavering faithfulness, even when it's hard. Paul, Silas, and Timothy model a ministry that pleases God by focusing on making mature disciples—men and women who stand firm through trials and who share the good news with those around them. That's the kind of ministry we are called to do together: not flashy or self-serving, but grounded in God's truth, shaped by Christ's example, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Ministry that pleases God isn't easy, but it bears lasting fruit. Are we doing ministry in a way that truly pleases God—and are we doing it together for His glory?
Series: Encouragement for Pilgrims on the Way Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Speaker: Pastor David HallettWhat does a true church look like? In a world filled with religious activity and outward appearances, Paul's thanksgiving in 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 shows us the unmistakable marks of genuine salvation and spiritual growth. He doesn't praise the Thessalonians for their size or success, but for their faith that works, love that labours, and hope that endures. These qualities are not man-made—they are the supernatural evidence of God's grace at work. Paul sees more than conversion; he sees transformation. The gospel didn't come to them in word only, but with power and the Holy Spirit. They turned from idols, served the living God, and awaited Christ's return. Their lives displayed the fruit of true salvation and the evidence of maturing faith. As we consider Paul's thanksgiving, may we examine ourselves and our church: are these same marks of life and growth present in us?
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13Guest Speaker: C.Y. YanThe Lord's Prayer isn't just a set of words to memorize—it's a roadmap for life with God. In just a few lines, Jesus teaches us to begin with worship, to align our desires with His kingdom, to rely on Him for our daily needs, and to walk in both mercy and forgiveness. This prayer invites us into a deeper relationship—a reminder that through Jesus, we belong to God as His children. We're not coming to Him based on our performance, but on Christ's finished work. When we pray this way, we're not just speaking—we're being reshaped. Let the Lord's Prayer ground you in truth, reframe your perspective, and draw you closer to the heart of the Father.
Resurrection Sunday. It was this day in history when God raised Jesus from the dead, declaring victory over sin, Satan, and death itself. Building off our message on Good Friday, we come to a beautiful and powerful benediction in Hebrews 13:20-21. In these verses, the writer of Hebrews offers a prayer for God's people — a prayer that rests entirely on one great truth: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It's easy to pass by these words quickly, but here we find the heart of Christian hope and strength. The prayer begins by calling on “the God of peace,” who brought Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, back from the dead. And this resurrection isn't just a historical event to be remembered — it's the very foundation for everything this prayer asks God to do in us. It's because Christ lives that we can be equipped to do God's will. It's because Christ lives that what pleases God can be worked out in our lives. The resurrection is not an afterthought — it is the fountain of peace, power, and purpose for God's people.
Good Friday is the this day in history when Jesus gave His life by dying on the cross. What makes this Friday “good”? Doesn't it seem blood-thirsty and wrong to call the anniversary of the death of Jesus “good”? On Sunday we will rejoice and celebrate Jesus' resurrection and eternal enthronement. Celebrating that makes good sense. Yet, there is a goodness to what Jesus did on that Friday two thousand years ago. Good Friday is the day that Jesus gave up His life willingly to take upon Himself ALL our sins. He died for our sins ONCE so that we could be forgiven when we put our faith and trust in Him. How could one sacrifice accomplish all that? The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 9:23-28, because unlike the sacrifices in the Old Testament, Jesus' sacrifice was the BEST!
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament Prayers Scripture: Jeremiah 20:7-18 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Everyone wants to be a success. Everyone wants to be loved. We live our lives looking for these affirmations to tell us we are on the right track. Jeremiah was a prophet sent from God. He had been chosen by God even before his birth (Jeremiah 1:5) to bring a message of judgement and punishment to the people of Judah. No one listened to him. No one repented. Instead everyone laughed at him, ridiculed him, and mocked him. Some even went so far as to beat him, imprison him, and eventually kidnap him and force him to go to Egypt against his will. Near the beginning of his ministry in Jeremiah 20, Jeremiah was arrested, beaten, and tortured by the priest Pashhur in Jerusalem for prophesying defeat for Judah. This led Jeremiah to question many things. Where was God? Why does He keep sending me to tell messages of doom, when nothing seems to happen. Why does righteousness always seem to lead to suffering? In the midst of his turmoil, Jeremiah pours out his heart to God. All of his emotions are on display: anger, fear, shame, and disillusionment but also trust and praise. There is much to learn from the prayer of Jeremiah, the “Weeping Prophet.” God is ready and willing to listen to us even when what we want to say to him is negative. Jeremiah's lament teaches us to bring every emotion to God.
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament Prayers Scripture: Habakkuk 3:1-19 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Things are crazy these days. Every day we hear about natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or tornados. Someone is arrested for committing a horrible crime. The job market is uncertain, housing is too expensive, tariffs may bring a recession. There seems to be no end in sight. The prophet Habakkuk lived in similar times of tumult and injustice. Why do the wicked prosper? Where is their punishment? Why isn't God doing anything about it? These questions are not new. Out of despair and exasperation, Habakkuk called out to God with these questions and complaints. When he was confronted with the majesty and faithfulness of God, his complaints turned to a prayer of faith and trust. Three times in the New Testament Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted “the just shall live by faith.” Faith is necessary for salvation but it is also an abiding need for believers when we see the world around us. Truly, the just shall live by faith.
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament PrayersScripture: 1 Kings 8:22-61Speaker: Pastor David HallettAfter a seven-year construction, King Solomon offers a special prayer of dedication for the Temple he has built for God. This temple was the concrete evidence of God's presence with His people. In his prayer, Solomon's most earnest plea is repeated three times: “that all may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.” Solomon might have assumed automatic blessing from God because he built the temple. Instead, he prayed that God would glorify Himself through His presence in that temple and that all nations would seek to bring Him glory. He also prayed for forgiveness for God's people, knowing that they could never fully meet His standard of holiness. In the NT, Jesus becomes the ultimate presence of God with His people (John 2:18-22) and we, as believers, also become the temple of God by His Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 1 Cor 6:19,20). Just as it was Solomon's prayer, It should be our prayer that as God's temple we would live in a way “that all may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.”
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament Prayers Scripture: 1 Samuel 1-2 Speaker: Pastor David HallettDoes God really care? This is the question we often ask when things go wrong in our life. How should we respond in difficulties, in trials, in things that bring anguish and pain? Do we lash out? Do we feel sorry for ourselves? Do we pray? The story of Hannah and her son Samuel opens the book of 1 Samuel and tells us about not only God's compassion and care for this forlorn woman, but also His love and care for His people as a whole. Her prayer comes from a heart that is broken, full of misery and despair. Hannah turns to the only One who can help her—God. Does God really care? Hannah tells us emphatically “Yes!”
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament Prayers Scripture: 1 Kings 18:36-37 Speaker: Pastor David HallettWe need to be faithful in prayer for our family and our friends to come to know Jesus and receive God's gift of eternal life through faith in Him. Yet, many of us struggle with how best to present that message. Should we confront them with logical proofs for God's existence? Should we present indisputable evidence for Jesus and His resurrection? Should we show the love of God to them through our actions? None of these things are bad or wrong, but the truth of the matter is God must show Himself to be the one true God through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. When people are confronted with the truth of God in all His glory, He moves their hearts to believe in Jesus and declare, “The Lord, He is God.” In 1 Kings 18, Elijah had to confront the nation of Israel because they were drifting away from serving God alone and were happy to incorporate Baal worship into their lives. Who is the real God and who is fake? On Mt. Carmel, Elijah prayed and asked God to show His glory and reveal to Israel that He is God alone. We need to pray the same prayer today for our family and friends.
Series: Teach Us to Pray: Lessons from Old Testament Prayers Scripture: Exodus 15:1-18 Speaker: Pastor David HallettWhat do you say when you pray to God? Many of us tend to pray for the same things over and over: the same requests for our loved ones and the same pleas for the difficulties in our own lives. Similarly, when we focus our prayers on gratitude, we tend to praise and thank God for the same kinds of things. In our new sermon series, we want to focus on some of the prayers found in the Old Testament. Sometimes these prayers focus on praise, while other times they focus on requests, and still others pour out emotions of grief, bewilderment, but also trust. The prayers we'll study from the Old Testament can teach us to pray in new ways, bringing freshness to our routines. In many cases, we can even use the exact words of a prayer in the Bible. Today we want to focus on the Song of Moses. All the Israelites praised God for granting them salvation from the Egyptian army and from Pharaoh. What can we learn about praising God in our prayers from this song?
Series: The Mission of the ChurchScripture: Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 28:18-20 Speaker: Pastor David HallettIn our final message in this series on the Church and Missions, we want to bring it all home. We have shown that God DOES have a mission. Jesus commands us to fulfill that mission. He gave us the Holy Spirit to empower us for that mission. All that is left to ask is “What is our specific role in the MISSION of God?”
Scripture: John 15:9-10; 1 John 4:16Guest Speaker: Ming Peng Gong
Series: The Mission of the ChurchScripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31Speaker: Pastor David HallettDuring this series we have seen that the true story of the world is revealed and called forth as God's mission. Then, we showed how, as followers of Jesus in His church that He is building, we have a duty to fulfill our mission under God's grand mission. Last week, we saw that we as Christ's church need to be engaged in extending the Lordship of Christ and the glory of God to ALL NATIONS. Now we must come to the key question, “To what end?” Why is the true story of the world that God's cosmic renewal is accomplished through the saving work of Jesus spread around the world to all nations? The answer is the glory of God. All of this is accomplished to bring God glory. This does not make God some vain diva looking for attention. In fact it is just the opposite. When God is glorified in the universe and especially in His people, we begin to experience and enjoy all the beauty and greatness of God to our own ultimate satisfaction. That is why He is worthy of our praise—God's glory gives more than it takes.
Series: The Mission of the Church Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Two weeks ago, we showed that the true story of the world revealed and called forth God's mission. Last week, we showed how, as followers of Jesus in His church that He is building, we have a duty to fulfill our mission under God's grand mission. The main focus of the message was on that mission to our “own place.” We do need to evangelize, disciple, show compassion, promote justice, and care for creation where we are. BUT, if we stop there, we fall short of fulfilling God's mission for us, His church. We need to be engaged in extending the Lordship of Christ and the glory of God to all nations.
Series: The Missions of the Church Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Last week we showed that the true story of the world revealed and called forth God's mission. As followers of Jesus in His church that He is building, we have a duty to fulfill our mission under God's grand mission. That mission can only be fulfilled when we are able to understand the true story of the world, tell it rightly to a lost and dying world, and live it out before the world, all for God's glory and the fulfilling of the mission. But how do we “embody and tell” the true story of the world? Today we will see that the mission's goal is to bring all creation together in unity under the authority of Christ. We need to live out and share that story by building the church, serving society, and taking care of God's creation.
Series: The Mission of the Church Scripture: The Whole Bible Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Some of the most fundamental questions in life seem to be the hardest to answer: “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?”, “Where am I going, both now and in the future?” Everyone struggles with these questions whether they are a Christian or not. Apart from God, people look for the answers to these questions in a wide variety of places. Sadly, in our culture today, most people look within themselves to find ultimate truth and reality. Where do the answers lie to life's most fundamental questions? The answer is found in the true story of the world. The Bible tells the story of the universe from beginning to end and reveals to us the mission of God He is calling us to fulfill. What story are you living in?
Series: The Church and Missions Scripture: John 20:19-21; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:6-8 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: Job 23:1-17 ESV Guest Speaker: Arthur Dixon
Scripture: Revelation 19:1-10 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Jesus - Light of the World Scripture: John 1:14-18 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Jesus: Light of the World Scripture: John 1:6-13 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Jesus - Light of the World Scripture: John 1:1-5 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Hearing Jesus Among the Lampstands Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Guest Speaker: Adib Maxwell
Series: Hearing Jesus among the Lampstands Scripture: Revelations 3:7-13 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Hearing Jesus Among the Lampstands Scripture: Revelations 3:1-6 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Hearing Jesus Among the Lampstands Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: Luke 13:1-9 Speaker: Rev. Dr. Peter Johnson
Series: Hearing Jesus Among the Lampstands Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett Yesterday, we continued our series on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. The third letter is written to the church at Pergamum, the capital city of the province of Asia. It was well known for its many temples to various Greek gods but was also one of the first places dedicated to Emperor worship. This made life difficult for the Christians in Pergamum as they were under pressure to conform to a society that worshipped many gods. While the Pergamum church loved Jesus, they were also succumbing to false teaching that suggested that they could have it both ways. They could be followers of Jesus AND they could continue to participate in the sinful cultural activities of the day. Jesus' call to repent is strong and stern but is also loving. He promises those who remain faithful only to Him will receive far more than what society can offer. The question for the church at Pergamum, and for us, is “What are you holding on to?”
Praise and Thankgiving Service Series: Hearing Jesus Among the Lampstands Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: John 14:26-27 Guest Speaker: Tim Brown
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture Reading: Acts 17:22-31 ESV Sermon Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:7 - 12:8 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: Hebrews 2:1-3, 8-15 ESV Guest Speaker: Nestor Campbell
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:1-25 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 ESV Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Scripture: Matthew 4:21 Guest Speaker: John Brown
Guest Speaker: Adib Maxwell - The Jesus Network Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20; John 21:15-23
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Wisdom ~ New Life Under the Son Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Living the Generous Life Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Living the Generous Life Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Living the Generous Life Speaker: Pastor David Hallett
Series: Living Hope in a World of Suffering Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-11 Speaker: Pastor David Hallett