Gipps St Church of Christ Sermons

11. The Arrest (Matthew 26). Jesus endures a horrific night of anguish and sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26 is a chapter the contrasts the moral character of Jesus and the moral failings of all around Him. It is not a celebration of...

10. Final Warnings (Matt 24-25). Jesus gathers His disciples and responds to some of their questions. He addresses the imminent destruction of the Temple. But even more importantly, He addresses His final coming and how the disciples were to be ready...

9. The Triumphal Entry (Matt 21-23). In this section, the story reaches its climax. Jesus finally marches into the city of Jerusalem and confronts His opponents. These three chapters show the character of Jesus and the character of those who rejected...

Questions for the King (Matthew 19-20). As Jesus approaches the City of Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, many people come to Him to ask questions about His mission and the Kingdom He was bringing. The answers were not always easy and not...

7. Who is the Greatest? In this section of Matthew (Chapters 17-18), we're looking at the issue of greatness. The disciples are still misunderstanding what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about. They are so self-focused that they are completely...

Choosing Sides (Matthew 14-16). This week we examine different people who made a choice on who Jesus was. This section culminates in Peter's great declaration of faith, after which Jesus reveals for the first time what His inauguration as King...

The Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 10-13). In this section we examine a core difference between the Pharisees and Jesus. The Pharisees were constantly making life harder for the followers of God, whereas Jesus was alleviating them of their burdens. This...

Lesson 4. In this lesson we focus on the Healing Ministry of Jesus. We can understand that Jesus came to heal people. He was concerned and compassionate about people with broken lives. He came to heal and mend those who were broken. Whether from...

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the greatest and most well known discourses in the history of the world. But this isn't just an isolated ethics lesson. Jesus is about to describe the kind of Kingdom that He is bringing.

The Ministry Begins. This week we're looking at Matthew 3-4. This is the transition stage in the gospel and the launching stage for Jesus' ministry. In this lesson we're looking at how the character of Jesus is shown through the test he...

A different kind of king. This lesson launches our new series on the Story of Jesus. We begin with a story about Jesus getting a visit from the wise men from the East. This tells us a lot about the story to come.

Living in the Present. Be calm and be kind.

Isaiah 61 give us a final hopeful glimpse of the coming Messiah. When Jesus of Nazareth bursts onto the scene, He points us to this passage to help us understand His mission and purpose.

In this lesson we look at perhaps the most famous in Isaiah. Isaiah 53 gives a vivid description of the pain and suffering that the Messiah would endure. This chapter is in the context of Isaiah's hopeful anticipation.

God revealed His name to Moses at the burning bush. But what was it and why did the Jews take it so seriously? Also, what did God mean about not taking the Lord's name in vain?

In Isaiah 31 we see the predicament that King Hezekiah faced. When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, what do we turn to for safety? Do we turn to a physical comfort or to a spiritual solution. And what modern day threats do we face that we...

Isaiah 9 forms a poem of hope in the middle of Isaiah's bad news for Israel. The lands of Zebulun and Naphtali were affected by battle the hardest, but sunrise would come to those places. In fact, there was a bright future for all of God's...

Anatomy of a Sermon - Taking Acts 2 as our core text, we consider what is the core function and the necessary components of a gospel sermon. Preaching has always been a critical responsibility of God's people, so studying how it ought to be done...

The first lesson in our new series on Isaiah - The Hope of Victory. This series gives the background and setting for Isaiah's prophetic work. We explore why the Jews living before Christ were so focused on Isaiah's teachings and why the New...

Salvation Belongs to the Lord - David, like Jesus, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was forced to deal with tragedy in his personal life and his family. The question he had to answer amidst this grief was, 'Where does my...

Think on these things - It is our choice what we fill our minds with. The scriptures make it clear that we are to enjoy, meditate on, and consider the things which are from above and reflect the character of God.

In this lesson, we examine the three profiles of vocations that echo the Christian life. Paul calls Timothy to endure and obey. The Christian life is the most challenging and rewarding.

Special Guest Speaker Ian Coker - This lesson explores the hardships that all humans are subject to and the response God expects to elicit from His people. The hard times are opportunities to turn towards God.

Pride. In this lesson we look at the right kind of pride. The pride that we are expected to have in others and in our God.

Psalm 44 is a song of sorrow and faith in troubled times. It is a desperate plea for God's help and attention to the present distress. The Psalmist even begs God to wake up and deal with his distress. This Psalm teaches us how to approach God...

We Rise and Stand - The first in a series of victorious Psalms. We study the confidence and boldness of those who go into battle knowing that the battle is already won.

Mercy Culture - This lesson follows on from last week's sermon on Cancel Culture. As seriously as we must approach sin, we must be sober about the severity of mercy. Mercy is not about pretending sin isn’t real. Mercy is not a cheap cop out for...

Lessons from Deborah - Hear the legendary tale of Sisera (from Judges 4), the commander of the Canaanite army who famously came to ruin after seemingly finding rest in a tent.

Cancel Culture is the new buzz word. This lesson explores some of the principles behind 'Cancel Culture' and how these match with Biblical Principles. We examine our relationship to the sins of others.

The More Excellent Way. Often we take 1 Corinthians 13 out of context. We treat it as it Paul was writing an abstract piece of poetry. In reality, he's dealing with the messy, get-your-hands-dirty fact of difficult relationships and particular...

By looking at the radical generosity of Christ, we note our own need to walk in His footsteps and live in a way that is radically generous. There are warnings against greed that we must all heed. There are also encouragements towards the blessings of...

The GOAT - The common modern day acronym means Greatest Of All Time. In this lesson we look at what Jesus saw as the Greatest Commandment of all time.

In this lesson we look at prison. Throughout secular and Biblical history, prison has been the habitation not just of the wicked but of the good who are unjustly punished. As Christians, we have the hope that judicial vindication will come through our...

In this lesson we celebrate the next generation. Christians have a duty to their youth. They must be considerate to the trials of youth and they must recognise the opportunities of the next generations.

Finding Peace - We search diligently for peace in our lives, yet it still remains elusive. Even the Prince of Peace suffered conflict and hurt. So what hope is there for us finding peace? Fortunately, God has promised us perfect peace in the age to...

Making Peace - In this lesson we examine how the world copes with busyness and stress. In contrast, we then look at God's spiritual toolkit for making peace in our lives.

Knowing Peace - Part 1 in our series: Peace for Busy People. In this lesson we examine the relatively new phenomenon of the 'busyness epidemic'. We examine the harm that busyness has on our spiritual lives and the alternative of peace that...

The final lesson from our Leviticus study. The whole point of the book is to paint a picture of what it looks like to walk and live in proximity to God. Leviticus 26 contains a list of blessings and curses and all of us must answer the question: Am I...

Keeping the Feasts. All nations and peoples have special remembrance days. In this lesson, we examine the holy days of Israel and focus on their meaning. What can we do in the Christian age to remember our history and what God has done for us?

Holiness is not a virtue that is exclusive to the overtly pious. Holiness is inherently practical. It is about making decisions day by day that align with God rather than with the world.

The Day of Atonement is the Israelite spring cleaning day. Contrary to the common understanding, the Day of Atonement is primarily about cleaning the Tabernacle/Temple instead of individual worshippers. In this lesson, we discuss how sin pollutes and...

Summary of the redemption story and culmination in eternity with God. After this life, we are promised a resurrection to eternal life. There are alternative places to spend eternity as Christ promised (Matt 25).

Although the cross is in many ways the climax of God’s plan, the redemptive plan of God is realised in the church age. The church is where all of the spiritual blessings are found. It is the true family of Abraham. It is the true temple. It is the...

We know Christ’s death is not an anticlimax or an accident. It is the victory of God. This lesson explains how God’s plan from the Fall came to fruition in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In this Lesson Brett Rutherford takes us through the...