Sermons by John Spranklin (Page 4)
John Spranklin
Will Israel’s deliverer please stand up?
Judges 4-5 In most cases in the Book of Judges, when Israel needs rescuing from their enemies, the LORD raises up a judge to deliver them. Uniquely in Judges 4-5, we see Deborah, Barak and Jael all play a part in overcoming the Canaanites. We’re left asking, who is the real deliverer of Israel? And who should get the honour for the victory. AS in our salvation in Christ, the honour should not go to a human deliverer, but to…
Comprehensive Gospel Eagerness
Romans 1:8-17 Paul rejoices in the faith of the Roman Christians and he is eager to get to Rome to share the gospel – both for the encouragement and strengthening of the Christians there, and for the salvation of all who would believe. We must ask ourselves, also, are our lives characterised by comprehensive gospel eagerness?
Crippled by Compromise
Judges 1:1-3:6The first couple of chapters of The Book of Judges forecasts for us the downward spiral that is to come for the nation of Israel, but it also takes us to ‘ground zero’ – to how this all began – compromises they made by not trusting God completely nor obeying him completely. We need to heed the warning not to compromise in our generation, and to look to the cross of Christ for mercy, forgiveness and ultimate deliverance.
Sharing the gospel with confidence
Romans 1:16-17 We all delight to hear of God’s saving work in people’s lives, and we want God to use us to bring people to faith. But we often lack the confidence to share the gospel with unbelievers. Here we take a look at why we can all have confidence to share the gospel, and consider some of the ways we can move towards living our whole lives evangelistically.
The Rich Ruler
Luke 18:22-25 Our culture conditions us to value and promote independence and, for many of us, our situation in life means we are easily fooled into thinking we can live independent of God. But the gospel is all about dependence. The one who comes to Jesus in complete and utter dependence is the one who will be saved, and the life of following Jesus continues in complete dependence on him for all things.
The Sinful Woman
Luke 7:36-50 In this story of Jesus’ encounter with a sinful woman, Jesus and Simon the Pharisee see her very differently. Simon sees her only as a ‘sinner’ because he misunderstands how God sees her. Jesus teaches that God has everything to do with sinners who turn to him! Once we belong to Jesus our lives are lived out of love and gratitude toward him because of his great love for us!
Zechariah’s Song
Luke 1:57-80 At the birth of his son, John the Baptist, Zechariah breaks into song. His words speak of the coming of the Lord and John’s future role in preparing the way for his coming. In Zechariah’s song we see that God knows what we need more than anything – we need saving from sin and for God to restore our broken relationship with him. He has given us all of this and more in sending his Son Jesus to…
Giving God your Full Attention
Hebrews 1:1-2:4 In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son – the one who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. This is utterly remarkable that God would reveal himself to us to this extent. If we are to hold on to our salvation, and not drift, we must give God our full attention, never losing sight of the grandeur of Jesus and the wonder and goodness of the gospel.
In the Light
Ephesians 5:3-14In Christ, we have been transformed from darkness to light and we are called to live as children of light – putting off immorality and impurity, and instead, living lives characterised by goodness, righteousness and truth.
Empowered Through Christ
Romans 8:1-13, Galatians 5:13-26 The work of Christ on the cross transforms the believer, from death to life, from dark to light. But this transformation must then be lived out day by day, as we seek to go the distance in the Christian life. God’s Holy Spirit transforms our sinful desires and empowers us to live transformed lives as we cooperate with his work in our lives.
The Self-Revealing God
Psalm 19 Can we really know God? Psalm 19 says that we can, not by our own initiative, but because God reveals himself to us. He does this in creation and in his Word. Jesus comes as the pinnacle of God’s revelation of himself, and also as the model servant who responds to the God who creates and redeems.
Rejoicing with God-given Joy
Nehemiah 12:27-47 We live in a society starved of real joy, and in a time which presents lots of challenges to our ability to rejoice. But Nehemiah 12:27-47 presents a climactic scene of Israel gathering to worship, give thanks and celebrate God’s faithful, covenant love for his people. A time when Israel was full of rejoicing. We can learn a lot about the basis of real joy and the effect it can have on us and others, and about how…