Viewing entries tagged
Kingdom
In a world filled with conflict, God calls Christians to be agents of peace. This sermon describes the true meaning of peace and shows how to not only be filled with God’s peace, but also be a peacemaker to the people around you. Discover that as you make peace, you reflect your heavenly Father and bear the family likeness.
It is possible to live a divided life: when we don’t give ourselves totally to sin but we don’t give ourselves totally to God either. This sermon shows that a happy person is a holy person - a person with a clean heart and an undivided heart. We learn that being pure in heart means pursuing daily cleansing and making the pursuit of God’s glory the chief passion of our lives; when we live in this way we discover that it is possible to see God in quite a remarkable way in the here and now.
Although there is freedom in Christ, the unmerciful Christian is unable to walk in the full experience of this. This sermon exhorts us to examine our hearts and our actions so that mercy pervades our daily lives and we can receive the new mercies of God every morning. You will see that the biblical language for mercy implies both practical compassion for those in need, as well as forgiveness for those who have done wrong, and you will be inspired to pursue these in your life.
All of us are involved in a quest for fulfilment; in the fourth beatitude Jesus shows that true fulfilment is to be found in hungering and thirsting after righteousness. This sermon shows that this means desiring to live free from the power of sin and to walk right with God. You will learn how to cultivate a growing desire within you for this righteousness.
In a world which often applauds might being right, Jesus says that it is actually meekness that pays dividends with God. In this message we open up the third beatitude by sketching a biblical portrait of meekness; we deal with misconceptions as to what it means to be meek and learn that meekness is not weakness but power under control. We highlight some of the eternal ramifications of living a life that is meek - blessed indeed are the meek!
Is it possible we are not happy because we’ve not truly mourned over our sin? In this message we explore what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are those who mourn” - at first glance one of the most paradoxical statements in the entire Bible. Discover the wonderful promise of comfort and the special work of the Holy Spirit that is ours when we mourn the righteousness that we lack and start to see sin for what it is.
The road to God’s blessing starts by seeing yourself for what you are: a sinner in need of a saviour. Being poor of spirit is about acknowledging our total spiritual bankruptcy before God and our utter dependence on Him. This message will give you a new perspective on brokenness and will open your eyes to the amazing blessing that awaits the one who humbly bows their heart to Christ.
This sermon is in two parts: the first introduces our new series on the beatitudes in Matthew 5 and the second unpacks a rhema word to One Church from Matthew 5:1-2. Learn the distinguishing marks of a true Christian and the discover the kind of life that attracts the blessing of God.
God is searching desperately for the lost - and He invites us to join His search party too. This sermon on the Parable of the Lost Coin invites us to be part of what heaven is part of - to rejoice as the lost are found - as well as inviting those who are far from God to draw close to Him.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant reminds us that God’s forgiveness is a gift of grace that sets us free. By demonstrating such grace to others we can live free and whole too; otherwise the cost of not showing such mercy is just far too high. This sermon shows us how to live in God's gracious plan for our lives instead of being held captive by unforgiveness.
There is coming a day when God will separate the righteous from the wicked, the believers from the pretenders, the good from the bad - and the outcome for the bad will be ugly. This sermon on the Parable of the Net exhorts us to get serious about eternity and also encourages each believer to keep on casting the net in view of that last day.
As you listen to this message on the Parable of the Mustard Seed you will be reminded: from small seeds grow great things! There is purpose in the planting and also in the process. God also wants to use us to be a shelter to those in need too.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow tells us about the importance of persistence in prayer. It shows us that our persistence is not a plea to be heard but is rooted in being daughters and sons of the King, confident that God hears us when we pray. In contrast to the widow approaching the unjust judge, we persist in prayer precisely because we’re praying to God who loves us and cares about us.
Jesus is coming back again - we need to let the fact that Jesus could come back at any time dramatically impact the way we live today. There will only be two kinds of people when Jesus returns to this earth: those who are ready and those who are not. This sermon unpacks the Parable of the Ten Virgins and shows you how to have enough oil - how to be and live ready - for the return of Jesus.
The Parable of the Great Banquet shows us God’s amazing generosity in inviting us into His kingdom. But the invitation doesn’t just stop there - there is room at the table and God wants His house full, so we need to let others know that they are welcome, that they are invited to God’s great banquet.
Jesus brings the promise of new wine, but our old lives won't be able to accommodate it; new wine and old wineskins just don't mix - new wine needs new wineskins. The great news is that God is in the business of renewal; He makes all things new. So if we're willing, if we change our taste from old wine to new wine, if we thirst for more of the Holy Spirit, then God promises to make us into new wineskins. His promise is total transformation.
The parable of the four soils reveals that the Word of God doesn't operate mechanically or inevitably. Two people can hear exactly the same message: one can have their life changed yet the other can remain unmoved. The ultimate reason for this is explained in this all-important parable; Jesus teaches us how the conditions of our heart need to be right in order for us to experience harvest. This sermon unpacks Jesus' teaching here and shows how to transform the soil of our heart into good soil that can bear much fruit.
This introductory sermon to our series on the parables of Jesus will help you discover some of the wonder and power of the parables. The paradox of the parables is that they can both reveal and conceal spiritual truth depending on the state of heart of the listener. As you learn what parables are and why Jesus often taught using them, you will be inspired to keep on craving more revelation from God about the mysteries of His kingdom.
We are called to be salt and light in the world, playing our part in transforming and renewing the culture around us. Taking our inspiration from Jesus, who was radical in His challenge and renewal of the culture of His day, we can engage with and understand culture, seeking not to critique from a distance or become consumers of culture but to be part of God's redemptive plan to bring renewal to all aspects of the culture we're in.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. This means that as Christians we should be living in so much more than we often do. Jesus meant that we should be praying God’s will and His kingdom into our lost and broken world. As Christians, miracles should be our norm. The supernatural should come naturally to us. We should expect miracles that reveal and glorify God. A life with God is one where we can have great expectations – expectations of the miracles He can work in our lives and through us in the lives of others.
