Viewing entries by
Dominic De Souza
Without the resurrection of Jesus there is no salvation and there is no hope - but because He lives, we can truly live too, both now and forevermore. Discover why we can have confidence in the historicity of the biblical claims about Jesus rising from the dead and learn about the profound implications of the resurrection for each of us today.
The video that Pastor Dominic refers to in the sermon about the evidence for the resurrection can be found here: https://youtu.be/v_-XIqOlhcM
This sermon is a call to true worship and shows how we love God by also loving people. Drawing on lessons from the Old Testament book of Amos, we see that if our religion is not connected with real, practical concern for the poor, downtrodden, marginalised and forgotten, then it is valueless in God’s sight. Be inspired by this passionate call to do justice and learn about the Church’s responsibility to change the world.
This sermon takes us to the summit of the Beatitudes: we discover that those who follow Christ will be blessed by God and hated by the world. We tend to associate suffering with God’s displeasure but here in this final beatitude we see that the highest level of anointing is reserved for those who are persecuted for Christ. When you appreciate what the Bible has to say about persecution, you can rejoice when you are persecuted for the sake of Jesus because something will be yours on account of your suffering, that would not have been yours otherwise; this sermon tells you what that something is.
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.
The popular carol ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ offers a beautiful window into the Christmas story and is packed full of biblical truth and inspiration. This sermon highlights the meaning behind some of the most poignant lyrics, enabling you to sing the song again with fresh fervour, insight and appreciation.
If you’re doing anything significant, criticism will come; that’s why we need to be prepared for it and know how to handle it. You may not be able to stop criticism from coming but you do have a choice as to how you respond. This practical sermon illuminates four biblical principles that show you how to make criticism work for you instead of against you. As you learn what to do with accurate criticism, inaccurate criticism and malicious criticism, you’ll be able to harness all types of criticism in such a way that it propels you forward into God’s future for your life.
You can’t always control what’s handed to you but you can control what you do with it. Offence in life is inevitable but staying offended is a choice; in many ways your response to offence will determine your future. This sermon exposes offence as the bait of Satan and shows how to handle the offences that arise in a way that builds us up instead of destroying us.
In a day in which the doctrine of faith is sometimes manipulated and stretched beyond its biblical bounds, this sermon helps us discover what faith really is and how it really operates. You will learn that faith is only as strong as its object and that true biblical faith is dependent on the revealed promises of God, not our whims or desires or something that God has not revealed. Be encouraged as you listen to both face the facts and “faith the facts” and learn about the connection between faith and the power of God.
To what extent can we expect God to heal our bodies today? Addressing some of the excessive and erroneous ideas circulating about healing in contemporary circles, this sermon provides a robust and balanced theology of healing based on what the Bible teaches about the kingdom of God being simultaneously present and future. Our hope is that this message will both calibrate and galvanise the believer's expectations about healing in the present.
On the occasion of the second anniversary of One Church, this sermon goes back to the book of Acts and reminds us that God desires to do today all the things He did in the beginning! In fact as the Church of today we are called to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ in this world, expecting supernatural results as our norm! This message highlights the power and authority that God has invested in His Church and shows us that the hope for any community lies in the body of believers in that community.
Many people carry wounds deep in their soul; if not dealt with these can seriously impinge on the quality of our lives and prevent us from moving forward into our God-given destiny. This sermon shows how to be emotionally healthy instead of struggling through life with damaged emotions. You will learn how to identify the messages of negativity and false beliefs in your inner narrative and replace them with the truth of who you are in Christ.
Emotions are a beautiful, God-given part of our human nature which add richness to life; however they will lead you every which way if you let them rule you. Too many people make the mistake of living solely by their feelings but whilst we shouldn’t deny our emotions we can’t rely on them either. This sermon explains the purpose of emotions as gauges not guides and shows us how to master our emotions instead of them mastering us. The listener is reminded that with the Holy Spirit’s help we can do right even when we feel wrong.
In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager Jesus draws a positive truth from a negative example and reminds us about the need for both foresight about the future and faithfulness in the present. This sermon illuminates this surprising and often misunderstood parable from Luke 16 and shows how we can use our money in the present in such a way that it wins us eternal friends and makes an eternal impact in heaven.
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.
