Sermons
Yes! Let’s celebrate!
The resurrection of Jesus permeates all of life. It changes everything. It’s God’s huge and endless ‘Yes!’ to us. It’s God’s outstretched arms as he runs to embrace us. It’s the reason why we can celebrate, not only at Easter, but every day. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us. And it’s definitely worth sharing. Yes!
There is always hope
The Easter morning story overflows with wonder, amazement and joy. Imagine how Jesus’ disciples and friends felt when the reality of Jesus’ resurrection took hold of them. Their story is our story. Jesus’ resurrection means that no matter what pain or loss we are experiencing, we have the sure promise that this is not the end of our story. There is always hope.
What is right? What is just?
There is reward for doing the ‘right’ thing and punishment for doing the ‘wrong’ thing. That’s justice, right? Hmmm…. maybe not. The cross of Jesus clearly shows that God has an entirely different understanding of justice – and this ‘good news’ view of justice is what the prophet Isaiah was seeing when he talked about the kingdom of God.
The promise of peace
We are in the season of Lent, six weeks of ‘getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ restoration of the world at Easter. What did the prophet Isaiah think this restoration might look like? One thing he knew for sure, that the promised saviour would be, among other amazing things, the Prince of Peace.
Grace. Full Stop. (No commas, no buts)
Many of us have grown up on the Ephesians 2 text: we are ‘saved by grace through faith’. But …. And there it is, the ‘but’. That’s not God’s idea of grace. Grace is the finished work of Jesus on the cross. No conditional clauses attached and no fine-print exclusions. Just grace. Grace alone. Full stop.
May your kingdom come
What would God’s kingdom on earth look like? The prophet Isaiah said that the blind would see, the deaf would hear, the lame would walk and the mute would speak. Jesus did all these things. Is he still doing these things today – and if he is, what does God’s kingdom on earth look like, here and now, among us?
Finding life by losing it
‘If anyone wants to come with me’, Jesus said, ‘he must forget self’. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus and
receive the good things in life he offers, then you are called to a life of serving others, not serving self. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.
The promise of deliverance
Again and again, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the promised Messiah and what he would bring when he came. In Isaiah 61 he prophesied that Jesus would bring ‘liberty to… Read more
The anointing of heaven on earth
Elisha saw the ‘anointing’ of God on Elijah. Through Elijah, God did miraculous signs and wonders. Another way to describe it, is that Elijah was used by God to bring… Read more
Knowing and doing what is most important
Right from the start of his public ministry, Jesus has many demands on his time. If the people at Capernaum or his disciples had their way, Jesus would have stayed… Read more
