Individual Message (Page 11)

Individual Message (Page 11)

Individual Message

Being blessed

Listen as we consider how we can be blessed by God even though we have hearts which are prone to turning away from him.

Greg Beaumont: Comfort in suffering

Suffering is really hard! But one of the challenges that can face Christian’s when suffering happens is their expectations. Should Christians expect suffering in their life? The Scriptures give a resounding ‘yes’! But even if our expectations are right, suffering is still difficult and painful and causes us at times to doubt God’s love, sovereignty and justice. In tonight’s passage our expectations of suffering are affirmed but we are also comforted by Paul as he gives purpose to the Christian’s suffering, affirms God’s justice in suffering, and points us to how the name of Jesus is glorified in our patient endurance of suffering.

Four very personal questions

The 2016 “Word of the Year” according to the Oxford Dictionary is “post-truth”. Sadly, truth doesn’t seem to matter in many circles these days. Truth is a matter of personal opinion rather than objective fact. But that’s not the way Jesus understood truth. In today’s passage He calls us to decide clearly between different options, because the consequences of the decisions we make in life have profound implications. He talks about a “road that leads to destruction”, a “tree that is cut down and thrown into the fire”, and a house that “fell with a great crash”. Where are you looking for truth? Because according to Jesus, truth does exist and it really does matter!

Christian Thankfulness

Listen as Pastor Dave shares how thankfulness is more than just good manners, but actually part of the Christian experience. God’s people are called to be thankful, and we have so much to be thankful for.

“Thank you, Lord!” (Thanksgiving Service)

The old Psalm expresses it like this: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2). It might sound somewhat quaint to the modern ear, but in our so-called “age of entitlement” we can so easily take God’s goodness for granted. We expect life to treat us well and grumble when it doesn’t. Today, the day of our Annual Church Meeting, we want to stop for a moment and consider some of the ways God has blessed us this year… and there are many! Then let’s take a moment to say “thank you”.

The greatest treasure

Is there a treasure so valuable that it is worth us giving up everything to gain it? Jesus says “Yes!” The kingdom of heaven is a treasure of incalculable value. The question for us is not how valuable the kingdom is, but whether we are willing to give up everything to gain it.

The rich young ruler

Listen as Pastor Dave looks at three reasons the rich young ruler failed to gain the certainty he so desperately longed for.

Mike Seaton: Dying to live

Jesus has done everything we need to be saved and we can not be saved by any good works that we do. How then do we reply to the statement, “It doesn’t matter if I sin because God will forgive me and he gets to show his grace more?” This passage deals with this question and looks at the implications for the Christian to be united with Christ, particularly united in his death and resurrection.

Will the real man please stand up?

Is there any such thing as a ‘stereotypical man’ these days? Where do you look for decent role models of manhood? No wonder many boys are growing up with identity confusion. One man whose life is worth a closer look is Daniel. Though now in his eighties, the most important facets of his life are put under the microscope when he defied the king’s order by continuing to worship God. Here we see a real man whose life was founded on a deeply personal relationship with his God, and the evidence is absolutely unmistakable. God was at the very centre of his life and everything else flowed from there. That’s a real man! A godly man! Does God make that sort of difference in our lives?