Sermons
Life in the Kingdom: living by faith
In his interactions with people, Jesus was more focused on their need than on the correctness of their theology or the weight of their faith. Both the religious leader Jairus and the outcast woman with the 12-year bleed approached Jesus more out of desperation than sincere unwavering belief. Yet Jesus responded with love, power and healing – just as he does today.
Life in the Kingdom: Storms
When the waves were threatening to sink their boat, the disciples called out to Jesus to save them. They knew he could do that. Why then does Jesus tell them have still have no faith? – even when they turned to him in the time of crisis? Perhaps Jesus was asking them to have faith not only in God to save them, but also in the power and authority God had given to them.
Life in the kingdom: Seeds
There is a different emphasis in the second seed story that Jesus tells in Mark 4. The first story is about the importance of good soil, in which the seed of the Gospel can take root and grow. This second story is about seed that is scattered. The seed of the Gospel can surprise us. It can take root years after it was sown, and it can surprise us with joy when we see that we did not sow in vain.
Forgiveable sins
Jesus warns the hard-hearted Pharisees that they were in danger of committing an unforgiveable sin – blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Some Christians are troubled that perhaps they have committed this sin. But it’s so important to see everything else that Jesus is doing and saying in this story – showing endless mercy to sinners, forgiving them and giving them a new start.
‘I am the Bread of Life’
Sooner or later, every one of us we will experience loss or loneliness, fatigue, fear or failure. We will hunger and thirst for God’s power and presence to fill up our empty tanks. Jesus invites to us to come to him, not to ‘Come and get’ but to ‘Come and stay’. His invitation to receive bread from him is an invitation to trust him for everything we ever need.
The Holy Spirit’s signs
The Holy Spirit came upon his people in a powerful way, with unusual and compelling signs, on the day we now commemorate as Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Spirit is still working today as much as he did in the early church. Today he still uses signs to (1) call us back to God; (2) convict us of our brokenness and our sin; and (3) transform us to be more and more like Jesus.
‘I am the light of the world’
The disciples asked Jesus who had sinned (the blind man or his parents) to bring about God’s punishment. But Jesus said neither option was right. God did not make this bad thing happen. Bad things happen, yes, but when they do, God can use them to open our eyes to see him more clearly. Whatever life throws at us, God can shine into that darkness so that we can see Jesus.
‘I am your friend’
How would you describe your relationship with God? Maybe it’s like clay and potter, where your response is to submit. Maybe it’s like sheep and shepherd, where your response is to follow. Maybe it’s like servant and master, where your response is to obey. Jesus called his disciples his ‘friends’. What would a relationship with Jesus, your friend, look like and feel like?
‘I am the Good Shepherd’
The relationship between shepherd and sheep is one of trust. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd. He calls them by name. They follow him. But they won’t follow someone whose voice they don’t recognise; in fact, they will run away from that voice. Do you recognise the voice of the Good Shepherd when he calls your name? How would you know if it were an imposter calling you?
‘I am the gate’
God has declared us his precious sons and daughters, forgiven and restored, now and forever. There are plenty of people (and the voices in our head) that want to give us another identity – based on guilt or fear or something else. So, thieves and robbers, if you want to get to the people of God, you have to get past Jesus first – and he says our identity is a dearly beloved and forgiven child.
