Sermon podcast from First Ballymoney

Holding firmly. Rev Jim Thompson looks at three words - mother, mentor and master - to help illustrate how God is holding us firmly.

James 1:1-12. Having joy in times of trial, and how to find wisdom when we are unsure what God's purpose is for us when we face those trials.

We continue our journey through Matthew as we look at Matthew 7 verses 1-12 as Jesus teaches us to see how we might be judging others.

In Matthew 6.25-34 Jesus speaks about worry in the light of what he has been saying. We can only "not worry "if something greater has taken hold of our hearts.

Matthew 6.19-24 continues with Jesus' teaching about Kingdom living through the images of your treasure, your eye and your master.

Matthew 6:1-15. Rearranging the ashes or living for God's glory. Stephen looks at Jesus' teaching on giving and praying.

Matthew 5:38-48. Continuing our journey through Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount, we come to Jesus teaching on loving our enemies. Stephen demonstrates that Jesus wants us to be a servant to anyone and a friend to everyone.

Matthew 5:33-36. Why should we tell the truth? Stephen shows us that truthfulness answers the questions about what it means to believe in God, what it means to be human and what it means to love Jesus.

Matthew 5:27-32. As we continue to work through Matthew's gospel, Stephen looks at what Jesus has to say about marriage and divorce.

Matthew 5:20-26. Stephen looks at another section of Jesus' teaching from Matthew's gospel and contrasts our notions of righteousness with Kingdom righteousness.

Psalm 91. Stephen examines this Psalm of hope and encouragement, a Psalm that reminds us of God’s presence and encouragement. However, Stephen reminds us that God has not promised to protect us from all and any troubles; rather, it is about God helping us to remain faithful to Him in our times of trouble.

Luke 24:1-6 and 1 Peter 1:3-4. Stephen looks at the unique nature of Jesus’ resurrection.

Mark 15:25-39. Stephen looks at the account of Jesus’ last hours and shows that his death has paid the ransom price to redeem us from our bondage to a new freedom.

Matthew 21:1-17. What is the character of God we are engaging with when we pray? Using the account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, His cleansing of the temple area and His acts of healing, Stephen examines the nature of prayer in the context of God’s welcome, God’s cleansing and God’s healing.

Hosea 3. As we continue our journey to Easter, Stephen looks at the story of Hosea and Gomer to demonstrate God's love for us

Jeremiah 32:6-10 and Acts 27:33-39. Stephen uses two stories of believers caught in great troubles around them - one in a battle and one in a storm - to demonstrate that God is the basis of our hope, and His promises never fail.

Ruth 3:1-13 and Ruth 4:1-10. Stephen examines the story of Ruth and Boaz to illustrate the meaning of redemption.

1 Samuel 15 12-23 and Matthew 5:17-20. To show the supremacy of all scripture, Stephen highlights how Jesus fulfilled scripture, how He recognised its authority and how we ought to practice living according to scripture.

Luke 14:1-7 and 2 Corinthians 8:1-9. Stephen talks about how we ought to use our finances to advance the Kingdom of God; giving that is a priority, giving that is sacrificial and giving that is a response to God’s grace.

Matthew 5:1-12. Stephen examines the first four of the ‘beatitudes’ given by Jesus in His ‘sermon on the mount’ - four qualities of the heart that God is looking for in us.

Matthew 4:12-25. Stephen uses this passage to demonstrate that Jesus requires (a) allegiance to His person, (b) abandonment to His will and (c) acceptance of His mission.

Matthew 4:1-11. Directly after his baptism and Spirit-empowered anointing as the Messiah, why does Jesus go into the desert? Stephen examines this next episode in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life.

Isaiah 40:1-5 and Matthew 3:1-17. Looking at Isaiah 40 and Matthew 3, Stephen shows how both passages answer the following questions: ‘who is coming?’ ‘what do we need to do?’ and ‘why is He coming?’. Stephen encourages us, as we step into 2020, to embrace humility, live in hope and live in the new life which Jesus offers.

Matthew 2:13-23. Jim Thompson looks at the account in Matthew’s gospel of the warning Joseph received about Herod’s intent to kill the Christ child, the escape to Egypt and the subsequent return to Israel.

Matthew 2:1-12. Stephen discusses the account of the visit of the Magi and demonstrates that Jesus is the king with all authority and he is the blessing to all nations.

Matthew 1:18-25. Stephen looks at Joseph's courage to face a hostile world after choosing to accept Mary as his wife and then compares that with the courage needed by Christians today to accept Jesus and declare Him as king in a world that does not understand why He came.

Matthew 1. The genealogy of Jesus.

Luke 8:22-25. "Anything for an easy life" is a phrase we hear a lot. But, does having things easy always mean we are better off? When we face trouble and danger we often feel that God has abandoned us or that Jesus doesn't care. Kenneth uses the story of the disciples caught in a storm on a boat with Jesus to show that there are positive elements to facing difficulties; that we can benefit and learn from them and that Jesus not only cares, but is with us in our hard times.

John 16:5-16. Stephen looks at two aspects of the work of the person of the Holy Spirit (part of the trinitarian Godhead) to show us how he can be not only a counsellor and advocate, but also a mentor to us and a means to point the way to, and glorify, Jesus.

John12:20-33. Stephen examines the significance of Christ's death on the cross and explores how and why this is a glorious event.

Revelation 19:1-9. Stephen concludes the ‘Life Evermore’ series by discussing 'the ‘party of the universe’ - the celebration feast when Jesus returns and creation is restored. Referring also to Isaiah 25:6-9 and the parable Jesus told of the wedding feast in Matthew 22 :1-14, Stephen demonstrates some biblical truths about this great party.

Luke 19:11-26 and 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. In the penultimate sermon in the ‘Life Evermore’ series, Stephen looks at what happens when Jesus returns - what it means for those who follow Jesus and what it means for those who do not.

Luke 16:19-31 and Luke 23:39-43. In the fourth of our series, Stephen looks at two passages to examine what theologians call the 'intermediate state' - the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) and the encounter between Jesus and the two criminals crucified with Him (Luke 23). Stephen uses these two passages to demonstrate some Biblical truths about what happens when we die.

John 14:1-6. This week in our continuing series, Stephen looks at God the Father's home - where this is and how Jesus brings us there.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 and 30-45. Stephen explores Christ’s resurrection and demonstrates what that means for our own resurrection.

Eternity: New Heaven and New Earth. Stephen begins a five part series looking at the Christian view of heaven. In this sermon, Stephen challenges cultural and popular concepts of what “the afterlife” is like with the biblical view of a new heaven and a new earth.

Philippians 2:1-11. As we celebrate communion, Stephen highlights the example of Christ’s humility and shameful death in the second chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 2:1-4. Addressing the issue of humility, Stephen explores what we are, what we need and how we change by seeking Jesus.

Stephen looks at the contrasts between someone who is quick to anger and someone who does not get angry at all, and argues that neither of these is biblical. All of us should be angry at something - there is power in a biblically-based righteous anger that is a response to a threat against something or someone we love. Stephen demonstrates that God’s righteous anger is simply a reflection of his great love for us.

Genesis 12:1-9. Rev Dr Jim Thompson discusses Abram’s relocation from Haran to Canaan. Firstly, he looks at where Abram pitched his tent; secondly, where Lot, Abram’s nephew, pitched his, and finally, he looks at the Tent of Meeting in the tabernacle.

Romans 8:28-39. Looking at the latter half of Romans 8, Helen explores what God does, who He does this for, the changes this works within us and what the future holds.

Hebrews 10:1-25. Trevor looks at these verses which describe the once and for all sacrifice of Christ.

John 3:16. What does the bible mean when it talks about love?

1 Corinthians 15:12-24. Stephen examines what hope means for the Christian.

John 10. In the third of his series, Rev Dr Harry Uprichard examines another "I am" saying of Jesus - this time "I am the gate".

Rev Dr Harry Uprichard examines Jesus' statement "I am the light of the world".

James 1. Rev Kenneth Crowe uses the illustration of a ‘no-frills’ airline to challenge us not to simply be ‘consumers’ when it comes to church, but members of Christ’s body who are commited to serve and bear the cost of discipleship.

Genesis 1. Helen looks at the creation account and highlights the power, creativity and generosity of our Creator.

John 6:35-37 and 48-51. Harry examines one of the great "I am" statements of Jesus - "I am the bread of life".

Luke 6:27-36. Rev Stephen McCracken examines the practicalities and challenges of living out God's grace.