Sermons – St Peter's Barge

HEBREWS 9:27-28And just as it is appointed for man to die once, andafter that comes judgment, so Christ, having beenoffered once to bear the sins of many, will appear asecond…

Haggai 2:10-23 God is in the construction business, building his Church. And he wants us to become not just bricks but also builders with him. But why should we make this…

Haggai 2:1-9 Are you a nostalgic person? Some people are forever looking back to ‘the good old days'. It's not healthy in life generally, nor is it in church life. Instead, we need to be working hard in building the church in the present, looking to the future.

Haggai 1:1-15 A lot of life is taken up with building – building our CV, our career, a family, our future, our business. But how committed are we to God's building project? Are we, like the people of Haggai's day, absorbed in building our own houses but neglecting God's?

Acts 18:1-23 How do we keep going when times are hard? What about keeping reaching out with the gospel if we don't see fruit? The key is that Jesus is with us!

Acts 17:16–34 Is Jesus really the best? Better than all the idols this world has to offer? And how can we have confidence in that?

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 Bryan Johnson recently launched a new religion called ‘Don't Die'. He claims it's going to become history's fastest growing ideology, as he goes to war with death and its causes. Sadly, it's a war he's not going to win. But the good news is that when Bryan can't do, Jesus has already done. On the first Easter Sunday he defeated death, and will finally destroy it when he returns.

Luke 23 Where do you look for hope? Even when everything goes wrong? Good Friday shows us we have one sure hope that stands, even in the face of death!

Matthew 7:13-29 There are four main religions in the world, followed by ¾ of the world's population, but there are over 10,000 other smaller ones. And then there are so many other paths among the 37% in our country who say they are of ‘no religion'. With so many options to choose from, it can all feel rather bewildering. But Jesus makes things refreshingly simple – there are just two ways.

Matthew 7:1-12 In a crowd of people you can spot the Muslim woman by her hijab, and the Buddhist monk by his saffron robe, but you can't spot the Christian. Because the Christian is to stand out not be distinctive dress but distinctive living. That is the challenging message of the Sermon on the Mount. This next bit looks at our distinctive relationships.

What are Demons? What do they do? In understanding these matters we are better equipped to stand firm against them.

What are angels? What do they do? If we don't have a theology that allows for them, then we will find ourselves falling into false teaching about them, but the biblical evidence is clear: they do exist, and have significance.

Matthew 6:25-34 Have you felt anxious in the past two weeks? If so, you are not alone. Nearly 75% of the population say they have. Anxiety is pandemic. What is the antidote? That is what Jesus teaches his disciples in this next part of the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:19-24 Would you say you are materialistic? The society in which we live is preoccupied with money and stuff – getting more money, having the latest version of everything, pursuing a higher standard of living, being more comfortable. Materialism is the majority religion. But it cannot be ours, if we are disciples of Jesus.

Matthew 6:1-18 Whose approval are we living for? If we live for the approval and praise of others, it will damage our health – physically, emotionally, but also spiritually. As disciples we are to live for the audience of one – for our Father in heaven.

Matthew 11:25-30 People look for rest in different places, but Jesus invites us to true, deep, eternal rest for our souls by coming to him and learning from him.

Matthew 18:1–6 Our gospel belief has to impact our practice as a church, particularly when it comes to caring for the vulnerable, having a healthy culture, and supporting victims and survivors.

Matthew 5:17-48 What does walking with God actually look like? Some give the impression that obeying God's Law is just Old Testament religion, and that the life of discipleship today is very different. But Jesus doesn't see it that way. Obedience still matters.

Matthew 5:1-16 All of us want to make our short lives count. We don't want to just fill in time on the planet. We want to make an impact, leave a legacy, make a difference. But how? In this passage Jesus tells us how to make the biggest impact – an eternal one.

Matthew 4:12-25 In the selfie, self-obsessed culture in which we live, the danger is that the Christian message gets distorted and becomes all about me. But Jesus' message was about the kingdom of heaven, and ours should be too. This coming reality should shape everything.

Acts 17:1–15 We need to receive the gospel, the word of God about the Christ who had to suffer, rise from the dead, and reigns as king over all!

Acts 16:16–40 Where do we expect God to be at work? Changing lives by the gospel! This is the case for all, and therefore, it's with hope that we can proclaim the good news.

Acts 16:6–15 Where do we expect God to be at work? Changing lives by the gospel! He directs his mission and grants new life by opening the heart to faith in Christ.

John 3:22-36 Life isn't all about us, it's about Jesus.

Luke 1:77-79 The prophet Malachi foretold that one day ‘the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings'. At Christmas we celebrate the coming into this dark world of that promised sunrise in Jesus, and we give thanks for the blessings which radiate out in the heavenly sunbeams.

Luke 2:10-11 To many people the Christmas story feels very remote - angels appearing to shepherds; a virgin giving birth. It feels a very long way from our experience. But there's an emotional bridge between us and those distant events – fear and joy. We have plenty of fears, and we would like more joy. This passage tells us how it can be ours.

Luke 1:46–56 Where can we find a joy that lasts beyond Christmas? In this fleeting world the joy we need is found in the first Christmas carol.

Matthew 4:1-11 When were you last tempted? How did it go? Did you give in, or did you stand firm? All of us struggle with temptation, and if we're looking for help, this passage is an obvious place to go. And we'll look at that, but ‘tips for facing temptation' is not the main point. To find out what is, have a listen!

Matthew 3:1-17 Some people think that our world has no future. If they're right, then nothing we do ultimately matters. But John the Baptist said that the future is the kingdom of heaven, and so what we do now matters hugely. We need to repent and come to Jesus.

Matthew 2:13-23 Fleeing to Egypt; narrowly escaping being killed in Bethlehem; returning to live in obscure Nazareth – it's not an impressive start in life. But this was God's plan for his Messiah. This is how God worked then, and still works today.

Acts 15:1–16:6 What should we do when Christians disagree? Particularly about something as important as ‘what must we do to be saved?' The Jerusalem council was all about that important topic, and helps us navigate today's disagreements as well.

Ephesians 2:1-10 This service will include an interview with Col. David Ellison, and a talk by him on the central claims of the Christian faith. Col. David Ellison is Deputy Head Corporate Strategy for the Armed Forces Recruiting Headquarters. A Royal Engineer by background, he has served operationally in the Balkans, Northern Ireland, South East Asia, West Africa and Middle East as well as conducting training and exercises in many other countries.

Acts 14:1–28 When the door of faith is opened, what changes? Superstitions and idols are brought down, the gospel is preached despite opposition, and the souls of God's people are strengthened.

Matthew 2:1-12 On his recent royal tour of Australia, King Charles got a mixed reception. So did King Jesus from the moment he came into the world, but how we respond to him is a good deal more significant, given who he is. In this passage we encounter three responses. Which best represents our own?

Matthew 1:18-25 We're born, we live, we die. We all conform to this universal pattern. If we're going to get out of the hole we're in, it's going to have to be an outside job. We need someone who breaks the chain. Someone not ordinary but extra-ordinary. And that is what we find in Jesus – a unique birth producing a unique baby.

Matthew 1:1-17 ‘Go and tell everyone everywhere they need to become my disciples and start following and obeying me'. That's where Matthew's Gospel ends. An outrageous thing for anyone to say, never mind a carpenter from Nazareth. Why should we take him seriously? Who even is he? That's where Matthew's Gospel begins.

Nahum 3 Though his name means 'comfort,' the message is clear—sin and shame are intertwined, and true freedom from shame comes when sin is judged.

Psalm 19 If the atheist is right, then we live in a world with no ultimate meaning, no purpose, no hope. But the world of Psalm 19 is very different – and this is the real world - a world in which God is there and is not silent.

The Lord righteously judges in order to restore his people. This is a message of hope and justice.

The Lord is a warrior who defeats his enemies and delivers his people

1 John 5:13-21 We live in an uncertain world, and so much in our lives is uncertain too. What do you really know for sure? These final verses of the letter give us five things we know for sure, if we trust in Christ - five certainties to celebrate.

1 John 5:1-12 There's a lot of talk nowadays about ‘people of faith', as if it doesn't really matter what you believe. But this passage makes clear that our faith must be in Jesus Christ. Such faith is transformational, rational, and essential.

1 John 4:7-21 What does our world need most? Surely, love would be up there on anyone's wish list. But how's that going to happen? Where's that going to come from? The Bible claims that Christianity has the answer.