Sermons – Lismore Bible Church

Acts 2:42 — “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” In this simple message, we think about the experience of the very first local church and what it has to teach us as we navigate some difficult circumstances. The life and growth of our church…

Amos 3:9-11 — “An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.” This message comes in the aftermath of the devastating flood that hit our town. In this somewhat obscure text from the Book of Amos, we find some…

Isaiah 50:5-6 — “The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious…” The Servant Songs in the Book of Isaiah give us profound insights into the mind and heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. They help us understand His relationship with God and the way He thought about His suffering. In this…

II Corinthians 4:7 — “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” In this short sermon, we think about what the picture of an “earthen vessel” is meant to convey and what exactly this “treasure” is. We also consider why Paul…

Psalm 1:2-3 — “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither…” We are living in a season where this is much that can unsettle us and make us anxious. We can feel like a boat being tossed…

Romans 12:2 — “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” This is the first sermon in a New Year and it addresses something that we, as followers of Jesus, will undoubtedly face. It is something that will come against us as a kind of pressure, and…

Mark 15:29 — “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads…” This is the last sermon preached at our church in 2021. We began the year at the cross and that’s where we finish. We think particularly about those who passed by and mocked the Lord Jesus while He was dying. We…

Luke 2:1-20 — “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger…“ The manger is perhaps the most famous item of furniture in the Bible and it has great symbolic significance. It speaks profoundly of the Son of God’s humility. It shows that He came…

Luke 2:1-7 — “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed…” Rome was a long way from Nazareth, and yet when Joseph and Mary became aware of Caesar’s decree they felt obligated to obey. Even though Mary was heavily…

Luke 13:31-33 — “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” There were certain Pharisees who told Jesus that Herod Antipas was planning to kill Him. When Jesus heard this, He was completely untroubled. He…

Luke 13:22-30 — “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” In this passage we see Jesus urging His audience to enter into the kingdom of God before the door was shut. Jesus was very direct with His hearers in…

Luke 13:18-21 — “Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? And whereunto shall I resemble it?…” In these verses we have two illustrations that Jesus gave to describe the kingdom of God. It might not seem so for those of us who are familiar with Jesus’ teaching, but these illustrations were…

Luke 13:10-17 — “And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day…” In these verses, Luke records a miracle that Jesus performed during a worship service on the Sabbath. He healed a woman who had been painfully disabled for nearly 20 years. It was a cause for great…

Romans 12:16b — “Be of the same mind one toward another.” The coronavirus pandemic and the ever-changing list of rules and restrictions has caused many people to become frustrated and fearful. This, in-turn, has led to a decrease in respect and common courtesy. We have all heard accounts of people being treated rudely for wearing…

Luke 13:6-9 — “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.” In these verses we have one of Jesus’ lesser-known parables, one that perhaps we’ve not thought about very much. It’s a simple story and it had…

Luke 13:1-5 — “Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Death is not a pleasant subject, but we do manage to talk about the deaths of other people without too much discomfort. There has…

Isaiah 1:21 — “How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.”  The prophet Isaiah lamented the moral and spiritual condition of the city of Jerusalem. God’s people had been unfaithful to Him in a grievous way. Those at the top had used their…

Daniel 2:1-24, Acts 2:1-19 — In this sermon we consider the impossible situation that Daniel and his three companions found themselves in. Their lives were threatened through no fault of their own and there was, from a human perspective, no way out. How Daniel responded reminds us of how the first Christians in Jerusalem responded…

John 1:35-51 — “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” Instead of arguing with Nathanael about the identity of Jesus, Philip invited him to meet Jesus for himself. When Nathanael did meet Jesus, he discovered that Philip was right — Jesus was…

Luke 12:54-59 — “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” What time are we living in right now? What should we as Christians be concentrating on? How should we think about world events and Bible prophecy? There…

Luke 12:33-34 — “Sell that ye have, and give alms…” Some of the things that Jesus said about giving can make us feel a bit uncomfortable. In this particular verse, was He actually telling His disciples to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor? How do these words apply to us today?…

Luke 12:32 — “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Fear is something we all have to deal with at one time or another. For some of us, fear is an ongoing struggle — we wake up with it in the morning, walk around with it…

Luke 12:29-31 — “And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after…” In these verses we learn that Jesus’ disciples are to have a different attitude towards the things of this world. What…

Luke 12:22-28 — “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on…” As we continue our study through The Gospel of Luke we come to a subject that touches all of us. At one time or another we have all have…

Luke 12:13-21 — “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” These words came in reply to a man who asked Jesus to intervene in a dispute with his brother over an inheritance, and they were followed by the Parable of the Rich…

Matthew 28:18-20 — “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” Jesus calls every disciple to make disciples, and He gives them all the encouragement they need in doing so. He assures them of His authority and His presence. In…

Luke 12:10-12 — “Take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.” In this part of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus warns against blaspheming the Holy Spirit and He talks about the grace that the…

Genesis 3:1-5 — “Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden, He intended for them to experience great joy. When the Devil entered the Garden he came to take away their joy, and sadly, he succeeded.…

I Samuel 18:1-4 — “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” Sadly, friendship is increasingly misunderstood and undervalued in our world today. Many don’t know how to be a friend let alone how to be a good friend. A person might have hundreds of…

Luke 12:8-9 — “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” This is a difficult text to understand and receive, and that’s because we wonder…

Genesis 24-28 — In this sermon for Mother’s Day we have a brief look at the life of Rebekah, focusing mainly on her relationship with her husband, Isaac and their two sons, Jacob and Esau. When we look at her life, we see that she is probably the most relatable woman in the Bible! The…

Luke 12:4-7 — “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do…“ As Christians, sometimes fear gets the better of us and we don’t speak a word for Jesus when we should. Sometimes we’re not clear about what we believe when we’re asked by our…

Psalm 37:1-40 — “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” When we read the Psalms we discover that God’s people have been grappling with the same things for a very long time. We have a wonderful example of this in Psalm 37. The Psalmist speaks to the…

Isaiah 53:10-12 — “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days…” Isaiah chapter 53 contains the clearest explanation of the meaning of Jesus’ death in the entire Bible. It…

Romans 5:8 — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” How do you know someone loves you? That’s a very important question! They can tell you they love you, but that’s not enough. They need to demonstrate their love for you to know for…

John 12:16 — “These things understood not his disciples at the first…” The events of Palm Sunday are well-known but initially they were misunderstood, even by Jesus’ own disciples. In this sermon we see how the disciples eventually came to understand the events they themselves were part of. As we consider the experience of the…

Hebrews 5:1-5 — “No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.” In this passage the author of Hebrews describes…

John 16:32 — “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone…” Loneliness is one of the most difficult human experiences and it touches all of us. It was something that Jesus experienced, especially in the hours before His crucifixion. He told…

Luke 12:4a — “And I say unto you my friends…” Jesus called the disciples His “friends,” which, when you think about it, was a rather remarkable thing to say! The disciples experienced friendship with the Son of God and so can we. In this sermon we think about how a person becomes a friend of…

Luke 12:1-3 — “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy…” In these verses Jesus gave a severe warning to his disciples. He warned them against the sin that characterised the Pharisees – those who claimed to be the most devoted to the Law. He told them that: (1) hypocrisy cannot be contained,…

Luke 11:49-54 — “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” In Jesus’s day, people looked to the lawyers for the answers to life’s most important questions. Being experts in the Word of God, the lawyers were…

Micah 3:1-12 — “Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity…” In this chapter, God’s servant brings a message of judgment against the princes and prophets of…

Hebrews 4:14-16 — “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession…” This text is one of the most comforting portions of Scripture that God has given us. We are told that Jesus knows all about suffering and…

III John 12-14 — “Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.” As we consider this man Demetrius that John mentions in the closing verses of the letter, we are reminded of the importance of our reputation,…

III John 9-11 — “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.” Generally speaking, if Christians know anything at all about the book of III John it is the name Diotrephes. Sadly, this man is known only for the wicked way he responded to the…

III John 5-8 — “We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” In this section of the letter, John commends Gaius for showing hospitality to some missionaries who had come through his town on their travels. When they reported back to their sending church, they had testified of the…

III John 1-4 — “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” This is the first sermon in a study through the book of III John. This little epistle doesn’t get a whole lot of attention and yet it has some very important things…

Proverbs 15:17 — “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” The defining feature of 2020 has been the coronavirus pandemic. It brought disruption in our lives that we have never previously experienced. It also revealed some things to us, including the importance of love. In this our…

Revelation 22:16-17 — “And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” In the Christmas story we see two wonderful invitations given by God to come and see His Son. One was given to some shepherds who were watching their sheep on the night Jesus was born.…

Revelation 5:1-14 – “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” In this sermon, we consider the book that was in God’s right hand and why the Lamb was worthy to open it. We see how this famous scene connects to…

Revelation 12:1-5 — As we continue to study this remarkable passage of Scripture, we turn our attention to the identity of the child. Who is this baby who is to “rule all nations with a rod of iron?” And what are we to make of the drama that unfolds? The dragon threatens to devour the…