Sermons

There are some parts of the Bible that are hard to understand (See 2 Peter 3:16!). There are other parts we may just find, well, kind of offensive. We don't like what they say. Romans 9 has come across that way to lots of people over the years, but often that is because they do not take the time to follow the line of Paul's logic throughout. In this sermon we will start to make our way toward solving the problem of Israel, which ends up being a problem for God. Does He keep His promises?

Theological convictions cannot and should not be held in isolation. What Christians believe about church governance ties directly to what they believe about Scripture's authority and the gospel itself. Through a comparison between Eastern Orthodoxy and Biblical Christianity, this sermon explores how theological truth is a package deal, and what a person believes about the Church, Scripture, and the gospel will spill over into every aspect of their spiritual life.

Every once in a while it is good to pause and take stock of the health of your relationship to God. Having carefully looked at the first 8 chapters of Romans, now seems like a good time to do just that. Taking all of that text into consideration, what behaviours or values should be marking all of our lives now?

Biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism have numerous important differences. Yet, at the heart of all those differences is the question of authority: Is Scripture or the Church the ultimate authority? By walking through the book of Hebrews and other biblical texts, we will see that Christians must reject the temptation to build our faith on human authorities. Rather, our faith must be built directly on Christ, guided by Scripture as the sufficient, infallible, and final rule of faith.

In this evil age every Christian will need to endure unjust suffering. Psalm 7 helps prepare you to endure it and to endure it well. In this psalm you will see two big action steps to get to work at when this kind of suffering comes your way; and the good news is this: you're not the first to encounter this kind of suffering. Your king has already gone before you, and he will carry you through.

There are so many ways the world tries to creep into the church, but when the people of God begin to think more like their God, their display of God looks more like God. God is not afraid of disability, brokenness or old age. He takes pleasure in using the weakest among us to magnify His power and grace. A wise church will jump on the escalator and live according to God's values so they can see the glory of God in real time, in real ways, in their very real church.

The world is a harsh place and we easily slip into its way of thinking. We value people based on their supposed contributions to us or society, and often avoid the ones we do not understand or find difficult to be around. Is this the way Christians should live? How can we correct it if not?

While Roman Catholicism often uses the same words and refers to the same events as biblical Christianity, in actuality, it teaches a totally different understanding of the cross and therefore promotes a very different gospel. In this sermon, we see how seemingly small deviations from the Bible's teaching on Christ's sacrifice lead to several anti-biblical Roman Catholic beliefs: the sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacrament of Penance, and the doctrine of Purgatory.

Christian pessimism does not exist. At least, it should not. Of all the humans dwelling on earth, none have more to look forward to in this life and the next than believers in the resurrected Jesus Christ. In fact, it is His being raised from the dead that secures such hope. Just as He endured the cross “for the joy set before Him,” we gladly sail through life with a firm confidence that all shall be well.

Throughout history, monarchs have usually fit a certain mould: Dignified, regal, and moving about with pomp and circumstance. In contrast, Jesus is a king of a different sort. Unlike every other monarch, he possesses unrivalled authority, and unlike any other ruler, he uses his power in the most humbling of ways. Jesus is a king like no other.

We live in a world full of counterfeit gospels. One such false gospel gaining increased attention recently is that of Roman Catholicism. In this sermon, we cut to the heart of the issue and see how Scripture corrects the Roman Catholic view of justification and presents a gospel message of total rest in Christ's finished work.

In this life we will experience suffering, and our circumstances in this fallen world certainly won't always be the circumstances we would choose for ourselves. But even though this is the case, there is a way to joyfully worship God at all times. How, you ask? By seeking the King who perfectly sought God on your behalf.

There are many things in life that can't be understood fully. But that doesn't mean that they can't be understood truly. Aspects of the return of Christ fall into this category. The timing of Christ's coming is a mystery to all of us, but what is most important to know and understand is clear and unmistakeable: Jesus is coming quickly and suddenly.

In a world marked by injustice, suffering, and conflict, Habakkuk 3 gives us an example of how we can live by faith while we wait for God's promises to be fulfilled. By walking through the prophet's prayer, we unpack four practical acts of faith that can serve as a foundation for faithful living and joyful worship during troubled times.

So often we lose heart in our sufferings and begin to think that nobody cares about us… especially God. After all, if he cared, wouldn't he put an end to my misery? There are theological things to think about in response to this, but there are also relational matters to ponder. Paul takes a moment in these two short verses to unpack what is truly one of the most remarkable facts in our Christian life. There is always Someone praying for us.

There is a sense where every Christian ought to be living with such a profound confidence in the future that their current joys far outweigh any of their current sufferings. There is a reason men imprisoned for their faith sing hymns of praise in their shackles. In fact, what we so easily lose sight of, the nature around us never forgets. A Day is coming when all things will be made right and the entire cosmos will see the Lord has His people.

When God commands Lot and his family to flee the city of Sodom before its destruction, all of them fail to fully obey him. Instead of obeying immediately, some laugh, some linger, and some look back. Their failures here seem a lot like ways we can fail to obey God today. That could be when we disobey his command to repent and believe in Jesus Christ; it could be when we disobey his command to work out that salvation so we can be like Jesus Christ.

Few things help us grow in our trust in Jesus like knowing that our lives “under the sun” will be full of wars within and without until the day we go to glory. These oppositions and failures and setbacks will plague us to a certain degree, until the day of our inheritance. Far from reaching some supposed state of Christian perfection in this life, we seek to live as faithfully, deliberately and sinlessly as possible until the sure perfection of eternity. We are free now, but only in part. Final freedom comes the Day God becomes ours in sight.

There are few things greater in the Christian's life than having the Spirit of God dwell in them. There are few things in the Christian life we forget more than this. Knowing that God is ALWAYS with you ought to shape and change how you live. But, we have to get the category clear first. That is what Paul does in Romans 8:1-11. He is making sure you see that if you are in Christ, His Spirit is in you. And that changes everything.

We all sin. That much is true. But after you sin, what should you do? But that question is important, and Psalm 51 answers it by giving you a process to follow after God convicts you of sin. Psalm 51 is like an instruction manual for dealing with your sin. Anyone who is serious about pleasing God will use it.

In this section of Habakkuk's oracle, God narrates the prophesied destruction of Babylon, the evil empire that would crush rebellious Judah. Through this description of Babylon's self-destructive actions and God's just judgment, we receive timeless lessons on how we ought to live today. As we get ready for a new year, this text vividly showcases the folly of pursuing, placing our hope in, and worshipping idols, and the goodness of trusting in God, our Creator, instead.

This section of Paul's description of the Christian life highlights an all too common experience - we fail to do the godly things we truly wish to do. And this conundrum baffles Christians time and again. It exists because we live in a spiritual war and the only way to effectually win any battles is by the Holy Spirit. By His grace and power, we can live victoriously over sin.

Perfectionism in the Christian life will drive you to despair. Licence in the Christian life suggests your faith is fake. What are we to make of all the commands to obedience? Is it okay to sin? What is “the flesh?” Is it related to our physical flesh, our bodies? Are we doomed to failure until glory? Is there any point to trying to not sin?

The interpretation of Romans 7 is disputed among Bible scholars. In particular, is Paul talking about a Christian or a person before they become a Christian? And what difference does one's understanding of that make on what the text means? A key to understanding this chapter is remaining aware of what came just before it and what follows after. In the end, either view will lead us to love Jesus more for all He had done for sinners!

Why does God allow evil to persist? In Habakkuk 1:1-2:5, we find a dialogue between God and his prophet which helps answer that very difficult question. In this ancient conversation, we will be offered clarity and hope for today's troubled world. While the righteous can make a valid complaint, they have great cause to live by faith in the God who is faithful.

If you're not a fan of surprises here's some encouraging news: you can be absolutely certain about what you're future holds. Psalm 60 instructs us to pray and to wait on God to do what he promised us he would do. Even in our deepest trials, we can be confident God will accomplish his word.

Jesus often taught using stories. Romans 6 can sound a bit complicated at points, but a short story might help you to understand it better. While nowhere near as wise and powerful as Jesus' stories, perhaps this tale of a Damian living in Thanatos under the tyrannical rule of General Diabolos will remind you of your life before God saved you? And perhaps hearing of Damian's labours in Beulah for King Soterios will remind you of what the Lord has done for you? Even if it doesn't, hopefully it will make you love the Lord even more for all He has done for us in Christ.

Having established what it means to be justified by grace through faith, Paul pivots to talk about how we must live as saved sinners. Instead of speaking of us as being living “weapons” of righteousness, now he describes us as slaves to righteousness. In both imageries, he is making clear that once God saves a person, the last thing they will want to do is sin. Instead, the whole object of their life becomes seeking to glorify God by their attitudes and actions. Does this describe you?

Satan is a liar. And one of the lies he never stops muttering is that the Christian has to sin. That there is no way to stop sinning… at least some sins. Hoogly. The real Christian is dead to sin. And he has become a weapon in the hand of King Jesus for righteousness in this fallen world. Now is the time for every believer to stand before God and say, “Here I am, Lord! Use me!”

Having spent an entire chapter unpacking some of the greatest blessings of being justified by God through faith, Paul turns to consider how we now saved sinners (or, Christians) should live the rest of our lives. In particular, what place should we expect sinning to have in our lives?

You cannot know every detail about your future, but your future isn't completely unknowable. God makes promises in his word and his faithful character backs each of his promises up. If God has promised something, it will happen. So in a sense, your future isn't completely unknowable - and thinking on God's promises and character can be a huge encouragement to Christians in their suffering. Thinking on such things can also be a huge warning to the unbeliever.

The gospel calls for a response: Will you repent of your sin and trust in Christ, or will you reject His call and remain in your sin? Many who choose the latter cite a perceived lack of evidence or demand a clearer sign. In Luke 11:29–32, Jesus confronts this challenge and declares that His own life is the ultimate sign and the decisive evidence of the truthfulness of His claims. In the words of Christ and the facts of His life, we have all we need to accept, submit to, and boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

The fact that the Bible has so many different words for sin is a good indication that God takes it quite seriously. Not only that, such a comprehensive list of words helps us understand the breadth and depth of our offences. Rarely does a person appreciate the cure until they realize the extent of the disease. A deep dive into the sinfulness of sin should make our hearts sing with hope in the Saviour of sinners!

Every person in the world has a representative before God. It is either Adam (the first man), or Jesus Christ (God's Son). Your eternal destiny hangs upon which of these two men represents you. You were born with Adam as your representative. You must be born again to procure Jesus Christ as your new representative. Only one of them will lead you to eternal life.

Tragedies are an unfortunate part of life. For the majority of people, the natural reaction to calamities is to grieve and comfort those who have been negatively affected by the situation. These responses are right and appropriate, but is there anything more that should come into our minds when we hear of disasters? According to Jesus, there is, and He will teach us what this is in Luke 13:1-5.

There are parts of your Bible that are not impossible to understand, but are easy to misunderstand or just breeze over. Romans 5:12-14 is one of those little paragraphs, but it sets up a vital foundation for what follows in the rest of this chapter. Most of us love the idea of Jesus becoming our representative before God. Where we struggle is in believing that we were born with Adam representing us, without any input from us whatsoever. Why all this representation and why must you have both or none?

Every good pilot follows a pre-flight checklist where he or she makes final preparations of their airplane and the way in which it will be flown. Even though these things are simple and routine, a failure to do them might result in catastrophic outcomes. So the Christian's walk through this world of delighting in God must be maintained by certain choices and disciplines. None of them are all that startling, but the absence of any will greatly reduce our delight.

Delighting in God is the essence of the Christian life, but cannot be assumed. If we are not careful, we will replace delight with duty, rejoicing with works, and exultation with exhaustion. This series has aimed to refocus our lives on finding our greatest delight in the Person of God. It is something which every Christian needs regular reminders of and every unbeliever regular invitation to.

One of the keys to delighting in God is simply loving Him for who He is. This may sound obvious, but think about how much you love God. Do you often tell Him you love Him? And what do your day to day actions say about your love? God commands us to love Him, but also tells us a failure to love others means we have not loved Him. True love for God will always result in love for others, even our enemies.

There is a thread of truth running through your entire Bible that is easily missed. God desires that we delight in Him. From the first days in Genesis to the last days described in the Revelation, God is inviting the people He made to enjoy Him forever. As the greatest good in the Universe, this makes sense. True joy has its source in God alone. David knew this and writes in this Psalm of how to find that happiness in God even in the worst of circumstances.

With so much going on in our churches, it's easy to forget the importance of praying together. This morning, let's look at five reasons from Scripture that answer the question: Why should we commit to corporate prayer?

God had promised the Apostle Paul that he would deliver him safely to Rome so he could testify about Jesus before Caesar. Along the way, Paul and his companions encountered a terrible storm that threatened to take their lives. Yet Paul continued to trust in God's promises and to live like they were true. He continued to trust in God through the fiercest of storms.

It is not easy to trust God, especially in the midst of our trials and sufferings. So praise God someone perfectly trusted God for every single Christian. Because of him, the Christian's suffering will one day end, and it will end forever. To him be all the glory both now and forever.

We have slowed down in Romans 5:1-11 to make sure we are grasping the amazing benefits that belong to every single Christian. Maybe your credit card comes with free travel insurance. That will do you no good unless you know about it. Too many Christians live like these blessings are not theirs. It is quite possible Paul has put them into a kind of escalating order, saving the best for last.

The relationship between strength and weakness so often goes terribly wrong with the strong taking advantage of the weak to harm or oppress them. In this passage we see how one man addresses and corrects this relationship so we can learn from him and imitate him.

Faith is trusting what God says is true. And we show our trust by how we act. So, when God says that He has rescued His children from hell by the death of His Son, these new friends of God not only need to believe that future, but live in the present like it were true. God loves His people so much that He has done everything they need to enjoy an eternity of fellowship with Him.

Love can be risky. At least between humans. Not only are we experts at violating love, we often have all the wrong ideas about it to start with. We think it has everything to do with how others make us feel, as opposed to how we serve them. We should delight in the fact that God is love. He never gets it wrong. And the proof of that love (as if we needed that!) is the death of His Son for His people.