Carryduff Baptist Church is an evangelical church that acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord. We believe in the gospel and the need for individuals to be born again by the Spirit of God, in order to be made ready for heaven. We are part of a wider fellowship of churches known as the Association of Bapti…
Sermons – Carryduff Baptist Church
Carryduff, Northern Ireland
God did the impossible at Christmas – the omnipotent God becomes a helpless child. And yet he did it …
There are two offices, given by Christ for the good of the Church – Deacons and Elders. This morning we look at Elders, Servants of the Word
Throughout 1 John, John has emphasised the need for Christians to love one another. But where does that leave the obligations of the Law? Is there a tension between the two? In the final chapter he addresses both, and brings the letter to a surprising conclusion.
The community John is writing to has been shaken, not only by people denying Christ and leaving the church, but also by people staying and lying to the church. And he shows us, in 1 John 4:1-6 … How to Recognise the Fakes How to Defeat the Fakers
In his opening chapters John has been at pains to call us to remain in Christ, to remain in the light. Chapter 3 begins to address what it looks like to do that and the heart of it is this appeal, See what great love the Father has lavished on us 1 John 3:1 In…
In 1 John 2:15-29 we come to an event which has profoundly shaken the confidence of the believers, and which may well be the reason why John wrote. Some of their number had left them, denying Christ and trying to lead them astray. And the question they are facing is, What does this mean? John…
In 1 John 2:7-14, having called on his readers to walk in the light, John assures them that they can do exactly that because – in Christ – something has changed. Jesus has changed our capacity to keep the law Jesus has changed the signs by which God’s people are known Jesus has changed all…
In 1 John 1:5-2:6 we are presented with a spiritual catch-22, we cannot claim to have fellowship with God while we are walking in the dark, but if claim to be without sin we are lying … so how can we come to God. John’s answer is Christ, because Christ is … A Light A…
John begins his letter, discussing How to Know, by making three simple points Something has happened What has happened has made us one Our joy depends on what has happened
John explains his motivation in writing 1 John towards the end of the letter, and he says it was … I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 But one of his dominant themes…
In Numbers 9:15-10:36 Israel are finally ready to leave Mount Sinai. The time for preparation has ended and their final directions relate how they are to come and go as they travel. This is unfolded in: The Cloud The Trumpets The Invitation
It’s one thing to set people free, but how do they stay free? Numbers seems to present the Passover in Numbers 9 as the answer, that the way they’ll stay free is by remembering how they were delivered. The regulations given here highlight: The Importance of Remembrance The Indispensability of Remembrance The Universality of Remembrance
Numbers 8 presents, rather unexpectedly, specific instructions for one item of furniture in the Tabernacle – the lampstand. It is clear that, with the dedication of the Tabernacle, the privilege of being able to walk in its light has profound significance. This is only underscored by the fact that the next thing narrated is the…
Having focused on how God numbered the Israelites In the Wilderness, arranging them around his Tent – the Tabernacle – the way an army encamps around their general, in Numbers 7 we go back in time a month to see how that Tabernacle was prepared. And it becomes clear that it wasn’t just the priests…
Numbers is punctuated by five sections detailing the laws under which Israel was to live. The first, in chapters 5-6, responds the fact that God is Among Them, his Tabernacle is in the heart of the camp. The camp must therefore be clean. These chapters outline: Three things which defile the camp Two things which…
In the Wilderness the holy God living among an unholy people, the Levites were called to maintain the sacrifices and the tabernacle that protected the one from the other. In order to maintain the vertical relationship between each Israelite and his holy God, a great, horizontal network of relationships among the Israelites was necessary, with…
Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12) but what is forgiveness? And how can true forgiveness ever be obtained?
The careful detail of Numbers 2-3 concerning the layout of the Israelite camp focuses our attention on three things: The Place of the Levites The Service of the Levites The Substitution of the Levites
Easter is celebrated globally as a holiday, it’s recognised as a central part of the church calendar, but is it personal. Paul could say, “thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). Is it that personal for us? Is this Our Easter?
The first chapter of Numbers is a census of the Israelite people, but not the kind of census we might expect. It counts only men, and of the men it counts only the men able to fight in the army. This isn’t a simple numbering of the population, this is a preparation for war, this…
The book of Numbers stands in the Old Testament both as a warning and as a source of hope.
Isaiah 11 is a prophecy of Christ’s birth at Christmas. It is a prophecy about a king, and not just a new king, it foretells the coming of a new kind of king, because our salvation … is something no ordinary king could create can only be established by judgement means a world made new
We take the presence of the shepherds at the birth of Christ for granted, but why where they were? Because the truth is … There was no-one less qualified to understand what they saw There was no-one less convincing as a witnesses to what had happened
Why is financial giving a part of our Christian worship? Is it an unfortunate practical necessity, imposed on our, otherwise, spiritual focus, or, is it an essentially spiritual act? To help us understand why we give, Paul walks us through three questions: What should we give? How should we give Why should we give?
It’s significant that, having focused on the way the Corinthians have confronted, and dealt with their sin, the First Steps Paul recommends immediately afterwards are not introspection or self-examination, but the service of others. He draws their attention to the power of God’s grace for, Grace made Visible Intentions made Real Needs made Clear
2 Corinthians 7 is the most encouraging part of the letter so far, and yet Paul feels he has to preface it with this appeal, Make room for us in your hearts 2 Cor. 7:2 Because this is a Turning Point, and turning points are hopeful but also fragile and Paul’s words here offer us…
Having talked about what drove him to persuade others to come to Christ, in 2 Corinthians 6, Paul now talks about what stops us from doing that, indeed from serving Christ at all. We are divided when we should be united, and united when we should be divided. Dividing when we should be united Uniting…
As the shattering experiences of the veterans of war across history demonstrates, there is a cost to remembering. And so on this Remembrance Sunday we gather to remember those who cannot forget, and – from the Scriptures – learn, Resist the temptation to just try to forget Recognise that it's not enough only to remember…
Having called us to, “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Cor. 4:18), Paul now refutes any fear that this will make us ‘to heavenly minded to be of any earthly use’. He relates how these principles are actually the very Engine of Evangelism. And he does it…
Paul frames the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians with the repeated declaration that, we do not lose heart. 2 Cor. 4:1, 16 And between these two claims he tries to explain why by drawing our attention to one of the central themes of the letter – the difference between the Seen and the Unseen. He…
What kind of relationship do you want with God? In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul emphasises three words which both set out both what God wants in a relationship with you, and, where Corinth has gone wrong in the relationship they are pursuing with Him. And those words are: Glory Ministry And Boldness
Paul is writing to the Corinthian believers, “for your joy” (2 Cor. 1:24) – but they have forgotten the way to find joy. So in this passage Paul reminds them what kind of ministry can lead them to the joy of their salvation. It is the ministry which: Is willing to punish in love, and…
Paul, facing opposition in the church of Corinth, doesn’t engage in trying to get the believers to choose him over them, rather he tries to show them what a good leader looks like through, His Boast His Defence His Goal
Paul begins 2 Corinthians with a beautiful reflection on comfort which is the foundation of what he has to say to the church. But we need to understand what, for Paul, the nature of comfort really is. If we understand that despair is the product of relying on ourselves, and hope the product of relying…
As an introduction to the letter of 2 Corinthians we think about this troubled church in terms of: How it started How it’s going
Concluding this two-part series with a look at how Christ fulfils the Old Testament’s promises of a better shepherd
The first of two sermons on Christ the Shepherd, looking first at the Old Testament promises of a good shepherd
In 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul says that three things will remain when everything else has fallen away – faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these, he says, is love. So, What is love? What does the cross have to do with love? What do I mean when I say, “I love you”?
In 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul talks about a hope that lasts, a hope that will outlast everything. When we study the hope he had it poses three questions Why do we need hope? Who can we put our hope in? How can we learn to hope in God?
Psalm 146 marked the individual’s decision to praise the LORD. Psalm 147 is the voice of the praising community such individuals inevitably are made a part of. Psalm 148 shows how praise is much more than songs sung by men, it is the purpose and goal of the whole creation. But the psalm is structured…
The individual resolution to praise the LORD found in Psalm 146, inevitably leads to the corporate call to Jerusalem to praise Him. As such, Psalm 147 is about how God gathers and builds into one, those who pursue his praises. The psalm is structured around three commands, in verses 1, 7, and 12. And under…
The book of Psalms traces out a journey from lamentation to praise. The earlier psalms are more often songs of sorrow, and frustration, but – increasingly – more and more are songs of confidence, praise, and thanksgiving, until the book climaxes in five final songs of unbridled rejoicing in the LORD. This mirrors our walk…
The final chapter of 2 Peter has a grim warning, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire 2 Peter 3:7 And since this world will end, we must see … The Importance of Thinking Clearly The Dangers of Denial and Despair The Hope of a World Remade
2 Peter chapter two begins with the chilling words, there will be false teachers among you 2 Pet. 2:1 That reality means … We must learn and live together We must learn to recognise false teachers But we don’t need to be afraid
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